The Little Things

We are bringing back our post series, "The Little Things." Some of my most favorite things are things that give me comfort, and some of my most favorite things in the world are things that bring me back to good times with good friends. Every one of these items has a backstory as to why it, and the people it represents, are special. Here are some of those items...

Kuna necklace

On my honeymoon, my husband and I went on a cruise around Italy & Croatia. On this cruise, we made 6 lifelong friends--two couples from Canada that we met because we were sat at the same table, and on an excursion to Dubrovnik, Croatia, we met two of our best friends--Kelli & James. On this excursion, Kelli, James & my husband climbed a wall around a city--I was hot. I stayed down below. Because of this, they took photos for one another at the top of the wall, and quickly became friends. I met Kelli & James when they all came back down. Kelli and I bonded on that trip over the terrible wine we had at a local Croatian winery, over our seafood lunch and, finally, over this necklace. This was our last stop in Croatia, and we had to spend the rest of our Croatian money (Kuna). Right beside the ship, there was a little marketplace. Kelli helped me find this necklace, as well as decide what color to get it in, and that was the start of a beautiful friendship. Luckily, Kelli & James only live about 2 hours from us. For that reason, we get to see them fairly frequently, and they are an incredibly important part of our lives. Every time I wear this necklace, I think about how fortunate I am that we all decided to take this cruise...and that I chose not to climb the wall, while Kelli & James did.

The most recent acquisitions to my magnet collection

In the summer of 1994, I got a job working at an arcade on the Jersey Shore. It was here that I met one of my best friends in the world--Summer. For many, many years, she and I were inseparable (I literally had a key to her house!). Then, we became adults and moved far away from one another. But, we still spoke every day. When I was in my early to mid twenties, I lived in New York City and Summer lived in Philadelphia. While I was living there, I started buying fun and funky magnets to grace my fridge. In the summer of 2004, Summer and I decided to take a vacation together--she took me on my first trip out of the United States. While there, I decided that we needed to buy magnet souvenirs to add to my growing fridge magnet collection. In that moment, a tradition was born. Since then, everywhere Summer and I go, we buy magnets for ourselves and for one another (we even have magnets from places we've lived!). Even my husband has gotten in on the fun--whenever he goes on a business trip, he brings me back a magnet. It is my intent to take these magnets and display them in a shadowbox, but as my life gets busier and busier, that project keeps getting put on hold. However, my favorite part of every vacation is finding a magnet that I know that not only represents the place I am, but will also be loved by both Summer and me.

This song makes me smile every single time I hear it

I met one of my best friends in a dressing room during a dance show in college. Gina & I bonded over the ridiculous silver pleather pants some of the girls had to wear. (Of course I had to comment about fashion!) I helped her put on her sparkly rainbow wig, and we became lifelong friends. During my senior year of college, we would often listen to the song "Candy" by Mandy Moore while driving around in my Jeep Wrangler. To this day, every time I hear that song, it instantly transports me back to college, and my good times with my dear friend Gina. She may live 5 hours away from me now, but that song always makes me feel like I'm with her, which is why whenever one of us hears that song, we will text or call each other, just to say, "Hey, I'm thinking of you," which makes me feel like we're not so far away from each other.

The best lip balm ever

In my early 20s, I lived in the city and loved to go shopping at a place called Ricky's. It has a variety of oddball stuff, but, I loved it because it had a wide variety of beauty products. (I have forever been in search of the perfect shampoo & conditioner...I have thick, wavy hair and haven't found the perfect product yet!) Whenever I see a new lip balm, I feel like I must try it. In the early 2000s, I stumbled upon Burt's Bees. At that point, it only came in the tin...which made me a little hesitant to try it because these tins can become super messy. But, one use and I was ultimately hooked! It seems to be the only thing that works well on my chapped lips. Since that point, you can always find me with more than one tube of Burt's Bees (since it came out in the tube, I have ditched the tin!). You can find one in my purse, one in my work bag, another one with my work keys, another one in my desk, another one in my coat, another one in my car...I'm never far from a tube of Burt's Bees. I have tried most of the different flavors that it comes in, but I'm still partial to the original...there's nothing like that tingle! Bonus? It reminds me of two of my best friends...1) It reminds me of Robyn. Robyn and I met when we were in college--we pledged the same sorority freshman year, we lived in a suite together sophomore year, and while we weren't super close, we remained pretty good friends throughout college. After college, Robyn and I were both single in the city, and started spending a lot of time together. We became incredibly close, and so, since Burt's Bees reminds me of my time in the city, which, inevitably reminds me of bar hopping and man hunting with Robyn, Burt's Bees always makes me think of Robyn. 2) It reminds me of skiing with Summer, because whenever we'd go, we'd always have a tube or two of Burt's Bees with us, to make sure that our lips didn't get too chapped on the slopes!

Mmm...Cheez-Its!

Lastly...Cheez-Its. I know...you're thinking Cheez-Its? What the heck? Well, about three years ago, Lauren and I went on our first road trip together. Since we both have dear friends in Boston, we decided that we would drive up there together. Lauren picked me up from work on a Friday afternoon, and was so excited that she had stopped and brought us snacks. One of those snacks was Cheez-Its...something we both love. We tore into those Cheez-Its pretty quickly, but sadly realized that she accidentally bought a disgusting flavor...not the originals. So, we stopped at a rest area to get replacement snacks, and I volunteered to throw the Cheez-Its out...accidentally spilling all of them right outside the garbage can (I figured the birds would be able to eat them). The two of us were so hysterical laughing...it was a great start to a fun road trip...one that we, unfortunately, had to cut short because snow was heading our way. However, we talked non-stop on the way up, and non-stop on the way back...even though we've been friends for 32 years, we still managed to find things we had never talked about before. Even though we are best friends, I somehow felt even closer to her after this trip. Sure, I could have found a billion different things that remind me of Lauren...things like my knitting supplies, the scarves she made me (including the fabulous one she just gave me this weekend), my jewelry, makeup, old photographs, even a headband with two springy spiders on top...any of those things. But, because of how much fun we had on this trip and how much closer we felt (as if we had even thought that was possible) after this trip, as well as our love for the salty, cheesy goodness that is Cheez-Its, I just feel this was the best possible way to honor my oldest friend, Lauren.

Thanks to all of you out there who make these "little things" so special to me! Hope this reminds each and every one of you to appreciate the little things in your life, as well!



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