With all the madness and distraction of daily life, I think its important to notice the things that bring you joy on a daily basis. They can be big or small. They can be part of a ritual or hobby, a reminder, a mood enhancer before a night out, or something that tethers you back to equilibrium on a tough day. Your morning cup of tea or coffee, exactly the way you like it (I’m an English Breakfast with whole milk kinda gal) in your favorite mug, the objects, hobbies or cultural touchstones in your life that make you feel, well, more you - that give you that joie de vivre. Here are a few things I’m loving these days.
WEAR: You know what does not bring me joy? Cold feet. Enter, Charvet slippers. Yes, these are a bit of a splurge for slippers but I wear them all day, everyday around the house and their perfect red color is so chic. I truly couldn’t recommend them more. Some people wear theirs outside, but I’ve kept mine strictly for home. As an alternative, The North Face puffy slippers are also great if you’re somewhere very chilly!
COOK: Anything in a donabe! A donabe is a Japanese clay pot and it produces the most delicious, nourishing food. It’s really so easy to make a great meal, so instead of ordering Postmates, we are making donabe! One of my favorite donabe recipes is for salmon and daikon in garlic butter sauce. If you aren’t already following @mrsdonabe, fix that immediately and visit her shop Toiro to get yourself one of these magic pots. Also makes a fantastic gift.
PLAY: Despite growing up in a tennis loving family and taking some lessons as a child, I didn’t start being obsessed with the sport until a few years ago. Now I take lessons and play at least once or twice a week. Nothing gets the day going and endorphins pumping like a little tennis in the morning. There aren’t many opportunities as an adult to learn a new skill or sport and I think it’s been so beneficial to my life in general. It’s also a great way to meet some really cool people I otherwise would never have met. When I’m not playing, I have the Tennis Channel on and listen to the Tennis Podcast to hear about my faves Janik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka. Can you tell I’m obsessed?
WATCH: Mr + Mrs Smith on Amazon. Had so much fun with this. A spy thriller that is action packed and is also cute and funny! Each episode deals with a different phase of a relationship - first date, marriage, kids. It’s a fun metaphor and theme under the guise of a global espionage. I love both of the actors, Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, and all the chic style and locations. Very bingeable.
SIP: Making tea at home. We used to get tea every day at Blue Bottle or Intelligentsia on our morning walk. Then boom! I realized I can make tea exactly the way I want at home - use gorgeous tea from Mariage Frères and it will actually save us hundreds of dollars. Plus we got a few travel mugs to take on our walks and never looked back. If you’re into iced tea, you must try the Lychee Black tea from The Mill in Sacramento. We brew it in the fridge.
BAKE: Last week, I had a dinner party (more on that in the coming weeks) and found myself with a lot of leftover lemons. In the spirit of sustainability and my newfound interest in dessert, I made Allison Roman’s Salted Lemon Cream Pie from her book Sweet Enough. What a delight! I’ve always admired the kind of person who brings a homemade dessert to a friend’s house for dinner, so now I’m trying to be that person. Some very discerning palates gave this a thumbs up (phew!), so give it a whirl!
CHECK OUT: Monica Lewinsky for Reformation. So proud of my brilliant friend and Chief Creative Officer of Reformation, Lauren Cohan for coming up with such an iconic collaboration. I was lucky enough to attend a dinner celebrating the campaign and couldn’t be a bigger fan of Monica’s. She was charming, sweet, funny, beautiful and real. So many people, especially women had a big emotional response to this campaign. She deserves all the good will coming her way. Plus Ref has really cute stuff right now including my new fave dress seen above.
READ: Here are a few newsletters I love and that inspired me to start this one: Here We Go, Earl Earl, The Cereal Aisle, Bite Sized, A La Carte.
Til next week. And always feel free to share any of the things that give you joie!
Love,
Michèle
Well you inspire me right back!!!!! Thanks for sharing ❤️❤️❤️