Six Sweet Joys

Six Sweet Joys from the Past Week

Happy Valentine's Day week! And welcome to the very first edition of Six Sweet Joys—a roundup of the small moments that make life sweeter.

For most of my adult life, I never really cared to celebrate Valentine's Day. Sure, I would maybe go out to dinner with a boyfriend, but I also feel like the holiday would just come and go.

But growing up, it was the opposite. I would always make individual Valentines for everyone in the class, putting so much care and attention into them. I would also usually make some homemade treat to share.

Now that we have a little girl, I can only imagine that I'll be planning for Valentine's Day well ahead of time. I'll need to make more posts like What to Bake in February and February Bucket List but focused solely on Valentine's Day!

Enough about upcoming Valentine's Day, though. Time to reflect on this past week.

Family Recap

I feel like I did SO much but also have so much left to do. Isn't that always the case?!

For starters, Ellie turned 3 months old! I truly cannot believe how quickly time passes (how is it already mid-February). She's been growing so fast, and it's adorable watching her develop her own little personality.

She (mostly) sleeps through the night and wakes up with a smile on her face. She fights her naps then crashes hard. She's added drooling (on top of spitting up) to her repertoire (we have to wash our 20 burp cloths about every other day). She's cute even when she cries. Ugh, my heart just melts. My love grows for her more each day.

But enough about Ellie (just kidding, it'll never be enough), a lot was also happening with teaspoon last week (that's often how I abbreviate/talk about Teaspoon of Grace).

Teaspoon of Grace Recap

In case you missed them, I posted 2 blog posts: What to Bake in February: 18 Simple Recipes You'll Love (great for last minute Valentine's Day recipes!) and February Bucket List: 14 Joyful Activities to Make the Most of the Month (comes with a downloadable/printable sheet!).

I posted 5 times to Instagram, which is a HUGE increase for me. Be sure to follow me over there if you don't already!

I set up my newsletter, The Teaspoon Table, which makes me SO happy. Be sure to grab your seat at the table by subscribing so that you never miss an update. Get the inside scoop, floral-inspired recipes, seasonal inspiration, and bites of joy delivered straight to your inbox.

Starting a newsletter is something I've wanted to do for over a year (probably 2 at this point) and just never did. It always felt too daunting. But I'm trying to follow one of my favorite quotes this year:

“Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.” - Voltaire

Along the lines of that, I posted this quote to Instagram this past week. It was exactly what I needed to hear.

There might be (will definitely be) some missteps and hiccups along the way, but it's going.

On the note of getting going, onto my Six Sweet Joys from the past week!

1. Checking Things Off My To-Do List

As a pen and paper list person, I get such satisfaction and joy from marking an item as complete on my to-do list. I have lists for everything, and they're organized in a very specific way. It can sometimes be overwhelming, but like happiness expert Gretchen Rubin says:

“Action is the antidote to anxiety.” - Gretchen Rubin

Instead of overthinking and procrastinating, I decided to take action. And I was able to accomplish so much!! (see above). There are still so many outstanding items on my list, but I'm choosing to celebrate these wins.

2. Reading a New Genre

I typically reach for romance or historical fiction. After reading 3 holiday romances at the end of last year then 2 more romance novels in January, I decided I wanted to switch things up.

Luckily for me, I stare at beautiful built-ins full of almost exclusively history books all day. My husband, Austin, is a major history buff, so we've amassed quite the collection.

I decided to ease into the genre with a biography of a historical figure. I picked up John Adams by David McCullough and have been enjoying it a lot. It's giving me new knowledge, another topic of conversation with Austin, and a new show to watch (John Adams on Max), all of which bring me joy.

Some other books of note on those shelves:

• History of the World Map by Map, Battles Map by Map, and World War II Map by Map by DK - Austin's favorites. One of these is typically open on our coffee table at any given time.
• The Man Behind The Maps by Jason Blevins Ben Farrow - We LOVE to ski. Featuring over 200 ski resort trail maps hand-painted by James Niehues, this art book is the best coffee table book. It makes a great gift!
• Travels Through the French Riviera by Virginia Johnson - Austin and I went to the south of France for our babymoon, so this one brings joy every time I see it.

