Monday Mugs || Happiness Is

“I’m buying that for you,” she said, matter-of-factly. I could tell no amount of arguing would change her mind. We were at the Cracker Barrel on the way home from a conference, and you know that’s how they get you, right? The country store. While you wait to be seated. Every time. Then you walk in to the dining room and see a ton of open tables and you realize they got you again.

I’ve seen this money-can’t-buy-happiness-but sentiment for many things: Coffee. Snowmobiles. Pedicures. Wine. Chocolate. But my preferred substance is definitely ice cream. Before we were roommates, my friend would actually buy amazing ice cream just for when I came over. She’d buy the chocolate-y-est kind (even kinds she couldn’t have because of her peanut allergy) just for me, for when I’d come over after class or on a lazy Friday night. It was the best. So it wouldn’t surprise you to learn this mug was a gift from her, would it?

“If it’s still here when we’re done eating, I’m getting it.” I said she didn’t have to, that I didn’t need another mug. Heaven knows I don’t need another mug. But the clerk, overhearing our conversation, said she’d keep it behind the counter for us while we ate.

Signed, sealed, and delivered.

No, money can’t buy you happiness. But best friends can buy you mugs about ice cream because they love you, and that’s pretty much the same thing.

Monday Mugs is where I tell the stories behind my coffee mugs. Each one holds a story (and coffee, of course) of somewhere I’ve been or something I’ve seen. The photos are my actual mugs, not lookalikes found online. So grab one of your own mugs (fill it with coffee first) and hear the stories of mine. And don’t forget the cream and sugar.