Open-hearted joys 開開心心 № 14

Capturing the tiny details of my everyday mundane and the moments that weave poetry to my days.

Before we get going with today’s post, I wanted to let you know I’ve finally worked out how to turn these posts into a Substack series. So, you can now adjust your notifications if you prefer to read only my essays and bookish posts.

With endings come new beginnings, and the end of January marks many happy new things for me. For one, I’m moving in with my boyfriend tonight! For another, it’s finally a new lunar year and I already feel a pep in my step for 2025. It’s been a week of two halves in my world: I started the week with some very expensive car repairs and a fuzzy day at work, and I’m ending it starting a shiny new chapter. Between work to-do lists, packing lists and new house lists, my brain has been in a thousand different places.

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 little, open-hearted joys, the moments that’ve brought and woven poetry to my days, this week.

一. A rare coffee date with Dad to start the week. I had to take my car to the garage and Dad kindly tailed me there so I could return home afterwards. We stopped for a coffee at the café over the road before getting on with our respective Mondays.

二. DNF’ing my first book of the year. I’ve read 11 books so far in 2025 and that’s already so many?! I could’ve been on my way to 12 in one month, but sadly When the Moon Hatched wasn’t my vibe at all. I should probably stop buying into over-hyped books.

三. The dramatically stormy skies that accompanied my Monday working from home. I enjoyed endless cups of tea and had a pretty productive work day! Somehow, terrible weather really helps to fuels a good writing session.

四. Our first pieces of home décor, essentials and furniture started to arrive! I penned a blog post on Daisybutter sharing our moodboards – true to form, my ideas have evolved hugely since then!

五. Lunar New Year celebrations. At the weekend, we celebrated Tết with a meal with my boyfriend’s family, and then on Tuesday my family gathered for Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinner, which I’ve always adored. This time, we opted for a hot pot! On 年初一, the first day of the new year, we donned new clothes, festooned the house in red, and my parents gave us ‘kids’ a red envelope each. Then, at the weekend, we’ll be getting together for an extended family lunch.

六. Quiet evenings with my journal, BookTube videos playing in the background.

七. Lighting a fresh candle after the big clean.

八. A gulp of fresh air, midway through a WFH day. We took Milo, our family dog, to the lakes to celebrate his 9th birthday.

九. Going through a big house move at the same time as one of my colleagues. It’s been such a balm to have somebody to freak out with and obsess over ridiculously expensive plates, rugs and wall paint with.

十. Wearing a little makeup again. I feel like I never found my foot again post-pandemic and, even though I don’t need it, I quite like making a little effort a few days a week and playing with my makeup sets again.

Share a joy from your week in the comments, and I’ll see you again next Friday.