Happy Sunday! Welcome to another Small Collection, a series I started to help me focus on the things that bring me joy. 

I feel like I’ve been way more excited about September this year than usual. Unless I say that every year and forget? Regardless, even the blast of steamy weather here in NYC couldn’t throw me off the Back to “School” vibe. Maybe it’s all that hyper-organized Virgo energy. Happy birthday to my early September peeps!

I know that this wave of can-do energy won’t last forever, so I’m just trying to enjoy it for now as I ride it out. I’ve got some events coming up at work I’m really excited about along with some fun classes and networking things. Crests and lulls, such is life. Can you tell which phase I prefer? That’s why I like taking a few moments every week on this little blog to note the small good things. Here’s a few for this first week of September:

1.) Busy=Eggs for dinner several nights in one week. Whoops. I was definitely not suffering though. This egg-white omelet made with leftover sautéed squash was delicious. I added a small side salad and Ezekiel toast spread with roasted garlic and sliced baked eggplant. Inspired by Seriously Delish, I have decided to make roasted garlic a kitchen staple. 

2.) After getting caught in the rain, I gave Eli his bath early. Dude will stand in the shower, no problem, but it takes him a while to come around to the blow dryer. I had a bath time escapee on my hands. 

3.) I’m still loving Jenny Lewis’ The Voyager. It got me through some early-morning Starbucks working this week. While there, I had a chance to try the new-ish turkey bacon breakfast sandwich, since they were out of my beloved spinach & feta wrap.  I was actually somewhat impressed with the nutrition stats, though I always prefer to work in some veggies if I’m having savory breakfast. At 560 mg, even the sodium wasn’t horrendous. For convenience food, anyway.  230 calories is a little low for me for breakfast, but all the more reason to justify spending $8 on a green juice after yoga a few hours later 😉

4.) I’ve been working a lot more at the hospital lately, which includes weekends. While the balancing act can be a bit overwhelming at times since my schedule changes week to week, a deep breath goes a long way. It also helps that I really enjoy my job there. Feeling like you’re in the right place at the right time is something that matters a lot to me, and being able to appreciate it in the moment is awesome, even on days when it’s on the other side of the “How am I going to get all this s*** done” coin.

5.) Oh yeah, did I mention that ginger peach crumble recipe I’m posting tomorrow? 

Well, that’s all she wrote for now. Have a great day!

What’s brought you joy this week?