Hey there!

Good morning to ya! How are you doing today? We’ve got nothing but sunshine in the forecast for the next couple of days, and seeing this always makes me happy. I have a feeling it’s going to be a good week! Recently I spotted a fun little survey on Carol‘s blog about the simple things in life, and I figured that today would be a good day to play along. Here goes!

A – Apricots – A recent rediscovery, I am currently eating them like it’s my job. On their own or in this pilaf. SO good.

B – Bath & Body Works car air fresheners – Let’s make that Bath & Body Works products in general, but their car air fresheners are particularly fantastic. Over the course of the spring and summer so far, I’ve had the Vanilla Coconut and Pineapple Orchid ones, and I’m currently rocking Island Margarita. It makes driving so much more pleasant (and I get lots of compliments too!)

C – Chick flicks -  and oh my goodness have I got ‘em. It’s a good job I don’t have any male roommates because I don’t think they’d be very impressed with our DVD collection. My roommate and I have quite an impressive collection of chick flicks and not a whole lot else. If you want knife-stabbing and lots of fast car action, you probably won’t find it here. If it’s Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, or anything starring Freddie Prinze Jr. that you’re after, I’m your girl.

D – Dogs – When I was living at home, my family had a total of 3 dogs – one in Edmonton, and two when we lived in Bahrain. My mum is allergic to a lot of pets, but my sister begged for a dog ever since the day she found out what they were. Literally everything in her room was dog themed, from her bedding to her undies (and I bet she loves me even more for typing that. I love you too!!) I was always the more timid one when we were around dogs, but now that I’m older, I really really want one! Preferably something  like a golden lab, or another breed that would make a good running buddy when it grows up. My schedule is totally not one that would allow me to be a good dog owner right now, but someday, it WILL happen!

E – Eggs – I’ve been rocking the savoury breakfasts lately and eggs are almost always included.

F – Fruit! Mountains of it, especially when it’s sliced all pretty at Cora’s.

G – GOruns – Speaking of which, have you entered my giveaway yet?

H – Hiking – Lots more of this on the cards for the coming months!

I – Iced tea from David’s Tea – Perfect Pear and Tropicalia take the top spots in my iced tea rankings this summer, but there are heaps of others that deserve honourable mentions, including Luscious Watermelon, Strawberry Shortcake, and Birthday Cake. You can check out all of the iced recommendations here.

J – Juice, the green kind. For years I was more of a smoothies person than a juicer, but when I figured out that my Vitamix does a great job of juicing and that I didn’t need another expensive fancy kitchen gadget for the job, I was totally pumped. My favourite mixes contain celery, parsley, lemon, spinach, kale, and green apple for a touch of sweetness. YUM!

K – Kiss you Inside Out by Hedley – A song with that very distinct Hedley sound, and very catchy!

L – Love Grown Foods granola – Absolutely delicious and one of my favourite granolas. I’ll eat it in Greek yogurt parfaits, but most of the time, straight-out-of-the-bag is my preferred method.

M – Minty-fresh – Also known as that glorious clean feeling that you get in your mouth after brushing and flossing. I keep a toothbrush, paste, and floss in my desk at work just so that I can enjoy this small pleasure after lunch every day!

N – Naps – I don’t take them nearly enough and can’t remember the last, but when they happen, they’re awesome.

O – Ontario peaches – I know peaches starts with a P but I already have a simple thing for P, so Ontario peaches it is. I bought some on the weekend and they are now gone. Local peaches (and local fruit in general) is so unbelievably juicy and tastes so much better than imported, and I feel very lucky to live in Ontario for this reason!

P – Pigeon pose – This is one of my favourite hip openers and although I don’t go to yoga classes or practice on my own as much as I should, I make a point of doing this stretch frequently. If you’re not familiar, you can learn to do it here. One of these days I just might fall asleep in pigeon…

Q – Quinoa! Ok, forgive me for going off on a tangent here, but do you remember when you were first learning the alphabet in school, and there was always a picture of an apple next to A, a book next to B, a cat next to C, etc? There might have been a little variation on the common letters, but I think just about every alphabet poster I was ever exposed to had a quilt for the letter Q. I was in kindergarten about 18 years ago, and times have changed a lot. By the time I eventually have kids, I wonder if quinoa will be the standard Q? Ok, tangent finished.

R – Running – And fingers crossed, we’ll be back in a long term relationship soon. You see, there’s this jealous ex called my Achilles tendon that is preventing us from getting back together. Couples therapy scheduled for tonight… in the form of acupuncture!

S – A lot of simple things that I love start with S – summer, sleep, smoothies, and salmon, especially the salmon in chili basil sauce that I ordered in Stratford. Must recreate!

T – Thai food – I made heaps of it back in May (feel free to check out all of the posts in my Thai-Oh-My series here) and I loved the learning process just as much as I loved the taste of the meals I made.

U – Unplugging – on the weekends. Even though it feels weird at first, I secretly love days where I don’t sit at my computer or look at my phone. It’s a very liberating experience!

V – Vegetables – and lots of them. I can’t pick favourites because there are too many and that would be like asking me to choose a favourite child (even though I don’t have any yet… you know what I mean.) Cooked or in salad beast form, veggies make me a happy girl.

W – Watermelon – Bet you never saw that one coming. HA!

X – Xtra bright pants! Ok, cheating again. I don’t consider myself super trendy, but I totally jumped on this bandwagon this year.

Y – Yoga - Again, something I don’t do nearly as much as I should, but when I do get to a class, I feel awesome afterwards.

Z – Zevia – I don’t drink carbonated beverages often, but if a craving hits, Zevia is one of my top choices. It’s a far ‘cleaner’ choice than any other pop (or soda for you Americans!) with no artificial sweeteners. Instead, it’s sweetened with stevia and comes in a bunch of delicious flavours. My favourite so far is Black Cherry.

Ok, your turn! For each letter of your first name (or maybe just for your initials if your name is long), tell me your favourite simple things.