100 things I absolutely love
Watching little kids open presents!!
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you 100 things I absolutely love. I have been compiling this list for the past two months. Whenever I thought of/saw/smelled/tasted/heard something I loved, I wrote it down in my phone.
And I was picky. Not just anything made the cut!
I hope this list can help train your eyes to look for the lovely. Happy Thanksgiving!
When a grass is so lush and pretty that you can run around bare foot with not a single worry about stepping on a pokey.
When I’ve had stressful day but the bubble of stress finally pops by the evening and I spend the night giggling it off.
Watching little kids open birthday presents. Some recent quotes from a four-year-old: “This is the happiest day in all my life.” “I always wanted this for my life.”
Lanolin skin salve. Seriously, give up on every other chapstick.
When someone underestimated how much they want to say in a card and it has to spill onto the back.
Adam’s “bedroom eyes like a remedy.”
Having such secure footwear that you can tromp through puddles or streams with no concern for wet socks.
When you pick the perfect thickness of jacket for an outdoor occasion.
The first wave of smell when you start to peel fresh ginger.
The first cool day after the heat of summer.
Calling and talking to Adam on the way to work even thought we spent the morning together and will also spend the evening together. <3
The full blast of sentimental-ness and sense of “wow life really does just keep moving” I feel when going on a walk around a route I haven’t done in a while.
Getting an unexpected voice message from a friend I haven’t seen in months, and the way her voice took me straight right back to the happy time when she was more apart of my everyday.
Blueberry donuts from Banbury Cross.
When I show people pictures of my sister’s baby, Jack, and they say he looks like an Abel (my maiden name).
Overhearing a stranger laugh exuberantly.
When something good happens to me and someone is genuinely so excited on my behalf.
When my plants get a new leaf. (Welcome to the fam little guy!)
Literally anytime I get to hang out with the young women in my ward (it is a welcome bonus when one of them calls me “girlie pop.”)
Freshly washed and trimmed hair.
Being listened to.
Really vibrant green grass glowing in the autumn evening sun.
This Gap commercial (I hush the room every time this comes on. How is it so mesmerizing??)
Genuinely kind cashiers. (A rare and remarkable breed.)
Not just winning but absolutely sweeping the win on a board game.
Winning my work chili cook-off with this recipe: https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/buffalo-chicken-chili/
Getting a championship ring for winning said chili cook-off.
Really crispy Tator Tots.
Sincere praise from someone I trust.
How when I waking up feeling fully rested the world immediately feels like a kinder place.
When people find ways to support each other in niche but perfect ways. (Example: my aunt placing a food order from a small catering company owned by a family who are from the country where her son is going to serve his mission.)
When someone I’ve written a story about expresses heartfelt—real genuine thanks—that their story has been told. That kind of feedback makes me feel so sunshiny and excited to keep writing. (Some favs here, here, and here)
How the whole day feels way better and way more fun when I have a delightfully captivating book waiting for me at home.
Fitness instructors who know how to both throw a party and a workout and make you feel better about everything. (Is that so much to ask??? hahaha)
The fact that most of Adam’s dreams are so “boy”—he has Spider-Man powers or is a spy on a secret mission or is a ninja saving the world or a pillaging pirate. It cracks me up, even at 8 a.m.
Eating the entire bag of spinach before it goes bad (I did do it once !!)
Raspberry cream cheese ice cream from BYU creamery. Go Aggies, of course, but this is seriously the best ice cream I’ve EVER had.
The flower gardens on the grounds of Latter-day Saint temples.
The little peg dolls cake toppers we had at our wedding. They sit on an adorable shelf-of-honor now in our apartment. I feel happy every time I look at them.
How the world feels a little better and softer after I let myself do a big cry in front of someone compassionate.
When people have very clever social media captions. For example, my friend’s last name is Nichols, and when she and her husband announced their first baby they said, “Turning two Nichols into 15 cents!! Baby Nichols coming April 2025” HOW CLEVER.
