I want to post a list of things that make me happy once a month and I hope you join me in the comments with your happiness inducing little things.
Frivolity is the key to eternal youth.
– Ines de la Fressange
1. Lake Como:
Everything about this little town in northern Italy makes me smile. It is such a pretty place on earth, friendly, welcoming, the food is to die for and the lake… ah, the lake. I enjoy a lake much more than the sea – no waves, no salt water, no sand, but clean water and grassy shores. Como is my mental escape. Remember this: George is never wrong.
2. Chanel Camellias:
Chanel’s flower is the camellia and I love how they use this iconic image again and again. They put it on their shopping bags (don’t worry, husband, all I got was a catalogue, and Chanel is classy enough to put that in a big, black bag complete with white camellia) and I’m looking at one right now, as it is on my desk to cheer me on whenever I lose my motivation or train of thought while writing. It makes me happy.
3. An unexpected good smell out of nowhere:
Don’t you love it when you walk along the street and all of a sudden a wonderful smell is in the air? Passing a bakery, a woman with a great perfume, newly blooming flowers in a garden… I love it when I smell something wonderful when I least expect it. It happens not often, but when it does it is pure happiness right then and there.
4. The feel and look of high quality leather:
It makes me incredibly happy when I see a well made handbag for example. Craftsmanship, quality, luxury, these attributes make me happy. Nothing compares to the feeling of touching something that is flawlessly made, expensive and unique – and vintage. Yes, regular readers will astutely deduce that Hermès might be what I’m talking about here. A girl is allowed to dream…
What makes you happy?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Raindrops on roses, jigsaws of fluffy white kittens; hang on!
Dancing till Dawn. It has been a while though.
Writing til midnight and the luxury and delight of a zephyr in the sky at night.
A summer breeze make me feel fine, blowing through the scentmills of my mind.
Well, Julie Andrews, that does not sound bad at all…
Happiness is such a state of mind for me! I see more clearly and am able to see beauty around me. The four seasons but I am loving spring and all the buds coming out. Kittens, silk scarves around my neck, an excellent cup of tea all make my day. Traveling the world is vital for my sanity as well as reading. So many things makes me happy.
Isn’t it wonderful that you can say that? (That so many things make you happy.) A sure sign of a good life. xo
Standing on my deck at 4am with a cup of tea, gazing at the stars and moon…sharing in a yoga class with my teenage daughters… watching my son when he doesn’t know that I am watching him… the season of spring (although it can’t get her soon enough -still cold in the Northeast of USA!)…hugs from hubby….Oh I could go on and on!
and, btw, I love this idea of a monthly post! and that picture of the cat did indeed put a smile on my face this morning!
Enjoy the day!
I love that you say you could go on and on. 🙂
My happy place : a little village in Provence (France) called Faucon – and there is a tiny bakery just below the castle. A dream…
Cats always make me smile, I’ve never been without a cat in my life (although recently I’ve got problems with my own 19 years old one, I’m afraid she is slowly saying good bye to me 😦 )
Well, really good food (a mean FOOD) is a smiley thing for me – i.e. there is a restaurant in London : when eating there I can’t stop smiling… (can you hear me, Tom ?!)
I agree with you about artisanal produce : but for me it’s not only leather, but all kind of perfect quality handmade products (glas, paper, textile, wood, etc.) – they provoke a smile of admiration & appreciation (and that of envy – I’d love to be that good with my hands).
And I’d put on my ear to ear smile, when you & me could finally find a time to meet again !
Why don’t we just break out of our daily prisons and go to Faucon together for a short vacation? That would cover many of both our happiness triggers. 🙂
O.K. ! Name a date !
Um, is tonight too soon? 😉
It’s perfect – see you on the airport (take the flight to Nice) !
Okay, can’t wait, see you then! 😉
I LOVE that picture of the pussycat, pure bliss. For me, happiness is the warm ray of sunshine on a cold and blustery day.
Yes, I’ll take that too. 🙂
Happiness is all the bills paid on time and a full bottle of milk in the fridge. The thrill of a parcel of perfume arriving or the feeling of bliss after cleaning the house. Eating exactly enough, my buddies and Jin. All these and many, many more.
Portia x
I love that image of a full bottle of milk in your fridge…
Holly Golightly explained her love of Tiffany’s by saying that nothing bad could happen to you there. Well I feel the same about the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and I have tickets this evening, so as I stand on the balcony with a glass of champagne I will be in one of my happiest places!
Oh plus the Monmouth coffee I am currently drinking is making me exceedingly happy too. What a happy post!
Have a great time tonight, Alex.
