This is the first edition of something I’ve been waiting to build for you. The Feeling! Summer Camp series is a multi-week course, exclusively for supporting subscribers.

Over 1,000 readers joined my Summer Reading Challenge, and what I saw confirmed what I already suspected: you (like me) want projects that pull you away from the screen and into real life. You want to make things, maybe even with a sticker chart involved.

So I’ve made a “summer camp” course (because summer camp has a wonderful balance of structure and fun) that teaches you how to live creatively with ease in every facet of life. *Creativity not as an aesthetic, but a daily life-enhancing habit.

After completing this series, you will find a personal creative practice you can actually maintain, a collection of very joyful completed projects, tools for moving through fears, and a community of people on the same journey.

This is for working artists who want their creativity back, aspiring creatives who are having trouble getting started, and anyone who wants to reclaim the ease of making things like they did when they were a kid.

The camp will function like a cohort, with exercises, feedback, a shared collection of your work, and group projects! I’m offering it to paid subscribers only to make the space more personal. Here is a glimpse of the camp schedule, so you know what to expect:

And here are some features each lesson will include:

• Beverage Cart: A complimentary coffee or tea recipe for enhancing your at-home café

• Promptings: Topical questions for journaling

• Introduction to the Topic

• Lesson

• Assignment: A hands-on way to master the subject

• The Gallery: Sharing work from readers

• Group Project: Questions to debate and consider together, bringing stronger connections together

Before February, I was an entrepreneurship and design-thinking teacher and curriculum writer. I started in the classroom with middle and high school students, helping them understand the principles of being a designer and developing their own creative ideas into sustainable small businesses (we even made a student-run coffee shop). After moving to New York, I continued working for the program as a curriculum writer after receiving a grant to write the curriculum for what we had cultivated in the classroom.

All this to say, I have been missing using this part of my brain, and was thinking about ways my experience in education could benefit my readers.

The idea struck, as they often do, suddenly and without warning. I knew I should make a series teaching a lifestyle of creativity. I hear from readers that you don’t want to buy more things or pin idealistic visions, but long for a practical how to live creatively. So I am using my background in curriculum writing and teaching to get back in the classroom. With you!

This course is designed to serve you well, from lesson one to the finish line! You can hop in and out of topics as they interest you throughout the series. However, I recommend completing the full course, as each lesson builds on the previous to reach the ultimate objective: developing practical, repeatable skills for a lifestyle of creative living. It is going to be an incredible time, and I am so excited to create alongside you.

I will jump into lesson one today! This is accessible to all paid subscribers.

Combatting Perfectionism through Creative Journaling

Materials needed today:

• One journal

• One really great pen (but more colors permitted, of course)

• Your most powerful mug

• Matcha powder

• Earl Grey tea leaves

• One kettle

• A small whisk

• Imagination

Read more

Good morning and happy Monday! I’m ending a back-to-back spree of hosting family this season. Early spring in New York brought a wave of family visitors, which is a great excuse to eat at all my favorite restaurants.

My husband’s birthday is in May, and it’s my favorite holiday. Months ago, in passing, he mentioned what a special time it was in his life when all his siblings were under one roof and would sit on the couch on weekend mornings and play a video game together. It’s a time that’s over now, he remarked wistfully. His older sisters have young children, and his younger brother is newly married and finishing school.

Perhaps it would be over if he had not married a member of the sentimental birthday mafia.

Secretly, I called up each of his siblings, and they all agreed to show up at our apartment door unannounced to be with their brother on his birthday weekend. It was the surprise of a lifetime, and perhaps as the family grows and evolves, an opportunity that will not present itself again.

Connor does this thing where he malfunctions a bit when he’s surprised, and this gives me some sort of fuel for living. I had them wait in the lobby of our building and arrive in five-minute increments so the surprise just kept going.

We played games on the couch, like they did growing up. Card games, birthday cake, and coffee shop visits followed.

It’s been a redemptive spring, full of a busy pull-out couch and lots of washing towels and sheets.

Hosting comes with cleaning. And I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “spring cleaning.” Why does the season prompt a clean-out instinctively? Even if it wasn’t a cliche, I think I’d still randomly start purging and deep cleaning with the close of winter. Why?

Today, I’ve organized real-life incredible cleaning tips from you (thank you!), created a cleaning supply index, and made two vastly different playlists for your next cleaning lock-in.

I made some printable summer bucket lists for you! They are all the same (with different color options) for your choosing.

I’ve also made some color palettes for sprucing up your digital calendar for summer. Here is a YouTube tutorial detailing how to actually change the colors of your calendar. I frequently put new palettes out in the “Notes” section of Substack, which is a great reason to browse on the app.

One of the perks of being a paid subscriber to Feeling! is a monthly collection of phone and desktop wallpapers. I am a big proponent of leaning into seasons. And each month marks a refresh for your digital spaces, too. If you are a paying subscriber, I will have the full June wallpaper collection for you in the chat today. For everyone else, here is a teaser of one desktop wallpaper and one phone wallpaper. Feel free to save and use — a little summer gift to you!

Subscribe now

FEELING: CLEAN!

Welcome to the spring cleaning edit. If you have the itch to purge, clean, and re-orient your space this season, you are not alone. At its best, the process of cleaning can feel cathartic, and dare I say, creative. Readers of Feeling! have incredible advice for making cleaning feel less like a chore.

Cleaning Tips from Readers of Feeling!

Q: Does anyone have any housekeeping or cleaning secrets they are willing to dish?

On Structuring Cleaning Rhythms:

✸ : “I have all of my daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly chores programmed into a spreadsheet, then converted it to the daily calendar that gives me a checklist of what I need to do every day. Then I don’t have to use my brain at all to think about the million housekeeping items!”

✸ : “I have only a couple of things as someone who has grown up with a clean-freak mother (love her sm) and has adopted the clean-freak mindset:
- baskets/bins are an actual lifesaver!!! Also, pretty shopping bags can be fun to put stuff in!
- I use Notion for all my organizing stuff, and that goes for cleaning too. I have a whole weekly and monthly checklist, and have recently added a nightly “closing shift” into my routine.”

✸ : “I try to clean one thing each day of the week so I can enjoy my weekends and not use up an entire day for chores.”

✸ : “The five-minute rule: if it takes five minutes or less to do, do it right away! It makes tasks less overwhelming and clears the ‘to-do list’ cluttering the background of my mind (think making the bed, unloading the dishwasher, putting away laundry from a drying rack, tossing old food from the fridge, etc.)
- have a weekly rhythm for laundry
- make the bed every single day—it’s the easiest way to make a room look instantly clean (same goes for propping up pillows and folding blankets on a couch)
- have a home for everything—that way, everything has a place to go rather than creating miscellaneous visual clutter.”

✸ : “I used to try to clean the whole house in one day, usually sacrificing an entire weekend. After growing careers and growing children, that was just not an option. Every day I try to clean one thing. Everyone in the house gets something too. We are an equal opportunity household! I’ve had to let go of my perfectionism so that I could actually enjoy my home and my life. Nothing is typically clean all at the same time, but it gets done, and my kids learn life skills in the process.
A few things I live by:
-Keep bath cleaner and shower scrubbers in the bathroom. I scrub the bathtub before I get in, and my husband is responsible for the shower. I wipe down my sink after I use it every day.
-Baskets for everyone’s stuff. They take it to their rooms and put it away, ideally daily, but I’ve relaxed on that a bit ;).
-The kitchen is, of course, the most used area of the house; we clean it every night and put the dishes away. It’s a group project, so it doesn’t fall on one person.
-Non-toxic cleaners, so I feel good about my kids using them.
-Every week, I try to get rid of five things. I know that sounds weird, but with five people in one house, two being children, there are so many random trinkets and items that accumulate. I always have a donate box by the garage door, and I fill it!”

✸ : “Really want to see this article as someone with ADHD and a tendency to make my house explode, but what I started doing since I know is
- doing things immediately, especially when they don’t take long (putting away dishes, taking out trash…)
- Do small parts every day instead of doing a big clean at the end of the week. The big clean makes me feel overwhelmed and exhausted
- Get a cordless vacuum cleaner, it makes things so much easier
- Make cleaning nice: I got myself a carry basket with the supplies that makes it easy to carry.
- Make cleaning easy: have supplies in different parts of the house (I have separate supplies in my office to make it easy to clean the space and the end of the week)
- For short spurts, I use timers and try to be faster than the timer. I also like to use a D20 dice to keep the amount of time random, so it keeps changing up”

✸ : “I used to stick to the schedule my grandmother followed:
Monday - Laundry
Tuesday - Ironing-I used to pick another chore since I didn’t have a lot of ironing, or you could fold clothes that day
Wednesday - Mending-I don’t need to do much mending, so that day is for things like making appointments & doing household paperwork, etc.
Thursday - Marketing-I save all my errands for that day
Friday - Baking/Food prep
Saturday - Cleaning
Sunday - Day of Rest
It really works! You feel like you accomplished something at the end of the day because you only focused on one thing.”

On Cleaning Tools:

✸ : “A good set of gloves motivates and makes me feel unstoppable (particularly for the toilet, my least least least favorite!!)”

✸ : I love the baking soda + lemon kitchen sink wash, and boiling water down the drain to kill any gnats!

✸ : “Ditto to this but use the baking soda/lemon juice combo to get sticky labels off of glass jars to reuse them 🍋 no more impulse cups or glasses purchases lol.”

✸ : “My husband recently bought a cleaning brush attachment for our drill to scrub the stubborn hard water spots off our glass shower door. I was skeptical at first as it felt a bit over the top, but…it has been a game changer!”

✸ : “I have a handheld blower that uses a drill battery. I blow everything from top to bottom as my first step of cleaning. Crumbs on the counter onto the floor, fallen petals from a bouquet, dust or hair on woodwork, dog hair off the leather couch, and it will even blast non-embedded hairs off pillows. Dust on the toilet seat or leftover hairs in the bottom of the shower are blown out of the shower. Pollen off my grill, dust off my dashboard and car screen, the list goes on! I blow my dog outside after a good brush. I can’t stop blowing. Then everything is loose on the floor and ready to vacuum!!”

✸ : “Minimal cleaning products for the majority of my cleaning efforts: a refill box of Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap to make all-purpose spray in a reusable glass bottle, baking soda, and vinegar, gets nearly every job done without chemicals and with minimal waste.”

✸ : Swifter all areas like baseboards blinds and furniture anything with dust then take use really hot water in a bucket with your cleaner of choice and wring out a cotton rag that’s all cotton (not a microfiber cause it collects debris and holds on to it and causes scratches) it out really well to wear it’s damp then wipe the area then follow with a soft dry rag to wipe if needed. Also, never wear shoes in your house, it ruins your floors, and always wear slippers cause the oils on your feet will ruin your carpet. If you do this, your carpet will stay pristine for yrs.

✸ : If you have pets, get a robot vacuum. It’s incredible how much cleaner the entire house feels.

✸ : “I bought one of those Bissell steamers, and it makes cleaning the showers MUCH faster and easier. There’s a grout attachment for scrubbing and a squeegee for the glass doors.”

✸ : “I leave a scrubby brush with a soap compartment attached to the top of it in my shower (see photo attachment of this one I got from IKEA for 2 euros). Every time I have showered and the shower is steamy, I quickly give it a scrub down and a rinse. It cleans it so much faster and easier and keeps it at a general level of cleanliness, which means that in between your deep cleans, it is still sparkling, shiny, and hygienic! Highly recommend!”

✸ : “OH my coworker told me to wipe baseboard with a DRYER sheet, and it puts a dust-resistant layer on it to prevent dust from coming back, so you have to do it less often.”

On mindset:

✸ : “It’s often the little extra tasks we keep putting off that actually make home FEEL clean — wiping down the baseboards, cleaning the bottom of the oven, dusting the top of the fan, wiping down the whole microwave. But once I do these, I realize they took far less time than I thought and make my home feel so much better!”

✸ : “Clean the kitchen every night before bed, no matter what!”

✸ : “The FlyLady taught me that I can do anything for 15 minutes. I shortened that to 5 minutes. When I’m tired, stretched thin, and just want to decompress, I tell myself 5 minutes. 5 minutes of loading the dishwasher or putting away laundry. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in 5 minutes!”

✸ : “I set a timer on my phone for 10 minutes and power through any chores that will make the space feel better. Empty dishwasher / tidy & wipe down counters / put a load of laundry on. It’s amazing what a timer does to give you a motivation deadline!”

✸ : “High to low: start with cleaning what’s high up, then move to lower surfaces. Works especially well for me when cleaning bathrooms. For example: start with mirrors, then countertops, then trash cans, and lastly, toilets. It’s a game-changer for me, especially cleaning at the restaurant I work at.”

✸ : “I’m someone who has struggled to adult in this way. But one thing that works for me is using the time the coffee is brewing in the morning to pick up the house. Just putting papers away and shoes back where they belong, etc. It helps!”

✸ : “I like to have ‘cleaning parties’ with my husband where we light a candle, play some music, have a fun drink, and clean! My college roommates and I also used to do this every week, and it makes things so much more fun:)”

✸ : “My washing machine has a short program of 30 minutes. I start it, and then I convince myself that I have guests arriving when the washing machine ends the cycle :)) it works, I do it fast, without thinking and without taking breaks, 3-4 times per week. is not perfect, but it works :)))”

✸ : “For the 5-10 minute bursts, I like to put the kettle on to boil instead of just setting a timer - it adds an element of surprise to when exactly the burst is over! Plus, I make tea or coffee after. And on the weekends, I have “puttering time” which is for putting things away, doing minor repairs/upgrades, or whatever other little thing will make my home a tad better!”

✸ : “After a shower, while the bathroom is still a little steamy, use whatever washcloth or towel is ready for the laundry to wipe down surfaces. Just that little bit of dampness and the cloth is often enough to tackle most surface grime and makes a soap/cleaning spray necessary less often.”

✸ : “My current cleaning hack is to regularly have people over haha. It’s the best way to motivate me to *thoroughly* clean the house!”

✸ : “Realise this isn’t for everyone since some people like a maximalist aesthetic, but my husband and I have spent years purging our belongings. We just moved back to London and sold SO MUCH STUFF while packing. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel the weight of needing to tidy up because there just isn’t anything to tidy up. Can 100% recommend simply letting go of that extra stuff cluttering your space. It has been freeing.”

Granna’s Advice:

Sorry to you all, but I do have a favorite reader of this magazine, and it is my Granna. I asked her for her cleaning wisdom, and she delivered:

‘Everyone needs a Buddy....Grandpa is mine....always helping...inside and outside.

My advice...deep clean one or two rooms at a time as you lightly pick up and tidy up the other rooms.

Sometimes I will set the timer for 30 minutes (sometimes less) and fly through room to room just doing the most important thing in each.

Don’t have a designated chore day...just keep at it day by day.😊😉 its worth it. Clean and order are both good for the soul.💕”

Playlists for Maximum Cleanliness:

I’ve made two playlists with incredibly different vibes for your next cleaning party.

Cleaning Supply Index:

1. Preston Lane Palazzo No29 All-Purpose Spray: Absolute cherry-scented perfection. I think Preston Lane cleans my kitchen counters the best, and it never leaves a smudge.

2. Method Wood Mop Spray: Another cherry-almond scent that I have always found to make my floors shine, and make the entire house smell amazing.

3. Ouai x Dedcool Laundry Detergent: Rose-forward laundry concentrated formula that leaves my clothes smelling like a beach vacation.

4. Koala Eco Kitchen Counter Spray: Actual citrus magic, for making it smell like you just cut open a fresh orange any time of the day.

5. Dirty Labs Concentrated Detergent: A power-pusher for stains with a coastal scent. Incredible for transportation if you visit a laundromat or are going on a trip.

6. Seventh Generation Lavender Laundry Concentrate: A homey favorite that always gets stains out and makes my space smell amazing as linens are tossed in the dryer.

1. Koala Eco Bathroom Cleaner: A natural way to keep the bathroom fresh.

2. Preston Lane Terrace View Dish Soap: An incredible scent that feels unique and smells more like a luxury home fragrance than a cleaner. I love the squeeze bottle!

3. Spring Laundry Detergent: A woodsy-leaning, refreshing scent that makes my clothes smell like they are from a sophisticated clothing store.

4. Beach Sage Laundry Detergent: Classic detergent for making your clothes and linens smell like a never-ending vacation. Balanced and not floral. Gets stains out.

5. Xtra Milk Laundry Detergent: A light fragrance that lingers in the fabric of your home. My favorite scent.

6. Room + Linen Spray: To embellish linens, I follow up the detergent with spritzes of this spray to make the scent really come to life!

✸ The Scholastic Book Fair is soooo back. Over 1,100 readers have signed up for the Summer Reading Challenge! What does it entail? Read 15 fiction books before the end of July, fill them out on the form included in this article, and email it to jenna@feelingpress.com to be entered to win a very spectacular prize. The prize includes a very generous gift from Book of the Month. Join the challenge and learn more here. Readers, how are you doing on your goal? *You can enter the challenge for 15 books, and also enter your kids for 30! Hope it makes summer even better!

✸ I had the joy of launching a new series interviewing designers, small business owners, and artists that I admire. Each interview will include a beautiful video as well, so you can actually see inside the lives of these incredible makers. My first interview went live on Friday with Shae Studio. I had the privilege of exploring her little Italy apartment, where she handmade ceramic lava lamps. Meet Shae here.

✸ I am celebrating the launch of my first published work! My color dot calendar was picked up by a publisher and will be available for 2027. Sometimes online, things seem so simple, but in actuality, there were years of loss and confusion behind them. I shared more about the process of self-publishing for six years here.

Thanks to your kindness and support, it's currently the number one best seller and the “Calendar” category on Amazon! I'm learning a lot about publishing, and now know pre-orders are essential for book shops to see demand, so they will order your product. And so I cannot thank you enough for your early pre-orders and kind words. I am blown away! It's currently available for preorder on Bookshop and Amazon, but after July 21, it will be available in stores too. I will need your help hunting them down because I will have no way to see where it will end up! (The great Feeling! summer book store scavenger hunt, anyone???)

Here are 7 Things I use, wear, and enjoy! (By the way, have I ever shared the inspiration behind the name of this section?)

1. Cropped Jeans: The best way to do summer denim is a light cropped jean! This pair from Sezane is the perfect blend of light stretch but structured shape. I love pairing this wash with ballet flats or sandals.

2. Beachy Bag Charm: I've been looking for the perfect summer trinket bag charm to add a pop of color to my darker leather bags. It is my favorite season after all, and I want it to feel like Summer in every aspect of my life while it lasts! This paracord bag charm from Bauble Bar features a gold fish and a pearlescent shell charm for a subtle beachy feel.

3. Shorty Pinky Sweater: This piece from the small brand Du & Berry might be my favorite summer top! It's a soft, lightweight cashmere top with a super fun bow accessory at the collar. It actually comes with both a gray and a pink string for an interchangeable accessory. I am blown away by the quality, but also how breezy it feels even when it's hot outside. I've found it to be perfect for events where I want to dress up a bit more, but don't wanna sweat.

4. MOOOOO SHOES: Cow pattern mules are on my summer wish list! This pair from the New York brand, Margaux, absolutely feels like a seasonal staple!

5. The Cast Iron Game Changer: I've recommended it before, but I want to emphasize how much this cast-iron pan has changed the game in the kitchen for me. I am not sure about the science of this, but I feel my food tastes better when I use it! The pop of color is a fun feature on the counter. And truly, the best over-easy eggs I've ever made come from this surface.

6. Photo Frame Bag Charm: Small business, Have a Nice Day, created a photo frame bag charm so you can interchange feature photos and hang them on your bag. This would be a perfect gift for someone to capture a favorite memory, and definitely an incredible back-to-school gift for high school, middle school, and college students who want to hold onto a summer memory.

7. The Best White T-Shirt Ever: I now have two of these white t-shirts from Sézane, so I always have one to wear! It's a 100% cotton tee, and the best white t-shirt I’ve ever owned. My reasoning: the fit is flattering, the fabric is thick, so it doesn’t get all weird and see-through-y, and the sleeve and neckline hems have a slight scallop. Will be wearing it every day this summer.

   ---

Later this week, a new series will launch about creating a lifestyle of creativity! Just in time for summer! Can’t wait to share more!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

Working with brands and businesses helps me make this magazine dream come true! If I do work directly with a brand, I am very picky about it, and I disclose the partnership to you, my readers. A few of the links I included in this article are from ShopMy, which gives a small payment if someone buys a product from a recommendation. This helps fund future creative projects for this publication — thank you!

P.S. Telling my Substack friends before anyone else…new secret Instagram for the upcoming greeting card business is here. I would love to have you join the journey and see some familiar names!

When thinking about the long-term impact of my magazine, I wish to see a wake of small businesses positively impacted by the publication. I want to connect you to artists, designers, and dreamers who are making tangible beauty. And I hope you will choose to support them in any capacity — from leaving a comment here about their work (that they will certainly read!) to following them, to purchasing their work and loving it forever! It is a difficult and demanding path to be an entrepreneur.

If there is anyone who can show them warmth, genuine encouragement, and enthusiasm, I know it’s the readers of Feeling! Please work your magic!

Welcome to the first edition of the re-imagined Design Digest column. I hope reading and watching it feels like a perfectly-temperatured latte of your choice. Cozy up, and let me introduce you to Shae!

The Chinatown market was abuzz as usual on a weekday morning. Rolling carts and produce baskets filled the street while the mist from a vendor hosing down plants filled the cold air. I watch as the markets come alive, and we cross the street.

Connor carried the camera, while I wrapped the tripod in my arms. Our heavy coats shuffled loudly up flights of mosaic-tiled stairs in a red brick building in the heart of Little Italy. When the apartment door opens, color floods the hallway. My eyes adjust to the colorful landscape tucked behind the unassuming door, and my jaw drops slightly.

There is Shae, human sunshine clad in a pinstripe denim jumpsuit. Her handmade lace earrings dangle as she speaks, and warmth seems to radiate off of her as she kindly offers us water. Shae pivots slightly toward the kitchen, revealing Mooshu, a beloved rescue cat from Staten Island, on his perch on the corner of the couch. He allows me to stroke his head, and I feel honored. After I have thoroughly acknowledged Mooshu, my eyes wander through the apartment where every single item looks unique and handmade.

It is a wonder to walk in a space that feels like you’ve never seen any of the pieces before. I quickly realize this is because Shae has made nearly everything in the space herself — hand-sewn photo slide lighting fixtures, hand-stitched pillows, upcycled tables, and a small army of dancing ceramic lava lamps in every windowsill.

Meet Shae, the artist behind Shae Studio, and the creator of the most beautiful ceramic lava lamps you will ever see.

Here is a peek inside her magical world, and an exclusive look into how she produces her iconic groove tubes inside a one-bedroom apartment:

Assistant to the Chief of Surgery to Full-Time Artist

Shae grew up on Long Island with the dream of working in the medical field. She worked as an assistant to the Chief of Surgery at a cancer research hospital in New York. There, her days were full of technical precision and emotional heaviness, especially during COVID. Though she felt passionate about her work, the environment weighed on her and prompted her to consider what she wanted the rest of her life to look like.

Feeling a call toward creativity, she enrolled in night school to study graphic design and grad school for communications design. Shae describes herself as a “bad graphic designer” because every school assignment made her want to work with her hands instead of on the computer.