Adam reading books out loud to me. (And how I giggle at him when he mispronounces words.)
Watching a movie you really love for the first time.
Homemade pizza with Canadian bacon, BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, crushed pineapple, and lots of cilantro.
Unique, sentimental things at weddings. Like a little display showing past generations’ wedding photos. How sweet!!
This card someone randomly left on my desk at work one day:
To be clear, I hardly ever feel totally free of pressures. but the idea is wonderful! When I was really tired and stressed one night, Adam said very sweetly and seriously: “Hey, can I have dibs on doing the dishes tonight?”
Visiting someone’s home for the first time and feeling connected to them on a different level afterward.
Long walks in golden fall sunshine.
Baby Jack’s Halloween costume.
Reading through my journal and feeling this love for my past self, like I am a cheerleader for her. And then I start to picture my future self cheering me on right now, whispering to me that it is all going to turn out fine.
Seeing something new in a scripture story or verse I’ve read before; it feels like finding rubies and diamonds that were always mine for the taking.
When I remember to use a crockpot liner and then dinner clean up so much easier. (Or really any cleaning hack that makes life easier, like these little scrapers—use ‘em on everything!)
When yoga teachers give you a really good, uplifting little thought at the end of class, such as this poem a teacher once read:
Absolutely melting away into a happy pool of butter under a fresh Minky blanket.
Making a delicious and also good for you dinner for people I love.
Learning new little baking or cooking tricks from food blogs. Like did you know that by spooning flour into your measuring cup you will get a more accurate measurement? Or if you season your foods at different points in the cooking process rather than all at once, you get a richer flavor? Or how you should mix your buttercream with a rubber spatula after mixing with the KitchenAid so you get air bubbles out? I have infinite space in my brain for these tips!!
Slipping whole sheets of stickers to the kids at church.
How no matter what country song comes on 101.5 FM, Adam will know every. single. word. (Some favs: “Toes” by the Zac Brown Band, “Still A Guy” by Brad Paisley, and “Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean. I MELT.)
Brushing and braiding my sister Ellie’s long golden hair. Sitting down to braid a sister’s hair feels like poetry.
The results of the braids. See—poetry. The fact that the Eras tour movie was recorded one of the nights I was there so when I watch the movie I can obnoxiously be like, “She said that to ME!!!”
When watching the Eras tour movie with Adam, and he says things like, “‘Absentmindedly making me want you’ is actually a killer line.” Or, “My favorite part is when she swims.” Or when we see how long we can go in acting out “Tolerate It” to each other before one of us cracks up.
When a bad few days pass and I can think of things to add to this list again.
When Adam puts notes in my lunch like this one.
At a youth testimony meeting a 14-year-old boy said that there was a kid in school that nobody liked so he didn’t like him either. Then that kid moved into his ward, and our 14-year-old got to know him at church and decided he liked the kid after all and would be his friend. He ended that story “in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
Watching people who are really good at their jobs do their jobs. Example: being at an LDSLiving cover shoot and watching a photographer put the model (and me!) at ease right away and jump confidently into their creativity.
This quote about exercise: “I have learned that exercising and commanding your body into submission to your spirit by sheer willpower and discipline can also help you keep the other commandments. I have learned that while exercising, ‘the Spirit can [actually] drive the flesh [far] beyond where the body first agrees to go,’ and sweat and pain at that moment are indeed weakness leaving the body. And just as there are plenty of rationalizations or excuses not to keep the commandments of God, the same is true for not exercising.” ~Jörg Klebingat
And this one about walking: “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right." ~Søren Kierkegaard
And lastly, this quote about life: “Those things which we call extraordinary, remarkable or unusual may make history, but they do not make real life. After all, to do well those things which God ordained to be the common lot of all mankind, is the truest greatness” ~Joseph F. Smith
How much this song makes me want to dance.
