Small Joys: volume 27

It seems fitting that we're on the 27th volume of Small Joys since it's the month of my 27th birthday, right? Life has been pretty stuffed full lately, and I'm finding myself desiring less and less.  Desiring less stuff and more time with people I love, desiring less shallow talk and more deep conversation.  I started writing a post called Desiring Less, which will be coming soon, but I needed more time to work through that one. Here's what's bringing me joy in this season.

No. 1: Italy.  We leave for Italy in less than a month and we are STOKED.  We've had a lot of drama with this trip because of issues with my school schedule that developed after we booked our trip; we thought we were going to Cancun instead for a little while, but we're now officially going to Italy to venture through the Amalfi Coast.  Oh, I cannot wait.  I've been in search of fun bathing suits to wear while we're on the rocky beaches and dreaming of the colorful houses tucked away by the shore.

No. 2:  Nancy Meyers' movies.  Oh goodness, how I love her movies.  To name a few: The Parent Trap, Something's Gotta Give, It's Complicated, and The Holiday.  Currently enjoying Something's Gotta Give while doing some light spring cleaning.  Anyone else into spring cleaning? Ever since we bought our house I look forward to it every year.  Last year I used Joanna Gaines' Spring Cleaning list from here.  This year, I made my own and tailored it a little more to our home and the things that we really struggle with keeping clean.  Scott has been hugely helpful in this venture.

No. 3: Beauty and the Beast.  Oh my word.  I LOVED the live action Beauty and the Beast and adored Emma Watson and Dan Stevens in their roles as Belle and the beast.  I will certainly own this one when it's released on DVD but for now I'm listening to the soundtrack nonstop!

No. 4: The promise of Spring. I've never been into spring, really.  If you know me at all, you know Fall is my season.  But ever since we've owned our home, I've been really into the idea of gardening and front porches.  So the promise of Spring hanging in the air has me all sorts of ready for twinkly lights on the porch, sitting in the rocking chairs, and eating guac from our molcajete.  These are all things I associate with Spring.  The thought of getting my hands dirty in our garden is thrilling, too.  I am so glad this season is upon us-- I can smell it outside and am hopeful that the cold weather will blow through and bring warm weather behind it!

No. 5: Pomegrante green tea. This wasn't intended to be on the list, but I just picked some up from Fresh Thyme and am sipping on it as we speak.  How have I not known about this magic before? I love the little love notes on them too (not really love notes, but similar to a fortune in a fortune cookie, as my friend Angela said!)

No. 6: Fresh Thyme Broad Ripple. Since moving to Indy and discovering Fresh Thyme, it's been a love affair that rivals my adoration for Trader Joe's.  If only Fresh Thyme had 99 cent greeting cards, two buck Chuck, and $3.99 flower bouquets, I'd give up TJ's entirely.  I used to drive about 20 minutes to get to the closest Fresh Thyme, but now there's one 6 minutes from my house.  I've already been twice since they opened on Friday and I plan to go there almost exclusively for my groceries now.  What a dream to have this grocery store so close by!

No. 7: Running. I haven't been as consistent as I would like to be, but I did start doing some light running again since the weather has warmed up a teeny bit.  I realized the other day that my running shoes are needing to be replaced, which is no easy task! I HATE shopping for running shoes because I'm so indecisive.  Once I get a pair, I keep them way longer than I should.  That's my current situation-- my shoes are ones that I bought the year I graduated from college and are super overdue for being replaced.  I also used to love them but they don't feel good anymore, so I think this will be a necessary task.  I've always been an Asics and Mizuno girl-- what shoes do you like to run in?  I need good ankle support.

No. 8: Doc.  I mean, he's always something I could write about.  He's been super anxious lately but it's been incredibly rainy, so he has gotten very little exercise.  I feel like a bad dog mom when I don't run him but it can be such a challenge!

No. 9: Self-care. I've been pretty intentional about self-care lately-- bubble baths are a new thing that I've implemented 2-3 times per week.  My body aches from long days at work, and even though I'm only part-time now, the physical demands of my job still wear on me.  I look forward to taking bubble baths and dream of a day when we will have a claw-foot tub to bubble bath in.  My favorite magazine to read while bubble bathing is Real Simple, a new fave.  Amazon Prime has been hooking me up lately with free magazines, and I've been indulging in free magazines while taking bubble baths and practicing self-care.

No. 10: Decluttering.  Decluttering has been so stress-relieving for me.  I tried doing it the Marie Kondo way with little success, so now I'm doing it my own way.  I've found that I'm almost disgusted with our possessions recently and can't believe how much... excess we have.  So we've made weekly Goodwill trips since the beginning of the year, and throwing away meaningless thing, and recycling things that other people need.  It's made me feel so much less attached to my possessions and it's so clarifying for me.

That's all I have for small joys today.  Thanks for reading and as always, would love to hear from you!

Hope you have a beautiful first week of April!

Love,
C