Her dad gave her a cheap lava lamp from the mall (Spencer’s, to be specific), which she had perched in her small apartment. She found herself staring at it constantly.

"I looked at this thing I was so enamored with and thought this has the potential to be so cool. There's nobody out there caring about the lava lamp and wanting to see it be the best version of itself."

As an experiment, she covered the base in air-dry clay to make the piece more sculptural. After posting a picture of the modified lamp online, her friends lined up to buy one. There was a gap in the market, she recognized.

And then the “Groove Tube” came to fruition.

Unexpectedly, a video she posted restoring a lava lamp her cousin found on the sidewalk took off online. Hundreds of people were asking for their own concrete lava lamp. She didn’t start out with a ten-year business plan. Sometimes, entrepreneurship is simply taking the next natural step forward.

So Shae got some pink rubber gloves and started building this business for real. Her first batch, made of solid concrete, launched in May of 2025.

Since then, every release she makes sells out within minutes.

A 500 sq. ft. One-Bedroom Apartment Becomes an Art Studio

Each lamp takes about four weeks to produce by hand. Combine Shae’s background in medicine and science with her artistic eye and “everything is figure-out-able” spirit, and you have Groove Tube magic.

She has the creative process down to a science, literally.

Concrete casting in the kitchen is first. She created her own silicone mold designs thanks to “YouTube University.” Hand-mixed concrete is poured into molds to harden for hours. The concrete forms air-dry in her apartment (resting on dice to prop them up) before she uses a custom-rigged sanding box to sand the concrete (also on the kitchen island).

Then the sealing and painting process takes place. She has a full palette of available colors for custom orders. Cozied up at her coffee table, she wires each tube by hand. Shae sees ugly cords as a design problem and makes cord covers from textile waste to complement each piece. She sews the salvaged textiles herself, of course.

Finally, like any good designer, she prototypes and tests her product. Lamps sit near her window for a couple of days so she can observe the flow of the wax and confirm that the color and movement look just right.

While the process is time-consuming and tedious, Shae is committed to keeping the joy of it all alive.

“A lot of people who hand-make things and find their product in demand hit a slippery slope of over-promising and then not liking the fun part anymore. I'm aware that phenomenon exists."

How refreshing to make something that does not have to scale. Not everything has to be manufactured. Not everything has to be huge. We can make because we love to make. We can set a limit on what we can physically produce, and stick with it, preserving the fun of the art itself. It was refreshing to hear her perspective in a world that says more more more!

“I still love making them and enjoying the process. That’s what I want to protect.”

How Objects Make a Space

After watching concrete be poured, and molds gently get burped for bubbles, we sat back down. Inspired, I dug a little deeper. Why objects? Why not furniture, or something more grand in the scheme of a designed space? Why do you think that objects are so important?

"Objects set the tone entirely. I was so guilty after grad school of furnishing everything from Ikea. Mass-produced pieces where you could find a similar apartment anywhere in the world. What attracts me to handmade objects is that your space feels unique and bespoke. The human touch is there."

I gaze around the room again. She’s right. Every piece has an interesting story, and therefore, the entire space feels distinguished by the narratives. Nothing is repeatable. She’s meticulously thrifted antique pieces, modified furniture herself, quite literally created her own decor, or purchased items from another artist. The process of making a home feel “human” does not have to be expensive, but it will take time.

We discuss how going slow with design ultimately creates a richer, textured home. I laugh and mention that throughout my life, I want to pick items in my home that my grandchildren will really want one day. Not because they are pricey, but because they have never seen anything like it anywhere else.

I think HGTV made us think we should move into a house, decorate it hastily, and then live in it for a very long time, exactly as we originally decorated it. But Shae draws out the conclusion that home can be much more interesting if we choose to make it so. A slow build-out is more flavorful.

“How do you select objects for your home?” I ask.

"You can't buy trendy. You have to buy lifetime: timeless. It's all gut. I look at it and feel joy. That's the filter."

Noting her small space, she adds,

“Everything has to have a purpose: to bring joy or be functional. The trick is storage, storage, storage, and resisting the impulse buys. Sometimes things are cute but they're not for you to live with."

Tips for Enhancing Your Space with Objects:

• Start with vintage. Thrift before buying new, and you will find pieces with history that no big box store can reproduce.

• Buy from artists. Just one handmade object with personality (like a Groove Tube!) can anchor an entire room.

• Be slow. The best homes are built over years (we all know this). Resist the narrative that they are built within weekends.

• Think heirloom over aesthetic.

• Consider function AND joy. If deciding whether or not to buy a piece, make sure it checks both boxes.

• Edit all the time. Your space can constantly change and grow, that’s an exciting thing!

• Cord covers are an underrated detail! Shae taught me this one for sure.

And now, the Hard-Hitting Magazine Journalism You’ve Been Waiting For:

How to Support Shea Studio

Shea’s website is the central hub for all her creative projects. Since she makes everything herself, you will order a product no one else in the world has. Completely one of a kind! They are released frequently, in limited quantities.

Whenever new Groove Tubes are released or custom Groove Tube orders open up, she announces via Instagram. Things sell out QUICK! So make sure to follow along to get your dream Groove Tube. I have an inside scoop that the next batch will release in mid-June.

If you admire her work, have become obsessed with a certain groove tube design, or something about her story inspired you, please leave her a comment here to read. I’d love for Shea to check the comments like they are fan mail!

Leave a comment

P.S. If you didn’t watch the video on your first pass through, go back and watch it to feel this story come to life. It’s so fun to see Shae in creative action (burping concrete molds).

Subscribe now

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

P.S. Telling my Substack friends before anyone else…new secret Instagram for the upcoming greeting card business is here. I would love to have you join the journey and see some familiar names!

Happy Monday to you! Today, I bring exceedingly exciting news that I have had to keep to myself for way too long.

I am officially published! After six laborious years of producing my own calendar annually, I’m thrilled to share that a publisher has picked up the 2027 Color Dot Calendar!

It is now available for preorder at Bookshop, Amazon, Hudson Booksellers, Wal-Mart, and soon to be at Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and Target.

Meet The Joy of Color, the most colorful calendar on the market, with a story of hope behind it:

At the end of 2019, I sold my first “Color Dot Calendar” in my stationery store with no idea that the world's landscape would shift at the start of 2020. The lockdown hit, and in its wake, my little store was shut down before it barely had a chance. I purged most of my inventory and decided to close up shop, but a rallying cry from customers came forth. They wanted another color dot calendar.

I guess in the midst of collective hardship, the monthly color palette flip brought a lot of people a lot of joy, and they didn’t want a year without it on their wall. The fact that anything I make could be a comfort to someone in their own space is the highest honor I could think of, so I figured out a way to keep it up.

The calendar is the sole tradition I maintained from my storefront, and the only physical product I have made for years. Despite no longer having a warehouse or a team to help, I’ve self-published calendars annually for 6 years to maintain the beloved “calendar club.”

I’ve bribed many a friend with pizza to pack orders. When I was a teacher, a group of high schoolers helped me ship them all after school for a week. I’ve filled every inch of my apartment with hundreds of prints, packing tape, and boxes until it was unlivable. My grandparents even packed and shipped orders with me last year. It’s been a great time, but also a costly one. Printing prices skyrocketed, and I had to raise prices steadily over the years just to break even. Last year, they were $40 plus shipping because I was a solo producer.

I am THRILLED to share that the price is now $16.99, because I have a group of publishers behind the product. I am so relieved to have reduced the price, and am more proud than ever about the quality of the product itself.

This year, the design is a more traditional square calendar with a smooth and durable print finish. Each month features a palette, a seasonal bucket list, and a full spread of dates with space to write within. It’s the best one I’ve ever made.

In addition, they will be available globally in stores! The calendar releases on July 21st, and then they will be out in the wild on store shelves.

I will need your help spotting them! I have no idea which stores and which regions they will appear in, but maybe we can make some sort of map together if you catch a glimpse of one on your indie bookstore run or local Barnes & Noble.

This is my first published work, so I am new to all the ins and outs, but I have learned one significant thing about the publication process. Although it feels a bit strange to preorder a calendar so far in advance, preorders are the most significant determining factor for booksellers to place an order. Basically, if a book (or calendar) has a good number of preorders, booksellers feel more confident about carrying it in their store.

So if you’d like to help my grand scheme of a mass color dot takeover, preordering is the best way to support! Plus, you’ll likely forget about your order and be delighted by your past self when it arrives at your doorstep in July.

I found a photo of myself and the first edition of the calendar, when I was 21 years old. I got a little emotional when I realized she and I still pick the same nail color. I wish I could tell her that things would get so much better.

A Note On Sticking It Out:

While it appears cute and colorful, the calendar process often felt like the farthest thing from cute and colorful. Six years of losses and few gains, late nights packing after a full-time job, deciding each year if I could swing it again, and navigating the annual emotional reminder that I no longer had the store I had started with.

I think much of the language on the internet, especially in the creative entrepreneurship space, makes frictionless, instantaneous growth seem like the dream path forward. So much so that when things were not easy, I thought I must have failed.

But I don’t think efficiency and creativity are all that compatible.

I guess I wonder if it were that simple, is it even worth doing? Going faster always appeals to me, and yet always produces something I’m not that proud of.

If it takes six years, is it worth it to me? What if it takes ten? Or twenty? Or more? And if I answer a resounding, brave, “yes,” then I have likely found the very thing I should keep doing

And in that case, I can feel that freedom. I have time. If work is challenging me, if it feels difficult sometimes, that is an indication that I am growing. And growth is supposed to feel like friction. Creativity is supposed to stretch you, embrace you, and challenge you once more.

At some point, probably in a puddle of tears, it finally clicked that the work had to be about the joy of doing it, not the results. (It’s still clicking, honestly. Working on not measuring myself in the metrics I make up for myself.) I love the act of writing this newsletter so much that if it disappeared overnight, I’d hope I’d pick it right back up because I love writing and designing.

Note to younger me: you don’t need to go faster, you only need to work. Be so absorbed in learning, trying, testing, and developing actual excellence in your skills that you don’t have time to compare yourself or your work to anyone else. Just make, and have peace about it. You have more time than you think.

Cheers to things that take time. Meals that aren’t instant taste a lot better.

And thank you to those who have diligently supported so many iterations of this colorful reminder of joy, my little calendar. Your delight compounds mine. There really isn’t anything more significant to me about work than knowing it is living with you and making you feel a sense of joy. That some color, some words, something I made gave you a moment of hope.

Celebrating a new chapter for the project with you, because of you!

✸ The Summer Reading Challenge is going STRONG! Over 950 readers have signed up to read 15 fiction books before the end of July in order to be entered to win a very spectacular prize. A new hint: the prize includes a very generous gift from Book of the Month. Join the challenge and learn more here. Readers, how are you doing on your goal? I’ve only finished one book so far, but it seems some of you are chugging through much quicker! Be sure to check the Feeling! chat for lots of reader recommendations and motivation. *You can enter the challenge for 15 books, and also enter your kids for 30! Hope it makes summer even better!

✸ If you are longing for summer, start in the kitchen. Here are some of my favorite recipes for making your home feel like a beach bodega (including a playist to really bring it all together).

✸ If you need some more encouragement about good things taking time, read this.

✸ When home feels a bit stagnant, or the summer heat is keeping you indoors, I wrote a guide for making your space feel more creative to help you set up your space for more imagination.

This week, I am taking you on a “7 Things We Love” adventure in my camera roll! A slice of life lately.

1. Birthstone Necklace: I found Joiana Jewelry online and was immediately enamored with the birthstone collection from their small business. I think the oval framing of the gem, with a beautifully vibrant color hugging it, felt so different than anything I’ve seen before! I have the ruby stone with the silver cuff. The package arrived with an adorable “make a wish” birthday candle. The whole experience would make a spectacular birthday gift.

2. Dual Colored Pencils: Why have one color when you can have two? The new Caran d’Ache x Paul Smith pencils glide like butter on the page. I’ve been taking the little tin of pencils, my sketchbook, and an iced chai to the roof to work on greeting card designs.

3. My first-ever press-ons: I keep my nails pretty short, so I didn’t think press-ons were for me. My friend Maddy took me to Chillhouse, and as we browsed beautiful designs, she said a sentence that changed my life: “You know you can just cut and file them?” No, I actually did not know that for some reason. That very obvious thought had never occurred to me in all my years. So here I am with a homemade $16 Chillhouse manicure that I can’t stop looking at.

4. Tortoise Shell Sunglasses: This is my friend Naz and I, waiting on the train on the hottest day of the summer so far. Unbeknownst to us leisurely folk, this was the day of the Coney Island Marathon. We couldn’t fit on a train because every square inch was packed with runners. So we let one pass, and were determined to sardine in the next. We survived smells we shouldn’t have had to. But I did get to sport the best pair of sunglasses in this unfortunate series of events. I absolutely love these frames from Krewe because they are timeless, durable, and I like seeing through the color of the lens (something I am picky about).

5. Bag of the Summer: The Joyn Bowler Bag is my favorite for toting around for a quick errand. It enhances every outfit I have! I also love Joyn’s brand story and learning about their making process. The interior of the bag is block-printed by hand on fabric in their workshop at the base of the Himalayas.

6. Chunky Shell Ring: I keep wearing this statement ring because, despite the NY rainy days, I am declaring it summer. Shells, salt air, and sunshine, please. It’s maybe the most compliments I’ve ever received on a piece of jewelry — and it’s only $28!

7. Breezy White Summer Top: This top has a big color, ruffles, and bows, so it’s very worth having in your rotation. I love pairing it with denim or flowy linen pants.

The Farmers Market Index

I need your expertise! Summer is almost here, and I am creating an index of farmers’ markets globally, with your best recommendations. You have good taste, so I need your help here.

I want to highlight and uplift small businesses that make incredible food you love. Please, briefly think of your very favorite market vendors, and then refer to the comments to contribute your entry.

Include: The city/location of the market, the name of the market if you know it, the name of the vendor, and what we should order from them. (The more entries you have, the better! The more details, the better!)

I am going to turn your assistance into a beautiful guide for easy reference in an upcoming publication.

Leave a comment

Thank you all for your thoughtful words. My favorite part of making this newsletter is talking to you directly. It means a lot to me when you leave a comment, thought, or feeling. Truly, the best place on the internet!

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical! We will all miss you on your maternity leave!

P.S. Telling my Substack friends before anyone else…new secret Instagram for the upcoming greeting card business is here. I would love to have you join the journey and see some familiar names!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

Working with brands and businesses helps me make this magazine dream come true! If I do work directly with a brand, I am very picky about it, and I disclose the partnership to you, my readers. A few of the links I included in this article are from ShopMy, which gives a small payment if someone buys a product from a recommendation. This helps fund future creative projects for this publication — thank you!

Read more

The Feeling! Summer Reading Challenge

“I do not think there will be any novels or romances…in fifty or a hundred years from now. They will be supplanted altogether by the daily newspaper.”

— Jules Verne, 1902

Book of the Month recently published a study titled “Nobody Reads Anymore,” addressing the widespread assumption that Gen Z is the least-read generation.

Despite disparaging headlines, one look around a subway car, and you will see books filling the hands of twenty-somethings.

I saw voracious reading from a large number of my high school students in the classroom. Not to mention my own bookshelf, which is full of books I can’t wait to read.

I’ve had a hard time reconciling the data, reports, and flashy headlines about a reading crisis, when, generally, it seemed a lot of young people I encountered were buried in a book.

In their research, Book of the Month includes data detailing a history of generational literary panic (starting back in 1902) and concludes boldly, “Gen Z will read more—not less—than previous generations.”

How did they come to this conclusion? Some really interesting points:

• Americans are buying more fiction than at any time in history

  • “Readers across the country bought more than 762 million print books in 2025, according to Circana BookScan. That includes 184 million books in the adult fiction category alone—66 million above the 2019 count.”

• Brick-and-Mortar bookshops are so back

  • Over the last five years, the number of indie bookstores across the U.S. has grown by 70%, according Fast Company.

• #BookTok on TikTok has garnered 370 million+ views on TikTok, revealing that even in short-form content land, viewers are shopping for long-form media

After years of reading non-fiction primarily, I started to long for the feeling childhood books like the Tales of Despauraux or From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler gave me, and found myself in the fiction aisle of the bookstore.

Whatever your relationship with reading is, I’d like to transport us all back to the one place that made reading feel magical — the school book fair.

Remember the fragrance of Smencils, the rubber erasers shaped like puppies, and the take-home catalog of the book for sale you circle and highlight with anticipation (mostly horse books).

Better yet, do you remember participating in the summer reading challenge? Did your school do that? If you read a certain number of books, you’d get a free pizza. And that was all it took to get me to read books all summer. I’d like to bring that back.

Welcome to the Feeling! Magazine Summer Reading Challenge.

Anyone can enter. Participate by reading 15 books from now to July 31st and logging your reads in the chart below:

Feeling! Summer Reading Log

403KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Guidelines for the Challenge:

• The book must be fiction to count.

• Audiobooks are allowed.

• The reading log must be filled out with 15 books you actually read and DM’d or emailed to me by midnight EST, July 31st.

• Those who complete the challenge will win a small prize.

• Five people who complete the challenge will be randomly chosen to win a VERY unique prize. It might be the craziest Substack thing I have coordinated. Just trust me, it will be a nostalgic delight that you do not expect.

• One person who completes the challenge will be randomly chosen to win the ultimate prize. To be announced soon, but know it is insanely good.

• Accountability, check-ins, and book rec swaps will be happening in the Feeling! Group Chat via the Substack app. This is a communal challenge. You may make a new friend!

If you’d like to participate, sign up here.

And if you’d like to read more of Book of the Month’s fascinating “Nobody Reads Anymore” campaign, click here.

*Hot tip: Start by identifying a list of 20 books you want to read, and listing them on the log. That gives you a clear direction to complete the goal. It also gives you a chance to balance your list with different lengths of books (some shorter reads, some lengthy) so you don’t get discouraged at the get-go!

If you need a jumpstart on fiction titles, here are some of my personal favorites:

One Sentence Teasers:

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Set in a playful, lavish, aristocratic society, a man’s dark secret deteriorates his fanciful facade.

2. Theo of Golden: This story feels like a warm cup of coffee — an elderly gentleman changes a community forever through his persevering kindness.

3. Flashlight: A mysterious family drama spanning continents and decades, all beginning with a father who suddenly goes missing on a walk alongside his 10-year-old daughter.

4. Small Things Like These: Set in a snowy holiday landscape, an Irish man wrestles with the hypocrisy of his coal-mining town and his own family while contemplating whether or not to do the right thing, or what the right thing even is.

5. Daisy Jones & The Six: A reckless yet beautiful Daisy Jones is serendipitously paired with a rock band, “The Six,” to create sensational seventies stardom, but can they sustain the fame, drugs, and emotional dysfunction?

6. Pachinko: An epic historical fiction following a Korean family who immigrates to Japan in the 1930s. (Note: this one has some gritty stuff in it, but it is considered a masterpiece for a reason. Be mindful that it is not as light-hearted as other suggestions, but a significant and incredible read.)

7. Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A cozy coffee shop allows visitors to travel back in time, only for a brief moment.

8. Piranesi: An infinite labyrinth, with beautiful, infinite rooms to explore — but who else is there?

9. The Maid: Like Amelia Bedelia for grown-ups, this story follows a quirky and often lost Molly the Maid as she is the key witness to dark happenings at the Grand Regency Hotel.

10. *The Mysterious Benedict Society: Children take bizarre tests to become inducted into an institute for unique, curious students, but they discover something lurking underneath. (This is, perhaps, my favorite work of fiction of all time. If you are going to pick one from my list, I say read this one. I read it in 5th grade, then read it again recently, and it was even better as an adult. I LOVE the timeless, thoughtful writing style.)

I asked you all what your favorite fictional reads were, and put together the top ten of the most repeated answers:

I took all your answers and organized them into a spreadsheet, with the author’s name and any notes you provided about why you loved reading it!

For your reference, you can view the full spreadsheet of 100+ books here:

Book Suggestion Spreadsheet

The Trinket Section:

The best part of the book fair was actually the trinkets you did not need. I put together our very own trinket section to enhance your book fair experience:

1. Color duo pencils from Caran d’Ache have my color-selection seal of approval. I feel like it’s a set of highly curated colors that I always wished I had in my pencil pouch.

2. If you had to carry your need-to-read book stack in a tote, it should be this tote. The Alex Mill custom tote bag feels like it belongs in the aisles of an independent bookstore, doesn’t it?

3. This “do not disturb” bookmark would make a smile-producing gift for your friend who always has their nose to a new paperback.

4. Joiana makes phone wristlets with clear beads that appear like a decadent string of bubbles.

5. Every well-done trinket section has some arts + crafts. The best part about the Joyn block print kit is that you can use the set on ANYTHING. Mix colors to make your own custom hues. Invite friends over to make your own bookmarks, stationery, or journal covers together.

6. The rosette gift tags could be used to label your favorite books. Consider crowning some works of fiction “staff picks” on your bookshelf.

7. Serious book reading requires a change of scenery. Baggu makes this very handy padded picnic blanket, the best companion for beach or park reading hours.

8. In addition to a blanket, a little denim French hat couples well with a riveting mystery read in the sun.

9. Are you at the age where you have a favorite lamp company? Well, apparently, I am. Because everything Gantri designs catches my eye. This wavy lamp is my idea of a perfect nightstand reading light.

10. Cake erasers. I think that’s all I need to say.

11. The Gelato pen is the Levenger pen design I have! Without science on my side, I will just tell you it makes me write better.

12. Finally, in hoping to channel the feeling of a bookshop/café joint venture, use this Dona cardamom rose concentrate to whip up a signature latte. (Oh! I got a code for this one! Jenna25 for 25% off!)

1. Few things echo the feeling of a grown-up book fair like butter-shaped bookmarks. Never lose your place or your fix of dairy.

2. Small business, St. Bingo, makes adorable fridge magnet frames in all sorts of lovely color combinations.

3. A charm necklace is the trinket that births new, exciting trinkets. Joiana has a digital charm bar, where you can select any chain or necklace, and many beautifully designed charms. I am a big fan of the little fish and the birthstone.

4. If we ever establish a uniform journal for readers of Feeling!, it would look a lot like these metallic leather journals with star details.

5. Martina’s Tiny Store is a haven for trinket-loving and stationery fiends. The Library Card notepad is a fabulous way to embellish your personal book collection.

6. I am declaring this knit cardigan as the official sweater of the book fair. It’s on the list to accompany the stacks of books you will be reading, as there is no cozier option possible.

7. If you were a Smencil dealer in elementary school, I have exciting news for you. There is a sophisticated version of this wonderful scented pencil invention for adults. Caran d’Ache has a pack of premium perfumed pencils made in Switzerland. I have this exact set. I describe the scent as pine forest and delightful Oxford-style cologne.

8. Adorable small business, Have a Nice Day, makes precious photo frame keychains for your bag. Fill in with a photo booth picture or a favorite snapshot of your cat for a personalized bag accessory.

9. Levenger pens are my favorite premium pen without the luxury price markup. I absolutely adore their tortoise shell options, and personally use one for everything. They feel exquisitely waiting in my hand, and the ink glides smoothly on the page.

10. It is hard to imagine a trinket department without a chunky statement ring. The white shell ring from Bauble Bar is an affordable and lightweight option for finger flair.

