Fireworks

Surviving an explosive week = happiness!

Happy Friday! Mr Happy took these pictures for me at a 4th of July fireworks display. It's been a crazy week, but it feels good to be at the end and realize I survived another one!

Happy Spot Hump Day

I'm a little late coming in with this week's happy spot hump day, but felt I still needed to post one this week!

This week my spot will be a beautiful peaceful lake with a nice sandy beach. It just beakons you to pull up a camping chair, bare your toes and jump in the water! No stress will get to me with this spot in my head!

Art - Kitties

Painting a carefree picture of kitties for a friend = happiness!

I offered to paint a picture of a friends kitties from a photograph she gave me.. I couldn't be happier with how it came out! I was a total wreck thinking about presenting to her, but I was really happy to see her big smile and hear her kind words after seeing it.

Great feeling!

Mellow Yellow Monday: Postcard

This post is inspired by Mellow Yellow Monday! For more yellowy goodness click here

Getting a bright, happy and fun postcard in the mail from Spain = happiness!

Postcards are such a fun way to remind someone that you are thinking of them or to tell them a little story! The world would be a better place if we sent each other more postcards! Mucho gracias! Happy Monday!

Rosendale Festival

Festivals... the food, the people, the music, the art, the goodies for sale, being out in the sunshine, walking, spending time with good company = happiness!

I opened with week with drummers from the Rosendale Music Festival and promised more pictures... well here they are! It was an excellent afternoon. Some of the highlights for me was the food, the mushroom stools, and this neat metal dragon sculpture.


As you can imagine they had all types of food. I endulged in a philly cheese steak made with hot sauce, cheese and peppers. They also had Jamacan, Puerto Rican, German, Italian, and Greek food... YUM! Then all sorts of snacks and desserts like frozen chocolate dipped bananas, funnel cakes, kettle corn, deep fried oreos, chocolate covered strawberries... seriously it was comfort food heaven!


Next up was the mushroom stools. Made by a very friendly britsh couple. The husband uses a chainsaw to shape them and the wife painted them. They were prepared to be placed outdoors in a garden and they raved about how they only got better over time! One of my favorite memories from the day was seeing the wife dancing while standing on one of her mushrooms. Really made me want to get one for myself! (note to self, Mr. Happy said he could make one for me one day!)


So, the festival boasted 70 bands over 2 days... and the music was enjoyable. And as fun surprise to me, they also had an arts area. Lots of paintings, handmade clothing, and sculptures. My favorite piece of the day was this metal dragon. Made from all sorts of recycled metal bits. It reminded me that I would really enjoy to take a welding class.

I hope you are having a great day so far and if you see any festivals in your local area... go support them! You may find a few surprises of your own!

Cupcake

Eating a chocolaty cupcake to hit that strong chocolate craving that has been bugging you for days = happiness!

The perfect size, very moist, excellent frosting and purchased by the best husband in the world!

These cupcakes came from a local farmers market here in White Plains, NY. Made by Big Girl Baking Company. What a great way for an up and coming company to get their name out there!

Happy Spot Hump Day

Gazing up at a blue sky filled with fluffy careless clouds = happiness!

It's Wednesday and time to think about your happy spot. Today I am daydreaming about laying on a blanket in a field, or on a rock, or at a cliffs edge... and just daydreaming about what the clouds are shaped like.

The fun is not really knowing what you will see. Is it a rabbit, a bird, or a castle? Or how about a horse, or a sports car? Then as the cloud moseys on with the wind maybe the shape changes again?

What shapes do you see?

Kitchen

Finding something perfect to decorate the kitchen that you don't even 'own' yet = happiness!

I'm hoping it's not bad luck to buy something for a house that's not yet bought, but I couldn't resist. It must be goodluck! I really like the laid back clean country style and this picture represented all of that for me. I can really see it hanging in a clean, open, sunny, happy kitchen!

I especially loved the Highland Dairy milk jug.. that's local NY milk!!

Wild Blueberries

Finding and eating wild blueberries on a hike = happiness!

In NY, blueberries grow in the wild! On a recent hike I was lucky enough to happen upon a few bushes that were ripening. Wild blueberries are smaller than the store bought kind, but let me tell you they are sweeter than the store ones have ever dreamed of being!

Some sort of primal instinct kicks in when I see these wild sweets. My palms start to sweat, my brain looses focus, and my arms and fingers reach out to pluck the berries. Nothing better than popping a handful of wild blueberries in your mouth and chewing slowly!

Gives you a burst of energy and a huge guilty smile on your face!

Mellow Yellow Monday: Drummers

This post is inspired by Mellow Yellow Monday! For more yellowy goodness click here

Hearing a good rhythm or music to get your soul dancing = happiness!

I was at a music festival in Rosendale (NY) this past weekend and I will be bringing you several pictures from the event this week! Their was a ton of live music, delicious food, sunshine, and beer tents... all the ingredients of a good time!

This particular duo pictured is from a drummer group, and I will tell you... when I heard them I couldn't help but to dance! It started in my toes, then moved to my feet, and next thing you know my hips were swaying! It reminded me how freeing music can be. How it can really let you release that stress that you carry all the time.

The experience also reminded me that I want to learn how to dance African. Anyone, reading also watch the show on Fox called So You Think You Can Dance? First of all if you don't watch it... WATCH IT. Second, if you do watch it then you saw the jaw dropping, goosebump arousing dance done by the 5 guys last week, right? That was an african dance! And the drums I heard in Rosendale brought that all back to me! Let's kick this week off with some soul awakening drums!

Ice Cream Cake

Eating cold sweet ice cream cake on a hot summery day = happiness!

I am so craving some today! YUM!

