Neha Leela

So is opting for the white rice sushi instead of depriving yourself and going for the brown.  Enjoying an ounce of dark chocolate. Or leaving your mouth in the shape its in after saying “cheez whiz”.    

These being only a few of the gems from the New York Magazine’s feature with nuggets of enlightenment from the experts on the pursuit of happiness and the simple ways to attain it.  

Some of these are effective, others more entertaining, a few are a tad excessive. But each have worked for at least one person.

image credit: hartini

Taking a cue from Maria, sometimes you have to take time to remember your favorite things.

I’ve been staying in Acton for a few days, and there’s a smell when you step outside to pick up the paper minutes after 6am.  Its simple, clean and crisp.  Ive been taking deep breaths every morning, hoping if I breathe in enough I can come close to bottling it and bringing it back home with me.  Though most of my favorite things are equally abstract, there are things that are concrete that I find comfort in.  Here is my more tangible list for today.

My cup of tea is Tropical Green from Harney & Sons.

While poring over old books that carry the smell so distinct to the bookshops they’ve been sitting in for years.

Wrapped in the woven weight of a knit blanket; mine is this thick sweater-esque throw from Pottery Barn.

The height of relaxation to be found in getting lost in a large men’s Brook’s Brothers sweater, found in the back of my father’s closet.

Daydreaming of where next to go, with inspiration from The Travel Book, I reccomend to everyone.

When I began filling my home with furniture and frills, I did so in hopes of it energizing me everytime I entered and reflecting exactly who I am to anyone who accompanied me.  The motivation behind this I chalked up to mere excitement and entitlement.

Today, I found a home design book that didn’t come laden with images for inspiration; instead it examines the psyche behind the choices we make for each nook in our home and how the entry way through the bedroom affects us – our behaviors, moods and interactions.

For a change, it was not the cover that lured me in, but that Winifred Gallagher applies thinking from sociology, psychology and cultural criticsm to support her dissection of the environments we create for ourselves.  Described as a “psychological tour of the American Home”,  I’m eager to begin reading, with hopes of understanding not just why I create the surroundings I do, but how I can change them for the better – perhaps, sounder sleep or less snacking? Novel concept (pun intended).