11. It’s hard to read on the go without your fresh Earl Grey on the go. Fellow makes thermoses that do not spill in your bag and keep your drink iced or hot like you just picked it up from the coffee counter. This is the only thermos I will put in my purse, because I trust it.

12. I found an Etsy maker who produces colored leather journals with complete customization. Any color, band color, and a selection of adorable charms are available for embellishment.

✸ I made printable color palette notecards that help you piece together your spring wardrobe. It was SO fun to style outfits based on the color selections, and I hope it sparks some ideas for anyone who feels blah about seasonal dressing. Plus, the end of the article includes a big discount for Nuuly, the clothing rental company that all the featured pieces are from!

✸ Did you catch the new branding for Feeling! Magazine? I detail the creative process and reveal the full logo set and purpose behind the design here.

✸ Batch-brewing iced tea will likely change your kitchen forever. Here is a guide to making your own iced tea, and a recipe for yuzu chamomile iced tea for the summer.

✸ If you are planning a birthday soon, either for yourself or someone else, I have made a guide for making birthdays feel more magical to help you in the planning process.

A Poll About Modern Friendship

I am working on our matchmaking pen pal service and an editorial write-up on friendship. I have a poll about friendship that I would really appreciate your help with! I want to hear from you directly. Every answer is completely anonymous. If you have a chance to review the questions, it will help guide me in this process.

I appreciate your help! I have two questions in the comments, if you are willing to weigh in on your personal experience.

Leave a comment

My favorite part of making this newsletter is talking to you directly. It means a lot to me when you leave a comment, thought, or feeling. Truly, the best place on the internet.

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

P.S. Telling my Substack friends before anyone else…new secret Instagram for the upcoming greeting card business is here. Substack is nicer than Instagram, haha, I would love to have you join the journey and see some familiar names!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

Read more

Happy Monday to you! Today, I’m thinking about how sometimes, we bet on the right things. We took a gamble in hope, and we were right all along.

It is my seventh wedding anniversary today, May 4th.

We were married at an age that makes people gasp when I say it; quite young. But today, I sit and stare at the ring on my finger with joy and deep satisfaction that I bet on the right person. Sometimes, we just get it right.

Inevitably, our lives are full of betting on the wrong things; sometimes this comes as a horrible, unforeseen surprise, sometimes we should’ve known better. This is part of being alive. And while the times we get things wrong make for great television and riveting paperbacks, the times we nail a life-altering decision on the head don’t always get celebrated for the miracle they are. We should probably celebrate much harder when we pick the road that proves itself right — whether that be a person, a position, a place, etc.

I could write a million words about the person Connor is. His work ethic, his ever-growing stack of books & how carefully he reads each page, the smell of his coffee each morning, how he dances on a dance floor (with fervor), how he handles people who wrong him, how he cares for every living thing, his green eyes, the way he articulates thoughts with such care, and his hand reaching for mine in the crowded streets. But I’ll save them all for myself today.

I think about how many funerals we will hate to go to together. How many nights we will hold each other. How many times we will do our dishes. The homes we’ve never seen that one day we will thoughtfully arrange our things in. The color of our children’s eyes. The way our hair will turn grey and how we will have a quiet house, but all the same memories to relive.

I hope to do so many big, exciting things in my life. But the one I am most looking forward to is experiencing an ever-deepening lifelong love with him.

XO

Announcing a new look for Feeling!

Another thing I am betting on is Feeling! I’ve wanted to make a magazine since I was in elementary school, and last year decided the risk was worth taking. Feeling! has been on Substack since 2023, but last year I started pretending it was my job until it actually became my job. Despite this, I’ve never gotten around to actually developing a brand for the publication.

I am a graphic designer and have drawn plenty of logos for others, but for some reason, I never could get my own design down how I liked. I knew what I wanted, but sometimes you need a talented eye to help pull together your concepts because you are in too deep. So I asked, Hailey, who is my graphic design superstar and has been helping with Feeling!’s graphics since September, to take a stab at it. And she made everything more wonderful than I could’ve imagined. I’m excited to show you!

The design problems:

• I felt my current placeholder logo didn’t pack a punch. I wanted something more timeless. Something that would work in print, and across a few different business ideas I had.

• The colors were more playful than I wanted. I was ready to commit to my very favorite, red, in all its vibrant glory. I wanted red to lead the charge, and a muted blue to partner with it.

• I think I had just outgrown it — I felt disconnected from the design — and that means readers would too.

The inspiration:

• Vintage print Postcards

• Old movie credits

• Archival New York signs

• Print menu designs

• Antique greeting cards

The final results:

Hailey took all my pain points and all my inspiration and created something I absolutely love. Here is the new Feeling logomark:

We’ve maintained the “!” as the main character she is. The overall type is custom-made and unique to the publication. I want it printed on my forehead backwards so I can look at it every time I look in the mirror. I love it so much. I can see it on a print magazine! Can you imagine that? Here are the variations of the mark:

If you like it, tell Hailey in the comments! She is incredible!

As I was putting together this reveal, I thought through a few things I prioritized in the rebrand process that may be a timely help if you are working on your newsletter branding. Here they are:

• Start with inspiration outside of Pinterest, in order to preserve a unique vision. Start with art books, a trip to the library, a museum visit, or browsing packaging at an antique store. Take photos and save them together in an album!

• Good brand design answers these two questions: What is your business’s purpose? Who is your target customer?

• Articulate, in writing, who exactly your readers are. What do they like? What lights them up? What are their hobbies? You need to design for them, not for you. Make sure you have a thorough understanding of who you are trying to attract to your brand.

• Lead with color. Strong color tells a story. Pick a few and stick with them for all your graphics. Often, in brand design, you have a primary and secondary color, supplemented with a dark hue and a light hue — a family of 4 to five brand colors.

• Simplicity and clarity are key players. Don’t get lost in the design sauce.

• Put personality into the small details: illustrated icons, a mascot, custom dividers, titles, etc., and your readers will feel it.

Half-Off Sale for 24 More Hours

Last week, I announced a one-time-only half-off annual subscription sale that ends today. I am leaving the sale open an extra 24 hours because some readers had a difficult time with the link. We problem-solved and discovered that it only works on the desktop version of Substack using this exact link. Sorry about any confusion — I have little control over the Substack checkout logistics!

I hope this gives you more time to opt in, in case you were having trouble. If you run into any issues, feel free to send an email back or a dm on Substack.

I have kept my monthly rate for subscriptions at $5 since 2023, which is the lowest Substack lets you go. Since I’ve kept my subscription rate so low, I’ve never offered a sale.

But for one week, I will do this massive sale, and then I will never do it again. Here’s why:

I am building something new, and I’d really like to make it accessible to you. If you’ve enjoyed this publication for a while, this drastic discount is a way to jump on board for the best experience possible.

This is the cusp, the perfect time to join in, because so many new features are coming out (starting in May).

The paid annual subscription ($25) will offer:

• Access to the new “Hosting with Feeling!” column, all about how to do the human parts of hosting

• Full access to the “Design Dive” column, which includes how-to guides for designing your space with intention

• Access to the up-and-coming full-service graphic design and digital design workshops

• A membership to our card-writing matchmaking service (launching in May), which included exclusive discounts to Feeling! Press products)

• My entrepreneurship diary of sorts, detailing this new brand launch from behind the scenes, and direct access to “office hours” for any of your burning creative small business questions

I am grateful for your support every day, work hard to create a publication that is of value to you, and I am hopeful that a half-off discount will allow as many readers as possible to join in the party without a strain.

Here is the link to get the sale price.

The stack of fiction next to my bed is growing, thanks to Book of the Month! I think I’m a better writer whenever I’m in the middle of a good fiction book, so my goal this year was to read more fiction. Book of the Month’s subscription allows you to choose brand new fiction works, exposing you to new writers (and new favorites) consistently. This month, I picked Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer, which is a moving and sometimes really funny story about the enduring friendship between two very different women in the midst of a terminal diagnosis.

Readers of Feeling! can pick up their first copy for only $5, and a free cute boat tote here. Perfect for toting your hardcover around!

✸ I think parties need more play. But, there is a strategy to picking a board game that doesn’t make everyone immediately check out. I wrote out my strategy and my tried-and-true board games for livening up any gathering.

✸ Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching, and I have made you a very thorough list of gift ideas, including a chunky birthstone ring and custom candy boxes.

✸ I recently interviewed the CEO of my favorite fragrance brand, Dedcool, about how a fragrance is designed through the lens of feelings. Her experience of making the intangible, tangible is a fascinating read.

I made a Mother’s Day gift guide full of some really thoughtful gift ideas, but wanted to slide in a few more favorites for your consideration, as the holiday is coming up on Sunday.

I know Mother’s Day can hit a wound, a loss, or a pain point for many. I know the sting holidays can have after you have lost a loved one or are navigating a familial fracture. I often write about the principle of giving away what you don’t have (giving friendship when you feel lonely, giving away joy when you feel depleted, etc.), and I think it carries across this holiday as well. It’s an excuse to give a mother whom you know some supplementary love and care. A woman who was like a mother to you, a friend who has recently entered the throes of motherhood, a coworker who loves to talk about her kids, or a veteran mom whom you admire. They could all use a thoughtful note of encouragement, and maybe a gift, too.

Here are a few more ideas to complement the full guide:

1. The beaded phone wristlet from Joiana is another gift that hits the useful + elevated sweet-spot. It’s an exciting accessory for the mom who constantly takes her phone out to take pictures.

2. These lightweight oval gold stud earrings are a timeless silhouette at a really great price point. For classy moms, these will become an everyday staple.

3. I’ve recommended Soft Service’s really amazing nighttime hand cream many times because it works wonderfully and is in the best-designed vessel I’ve ever seen. It’s a pump that serves as a jewelry dish too. They outdid themselves by releasing a “Mother of Pearl” version of Theraplush hand cream in a shimmery new vessel. It’s something mom will absolutely use, but wouldn’t think to treat herself to something so luxurious. The best kind of gift (actually useful, but elevated).

4. If you have a tea/coffee/sweet treat kind of mom, Dona’s cardamom tea concentrate is a gift they will actually use every drop of! Combine the concentrate with foamy milk for a decadent latte treat that takes seconds to whip together. Pair with a bar of dark chocolate, and you are set.

5. You can ship fresh white orchids in a box from UrbanStems. The package arrives, magically, intact and fresh, like you just went to a greenhouse down the street and picked them out. This is a great option if some distance separates you from your recipient, but you want to gift something fresh and thoughtful. They also have really lovely Mother’s Day bouquets that are on sale all week, guaranteed to arrive for the holiday.

   

6. For statement-jewelry-kind-of-moms, the shell statement ring is perfect for summer. It’s funky, also super lightweight, and would be complemented well with some

7. If you are looking for something a bit fancier, I will introduce you to the brand “Flamingo Estate,” and their luxury rosemary clary sage hand soap that smells like it came straight from a garden and arrived at your doorstep. They also sell fabulous soap bars (the peppermint is my favorite) if you are going for a bathroom-to-spa gift set.

Launching next week, all paid subscribers will have access to subscribe to the Friends of Feeling! Match-Making Service. There will be a brief “application” period where you can apply to be included in the program.

The idea is that handwritten notes, kind words, and thoughtful intention are ever-increasing in importance and essential to life. I want to help connect you with a new, one-of-a-kind friend!

The application will include questions about what you value most in a friend, your interests, communication styles, etc.

Not a robot, not an algorithm, not AI, not a spreadsheet, but a committee of coffee-fueled New York girls will be reviewing every application, printed out and on a coffee shop table somewhere, and making matches by hand, giddy about the new friendships!

My friends and I will review every application and bring our various perspectives to help match the best potential friends. My committee includes an HR worker, an ed tech consultant, a marketing manager, a graphic designer, and more really thoughtful and interesting people who value friendship highly. After you have a match, you will be connected via email, where your pen pal relationship can begin!

Members will also be the first to receive snail mail discounts from Feeling! Press, launching this summer, to fuel their pen pal journey.

Out of curiosity, I asked the Feeling! chat “If you had to summarize in a few words, what’s the most important quality in a good, long-lasting friend?”

Here’s what you said:

: Mutual Respect and encouragement
: Shared Humor
: Someone who can be your container in the times your thoughts, worries, dreams, and hopes need to be held, and someone who in turn trusts you contain them.
: Someone who sees you holistically, believes in and supports your growth when you inevitably stray from who you want to be
: Safety to be your true self
: Consistency
: Generosity of spirit. Someone who accepts no relationship is perfect. There will be ebbs and flows in every friendship, but no matter what they respect you and think fondly of you.
: Compassionate, curious, and funny
: Genuinely kind to you

There were so many more great answers. See them below:

Thank you all for your thoughtful words. My favorite part of making this newsletter is talking to you directly. It means a lot to me when you leave a comment, thought, or feeling. Truly, the best place on the internet.

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

P.S. Telling my Substack friends before anyone else…new secret Instagram for the upcoming greeting card business is here. Substack is nicer than Instagram, haha, I would love to have you join the journey and see some familiar names!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

In 9th grade, I transferred high schools. This sounds pretty standard, but I implore you to remember what a middle-of-the-semester switch would feel like to a 14-year-old. I was listening to indie alt music to cope, I was lining up my outfits (and new personality) with meticulous uncertainty; it was a spiral.

Sticky with Florida humidity, my flat-ironed hair absorbed a slight crimp as I walked from the front office to my English class on my first day.

My newly printed schedule smelled like ink and looked like hieroglyphics.

“E208”
“Athletic Building”
“D22”

Where were all these places? The day felt like wandering through a labyrinth where everyone was already friends.

Then, the dreaded lunch bell. I planned to find someone I recognized from an earlier class and ask if I could sit with them. My English teacher also seemed really nice, so maybe I could just go find her if all else failed.

The chirpy lunch bell rang, and the floodgates opened. A rush of students filled the space like an interstate collision. I froze. All my plans flew out the window. I was glued to the floor, looking at the tables filling up with strangers, a pit in my stomach. Just as fleeing to the English teacher’s classroom started to sound really good, a girl touched my arm. “Jenna, right?” I nod in terror. “Do you want to come sit at our lunch table?” I nodded again. And so I sat there for a whole year, with my first friends.

What was the difference between her and every other kid in the lunchroom? I’m sure so many kind-hearted students walked right past me. Why did she stop?

She was intentional. She stopped her routine and noticed me. Beyond a fleeting wave of empathy, she made a conscious effort to see me and do something.

When I think about what kind of host I want to be, or really, what kind of person I want to be, I aspire to be as purposeful as that thoughtful fourteen-year-old in a lunchroom.

We can all remember a time when we were invited to something that felt intentionless. Have you ever arrived at a party and the host didn’t even notice you arrive? The space feels uninviting and cold, even if it is full of people. It’s hard to articulate why you feel so unwelcome, but it leaves you with that raw feeling of a new kid at lunch. There is no certain place to sit, no one is looking out for you, and little thought is given to the guests’ experience.

Elaborate themes, tablescapes, and Pinterest boards seemingly contradict this picture of a thoughtless host. Yet, they can produce the same feeling in your gut. Beautifully designed doesn’t equate to warm. This is because the true intention of hosting is outside the menu and tablecape.

Hosting in any capacity — from a dinner with friends, to a birthday party, a brand event, or a murder mystery night — is a form of temporary magic. You create a moment that can never be repeated. You can host on the same holiday with the same people, but year by year, it is different. Even with the same formula, you have different results. You only get the present briefly.

If you’ve lost a family member or loved one, you find a new appreciation for how important each gathering actually was. At the moment, it felt commonplace, but looking back, it was all very precious.

And behind all of the temporary magic of gathering, intentionality is the key ingredient. It is a conscious concern for those around you that moves you outside your routine, and often inconveniences you in a way that leaves you better than you were before.

If you are looking to infuse intentionality into your next gathering, here are some practical ideas to implement:

Use Real Plates

One of my favorite writers on hosting, Edith Schaeffer, lived in the Swiss Alps. She had a quaint table outside their chalet where any wanderer could come sit down for a hot meal if they were hungry. She insisted they eat with a tablecloth, a real plate, real silverware, a lit candle, and flowers in a vase. It was dignifying and necessary, she contended.

When did we all get so rushed? Our grandparents didn’t use paper plates. Even dinner was incredibly thoughtful, down to the doilies on the tables. And in a world trying to sell you a lot of things, I think worthy investments include: a really good tablecloth for all occasions, durable plates, a versatile vase, and some cloth napkins. Bring out the real stuff to show your guests care. They are worth washing dishes. Even the tactile material pushes us to slow down and move with purpose.

Design communicates intention, so have fun with it too!

Make Namecards

I think sometimes we don’t want to seem bossy or demanding as hosts, but we neglect something our guests really want: some basic direction. A namecard shows, in a simple yet impactful way, that you anticipated your guests.

You considered their presence at the table in a practical manner. This adds a spark of creativity to your table, too. You could make a design yourself, hand-lettering their name.

Or — you could use mine! I created five summer dinner party designs for you to utilize for hosting. They were designed with love and drawn by hand to enhance all your tables this coming season.

I printed them through Avery, which is the 90-year-old printing company that invented the adhesive label! This is the brand I have used for printing my snail mail addresses, home labels, and creative packaging for years.

I ordered my colorful designs as “tent cards,” printed on smooth, thick cardstock. Now I have a drawer full of custom name cards in various designs that I can pull out at any future gathering to enhance the guests’ experience. Whether it’s a small group or a large one, the name card adds that extra thoughtful effort that guests will carry with them long after the night ends.

Here is a PDF for the hand-drawn files, my gift to you! You can seamlessly order them here, as a custom-printed 2x3.5” rectangle card, or if you have a printer at home, you can order this printable template and print it yourself.

Feeling! Namecards 2

956KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Make an effort to lead the conversation somewhere good

The conversation and the company are arguably the most important parts of getting together. That is what everyone will remember, after all. Just like you make an effort to cook a meal or make a delicious drink to serve, be effortful in stewarding rich conversation.

You don’t have to take charge or try to have any agenda for the night. Just ask more questions. Lead by asking.

Here are some prompts to keep in your back pocket for your next get-together:

• What song instantly transports you back to childhood?

• Describe the most comforting meal someone has ever made for you.

• What is the most memorable restaurant experience you’ve ever had? What stood out?

• What was the big drama that happened at your high school?

• When you were a child, who did you think was the coolest person you knew? Why them?

• Which make-believe villain or monster would actually scare you the most in real life? And which one do you feel you could take on in a fist fight scenario?

• What is the most unbelievable day of work you’ve ever experienced?

• What is the worst advice someone has ever given you?

• What is your favorite scent? Weird answers only. (Mall fountains, nail salons, gas pumps, produce aisle, etc.)

• What is a meal you’ve been making or craving lately?

• Who is someone in your life who has been challenging you to see things differently recently?

• Have you ever gotten lost? Who found you?

• What’s something in your routine that has recently filled you with joy?

• What’s a life skill you think should be taught in all schools?

• What movie has made you cry the absolute hardest? Why do you think it got you so bad?

• What genre of movie would your life be? And who would you cast to play you?

• What is a recent moment that made you feel like a child again?

• Who was your favorite teacher growing up? Why?

• What is your favorite movie to watch on a plane?

• Have you ever had an accidental near-death experience? What happened?

• Who was the first person you ever remember having a crush on? Where are they now?

• Where is the best place you’ve ever traveled? And where was the worst?

• What’s a fear you used to have but overcame?

• Have you ever befriended a stranger on a trip?

• As a host, describe your dream dinner party and your guest list.

• Who at the table would be a better candidate for a Survivor contestant? (Defend your choice)

• What is a job you’ve never tried but think you’d be really good at?

• When someone comes to you for help, what are they normally asking for help with?

• What do you do to make a bad day feel better?

• What is the most page-turning fictional book you’ve ever read?

• What is something you think everyone should try at least once in their life?

• What kind of place would you most like to live in?

• What’s something you had to work really hard to unlearn?

• What’s something you frequently take for granted?

• What color is your personality? (But everyone else answers for you)

• What is a skill you’d like to really master?

• How would your close friends describe you?

• What is something not a lot of people know about you that you believe is significant?

• What’s a mistake you have made more than once?

• What do you feel you are being taught in this season?

Be the type of person who invites the new kid to their lunch table. Notice others, invite them in, repeat. Your ability to welcome guests to a table with a name card especially for them will leave a feeling they will remember for years to come. I sure do.

A One-Week-Only Celebration:

I have been trying to think through a way to thank you for your support and simultaneously invite you to join this next exciting chapter of Feeling!

I have kept my monthly rate for subscriptions at $5 since 2023, which is the lowest Substack lets you go. Since I’ve kept my subscription rate so low, I’ve never offered a sale.

But for one week, I will do this massive sale, and then I will never do it again. Here’s why:

I am building something new, and I’d really like to make it accessible to you. If you’ve enjoyed this publication for a while, this drastic discount is a way to jump on board for the best experience possible.

This is the cusp, the perfect time to join in, because so many new features are coming out (starting in May).

The paid annual subscription ($25) will offer:

• Access to the new “Hosting with Feeling!” column, all about how to do the human parts of hosting

• Full access to the “Design Dive” column, which includes how-to guides for designing your space with intention

• Access to the up-and-coming full-service graphic design and digital design workshops

• A membership to our card-writing matchmaking service (launching in May), which included exclusive discounts to Feeling! Press products)

• My entrepreneurship diary of sorts, detailing this new brand launch from behind the scenes, and direct access to “office hours” for any of your burning creative small business questions

I am grateful for your support every day, work hard to create a publication that is of value to you, and I am hopeful that a half-off discount will allow as many readers as possible to join in the party without a strain.

There are so many great publications on Substack, and I am very grateful you would ever choose to support mine. To join Feeling! with this never-happening again offer, click here.

FOR JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

A note: Working with brands and businesses helps make this magazine dream come true. If I do work on a paid basis with a brand, I disclose the partnership to my readers. A few of the links I included in this article are from ShopMy, which gives the curator a little payment if someone buys a product from their recommendation. If you shop from my links, you directly support my creative work. Thank you!

In December, I announced that I was creating a greeting card company. On the surface, this news seems straightforward, or fun even. But underneath the glacier of the colorful announcement are years of working through loss, grief, and having to (impatiently) wait for my imagination to turn back on after a prolonged season in survival mode.

I’ve shared with you many times about losing my stationery store in the collateral of the pandemic, and worse, losing a loved one unexpectedly at the same time. The late-night grief felt like a hollowing out of my guts, a loss of an ocean of tears that makes me still wonder if I have enough water in my body now. I’ve described to you before what it felt like to be in my early twenties and having to light fire to the thing I dreamed about the most; we’ve commemorated, related, and experienced this type of loss together.

My colors, my bend toward hope and joy, down to how I decorate my apartment and prepare a latte, are responses toward my experience of tremendous loss. Sometimes, it’s so bad, you have to just do one day, one hour at a time. And in that state, I found that very very simple things were a balm. A fresh bowl of oranges on the counter, believe it or not. One call from a friend. A delicious Earl Grey, the way I like it. I needed, desperately, to have things in front of me that pointed to a greater hope. Not in a way where you need to buy more things, or that objects are a solution to pain, no, but in a way where having beauty around me uplifted my heart when it needed every boost it could get.

