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.

Nostalgia hit me these past few days (and you’ll find the culprit listed as the first thing that brings me joy this week). It might just be this post from last week, along with seeing all these people vacationing in Italy these days, or the travel bug that’s gotten under my skin that I’m stubbornly trying to keep in check. Whatever it is, I’ve been in it, though not in a bad way. Summer tends to do that to me, and as I was saying in my previous blog post, summer is here, and per usual, I want to escape...

Without further ado, here are the 5 things that bring me joy this week:

• The nasturtiums I grew from seeds starting to bloom. I was losing hope since frankly, they weren’t looking too great. It seems that the sun burned some more delicate parts, but they pushed through, and the first blooms popped up this week… And to think that I didn’t really care for these flowers not too long ago... I used to see them a lot growing wild in the hilly neighborhoods of San Diego. It wasn’t until our trip to Europe in 2019 that I fell in love with them and now they will always remind me of it (the bouquet in the above photo is by yours truly, from that time). I don’t have enough nasturtium blooming to recreate the bouquet, but just seeing the bright pop of orange emerging from the pots brings me so much joy! To me, these flowers are now… so very special.

• trying something new this past weekend. It might sound silly but… Generally, whenever we visit places no matter what they are, we like to go at our own pace (as in, faster). This past weekend, however, we decided to “slow down” and join a guided museum tour, and wow, was that entertaining and educational. Hearing the passion, and the stories, and seeing the obvious love the guide had for art and history was a joyful experience, and one I recommend joining.

• raw cacao nibs. Eating them as-is, adding them to smoothies, breakfast, etc. I forgot about them for a while and as I passed by them in a store over the weekend, I remembered just how much I enjoy them.

• homemade popsicles. Easy to make, and overall healthier as I don’t add any sugar or sweetener. I blend whatever fruits I have on hand and think that will go together. The last ones I made were frozen strawberries, fresh bananas, and a can of coconut cream blended until smooth, and poured into popsicle molds. I allowed them to freeze for about a day before enjoying them.

• this organic dark chocolate keto cereal (linked just for reference as the price is insane) + this grain-free muesli. I just don’t like cereal, and I also don’t really follow any dietary restrictions or a specific way of eating (other than eating healthy and rarely incorporating meat, eggs, and dairy), but once in a while, I get “sweet” cravings. These two satisfy those cravings in a healthy way — I eat them as they are, aka, not adding any milk/yogurt, etc. Sweet foods never fill me and 100% cause me to crash so I don’t consider these foods, but more like a temporary snack. Specifically this week though, they have been bringing me joy (along with that sugar crash, of course, 😁). Sometimes, you just gotta go for it…

What’s bringing YOU joy this week?

xo,

Em