I'm a planner. In everything I do, I crave to-do lists, neatly sectioned binders and planning galore. I plan for everything - for rain or shine when I pack and heck, wedding planning was the profession I chose and pursued through college and eventually, it became my passion.

I am a planner and I will always be that way.

So when things in life don't go my way, it feels like my world is falling apart. The sky is crashing down on me and I think, "Why me?" That's one of my biggest flaws and I'll be the first to admit that.

This week, that's what has been happening. My world seems to be falling about because the things I planned, just aren't going as planned. I didn't do an ounce of work for three days and all I wanted to do was snuggle Ava for hours and hours and hours. I cried and I complained and I just couldn't get myself to do much of anything outside of spending my time with my baby girl.

This morning we headed out for a play date and breakfast to say goodbye to one of our friends who is moving to Arizona tomorrow and man, it totally brought me out of my rut. So that got me thinking...

When I'm in a not-so-great mood, why don't I go out and do the things I love? Why don't I do the things that make me happy. Well in all honesty, in those moments, nothing sounds like it will make me happy - there is nothing that will bring me out of my rut and so, I decided that I would make a list.

This is my happy list.

This is a list of some of the things that always make me happy, every single time. They're simple things but things that will always make me smile. So if you're anything like me (and I'm sure everyone has at least an ounce of this in them), then I encourage you to also make a happy list so you can refer back to it when it's needed most.

Cheers to discovering happy moments even during that darkest times! There's always a reason to smile - I promise :)

This is my happy list.

1. Tickling my baby girl and hearing her laugh uncontrollably
2. Target + Starbucks (well, duh!)
3. Fresh Air -- literally stepping outside into the backyard
4. Listening to "Lord, I Need You" by Matt Maher + "Eye of the Storm" by Ryan Stevenson
5. Paying for a stranger's meal/Starbucks in the drive through line (if you haven't done this before, try it and I bet you'll smile)
6. Cracking a Smile (it's impossible to be sad during that moment)
7. Cranking up the music and dancing with Ava
8. Taking photos of anything and everything (but Baxter and Ava photos take the cake!)
9. Putting my phone down and forgetting about it.