3. Walking to Kroger

When we bought our house about a year and a half ago, I wasn't entirely thinking about nearby grocery stores. To my delight, we have a Kroger less than a mile away. Bonus—it's walkable with a sidewalk and through a neighborhood. I always try to be thankful for this and take advantage when I'm able, and that's exactly what I did.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous last week. The temperature hovered around 70 degrees and sunny. With the privilege of maternity leave, I get to stay at home with Ellie all day. So we decided to walk to Kroger one afternoon to pick up ingredients for lunch instead of driving, and it brought me so much joy.

I cannot say enough great things about my UPPAbaby Vista V3 stroller and bassinet. It stands up against my regular long walks, is super easy to transport in and out of the car, and their customer service is impeccable. And the Savannah color—just gorgeous!

If you're interested or know someone who's having a baby, you can purchase just the stroller, just the bassinet, or the stroller bassinet combo. It's well worth it!

4. Watching Movies

This year, I'm really making an effort to watch more movies. I tend to re-watch the same handful of TV shows, and Austin is appalled at how many classic films I haven't seen. Last week we watched Darkest Hour and Sherlock Holmes. It's absolutely bringing me joy.

Shop My Cozy Movie Photos:

• Eddie Bauer Throw Blanket in Pine Tartan - Classic, coziest blanket.
• Ashley Homestore Cariton Coffee Table - Extra large and a gorgeous color. Perfect for both display items and kicking your feet up.
• Anthropologie Old Havana Pasta Bowls - We use these multiple times a week.
• Zwiesel Red Wine Glass - Big and classic. A great wedding registry item!
• Decorative Metal Box - Perfect for hiding remotes.

5. Family Evenings Outside

One of the reasons I love Atlanta is the weather. I thought I would really dislike it (coming from Pittsburgh, Boston, and Denver), and don't get me wrong, the summer heat is rough, but the fact that we can enjoy an evening outside in February is incredible.

On Saturday after feeding Ellie her "supper" at 4pm, we decided to go outside and hang out on our back deck. You may notice I had to strategically place my head so that my shadow would keep the sun out of her face. Totally worth it.

We have this 5-piece patio furniture set with swivel chairs and absolutely love it. To keep them clean, we have these covers: 3-Seater Patio Sofa Cover, Outdoor Rocking Chair Cover 2-Pack, and Outdoor Coffee Table Cover.

6. Stationary Biking

At the beginning of the month, Austin and I both separately came to the conclusion that we need to be better about food and fitness in February. We pretty much did the opposite of a January reset. So, I decided I needed to have a Fit February and Feel Good February.

With exercise, I tend to go through phases: running, yoga, barre, etc. None of those sounded particularly appealing, and I knew I needed something that would get me energized and hold my interest. I decided to get back on our NordicTrack S22i exercise bike.

After months of not riding (pregnancy and postpartum will do that to you), I remembered how much I love this bike and the iFit app that goes with it. iFit has so many workouts to keep me engaged, and I love that the biking classes span from road biking to mountain biking while also including spin classes.

And this NordicTrack bike... it's incredible! The game changer is that it's all automatic—resistance and incline automatically change based on the workout you're following. Plus, the incline is real. The bike moves up and down, making it way more realistic and engaging.

We'll see how long this stationery biking phase lasts before I want to get into something new. But for now, I'm finding joy in biking "around the world" from the comfort of my home.

That's all for this week! I hope my Six Sweet Joys brought you some happiness and encourages you to think more intentionally about your own Six Sweet Joys. Big or small, it's whatever brings you a bit of happiness.

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Meet Grace.

Welcome to Teaspoon of Grace! I'm Grace, the founder, recipe developer, food photographer, and flower enthusiast behind Teaspoon of Grace. I inspire the home baker to celebrate and savor nature’s flavors and beauty with floral-infused desserts and nature-inspired bakes using edible flowers and herbs.

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