Life Lately & On Being Easily Delighted
Hi friends! Hope you’re taking care of yourself, staying cool (it’s so hot here in Nashville!) and hugging your loved ones extra tight. As a reminder, this newsletter is basically a round-up of round-up of life things - what I'm enjoying, reading, learning, buying, doing, thinking about, and more. Thanks for being here + reading along! 🥰
One of my goals is to be a person who is easily delighted, who can find great cause for celebration in a fig or a familiar face. If you need fireworks and perfection in order to crack a smile, you’re going to be disappointed over and over when life fails to be spectacular on demand. I want to live with an extremely low bar for delight. It takes almost nothing at all - a good song, a ripe piece of fruit, a perfectly packed tote.
You are allowed to love tiny, daily, ordinary moments in your life. You’re allowed to feel wild joy for the simplest and smallest of reasons. You’re allowed to be unreasonably delighted by spicy pickles or a perfect apple or a joke your teen tells you. You’re allowed to feel joy for almost no reason, except that you walked by the candle your mother sent you and even though it’s not lit, just seeing it there on the hutch makes you happy. You’re allowed to hold memories in your mind and play them over and over like an old-fashioned slideshow, click, click, click.
- Shauna Niequist
I want to be someone who is easily delighted. I want to be someone who appreciates, who notices - not just the big things, but the mundane, ordinary, small but special things. So I’m finding delight wherever I go… in being in the middle of a good book, of a sunshine-filled morning, of a delicious meal with friends, of playing puzzles with Lucy, chubby sticky baby fingers and hand dimples, random conversations with my daughters over Cheerios at 6:30am, sunlight pouring through our kitchen nook, the smell of a good candle, submerging in a hot bath, hugging E.
When I think of delight, I think of my grandpa, who took up the hobby of planting and tending to a wildflower garden in his 80s. Who loved telling people about different flowers and showing them off. Who treated a $10 ‘San Francisco’ mug I bought him at a drug store like a prized possession. Who was truly delighted by his afternoon McDonalds McFrappe.`
When I think of delight, I think of the first time my mom visited Big Sur, California. We were on a walk and she stopped and laid down in awe, right in the middle of the trail. She needed a few minutes to admire and appreciate and delight in the magnificent beauty. I think of Lucy, who exclaims I GOT TO SEE A GIRAFFE and points out pretty flowers on our walks and is truly just thrilled by bubbles. I think of Winnie, who delights in belly tickles and sprinkles and big swing pushes.
When I’m the best and healthiest version of myself I’m easily delighted, wildly grateful, naturally joyful, and in love with my life. That doesn’t mean life is easy and wonderful all the time, but it means the good IS there, even in the hard. And I’m desperate to find the delight. ✨
LIFE LATELY
May started out with Lucy and I’s trip to New York City! I was there for work with Shopify, moderating a panel about juggling motherhood and entrepreneurship and decided to bring Lucy for some quality ‘just us’ time together. We had the most magical 48ish hours together and so many special memories. Not to be all like ~*~core memory~* but truly…I’ll remember this trip forever. 💛 I shared all about our trip in this blog post and in this video highlight!
Mid-May, E and I visited Mexico City to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday! It was a super fun trip and incredible city — I definitely want to go back! Here’s a quick video recap! Unfortunately, during/after the trip, E and I experienced a pretty gnarly stomach bug that took us both out for a couple of days. Several other friends from the trip were sick during and after, which was a huge bummer. BUT the city was truly wonderful and I’m glad we did have a couple of glorious, illness-free days there! Lucy and Winnie got to spend time in Ohio with their aunties/grandparents and truly lived their best life that weekend, including a trip to the zoo, gem mining, park picnics and playground visits, Target trips, and much more. 💛
E and I are heading to Morocco for a work trip TOMORROW! This is a work trip for my business Shop Lucky Collective (an online shop where I curate and sell Moroccan homewares). It’s been a bit chaotic prepping for our trip and also making sure everything is all set for the girls while we are gone - but we are super excited for this adventure. Lucy and Winnie’s summer camps begin the same week, including a forest school 🥺 in the park! I think they will love it and know they are eager to reunite with their sweet school friends again!
WAYS TO HELP OTHERS
Like most of you, I’m rattled and heartbroken and angry about the recent senseless shootings of 19 children and 2 adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Would you consider donating? Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement within The Everytown for Gun Safety that fights to end gun violence. You can also support the victim’s families directly via GoFundMe here. A few other action items ~ contact your representatives, sign petitions, and VOTE like our children’s lives depends on it. Because they do.
THINGS ON THE INTERNET I READ & ENJOYED
How to Stop Caring About What Other People Think of You - this is a really good one for the fellow recovering people pleasers (like me) and those of you who struggle with the fear of shame (like me). It’s a great quick read!
Hymn for the Hurting - this poem by Amanda Gorman, shared in the aftermath of Uvalde, is just beautiful and heartbreaking in every day. Here’s a quick blurb, but definitely read the whole thing! “May we not just grieve, but give / May we not just ache, but act / May our signed right to bear arms / Never blind our sight from shared harm / May we choose our children over chaos / May another innocent never be lost / Maybe everything hurts / Our hearts shadowed & strange / But only when everything hurts / May everything change.”
THINGS I LIKE / RECENTLY PURCHASED
I finally jumped on the exercise dress trend - I’m here for anything cute and COMFY and easy. I have the dark green ‘Traveler Mini Dress’ from Abercrombie (pictured here) and the black ‘PowerSoft support dress’ from Old Navy. Abercrombie’s version is slightly shorter and more low cut, FYI! But both are comfortable and make for great summer on-the-go outfits - yes to built in shorts! 👏🏽
My tote bag (the Madewell transport tote - it’s great!) has seen better days, and after many recommendations, I finally ordered a new tote one - the Cuyana structured leather tote. I also ordered the leather tote organizer which will hopefully help calm the chaos inside of the bag, especially when I’m lugging around the girls’ things too.
READING:
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, One by One by Ruth Ware, I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist
FROM MY CAMERA ROLL
CODES & DISCOUNTS
LUCKYANDI for 10% off everything in my Moroccan textile shop!
LUCKY20 for 20% super soft, comfy kids undies (UNDERS) made in Nashville
ANDI25 - Get 25% off Eizzy Baby - we love their collapsible silicone snack cups
LUCKY10 for 10% off Little Colorado - we own the kids picnic table!
LUCKY5OFF for $5 off your first Vellabox candle subscription order
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