the friday happy list

Right after we got back from New Orleans, Jon turned around and went to Thailand for 10 days for work. I thought those would be a pretty lazy 10 days for me, but I was so busy! I'm not complaining, though. It was so kind of our friends to feed me and keep me company while my hubby was away. Jon got home last Wednesday, and then we left on Friday to spend Memorial Day weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, to celebrate his parent's 40th anniversary. We had a great time with all of our travels in May, but we are so ready for a quiet weekend at home - just the two of us and our ever-growing list of chores. But without further adieu, things that made me happy this week:

Orpah's Starbucks Chai. I'm somewhat ashamed to
admit this, and even more ashamed every time I have to order it, but I can't lie - it's delicious. There. I said it. It's not as sweet as the original Starbucks chai, and it has more cinnamon. Yum. It's also perfect timing because since I'm not a huge fan of Starbucks warm chai tea lattes, I've been waiting for iced chai season.

Wallpaper. Wallpaper is back, and I'm fully on board with this trend. It's not your grandmother's wallpaper. I've seen so many beautiful patterns, and I'm itching to put some in our house. I've been waiting forever for Rifle Paper Company's collection to come out. It finally dropped this week, and I already have three samples on the way. I'm eyeing this b&w one for our little powder room, but chances are I won't stop there. :)

National Spelling Bee. Last night, I satisfied my inner nerd by watching the spelling bee. I'm not ashamed to say I found the entire thing to be riveting. Especially when it was down to the final 2 contestants and the list of 25 championship words. They ended up being co-champions, which was a huge relief because I was so emotionally invested at that point that I don't think I could have handled watching either of them lose. There was also this gem of a moment by one contestant who will probably regret that anything from his early teen years was videotaped for posterity. Just watch the clip: