22 Things That Make Me Smile

The 28th of June marked my 22nd year of breathing and whilst I had a pretty dire start to the day, filled with self-pity and loneliness, it actually turned out to be okay. 

But to celebrate this momentous (not at all) occasion of managing to survive another year, I thought I would put together a list of things that never fail to make me smile. Also because I like lists. 

1. Sweet Peas - These flowers are the epitome of joy for me, they smell DIVINE and look stunning. However, they are notoriously difficult to get hold of and once you've managed to get your hands on a bunch of these babes they will die off in around 2 days. So enjoy the aroma and get snapping because these sweets are soon to pea off (did you see what I did there? 3 years of an English Lit degree made that pun. You're welcome.)
2. Cheesy Chips - Is there anything more comforting than a polystyrene container filled with piping hot chips covered in the cheapest, tasteless cheese known to man? No, there isn't. I'm lactose intolerant but will happily kill my stomach for these chippies.
3. Paint by Numbers - Haha, yeah not kidding on this at all. If you're a close friend of mine you will already know this but I have a slight obsession with paint by numbers. I'm a creative person anyway but there is something so infinitely calming about painting to guidelines that satisfies all the needs. It's like adult colouring on crack.
4. Ru Pauls Drag Race - Start your engines.... I became crazy obsessed with this show after my bestie introduced it to me and insisted that I started watching because all the sassyness and drama was right up my street. She was so right and I zoomed through the 5 seasons available on Netflix! They seriously need to update this though and add the new seasons because I'm having Ru Paul withdrawal and it is not cute.
5. Cat Cuddles - There is something so soothing about cat cuddles for the 10.5 seconds that they last before you're being bitten or squirmed away from. I love my cats.
6. Mornings when you wake up and your bed is the comfiest thing on the planet - We all have those days right? Where you wake up in your bed only to find it has literally swallowed you up into it's pillowy goodness and is refusing to let you go. Sadly those mornings are ALWAYS the ones where you have to get up, but its nice whilst it lasts right?
7. Lists -  This may be obvious. But I really do enjoy lists, list blog posts, to-do lists, any form of list really. There's something insanely satisfying about them and I have no ragrets... not even one.
8. Coke -  Not the drug kind may I hasten to add, but the fizzy drink that slowly rots your teeth and destroys your gut. I know it's bad for me. I know it's basically just crap and that it probably tastes gross to people that aren't addicted to the stuff. But I love it and all it's sugary badness.
9. Nail Polish -  My polish collection is over 100 and I will continue to buy more without any shame or second thought. I love them and will argue that every shade is unique and different in it's own way. Don't judge me.
10. Wagamama Steamed Buns - The Panko Aubergine and Mushroom kind.  These were the bomb. Literally the best thing on earth and the IDIOTS at Waga decided it would be a grand idea to discontinue it. *Cries* Seeing as their veggie options are pretty limited as it is, I think this was a terrible move by Waga and I can only hope that one day they restore the perfect Pan-Asian food to it's former soft-bunned glory.
11. Yankee Candles - I know they're overpriced and over-hyped but heck so are most things in life. I love Yankee candles and have a particular fondness for the samplers which you can buy at really reasonable prices and still pack a punch. Referring back to point 1. Yankee candle actually does a Garden Sweet Pea candle that gives me life in summer. Highly recommend it.
12. Chipotle - Another obsession brought on by my bestie ex-housemate. She went through a phase of being totally obsessed with Chipotle and passed it on to me. I rarely have a meal without it now and I've bewildered my family with my new passion for hot-sauce.
13. Bullet Journaling - I love my bullet journal. As much of a time-consuming fad as it is, I adore writing in my overpriced dotted notebook and making a ridiculous amount of lists and pretty pages. I find it a really soothing activity and after my first Bullet Journal post going down so well, I will definitely be sharing more of my journaling on the blog in the months to come!
14. Megamind - So something you may not know about me is my addiction to the Dreamworks film Megamind. I have watched this film more times than I care to mention and I know the majority of the lines. I also have an addiction to the first and second Shrek films. I'm a child at heart okay?
15. Books, Books and more Books - I am a literary hoarder and I read a lot, well not right now as I'm stuck in a rut with the third GOT but that's another story. My book shelf is overflowing with books and I am definitely getting to the point where I cannot buy any more books until I get some more storage sorted out. But I adore them and just looking at my overfilled case brings me joy on so many levels.
16. NYX Matte Lip Cream -  Where has this been all my life. I'm OBSESSED, like bow down to the supreme ruler infatuated.  Seriously the pigmentation, moisture, colours, everything! It's all friggen perfect! Expect reviews, expect all the reviews.
17. Zoeva Make Up Brushes - I get a little rush of happiness every time I see these on my desk. Potentially the best investment that I've made in the past 2 years and I adore them. Also they look beaut in blog photos.
18. Making Plans - I love making plans with people, whether it's as small as going out for lunch or as huge as planning a holiday; I get a rush out of making plans, organising trips and generally booking in moments to create life long memories. Maybe I should become an event planner?
19. Dan's hideous excuse for humour - It perhaps would have been rude to have written this post and not included Dan in it seeing as he's been around for 8 of the 22 years. Christ. That's a scary thing to write down.... *shiver*. Dan is the king of puns and they are always terrible, but it's one of his quirks that I find endearing... unlike the snoring, which is enough to make me want to commit murder.
20. Morning walks - I did this a lot back in Canterbury with Soph and I loved it. We would walk into the city centre, do all our errands, spend too much time (and money) in Lush and then grab a Starbucks coffee for the walk home. I loved these days. It is probably the number one thing I miss about living in a city with my best friend and it will always be one of my most cherished memories.
21. Family time - Like good quality family time, the stuff that doesn't happen anywhere near as much as it should. The trips to national trust places, the evening meals sat at the dining room table, the rare game of monopoly (I am CONSTANTLY begging my family to play monopoly with me but they refuse on account of boredom and return to their electronic devices. I'm working on it.). These are moments that I cherish and I wish we had more of.
22. Reading your comments - This is a super cliche note to end on, but hey, who doesn't love a touch of inevitability. I genuinely adore getting comments on my blog as I often feel like I'm just spewing out word vomit into the deep obis of the internet. Every comment helps me to believe in myself a little more and over the years of writing on this blog, my confidence has gone from rock bottom to mediocre ... and that my friends is an improvement in my books. 

If you made it to the end then thank you! Thank you for reading and thank you for supporting me. I'm really excited about the next couple of months on the blog and I can't wait for you to read some of the content I've got planned.