One of my favorite habits of the past year was when I started keeping my gratitude journal, but sadly, like a lot of other things, I let it fall by the wayside this summer and have not yet returned to it.

In honor of a habit I’m hoping to renew soon, here are some things that have me feel grateful over the past few weeks:

• feeling clear enough to read Telegraph Avenue, the newest book by one of my favorite authors, and loving it
• having a wonderful friend who pre-ordered me the book in hardback as a birthday present
• going to see Doris Kearns Goodwin speak with my mother, who’s been a longtime fan
• having a great sister and husband, who make me rest and buy me Twix bars and are generally awesome
• the meal I had this weekend: ground beef hamburger topped with slices of poached pear, bacon and Brie on a croissant, with some of the best steak fries I’ve ever had
• falling in love with songs like this one: