Check the entire “5 things that bring me joy this week” weekly series here, a collection of seemingly insignificant things that serve as a reminder to appreciate the little things — those small joys that make a difference in our day-to-day.

Like everyone else, we’ve been stuck in cold weather, and as we’re not used to it (or prepared, really), we’ve been mostly “hiding” indoors, much to my dismay. I would build up the motivation to go somewhere only to stick my head outside and lose it instantly when I felt the chilly breeze. So you might say that we’re in a [forced] cozy season — lots of baking, tea-drinking, reading, show/movie watching is happening here. It worked out in some ways as we got extra time to review our goals and intentions for the year (I said we’re dedicating our entire January to it). But I miss being outside and the winter sunshine… But, alas…

Resuming my list of 5 things that are bringing me joy this week, here they are:

• crossing things off my to-do list. No matter what those things are, once I finish them, I feel joy and relief. I don’t know about you, but they just hang over me, and I have this nagging in my head that doesn’t stop until I’m done. It’s teaching me to stop procrastinating!

• a good sweat, aka, exercising. I will openly say it — I am lazy. Every day, I’m having a fight with myself about going to the gym — a lot of convincing and ordering takes place! The funny thing about this is the feeling of pure joy I experience once I’m done with my workout and am head-to-toe covered in sweat. What’s the moral of the story here?

• a home full of some of my favorite flowers! Tulips, hydrangeas, and carnations — I’ll definitely enjoy some of them for 3 weeks! It’s been dreadful lately weather-wise so having these sure brings me a lot of joy!

• our warm bed. It’s been extra nice lately getting into our bed at night and extra hard getting out of it in the morning due to the cold. Thankfully, our place warms up fairly quickly (but it also loses a few degrees at night), so I am not in a constant freeze over here. Oh, the little joys…

• these shoes I can’t wait to receive (and wear once Florida weather gets it together!). I’ve been eyeing these shoes, but just like many other things, I forgot about them. I was checking a specific dress (shocking, I know) when these popped up, and seeing their final price, I did not hesitate for one minute. There are only a few sizes left, and they’re on major sale — I love their color and I can tell the soft leather will be really nice to wear!

What’s bringing YOU joy this week?

xo,

Em