What little things disproportionately improve your quality of life?

[BoogleMcGroogle]

I know that the big things (secure housing, relationships and finances, good physical and mental health) make all the difference. But I just turned on the car radio and it got me thinking about the small, inexpensive things that make life so much better. Here are mine:

Radio 4
The Sunday Times
Having a lovely coffee shop next to the small office I rent
Cheese from the market
Having a village library
Good footpaths nearby
An open fire
Being able to go swimming each week ( roll on Wednesday!)
Baths
Gardener's World and Call My Agent (French comedy drama)
Being on a good bus route (I'm now down to only one school run, thank God)
Brogues and colourful tights

What are yours'?

@bigcatlittlecatcardboardbox

Olaplex Bean to cup coffee machines and really good quality beans Fresh pesto made in the pestle and mortar Ajinomoto, which is basically legal, slightly healthier, crack Dove soap, which smells like my husband A happy, content cat knocking my phone from my hand because she wants a cuddle Taking a coat from the cupboard and it smelling like a perfume you had forgotten about

What is Ajinomoto?

My new kittens.

Our wood burner.

Clipper instant hot chocolate. You can make it with boiling water and it’s a very decent substitute for hot choc that you make with milk. Means I don’t keep running out of milk.

Aldi mini mince pies.

My dogs

My wood burner

My car (I lost my licence for 6 months after 20 odd years of driving, it really made me appreciate the ability to drive and have a car)

So many things

Lovely healthy child
Husband
Dog
Car
Music
Art
Decent town that has everything I need nearby
Nice office at work
Chocolate
Sándwiches
Netflix
Comfy bed
Alexa echo thing
Slippers

Many things make me happy

Coming back home from a lovely walk with the house filled with cooking smells from slow cooker.
Sunday papers delivered reading them with a cuppa & toast
Smell of our real Christmas tree
Putting my hand in my pocket then feeling my pocket hug given to me by our eldest grandson.
Sitting listening to music with my DH no lights on just the Christmas tree ones and log burner
A cycle ride in the lanes outside our village
During lockdown walking the dog meeting neighbours having a SD chat
My kindle especially coming across a new author with a series of books
Simple small pleasures

Having a dog
Living in a nice area
Having 2 cars to choose from to drive
Magazine Subscription
Digital radio - listen to radio 2 on Saturdays and absolute 80's on Sundays
Having a stockpile of lovely candles

@kaleishorrid it's a brand name for MSG. You can get it in most Asian supermarkets - it has a lovely rich, umami flavour. Would even make kale taste lovely

We've just moved abroad and most of the little things that make a huge difference to my life are in a shipping container somewhere on the Atlantic, so this thread has made me miss them, hard!

• Our bean to cup machine which makes the perfect coffee.
• Luckily I live in a massive city and can walk 5 mins in any direction and find a coffee shop, which is a luxury I have never had before.
• Christmas scented candles
• A fully stocked spice and condiment cupboard
• Flicking through my favourite cookbooks
• home cooked food and baking cookies
• a soft, snuggly throw
• my kindle
• Netflix and Spotify
• BBC sounds app and the variety of podcasts and shows available on there. The 90's playlist with Fearne Cotton brightened my day significantly last week!

Our cats . Two rescues from CPL who look smugly into their garden and open their catdoor with their magic microchips .
They never acknowledge that they're lucky ( well they're cats aren't they? ) but we know that they know !

People, as in other human beings, I can be having the shift from hell and one encounter with another person can leave me with a glow for the rest of the day.

Clean sheets and good coffee!

Wax melts
A spare room that I've converted into a home office
A really comfy bed
Super comfy exercise trainers
An easy going lovely household
Our dog

Walks and then coffee afterwards ❤️

Playing the piano. I used to be really good, then I stopped playing for years - too busy with work and didn’t have a piano. I started playing again during lockdown and it’s awesome!

Living by the sea, but I guess that comes at a cost. I brush my teeth every morning looking at the lighthouse. That makes me ridiculously happy!

A decent Winter coat and welly boots is another delight.

What a lovely thread ,very uplifting .

Wireless noise cancelling headset and being able to shut out everything and get lost in music or a book.

Instant coffee. Honestly don’t get the snobbery. It’s great and fast and I can take a flask of hot water anywhere and have a consistently good cup.

Having a decorated bedroom.

YouTube workout videos so I never get bored.

Boiling water tap, no wait for the kettle.
Good coffee
Dog walking in the fields near us
Almond croissant

Insulated flask which I take on dog walks and sit on the beach in winter while he trits around. Lovely

Electric blanket

My boys playing guitar together and singing out of tune , they’re older teens, chalk and cheese, the way they get and find things in common (music) on makes me happy

My dog dreaming (and dream-running and dream-barking) never fails to make me smile

Long country walks with DH

My perfect mugs, of which I bought a dozen on sale

Fresh Sushi from Waitrose

Central heating

Hot water bottles

My weekly veg box delivery

MN bun fight

I am a saddo

Spotify premium and electric blanket.

Are you me Seriouslymole?
Singing in a choir
Greyhound asleep by my feet
Great walks nearby
Nice candles at the dinner table
Log burner
Audible
Kindle
Really good hearing aids that cost me a fortune
Same with my new glasses

[quote bigcatlittlecatcardboardbox]@kaleishorrid it's a brand name for MSG. You can get it in most Asian supermarkets - it has a lovely rich, umami flavour. Would even make kale taste lovely [/quote]
Thank you - I will seek this out!

ChampagneCat, who happened into our lives unexpectedly during lockdown.

My Gousto recipe box. It gives me 4 meals a week that I don't have to plan for, lets us try new foods and also allows me to cook (which I adore) easily and quickly. I know I could do it cheaper myself, but it feels a real treat not to have to.

@RaspberryCoulis

Masks.

I used to enjoy things like a mooch round a craft shop or museum. None of that has ANY pleasure any more because you have to wear a fucking mask.

I will be having a ritual burning when we're told we don't have to wear the bastarding things any more.

This. 1,000,00%