I started drawing these little things, writing about how to fill a day with that sort of sunshine, and found a wonderful group of people who understood the need for intentional, stubborn hope in this microscopic lifestyle level. Hope is a muscle to strengthen, a conscious decision to choose an alternative to despair, a sort of daily surrender, a focus on delighting those around me, and giving away what I felt I was lacking. It’s an effort toward beauty, intentionality in designing our own homes, from the rug color to the way we shop for groceries. And then ultimately, hope extends outside of us in how we live in our communities, from the way we feed someone hungry to the plants we grow in the ground.

Feeling! Magazine was started by a stubborn version of me in 2023, who lost her big dream, but started writing again.

I’ve now wept tears of joy for this reconnection to creativity I thought I had lost — and further, a reception from you that is touching, heartfelt, and surprising. Every week, I am excited to write, design, and connect with you. This is a miracle, because this is not at all how I used to live. A million dreams woke up again in me.

I am starting with Feeling! Press, an e-commerce greeting card company that I am opening this summer, from my 700 sq. ft. apartment.

The written word, now more than ever, holds a power that transcends centuries, oceans, and deep wounds. Words keep people alive. Handwritten notes preserve our humanity in a time where we often have no idea if we are reading something written by coding bots.

I am excited to make Feeling! Press your favorite place to pick out thoughtfully designed cards that inspire you to write more.

I am knee-deep in start-up mode, but here to give a report from the trenches:

Logistics: The largest hurdle to starting, specifically in New York, is how to ship and store my product. I researched storage units, third-party shipping partners, dropshipping — all of it. Ultimately, I’ve made a call that feels a bit absurd, but somehow right. I am going to turn my apartment into my shipping unit. I want to keep overhead costs as low as possible, have maximum control over the packaging experience, and not have to lug supplies back and forth from a unit.

So, in perhaps the most challenging home design task I’ve ever had, I am trying to figure out how to maintain the homey feel of a small apartment while dedicating space to a shipping facility. The simplicity of working from home cannot sacrifice the feeling of peace in our own space, so we will have to strike an innovative balance. Stay tuned. (This is hard!)

Designs: The first 20 cards are conceptualized, many sketched, and will be turned into digital versions soon. I’ve selected the first printing partner I’d like to try out, and now I’m spending evenings designing.

Brand build-out: I was absolutely stuck for a while. I knew what I wanted in terms of visual branding, but couldn’t do it for myself because I was too in the weeds (in my head). Hailey, who you are secretly familiar with because she does a lot of graphics for this newsletter, developed a brilliant new logo for me. Hallelujah.

In the process, we are rebranding Feeling! Magazine’s visual identity too. Next week, the new logo for the magazine will be unveiled! Hailey did amazing work, per usual, and it is my dream logo!

A One-Week-Only Celebration:

I have been trying to think through a way to thank you for your support and simultaneously invite you to join this next exciting chapter of Feeling!

I have kept my monthly rate for subscriptions at $5 since 2023, which is the lowest Substack lets you go. Since I’ve kept my subscription rate so low, I’ve never offered a sale.

But for one week, I will do this massive sale, and then I will never do it again. Here’s why:

I am building something new, and I’d really like to make it accessible to you. If you’ve enjoyed this publication for a while, this drastic discount is a way to jump on board for the best experience possible.

This is the cusp, the perfect time to join in, because so many new features are coming out (starting in May).

The paid annual subscription ($25) will offer:

• Access to the new “Hosting with Feeling!” column, all about how to do the human parts of hosting

• Full access to the “Design Dive” column, which includes how-to guides for designing your space with intention

• Access to the up-and-coming full-service graphic design and digital design workshops

• A membership to our card-writing matchmaking service (launching in May), which included exclusive discounts to Feeling! Press products)

• My entrepreneurship diary of sorts, detailing this new brand launch from behind the scenes, and direct access to “office hours” for any of your burning creative small business questions

I am grateful for your support every day, work hard to create a publication that is of value to you, and I am hopeful that a half-off discount will allow as many readers as possible to join in the party without a strain.

There are so many great publications on Substack, and I am very grateful you would ever choose to support mine. To join Feeling! with this never-happening again offer, click here.

And I’ll see you all next Monday for the new branding reveal!

I am giving you an early introduction to the Feeling! Magazine, new brand colors. I am enamored with them, and want to simultaneously paint all my walls in their hues and dress only in these colors. Do you have a favorite?

I have a running list of creators running small businesses that have caught my eye. Today, I am sharing some of my recently discovered favorites with you.

Soft Good is a jewelry studio producing this sort of elevated whimsy that marries the sophistication of heirloom pieces with a full dose of sparkly magic. She produces incredible necklaces, rings, bracelets, charms, and even bespoke engagement rings. This award ribbon necklace allows for full customization of material, chain, and charm.

Pink Lemon Ceramics is a Charleston-based studio, offering these vivid and uncommon sculptural candle holders for your wall. They would make a wonderful stand-alone statement or break up a gallery wall with something visually interesting.

Joiana Jewelry offers these beautifully crafted birthstone charm necklaces. The shape of the gem with the accompanying colorful hug is a style that feels refreshingly new. I am bookmarking this for all my friends’ birthday gifts.

SonderHaus is a brand that combines two of my favorite things: colorful clothing and stationery. If you are looking for something to wear this summer that is breathable, not just denim shorts every day, SonderHaus’ new collection of gingham pants is a perfect option. The color selections have my seal of approval.

Hattie Buzzard makes jewelry that feels like a candy shop. Truly remarkable color combinations, materials, and compositions. I love a statement necklace or bracelet; I am always looking for them. I feel like this brand has figured out how to design pieces in a way unlike other brands. Everything they produce, including phone wristlets, feels unique to them.

Joyn is my favorite tote company for a number of reasons. Each canvas bag is block-printed by hand meticulously, and you can tell. The quality of thick canvas and thick ink prints is evident the minute you open the package. Their spring polka dot collection is an absolute wonder.

Goldie Ceramics has a floral-forward spring collection out right now. Perhaps known for her brightly colored pieces or the sipping features of her ceramic cups, each collection feels cohesive to the brand, yet fresh enought ot make you shuffle around the cupboard to fit one more mug.

✸ I am hosting a giveaway with Herman Miller that will end on 4/30. You can enter the competition on this post, and one reader of Feeling! will walk away with a FREE Sayl armchair. And better posture for it, haha!

✸ I think parties need more play. But, there is a strategy to picking a board game that doesn’t make everyone immediately check out. I wrote out my strategy and my tried-and-true board games for livening up any gathering.

✸ Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching, and I have made you a very thorough list of gift ideas, including a chunky birthstone ring and custom candy boxes.

✸ I recently interviewed the CEO of my favorite fragrance brand, Dedcool, about how a fragrance is designed through the lens of feelings. Her experience of making the intangible, tangible is a fascinating read.

Hello! I am here to enthusiastically share some things I am loving in my creative start-up phase.

1. I got a large Moleskine sketchbook that houses all the mock-up sketches of every greeting card design. Lately, I’ve felt compelled to start everything on paper before I go digital. It’s made a significant improvement in my focus and productivity, and reconnected me to the little girl who used to color in her notebook for hours at a time.

2. I will confess I have never been a pencil girl. I am a gel pen and marker kind of person, but my mind may have been changed. I got Blackwing colored pencils, and they are wonderful. The brand is notorious amongst stationery lovers, and so I thought I’d give it a try. I now fully understand the hype!

3. Connor gifted me a gelato ballpoint pen from Levenger Pens, and I just stare at it sometimes in my hand with awe. The brand carries delicious tortoise shell and terrazzo-esque pens and prices that are surprisingly affordable for the luxury pen space.

4. This is my woven shoulder bag, which I bring everywhere with me. It is full of three notebooks, solid perfume, 5 lip glosses, and probably crumbled napkins from a coffee shop. And it holds it all with ease. The woven texture elicits more compliments than any other bag I carry.

5. I will be wearing these linen track pants for long writing days when I need to be comfy, but also grocery runs, park picnics, and really anywhere out-and-about this summer. They have a breezy, linen fabric that fits true to size. I like that it is a piece more elevated that athetic pants, but still delightfully casual.

6. New York oat milk matchas are running at a crisp $8.50 these days. So I’ve become quite the expert at making my favorite drink at home. Dona, based in Brooklyn, makes my favorite matcha, if you are looking to make your own lattes at home.

7. Herman Miller’s Sayl chair has singlehandedly saved my back. I searched high and low for a work-from-home chair that could actually support me, but wasn’t an eyesore. It is a worthy investment to have ergonomic support, but with a bit of Herman Miller’s classic midcentury design flair. You can also enter to win one for free here, before 4/30!

✸ FREE ADVICE!

I asked the Feeling! chat if they had any creative entrepreneurship questions to phone in this week. Here were your thoughts:

Q from :
So excited to see your creations. I have a few questions!
1. Because of tariffs, are you using printers in the USA or internationally? I’m trying to find printers for my business, and China has the best gold foil options, but the tariffs make it so unreasonable!
2. Is it better to do seasonal drops or themed drops (if that makes sense)?

A: When I had a brick-and-mortar stationery shop, I used a printer down the street from me. Being able to talk about ideas in person was a benefit. There is a simplicity in saving time and shipping costs by being able to have an in-person conversation and pick up samples when needed. I plan to print in the USA this go-round for the straightforward reasons: simplified conversation and bolstering another small business!

I love that second question. I think it depends on what product you sell and who your customers are, but usually, successful product launches are a combination of both seasonality and timely themes.

Q from : I always look forward to seeing how other creatives handle the behind-the-scenes part of their businesses - how they plan their time, stay organized, coordinate schedules & launches, balance responsibilities, and so on.

A: I love to hear about this from others, too! I have a blue notebook that holds my days together. I write everything in it. And I operate off a daily handwritten to-do list with a highlighter, marking things off as I go. My schedule is kept on a custom-colored Google Calendar. I try to move through things with a “one day at a time” mentality. I have a lot of project-based work, and often, the projects overlap. Every hour is about making small dents in big things over time.

Most days are spent behind the computer at my desk, dog walk breaks, homemade matcha stops, dinner with Connor, and a brand event in the evening. Weekends are for writing, cleaning, catch-up, time with friends, and I’ve been trying to categorize days of the week as a “writing day” or a “design day,” where my primary time focus is on one or the other. Turns out, I’m rather temperamental and have to play by ear what the focus will be each day. Every day is quite different, dictated by deadlines, meetings, and events, but I really like that!

Q from : How do you balance wanting to stay competitive in a market that is becoming overrun by mass-produced AI slop with not wanting to devalue your work or cheapen your process just to keep up? As a fellow creative, it can personally feel exhausting and daunting to look at the current creative product landscape and feel like I have any chance to keep up, but also not wanting to do things poorly just to try to stay competitive.

A: I understand how you feel, and I bet so many others do too! I try to spend very little time focusing on or studying the current creative product landscape, and if I do, I only look at people, brands, and projects that ignite a creative optimism inside of me (i.e., it leaves me feeling more equipped to do my work than when I found it).

I am not worried about competing with AI, because I understand my readers are not interested in quick & cheap work.

My best advice is to spend minimal time scrolling, strive for true excellence in your work (even if that costs you time), and reference material that is timeless and distinctly human (museums, music, classic movies, even deep conversations with friends, etc.).

No one can be you, and no one can have your unique perspective. And in an increasingly artificial world, I’m betting on the value of human connection rising tremendously. Keep creating with a sense of hope about what could be and what you could uniquely change. Also, get really good at your craft. Read books, watch tutorials, get better and better. It’s not about keeping up; it’s about producing work you are proud to make.

Q from : Hi! I’m new to your Substack, so I’m not sure if you’ve already talked about this. But do you sell through other stores or brands as well? And if so, how is that process? Thank you!

A: Yes, I will be offering greeting cards wholesale! I have relationships with some small business owners I will be reaching out to them personally near the time I launch the brand. Faire is a great platform for finding new wholesale partners. I will also be going door-to-door in New York with samples this summer and asking shops if they’d like to sell my cards. Catch me sweaty and determined on Orchard St.!

Q from : What keeps you inspired? Especially in the early moments of building your brand! I definitely second-guess every substack I post and feel a little low on my own mojo. What keeps you going? Inspired?

A: I, too, often feel low on my own mojo. I think this is part of doing something you care about. I have to constantly remind myself that it is good for something to take time. Good things take time. I produce consistently, even when I get in my own head or feel daunted by the numbers. I have done this long enough to know there are ebbs and flows, and my feelings should not steer the ship, or I’d never post anything at all.

Always come back to the joy of it. Are you creating something you would love to create without sharing it online? You have to love it, it has to bring a sense of joy, or it’s very difficult to sustain — at least in my creative experience! I write about things I love and feel inspired by, which helps me stay afloat through waves of self-doubt.

And if you are not feeling any joy in the creation process of your work, it’s a good time to step back and get curious about why you are making it at all. I had to do that at different points, and it’s unpleasant to get the mirror out, but that kind of precise reflection helps you refine focus.

Q from : For entrepreneurs looking to do most of their own branding/packaging design/etc, what would you recommend keeping in mind in order to have a beautiful brand without needing to have all of the graphic design skills?

And! What are some surprising ways that entrepreneurship can positively impact other areas of your life?

A: Source ideas from timelessly excellent design. Start with packaging at antique stores or old book covers at the library — take pictures and create a gallery. As you are refining your personal style, start with inspiration outside of Pinterest, or else you may unintentionally make a copy of someone’s work. Adobe Express and Canva are both excellent design tools for getting started!

Good design is clear and communicates what you need it to — don’t get lost in the aesthetics. Oh, and compelling color combinations are essential!

For part 2: The freedom in my schedule and flexibility in my work style are fabulous perks of being self-employed. Now, to be fair, I work 10+ hour days often, even on weekends. So I am working a lot, but I love it and want to! I like that if I feel a little sick or tired, I can work from bed or take a day to recover. I can work from the train, the beach, an airplane, the couch, or my favorite coffee shop. I also like setting up my own metrics, goals, and projects. I am the kind of person who made a lot of new goals at work that no one asked me to, and drove everyone else a bit crazy about it — so now that I am back to being a full-time entrepreneur, for better or worse, I feel like a horse out of its stall, I can RUN!

Thank you all for your thoughtful questions. My favorite part of making this newsletter is talking to you directly. It means a lot to me when you leave a comment, thought, or feeling. Truly, the best place on the internet.

To join Feeling! with this never-happening-again offer, click here before Monday, May 4th.

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

The first time I saw my apartment was on move-in day. It was a lovely, sunlit, small white box in the sky. It felt smaller than the pictures I had memorized from the listing. I timidly watched it shrink as we filled it with our boxes and belongings.

The superintendent handed us the keys, showed us a few things, and the door shut behind him.

It was just us. We caught our breath. The sun faded across the walls. I felt like a little kid. Stranded in some unfamiliar place, far from everyone I knew, far from familiar street names.

Connor and I ordered takeout from somewhere we didn’t recognize and pushed two cardboard boxes together as a table. We sat criss-cross, eating off the boxes. Between bites, we pointed to the walls and schemed where things would go. Our things are the only familiar part of this whole endeavor, after all. We dreamed of the life we would live, the new chapter we’ve found ourselves in. We guessed which window the dog would prefer to look out. The potential was palpable.

We found the box with blankets and made a bed on the floor. No bed frame yet, no couch, no mattress. It was a true inaugural night in New York City.

In the weeks that followed, we tried many arrangements to fit a living, dining, and working space in our small home. Arranging, living, re-arranging in a constant loop. A small space becomes a canvas for experimentation, as every event, even simple daily routines, disrupts the delicate balance of placement.

Behind the chaos and clutter of our space was an anxious heart. I was in a pivotal moment in my work. I had transitioned from a full-time in-person job to a fully remote curriculum writing fellowship. Not only was my high-intensity, people-filled work setting gone (14 hours away), but my new position also had a time stamp. I knew it would end after one year…and then what?

We watched the leaves fade to orange with wonder as boxes began to empty and disappear. We finally got a mattress, then a bed frame, and our belongings began to find their places.

I’d often run through the exact same conversation with Connor each night. What will I do after the fellowship ends? I still had many months to go. It’s probably all going to work out. But it may not! What will happen? Do you know? I don’t know.

I had been in education for four years, after closing my small business during COVID. My very reasonable and safe plan was to find a job in education in New York when my position ended.

But something strange and sparkly was looming inside me.

What if I reopened that box I had buried my dreams in? It was a nauseating thought. There was a lot of grief, bad memories, and hurt packed in with those dreams.

I decided it was best to keep the box tucked to the side.

But sometimes ideas chase us despite our best efforts to play it safe.

One idea, in particular, wouldn’t leave me alone.

A magazine.

I had wanted to make a magazine since elementary school. I had a stagnant Substack sitting there. I had an itch to write again. I’d jot down ideas in a notebook for articles, but never actually write them.

The spring sunshine arrived, and we had settled into the space. Our apartment had come together colorfully, and I figured out ways to still host friends despite the confined space. It began to look like us, and even the city started to feel right. Simultaneously, something in me shifted. I started to believe the ideas I had been avoiding could possibly work.

I had a reckoning with myself. Who is stopping me from making a magazine? Who is stopping me from making an editorial schedule, pretending to be an editor, and just going for it?

I would give myself until the end of my full-time job to burn the candle at both ends. I would keep my job and build my dream in the evening train commutes, weekends, and early mornings. I was going to try hard.

This meant the apartment had to change, too.

If I were really going to do this, I needed a space that supported me. Good design invites us to arrive fully and functionally as ourselves, and then prompts us to aim for who we aspire to be.

I knew I needed a space that encouraged me to write and design if I was really going to stick with it. I wanted a workspace that looked and felt like it sat the writer I was aiming to be. I really wanted a magazine studio!

It just needed to fit in my one-bedroom apartment somehow.

I believe anyone’s space, within any budget or size constraints, can be tuned to support their dreams — whether that be writing, art, cooking, parenting, fashion, anything! All it takes is good design.

I got to work on both the magazine and designing a space that would make the dream feel possible. Here’s how I did it:

Start with a palette. (I always start with color.) I recommend choosing 3-4 colors you really love, and staying within their color family. You can use a balance of all four colors, evenly. Or if you really want to make a statement, lead with a main character color that takes over a bit! I have a whole archive of color palettes here, to help.

✷ For more color inspiration, the iconic picnic posters of Steve Frykholm are my favorite.

Identify the design motifs and themes I wanted to be represented. I’d grab a pen and write down an intention for the space, clearly, just for you. This can be very practical, or very abstract. For me, I wanted a clean space free from distraction that makes me want to immerse myself in my art. I wanted it to feel like me (colorful) with an edge of New York magazine. Modern, bold, and clean.

✷ For inspiration, I look to Alexander Girard’s work.

Invest in one serious piece. You do not have to furnish the space all at once, and certainly, it can be a mix of things you already own, or hunt and gather. But one piece needs to feel extremely considered. The focal point, if you will. That perfect piece that represents both your color and your intention best — that’s the one to invest in. My signature magazine studio piece is my Herman Miller chair. I have been bewitched by Herman Miller’s designs for a very long time — the midcentury legacy, the work of their graphic designer Steve Frykholm, and the colors of Alexander Girard. I also have to sit for many hours at a time to do my work, so I knew my comfort was a priority. The Sayl chair design, with a “berry blue” seat, was the perfect editor’s chair for me to build this dream from. It feels midcentury (modern), the blue pops against the white desk (bold), and the sleek back design supports my posture (clean).

✷ For chair inspiration and a history of ergonomic work chairs.

Use light to your advantage. Are you a cozy, work-by-lamp person? Or a natural window light person? Or maybe a mix of both? Consider carefully what natural light your space will get, and arrange accordingly. Light is a very impactful design tool, and window light is free!

✷ For inspiring images of natural window light that make me want to live near a giant body of water.

Create a visual boundary. In a small space, framing off your work area will help it feel distinct — even if your couch is sitting right there. You can make it feel like its own space with a rug (especially a solid color one), shelves above your desk, a large framed artwork, a room divider, or a bookshelf.

Choose objects that inspire, not distract. Of course, if you are designing a space to encourage a dream, you need to surround yourself with pieces that feel as if they call you to that aspiration. The words of a writer you love, a scent that reminds you of somewhere you want to go, a meaningful photo, or modern “heirlooms” from your field of work. Inspiration bolts!

✷ For inspiring organization as a creative practice.

Edit constantly. Be meticulous about visual clutter. There is a way to make things feel eccentric and colorful while still focused. Sort by color or type, tuck things in drawers rather than having them sit out, stack neatly (even big stacks) — but most importantly, keep your direct working space clear, whether that’s around your keyboard or a notebook. Give your imagination some breathing room.

My apartment is still a small white box. It requires a lot of compromise, sorting, and late-night re-arranging to make it work. But it is, truly, the place where I do my work best, and where the magazine I’ve dreamed about making since I was a kid is coming to fruition.

It took intention, a willingness to get gritty and creative, and a belief that creative space isn’t just reserved for down-the-road spaces, careers, or budgets, but can happen right now.

You can always just decide to make a studio of your dreams!

Giveaway!

This is so exciting, I can hardly believe it!

I’m partnering with Herman Miller to give away a Sayl Chair. Yes, we can be Herman Miller chair twins. The winner will be able to select their preferred finish and upholstery color, to make it custom to you.

To enter, ensure you are subscribed to Feeling! Magazine, and leave a comment about your dream creative workspace in the comments. The winner will be announced on 4/30.

(For an additional entry, you can also follow the instructions on this Instagram post!)

This giveaway is hosted and administered by me. The prize is provided by Herman Miller. Herman Miller is not responsible for the administration of this giveaway, including entry collection, winner selection, or communication with entrants.

No purchase necessary. Open to U.S. residents, 18+. To enter, follow me and @hermanmiller and tag a friend in the comments on this post on Instagram. For an additional entry, comment on my latest Substack post. Giveaway ends 4/30 ET. Winner will be selected at random and contacted directly.

This giveaway is not affiliated with or endorsed by Substack or Instagram.

MORE HAPPY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

I knew I would write a hosting column for Feeling! but felt like Goldilocks in the process. I’ve hesitated to publish because nothing has felt quite right.

I penciled thoughts down for a while, but didn’t feel compelled by any of them. I have a habit of rushing ideas, but I tried to give this one space.

During these months of trying to get it right, I’ve simultaneously experienced a weird relationship with hosting. And I’ll tell you about it.

When we first moved to the city, we fell into friendships with a shocking ease. In mere months, I developed relationships with new friends that went deeper than friendships I had had for years. It was immersive, fast, and unbelievable. It felt like a sitcom.

Seasons passed, and life evolved the way it always does. The transience of a place like New York kicked in. People moved. People changed. Dynamics changed. Jobs changed. Schedules changed. RSVP’s often don’t mean much. That brief moment where it felt like everyone was always available, food was always being shared, and the sun was always shining became more complex and fleeting.

Good friendships endured, and I’m fortunate to have them. But that easy-breezy gathering flow I stumbled upon in the summer wasn’t as easy breezy by the fall. It actually takes a lot of work to maintain.

And THAT is what I’m curious about.

I want to write about it because I am living through it and want to find the answers.

How do you maintain community?

How do I host a dinner party when my feelings are hurt?

How do I make a gathering impactful beyond the photos taken?

What can I do, very practically, to make a table people feel connected to? How do I mix friend groups? What should I pull out if everyone stops talking? What do I do if people keep cancelling on me?