Nothing bad can happen at the opera. 🙂
Oh, yummie!!! Which shop do you go to – Bermondsey, C.Garden or the Borough ? They have some lovely pastries as well…
I work dangerously close to Monmouth Street, so I try not to call a flat white and a palmier breakfast too often…
🙂 (I don’t know if it’s the perfect job – but it’s definitely a perfect location…)
Poodles and parrots on on the list for me. Lazy days spent reading a good book. Afternoon naps. Mom’s home made bread. Puppies. And the most recent thing that has just tickled me pink was hearing words I never thought I’d hear my hubby say….”Let’s watch some Downton Abbey.” I got him to like a show that’s not on a sports channel!
Bravo to your husband! It’s so nice to enjoy a show together.
Horray for Downton Abbey! Hubby and I watched the first two seasons together on Netflix (season 3 hasn’t made it to streaming yet). Finally a show we can both enjoy!
Brie, check out your local library. I just got Season #3 from mine and had a blast watching the whole season.
Oh! thanks Rosiegreen!!!!
Sunshine makes me happy, every time! Too many grey days here in England, when the sun shines, I have a new spring in my step. Proper coffee, the scent of the roses, honeysuckle and lavender in my garden in summer, and Friday mornings (all that glorious anticipation of the start of the weekend). The smell of the little coastal town where I live, it’s sea salted air, fish and chips and candyfloss, I love it! My new man, he makes me happy. A glass of cold, white wine and reading a book whilst curled up in my big, comfy reading chair! I could go on forever here I think 🙂
Oh and Italy, I adore Italy.
love Jane x
So many beautiful things! Thanks for sharing, Janeykate!
My kids coming home for the Easter break. My first batch of homemade pesto. A trip to the Big Bad City next week. Having 18 litres of vanilla extract safely in my cupboard. I don’t like milk.
xxxxxxxx
That should be enough vanilla for a few cookies. 😉
Have fun in Vienna this coming week, I don’t think I will be able to make it. 😦
Yep! I get jittery when the vanilla gets too low!! We can meet up another time. Have a great Easter. xxx
You too!
One of the Proverbs says that a word at the right time is oh, how good. Laughter makes me happy: a silly phone call from my daughter, my husband with his fine sense of the ridiculous, and making others laugh, too. Finding a bargain makes me happy – the thrill of the hunt! Cooking and having the knack of putting a delicious meal together from odds and ends in the pantry. Music and movies and books, taking a drive through the country to see the earth coming back to life, new born farm animals: opportunities for happiness are endless. Thank you for this post!
So true, the opportunities for happiness are endless, we just need to see them when they come.
*you are so elegant so well versed and i love to read your every word.you are beautiful and because of your kind and lovely review of champagne de bois no sample did i need as you described lauries perfme in a way that i knew this was a fragrance that i was going to love.ordered full bottle and arrived in less than 48 hours and the packaging was so classy and the fragrance just as lovely as your words on the paper.laurie hit this one out of the park when she inquired if i may wish to sample the perfume before my purchase of the large bottle! your reviews and lauries concern along with sonoma scent studios informative website there was no question about the champagne de bois…i could smell it in my thoughts.now this perfume is a medicine i need!!!briget thank you for your most gracious european honesty.you connected me to laurie erickson and her artisan perfumes.i adore you and laurie as i see you both as women of beauty and kindness that is not often seen in these times.i now have an interest in the scent world.i feel really happy and it has been a very long time since i have felt this way.it is an enchantment that came out of nowhere for me.thank you.sara(carrie lauters)*
Hi Carrie,
thank you so much for your kind words. I’m very glad you had such a good experience with SSS (although I’m not surprised, Laurie is great!!!) and enjoy Champagne de Bois.
Thank you for reading my blog, I really appreciate it.
I hope to hear more from you!
I love hearing genuine belly laughs from my kids. I love hearing owls while falling asleep. I love sleeping in a tent with my family in the woods, listening to the wind in the trees. I love the smell of the Christmas tree after we bring it home and allow it to warm up and unfold. I love the smell of my husband’s pillow. I love how my body feels after a yoga class – strong, loose, and peaceful. I love the serenity of having a clean house, laundry clean, folded, and put away, a kitchen full of groceries, and something cooking in the oven – all at the same time. It reminds me to be thankful.
A laughing child – nothing better. 🙂
I love what you say about yoga, it’s really more than time for me to get it together, I’d like that feeling you describe.
Seeing my children happy makes me think I did ok with them and makes me happy, getting a cuddle from my son (my daughter gives them away freely, my son is 14 and thinks it is uncool to cuddle his mum)
Getting a perfume delivery.
