You know those days when you just need to escape? When all you can think about is getting away from the never-ending piles of laundry, the incessant whining, the fighting over whose sandwich is bigger (neither one EVER IS by the way!!), the toys that YOU end up cleaning up day after day and the general chaos of life? I had one of those days yesterday. And as soon as my husband came home I told him that I would be leaving after dinner for some ME time! He leaned over, gave me a kiss and said "OK Dear". It must have been written all over my face.

So escape I did, to the cavernous, anonymous, fabulous confines of West Edmonton Mall. Walking through the mall ALL BY MYSELF is a treat in and of itself and getting to go and browse nonchalantly in my favourite stores almost makes me giddy!

Yesterday I indulged in a few things that really do make me happy and I thought I would share them with you ('cause they may make you happy one day too!)

• The Benefit Brow Bar at Murale. This concept is genius. No appointment necessary, professional esthetician, super clean environment, and you are in and out in under 20 minutes. And seriously, I don't know what it is, but having nicely shaped and clean eyebrows just feels GOOD.
• And while at Murale, Jackie (the wonderful esthetician at the WEM location) introduced me to the new Benefit Cosmetics skincare line. I immediately fell in love with ALL of it. The packaging is lovely (yes, this matters!), the product line is free of parabens and sulphates and this refined finish facial polish is something every mama needs to feel all dewy and gorgeous (I used it this morning and am super impressed with how my skin feels and looks!!) The icing on the cake is that this stuff all smells absolutely divine and I ended up getting the toner and moisturizer too!
• Anthropologie. Really Mamas, need I say more? Okay, I will. I love, love, LOVE this store. I feel like I can buy clothes there that are made to fit real women, do not make me feel like a wannabe pop star and are of a quality that I appreciate. I knew this top was for me the minute I saw it. It is my GREEN and well, green is a happy color for me!

Tuesdays are also happy days for me. My amazing babysitter comes first thing in the morning and I get to go for a grueling great workout with the fabulous Jessica at Infinite Fusion. We are doing a whole lot of Pilates Reformer workouts lately and let me tell you, these are some killer sessions! I highly recommend you try a class or a personal session and see for yourself.

Today was also a happy day for me because I received a shipment for Natural Urban Mamas and I am like a kid on Christmas morning when new product arrives!! In today's box were the wonderful Dolcino Woven Wraps and I am one happy, happy kid today!! I am so glad that I decided to bring in these baby carriers. They are 100% organic cotton, are at a decent price point for a woven wrap and they are the perfect wrap for beginners too, with different colored rails (sides) and tapered ends for easy tying. I rushed home with the box after I picked it up from the post office and immediately wrapped my 30 pound 2-year-old in one! And it is GREEN too!!

One more happy thing for me is a great latte and my all time favourite is the one that the girls make me at Cafe O'Play. This wonderful cafe and play place has become my very own 'Cheers' of motherhood. I am a regular and today I actually told Tava (awesome, sweet, barista extraordinaire) that I would have 'the usual' and by usual I meant the absolutely delicious Yummy Mummy latte. And now you can also have it as a blended latte for summertime. I like it so much, that I will even go to the cafe without the kids just to sit, sip and get a bit of work done too!

So there you have it. My happy places, happy things and my happy color. Please remember to take care of yourselves mamas and find your HAPPY on a regular basis. Remember the mantra....."Happy Mama, no More DRAMA!!"

Happily,

Natasha~

Be glad there's one place in the world Where everybody knows your name, And they're always glad you came; You want to go where people know, People are all the same; You want to go where everybody knows your name.

~Cheers Theme Song~