Gathering is more about the feeling in your gut after the party than the moodboard preparation beforehand. This friction is what is compelling to me.

My experience as a teacher orchestrating awkward middle school gatherings will serve as my primary guiding force. I have wiped tears away from a left-out student too many times to put my experience to waste. It turns out adults are a lot like middle schoolers.

Welcome to Hosting with Feeling! A column exclusively for paying subscribers, full of practical advice, realistic ideas, and straightforward methods for handling the most un-aesthetic parts of hosting. (The heart parts!)

Today, we discuss the essential art of the appetizer game.

Your next gathering needs an “appetizer game.” Which is a definition I made up for the short and easy-to-play, but super social board games. These work for people who hate sitting through instructions but love a lively conversation.

I completely changed my mind about board games at gatherings because I found a way to implement them to foster authentic connections better than conversation alone could.

I will teach you how to use a board game to speed up friendship building like it’s a magic spell. There is a bit of strategy involved, of course.

Read more

On Saturday, the sun was shining across Brooklyn sidewalks. After waiting in a brief line, Maci and I politely asked for details on Nako’s “signature latte” we had been eyeing on the menu. The barista smiled and said it was “Earl Grey sea salt flavored,” and we tapped to pay faster than they sling guns in Western movies.

We walked, debriefed, and sat in the sun with the East River glistening in the background. There were a million dogs out and about, which I usually stopped the conversation to acknowledge the really outstanding ones (all of them).

We talked a lot about the effort it takes to build community in a big city. I shared that I had been a bit burned out by my own efforts, had taken the winter to hole up and recover, and was now curious about the path forward. It’s one of those things where we can stand on the cusp and wonder if you should withdraw and play it safe, or give it all you've got and get beat up in the process. Life is made of a lot of those forks in the road. I think I’ve incurred the most damage on the path of giving it all I’ve got, yet the path of less resistance is where I’ve accumulated most regrets.

“So I guess I just keep trying?” I ask my friend. She nods behind her sunglasses.

It’s a wonder what a walk and talk can do for the heart. And perhaps, what an Earl Grey matcha can do for me personally. It was a precious reminder to keep trying with any hope that can be mustered. It may hurt, but I will not wonder “what if?” This feels reflective of my design journey as well, as I am preparing to go back into the “belly of the beast” of entrepreneurship. I am working on my first collection of greeting cards in five years, knee-deep in the design process, wrapping up branding, and starting to build out the website. I often feel the panic of the fork in the road: am I really going to open myself up to all this risk? Or should I play it safe? I’ve decided I’d like to be the kind of older woman who did really brave things throughout her life, so I suppose I have to do the scary part right now.

One thing that makes the scary parts more manageable is a table full of other people creating, dreaming, and scheming. I got together with Hetta Home, who graciously hosted us (, , , , , ) over a warmly vibrant table. I realized I love gingham tablecloths more than I thought, namecards are an underrated joy, and being around inspiring people will help you do the creative work.

Among many women doing many exciting things at the table was Lucie from the iconic East Village bakery, From Lucie. Her inaugural cookbook comes out tomorrow, and I got to hear a bit of their amazing process, shooting the cover in film over in Paris, testing recipes for three years, and understanding her process as a baker.

I knew I would be sharing a Mother’s Day gift guide this week, so I just wanted to include her cookbook as a top recommendation for mom. It is gorgeous, and gifting a cookbook can include the caveat of quality time, as you could make a recipe together! Moms will love.

Making a book is grueling, and I was so inspired to see her in action right before it releases. It is full of the actual recipes she uses in her bakery.

I asked Lucie where readers should start once they get the book. She said, “First, the carrot cake, then flourless chocolate cake, and then the chocolate chip cookies.”

Subscribe now

SHOPPING FOR MOM

I am sharing an early Mother’s Day Gift Guide for you today! This was especially fun to put together, and I hope you can tell I had a blast doing so.

Mother’s Day is May 10th! The holiday can sneak up on you, so I wanted to give everyone a head start to be more intentional. Of all the holidays, it should probably be taken the most seriously, yet we are all the least prepared for it because we don’t have the magical force of moms to back us up on this one.

I’d also encourage you to use the holiday as an excuse to love the other moms in your life, not just your own. Friends, aunts, grandparents, siblings, etc., who are moms doing their thing could also use a boost, certainly. If you have lost your mother, maybe this year could start a tradition of generously loving another mom in some way.

Per usual, my biggest piece of advice is: do not neglect a handwritten card. A thoughtful message, memory, or feeling written by hand is likely going to be the gift she loves the most.

Set a timer for 20 minutes, sit down, and order a gift for your mom so it will arrive in time for you to wrap and attach that thoughtful card!

I aimed to pick gifts from a variety of price points, with many ideas that could be bundled together as a bigger gift. Here are some ideas for gifts I believe women will actually like and use:

✸ This is a fun cherry-colored heart keychain that could be gifted alongside a new tote, a note about your own heart (she will cry), or used as a gift wrap topper for some extra sweet pizzazz.

✸ A compact pearlescent mirror keychain is for the elegant mom. It is one of those really nice-to-haves for travel, sliding in the car, or storing in her purse. The pearly glow of the compact gives the practical an edge of sophistication.

✸ These ribbed pearl earrings are like a really good pair of dark jeans: they can be dressed up or down. They are the type of dangly earring that could be worn to work or a wedding. The best gifts are ones they can actually use.

✸ The boar-bristle oribe brush is peak useful luxury. It’s taking something she uses every day and giving her the best version of it. I personally use this brush, so let me tell you about it! The combination of boar bristles and nylon pins feels incredible against the scalp and makes your hair silky smooth. Like, silky silky. And shiny. Plus, the resin tortoise-shell-esque design is exquisite.

✸ Papier makes a custom recipe journal where you can choose your own cover photo. The journal is full of blank recipe pages you could fill with some family classics beforehand if you want to make her tear up a bit.

✸ Small business, Stamped & Finch, makes this stunning glimmer of hope necklace. The designer states, “My heart for this necklace is to be a piece that stands as a declaration of hope and a reminder of lovely things coming.” I feel this could be a lovely gift for moms who have experienced heartache and loss, and need a reminder of something good and tangible to hold on to.

✸ Stamped & Finch also makes this stunning heirloom necklace, which you can customize with an initial.

✸ I found this Etsy shop that makes such a good monochromatic frame for your photos, available in so many wonderful shades. It’s a standout decorative piece that will also make her sentimental.

✸ These custom birthstone earrings are lovely for everyday wear. Here is my idea: get them in HER mom’s birthstone. Write a note revealing this, and put it in her gift.

✸ Good Weather just made a glossy SPF lip gloss in two shades that remind me of popular lip colors in the early 2000s in the best way. Berry is my favorite. This little treat is perfect for a beach/outdoor-loving mom who may still listen to Martina McBride on her long walks.

✸ Dedcool perfume is my very favorite scent brand. For moms, I think Mineral Milk or Xtra Milk will absolutely hit the spot. The travel sizes are $30 and perfect for adding on to another gift. (P.S. Readers of Feeling! like Dedcool so much, they gave me a discount just for you. JENNA15 for 15% off)

✸ A custom waffle pouch from Abodde allows you to choose any color and an embroidered initial or fun symbol, just for her. The waffle fabric is super soft, while the bag structure is durable (and spacious).

✸ Shiny silver Puma flats for moms who are on the MOVE just felt like a very good option. Pairs well with a baseball cap from their favorite vacation spot.

✸ For women with many things in their purses, I present a little cow coin purse made on Etsy.

✸ It’s hard to stroll through Brooklyn without seeing a mom with a custom initial weekday tote bag from Alex Mill. The monograms make them unique to the individual, and they can seriously haul some loot.

✸ Dona’s cardamom rose concentrate makes for an at-home sweet treat. Pairs really well with an enticing new chapter book.

✸ Harney & Sons’ Victorian London fog is like a more complex, vanilla-centric Earl Grey tea. Tea is really the perfect mom gift. You could include a stainless steel tea steeper, a new thermos, or specialty honey alongside the blend.

✸ This beautiful espresso cup from Il Buco Vita is wonderful for the mom who is a bit of an at-home barista.

✸ Another recommendation from Harney & Sons is Earl Grey Matcha, a loose-leaf blend coated in matcha powder. I was a skeptic, but it tastes absolutely wonderful. You could gift it with a cute bottle of homemade lavender syrup.

✸ A temperature-controlled Fellow electric kettle is the ultimate gift for the tea-loving mom. Call in the siblings and go in together on a kettle, with a basket of teas!

✸ Dona’s chai concentrate is simply the best. You keep it in the fridge, pour over ice, and top with milk for iced chai lattes all summer long (you can also serve it hot). A sweet treat for moms who are into sweet treats.

✸ Manicurists’ glow nail polish strengthens your nails while giving them a “jelly” pink glow. Just a necessary tool for any woman’s nail rotation. I think any mom would be into this gift because it is so practical! It’s a safe bet.

✸ Krewe gelato readers are so cool. You can buy the frames as readers or blue light filters. I feel like they are the kind of glasses coastal chic mothers in rom coms wear while doing crosswords on their hydrangea-filled porches.

✸ Soft Services’ nighttime hand cream is a dream because: 1.) It comes in this cool pink pump vessel that is also a little jewelry tray 2.) It smells like “spa” 3.) It is thick and serious and has retinol for overnight hand cream

✸ Okay, so this one works best for moms of three. Look at this custom birthstone ring! You can pick any three birthstones to go in it! I suppose this would work for two kids + dads or + moms as well! Just so special to wear around her finger.

✸ A polka-dotted custom photo book is the right move, for sure. Fill it with recent memories, or put a “theme” together for photos from the years. Ideas: cooking together, best trips, mom fashion, newborn years, etc. Roping in siblings and extended family to contribute photos will add to the impact of the gift.

✸ BonBon is a Swedish candy store that feels like if Wes Anderson said, “let’s make a candy store.” Every element, down to the gummies themselves, is designed with color and Wonka-level magic. A BonBon box is like a mystery box of flavors that are as fun to eat as they are to put in a bowl and stare at for hours.

✸ If your mom would not like a big box of sweets, and you just need a little somethin-somethin, sour blackberry fish is my pick.

✸ Margauex’s () woven mary janes are a luxury shoe pick that will last her seasons to come. Margauex’s thing, if you will, is the balance of elegance with comfort. Their shoes notoriously feel like wearing socks. I know a fashionable mom would appreciate the craftsmanship and detail of the flat.

✸ This Waverly tote cinches at the top, so her books, glasses, lipstick, baked goods, weapons, etc., do not spill out. It is made of a sleek recycled nylon material that makes it a marvelous everyday bag, in a color she likely does not have!

✸ For moms who cook, these floral pasta bowls are a decadent canvas for her art. They look like heirloom material.

✸ For colorful moms who enjoy either an iced coffee, midday juice, or evening cocktail, Anthropologie’s howdy glassware is a playful gift she will smile about. Pairs well with some drinks/snacks from the grocery store tucked in a basket together.

✸ I know that Big Night’s bold, red butter dish is perfect for someone’s mom out there. I just have this confidence that one of you will see it, and it will exactly resonate with who your mom is.

✸ Pair the incredible ceramic butter dish with a pearly bistrot spreader, and deliciously thick butter from the farmer’s market, of course.

✸ Another tea recommendation for a mom who likes a good wind-down, yellow & blue chamomile tea is a cozy fit. I imagine pairing this with a new fuzzy blanket or nighttime read.

✸ I have an activity to go along with this paint by number kit. Buy two, one for you, one for her, a bottle of wine, and make an at-home “paint & sip” situation. She will like the quality time the most, but the art is frameable and lovely too.

✸ Soft Services’ carea cream is a lightweight body lotion with no fragrance that hydrates like magic. If your mom endured a long winter, this is a very practical gift she will use to the full! Plus, the bottle packaging is so beautiful, it feels decorative on the nightstand.

✸ This jade bead statement necklace comes in multiple bold colors, and it’s one of those things an accessory-forward mom longs to have in her rotation.

✸ Another crafty project, this pretty punch needle kit, is ideal for an at-home craft night together. She will remember your time spent with fondness. Bonus points if you bake her cookies.

Happy shopping! If you want to click through all the links together, I put them here.

✸ I wrote 10 practical ideas to help you get your zest back for life. I know, often, these types of lists are unrealistic, but I thought of things that can be implemented easily with nearly no budget needed. I hope it hits you right where you need it.

✸ I announced that I am launching a greeting card brand back in February in this post. The process of starting up a business (after having my heart broken by stationery years prior) has been both creatively exciting and intimidating. I have a branding reveal coming for you soon that we have been working on for months. I am hoping to document the process of building this business (very bootstrappy) in my apartment, and the feelings that come along with it. That is, if you would find it interesting!

✸ If you need a list of movies that will not make you feel awful, but leave you feeling inspired, we made one!

Greetings from the best spot on the internet, the Feeling! Magazine chat room! I recently asked:

“When you have been a guest at someone else’s party...what did they do that made you feel instantly more comfortable?

And if you want to dish...when were you invited over and made UNCOMFORTABLE immediately? What did they do to make you feel that way?”

The answers were very revealing. For making a guest more comfortable:

says her hosts, “Introduced me to the group and then connected me with someone over a common interest so we instantly had something to talk about.”

reports from the sidelines of bounce-houses, “This is uniquely a kid party thing- but typically at kid parties, there are tons of people you don’t know. But the kid party I truly enjoyed stands out in my memory! There was a jewelry-making table & all the moms sat & made jewelry and opened our hearts as we focused on the craft in our hands. Having a big table to ground us & a thing to keep us busy took away the awkwardness of being strangers immediately.”

shares, “Being offered a drink is always appreciated. As is being introduced, if you don’t know anyone.”

added in, “This one isn’t always applicable, of course - but I love when I show up to a party and the host asks me to help with something (big or small)! It could be restocking a platter or helping to finish setting something up - sometimes I’m helping alongside someone, idk, which makes it a fun ice breaker :) Haha, it sounds random, but I think it’s a really charming way to make things feel a lot more casual/comfortable and builds a nice sense of community. Also, this taps into a bit of what was said earlier, but it’s nice to have something to do with your hands!”

said plainly, “I love when I go to someone’s house for dinner, and their kitchen is a disaster. It’s so relatable and it helps me relax.” Amen.

shared that her “Hostess brought out a Slipper Basket! So cozy, so homey.”

poignantly stated what is necessary: “Introductions and making sure to engage someone in conversation until it’s clear it’s flowing naturally without intervention. If someone is new to the group.”

shared as the host: “At one of my own parties, I set out a couple of sheets of temporary tattoos for guests to put on as everyone arrived. Beats the awkward standing-around period and made things instantly fun!”

shared the magic of table games: “I was invited to a party where I knew no one and they immediately introduced me to everyone in the room. Minutes later, we were all laughing over a game of UNO.”

And in dinner party horror stories:

details, “Not cool was the time I arrived at a rather small gathering and there weren’t enough chairs or glasses and no one seemed to care, including the host. I left after 15 minutes.”

weighed in, “Perhaps the worst gathering experiences are when people immediately bring up past drama and hurts harbored against other guests. It sets the scene for a horribly awkward time!”

made my jaw drop with this one: “Walking in to the hosts serving dinner to 2 other couples. No introductions, no offer to join them, rather we were directed to the basement to hang out, they would join us when they were finished.”

made me think about breakfast logistics, stating: “My cousin was at a pancake brunch without knives…”

summed it up well, “I was immediately uncomfortable at a party when there was no music playing, and the host didn’t invite me to a single person, and I was forced to have a conversation with the only two people I knew (who weren’t that fun to talk to lol).”

Excited to share more on hosting this week with the newest Feeling! Magazine column:

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

Subscribe now

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

Subscribe now

I decided to start sneaking things in at the bottom of the newsletter just for the real ones that make it to the end.

Today’s post is free for everyone because Book of the Month sponsored it!

The spring, despite the excitement of blooming flowers and warm sunshine, can feel like a sort of Groundhog Day. The excitement from the start of the year and the setting of ambitious goals all fade into a pastel mundanity, where the frustration of unmet hopes simmers politely in the background. Sure, you are on the patio with an iced drink, finally. But something desperate burns in the background. The year is passing by, and the repetition of days feels more like a drag than a routine. Some are angst-filled for something different, something better.

Others are in the most interesting place, with the job they dreamed of, with good people, and still feeling a grinding sense of, “Is this it?”

It sounds like you, my friend, may have lost your zest. Your zest for life, your zest for today. Where did it go? Was it ground down in the fire of loss? Washed away in extreme disappointment? Churned to a knub with daily headlines? Hollowed out by the circumstances that nearly hollowed you out? Spat out by cruelty? Where is that ambitious yet optimistic feeling that there is work to be done, and further, the gumption to do it? That Phineas and Ferb type of problem-solving, youthful ambition, extreme hope, the simple miracle of a “hey, I know what I am going to do today.”

Symptoms of zest-loss may include:

• General malaise

• An increase in dwelling on how many views your social media post has received recently

• Multi-tasking to the extent of forgetting tasks in the middle of them

• Hyper-focusing, nay, obsessing on parts of your appearance you want to change

• Emotional numbness to the point that you even have a hard time feeling someone else’s pain with them

• An increase in online shopping, a fixation on products

• Disordered priorities where it feels you are giving more time to things you don’t actually care about

• Increased disappointment; even your favorite restaurant tastes worse than usual

• Escapism

• The need for constant distraction

Many more symptoms may follow, but you generally know when the flavor has drained out of you. You can tell.

A zest for life does not equal positive feelings 24/7. I mean a curiosity, a will to live, a drive to discover, and a future in mind. This does not mean you are bright, bubbly, and blind to all pain; tone deaf to suffering around you. It means you have the oomph to move forward through it all at a timely pace. You have a desire to savor each day, absorbing them as they come, tasting them fully and presently. When’s the last time you focused on completely drying your hands after washing them? Really felt the towel? What about deeply tasting a meal? Or memorizing someone’s laugh?

I present, kindly, ten ideas for bringing zest back to your days. Ten things to help you incorporate a newfound fervor for daily living. NONE of them require you to buy a product, take a course, or do something superficial to self-improve. Some ideas may help, others may not be for you. Life is made up of days, moments, and how you spend your time right now, after all.

Also, be gentle with yourself. There may be incredibly difficult personal circumstances you’ve waded through that have left you feeling how you do — so I am not suggesting you immediately see the glass as half full. It took years to feel better and heal after loss. Even if you aren’t feeling yourself right now, you still need to be nice to yourself rather than expecting perfect feelings. Deal?

Okay, here are ten ideas for getting your zest back:

1. Take it upon yourself to make someone else’s day better

Often, when I am unusually anxious, bitter, low, or stressed it directly correlates to how much I am thinking about myself. In seasons where there is an extreme focus on my performance, appearance, or work, I am the most unstable. We are all likely thinking of ourselves more than is good.

The media we consume teaches us that extreme self-focus is not just necessary but should be celebrated. This is because they know that if we continually fixate on every aspect of ourselves, we will ultimately buy more products to fill the gaps we perceive. More, more, more. But there is a way to take care of your body, mind, and spirit without the unhappy buzz of ingratitude and constant refinement nagging at the corners of your mind each night as you reach for glowing Google to find the next thing to buy to fix a problem that does not exist. (Your chin, your nose, your legs, your hair, your smile, the way you talk, your posture, your jawline, your makeup…the list goes on.)

I have a remedy for the pressure to absorb into oneself and simultaneously be dissatisfied: Give away what you feel you do not currently have. If you feel sad, give someone else joy. If you feel unappealing, give away something beautiful. If you feel bitter, give someone else sweetness. If you feel hopeless, give someone a sense of hope. When you feel unwelcome, welcome someone in. I’m unsure if it is the same for you, but in my experience, in times where my hands are full, occupied, and my mind is on those around me, I go to bed with a happy sense of exhaustion about the day rather than that nagging self-centrism.

Take it upon yourself to go out of your way to make someone else’s day better. This will be like a dunk in crisp salt water for your senses. Bake a cake, call someone, write an intentional note, talk to a stranger, bend over backwards to help someone move, or offer to help a co-worker with something they hate doing. Invite the new kid to your lunch table, for goodness sake. Be like a joy detective, constantly sleuthing for moments you can make better for someone who may very much need that simple action to feel seen. Watch what this practice does to your spirit.

2. Join an assembly line

When was the last time you participated in some type of manual labor that put you in an assembly line? Probably far too long. I used to teach middle school, and sometimes I’d pull out an assembly line. Each student would diligently play a part in packing a donation, organizing a workbook, or even a car wash, etc. Do your small part, and pass it down the line. They would fall into this melodic silence, humming, focusing contentedly. I’d watch the more anxious students ease into it like a balm to their racing thoughts.

Throughout my life, when my anxiety has been untamable, it was often simple repetitive work with my hands that could put my mind at ease when no additional “thinking about it” could do. I remember the morning after I lost a loved one, I sat on the floor and assembled small boxes for my tea brand silently. Coping with it. My suggestion is that you rapidly find a way to get into an assembly line.

Our hands long for the tangible. And our spirits lift at rhythmic work. Knitting, embroidery, sewing, and such skills are like this. Cooking in the kitchen, especially with others, is an assembly line of sorts.

Probably the best way to do it is to volunteer for an afternoon at a non-profit and actually be in a line with other people. Organize donations, serve food cafeteria-style, clean rhythmically, sort paperwork, etc. See what happens to your thoughts when you find something purposeful, rhythmic, and simple to do with your hands. Revisit the assembly line often.

3. Make something big & bold for others

Make something fantastic for the sake of someone else. My very favorite episode of Phineas and Ferb is when they reassemble their parents’ favorite 80s band to perform for their anniversary. It was so ridiculously loving, and this is what I am talking about. Effort, intentionality, and absurdity for the sake of delighting someone you love.

Handcraft a large communal dinner for people who mean a great deal to you. Sew something by hand with someone in mind. Write a story, print it, and give it to someone who inspired it. Write a song and play it for them. Plan a scavenger hunt full of their favorite things. Throw a rock concert in your backyard. Using your time to both plan and execute acts of absurd love will absolutely change you for the better.

4. Reconnect with art, tangibly

Likely, you will not randomly happen upon free time. You will actually have to demand something important of your calendar: time for reconnecting with art, tangibly. Visit a museum, library, craft fair, art show, gallery, concert, or movie theater with the intention of finding work and artists that speak to you. All this will cost is your time and maybe an entry ticket or two. Learn about artistic movements of the past. Find times in history that feel similar to this one, and see what makers made — learn the vocabulary of the movements and the names of the artists who stand out to you.

Further, find and speak directly to artists alive now, making work that speaks to you. Go to a local art fair and just talk to the artists, ask them thoughtful questions, and engage in their work. Invest time in discovering music, writing, and visual work that strikes some specific chord within you. Compile a list to revisit. Make a direct effort to engage in person when possible. Artists often make with this resounding undercurrent of resiliency and possibility that will leave you seeing the world differently. Zest will begin zesting.

5. Intentionally write cards & send them

Once a week, set a timer for 30-60 minutes and write a thoughtful card to 3- 5 people. It could be for an upcoming birthday, a thank you, or just because. Speak to things you appreciate about them, qualities you admire, or memories you share. Think of people who are going through a big change, have been working really hard under the radar, need a boost of hope, or have recently experienced a loss.

