He lox my socks off

It's the little things in life that mean the most.

A smile from a stranger or an encouraging note left at your desk on a stressful day, little gestures can make a huge difference when there's a cloud over your head and a knot in your heart.

I'm unfortunately feeling a little of those Eeyore blues. I left the office yesterday with a spring in my step after a particularly productive day at work. The moment I stepped out the door I felt like I was punched in my stomach and was swiftly brought back to level ground. My first sight: what was left of my bike lock wrapped around where my beautiful yellow beach cruiser had been parked that morning.

As is evident in what I wrote in my blog bio, that bike meant a great deal to me. It was a Christmas gift from Matthew that comes with a pretty great story. Both of us had lifelong dreams of owning beach cruisers. Both of us decided to make that dream come true this past Christmas. My family got a kick out of it as Matt and I both sneakily purchased the bike and ever so sneakily approached my dad, our resident bike expert, and Brain, the builder extroardinaire, to put the bikes together. Both of those shiny new bikes sat parked on the same side of the house, unbenown to either of us, waiting for Christmas day. I went over to the side of the house to see Matt's bike and somehow managed to miss mine parked a few paces away! Yes, I've always been a little unaware of my surroundings.

I ride that bike every day to and from work. I've become a bit of a novely, actually. Everyone in the office knows my bike and people around town have actually come up to say, "I saw you riding your bike this morning!" In the six months since I first rang its bell, that bike has been attached to my hip like an extra limb.

I'm heartbroken that it's gone. After getting over the initial shock, the tears started to stream. It comes in waves of disbelief that it was swiped from the front of my office building on a busy street to utter sadness. I have filed a report and am praying for a miracle. Heck, anything can happen, right?

There are good people in this world. All of the support from friends, family, and loved ones has meant a great deal to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am a very lucky Beth. To help with the sorrow, I had my own personal superman who knew the exact way to help with my heavy heart: through my stomach. Mr. Matthew came to my aid equipped with all the good stuff, namely a Trader Joe's bag of cure-alls, including a container of Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate Smashing S'mores.

Come again, you say? They are these bite-sized chocolate morsels that resemble a See's candy in appearance. Inside that milk chocolate goodness is a pillow of marshallow on top of a crunchy piece of graham. AND! You can pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to make them an ooey, gooey ode to campfire s'mores. Needless to say, I ate a majority of that container in one go. And then promptly fell asleep.

As if the man could get any better, he had another surprise for me in the morning. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and Matthew had the perfect cure for my bike blues/chocolate hangover: Lox and Bagels. We recently went to Izzy's Diner, a Jewish Deli that is something of an institution in Santa Monica. We have been craving Lox and Bagel ever since.

Matt gave this Lox a luxurious twist. I was really quite impressed. It started with the perfect base, a pretzel bagel. The world feels like a better place to me just knowing these exist. I am also slightly worried that I know these exist... Next, Matt smothered the bagel slice with a healthy dose of TJ's Feta Cheese Spread. It's slightly herbed and a whole lot of delicious.

The man never looked so handsome ;)

The meal received a royal finish with a layer of this....

It's as good as it sounds. Dear lord, it's just as good as it sounds. The resulting combination was pure bliss. I wish I could have a million more (and maybe I will in the days to come....)

I sat back with my cozy Christmas socks and cup of coffee and just truly savored the moment. A lot of crappy things happen. Such is life. But knowing that you have people there for you when you need them most? Or that are willing to go out of there way to do little things to make life better? There's nothing like it. Thank you to all those that add the sweetness to my world.