A Few Things that Made Me Smile this Week...

This work-week was a very slow one for me. I was pretty excited and very ready to leave work on Friday.

In the midst of all of the hustle and bustle, I found some pretty cool things this week that made me a happy gal:

1. Communities coming together

My Aunt Robin was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma, which of course is incredibly saddening, but she has been amazingly positive and optimistic even on the days when she feels completely drained and has every reason to be mad at the world.

Family and friends came together to plan a dinner & auction event, which was held last night to raise money for Aunt Robin's medical and traveling expenses. The turnout was amazing! I was very impressed by the high bids on all of the silent auction items, especially $115 for Mom's Cinnamon Rolls! Then again, they are pretty much the best baked good ever made. I know that a lot of money was raised, and it was a true testament for how much people will offer support when someone is going through a tough time.

Next weekend, there is another benefit in the area for Angie Salado who is the sister of my dear friend Andrea. Angie was diagnosed with an inoperable Brain Tumor and is also making frequent trips for treatments and check-ups. The event will be held at the Paskenta Hall (West of Corning) on Saturday May 21, and I'm sure the turnout will be just as amazing to show love and support for Angie (details for the event are listed on the picture below).

2. Tasty Food Finds!

This is one really, really good Lean Cuisine! I was surprised at how crispy the fish was even though I just cooked the dish in the microwave. I even threw some fat free sour cream and a scoop of salsa for some extra flavor and it was delish!

These little bars are great! Usually, I find that I get a little cheated on the chocolate and caramel with these types of bars, but there's actually quite a bit of caramel and dark chocolate coating. These are a great dessert for anyone with a sweet tooth at night time (me!)

I really like Chobani Greek Yogurt, and I especially like these new small containers that they came out with (intended for kids, but I am okay with that). This is a great snack because each container is 100 calories and has 8g of Protein! 

3. Great Deals!

Forever 21 Dark Skinny Jeans, $9.50! I just purchased these little beauties today, and I really liked the look & fit of them on top of the CHEAP price. 

So bananas are tasty food finds as well, but that's nothing new. Their price at .68 per POUND is so cheap. I just bought two bunches of them today and I plan on freezing whatever I haven't eaten once they are ripe to make smoothies! I bought a very cheap (and not impressive) mini blender that will never be able to blend ice, but it blends bananas just fine and produces tasty smoothies! I usually add 1/4-1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk and either protein powder or PB2 Powder. So good.

4. Happy Hour

I re-discovered how much I love Happy Hour in the Summer-time after meeting up with a couple of dear friends this week over some cocktails. Almost every restaurant has some kind of Happy Hour. I especially like Christian Michaels and Crush's Happy Hours, but we were pretty satisfied with The Gooney Bird this Thursday. The small plate food options were especially affordable.

5. Fun Events

For a smaller town, Chico has quite a few fun events throughout the year. The Margarita Mix-Off is being held tonight from 5-10, and the tickets are $50 for unlimited beer, margaritas & food. This will be my first time attending this event, so I'll have to give a follow-up report as to whether it was worth my money. I'm excited for the prospect of the fun that could be had, so I really hope it's a great time! I can't see how an event centered around margaritas could be bad in any way.

So, those are the things that made me smile this week. Hopefully you have had plenty to smile about as well. Feel free to share if you have any fun events, deals, meals, or Happy Hour specials you would like to mention!