A few good things...

As my birthday is quickly approaching - and it's a big one - I thought I would share a few things that have made me very happy/smile.

I found this on my desk yesterday morning along with a very touching birthday card.

Gorgeous!

My Co-Worker Friend surprised me!  She snuck back into the office after we'd left Thursday to deposit these because she knew I would be taking the off on the actual day.  When I saw her come in, I went to her cubicle to thank her for her thoughtfulness, she then presented me with this...

In the event you can't see it - it says
"Friend"
And, of course, the picture is off-center - at least
I'm consistent.

Another Alex and Ani bracelet to add to my collection!  My oldest friend from Texas introduced these to me when we met up in Charleston last year, and I have fallen hard for them.  This one takes me up to four - I need an intervention.

My fabulous mother-in-law sent me birthday money as she always does along with another sweet card.  With that cash burning a hole in my wallet, I headed out to see what I could find.  I headed over to J. Crew Mercantile with the hopes of scoring another pair of those amazing jeans.  I found them BUT was disappointed to discover that they do not carry the shorter length jeans/pants in this store anymore.  I could have cried.  I was so excited to find that we had this store so close (25 minutes); rather than drive the hour to the outlets.  I'm not sure if the outlet store is still carrying the shorter lengths - so I guess that means I'll have to make the drive to find out.  I hope they do because although the clerk assured me I could still find them online, I much prefer to shop in the store to avoid returns.

While I was out and about, I popped into Talbots next door and found these magenta beauties on sale. . .

Aren't they fabulous?  And SO comfortable!
Thanks, Mom!!

As our office "culture" has gone from strictly business to casual business wear to casual, I have been on the hunt for cute, flat shoes.  It's rare these days to find me in heels.  It's also been a challenge when I'm out shopping as I am so used to looking for "work" clothes rather than casual clothes.  There's also the conundrum of all the "work" clothes that are currently hanging in my closet.  I actually have a draft post about all this; I should probably dust it off and post it one of these days.

The other thing that makes me smile is this mascara.

I think Kate at The Small Things Blog mentioned it once or twice as a favorite drug store beauty product, so I picked it up to try.  So far, I am loving it.  It lengthens and makes my lashes look thicker minus any clumps!  Now granted I've tried other mascaras that have done the same but I don't know why subsequent buys of the exact same product doesn't necessarily produce the same results.  I've got my fingers crossed that this product remains true from tube to tube.

And lastly, I am also loving this foundation.

Odd - my bottle looks a bit different.

Historically, I don't like liquid foundation as they are too heavy and messy.  I used to use foundation in compacts but I have found that by the end of the day, it had worn off.  Plus, I was having a hard time finding a color that wasn't too dark or didn't wash my face out.  I've discovered that this color (warm beige) is PERFECT for my skin tone and that if I apply this using a brush it isn't too heavy.  Bonus?  The coverage does last all day.

So there you go, a few good things that are making me happy/smile.  Do you have anything that is making you happy/smile to add to the list?

*As usual, all links are provided for your convenience and I have not/will not be compensated.