Cutting back on small pleasures works for a little while, but then we start to feel deprived.

FORBES: Want To Save Serious Cash? Focus On The Big Stuff First

So why deny us obsessive-compulsive types the small pleasures in life?

WSJ: Urban Gardner: The Joy of Clear Glass

She was wary, trained to expect little of life, grateful for small pleasures, on her guard against promises, accustomed to making the best of things, in the habit of both wanting and not daring to want something more.

NEWYORKER: Miracle Polish

Despite its lavish surface, this is essentially a movie of small, lovingly crafted pleasures.

NEWYORKER: Bugsy

This shaggy comedy about a Queens auto salesman is full of small, accidental-seeming pleasures the joys of resourcefulness.

NEWYORKER: Cadillac Man