5 things that bring me joy this week

You can check out the entire “5 things that bring me joy this week” weekly series here. It's a collection of seemingly insignificant things that remind us to appreciate the little things—those small joys that make a difference in our daily lives.

It’s been a strange couple of weeks. Two hurricanes back-to-back left us rattled and traumatized, to be perfectly honest. This is not an experience I wish on anyone. Our neighborhood and city got battered pretty badly in both, though we escaped unscathed, mainly because we live in a tall building.

If you wish to help those affected, I shared on my Instagram a comprehensive list of organizations (courtesy of Tampa Bay Times) actively helping, and in turn, need our support to continue with their cause.

We’re slowly easing back into normal life, though are still cautious as hurricane season is ongoing — I know we’ll collectively sigh once we’ve made it to the other side of it…

In the spirit of bringing back the sense of normalcy, here’s this week’s list of 5 things that bring me joy:

the most perfect weather. Today was blissful; after months and months of hellish heat, we got a reprieve and were spoiled with unseasonably low temperatures oh-so-welcomed. It’s not supposed to last but we’ll enjoy whatever we can get.
getting into the Holiday spirit. I know we’re in October, and I know we don’t necessarily want to think about the holidays just yet… However, from experience, things tend to accelerate around this time of the year, and I wanted to give it enough time and space to “settle”, so I added my Holidays page where you’ll find gifts, holiday style, and decor ideas; this page will be updated, so check back often. Many retailers have already released holiday collections, and we know the best stuff sells out quickly. If you’re not in the mindset, no rush, and please brush it over — I did it as I wanted to give myself a sense of focus and joy during these highly stressful weeks.
this faux-fur waist jacket. Do I need it in Florida weather? No, definitely not, but did it stop me from thinking about it? Nope, it didn’t. I’d buy it if I lived somewhere where I could get some use out of it, though — I think it’s the perfect “accessory” for a satin dress like this, this, or this.
these shoes and bag combo! Oh my! With nothing on our calendar due to the hurricane, I’ve been doing a lot of window shopping, and these two just made my heart flutter. I added them to my wishlist immediately!
feeling safe. I’ll close out this list with this sentiment I did not have just a week ago but have regained today. It’s been exactly a week, and around the time I’m writing this, we were in the worst of hurricane Milton, experiencing the highest winds as it was going by us… May we all never take feeling safe for granted! Take care of yourselves, friends!