November cozies
On journaling, dreamy desserts and discovering Bluey
If you’ve been a subscriber since the early days, thank you for staying on this journey with me. If you’re a new subscriber, welcome! I first started the newsletter during peak pandemic because it felt like we were in a joy deficit and I wanted to share the little things that still brought great joy. Since then, we’ve collectively experienced more of those feelings and even though my first instinct is to retreat inwards, I’m hopeful that these small moments of showing up for ourselves can help us show up better for others.
You’ll notice a few changes here and the first is a logo refresh! A huge thank you to Joanna Kam for making my logo dreams come true. I wanted to imagine what Small Joys would look like outside of the screen, if you were to see it on a sticker, a hat or a sweatshirt. This joyous logo (croissants and scallops!) is just that.
The second is that I’m going back to my magazine editor roots by introducing an interview series featuring inspiring people doing things that bring them joy, whether it’s a brand founder, author or creative. The first in the interview series is a pastry chef whose desserts are an absolute delight.
I hope you enjoy the interview, as well as the refresh. Please share your thoughts because I’d love to hear them!
On keeping a journal again
I’ve always been an extensive note taker and record keeper. I was also once a dedicated journaler. I have stacks of old diaries brimming with my adolescent thoughts (it always felt like I had so much to say for someone who had experienced life so little). I eventually stopped journaling and have always thought about picking it back up, if only it didn’t feel so overwhelming. I think I’ve finally found a way to build a consistent routine after coming across five-year journals via an episode of the Bad on Paper podcast.
The idea is that you can write a few lines a day in a format that allows you to easily reference the same day and month from years past. This way of journaling feels way less of a heavy lift. It’s less intimidating than an entire blank page and it’s also less time-consuming. All I need to do is write down a few sentences—an accomplishment, a glimmer, a reflection, a challenge—and I’ve got my journal entry for the day.
I have this five-year journal from Unbound Planner. I obsessively researched a bunch before choosing this one so here are a few others that were highly recommended on the Internet:
For the love of Bluey
I’ve been so looking forward to revisiting shows from my childhood with my son, that I didn’t really think about how I would also be discovering new shows with him, and delighting in them just the same. Right now, we’re a Bluey household. He has his favourite episodes and I have mine. His is “Dance Mode” and mine is “Sleepytime,” which might be the most touching seven minutes of animation I’ve seen with a soundtrack that’s designed to hit you straight in the feels. The episode takes you on an emotional journey. It’s funny, poignant, extremely relatable (especially if you’re a sleep-deprived parent) and has a touching message about how the people who love you always stay with you, even if you can’t see them. I’ve watched the episode more times than I can remember and there’s not a single instance where I don’t have a damp face full of tears by the time the credits roll. Bluey is on Disney+ and “Sleepytime” is in season 2 if you feel like having a good cry.
A Q&A with Lili Linda
In August, I placed an order for a box of desserts via Instagram, which has become a perfectly normal thing to do since the pandemic, and picked up a box of sweet and savoury pastries from a home address. Nestled inside was a corn petit gateau, braised beef bun with kimchi jam, bread pudding, and a tea-poached peach with the kind of reflective sheen that would put Hailey Bieber’s glazed donut skin to shame. The only thing I knew before putting in my order was that it was created by Lili Linda, previously a pastry chef at the renowned Hexagon restaurant, and her foray into dessert drops came highly recommended from people I respect on Instagram.
Since then, I’ve ordered more boxes from Lili (including a hunk of pistachio-studded sourdough bread), which have sweetened my weekends exponentially. The dessert drops are a step towards Lili’s dreams of opening up her own pastry shop so I asked her about that and more in the first of hopefully many interviews on Small Joys.
What inspired you to become a pastry chef?
As an Indonesian, any chance we got, we were always surrounded by food. My family and I would take a road trip by car every year, just to eat food in different parts of Indonesia. I was always been interested in food and design, but it wasn’t until I moved to Boston over 10 years ago that I started getting really into making my own desserts. I thought it was a unique way of combining my two favourite things. I used to live very closed to Joanne Chang's flour bakery in Cambridge, MA, and would get her sticky pecan bun weekly, despite a long line. I think she inspired me to pursue my career.
Where did you get the idea to do dessert drops?
My previous position at Hexagon exposed me to fine dining desserts. I got to create a lot of desserts with different flavour profiles and ingredients, but I also enjoyed making croissants and other classic bakery items. I decided to start offering pastry boxes where I could combine both experiences. All the items usually take me at least four days to make, and bi-weekly drops give me enough time to think of next items. I think this is a small starting point to achieve my future dream of opening my own pastry shop.
The boxes are beautifully curated. How do you decide what's inside each box in terms of the types of pastries or flavours?
I really wanted to make desserts that are fruit-forward and combinations of classic and modern, whether it’s flavour, new techniques I saw and learnt or from my background. I usually start by checking on the seasonal ingredients we have available and then combine them with what we have available yearly in the market. After ingredients comes flavour combinations and thinking about what can I do to make them unique.
What's your favourite memory of a dessert from your childhood?
There is my favourite street dessert stall in Chinatown, Jakarta. They sell a hot hybrid of cake and bread batter freshly made in a special half-moon shaped pan over the stove and filled with banana, chocolate and cheese. They’re called kue pukis. I could eat 10 pieces at once.
Tell me about your dream to open up your own pastry shop.
Opening my own pastry shop/bistro with a Japanese and Scandinavian setting has always been my goal since the beginning of my career. I’ve been taking my time this year to get more experience and skill, and now with the pastry box project, it’s basically my starting ground and learning experience of running my own small business. Hopefully in the years to come, I can focus on my own place.
You can follow Lili Linda on Instagram where you can also order her dessert drops.
Love Beata Heuman’s interior design work and this recent look at her fairytale Swedish farmhouse.
Making a case for exploring your own city like a tourist.
Thinking about friendships through specificity instead of assigning it a hierarchy.
Really enjoyed this Second Life podcast episode on Geri Halliwell-Horner’s journey post-Spice Girls to becoming a children’s author.
“Often we don’t give flowers to the people who are in the minute-to-minute smallness of life that creates our bigness of life,” says Cleo Wade.
Same warm cozy vibe with an elevated touch. Great relaunch, Mishal!