Three Things to Cheer my Monday

Monday mornings are better--WAY better--than they used to be for me, mainly because I get to wake up and do the work I love. But every now and then I still have a Monday morning when I drag my feet to get out of bed and lament the weekend gone by.

This was one of those Mondays.

And so to pull me out of my malaise, I'm placing my focus on three things that have already brightened my day.


1. pumpkin pie for breakfast.
Not only did I make this pie last night specifically so that I could eat it for breakfast this morning, but it is the second pie I've made for exactly that purpose this month.

What can I say? I love pumpkin pie early in the morning. And after spending years and years of only eating it for Thanksgiving, I decided that I needed to make up for some lost pie-eating opportunities.



Besides, Martha Stewart Living has a great recipe for pie with shortbread crust. (I'd give you the link, but I can't find it on MS.com. I found it in November's issue, on shelves now.) It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet.

If salty and sweet won't get me out of bed on a Monday, I don't know what will!


2. this stuffed elephant I knit over the weekend.
Isn't he cute? Or maybe I should say "she" since my husband informed me that boy elephants do not wear pink scarves. I still think it's a boy...just don't tell him. (fyi: pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.)



And what is the purpose of this elephant? Well...other than the fact that it coordinates perfectly with my new favorite children's book, There is a Bird on Your Head, it has no purpose. I just really needed a project that was fun and had nothing--absolutely nothing--to do with work.



Of course now my yellow lab, Caesar, has officially adopted the elephant as his own. I may never get it back....



3. my new (used) rose-toned metallic ballet flats.
When I saw a similarly-hued pair of flats from J. Crew earlier this season, I fell in love. It was that special shoe love that only women understand. And ever since my encounter with Cupid's footwear arrow, I have been smitten with rose-metallic flats.

Unfortunately for me, J.Crew's price for said flats were a little steep for my budget. So I decided to trek out on Saturday to my local used clothing store and see if I could get lucky.


And by "lucky," I mean see if I could find a pair of used shoes in my size that are this particular shade of metallic for a price that I could afford. It was a fool's errand, for sure.

But apparently I'm a fool (and evidently God wanted me to have rose-colored metallic flats) because I found Exactly what I was looking for at the bargain price of $6.00.

You can guess what I'll be wearing around town this week.

Here's to hoping you have three cheery things to brighten your Monday!
--steph