Open-hearted joys 開開心心 № 73
A weekly series capturing gratitude for the tiny details of my everyday mundane; the moments that weave poetry to my days.
Sundaze Book Café is the home of everyday magic, joyful living and conversations likely to be had over a hot drink with a friend in your favourite café, capturing the syrup-slow feel and glow of a Sunday. I’m Michelle, and I’ll be your host today.
Happy Friday, my loves!
At the weekend, my sister and I hopped on the Eurostar for Amsterdam. It was my gift to her to celebrate her 30th birthday, and we had the most magical time exploring the canals, the wonky houses, the city’s museums, and spending a little extra time with my sister. Then, as my luck would have it, I returned home only to fall instantly sick with a summer cold and spent the week bed bound. Classic. A good reminder that once you relax, your body keeps the score and shimmies out the stress you’d been holding onto.
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 open-hearted joys, the moments that’ve woven poetry to my days, this week.
一. Marvelling at Amsterdam’s gloriously wonky canal houses.
二. Laughing until your sides hurt with your sister – unbeatable.
三. Eating plenty of delicious food: stroopwafels, mini Dutch pancakes, tacos, ‘viral’ toasties, and pastries aplenty. I’ve been focusing on eating 80/20 at home, and it was truly a joy to eat whatever I fancied for the weekend! (Perhaps this is how I got sick!)
四. Cruising down Amsterdam’s canals in a boat with the most delightful captain.
五. A Eurostar picnic! I bought picky bits from Sainsbury’s for our 4-hour train ride.
六. A sick day spent eating congee and reading slowly in bed.
七. Waking up with my dog curled up by my side. He’s my best little pal.
八. Getting out for a long walk after three days stuck in bed. Apparently I’ve conditioned myself to be an outdoors person after all! It felt so good to get some fresh air.
九. Girlhood. My sister and I had way too much fun in the vintage photo booths in Amsterdam, and then the incredibly kind shop assistant there spotted us crouched down waiting to get a video of the photo strip being printed. She was so lovely and used her app to check the exact countdown so we could, in her words, ‘get that content girlies!’. I love women supporting women!
十. Staring out of our big bay window in wonder at the shifting British weather: sunshine, wind, hail and rain in a matter of 60 minutes.
Share a joy from your week in the comments, and I’ll see you again next Friday.
This was a lovely post as usual. Loved hearing about the shop assistant! I hope you are feeling better now. 🫶
My recent joy has been to have finally found a flat! After two months of excruciating search, I found a comfortable place to stay. My mum will be joining me soon from another state and I feel like breathing a sigh of relief.