Ten Things That Are Feeling Good

Featuring granola, Traitors, and waking up early (once)

Hi friends,

How’s it going? I owe you a Mandelbrot recipe, but I haven’t had a chance to test it—I need to hunt down a specific kind of cherry, so that is a goal for this upcoming weekend. I’d rather have it work than rush. In the meantime, in honor of the sunshine we’ve received this week and as an antidote to the many pieces of bad news, I wanted to share ten things that have felt good recently,.

I share these not to say that I’ll always repeat them, but to document them for an inevitable rainy day and because gratitude practices really do work. I used to keep a gratitude journal before I started my five year journal and it was a helpful morning ritual.

I’d love to hear some of your things in the comments and I hope you can read this with a lovely beverage. We got a bunch of Topo Chico at the office and it’s been a treat to have one with lunch. It’s the little things!

Let’s dive in.

1. Reading a book, God of the Woods, in under 24 hours. I touched on this on Monday but I just really loved this. I started reading on Friday evening and almost regretted it because the book is a little scary at times and I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. I went to bed around midnight and returned to it after breakfast. I didn’t move from the couch until I finished and have had such great chats about this book since. If you have other immersive book recs, I’m all ears.

   

   Proof of reading and proof of granola, featured at number 6

2. Buying breakfast for my half birthday, which was yesterday. I’ve been packing breakfast and lunch consistently but yesterday, I stopped at Lella Alimentari on my way to work, which is always a treat. Everyone who works there is cute and Italian and it feels like a mini Euro trip. I love their vegetable frittata, which comes with a slice of olive oil slicked toast, and they make an excellent cappuccino and iced Americano. Celebrate it all, am I right?

3. Taking a walking meeting instead of a video call. I had a quick call with someone I know one morning. Instead of using a google meet, I just called her. Even better, I walked around the block while we talked, getting some extra steps and sunshine. There was no deck to share and it’s easy enough to take notes in the notes app while walking around. It was so much more pleasant than sitting in a phone booth.

4. Reordering a candle I love. I had a Sephora giftcard from the holidays and finally used it to get another Maison Louie Marie No .04 Candle. I got this candle a few years ago and loved it so much but never repurchased—the price has gone up $4 which is annoying, but whatever. There’s still enough winter left to use it and I know it has good throw and I love the smell. I’m burning it now and so happy I got it.

5. Waking up early exactly one time.