My Favorite Things

Tonight is the Relief Society "weekday meeting," or the meeting-formerly-known-as-Enrichment. It's the first time since I've moved here that I've been in town for the meeting and I'm going. But there's homework for this one--I have to bring stuff. My favorite stuff. It's made me really think about what my favorite things are.

Music that lifts your spirit and soothes your soul:

Listening to this boy makes me happy. When it gets really turbulent on an airplane and I need to go to my Happy Place, I put on my headphones and listen to Jason Mraz on my iPod and he takes me there.

Just look at him. This is my favorite CD of his. Well, it's my only CD of his.

Favorite book:
Where to begin? There are so many. My two most re-read books during the last year were Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love. Both books have dog-eared pages and highlighted passages throughout, and both books were consciousness-raising for me, teaching me lessons I needed to learn--about trusting my instincts, listening to my heart, recognizing the "omens" on my life's path, and accepting the direction that path takes. Tonight, if I can find my copy, I'll take the witty and wise Eat Pray Love with me instead of the metaphysical allegory of The Alchemist. Don't want to blow too many minds.

My personal "feel-good" movie:
Return to Me. Filmed in Chicago and directed by Bonnie Hunt, this is the story of a man who falls in love with the woman who received his dead wife's heart. The tagline was "A comedy straight from the heart." It's funny, charming, full of great performances. Just lovely. The last time I visited Chicago, I went to the little restaurant that is the setting for many of the scenes and sat and thought about the movie and how much I like it.

A painting or poster that makes life brighter:

This one has me stumped. Well, I love Impressionism. I love the light and the lift it gives me. I don't have any Impressionistic paintings, though. I have books of paintings. Looking, looking.

"Water-Lilies, Evening Effect," Claude Monet. I saw this very one in Paris.

"Must-have" make-up, lotion, or shampoo:
I'm gonna go with perfume instead. For years, whenever I visited EPCOT's Norway Pavilion I enjoyed dousing myself with the sweet, fresh Laila perfume sold there--"an infusion of Norwegian mountain wildflowers." Two years ago I finally bought some and now I am hooked. After falling in love with two fragrances (No. 1 by Laura Ashley and Perfect White Dress by Bare Escentuals) that were discontinued, I am so happy to have found one that will always be available. The only negative--the bottle is made of slippery glass. I've already broken two of them. The bathroom smelled good forever, though!

Favorite dessert:I'm pretty simple. I love the chocolate croissants at La Madeleine. Buttery, flaky pastry filled with just the right amount of warm semi-sweet chocolate really does it for me. And they are a cinch to re-create!
So there you have it. Some of my favorite things. How am I going to fit them all into my purse to take to Relief Society tonight without looking like I am the over-achiever in the group? I'll just pack it all into another one of my favorite things--my Lily Waters fabric tote. When I use mine, I feel as happy as the girl in the ad.