Making space for magic
On gardening, children's books and the joy of watching the movie, Ever After.
I came across this Instagram post and decided that I need it framed as a reminder to myself.
In my gardening era
I recently read an article called, It’s a Gardening Girl Summer, which felt like it might have been written just for me. My own interest in gardening began when I moved into a place of my own and was lucky enough to have a backyard that I could tend to. That interest deepened during the pandemic, like it did for so many others. Since then, gardening has become a permanent fixture in my life and something that is soothing and grounding. I’d call it an escape except I feel so present whenever I’m digging into the earth or pulling weeds. All winter, I look forward to warmer weather when the bare branches finally start sprouting leaves and colour begins to dot my backyard. That’s when I can get to work.
An assortment of colourful flowers.
A lilac tree I planted a couple of years ago.
This year, I plan on planting another rose bush, and looking for hardy perennials for my terracotta planters. I also just bought a really cute butter yellow watering can from Ikea that makes me smile every time I see it. It’s nice having a hobby I like that feels all mine without having anyone to watch or judge, exists outside of my screen, and there’s absolutely no pressure to perfect or monetize it. I’m fully in my gardening era this summer, watering my plants and minding my business.
To the library!
A sweet activity we’ve started doing together as a family is visiting our local library. We got our two-year-old son his own library card and every two weeks, we make our way there and amble about in the children’s area where we pick out three books. My husband picks one, I pick another, and our son picks the third. These excursions have been a fun way to discover new children’s books and appreciate them as an adult. They’ve also been a good way of deciding which books we want to permanently add to our collection. Here are three that we’ve loved recently.
Bearplane! by Deborah Underwood
Our son loves airplanes and airports. While it’s a longer read, it’s a really cute story about a little cub’s first plane ride alongside his mom as they head to a reunion with grandma. Their adventure begins at the busy airport and continues on the plane until they reach their destination. We loved the rhymes and sweet illustrations. This one is really great to read to little ones if you’re planning to travel together soon.
A Parliament of Owls by Devin Scillian
A shiver of sharks, a caravan of camels, a rhumba of rattlesnakes—this is such a fun book! It’s about a little girl asking all the animals to gather for a big group photo. Besides being a delight to read, it’s also educational and a great way to learn random facts that you can hopefully show off during a future trivia night.
Wake up, Trucks! by Jodie Parachini
If your toddler’s obsessed with trucks, this book is full of them. It follows a group of trucks as they begin their day and carry out their individual jobs. The book is bursting with energy and bright illustrations, and has fun lines like, It’s time to have some trucking fun.
What brings you joy, Olivia Muenter?
Olivia Muenter is the co-host of one of my favourite podcasts, Bad on Paper. She also has a newsletter on Substack, which features a series I love called, What’s on Your Desk? and she’s a soon-to-be-published author. Her debut novel, Such a Bad Influence is a thriller about one of the first child stars of the social media age who grows up and goes missing, and is out on June 4. Despite her busy schedule, Olivia was kind enough to share her own small joys (Note: I’ll be re-watching Ever After ASAP and listening to the excellent soundtrack because it was also one of my favourite movies growing up!).
Early mornings. Specifically, I’m early mornings with a fresh cup of coffee in my favourite mug and a book I'm looking forward to reading. I love watching the sun come through the windows in our house and hearing the birds chirping outside. Even better if I can open a window and let a fresh breeze in. It's a tiny moment of peace and happiness before the business of the day begins, and I love it.
Ever After. I have loved this movie (yes, the Drew Barrymore one) ever since I was a child. The costumes and settings are so gorgeous and I only appreciate them more as I get older. Whenever I think of this movie (or watch it!) it just makes me feel pure joy. It also makes me feel really connected to my younger self, because I still appreciate so many of the same things about the movie that I did then.
Garden strolls. My husband and I work from home, and every so often throughout the work day, one of us will go to the other and say, "Wanna stroll?" and then we walk through our backyard together talking about the plants, noting what's changed or bloomed or ideas we have. The whole process takes maybe 3 minutes but it brings me joy every single time.
An interview with Bridgerton showrunner, Jess Brownell.
Ideas on how to reset when you’re feeling anxious.
Nine of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
Will be buying Priya Krishna’s new cookbook, a cookbook she wishes she had as a child.
This piece is an absolute warm hug. Also now eager to watch Ever After for the first time! 🌸
Ever After will always be in my top 5. I watched it over and over as a kid, and it's peak Angelica Huston.