Having a clean house then being able to sit down with a cup of tea and a book afterwards brings me happiness and a sense of achievement even if it is short lived with 2 messy children in the house.
A cold glass of wine whilst sat on the balcony in the sunshine would make me deliriously happy as the sunshine seems to be a rare thing over here atm 🙂
It must be great to see your children and feel good about what you did. I have two very headstrong little people in the house at the moment, so more often than not I ask myself whether I did anything right. But that will get better again (or so I hope!!!)…
Believe me, B, as they get older it gets better and better!
Yes, indeed it does. Just spent a lovely day with the older of my two adult daughters. Just a delight! 🙂
That is very good to hear, thank you Ladies!
Great list. I would add the glug glug of white wine hitting the glass (and the delicious first sip – oops, a couple of people beat me to it!), spring flowers poking up in unexpected places, a really lean bacon bap, a hot soak in a bath (‘a girl can dream’!), the bright dazzling sunlight in the Cyclades, the sense of wellbeing from burying my face in my cat’s fur (when I had one), the fabulously eclectic mix of people on any street in Kreuzberg, Zanderfilet at an open air table in the restaurant of a medieval hotel in a sleepy German village in the summer, the jade green mill pond of Lake Louise ringed by snowy mountains, a passionate kiss recollected at leisure for years to come, the first handful of Kettle Chips…..oh so many things, but I really should get back to work, sadly. : – (
Ah, such beautiful things, so many would make me happy too.
Going to the Japaner in St.Pölten of all places with you would make me happy too! 🙂
Make that two of us!
Oh, I just meant “I agree”, not that the husband, the boys and an enormous vat of prawn crackers weren’t welcome!
Lol, I’m good with just you and the prawn crackers. 😉
you do! and the boys and steak!
In the interest of honesty we should disclose that the steak comes first! 😉
And PULLED PORK!
And bacon! 🙂
The Bolide in Barenia is truly a feast for the eyes.
It is! I wish it was mine, sigh… 🙂
A Girl should have a reason to dream 😉
I couln’t agree more! 🙂
Ooh, lots of things.
getting work done efficiently and well
sunshine
homemade guacamole with lots of lime juice and garlic
toddlers having fits of the giggles
finding a new favourite book, poem, author – or perfume!
time with friends
fresh flowers
Oh, the guacamole – yes, please!!!
I totally agree about the sound of owls calling at night. I worry about our neighborhood owls when too many weeks go by of not hearing their distinctive call. It is reassuring to hear the “Who, who, who, whooooo, who” echoing in the woods. Maybe they are my protectors in the night.
Lovely!
Leisurely restaurant dinners with my husband, unexpected text messages from my daughters, watering the orchids in my kitchen window, looking through old photographs, and the smell of my horse’s neck.
Love your happy things, Farouche.
I really miss leisurely dinners…
Kitties! Let’s see more kitties, and bunnies.
It’s bunny season! 😉
Sunny days and moonlit nights where every star in the sky seems to be out
The smell and taste of a finely crafted beer or ale, poured into a nice glass and served with sushi
Roast lamb with a crust of salt and rosemary, hot from the oven
The bouquet of daffodils my husband surprised me with two days ago
Beautifully dressed men
Love letters and notes from friends
European rooftops … and a million other things.
Wonderful things, Suz!
I can’t stop thinking about that roast lamb…
A great conversation with a few close friends, one that covers topics both silly and profound and is punctuated with plenty of belly laughs and witty remarks
The 4Cs (Chocolate! Caramel! Coffee! Chips! – okay, it’s unhealthy but it makes me happy anyways)
A library with floor-to-ceiling shelves and filled with books
A DVD library stocked with movies of my choice
A simple quiet garden – nothing grand or fancy, but as long as it provides shade and a place to read or chat, I’m happy …
Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rodrigo Santoro, Takeshi Kaneshiro ;D
I’m with you on al of these things! 🙂
PS
I luuuuuve that cat’s expression – priceless! ^_^
So cute! That is exactly how my cat looked when she smelled something.
Delights so far today-
Watching the birds – my darling chicken girls and some wild birdies at the feeder.
Flipping my omelet perfectly!
The way my car smelled after picking up a bale of cedar chips for the aforementioned chickens.
Comparing SOTD’s with my colleague and fellow perfumista. (Sienna Musk for me, Portrait of a Lady for her)
Reading what delights all of you!
That is a very good day so far, Amy Bella!