Our words hold more power than we know. People are hurting more than we know. Use your words to pour life into others. Putting them on paper makes them a permanent comfort that a person can revisit countless times. With every envelope in the mail, your passion for the people in your life will glow a bit brighter.

6. Self-teach a new skill

How fabulous does it feel to figure something out on your own? When you nail a really good dinner? Or finally got that paint color that makes your living room feel exactly correct? One time I learned some really basic code to get my website to have an effect I really wanted, and I was exuberant. It was a thrill! Never before in history have we had complete access to learn nearly any skill we set our heart on. I think they say if you read seven books on a subject, you are essentially an expert. Not sure what applies to heart surgery, but maybe some home gardening or photo editing, sure.

I often say I want to truly learn how to cook. I could read books, watch online tutorials, and learn the technical skillset I am lacking with relative ease, just time and focus. Have you ever learned something from scratch because you were fascinated with it? I would love to hear about what you taught yourself in the comments and be inspired by you.

7. Connect with someone older than you, younger than you, or preferably both

Do you nearly exclusively spend time with other people your own age? Or just your own nuclear family? I am challenging you to find an “Up” situation and befriend a Carl. Volunteer at a nursing home, join a bingo night (seriously), or meet an older neighbor and intentionally look out for them. Additionally, try helping a family member or friend by babysitting for a night or volunteering as a tutor for students.

There is something deeply human we lose when we disconnect from our roots (childhood) and neglect to think about our future (seniorhood) and live exclusively in an unrooted “right now.” It can make things wildly bland. The richness of a long, beautifully wrinkled and grey life-lived juxtaposed with the colors and screeches of the child who just arrived is a beauty hard to capture. The “village” mentality of our ancestors, where generations are mixed together, is a way of life we have to maintain with effort if we want to experience it.

8. The ol’ fiction and walk

I recommend immersing in a very good fictional audiobook and going on a walk. Look at the world around you; every dog, every cloud, every building, every person. Sink into a story that truly grips your heart. I made a list of recommendations here. Recently, I took one from the list, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and became enraptured by it. The simplicity of a story well told inspires us to face dragons in our own lives. It allows for a healthy escape from our circumstances to encounter characters and places we can relate to our own lives and ponder. It is good to occasionally be really moved by a fairytale.

9. Be in dirt

The sandy beach, a forest creek, your own backyard: whatever it takes. Get your legs and hands dirty. Kick mud. Get your hair wet. Do a cannonball. Embrace an outdoor space for some hours with no screens or devices, just feel the earth deeply. Pay attention to the sun on your skin, the sound the water makes, and the exact shade of the color of the sky. Be in dirt, even briefly, to feel the life come back in your bones.

10. The space cleanse

Reimagine your space in terms of working with what you already have. Our environments deeply affect how we feel. You might spend the majority of your time at home. Reduce visual clutter. Remove things that feel sad, hard, or you associate with hard memories. You don’t have to throw them away, but really think through what you look at daily and sort items out if they sting.

Add color and life where you can. Put fun stuff on your fridge. Frame memories. Pull objects, books, and images that remind you of the best times to the forefront of your space as focal points. Hope is not something you stumble into; it is a muscle to strengthen and a skill to practice. Reorienting your space to fill you with hope will make that skill sharpen further.

In perfect timing for the outdoor and beach reading season, Book of the Month is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary! In April, they are offering new members their first book for just 100 cents!

Use the code HUNDRED at checkout with this link to join in the celebration and get reading! (Preferably, outside with a sparkling drink and a nearby body of water)

I think the Book of the Month puts you at the forefront of discovering new fiction work and new writers. Their subscription plan also allows you to skip over months with no charge, so you can source books as you please.

For my April read, I picked The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke, for a page-turning mystery thriller I am eager to dig into.

Hello! I am here to enthusiastically share some favorite things I’ve recently used/worn with you!

1. If I were a cartoon character who wore the same outfit every episode, I would be drawn in this striped Alex Mill cardigan. It is marvelous in style, and it is of supreme quality. I will be wearing this piece for the long haul.

2. I keep wearing this bracelet because it looks like candy. I feel like when I throw it on, my outfit instantly becomes more intentional and FUN. I’m trying to make getting dressed more fun (it’s working).

3. I’ve been using the “sandy pink” Toasty Tint from Thirsty Cowboy (a favorite small business based in Brooklyn) as blush. I always feel like blush fades off my face throughout the day for some reason, but their formula stays on all the way until the end of the day. Genuinely recommend for a sunshiney spring look.

4. My favorite coasters are from Coming Soon New York. They are this brilliant, flexible resin material, and available in so many vibrant color pairings. These are probably the pieces of home decor I get comments on the most when people come over.

5. I want to share a genuine, personal recommendation that this serum made my (dry) skin clear up and glow after some rough winter months. Might be the best product I’ve ever used for my face, as it made a noticeable, almost instant difference.

6. These are jelly ballet flats that smell like BUBBLEGUM. I wear them and feel like Polly Pocket, and that’s a really wonderful feeling.

7. I really love this brand, Du & Berry, based in Chinatown, NY. I was able to briefly meet the owner/designer and equally enjoyed her spirit and design eye. This knit, which reminds me of jam in the best way, is going to make many appearances in my spring wardrobe.

A Few Notes:

✸ A really exciting giveaway is going on right now in the comments of this post. Be sure to enter soon for a chance to win the newest fragrance from Dedcool!

✸ A new, really exciting secret website for paying subscribers of Feeling! Magazine is now live! The site is being built-out, but a really wonderful section of Feeling! Wallpapers for desktop and mobile are now live. Only paying subscribers can access, so if you’d like to get the password, check the chat!

✸ Just a thank you for reading and an ask to consider supporting Feeling! with a subscription. If you’ve been reading for a while and really enjoying it, I would appreciate your support as I work on building out some really new, big, and wonderful work this year. I have been able to keep the subscription price the most accessible (the lowest I’m able to go on Substack: $5/month) for you. For $89/yr — you also join the mailing club and receive a greeting card in the mail each month!

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

Fragrance is fascinating to me. Perhaps because, like color, it is this ambiguous, wordless storyteller that lives alongside us. Sometimes, a scent crosses my path that is so viscerally memorable, it is nearly like time travel.

I walked into the hallway where my ninth-grade locker was many years after high school, and the musty smell of the cinderblock hall brought back memories I had long forgotten.

Some scents transport us through space and time. The laundry detergent I used in my dorm, the inside of a certain leather purse, my husband’s flannel shirt collar from college, the coastal air at a specific beach, and the way my home smells after coming back from a trip.

Certain fragrances enter our lives and stick with us; a bond to memories, people, and places we can no longer access.

But could you craft a fragrance that captures these intangible, wordless feelings and bottle it up?

My scent collection throughout life has evolved with me.

The glitter Bath & Body Works Charmin’ Cherry spray is something I can close my eyes and still smell.

Pink’s Fresh & Clean makes me imagine P.E. class and a red iPod shuffle.

A few years ago, I became obsessed with finding a “signature scent” and tried many on to no avail.

One day, I discovered “Xtra Milk” from Dedcool, and that was it. I had an immediate all-time favorite. Now, I will always associate the fragrance with moving to New York, starting something new, and nights at home just my husband and me. It is a fragrance I associate with becoming me.

So, you can imagine how excited I am that I got to interview the creator of the scent and CEO of the company, and ask her all my burning questions about how their iconic fragrances come to life.

Meet Carina Chaz, the founder and CEO of Dedcool, the fragrance brand with a cult-following she built as a college student.

Carina called me from her sun-filled Los Angeles office with glowing gradient shades of orange and pink behind her. She seemed to radiate the same colors as the artwork.

“The fragrances are really personal to me,” she explains.

In the early years of Dedcool, inefficiency reigned. It was all grit.

Carina ended up back home in Los Angeles for college and found herself with a lot of time on her hands. She began mixing and playing with scents, which was not entirely unfamiliar territory, as her entrepreneurial parents manufactured all-natural spa and massage oils.

She started posting photos of the scents she was making on Instagram when she was only 21. Her friends became intrigued and began sampling and wearing her fragrances, which seemed to fall outside of the traditional perfume mold. Dedcool is innovative in the fragrance industry. The scents are not targeted to sell to one gender, and the price point is approachable (distinctions they still maintain).

Carina never anticipated her ideas would transform into a business, but demand grew.

The scents felt more fit for living real life: not overpowering, wonderfully layerable, and playful. She calls Xtra Milk, the fragrance she developed as a junior in college, “your favorite white t-shirt in a scent.”

The massively popular brand, Nasty Gal, reached out directly to her one day, unexpectedly requesting a sample of the fragrance to feature. Amazed and in shock, Carina hustled to manufacture samples in professional packaging, which was a new feat, and successfully delivered the kit to Nasty Gal. It felt like her one big shot to get Dedcool out there. But in waiting for a response, she saw online that Nasty Gal had announced a complete business closure. She took the loss and thought, “If they saw something in this, so will others.”

Carina knocked on every mom & pop shop in Los Angeles to try to get her perfume in their store. She brought her scents to trade shows, trunk shows, and across the city. This is truly her passion, she explains to me; it was not an incubator idea or celebrity-backed. It was just her, a college-student with a trunk of handmade perfume, and a passion for natural ingredients and memorable scents.

It was only a matter of time before Dedcool’s scents were picked up by major retailers. Notably, the brand entered Barneys New York in 2018 and Sephora in 2022. Even last year, they collaborated with Erewhon on an Xtra Milk smoothie release! The world she built as a student has become a major player in the fragrance market.

The team aims to launch two thoughtful scents into their collection each year. Mineral Milk is the newest in the family. The notes are: golden nectar, passionfruit, coastal lavender, ocean air, marine salt, amber milk, virginia cedar, and Australian sandalwood.

I asked Carina where this scent came from. Dedcool stays unique, not by following scent trends, but by telling personal stories. Every scent, she explains, is a representation of a memory. Mineral Milk came from the early days of her relationship, falling in love by the ocean. The salt air, the saltwater in her hair, the wild lavender growing on the beach. It was all so lovely, she asked herself, “How do I bottle this?”

It seems the secret recipe of Dedcool is a mix of personal memories, grit, authenticity, and a deep understanding of their community.

How marvelous that we can make feelings more tangible through scent when words fall short. We can transport across time and space with just a whiff of a memory.

Dedcool is the very best at crafting these fragrance experiences, and it was an honor to talk to the woman who crafted the scent that lives with me every day and brings such rich memories and joy alongside it.

It’s also an honor to introduce you to Dedcool’s new scent (and give one of you) a Mineral Milk perfume to try!

A Coastal Giveaway:

Win a bottle of ocean memories in the form of Dedcool’s coastal Mineral Milk perfume. The bottle will ship directly to the winner, with love from Feeling!

To win: Ensure you are a subscriber of Feeling! Magazine, then leave a comment on this article sharing what fragrance you’d turn into a perfume if you could.

Is it your first day in your favorite place to travel? The scent of your wedding morning? Your grandma’s coat? What feeling would you bottle? Detail scent notes in the comments!

*Paying subscribers who comment will be entered in the running twice as a thank you for their support!

Introducing the Secret Society of Feeling! Magazine

We are going offsite, everyone! Time for a URL field trip!

Welcome to the Secret Society of Feeling! Magazine, a members-only website exclusively for paid subscribers of Feeling! It will host a variety of exciting, wonderful activities just for you. Built on Squarespace, the website will house custom mini games, our complete collection of all our downloadable desktop and phone wallpapers, and even a color palette generator for your next creative project.

I am still building out the space, but I want to welcome subscribers inside early for the first time to access the April wallpaper collection. (The password to enter is in the chat!)

It’s really nice to have a place online that is not owned by anyone but you, and completely open to your creative ideas with no limitations. I have used Squarespace for my personal website for years, because the visuals are already beautiful and therefore simple to adapt and customize to my creative vision.

Specifically, the ability to password-protect this space will keep it like a clubhouse, with the password changing monthly for any supporting subscriber of Feeling! to access. The custom code features will allow us to inject custom mini games for you to play that will be reminiscent of the Disney Channel ones from the 2000s.

Squarespace also offered to take 10% off your website project, just for readers of Feeling! You can click here for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, use code “FEELING” to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. So now you can get started right away on your creative website project, too!

An exciting spoiler: I am also building a matchmaking system to find you a perfect match for letter-writing. No algorithms, no formulas, no robots. You can apply to be in the letter-writing club this spring, and a panel of real people will meticulously review your profile and find you a friendship match. The panel so far has a professional HR rep, an education consultant, a marketing expert, and a UX designer. It’s serious business.

I am so excited to see the real-life friendships bloom from this new endeavor, exclusively available on the new Secret Society of Feeling! Magazine. More on that, coming very soon.

For now, sign up for a paid subscription ($5/month, $50/year, or $89/year to join the mailing club too! You receive a greeting card in the mail every month), and you’ll get the password to enter the secret society right away.

Adding in some condensed, but classic Design Dive reporting below. Consider this a digest of fascinating new products, brands, and people to enjoy. I genuinely want to make something that you love to read.

Join me as I traverse through New York to discover new brands.

✷ Ceramics brand, Small Things, collaborated with Ithica Humus to make a limited-release olive-holding spiral in a bright pink color, inspired by the beet hummus blend.

✷ Pink Lemon Ceramics makes wonderful candle holder sculptures for mounting to the wall. I spotted one at a friend’s apartment and was enamored by it. There’s this really lovely cozy effect the flickering candles give off on the ceramic shine that really makes the room glow for such a small object.

✷ Feeling! Magazine’s Design Dive interview series is launching in April. I will be interviewing small business owners, designers, and inspiring artists on VIDEO to accompany the article! Why video? I am married to a documentary filmmaker, and he is my very favorite person to work with. As I scheme the future of Feeling!, there is no way to tell the stories I want to tell without his distinct eye, storytelling, and medium. The series will bring articles to life. Documentaries forever. Thoughtful, artistic documentaries should totally be married to imaginative, editorial magazine publications. A perfect match. The first interview has already come together wonderfully with an artist I have mentioned many times here! Get your popcorn ready.

✷ Not quite home design, but home adjacent — I tried another game from my favorite game makers, CMYK Games, called Hot Streak. They make beautifully designed games for people who don’t want to sit through a lot of instructions and just want to play. Hootin’ and hollerin’ ensued.

✷ Loeffler Randall released a wonderfully patterned and colored rain jacket collection. The designs make me want to frolic with some ducks in the countryside rain.

✷ One of my favorite brands, Joyn, released a fabulous polka dot collection of totes and purses. The canvas material is printed by hand with a block printing technique, making an incredibly durable bag.

✷ The Daughter Club is a small jewelry business I have watched for years, based in Austin, Texas. The way she pairs colors, textures, and charm motifs together really inspires me. The classic red dottie choker really has my eye. Daughter Club also made a “mini me” series for some of the jewelry, which makes a really unique and thoughtful gift for a mom you love on Mother’s Day. Matching with your cute baby in cute jewelry?!

✷ Underwater Weaving x Loeffler Randall collaborated on breath-taking colorful basket totes. A luxury splurge for spring fashion, the collection combines distinctively modern colors with traditional basket textiles. The color combinations truly inspired so many wonderful ideas for me. Vibrant seafoam and cherry red, rustic brown and butter yellow. Yum.

✷ If you like stripes, primary colors, and classic silhouettes, I’d like to introduce you to a new favorite brand of mine: Alex Mill. I first stumbled upon the brand by wandering through their store’s door near the Rockefeller Center. Connor remarked that the whole store looked like me. It’s true. Brightly colored classics! Their new spring collection came out today, and it is full of fun-colored crisp linens.

I hope that inspired you to create something, enjoy a new brand, or just immerse yourself in color for a bit. Be back soon with more reports. XO Jenna O.

If you know a brand that fits the bill of whimsy, color, and story — send me an email at jennaisfeeling@gmail.com, I’d love to work with you!

FOR JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

A note: Working with brands and businesses helps make this magazine dream come true. If I do work on a paid basis with a brand, I disclose the partnership to my readers. A few of the links I included in this article are from ShopMy, which gives the curator a little payment if someone buys a product from their recommendation. If you shop from my links, you directly support my creative work. Thank you!

Yesterday I ventured outside for the first time without my BC (big coat). This marks a momentous celebration. I can feel the sun on my skin and imagine an iced beverage in my hand once more.

We took the train to Rockaway Beach with our friends last summer. While sitting on a picnic blanket in the sand, my friend Emmae remarked she’d never seen me smile so big. I thought that surely couldn’t be, but then I realized it was because she had only ever known me in the fall and winter. She was probably right.

One inkling of summer, one gust of salt air, one patio tea, and I become fully Jenna once more. I’m baaaaack.

Seasonal arrangements are in order, everyone! Fall and winter lovers alike, come along for a dose of spring sunshine. It’s time to refresh.

If you would, recall your elementary school teacher’s meticulous attention to seasonal detail. The changing of the bulletin board art, perhaps some new wax warmer on her desk, and the fresh books on display after you got back from spring break. Those teachers were so tired, yet so intentional because they cared about us.

The joy of seasonality as motivation to keep moving forward has always inspired me, which is so magnified in the classroom setting. When a gust of fall hit, it felt like you could make it to the end of the year. When spring sunshine returned, it felt possible to make it to summer break.

It’s strange that when we become grown-ups, with our own space, we seem to mostly drop that practice of embracing the changing seasons unless it’s December.

So here’s a pitch to channel that favorite school teacher and make the season a celebration for those around you. You don’t need to get a bulletin board (although…?), you can incorporate that celebratory attitude into more practical aspects of life. Beautifying everything around you. Here are some simple things I am doing:

The kitchen: I am prominently displaying a tray of brightly colored fruit in my kitchen/dining space all season. Edible decor. A blue bowl of clementines. A jar of vibrant radish. A pink bowl of bananas. I am making produce a statement piece.

Florals for spring, of course: I will visit the closest farmer’s market for a fresh bouquet of tulips this season. I will fill my funkiest vase with them.

Coffee/tea: I am leaning towards Earl Grey, lavender, and lemon slices this time of year. I’ve found an espresso tonic with pineapple cold foam at my favorite coffee shop, and I am ready to sit outside and sip.

Card games: The sun is setting later, so I have the itch for some rounds of cards at the next game night. I’d like to get into that peak game night flow.

My spring wardrobe: If you don’t mind, I would like to try something new!

Feeling! Magazine’s first “lookbook.”

Emulating my favorite old print magazine styles, I played dress-up and put some inspiration together for you as a lookbook. I hope you glean some inspiration from these spring looks. It was very fun. All the clothes are from my genuinely favorite store, Sézane.

I am interested in combining stone pastels with vibrant colors this year. This year, I am not going all light and bright for spring; I am leading with strong color stories.

I combined a classic dark-wash high-waisted denim with an olive top. The breezy texture of the top with the comfortable stretch of these jeans means I can go outside for hours and still feel great. I styled the combo with a pop of red (my favorite kind of pop) in the form of jelly shoes.

Finally, I paired the look with a thick beaded necklace and bracelet that I will likely wear all summer too, because they look like candy and go with everything.

Rolling cuffs for spring! Wearing chunky jewelry for spring! Too many buttons to count for spring! This bracelet is especially fun to wear over a sleeve. I will have to show you what it looks like over sweater sleeves soon.

If you are feeling pastels, may I introduce you to stone pastels? Light blue is currently all over my space and my closet.

I paired a big collar denim top with embroidered cream denim trousers. Every piece of fabric touching me is soft; this is essential to me as a person.

I feel like myself in a fun collar and denim. These pants can be dressed up for spring events or more casual for simple get-togethers. I am excited to try them out with a lot of different top/shoe combos. I have a very small IKEA wardrobe, so any piece I get has to be able to be worn again & again with so many combinations. It’s ruthless to make the cut. Both of these pieces will do just that. (I already love how the collar looks peaking out over a sweater!)

I hope the colors, cuts, and fabrics inspire you to get excited about your spring outfitting. What we wear is a part of celebrating the season, too. If the lookbook was helpful in any way, let me know if you have any thoughts for future dressing themes. I’d love to do it again.

To me, spring represents newness. I am aiming to make new things, try new things, befriend new people, and discover new ways to be me.

It’s time to start something new.

✸ Thinking about flowers for spring is certainly not groundbreaking. But flowers are on my mind nonetheless. Did you know flowers have different symbolic meanings? Gifting certain types of flowers traditionally communicates something specific. The Farmer’s Almanac has a guide for what each type of flower represents, if you’d like to brush up before Mother’s Day and spring events.

✸ I found this very fun color game, which has you guess the exact shade of a color to test your memory. I shared it in the Feeling! chat this week, where everyone shared their scores. The response proves to me that we are all longing for pleasant internet mini games again. (I have some ideas)

✸ I have been on the hunt for a thick hand cream to recover my skin from winter and Soft Services made their signature overnight pump cream into my favorite scent, Xtra Milk! The soft blue color vessel fits in my stone pastel theme and looks decorative on a nightstand.

✸ Do you have an itch for a new nightly crafting ritual? Somewhere between knitting, embroidery, and needlepoint lies punch needling. It’s fun because it’s both fuzzy and a little violent. This punch needle kit has my color scheme stamp-of-approval.

✸ This is irrelevant, yet might be specifically very timely for someone. So I will share. I found a banana bread mix that I love. It’s good stuff. I put the mix in a muffin tin, and it makes the yummiest treats to pick at throughout the week (or sometimes in 48 hours).

✸ I made some unique drink recipes to try out for spring, including a banana cold foam topper for your homemade matcha lattes!

✸ This is a piece I wrote last year that is a bit of an ethos for Feeling! Magazine. Wild how much growth has happened since the article was first published. I am so grateful you are all interested in becoming the creative director of your own space! I just know if we were all in the same room, we could move mountains (with a color-coded system, likely).

✸ I made you this crossword puzzle, by the way. Feel free to print it out or fill it out on an iPad for a leisurely evening wind-down:

Greetings from the best spot on the internet, the Feeling! Magazine chat room! We hosted our first show + tell.

I recently wrote about what makes a home truly feel lived-in versus just designed well. One key feature is objects/art that tell a story that means something to you.

I asked the chat, “Do you have a favorite piece with a story? And will you share it with us?

: How fun!!! In my very first apartment in NYC, my roommate broke her key in our very old door, which effectively locked me in / her out. Our landlord was nowhere to be found, so we called a locksmith who promptly charged us $1,300 to rip off our door handle entirely and replace it (we were 22 and broke and yet just went along with it!).

We moved to a new apartment shortly after and have since lived in multiple apartments separately, but we each kept half of the ripped off door handle to remind of us of those silly and broke 22-year-olds who have in fact, since upgraded to doors/locks that work.

Mine hangs on a gallery wall, and it’s always such a fun and unique conversation piece (plus a sweet memory!)

: “Mine is more of a gallery wall art in our living room that my husband and I collected during our month long elopement while we backpacked around Europe! This is an immediate conversation piece when we have people come over.”

