Coffee is a necessary element to every day of my week, but I try to make a point to unwind for at least a few minutes where I disconnect and leave my phone and my laptop in another room.  So whether that is making some coffee at home and reading the paper or taking the dog for a walk to get a smoothie, it helps me calm down and recharge. I feel like we grew up in an era where we are all raised and encouraged to constantly multi-task and as much as I love to get a lot done at once, I don’t think it helps our stress levels at all to always be thinking about 47 things at once.

But more than good coffee and more than taking a few minutes to recharge and get a little fresh air, the most important “little happy” that I make sure I do every single day is laugh. A lot. I have this terribly loud, like embarrassingly loud, laugh.  But laughing for a few minutes (or longer) every day has changed everything for me. I could be in the worst mood of all, and one phone call to a funny friend or 3 minutes watching YouTube videos of animals with human voices (I can’t be the only one who loves that stuff), and my whole demeanor changes immediately.  I know it sounds silly and so obvious that laughing will put you in a better mood, but if you really think about it, do you laugh every single day? Try it. In fact, watch this.  And what better way to start the day than with a funny little coffee mug?! – This would make the world’s best gift for somebody you know I guarantee it.

Other little things help too of course, fresh flowers in a really cool new vase (‘cuz it’s the bomb!) to help brighten up the house.  One thing that my sweet friend and blogger babe Jackie of MrsJaclynLeblanc.com recommended was that I start taking Vitamin D tablets every day.  I literally just bought these vitamins yesterday, so I cannot attest to how well they work, but I’ve seen so many people online talking about how they take Vitamin D to help combat seasonal depression. Has anybody tried this before?

Happy Tuesday loves!  Head over to the Elm & Iron Instagram page to see which item from this post they are giving away today!!!

XOXO – Em

all furniture and items in this post are from Elm & Iron

photos by Emma Parker Photography