Whaat? It’s true. Today is Chanda’s birthday. She was born on Memorial Day in 1979 and I was 14. In fact, I was spending the day with my friend, Amy (who oddly enough now lives in Chanda’s neighborhood in Kansas) and her family, because my mother was in the hospital. When we got word that Chanda had been born, we started singing, “It’s a Memorial Baby” over and over again from the back section of Amy’s family’s station wagon.

I adore my littlest sister, but she was barely 4 years old when I left for college, so we’ve only lived together that long. Very recently she set up a sisters group on Marco Polo (a video chat app) with my other sister, Darci and the 3 of us have since been able to connect daily. We each carve out a few minutes and record a short video, sharing about our day and responding to topics brought up by each other. I have LOVED it.

When Darci and I chatted about Chanda’s upcoming birthday, we decided it would be FUN to each collect 20 things we love, box them up and send them to her. The plan is that Chanda will open her boxes on Marco Polo, so that we get to feel like we are there with her.

I’ve been SICK and it was all I could do to gather these items and get them in the mail. This means I failed to include any explanation in the box with my chosen items, so I set everything up, took this photo and decided I would create a list of 20 things I love (right now) for my blog. Why not? This way, Chanda can reference it and who know’s maybe somebody out there will want to use this idea in the future—it’s also a great way for me to document myself right now—so, here’s my list in no particular order.

1. The “Hello Summer” zip tote. I love summer and I love the dollar spot at Target.

2. The “Hello” mug. I love YELLOW. I also love drinking tea and hello, I love people who greet other people.

3. One of my new favorite treats are the Good Fats bars that you can learn about here and purchase here . They aren’t too sweet and are filled, as suggested by their name, good fats!

4. I love Post-it Notes, but I prefer the smaller square size and I buy them in multi-colored packs.

5. Germ killer in happy little bottles. This bottle is from Bath & Body Works.

6. I love buying little gifts (like the mini “Be Happy” succulent) from Natural Life

7. Last year I discovered Pacifica fragrances and I really like them.

8. I believe kitchen utensils should be colorful—hence the bright green silicone spatula that you can see sticking up from the tote.

9. I adore good-smelling candles, the fresh or citrus scents are my first choice!

10. My favorite nut mix from Target (cashews, almonds and dried cranberries)

11. Magnolia Journal magazine

12. A book filled with the wisdom of Mr. Rogers

13. Little letter stickers

14. Thank You notes

15. Cute gift tags

16. Colorful bag clips—ie, for bags of chips

17. Clorox packs for the washing machine—no more accidental splashing!

18. Teavana peach tea —add a bit of cream or coconut cream and it’s a bit of heaven at the end of the day!

19. Socks—a new favorite of mine are Legale ‘pillow socks’

20. Decorative napkins, which I love to purchase at Hobby Lobby because they are 40% off for the upcoming season—ie. 4th of July in May!

    ❤️ You can’t see some of these items, but they’re all there, and to my adorable sister, I LOVE you tons and say with all the enthusiasm I can muster—welcome to one of the most exciting and eventual decades of your life.