: I spent a few months living in Greece and wondered how I might bring some of that historic character, wood, and texture to my home in the States when I returned.
A few years later, always scouring Facebook marketplace for unique finds, a gentleman posted this stunning piece…it was handmade in the Mediterranean and then shipped here as a custom piece that was used in their family for a few generations. As much as the gentleman wanted to keep it, he didn’t have the space for it anymore.
As you can imagine with a piece like this, hundreds of people messaged him practically begging for it. But he happened to click on my message in which I poured my heart and soul out (practically wrote a letter) about how this piece would become part of the heart of my home and kitchen and the feeling I wish to create for my own family for generations to come.
“SOLD!” He said…
Only, to my husband’s surprise, the piece was 2 hours away (one way). Though I’ve often had pieces sold out from under me on marketplace before, I had a feeling this one was meant to be ours so we braved the drive, and the seller trusted that we would indeed arrive. And we both kept our word. So on a rainy Sunday afternoon, we made the drive and my husband and brother kindly hauled it up to our third floor apartment where it has become a treasure since.
The thing with this piece and this story is that the story is only going to continue! More life will be lived in its presence, and more homes will hold it, as we hope and pray to one day build our own kitchen around it in a home of our own someday.
We’re so grateful that we were its chosen keepers!

: “When I moved to LA after college, I randomly bought this chair at the Los Feliz Goodwill for $6. It unexpectedly became a key styling piece for me—a cute little nook for me to stack books and hang umbrellas—and has followed me from apartment to apartment and coast to coast.

Now, living in Brooklyn seven years later, I’m still strangely attached to this chair. And while thrifting in Jersey, I found a miniature version of it that I’ve since grown (almost as) attached to. It makes me want to own mini versions of all my most cherished objects.”

: “My husband’s grandmother was a master doing needlepoint. When we engaged, she brought out a huge album of her work and said, “Pick one for your wedding present.” We choose this one, but she said “No, that’s too small. That won’t do.” I was stunned, but okay. So we choose another of sunflowers.
Two years later, we had graduated, got adult jobs,and moved to Los Angeles. My in-laws and his grandmother came for Thanksgiving. After they’d gotten settled, she pulled this out and gave it to us. It’s hung prominently ever since.”

: “My mom and I have both always loved a beach vacation, but since growing up and getting older, many of our vacations are now separate. We gave up on the idea of buying each other silly souvenirs that will sit and collect dust. We instead have this large, shared jar in her house, and we bring back a few seashells from each of our trips, then combine them into the jar. Neither of us can remember where any specific shell came from, and that’s the beauty of it. It simply sits there and gets fuller and fuller each time one of us gets back from a vacation. (The best part is opening up and getting a subtle whiff of ocean air.)”

: “I designed this departure board to be the cafe menu at my bike shop/ coffee shop. The whole spirit of the space was exploration and adventure. When my research showed that an actual vintage departure board was going to be way out of budget, I worked with a fabricator to create this. It actually went sort of viral, got featured in design magazines, and got knocked off by several other local businesses (a compliment?)

When we closed the shop, I moved it into our house, and now it’s a sort of vision board of bucket list places we want to visit. It’s one of the few things we held onto.

I’m still so proud of it, and I love watching guests’ eyes light up when they see it for the first time- just like they did at the shop. More and more, I’m making friends who didn’t know me when the shop was open, so it’s (mostly) fun to retell the story.”

It was so fun to engage with your beautiful homes and pieces, and an honor to hear your stories. I love the place we get to interact, here, together!

This Friday, you are invited to join the chat for my first-ever “Office Hours.”

I often get messages I accidentally miss throughout the week with thoughtful questions, and I want to create an organized space to converse with you. I am going to do my best to keep Fridays open for “Office Hours” where you can bring questions, thoughts, and feelings regarding home, color, design, Substack, and living — and we can discuss together. See you there Friday!!!

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

In 2021, I closed my storefront. It housed a large space for retail, and the back of the space was a full-functioning loose-leaf & matcha tea bar. The experience of being a shop owner introduced me to fascinating tasks that I grew to love. Things that taught me how fun work can truly be when you love what you are doing.

Perhaps my favorite was developing the seasonal menu for the tea bar. A small team would gather to discuss flavors, make samples, test out recipes, and dream about what customers would delight in most. Naming the beverage was my favorite part. (We had a whole collection of Wes Anderson-inspired specials)

After the pandemic forced me to close down my dream, I was most grieved by the realization that the work I had discovered I loved to do was over. It felt like a one-sided break-up, with no chance to return to the life I had come to enjoy; I just had to move on.

Years later, one night in my apartment kitchen, something in me came back online. I could make a seasonal menu for myself. I had never considered the possibility of bringing back the work I really liked to do, just for me. But the idea struck, so I considered, why not?

I whipped up lavender syrup and declared to my husband our “coffee shop” would have lavender lattes for spring.

The creative practice has transpired into a communal activity. For my birthday, we invited 10 or so friends over with a menu of funfetti cake and strawberry lattes. I “hired” Connor and some friends to take orders.

I realized I often prioritize creative work that directly brings in income or makes a perceived career difference, and neglect creative work I love just because I love it. A balance of both is healthy, but the scale was so tipped to the work side that there was no room for play.

Making seasonal drinks is something that connects me back to that work I used to love so much and allows me to give something delicious to my friends. It’s fun to make purely for joy.

So I am inviting you into this joy with me today, with some fun recipes to consider for your spring drinks. On the menu:

• How to make a perfect pour-over

• How to batch brew iced chamomile yuzu tea

• How to make cloudy banana foam for a matcha latte (including a non-dairy version)

• How to make blackberry lavender syrup for iced lattes

The Pour Over

A pour-over is often considered the purest way to drink coffee. It slows you down and is more methodical than just touching a button. Similar to the at-home matcha movement, I think people are generally longing for more hands-on ways to live out daily routines. The process of making a pour-over slows you down, but also brews an authentic cup of coffee, letting the tasting notes truly shine. It’s a really calming and beautiful ritual in the kitchen. Connor makes a pour-over most days. I asked to watch his process and document.

We are big Fellow people for all things coffee and tea. Here is exactly what we use:

• Coffee Grinder: We have this beautiful grinder in white. It’s more like an object in the kitchen than an appliance — sleek, simple, and compact.

• Pour Over Setup: This small setup is such a thoughtful design, including a vessel for measuring beans and a drip tray. I like that it hardly takes up any space, which is necessary in a tight apartment kitchen.

• Temperature-controlled kettle: The best investment for getting serious about coffee and tea is being able to control the temperature of your water. This is the same kettle I used in my tea bar, though those were pink!

• To-go thermos: I talk about it often — it’s the only thermos I can put in my purse, take on the train, it doesn’t spill, AND it’s still ice cold or super hot. Plus, it comes in fun colors.

• Scale: If you are making pour-overs regularly, a digital scale for weighing ratios is a key part of the process. You will feel like a coffee scientist.

Here is a guide, per Fellow’s amazing instructions, that we use to make a perfect pour-over at home (with photos!):

Please always feel free to leave any hiccups, questions, or thoughts in the comments — always happy to problem-solve recipes with you.

Let’s dig into the more seasonal menu, starting with a refreshing blackberry lavender syrup:

Read more

Hello and welcome to another edition of Feeling! Magazine.

Feeling! (with the exclamation point) is a lifestyle magazine about creating, designing, and living with more zest for life. It’s the kind of thing I think Phineas and Ferb would likely read. Within years in the throes of grief, I started making joyful things, like color palettes and hand-sketched reminders of hope. I did so instinctively, like a survival mechanism, despite how I felt. When I started sharing my work online, a community grew of people who also needed some hope and beauty.

I became a middle school teacher, and for the first time, realized what we are truly up against. I saw the epidemic of anxiety and depression firsthand in kids who should be playing on the playground, but were gripped in despair. My colorful resolve strengthened in the classroom as I sought to make a place on campus where kids felt hopeful about the future.

Somehow, even on really hard days for me, I was able to find hope outside of me and channel every ounce of it towards them. We solved real problems, we made things with our hands, and we worked. Creative work, for me, has always been a balm to panic — and it turns out it’s the same for twelve-year-olds, and maybe for all of us.

Things like preparing food, decorating a space, or even choosing what color to wear are dismissed as frivolous or meaningless. But I’ve experienced the exact opposite. The remembrance of a birthday, a shared meal in a tiny apartment, a handwritten note, a shared moment over coffee — these are the things that matter immensely. These are things that push back against an epidemic of despair; these are things that keep people alive, I believe.

I’ve combined my love for design and writing to make a magazine I wish always existed. I write about making a life that intentionally echoes hope, as hope is a muscle to strengthen and fight for, not something you stumble upon when you have a really good day. It’s not about buying new things or rebranding yourself monthly. You, just the way you are, are quite lovely. You’re not a vessel for spending money, you’re not a KPI, you’re YOU!

I hope whatever it is that feels like bouyancy to you — dedicated time to create in the kitchen, re-arranging your space, making things with your hands, or connecting with your community — is simply enhanced by reading this publication. My goal is that when you get a notification from Feeling! it feels like fresh air.

I want to thank you sincerely for being here and reading. If you’d like to support this publication and my goal of turning it into print, you can do so by subscribing. I deeply appreciate your comments, too! I don’t know if you realize how much they mean to me. I always say the comment sections here are the best part of the entire internet, as we truly engage with one another, offer advice, and send encouragements. If you are a frequent commenter, I know you by name, and you truly make all the hours I spend making a newsletter feel welcomed. Thank you. If you have yet to dabble in the magic of the comment section, I would love to invite you to join in. It’s really a wonderful community, and we’d love to get to know you.

Coming to Feeling! this week: homemade coffee/tea recipes, including a banana foam matcha & blackberry lavender latte, an announcement of a new secret club for paid subscribers, and a guide for spring dressing!

Subscribe now

A pale pink meets a jewel-toned plum. Perfect for stripes, polka dots, and extravagant floral patterns.

Every year, I sell a limited amount of color dot calendars. I set aside a small stash to cover for any postal losses, weather damage, etc. And this year I have leftovers! I’ve listed them online for half off, and have about 15 left. Every month is a full spread of colors, serving as fun decor for the whole year! I’ve never placed them on sale before, but I would love to send you some color! Get one here.

Movies to Watch on a Rainy Spring Evening
with Guest Curator, Connor O’Brien

I do not know another person who enthusiastically takes time to research and diligently answer a text that says, “What movie should I watch tonight?” And he does get that text quite frequently!

Meet , the guest writer for this list of film recommendations, and the guy I’ve had a crush on for over 10 years. He’s a documentary filmmaker and a lifelong movie-lover. He is a legend amongst our friends for picking the exact right film for the exact right feeling.

I asked him to make a list of films that feel like a rainy spring day, maybe a little moody, but only leave you feeling warm and imaginative. After a long winter, the last thing I want to watch is something that will leave me in a glum tailspin. I want something lighter and brighter, but still with a depth of feeling.

Here are Connor’s recommendations and his notes to help you pick your next watch:

Ever just watch a city breathe while you look through a rain-streaked window? Wong Kar-wai crafts two love stories that barely touch but echo each other in longing and timing. While there’s a melancholic element at play here, the artful storytelling is so entertaining and beautiful that the credits roll and you’re still wearing a smile from a scene that happened twenty minutes ago.

The kind of film that reminds you how close we all are to being known, if only the timing were just slightly different.

A true whimsical tale with a few valuable life lessons. A son tries to make sense of his father’s life, but the truth seems to drift into myth. Tim Burton delivers something softer than his usual edge, giving us something more tender. Despite the cheer of the film, we remain grounded in the ache of wanting to understand someone you love before it’s too late.

Beneath this humorous and adventurous film that many of us have seen, there is a sobering story about stepping into the unknown and discovering who you are outside of fear. A modern animated classic, I’d say. It’s easy to celebrate spring when you know it came out of winter.

Closer to documentary than you might expect, Lee Isaac Chung brings this film to audiences with a lot of heart. A quiet story about a family trying to take root in unfamiliar soil. It’s about faith, disappointment, and a small, stubborn hope. Production is a bit stripped back, but it allows for a more human connection to be felt, something that A24 has been able to champion - especially in their early years.

The Japanese government literally wanted Wim Wenders (director of one of Jenna’s favorites, Paris, Texas) to show off their new toilets installed around Tokyo. Instead, he makes an Oscar-nominated feature-length film about a toilet cleaner living a simple, repetitive life in Tokyo, and somehow reveals how full that life can be. It invites you to slow down, to notice, to be content with what’s right in front of you. Don’t be surprised if I’m still talking about this movie when I’m 80 years old.

This film was a big, sweet surprise. I completely misunderstood the concept and therefore didn’t watch it until last week, but there’s something inherently tender about the idea of stepping into roles of care, even temporarily. If done well, stories like this tend to explore what makes human connection real in the first place. Fitting for a grey, rainy afternoon. Maybe you shed a tear, but it’s joy that ultimately wells up during this film.

The beginning of a worthwhile trilogy. Especially if you like dialogue-led character-exploration with a flirtatious lead duo. Two people connect for a few fleeting hours, and somehow it feels like an entire lifetime is being weighed in real time. Richard Linklater lets conversation carry everything here, and it provides a refreshing gap of spectacle, just presence.

Perhaps you’ve heard this all before. Totoro is a mascot for cozy, rainy-day movie watching, but it’s still a worthy pick here. Childlike wonder in its purest form. Hayao Miyazaki captures the magic of ordinary days, like just waiting at a bus stop, walking through trees, and listening to the rain. It’s comforting in a way that lifts your spirit.

This is one of those hear-me-out moments, because the mention of Adam Sandler isn’t what most people would expect to find here. But…hear me out. This is a beautifully strange, anxious kind of love story that lands on something very sincere. Paul Thomas Anderson (finally an Oscar winner) shows us a chaotic man with stunted emotional intelligence and lets him stumble into his own tale of unexpected love. It’s awkward, unpredictable, but so charming and funny.

Let’s give it up for Rob Reiner and this story that knows it’s a story. This film is easy to delight in. It’s romantic, funny, and even a rare rewatch for me. There’s something about its sincerity beneath the humor that makes it feel like soul food on a rainy day. Quote this with your friends if you’ve seen it before, or settle in for an incredible adventure if it’s your first time.

— Connor O.

✸ I made a recipe for earl grey cremé granola, and we have already devoured the entire batch. Making granola was so much easier than I expected, and honestly, kind of a meditative process. I also share a recipe for a citrus matcha blend, lavender honey almond, and one we dubbed the “coffee shop blend.”

✸ If you are hosting guests soon, perhaps you could find something useful in this piece where I detail turning 700 sq. ft. into a weekend boutique hotel for 5 guests.

✸ If you are decorating your space, revamping your spring wardrobe, or updating your Google Calendar, it’s helpful to have some reference palettes. I’ve made a whole collection here.

✸ Feel like taking a quiz to discover what early 2000s Windows XP icon you would be? Well, great news. I have the newsletter for you!

Hello! I am here to enthusiastically share some favorite things I’ve recently used/worn with you!

1. Bubblegum-Scented Jelly Shoes: Okay, I have the find of all finds. The perfect spring shoe, priced in a way that you want to get one in every color. Melissa’s jelly shoes are made with a signature bubblegum scent. Yes, bubblegum scent. Like you are a Polly Pocket. Mine arrived this week, and I can personally attest to the quality and comfort. I am absolutely confident they will last me until winter, and absolutely confident you will rarely see me without them on! They are also shockingly comfortable. I went for bright red!

2. King Sear Cast Iron: If you’ve been reading along, you know I have discovered my favorite hobby is cooking. I’ve been working to teach myself how to do it correctly and transform some of my basic skills into more serious ones. I recently got this cast-iron skillet, and it’s transformed the taste profile in my kitchen. I was always intimidated by cast-iron since I could not throw it in the dishwasher, but, like many things, it is much simpler than I assumed. I have been cooking most everything on it and am impressed with its quality and durability. (I have the olive green one!)

3. Polka Dot Tote Collection: Joyn released a new, adorable collection of polka dot totes and purses. The ruffles are simply fabulous. Even more so is their fair-trade production process and the heart behind the brand. I have some of their collection from winter, and I cannot believe the bags are block printed and sewn by hand! The canvas fabric makes for a much tougher tote you can hold on to for years to come.

4. Buffing Bar: Soft Services is a soap company that my skin really loves. My eyes also really love them, because everything they make is really beautifully designed and packaged. The buffing bar is a bar of soap with some serious grit. It’s an exfoliant that will clear your skin up as you gently scrub. A pop of cobalt blue in the shower could not hurt, either.

5. Oscar Wilde: I am on a classics kick and just finished “The Picture of Dorian Grey” for the first time. I’ve read Oscar Wilde’s short stories, but this one had me absolutely zeroed in until I finished it. I loved reading “The Scarlet Letter” (not sure what that says about me, haha), and the themes overlap remarkably.

6. Comfortable Jeans: Oh, these old things? These are just the jeans I have been wearing every day for a month. Sézane may have just become my favorite for denim. They are soft. And they are flattering. And the wash is the perfect denim shade. And they fit in the right spots and flare a bit at the feet.

7. Mineral Milk Perfume: Dedcool, my favorite fragrance brand, has made a signature scent for summer. Mineral Milk is a combination of passionfruit, lavender, ocean air, amber milk, and sandalwood. It smells like a memory of a trip to the sea — how it smelled to return to your room after staying out by the water all day. The travel size is only $30, and ready to go to the sea with you.

Fiction is magic, fiction is essential. Taking a note from my favorite magazines, fiction embedded in an editorial publication seems like a perfect match. I contracted D.B. Taylor of Paper Mirror to write a fictional story for you all to enjoy.

Inspired by American Girl’s Coconut and Licorice, a fictional tale of my own dog and cat, Genevieve & Rose, has been coming to you in small chapters. Here is the final chapter, along with the complete story, all in one place.

Follow a whimsical story of a dog and cat duo navigating New York City when no one is looking. The story will have you on the edge of your seat, and perhaps so invested in their joyful, silly world so much that you pause scrolling just to sit with them for a bit.

Enjoy thoroughly!

Rose and Genevieve and the Mysterious Pigeon Crisis

Chapter 1: A New Adventurer

“I can’t wait to see Mr. Owl!” barked Genevieve. The dog’s brown fur matched the golden hue of autumn leaves, which floated like tiny ships riding the breeze. She wagged her tail so hard it threw her off balance. Both she and Rose walked with purpose.

Central Park carried a crispness in the air. The fall chill was brisk enough to encourage a jacket, but only an unbuttoned one. Multitudes of people strolled the little forest, each holding a warm beverage in hand and a story on their lips.

It was easy for Rose to press forward; it was harder for Genevieve. There were simply too many smiles, and far too many potential pets. Still, her self-control proved true, for she only stopped for a dozen belly rubs.

“You hear me?” Genevieve bounced. “I can’t wait!”

Rose rolled her eyes. “We just saw him,” purred the cat. She didn’t understand her sister’s need to be so excitable.

“I know! But he’s so funny! Once we solve this, he’ll be happy, maybe he’ll even make us some of that special tea!”

Rose tried to remain indifferent. But for some reason, Mr. Owl’s tea came to mind, perfectly warm, perfectly sweet, and somehow... perfectly kind. The thought startled her. How could a drink be kind? And yet, it just made sense. Despite her cunning nature, she didn’t notice the smile creep across her face, slow and sneaky.

“You want some too, don’t you?” Genevieve grinned wide.

“No such thing,” hissed the cat, bending her smile into a frown. She had to be the serious one, after all. Daydreaming about tea would only delay them! But inside, her heart danced like the pigeons used to.

They trotted in silence, noticing the sky grow thin and lifeless.

“So why do you think the pigeons stopped dancing?” Genevieve asked, cocking her head in that very doggish way. “Where might they have gone?”

Rose said nothing; she too wondered. “How strange,” she finally purred.

Suddenly, a small pigeon darted low, nearly giving Rose a heart attack. Genevieve barked, “What’s the matter? Are you all sick?” The little white bird’s movements were sharp, frantic.

“Please! What’s wrong?” Genevieve cried. They chased after it, until the sound of jackhammers and power tools shattered their focus. Both cat and dog turned toward the noise, but when they looked back up, the pigeon was gone.

Rose petted her chin thoughtfully. “The noise, the construction, it’s messing with their rhythm.”

“You think?” Genevieve said, scanning the sky, hoping for the bird’s return.

“It’s a hunch,” the cat shrugged. “But I think it’s true. Think about it, ever since the noise started, all the animals have been acting strange. You can’t even find a squirrel on the edge of the park, it’s that loud.”

The construction seemed to be the culprit. The jazz musician who once played on the corner was now replaced by orange cones, the only kind of orange that clashed with fall.

“Look!” barked Genevieve. “That kind old man, the one with the breadcrumbs, he’s not here anymore!”

They both stared at the empty spot; it was lonely without his presence, cold even.

“Good eye,” meowed Rose. “Let’s start with him.”

Chapter 2: The Mouse with the Message

The old man was nowhere to be seen! And in the weeks that followed, as the air grew chillier and chillier, Rose and Genevieve found not a single lead.

“What on earth are we going to do?!” barked Genevieve. Her sister always had the answers, and this was a rare moment Genevieve actually wanted to hear one. But alas, like Genevieve, she had nothing.

The two sat under a bit of shelter in a dusty old alley. The rain poured down like pigeon tears, heavy, endless, and full of mystery. They sat and thought. And thought. And sat some more.

Then, squeak.

And again, squeak, squeak, squeeeak!

The sound grew louder, like tiny footsteps made of rubber bands. Rose noticed first, and to her great annoyance, she found the source: a mouse, waddling confidently their way.

“How funny!” Genevieve barked, noticing the earnest creature. “I love the noises he makes when he walks!”

Rose gave a strained smile, the kind reserved for other people’s strange enthusiasms. Truth be told, she hated mice. Most cats do. And most mice return the feeling with interest.

The mouse skidded to a stop and unfurled a tiny, rain-stained bit of paper from the clutches of his tail. To Genevieve’s shock, his voice came out deep and gravelly.

“You the ones lookin’ for Mr. Chester?” he said, refusing to meet Rose’s eyes.

Rose, in turn, refused to meet his. She lifted her nose so high it nearly sucked in a cloud.

“Rose! Don’t be rude!” Genevieve scolded.

But Rose remained frozen, a statue of feline pride and disdain.

Genevieve turned to the mouse. “That’s the old man who feeds the pigeons?”

The mouse nodded firmly, so firm in fact his body bounced.

“That’s Mr. Chester, all right.” He side-stepped closer to Genevieve and away from Rose. Then, puffing himself up to his full two inches, he pointed a trembling finger.

“Listen here, missy!” he squeaked in his gruffest voice. “You best leave Pops alone! He’s had enough of your kind!” Like an untied balloon, his demand started deep but ended with a shrill squeak.

The accusation shocked Genevieve. Her tail drooped. “My kind?” she whimpered.

“Yes, your kind! Dogs!” the mouse declared, stamping his tiny foot; a puddle of water kicked up and drenched the poor fellow. Mr. Mouse winced, but then continued as if nothing happened. “Always chasin’ away the pigeons. It’s a conspiracy, I tell ya! And you’re to blame. Poor Mr. Chester’s been heartbroken since his birdies left him!”

His tough exterior melted as his voice cracked. The mouse turned away, hiding his tears, but the trembling of his little shoulders betrayed him.

“Oh no...” Genevieve whispered. The thought broke her heart. Whatever tears the old man might be crying, oh how badly she wanted to just lick them all away! I tell you what, reader, the world would be a better place with a Genevieve present for each and every tear.

The mouse reluctantly turned, trying so hard to suck in his sadness.

