Happiness Is...

It's dark, gray, dreary, and we're trapped in the house due to snow. Again. The cool party I was supposed to go to tonight is postponed till the end of the month due to....MORE snow. I went tanning for nothing. Well, not for nothing....I prefer to be tan. But I could've put that on hold for another week or so. Side-eye me, judge, whatever. Don't care. I'm a child of the 80's and spent most of it in the Tanique waiting room with my tan parents.

BUT, this entry isn't about complaining! Or tanning. It's about fun stuff. Because I don't want to think about snow, a $0 day in the store, my poor husband having to shovel and my son having to bounce off the walls of our home for another day.

I want to talk about stuff I'm loving lately. Stuff that has been putting a smile on my face. So here goes:

-Birthday Cake Pops from Starbucks: I don't drink coffee really. But lately I've been feeling really tired at work. Probably the weather- I don't know. If I am going to drink coffee, I'll get a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. I saw these cake pops and asked for one on a whim. I shouldn't have because it's delicious. And now I think about them when I'm not eating them. I've had some really good cake pops and some really bad ones and these are awesome.

http://www.starbucks.com/menu/food/petites/birthday-cake-pop

-I don't know what's going on over at Weight Watchers but they've been rolling out some awesome stuff. I tried some Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Brownie Bliss bars and they rock. Same with the red velvet mini cakes. I used to think their desserts were less than tasty but they must have really worked on their recipes. Granted, I could eat a whole box of either of the above, which is totally not the point of them, but whatever, They're YUM.

http://www.weightwatchers.com/shop/categoryshowcase.aspx?pageid=1056611&navid=moreww

-Kids straw cups have always been the bane of my existence. They all leak. I've tried pretty much every, single one. I have a few that have been ok, doing their job, but E is getting older and the ones I have look kind of babyish. Regular sport bottles are annoying to open and close and if he doesn't close all the way, there's water all over the back of my car. My friend Ann brought her daughter's CamelBak Eddy for kids over the other day and it looks way cooler than your typical kid's straw cup (like Munchkin or Nuby). I ordered one immediately. I got it yesterday and it seems like it is leak-proof. At least for now till he bites through he straw, which he has been known to do.

http://www.amazon.com/CamelBak-EDDY-Kids-Water-Bottle/dp/B00G46CJ08

-I had a Fitbit Zip. I lost it in the Bergen Mall or Paramus Park in December. Not sure which. I love my Fitbit because it keeps me motivated. I'll walk a little extra just to get more steps in. I'll park further away from the mall door to get my step count up. I was SO upset when I lost it. I ordered the Fitbit One as a replacement. I wanted to try the sleep monitor component. I really love this thing. Some people call it a glorified pedometer, but if it gets me moving, I don't care. I like that it counts stairs (the Zip did not differentiate stairs from regular steps) and I can see how many floors I climbed. It just makes exercise a bit more interesting. Because I'm in a daily competition with myself to get more steps in. But you can also link to your friends to compete with them. Another bonus is you connect it to the computer to recharge it. No battery to keep buying, like with the Zip.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Fitbit%20one

-I never got on the leggings train. B hates them when women wear them as pants and I generally don't think they do anyone's body any favors. BUT, I went to the VS Semi-Annual Sale as I do every January and June. I saw these VS PINK leggings and bought a pair on a whim. I wish I bought 10 more. They're the softest, stretchiest, amazing leggings. I have their Ponte leggings too and I like them, but they're thicker and not quite the same. These PINK leggings are like being naked but not. I can't stress my love for them enough. They don't pill either which the Ponte pants totally do. And they're pretty inexpensive.

http://www.victoriassecret.com/pink/essential-tops-bras-leggings/legging-pink?ProductID=74920&CatalogueType=OLS

-I've had the same white winter coat since around 2005. Maybe even prior. I'm the messiest person ever but I like white coats because I walk at night. Well, Megan and I used to walk a lot more but I'm optimistic that we will return to this eventually. Life's been busy. Anyway, I've totally almost hit people with my car who wear dark clothing at night. My coat was a Larry Levine part down coat. I love the style of it but it got really stained, I bleached the heck out of it and it's still stained. And it just wasn't warm enough. I started researching down coats and most were way too expensive for me. But I was able to find a 600 fill down coat- North Face Greta. I got it, in while, on DEEP sale from Backcountry online and I LOVE IT. My old coat wasn't long enough. It would ride up when I got in the car and my back would hit the cold seat. It was annoying. This is the perfect length. Not too long and not too short. Lots of pockets and even a goggle wipe attached in a pocket on the sleeve for skiing.

http://www.backcountry.com/the-north-face-greta-down-jacket-womens?ti=U2VhcmNoIFJlc3VsdHM6Tm9ydGggRmFjZSBncmV0YToxOjE6Tm9ydGggRmFjZSBncmV0YQ

If you buy it online through any online store Ebates is attached to, you can even get a percentage of the money back! Make sure you go through Ebates first and make a tracking ticket before your purchase or it won't count and you won't get the money.

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=M7ztafdzmV9Ni0Td2axGyQ%3D%3D

-I don't drink alcohol really. And I definitely don't drink wine. But I thought these were worth a mention because everyone else I know seems to drink wine. They seem really convenient. Like juice boxes for adults.

http://www.liquorama.net/stack-wines/

Stack Wines offers quality wine without the hassle of a bottle, corkscrew, or stemware. STACK is a bottle of wine separated into four stemless wine glasses. Each glass contains 187ml of wine and a 4-pack has the same volume, 750 ml, as a traditional bottle of wine. Available in Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Charisma (red blend).

STACK is the perfect wine solution for a picnic, barbeque, tailgating party, concert, festival or simply for a glass at home without opening an entire bottle.

So that's my list for now. Off the top of my head. I just wanted to throw out some fun stuff to try or think about while we're all trapped in our house with tons of snow outside! Stay safe and warm!