5 things that bring me joy this week

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.

I am back sharing my weekly list of 5 things that bring me joy after a somewhat unintentional break that I’ll be covering in my month-at-a-glance blog post coming this Friday. Until then, here is this week’s list of small joys:

sunflowers budding. Sometime in April I planted a few sunflower seeds in a pot, and last week I noticed buds forming — now I’m eagerly waiting for flowers and the thought brings me so much joy! The seeds were a mix of colors and I can’t wait to see what I get!
“pruning” my plants. I like to keep my plants looking their best so I dedicate time as often as possible to remove dead/damaged leaves and flowers. Seeing them all “cleaned up” and happy-looking brings me joy. P.S. Did you know that removing the dead/old roses promotes more and quicker blooms? The process is called deadheading.
scented wax melts. No, I don’t melt them. I have been thinking of ways to make our home smell nice without burning candles. Living in Florida means that our ceiling fans are on 24/7 so burning candles aren’t a safe option, and with Enzo, I haven’t been too keen on running our aromatherapy diffuser as much. This past weekend I was at Walmart and found myself in the candle/wax melt aisle and decided to get a few to try. As mentioned, I don’t “melt” them — I added a few cubes in candle jars and placed them in our closet and bathrooms, and I’m loving the smells so far! I think I’ll keep doing this since it brings me joy! Plus, I’m thinking that they should last a while?
this decorative bowl pictured above! We found it on one of our recent trips to Marshalls (how cute is this one and this one?) and it “spoke” to me immediately. It brings me so much joy especially as it holds objects that bring back happy memories — coral pieces we collected during a special vacation.
these inexpensive turquoise hoop earrings (these are very nice, too!). I thought they were perfect for summer and they, you guessed it, bring me joy!