“I’m so sorry, my friend.” She whimpered, stretching her paws forward until they were eye level. Her big brown eyes met his red, watery ones. “It wasn’t me,” she said softly. “Me and Rose were sent by Mr. Owl to find out what happened. We just want to help.”

Rose, who had been pretending not to care, finally lowered her gaze. All hostilities tend to dissolve when you see another cry. She gave a quiet, rumbling purr, flicking her tail just so, brushing away his tears.

The mouse blinked in surprise, then leaned into the soft rhythm of her tail. He even gave it a shy pat.

“I’ll take you to him,” the mouse sniffled at last.

And so, under the drizzle of rain and tears, a cat, a dog, and a soggy little mouse began their next adventure.

Chapter 3: The Rain, the Mouse, and the Pack

They were forced to find an alternative route. Some spaces were far too small for poor Genevieve to fit through, and nearly too small for Rose.

“Nobody gets left behind!” ordered the mouse.

So the three of them scurried through the rain. Genevieve had a sneaking suspicion that the mouse’s noble statement had less to do with wanting everyone together and more to do with not wanting to be alone with Rose.

They continued in silence, wet, chilly, soggy silence. The mouse darted only through alleys, no matter how narrow, no matter how mucky. Every few steps he would freeze at a sound, sniff the air dramatically, then, after a long minute, beckon them onward with a tiny wave.

“What is with this thing?” Rose muttered, flicking her drenched fur. Water dripped from her like a used towel. The mouse no longer cried, and she remained cold, wet, and grumpy.

Genevieve growled. “Rose, he’s helping us! I know you two have your differences, but could you please try to be kind for goodness’ sake?”

Rose recoiled. Genevieve almost never growled. The words hung heavy in the rain.

Dear reader, as much as we’d like to think otherwise, change takes time. Rose’s earlier sympathy for the little mouse had melted away, replaced by that old, mean whisper inside her head: Mice are stupid, smelly, tiny, and pointless. Unless she caught herself, she’d believe it again and again. Fortunately, Rose had a sister who loved her enough to tell her the truth, even when it stung.

The rain poured harder. Both Rose and the mouse began to shiver, the kind of full-body, silly shiver that shakes your ears and makes you smile after because, well, you must have looked ridiculous. By sheer coincidence, they both gave one of those shakes at the same moment, both noticing the other. For the first time, it seemed maybe cats and mice weren’t so different after all.

“Here!” barked Genevieve suddenly. She loved the rain; it reminded her of happy splashes and puddle days. But her friends were miserable, and she wanted to help.

Being the perfect height for such things, Genevieve trotted over to Rose and walked above her, matching her pace.

“What are you—” Rose began, but stopped when she realized she no longer felt the rain. Warmth covered her. “Thank you,” she said quietly. Purring, as silly as it sounds, Rose forgot what dryness felt like.

Beside her, the mouse hugged its tail, teeth rattling with every step.

“Mouse,” Rose called. “Come under me.”

Mr. Mouse hesitated for a moment. Cats love to play tricks on little mice, so he watched her with wary eyes.

“Come on, don’t be ridiculous! It’s freezing out there.” Rose smiled, beckoning the mouse once more.

Despite his fears, despite his past experiences with cats, he trusted Rose. Something about him just wanted to, maybe it was just the cold. Or maybe the want for a new friend. Either way, the miserable little mouse lit up like a lantern. He scurried under the cat, who walked under the dog, who took all the rain away. Genevieve smiled because they smiled.

The walk grew warmer, brighter, softer. Only Genevieve bore the rain now, but she didn’t mind. Nothing made her happier than seeing two friends become friends themselves.

But then, a low growl cut through the peace.

Before they knew it, they were surrounded.

Everywhere they turned, dogs stood in the rain, big, small, fluffy, muddy, and mean. Some had big fat heads, others narrow snouts; some flashed sharp teeth, others silly grins. But every last one growled the same ugly growl.

The mouse dared not peek out. Rose trembled under Genevieve’s belly, her tail puffed like a feather duster.

“What’s the matter with you? You’re scaring us!” Genevieve yipped.

“Good!” snarled the largest dog, slobber flying. “You’re the one trying to bring the pigeons back. Well, don’t! They’re nothing but rats with wings!” He stopped to grin at the mouse. “No offense.”

The pack erupted with cruel laughter, the kind that has no joy in it at all.

“Enough!” Genevieve barked. “We’ve done nothing to you! The pigeons have done nothing to you!”

More laughter.

A skinny dog with a high, whiny voice slunk close to Genevieve’s face. “You think we’re awful, don’t you?”

“It took you this long to figure that out?” hissed Rose.

The skinny dog snarled, lowering his head toward her. Rose instinctively recoiled, tucking Mr. Mouse safely beneath her.

“Stop it! Just stop it!” Genevieve cried, bouncing on her paws, desperate for the bullies to back away.

“You love those pigeons so much, huh?” one dog barked. “They’re a nuisance! Always hovering, always cooing, always—”

A fat-headed dog shoved his friend aside. “You don’t owe them an explanation.” He turned to the pack. “Let’s go.”

They all stepped closer, rain dripping off their snouts, eyes blazing. Genevieve stood tall, the rain pouring down her head. Rose and the mouse trembled beneath her, but Genevieve didn’t flinch. She wasn’t scared, just mad. Mad at the meanness.

“If you get in the middle of this,” the fat-headed dog growled, “we’ll stop you. The pigeons are our enemies. Don’t make yourselves one too.”

Then, as quickly as they appeared, the pack scattered into the shadows, leaving the three travelers alone again, their hearts pounding, the air heavy with what they’d just witnessed.

The rain fell softer now, but none of them felt quite as warm as before.

Chapter 4: The House of Dust and Quiet

The old man’s house was quiet and dusty. The orange paint on the walls had faded to a tired peach, chipped in spots like worn-out memories. A bookshelf leaned in the corner, sagging under the weight of too many books and too many years.

The old man sat in a rocking chair, swaying gently back and forth. In his hands he cradled a steaming cup of coffee as though it were a fragile treasure.

“I’m not going to scare any pigeons away!” Genevieve blurted suddenly.

The room was so still that her voice seemed to echo. The old man tilted his head, amused.

“We... we’re here to help,” Rose added, giving her sister a sharp look that clearly said: Try to act proper.

The man smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, little ones.”

Their mouse guide scurried up the man’s pant leg and perched on his shoulder. He whispered a series of squeaks into the old man’s ear.

“I see,” the man said, stroking his beard. “So, good old Mr. Owl sent you two. Fine fellow, that one. Why I didn’t ask for his help sooner, I’ll never know.”

“What’s going on, sir? How can we help?” Genevieve asked, her voice soft with worry.

“Easy now,” said the old man, resting a weathered hand on her head. “Some problems can’t be fixed. Some we must simply grieve. It’s the pigeons, they’ve fled. Once again, the city’s turned against them.”

Rose’s tail flicked in irritation. “It’s the construction,” she hissed. “Must they always tear down walls and use such loud machines? It’s a shame, truly a shame.”

The old man gave her a long look, one of those glances that feel warm and piercing all at once, like a sip of coffee that’s so hot it prickles your throat, but somehow that’s what makes it good.

“Ah,” he said with a smile full of wrinkles. “Is that what you think?”

Rose blinked, caught off guard. Had she missed something? A calculation, a truth she hadn’t considered?

“It would be far easier if that were the case,” the man went on. His smile remained, but the shine in his eyes dimmed. “But no. It’s not the noise, or the cranes, or the jackhammers.”

Genevieve and Rose exchanged a puzzled look.

The mouse straightened on the man’s shoulder, clearing his throat with a squeaky authority. “The construction keeps my people safe,” he said. “Especially in winter. Mice aren’t welcome in many places, you know. New homes mean old homes get left behind, and that’s where we move in.”

The old man nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek. “It’s something deeper than the construction. There’s always noise in New York; those pigeons are tough enough to nap through a thunderstorm. No, it’s not the noise.” He sighed, voice trembling. “It’s the perception.”

Rose tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

The old man took one last sip of coffee, then set the cup down gently and leaned forward. The chair creaked, the air thickened, and even the mouse went silent.

“Let me tell you a story...”

Chapter 5: The Pigeon Got a Boy

Oh, he was so very excited to finally have one! He had heard that humans threw quite the party. You could fly and feast whenever you wanted. However, what the pigeon didn’t expect was the friendship.

He loved his boy. He would nestle into the boy’s soft hair and fall asleep while the boy read fairy tales aloud. Together they traveled all across New York, visiting bakeries, candy shops, art museums, and everything in between.

In those days, nearly everyone had a pigeon perched in their hair or proudly sitting on their shoulder. They didn’t beg for scraps or make a fuss. They were family, and they were welcome.

The boy had a friend named Trey. Trey didn’t have a pigeon, but he had a dog. The four of them, two boys, one dog, and one pigeon, met often in the park to play. They played tag, cops and robbers, all sorts of games. The boy laughed the hardest whenever the dog barked, how it yipped and yowled, woofed and whined, and the boy laughed and laughed and laughed.

This should have made the pigeon happy. But the more the boy laughed at the dog, the sadder the pigeon felt.

The more they played, the less the pigeon seemed to belong.

“I know!” thought the pigeon one night. “I’ll learn how to bark!”

So he tried. Oh, how he tried! He spent night after night practicing. But no matter how he strained, he could only

“Coo.”

Loud coos, soft coos, in-between coos, but never a bark. His nature simply wouldn’t allow it.

The boy grew frustrated. The louder the pigeon cooed, the more the boy woke in the night. “Stop it!” he’d shout, not knowing the pigeon was only trying to make him happy.

Then the pigeon noticed something else. The boy loved giving the dog treats, watching its slimy tongue scoop the snack from his hand, watching it bounce up and cover him in happy licks. The boy would squeal and laugh, and the pigeon’s heart would ache again.

So when supper came, the pigeon waited for his turn. He cooed and bounced around the table, trying to lick like the dog did, but his tongue was too small, and his beak too big. Instead of laughter, the boy frowned. Sometimes he’d swat the pigeon away as though it were a fly.

One night, desperate to get it right, the pigeon rushed at the boy, hoping to knock him over in a joyful, dog-like hug. But instead, poke! His beak jabbed the boy’s cheek.

The boy cried.

And the pigeon’s heart shattered.

He panicked, flapping wildly, wings a blur, and before he could think, he flew straight into the ceiling fan. Thwack! The blow sent him tumbling into the wall.

When he woke, everything hurt. His wing throbbed, his feathers bent at odd angles. But what hurt most wasn’t his body; it was the look on the boy’s face.

The boy sat frozen, clutching his cheek, his parents hovering behind him with anger in their eyes. The pigeon was no longer loved. No longer welcome. And he knew it.

So he left.

He flew out the open window into the night air, wounded and weeping, vowing not to return until he learned to be like a dog.

And so he practiced, cooing, begging, licking, over and over and over again.

But he was not alone. Other pigeons began to notice. They too had felt the same rejection. One by one, then two by two, the pigeons of New York began to change. Not in feathers or beaks or wings, but in heart. They thought, perhaps if we bark too, the humans will love us again.

So they gathered on rooftops and windowsills, in church towers and alleyways, and practiced together. Their voices filled the city nights, soft coos trying to curl into growls, gentle flaps trying to sound like paws on pavement.

And more joined, and more, and still more. Until every house, every home, every apartment in New York stood empty of pigeons.

Now it is the skies that hold them, flocks upon flocks of pigeons, circling and circling above the city, still practicing. Still trying to become dogs.

If you listen on a quiet morning, you might hear it.

Not a bark, not quite a coo, but something in between,

the sound of love misunderstood,

echoing across the rooftops.

Chapter 6: Where the Pigeons Danced Again

Genevieve couldn’t stop whining. Instinctively, she rested her head in the old man’s lap. He looked upward, petting her absently. At first, Genevieve thought the drops she felt were from a leaky roof, but then she realized. They were tears. So she stayed quiet.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Rose purred, gently rubbing against the man’s foot. “You were the boy.”

“I was,” the old man whispered. His face was lined with age, but his eyes were full of childlike wonder.

Suddenly it all clicked! Genevieve leapt so high her head nearly grazed the ceiling.

“Come! I’ve got an idea!” she barked.

Rose thought her sister had gone mad, especially when Genevieve started tugging on the old man’s sleeve, spilling his coffee and dragging him from his chair.

“Genevieve! Manners!” Rose hissed.

“Come on! We don’t have much time, they might leave!” Genevieve said through sleeve-clenched teeth.

The old man, confused but curious, followed the dog and cat back into the chilly New York rain, with Mr. Mouse clutching his shoulder for dear life.

As expected, the growling began, just like before.

“I told you to stop this mission!” barked the fat-headed dog. “Why won’t you listen?! The pigeons are monsters! They might look cute and cuddly, but—”

“No!” Genevieve interrupted. “I think I’ve figured something out!”

The lead dog blinked, and one by one his friends stepped out from the shadows, surrounding the group again. Mr. Mouse fidgeted nervously with his tail.

Then, six simple words cut through the growls. Cheerful. Innocent. Disarming.

“Wow, you look just like Bruno!”

The lead dog froze. His eyes widened. “Bruno? How do you know my great-grandfather?” he asked the old man.

The old man chuckled. “I knew him as a boy! Me and my pigeon used to play—”

“Enough!” snapped the dog, cutting him off. “They need to leave, all of them!”

Genevieve gasped. “You think they’re dangerous, don’t you? Because of what your great-grandfather told you?”

The dog’s ears drooped. “He knew a pigeon that pecked...”

“A boy,” said the old man softly.

The dog nodded.

“I was that boy,” the old man said, his voice a whisper.

“Quick, tell them the story!” Genevieve urged.

Every dog cocked its head in unison, ears pricked upward like little spikes. And so the old man told them.

At first, they snarled and scoffed, unwilling to pity a “nasty” pigeon. But as the story went on, the boy, the laughter, the mistake, their shoulders began to sink. Ears drooped. Growls turned to sighs. Soon, they were lying flat on their bellies, heads between their paws, listening.

“...So you see,” the old man finished, “like you, the pigeons were pets, abandoned for trying to become something they were not. They weren’t trying to hurt anyone. They only wanted to be loved. And that was my fault. If I had loved my pigeon for being a pigeon, none of this would have happened.”

Tears spilled down the man’s face.

“I... I...” The fat-headed dog stammered, and then, to their astonishment, he began to cry. Big, round, floppy-eared dog tears.

“I understand this pain!” he wailed. “For I’ve wanted to be a pigeon!”

Rose blinked. “You’re kidding.”

But he wasn’t. In fact, every dog began crying, howling like wolves beneath the moon.

“We all have!” sobbed the fat-headed one. “Pigeons are free! They can fly! They always look so happy! I never knew they just wanted to be dogs. Why on earth would they want that?”

The old man placed a gentle hand on the dog’s head, steadying the poor pup’s tearful shake. “Because dogs are special, too, just like pigeons.”

The dog sniffled. “We said it was because of violence, that’s why we chased them away. But it wasn’t true. We wanted to replace them. My great-grandfather was mistaken. We all were.”

He bowed his great head in shame.

And then, the second most surprising, most wonderful, most magical thing happened.

A pigeon landed softly atop the dog’s head.

It didn’t bark or lick or pretend to be anything else. It simply ruffled its feathers, the way only a pigeon can.

And to everyone’s amazement, the bare gray sky began to fill, pigeons everywhere, swooping and gliding, cooing and dancing, filling New York once more.

This, dear reader, is where our story ends.

And what an ending it is! Rose and Genevieve, Mr. Mouse and the old man, the fat-headed dog, the skinny-headed one, even the slobbery one, they all gathered with Mr. Owl that evening for a kind and gentle cup of tea.

Together they watched the pigeons dance and dance and dance.

So, next time you see them, look up.

Notice their flight.

And give thanks for the courage and kindness of Mrs. Genevieve and Mrs. Rose.

The End

Visit the comments for a little group project. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Leave a comment

Thank you, Hailey Howe, for your lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!

JOY-SCROLLING:

🐚 Read more thoughtfully created articles here

🪄 Shop all my favorite things

🍒 Let’s be internet friends, please! @ jennaisfeeling

🪄 Get more inspiration

Happy Monday, and welcome to Feeling! Magazine’s Monday Letter! This is a once-weekly letter made to feel like a magazine flip-through, purposefully designed to help you feel joy. This edition is free because Squarespace picked up the bill! Thanks, Squarespace!

Let’s start this edition with a riveting, scientifically-backed quiz that determines which classic Windows XP icon you would be. The accuracy and depth of the questions below will astound you as you reminisce on what it was like to build your account on the family desktop. An important choice was the wallpaper, yes, but even more so the icon that sat next to your name, identifying you for years to come in your family of origin.

The Results Are In:

Share your results in the comments!

Leave a comment

I was interviewed by Business Insider recently about whimsy. Here’s a fun clip of the article:

Jenna O’Brien, the 27-year-old designer behind the Substack Feeling Magazine, has written at length about whimsy. She has also worked as both a middle school teacher and the owner of a stationery store, which means she spent her days either painstakingly designing playful paper products or bringing smiles to the lives of 12-year-olds. She pretty much nailed the mental image I had of a whimsical person.

“Whimsy is what happens when you’re on the pursuit of joy,” O’Brien told me. “To me, whimsy is getting back into touch with the things you were excited about when you were a kid.”

As we discussed the rise in the trending word, my strong stance on “whimsy isn’t something you buy,” and explored the writer’s own journey infusing her lifestyle with creativity, another trending word came up: “analogue.”

Samantha asked if I believed technology prevents us from more creative living — basically, if I believed the “analogue” trend was a valid solution to a screen time crisis. Will hard restrictions on device usage and journals instead of laptops allow us to create freely once more?

I paused and thought a bit.

“Well, no,” I said, “I don’t think so.”

In fact, most of my creative work is done on the computer, and it’s been my favorite art tool since I was a kid. For me, like many growing up in the 2000s, a computer is synonymous with creativity (Substack, for example).

I was building websites in third grade for fun after school and making a Word Art magazine to print and pass around. Then came middle school iMovie music videos, which my friends and I meticulously directed like our lives were at stake. In high school, I learned Adobe programs as the Yearbook Editor, and when I found myself wanting to stay at school for extra hours, I realized this might be a career path I wanted to pursue. I went to college and studied Communications, taking as many Graphic Design courses as I could, and eventually started a design business from my dorm room.

Technology has been the tool that lets me develop what is in my brain and bring it to life, merging words and graphics. The same feeling I get when knitting, cooking, and drawing reverberates through me when I choose fonts and margins for a website. I believe they call that flow state. And boy, in fourth grade, I was in complete flow state, building a pink website with fireworks that went off when you clicked a button.

But why does it feel like that creative spark has faded for us? Why did the computer seem so fun for so long, and then one day it felt like an existential threat? When did everything go grey?

While it’s perhaps hard to pinpoint a single moment, as technology has developed so rapidly and doggedly, we’ve never taken a collective breath — I think a major turning point was when the computer stopped living on a shared family desk at home.

There, it sat peacefully, not ingrained in our social lives; it didn’t know our location or shopping preferences, it was just a tool to type, to design, to print, to communicate, and work. Your whole family used the same computer, and there were times we gathered around it to watch something together or play a Disney Channel game. It was just a tool.

In response to Samantha’s question, no, I don’t think complete avoidance of technology makes me more creative — but I do advocate bringing back the “home computer” as a solution for the pit in our stomachs we feel grow as screen time increases.

I think we can re-imagine a routine where our devices are once again just creative work tools, not appendages. It will take some friends and a like-minded community, but I’m curious and even optimistic about what would happen if we tried.

I've seen some incredible ways to reclaim the joy of creating digitally, recently. Here are ideas that sparked my creativity:

• writes about renovating her “digital home,” or personal website, and breaks down her tremendous creative process in a way that has me EAGER to build out my new site too.

• Marisa, of Mesh Times, makes incredible digital creations for the FUN of it! She coded a digital advent calendar you can customize and a voice note app you have to wind up to keep it playing.

• My friend Melody is a genius developer and started hosting “vibe-coding” workshops in her studio apartment to teach anyone who wants to learn how to develop a web app in 2.5 hours. It is incredible because she is using her knowledge to welcome others in an incredibly social and encouraging environment.

• Of course, I frequently visit ilovecreatives for web design inspiration. I am constantly blown away by the creativity behind so many of the sites they curate in their “internet gems” section. I also took their Squarespace and Graphic Design courses years ago and highly reccomend.

Ideas for making your digital space more thoughtful, interesting, challenging, and creative:

• Leave your devices in the same place as often as you can. Let them live there.

• Be intentional about things like desktop wallpapers, icons, and computer design elements. Design it like you would a physical space. I think it’s good to make any space we occupy feel beautiful.

• Many of my readers love using the color codes I share to decorate their Google Calendar seasonally. Here is a tutorial!

• Pick up a new skill: take a class on graphic design, learn to code, build a website, make a little app, and creatively challenge yourself. Devices are for more than scrolling. Stretch your brain.

• Build inspiration museums, digitally. is building an app called Sublime, which is perfect for finding and organizing inspiration for your creative projects. You can meticulously organize a digital space that inspires your writing and keeps you original.

• Use technology to be social, rather than being social by using technology. Get innovative! Make a summer bucket list for your friends on a calendar, and send lots of invites. Occasionally, my friends gather for PowerPoint nights where one of us teaches the rest a new skill while streaming to the TV.

• When’s the last time you played a computer game?

• The crux of all online creativity, to me, is building your digital home. It’s really nice to have a place online that is not owned by anyone but you, and completely open to your creative ideas with no limitations. I have used Squarespace for my personal website for years, because the visuals are so straightforwardly stunning. Specifically, the ability to update the colors and type all in one swoop using the “brand kit” tool is a gift to the person who rebrands frequently (me). Squarespace also offered to take 10% off your website project, just for readers of Feeling! You can click here for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, use code “FEELING” to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. So now you can get started right away on your first creative website project!

*If you have built something digitally that you are proud of — like a cool app or website, or something lovely, PLEASE share in the comments. We would all love to see!

The thing about creative people is that they are going to create despite it all. Which is why I love knowing them; it’s constantly inspiring. I hope one idea sparked a new creative project for you. I’d love to know!

The beauty of the home computer is that it is stationary. It lives on a desk, where we can enjoy it when we’d like. Away from the desk is when the beautiful analogue moments of life do happen — full dinner tables, park picnics, scenic routes, and paper and pen.

I sent the group chat: “Settle this for me. What is the best, most life-giving, dance scene in a movie ever?!” And you really answered! I’ve rounded up some of your thoughts:

✸ voted for a classic number from White Christmas:

✸ Among many wonderful suggestions shared, “Isn’t It a Lovely Day?”

✸ “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” came up many times, of course!

✸ brought up “Dancing Queen” in Mamma Mia, which was a very good thing to bring up.

✸ Something that seems cheerful until you actually watch the whole movie and feel like you are being punched in your gut is the final scene in Jojo Rabbit, suggested by .

✸ I’m quickly going to throw in one of the best, in my opinion, “Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge.

✸ referenced the classic gym scene in West Side Story.

✸ suggested the finale of “Little Miss Sunshine” when the family rallies around Olive.

✸ “Singing in the Rain” was mentioned many times for a reason:

✸ shared a Bollywood spectacular, “Bunty Aur Babli:"

✸ shared the iconic prom dance-off scene in “She’s All That.”