1. Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt is my newly adopted signature!! Really fresh while a little grounded, like a grove of trees by the ocean (shocking given the name, no? 🙃)
2. Not fiction but my go-to cozy read is A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. For fiction I love Japanese novels featuring cats hehe a recent favorite is We’ll Prescribe You a Cat
1. I recently loved all things pomegranate to a point where everyone associates them with me 😅 The pomegranate perfume from adopt (a French shop) smells sooooo good
2. The Legends and Latte series has some super relaxing novels. They basically revolve around a cafe set in a fantasy world ✨
This is the book I’ve been reading lately, I went to the comments to recommend it and it’s so funny that yours is the first comment I see! Great minds think alike haha(:
1. A peaches and cream olipop candle purchased from a small business :3 so good! 2. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sandi Mandanna - top tier cozy vibes
Hello! I'm new to substack and stumbled across your wonderful post! I love all the advice here. I have yet to find a signature scent but i love anything that has salt or sage in it - scents that make you feel like you're living in a cottage by the sea.
For cosy books I would recommend Frail Little Embers by Fija Callaghan; a book of 21 short stories that weaves in folklore and magic.
A fantastic book that I read recently was The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba. It's the novel that inspired Hayao Miyazaki to make Spirited Away!
2. Please please add the entire series of the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency to the list!! It’s absolutely balm for the soul. It’s slow moving, full of tea, full of wholesomeness, and set in Botswana so you get a wonderful taste of a world we don’t get to see much of. What more could you want??
I found something to add here today when I was out walking the neighborhood with a friend. Someone had left out a beach bucket filled with various colors of sidewalk chalk. There was an invitation written on the driveway to create some art for yourself. We both grabbed some chalk and took several minutes drawing some pictures and a thank you. This really changed the tenor of my day! It’s amazing how the smallest thing can make a big difference!
Seriously. I bought some new red double Dutch jump ropes for the Catholic school I volunteer with, and unfortunately they just got put into the PE bin. Doesn’t seem anyone knows how to actually do double Dutch. Sigh. . . another volunteer item.
Oh that is so sad! I guess double Dutch has gone the way of cursive writing. Or you need to have a YouTube tutorial! Even thinking about doing it makes me smile. How we used to line up on the playground to jump in. So good for the mind and the body!
I love this! I moved onto a sailboat with my family seven months ago and we are currently traveling the Caribbean. It’s a dream come true but more work than I could have ever imagined. Sometimes I wonder how long I’ll be able to continue. Reading this was a good check in for me to remember my life is already super whimsical (we live very seasonally, walk everywhere, and are constantly meeting new people!), and now I’m thinking of how I can make even the hard, unglamorous parts (hauling groceries, cleaning and organizing) more whimsical. Thank you 💕
Can't believe I have found another Euchre enthusiast! I never heard of it until I joined my wife's family. They are obsessed with it. We have a major Euchre tournament every summer at the family reunion.
This article was right on time! As I was reading it, I was like why am I happy rn? 😆 It literally brought joy to my heart to read this! Keep writing! 🤍
LOVE the home restaurant idea!! I would like to add to the menu baking a cake/pie/any pastry or sweets really weekly/every two weeks to have as a little treat! I've really found a love for baking recently and trying to perfect recipes as I go
This was the best thing I’ve read this year. Thank you for this ✨ Printing it out and circling, highlighting, and going full analog on it! It’s a masterpiece.
I love this. I love the idea of reframing the things that we don’t want to do, for example treating laundry like a hotel service to myself. It makes every moment feel very meaningful ✨
GROUP PROJECTS!
1. Do you have a signature scent?! What is it, and what does it smell like?
2. Does anyone have some super peaceful, cozy fiction books they love? I'd love to put a list together!
1. Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt is my newly adopted signature!! Really fresh while a little grounded, like a grove of trees by the ocean (shocking given the name, no? 🙃)
2. Not fiction but my go-to cozy read is A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. For fiction I love Japanese novels featuring cats hehe a recent favorite is We’ll Prescribe You a Cat
I have “we’ll prescribe you a cat” on my up next list on story graph!!
Tales From the Café is another Japanese series similar to the We'll Prescribe You a Cat. Perfect for reading in bed!
1. I recently loved all things pomegranate to a point where everyone associates them with me 😅 The pomegranate perfume from adopt (a French shop) smells sooooo good
2. The Legends and Latte series has some super relaxing novels. They basically revolve around a cafe set in a fantasy world ✨
What you are looking for is in the library - Michiko Aoyama
This is the book I’ve been reading lately, I went to the comments to recommend it and it’s so funny that yours is the first comment I see! Great minds think alike haha(:
THIS!
House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
my signature scent is chloe eau de parfum, it’s so light & fresh but so comforting to smell
1. A peaches and cream olipop candle purchased from a small business :3 so good! 2. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sandi Mandanna - top tier cozy vibes
Hello! I'm new to substack and stumbled across your wonderful post! I love all the advice here. I have yet to find a signature scent but i love anything that has salt or sage in it - scents that make you feel like you're living in a cottage by the sea.
