Two of my favorite friends came up this weekend and yesterday we went to brunch with another favorite friend at Casa del Mar - a lovely hotel in Santa Monica. I highly recommend the bar for casual lounging and snacks and beverages. After we ate we went shopping for a little bit and we were all getting more and more tired. Ms. C really wanted the fabulous shoes that Ms. J had recently purchased at Nordstrom's so although I was dodging a migraine and wanted to take a nap I suggested we go over to Nordstrom's at the Grove so she could pick'em up. In and out - no biggie. Right? Wrong!

I'm not a mall person and shopping, the browsing kind, is on my list of favorite things to do right after root canal at the dentist. Everyone in the whole city was at this mall when we arrived. I drove to the very top of the parking structure, but I always do that because I love the view from up there and it's easy to remember what floor you parked on. We hit the mall level and stepped into the mob of people who also decided to go to the mall...with their babies, toddlers and strollers, I swear everyone came equippped with kids. We fought against the tide of humanity to Nordstroms and walked into the biggest shoe sale I've ever seen.

Ms. J turned and said to me - this is really an act of love to bring us here on this day. I hadn't thought of it that way, I just wanted Ms. C to get the fabulous shoes, but in retrospect I guess it was because if I had been by myself there's no way I would've been there. I guess most acts of love are probably not thought about. It's when we're thinking about what would please someone we care about and we make an effort to make them happy because that makes us happy.

My mother used to say - back in the days before salad in a bag - that making spinach salad was an act of love because you had to wash each leaf and dry it and it took forever, but it was so worth it because the salad was delicious and everyone loved eating it.

I'm going to try to be more aware of those little acts of love that come my way so I can really feel'em and appreciate'em - I think they rock as do those people who make them happen.