Hello, good morning & welcome to Joy Jot No. 1. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about ways to incorporate daily moments of joy into my creative content. I love the fully designed, creative aligned content I put into the world but I know one of my favorite things to share is my daily life and small things via Instagram series. Because of so, this new series is dedicated to sharing the small, mundane and sometimes ordinary moments that bring me joy over the weeks or month. Let’s start!
1 | Tennis – Many weeks after my initial set of registered lessons, this Sunday was my first official tennis class. I will preface this by saying that I am, without a doubt, absolutely awful at the sport. I did expect to be good…at all. And I can confidently say I was right in my thinking and being a realist in this situation was warranted. However, tennis has been a casual sport I’ve been wanting to learn to how to play for years and I’m so glad I was able to find a local resource that fit in my schedule to get started. Waking up on Sunday morning felt like Christmas Day – all the nervousness, excitement & disrupted sleep surrounding surprises. I have 5 lessons left and plan to continue with private training sessions in the future.
2 | Farmer’s Market blooms – It’s no surprise that fresh flowers are one of the many small joys in my life. This weekend, I not only lucked out for myself but was able grab a few bouquets to share one with a friend during our Saturday brunch. Between every bouquet having a few stems of lavender, that literally brought my apartment to life, and bustling with summer colors, I have not been able to keep my eye off the blooms currently scattered around my home.
3 | Jewel Marlowe’s living room – If you follow me on Instagram, you already know how much I LOVE Jewel Marlowe’s design style. Every single corner of her home is a color lovers dream and this week her living room made me so beyond happy. Her style is beyond unique and fun with a hint of traditional and practicality that I haven’t seen done before. Jewel, if you’re reading this, I am 110% your biggest fan <3
4 | The Midnight Library – Ever since finishing this book, I have recommended it at least twice a day or given a 5-star, thumbs up review to all who ask. The first part of the story is sad, heartbreaking and a trigger warning around the end of life. What follows is a beautiful, heart wrenching story of a woman who is presented with the opportunity to live out every regret, decision and what if of her life. She can pick whichever she wants, return to that time and live through that decision or lack there of. I am finding that I can’t stop thinking about how simple it is to make a decision that changes the course of your life in a split second. Sometimes, without even thinking about it. And how, even in the small decisions, we have the chance to make a life altering decision every single day.
5 | Slow mail – Getting back into a habit of letter writing has been a goal of mine for the past 15 months. When we all first started working from home and were dying for ways to connect, I set a goal to write at least one hand-written note per week. Some weeks I wrote and sent five while other weeks I wrote none. Fast forward to now, in the past 2 weeks, I’ve written and sent 6. Each one, no matter the length, has warmed me up inside because letter writing is one of my most favorite ways to celebrate others. I simply need to make more time for it and showing my appreciation in written format for others to keep. And if we’re being completely honest, I have enough cards to write a note every day for 5 months + the stamps to accompany them. There is absolutely nothing standing in my way 🙂
Thanks so much for reading! – xo, Azanique <3