The sound of my dogs snoring, the thoughtful presentation of the perfume decants that just arrived from Parfum1, all the spring blooms, connecting with friends (virtual and real-space), remembering that just last week I was running on the beach and dancing the night aways with my sister who lives far away…
Great that you had a vacation recently.
Getting beautifully done decants makes the experience so much better, good to hear Perfume1 does them well.
As I read your post, there is a needy little cat snuggling on my lap and a much larger one on the back of the sofa purring loudly in my ear. When I finish my delicious coffee I am going go to the gym and then head out to the garden and do some puttering. This evening I will have wrestled my new mattress onto the bed and the husband and I will be able to sleep without a war of elbows. Those are my happy things today. Oh, and my migraine seems to have finally gone so i can wear perfume! Oddly enough, Cameo is just right this morning. I see a SSS pattern ;).
I envy you having cats on and around you, I miss that! 🙂
You seem to be having a great day.
I’m happy on rainy or snowy days that I don’t have to go anywhere. My favorite thing is to break out Wuthering Heights on a stormy day. I’m happy kneading bread (I find it very therapeutic). I love any and all animals but I especially love it when I come across an alpaca farm. Alpacas are just so cute and goofy looking! I’m happy that my diabetic cat gets so excited about his twice-a-day shots b/c I’ve tricked him into thinking it’s his brush time. I’m happy with my b/day ritual of going to my favorite town Charleston SC, getting a slice of The Peninsula Grill’s Coconut Cake and eating peel-n-eat shrimp and hushpuppies on the ocean. I’m happy in summer clothes. Road trips make me happy. Restaurants that have sweet potato fries! I could go on but those are a few. 🙂
I love staying home on a rainy or snowy day too!
You did an amazing job for your cat connecting the inevitable insulin injection with a pleasurable brushing, you are an excellent cat mom!
Oh, and how could I forget the best! Opening the dryer door and there are NO clothes in it to be folded!
That must be great! It never happens here… 😉
I second what Carrie (above) said about this beautiful world of perfume and your blog: “an enchantment that came out of nowhere…” I feel the same. Your elegance, Birgit, has been life changing for me. Perhaps you think that I’m using hyperbole, but it is totally true. I’m finding a new womanhood through your blog and the path of grace that it is leading me down. Thank you.
Happiness: Seeing my 10-year old boy engrossed in a long book; seeing my 8-year old boy relaxing in the bathtub after having asked for Rose Otto essential oil and epsom salts. Seeing my two boys playing nicely together (which is, unfortunately, somewhat rare). And for me personally, gardening. Being in the garden is my heaven. And being in the kitchen with enough time, high-quality ingredients and a new recipe (I know that you despise cooking, Birgit, but I LOVE it).
The other day, I finally received my 1000 Flowers samples from Grasse (all the way from France!!!). My very first perfume that isn’t mainstream or just plain essential oil: Reglisse Noire. It’s wonderful!
Have a wonderful weekend…
Dear Penelope,
I’m deeply touched and honored by your comment, thank you so much.
As for your happy things: when my boys play nicely, I enjoy it immensely as well, as it happens so rarely, boys seem to need constant friction (like young wolves 🙂 ).
I think the reason why I hate cooking is that I very seldom can do it leisurely, it’s the pressure and the duty of it that puts me off, so I can totally see why you love it, when you can cook undisturbed.
Thanks for sharing your happy list!
Sorry but I have to put in my “two scents”- Reglisse Noire- which I really thought I would not like- is now in my top ten list of all time favorite perfumes of all time! Glad that you made the discovery too!
Réglisse noire tis the SOTD 🙂 Thank you, Brie!
I love your list! Some things that make me happy are:
The smell of freshly mowed grass
Lying in bed and listen to the rain tapping against the window
Puppies!
Paris
Laugh until I cry
Those Chanel camellias are so lovely. Last year I went to Chanel in Paris and bought a bottle of Bois des Iles. The lovely sales lady sprayed a camellia with this perfume and fixed it to the shopping bag. Such a thoughtful gesture.
That is a great idea, Claudia! I will spray my Camellia with Bois des Iles too! Why didn’t think of that!?
Thanks for sharing your happy things!
Oh Olfactoria
High quality leather goods! You have me there.
Ever since I was a child I’ve always been entranced by the smell of good leather. It’s always been one of my very favourite notes in perfume and I’ve often wondered why…
Then recently, I discovered that my family had owned a tannery for at least a couple of centuries!
What’s more it survives in it’s entirety at a museum.
It taught me both that there is a reason for everything and that historical research (this was random not genealogy) is another of my most favourite things.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
How interesting and how wonderful that the tannery is preserved in a museum too. Leather is in your genes… 🙂
It certainly is.
