A Little Bit of Heaven (Formerly Things I Love Thursday)

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt

So, I changed the name of this little feature from Things I Love Thursday (which I cribbed from Gala Darling), to A Little Bit of Heaven. Little Bit of Heaven is a dessert that my mom used to make for church pot luck dinners, and although I can't seem to find the recipe anywhere online (nor could I eat it anymore, now that I'm a vegan), it was one of my favourite things in the world. It had a graham cracker base, and whipped mocha middle, and toasted almonds on top. It was light and fluffy and not too sweet, and it was absolutely delicious. Typing that out made me taste it all over again!

Anyway, I thought it was the perfect name for this feature! Things I adore, things that make my mouth water, things that make me happy. A Little Bit of Heaven indeed. On with the list!

• YOU GUYS IT IS MY OTHER BEST FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY TODAY! First of all, I am the luckiest girl in the world because I have TWO best friends! B) I am super-lucky that one of them is Jaime. Finally, it's her birthday! Some readers may remember Michael's birthday back in March, but I don't have a bunch of photos lying around of Jaime. So instead I submit for your approval this cover of the Dik Van Dykes "Birthday Song" (which was the only version I could find on YouTube). Happy birthday, buddy!

I kind of wish the audio was better on this, and maybe the lyrics aren't 100% work appropriate...

• Sticking up for myself. This is kind of a big deal to me right now, because I've never really done it before. But I started realizing how much people that I trust as my friends bring me down with negative comments and sometimes say downright insulting things to me (in public, no less), and how that's not OK. So I'm learning to say, "Don't treat me like that, I don't like it." Unfortunately, this means that if they continue to treat me that way they need to go from my life, which is a really hard decision to make. And sometimes they say things that are so mean that I have to have a little cry (that happened last Tuesday). But really, if people are mean to me, why should I want them in my life anyway? I don't. Everyone deserves to be treated kindly and with respect, especially by their friends. I demand to be treated the way I treat others.
• Lavender incense. It fills up my bedroom nearly every night with its lovely, smoky, relaxing goodness.



This photo of blog sponsor @renwest completely makes my day. He posted it on Twitter last week and I thought I was going to have a fit I squealed so loud! It totally reminds me of a picture I had pasted into one of my journals in the mid-1990s of a baby with its eyes all big and watery and sad.

• Making new friends. This has been a very exciting year for me! I have taken on the challenge of talking to new people, getting to know them, and learning from them. I try to give what I have to offer, and so far it's been absolutely amazing! My life has been completely enriched in incredible ways.
• Honourable Mentions: old men who call me dear, lemongrass curry tofu from Springroll House, going to the theatre, glittery eyeliner on rainy days, fairy lights woven around my bed frame, daydreaming about chandeliers to hang over my bed, plotting international living, discovering little girls and I have the same favourite colour (pink, of course), giving friends advice and them actually listening to me.

How about you? What's on your list of things you adore this week, things that give you that little bit of heaven? Share with us in the comments!