Watching Secrets of the Zoo and learning new animal facts. Like did you know that lions can smell through an organ on the roof of their mouths? Or that black-breasted buzzards pick up stones with their beaks and chuck them at hard-shelled eggs they want to crack open and eat? (I see you, tool use!!) Or that a baby echidna is called a puggle? I have infinite space in my brain for these facts!!
The shows Epic Adventures and Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory. Why? Because as Adam puts it, “Bertie is just delightful.”
Our wedding sign-in book that Adam’s mom made into a beautiful scrapbook. I will always want to look at this again.
Short, cordial conversations with strangers. Even someone wishing me a good day when I exit the elevator at work adds a sparkle to my sky. That reminds me of this quote from Spencer W. Kimball I really loved a few years ago:
“We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve.”
And if you think talking to strangers (safely) is crazy, this episode from my (probably) favorite podcast might change your mind.
Having a set of something for every holiday. My collection of such sets is currently limited to kitchen hand-towels. But, boy, do I love those hand-towels! Switching out the fall fox prints for the Christmas prints is an exciting day coming up real soon! (I aspire to one day have wreathes, centerpieces, and throw pillows for every holiday.)
Bubbling warm homemade peach crisp with freshly whipped cream in a pretty glass dessert bowl on a Sunday night.
The show “Making Good” with Kirby Heyborne. Everything about it is so wholesome and makes me fall in love with the world. The episode that makes me cry the most is “Music Mends Minds.” (Find it on the BYU-Tv app)
That Prue Leith once called cool ranch Doritos, “subtle, layered, interesting, and quite pure.”
This poem.
This photo if from our wedding. We had x and o shaped donuts! I absolutely love that. This love poem (since we’re on the topic) by Atticus:
I built my home within her
it was never a choice really
one day
I just hung up my hat
took off my worn boots
and warmed myself
by the fire
crackling in her heart.
Ooo-ing and aww-ing in sync with 20 other women as a mother-to-be opens presents and holds up little pants, dresses, and onesies for us to fall in love with.
Women who wear large glasses with fabulous colors or prints.
Winning games of pickleball with Adam as my partner. We were playing with some new friends at the church building recently and after a hard-fought win, I casually pulled Adam into the hallway so I could let loose my excitement (That excitement included multiple chest bumps, lots of air punches, and some vigorous air guitar. )
When high-schoolers perform in their school production with all of the passion and sincerity of any professional, whether said high-schooler is the lede or doesn’t speak a single line.
This Ruth’s Chris sweet potato casserole copycat recipe.
For my dad’s birthday this year, we spelled out his age in binary with the candles. So many other loveable aspects to this picture: the Ziploc baggie full of random candles, the Ticket to Ride box that hardly ever gets put back in the closet, the way the color of Dad’s and I’s eyes looks the exactly same.
When someone sends me a picture of LDS Living magazine out in the wild! Say hello to this one in a Jiffy Lube. That cover image could make any car problems feel less annoying, right??
Seeing baby pictures of people you love but whom you didn’t know as a baby. For your viewing pleasure, Adam’s cheeks and my Winnie the Pooh moment.
Playing LINKEE with Adam. It’s a game where you try and guess four pieces of trivia and then figure out how they are connected. But the funniest part is how one of us lives in paper-scarcity mindset and the other fills up the whole slip hahaha:
Making adorable little on-theme desserts like these! (They were for my mom’s birthday on St. Patrick’s Day! Key-lime pie bites with rainbow sprinkles!)
A long, slow walk around Hobby Lobby.
Buying barely-still-pretty flowers on discount at the grocery store and carefully arranging them into a work of art at home.
Kissing a child’s owie to make it feel better.
Decorating for Christmas, specifically taking random trinkets you haven’t thought about all year out of the storage box and feeling totally enchanted by them.
The words “ameliorate”, “amiable”, and “admirable.”
A clean kitchen on a quiet night illuminated softly by the light over the stove.
Coming up with a list of 100 things I absolutely love.
YOU!
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