Don’t have a pizza cutter on hand? Use scissors to cut pizza!
Amplify phone speakers by putting them in a ceramic bowl
Can’t quite finish your iced coffee? Put it in the freezer overnight and fill it up with cold-brewed coffee the next day. Voila- just like a coffee ice cube!
When I saw the tweet “Why drinking lattes and working more can make you happier (and other bliss-making money advice) from @lvanderkam,” I obviously had to click on the bit.ly link immediately. Lattes, working, and happiness? Sign me up!
It’s a great article- the kind where I want to copy and paste just about every quote! I’ll save us both the time- follow the link for the whole article but see below for my commentary.
Laura Vanderkam is a financial planning author who asserts that “Every dollar is a choice…So when you think more broadly about how you spend it, you’ll find that money can buy happiness.”
Small indulgences have an outsized effect on happiness. Buying a house and buying a latte will both make you happy when they come into your possession, but you only buy a house once every few years (or decades). You can buy a latte three times a week, and you’ll enjoy it every time. When it comes to happiness, the general thrust of the research is that frequency trumps intensity.
A house, a fancy car, or expensive furniture certainly make you happy when you buy these objects. But then you adapt to them. Happiness research is finding that variability forestalls adaptation. That’s one reason that travel, and getting together with friends, tends to make people happier than their furniture. Furniture is always the same. Every trip is a new adventure.
She’s speaking my language with the latte talk {well, I actually order soy mistos. Potato, potato}. But seriously- every time I savor a morning soy misto or an afternoon iced coffee or a special treat Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate {which I won’t be doing anymore since it contains gluten!}, I appreciate the heck out of it. It’s comfort and happiness in a cup.
As for every trip being a new adventure- uh, yeah! According to my personal research and calculations {pushes glasses up on nose}, I think our Bahamas cruise supports that theory 😉 It certainly brought me more happiness than an equally priced couch would have. As a side note and shameless plug, I recently created a Travel category to document my happiness-inducing trips.
So you now know probably already knew that coffee and travel are in my “joy budget.” So are comedy shows, drinks with friends, and concert tickets! What’s not? Make-up {I used to live for it}, most clothing {except the really special pieces}, boring on-the-go lunches {I can make them for cheaper at home}, books {I can get them fo’ free + late fees at the library}.
This is a pre-scheduled post. I am writing it while sipping coffee in my comfy bed. By the time you see it, I will be out and about- buying new jeans, grocery shopping, watching football 🙂
After lots of searching and taste-testing, I’ve determined my four favorite coffees to brew at home. Brace yourself, because none of them are from Starbucks! Like my reference to this song in the title?!
Just like I did with wine, I’d like to do a coffee tasting to narrow in on my preferences. From the four coffees below, I think it’s safe to say that I prefer light-medium roasts over dark roasts. But I think it’s easy to confuse one’s likes/dislikes about strong vs weak with light vs dark roasts.
Dunkin Donuts Decaf- Medium Roast
photo credit: dunkindonuts.com
Archer Farms Coconut Macaroon (found at Target)
photo credit: findingcoffee.wordpress.com
Trader Joe’s Organic Fair Trade Breakfast Blend (Medium Roast)
image credit: tjsdeliveryservice.com
Harris Teeter Limited Edition Toasted Almond
Photo credit: my Droid!
None of this
Lots of this
Some of this
A little of this
Tons of this
A dash of this
And, of course, boatloads of this
I’m a firm believer in turning your hobbies/interests/loves into your job or career. I love cooking, I started GW Bites. I love community building, I now co-own a coworking space.
But when your job gets stressful, you have to remember what you love outside of work.
So here’s is today’s edition of Things Besides Work that Cristina Loves:
Over the past year or so, I have gleaned a lot of very useful kitchen tips, both out of necessity and curiosity. This is what I’ve learned so far:
Right after I hit “Publish” on that last post, I found this gem. Maybe it’s more fitting (though I have been very good about weaning myself off caffeine with decaf coffee in the morning)
Doing a challenging yoga class this morning has encouraged me to set intentions for the week in order to keep myself on track..and maintain my sanity during this incredibly exciting but stressful time (can’t share details on that YET but I will soon!).
Just settling in for a morning of work with a post-run smoothie, a big bottle of cold water, and iced coffee. The temperature is supposed to be triple digits today, so hydrating is uber-important. I know coffee isn’t hydrating, but I’m trying to combat that with my other drinks 🙂 You know it’s hot when your window unit is set at 81 degrees and it feels like an icebox in comparison to outside!
I thought I’d share a super simple summer tip- brew coffee, let cool, then pour into ice cube trays. When you’re ready to have your iced coffee, just drop in a few coffee cubes to make it cold without watering it down. And I just realized another perk this morning: when I leave the gym in the morning, my leftover coffee cubes have partially melted, leaving me with a delicious post-work out “coffee shot.” Refreshing 🙂
Scintillating Simplicity 