Now I just need an explanation for galbanum and oakmoss!
🙂
I’m sure there was a forest somewhere in your past…
Ahhh of course.
The Dandy did grow up on the wooded fringes of a National Park… how wise you are!
Not forget to mention: helping someone and not expecting sth in return, or making someone happy
Very important things indeed!
And PULLED PORK!
Hahahaha! 😀
My happy things are…. clean cotton sheets, daffodils in the rain, that first sip of coffee in the morning, finding a perfect novel for my non-fiction reading husband, pulling weeds in the garden, hummingbirds buzzing past my head. Snuggling my dog. Fresh homemade cookies. Too many others to list. Thanks Birgit for the chance to think happy grateful thoughts.
Thanks for sharing them, Rosie!
Making me most happy right now is a good book and a cup of tea on a cool, rainy night. And knowing that my Spring Break from school started this afternoon. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
Happy springbreak, Jim!
Books and tea = perfection. 🙂
Thanks, Birgit 🙂 I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this break.
In a nutshell: cats, horses and their smell, old books, Sicily.
Have a weekend full of wonderful thing, Birgit.
xoxo
Caro
I’m down with food poisioning (it’s so bad), but thank you, Caro! I hope your weekend is a happy one!
Oh no! How are your feeling? Are you okay now?
That bag makes me drool! I too enjoy a beautiful, unexpected scent! Other things that truly make me smile, my dear husband, especially his sense of humor and his deep caring for others in this world. My daughter who is growing into a smart, independent young woman and any of her humorous texts from college. Our mare who’s the best horse on the planet (and she smells good, too). My aloof black cat who follows me all over the house but won’t sit on my lap unless I have a migraine or feel ill, then she snuggles up close and purrs. Sunshine after days of rain or overcast. My front yard filled with California poppies. This blog makes me smile, too. I love reading your entries and seeing the world through your eyes and words. Like others here, too many things to list. But this was a good start.
It was definitely a good start!
I love that you say your husband and his personality make you happy. It is so lovely to hear about a happy marriage!
P.S.: that leather is extremely gorgoeous, isn’t it? 🙂
My little cat yawning is hilarity personified (and how upset he’d be to know he doesn’t look dignified at all!). Also little gifts from the Universe – a cup of coffee from a friend, an unexpected perfume sample in the mail, finding something for less than I expected. Sometimes life is good….
It made me happy just reading about your cat, so cute!!!! 🙂
Have a very happy weekend!
Music makes me happy (Vivaldi’s Spring right now on the radio) and the sun is shining today! And that I have a week off work, I’m going to visit my parents in Gotland and my brother and his fiance are coming as well for a bit of Easter celebration.
Vivaldi’s Spring is the only spring happening at the moment. 🙂
Enjoy the Easter week in Gotland, Eva!
I share many of the loves mentioned already, especially animals. But mostly I felt happy reading everyone elses posts…teary even!! Thank you all.
The community of readers here is fabulous, I feel truly blessed, this blog and its readers is such a source of happiness for me!
Rainbow after a beautiful summer rain, the smell of earth after a monsoon in my native Kerala (India), my boys silly and goofy laughter, the smell of fresh ripe mangoes, memories of visiting Salzburg (I am a huge sound of music fan), reading everyone comments above all make me very very happy! Also realizing that it’s a true blessing to be part of humanity makes me tremendously happy too!!!!!!!!
Kerala – such a beautiful and fascinating land, unfortunately I have not been there yet, but I know I have to go eventually, it must be wonderful.
In no particular order:
Watching my dog run
Spring
Being snowed in
My husband
Smiling
Champagne cocktails
Early mornings
The sunsets from our house in Sweden
Walking
Saffron buns
Poetry
Bombay Bling
Christmas
Friends
Saffron buns – lovely! You have so many lovely things there, Asa, but the saffron buns have stuck with me. 😉
I’m not a cat person, but that cat is the happiest thing that I have seen in a long time! I just want to snuuuurgle it! And I’m allergic!
There are so many things that make me happy. Among which are
My family
Good food
Good wine
Good cocktails
Good friends (hmmm, friends seemed to have gotten outranked by food and booze)
Strong coffee
Puppies
Perfume
Expensive leather goods
Crazy New York
Pedicures
Packages in the mail
I share so many things on your list (apart from the booze that is, give me a single drink and I’m nearly comatose 😉 )
The face of the cat is priceless.
Love that cat picture, you can see it leaning into that feeling of pure bliss!
How well you put that, Tara! Pure bliss indeed!