Open-hearted joys 開開心心 № 11
Capturing the tiny details of my everyday mundane and the moments that weave poetry to my days.
Happy Friday, friends!
It was my first full week back to normalcy and I feel exhausted but content. Being back in the office, seeing friends, browsing furniture, reading books; it’s all been good for the soul. And I’m so glad that I personally love returning to work. I’m really enjoying my job – I’m a copywriter! – and feel like I’ve finally found a great work-life balance after a varied copywriting career across fashion, beauty, and even running my own copywriting studio.
There’s a lot to be said for appreciating the smaller, not necessarily finer, details of the everyday mundane. Here’s to another list of petite, open-hearted joys, the moments that’ve brought and woven poetry to my days, this week:
一. Sunrises. I was on a frosty drive to the office on Tuesday when I glimpsed a glorious peachy-pink sunrise hanging above the farmers’ fields. Winter mornings are really quite something.
二. The swirl of steam from my morning matcha.
三. WFH days, the perfect olive branch from weekend to weekday, holidays to reality. I started Monday with a homemade breakfast burrito eaten perched on the kitchen counter, before slowly composing then tackling my to-do list, Gossip Girl playing softly in the background. Then, a 30-second commute to my evening.
四. Books that can be read in two sittings: Bethnal Green by Amélie Skoda stole all of my attention at the start of the week! This publishes at the end of the month and is a gorgeously human ode to the NHS and to sisterhood. Just adored it. My StoryGraph review is up now.
五. Bubble baths. Treated myself to a mid-week pamper session after driving home in bitter cold, and it was glorious! I even took a cup of tea and my Kindle in with me!
六. How it feels to be a week into my Instagram detox. Last year I took breaks in March and my brain felt SO good for it that I knew I wanted to start 2025 doing the same thing. Interestingly, I’m still on bookstagram, and the effects remain the same. I’m happier, more present, less doubting of myself, and I have so much more headspace to just do the things. Perhaps I don’t need to log back in, ever?!
七. A cloak of frost reminding us that winter always pays attention to the smallest details; a blade of grass standing tall, the rigour of a garden fence – typically untouched yet kissed by ice, a running trail of delicate footprints left by the robins and finches.
八. Playtime with my nearly nine-year-old puppy, Milo. It’s been especially nice to be greeted by his little pink tongue and wagging tail after work, as it was my first full week back in the office.
九. Post-parkrun elation.
十. Our girls’ group chat that has become a place for dog photos, WFH thoughts and snaps of us all at our most unflattering. I love it.
Something that surprised me after writing this post is that a lot of my wintry joys come from my morning routine. To me, there’s nothing better than chasing the curtains open to unveil palest blue skies cloaked in January sun; crisp, cold and calming. I mean, I’m sure there aren’t many of us that truly enjoy the darkness of winter, both in its literal and metaphorical senses! But as a lifelong night owl, it’s quite nice to see the shifts in (my)self. Perhaps they’ll make a morning person out of me after all.
Share a joy from your week in the comments, and I’ll see you again next Friday.
These are always such delights and great reminders to remember the good! I hope you have an absolutely fabulous week.
I neeeeeded this!!! Also, what did you think of Orbital?! I read it on the train the other week and it was the perfect length for my journey, it was so satisfying. I'm super impressed that you're doing park runs, Michelle.
My joy this week was going to a football match with my dad. It was -9 degrees and the game was terrible so it should have been a cold, dull evening, but somehow we found ourselves laughing together the entire time. That, and my thermals, made me feel so warm inside.
PS love the rebrand!!!! 💕