the art of happiness: A Few New Things

In the past couple of days I've accumulated a few new things I found interesting enough to share so here goes:

I happened upon these Java Pops Monday and had to try them. Apparently they come in five flavors (http://www.javapop.com/), but I only found them in four: vanilla, hazelnut, espresso, and mocha. I got the mocha...but I think next I'll go straight for the espressso.

My verdict? Delicious!! I loved them! They reminded me a bit of a Coke Black- if you recall those- only Java Pop was a bit lighter and more refreshing...and not quite so sweet (plus organic). I find Java Pop to be an excellent alternative to hot coffee for summer. I thoroughly enjoyed it. At around 100 calories a bottle, they won't be something in which I indulge too regularly- but they make the perfect complement to the occasional afternoon snack!

Another trio of superfinds! My mom came to visit for the day yesterday (which accounts for the lack of a blog post) and we did some shopping. Here are my three most exciting purchases- a patchwork jacket, a brown, green, and yellow skirt (to go with my amazing mustard-yellow shoes!) and these dusty rose Converse sneakers.

Last find for now- Gilliam candies. I bought these old-fashioned candies for inspiration and I really liked the picture of them so I thought others might as well. I edited it to look kind of like a painting. I felt the colors were great. These are actually the same brand of candy sticks and drops that Cracker-Barrel carries, but I found them at Big Lots this week. I usually keep a handful of the stick candies around because they're adorable in gift baskets, tied on top of packages or just in a jar sitting around. They're ten cents apiece at Cracker Barrel. These came out to be about the same price, but they all came in a bag so you didn't get to pick your flavors. I was just going for a variety of colors anyway. The old fashioned candy drops (I bought cherry and lemon) are really pretty too and look so sweet in a candy bowl. I actually like them in these little paper bags. Paper bags of candy are somehow inherently happy, I think. The cashier who checked me out the day I bought them smiled when she scanned them and asked where I'd found them. She didn't know they had them and wanted to buy some, too! It was great luck I happened upon lemon drops because I was actually in the market for some. My dear, thoughtful, friend, Valerie, gave me a gift a couple of weeks ago (a "congratulations-you-survived-your-first-show" gift following the peach festival). It was two little ceramic plates; one was shaped like a lemon (see pic) and one was shaped like a pear. They're adorable and look just like me! Proudly, I displayed the lemon on the coffee table (as there are several other lemon-yellow accents in the living room) and decided to save the pear for the same spot come fall. I kept looking at the lemon trying to decide what to put on it and finally decided the perfect lemon plate topper would be lemon drops.