Spider Web

The intricacies and details of a spider web are amazing! And I finally caught a spider web in a photo = happiness!

I am really intigued by the pattern, strength, and stickiness of a spider web. Let's start with the pattern... it's so fun to see what objects a spider has used to tether the web to, and then the fact they are often circles. I mean how does a spider know if the web is the right shape? Does he or she go to web making school? Is that the only shape that holds up to the job well?

Then, I am fascinated by the sheer strength of the webbing material. It's strong! Ever seen a live bugs stuck in a web? All that wiggling and jiggling and the web still holds! That's also where the stickiness comes in.

Go look for a spider web around you and check it out!

Happy Spot Hump Day

On a hike, hearing the sounds of water pouring into pools, and at peace with the world = happiness!

It's Wednesday and time to think about your happy spot. Today my happy spot is a place I paused on a recent hike to take a picture of water pouring into a pool of water. If you close your eyes I know you can hear that sound in your head... it's not quite like the faucet running... it more wild and organic! That is a sound that really sooths me and takes the tension out of my life (even if for a few minutes).

I especially liked how clear this water looked on this particular day. You can see all the little bubbles from the water jumping on top of each other and the rocks and sticks at the bottom of this tiny pool. I couldn't resist sticking my fingers in the water and giving it a swish! I remember the water being cold.. not the kind of cold you immediately withdraw from, but the kind of cold that feels refreshing on a hot day. The kind of cold that cleanses all the bad things from around you.

I wouldn't mind going back to this spot today... too bad work is in the way of me doing that. I will have to settle for going in my mind instead.

Where's your happy spot?

Homemade Cupcakes

Sitting down to indulge in a homemade strawberry vanilla cupcake one bite at a time = happiness!

Ask anyone and they will be able to tell you that cupcakes are a serious weakness for me. Tiny cake morsels topped with sweet icing that you can eat with your fingers? Delicious!

These were homemade cupcakes. I started with a box of vanilla cake mix and added strawberry jello and tiny chopped strawberries. Gave them a nice summery sweet taste. These were topped them with melted bittersweet chocolate chips and of course, sprinkles!

For fun I put some in cupcake cups and some in ice cream cones. They turned out so adorable and really did look like little scoops of ice cream in cones!

What's your favorite type of cupcake?

Abtract Train

Enjoying bright colors in unusual places = happiness!

Sometime happiness is just finding the normal in an abnormal place. Like the color orange here... found on a train that has seen better days. But I found the color a small hint of cheer and a reminder that bright things can be found anywhere!

Small Intermission

I am taking a few days off to take care of some real life things that I need to focus on. I should be back in time to give you something happy by the weekend!

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Thank you for allowing a small intermission....

4th of July Decorations

Creating decorations for the 4th of July = happiness!

I got this idea from a Simply Living email (I think). It's just brown wrapping paper tied down with string and then I used stamps, markers, stickers, and decorative punches to create a festive table setting! The blue napkins with stars were from Target and I used a pinch of red ribbon to tie them around silverware. For extra party spirit I served homemade Sangria from Applewood's Blackberry wine (seen pictured on the table corner). Delicious!

The overall effect was a hit! Very festive and fun. Bonus... it was so easy to clean up the card table! Just cut off the strings and fold up the paper and voila... table is all cleaned up.

Carousel

Memories of riding on a carousel = happiness!

This picture of a carousel is from a local state park, and I adore it. Just picture seeing yourself as a smiling kid trying to decide what animal to ride.... then hear the music as it turns in a circle and the animal runs up and down to the tune!

I don't have a ton of time right now to post, but I do have some fun things coming up this week. It's mostly fun things from the 4th of July... like decor I used for a party, lip-smacking cup cakes I made, fireworks, and more! I should be able to spend some time tonight getting those posts in order to share! Hope your 4th was amazing!

Happy [almost] Independence Day!

Celebrating the 4th of July = happiness!

Happy almost 4th of July!! USA's Independence day!! Seriously my favorite holiday and lots of things to celebrate the day! I have lots more to share with you... but at 11:45... I wanted to say happy almost 4th... more coming tomorrow!

Perfume

Putting on your favorite scent and catching whiffs of it throughout the day = happiness!

Perfume is a very personal thing and I think it's very interesting that several people could wear the same perfume and yet it smells somewhat different on each of them. There are certain smells that really bring back great memories for me and then their are smells like chocolate or lavender that are very relaxing and take me to a very happy place!

What scent are you wearing today?

Iron Gate

Admiring how geometric patterns can be pretty; especially with sunshine through them = happiness!

I couldn't resist the pattern, the rust, and the sun shining through this gate. I took this while on a steam engine train ride last week. Something about interesting patterns and colors really captures my imagination!

Hump Day Happy Spot

Closing your eyes and picturing a glorious sunset or sunrise unfolding in the sky before you = happiness!

It's Wednesday and time to think about your happy spot. Today my happy spot is Hessian Lake at a local State Park. I was there this past Friday for a great fireworks display. We got there in time to see the sun setting over the mountain and lake. Beautiful!! Go ahead work... just try and stress me out. It won't happen this week as I think about amazing sunsets I have seen.

One amazing sunset that is coming to mind is from my trip to Aruba last fall... you want to talk about AMAZING sunsets... they were absolutely breath taking. Strong pinks and red and oranges; dancing around the sky until the moment when the sun hit the water. *Sigh* Nope, just thinking about it melts the stress right out of my shoulders!

Where's your happy spot?

Frog

Taking note of the small and wonderful creatures that we share the world with = happiness!

This little frog was seen on a hike that Mr. Happy and I did this past Sunday. We didn't distrube him for long, but the few moments we shared were really cool! Just look at his little toes and cutie pie spots!

When was the last time you saw a frog?