5 things that bring me joy this week

A photo depicting my state of mind and feelings these days about our country lately, along with everything else.

Read about our Niagara Falls visit here.

Check the entire “5 things that bring me joy this week” weekly series here.

On another topic, I shared two weeks ago how excited I was for Stranger Things Season 4, volume 2 to drop. It did and apparently, broke Netflix while at that… We watched it the next day, and I can’t deny that I’m a bit disappointed… While I definitely enjoyed the length of the episodes, they felt slow-building. And I am overly disappointed in one new-favorite character’s death that was totally pointless in my opinion… My dismay does not end there, but I don’t want to give more spoilers, in case you haven’t watched it yet. Now I’ll just try to get it out of my mind until the next season. Anyway…

Even through tragedy and frustration, I believe that we need to look for joy to maintain our sanity… We all cope in various ways, and one of mine is continuing to look for those 5 things that bring me joy. Here are the ones from this week:

Whatever feelings we had over this past 4th of July, I’m sure many of us enjoyed the extra day off. It definitely brought me joy even if we had no plans.
This Dalia MacPhee dress I had to have! Perfect for any occasion, this will be another one that I’ll hold on to for a long time. It’s lightweight, comfy, and runs true to size in case you’re interested (limited sizes left and they’re going fast!). Now I can firmly say that I took a real liking to this designer’s dresses, and am eyeing quite a few more. Really, I can’t get over the styles and unique prints! I’ll be wearing this dress with my Sarah Flint Perfect Block Sandal 60 (a match made in heaven!). Note that you can get $60 off your 1st Sarah Flint purchase with code SARAHFLINT-BABLOOMINGMAGNOLIAS or by clicking here (it adds the code automatically to your cart so you don’t have to!).
Simple pearl earrings. You guys know that I love earrings, and lately, I’ve been reaching for simple pearl drop earrings — they go with everything and are so elegant. I’m really loving these occasion-ready ones as well as these ones. Pearls will always be in style, and honestly, they bring me joy.
Things I Bought and Liked (TIBAL for short) is doing her annual “Clear the List” event where she shares Amazon wishlists of teachers throughout the country. These wishlists many times provide the very basics for children in less-fortunate circumstances (think underwear, socks, etc.), and make a huge difference. It was last year that I became aware of this and it brought me immense joy to see people and companies jump in and help. If you’d like to contribute, here’s the link to it.
Concocting travel plans that may or may not take place later this year. Things are up in the air, but if the stars do align, I’d like to have a few places in mind for getaways. Dreaming of places to travel to always brings me joy — the excitement is real!