For cosy books I would recommend Frail Little Embers by Fija Callaghan; a book of 21 short stories that weaves in folklore and magic.
Theo of Golden is an excellent read!!
A fantastic book that I read recently was The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba. It's the novel that inspired Hayao Miyazaki to make Spirited Away!
Blood orange & mint candles from Often Wander. I’m very sensitive to candles and these are the very best ones. They smell like home 🥰🥰
1. Libre by YSL is my signature, but mostly because it just reminds me of me (very warm scent)
2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a great cozy read before bed
Louise Penny's books are a cozy mystery series, set in a cute village in Canada, with lovable quirky characters. Highly recommend!
2. If cats disappeared from the world by Genki Kawamura,
A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman
2. Please please add the entire series of the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency to the list!! It’s absolutely balm for the soul. It’s slow moving, full of tea, full of wholesomeness, and set in Botswana so you get a wonderful taste of a world we don’t get to see much of. What more could you want??
2. The spellshop & the enchanted greenhouse by sarah beth durst
The Unselected Journals of Emma B. Lion are great bedtime fiction-and full of whimsy.💙
No signature scent at the moment, but if I could provide those regularly it would be one from le labo.
I found something to add here today when I was out walking the neighborhood with a friend. Someone had left out a beach bucket filled with various colors of sidewalk chalk. There was an invitation written on the driveway to create some art for yourself. We both grabbed some chalk and took several minutes drawing some pictures and a thank you. This really changed the tenor of my day! It’s amazing how the smallest thing can make a big difference!
I love this! No one ever outgrows the joy of chalk - or blowing some bubbles! I love that they had it out for anyone to use.
Now we’re talking. Gotta find my favorite book of jump rope rhymes.
How about putting down a hopscotch too?
Yes!!!! And double Dutch jump rope😃
Seriously. I bought some new red double Dutch jump ropes for the Catholic school I volunteer with, and unfortunately they just got put into the PE bin. Doesn’t seem anyone knows how to actually do double Dutch. Sigh. . . another volunteer item.
Oh that is so sad! I guess double Dutch has gone the way of cursive writing. Or you need to have a YouTube tutorial! Even thinking about doing it makes me smile. How we used to line up on the playground to jump in. So good for the mind and the body!
I love this! I moved onto a sailboat with my family seven months ago and we are currently traveling the Caribbean. It’s a dream come true but more work than I could have ever imagined. Sometimes I wonder how long I’ll be able to continue. Reading this was a good check in for me to remember my life is already super whimsical (we live very seasonally, walk everywhere, and are constantly meeting new people!), and now I’m thinking of how I can make even the hard, unglamorous parts (hauling groceries, cleaning and organizing) more whimsical. Thank you 💕
Seasonal! Be still my heart. But yes, seasonal without ALL THAT STUFF. :o)
Signature scent--Philosophy Amazing Grace.
Game I'm awesome at--Euchre (MIDWESTERN ORIGINS)
Oooo I am very intrigued with your game! I need to check it out!
Euchre is SO fun. Easy to learn, hard to become an expert at, high stakes and low stakes at the same time!
Can't believe I have found another Euchre enthusiast! I never heard of it until I joined my wife's family. They are obsessed with it. We have a major Euchre tournament every summer at the family reunion.
Oh gosh I’ve loved Amazing Grace since college!! Such a great scent!
Of course you are a Christian! - I knew there was something different about you. Gospel truth all the way baby 👌🏻
What a wonderful list, thank you! I’ve saved it for when I forget how to find the joy 🪄
I’m so glad you liked it :) I’ll have to make more!
Every month, I cook using a different cookbook. 😃
That is a great idea!
Thank you!
This article was right on time! As I was reading it, I was like why am I happy rn? 😆 It literally brought joy to my heart to read this! Keep writing! 🤍
These tips are so good. I love how much colour how you have in your life!
This is literally EXACTLY the type of content I want to be reading!
Btw! Happy to see you talking more about the true source of joy! :)
LOVE the home restaurant idea!! I would like to add to the menu baking a cake/pie/any pastry or sweets really weekly/every two weeks to have as a little treat! I've really found a love for baking recently and trying to perfect recipes as I go
This was the best thing I’ve read this year. Thank you for this ✨ Printing it out and circling, highlighting, and going full analog on it! It’s a masterpiece.
An honor to be printed!
You’ve solved a problem I’ve been noodling over! I won’t go into it but the answer is different perfumes for different seasons. Thank you so much!
I love this. I love the idea of reframing the things that we don’t want to do, for example treating laundry like a hotel service to myself. It makes every moment feel very meaningful ✨
Wow I love this. I would love to hear about what a day in your life looks like. A whimsical day filled with these little tips