Things Of Beauty #20

Nearly half a year of beautiful things

Whoa! This is the 20th week I’ve compiled a list of little things bringing me joy to share with you. Nearly half a year's worth of weeks! It's a bit hard to believe.

I started this as a way to share things I enjoy with you, yes—but also as a way to provide weekly content here while honoring the pace of one longer-form essay every other week. The slightly unexpected joy of this has been the pause it’s given me to think about what I have consumed and enjoyed enough to share.

Thanks for reading—whether you’ve been here for all 20 installments or this is your first. Also, huge thanks for sharing what’s resonated with you and the things bringing you joy!

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River views, good sips, balance, changing lanes, and brownies in the queue this week:

🏞 I had the opportunity to lead a Designing Your Life workshop for undeclared students last weekend at the beautiful Rice Rivers Center. My first position at the university I work at was with this particular group of students, so this was a chance to return to my roots and help students explore their options for what to study in college (and beyond). This view of the James River from the conference room was also a huge perk:

Not pictured: all the soaring birds I saw!

🍹 I just discovered the Island Hopper flavor from Better Booch kombucha—it’s delicious and I can see it being my go-to for a refreshing summer sipper. I also forgot just how much I enjoy the Bitters & Soda Spritz from Hella Cocktail Co. The spices in it channel Old Fashioned vibes, but without the alcohol. It's helpful if you, like me, have realized that even just that one slowly sipped nightcap has massive effects on your sleep.

📓 I recently connected with fellow Substacker (are we calling ourselves that?) Josh Brake who writes The Absent-Minded Professor because we both teach Designing Your Life courses. Here’s a really great piece of his about work/life balance that is a similar, yet different take on my post from a couple of weeks ago. (He’s also got thoughts on AI and education that I really appreciated, as well.)

❤️ I loved this from Elise Blaha Cripe about choosing to close down her planner business after the release of the 2024 edition:

I am wrapping up my work on this project for multiple reasons. It would be easy to say that with the rising cost of paper, printing, and shipping over the past few years it doesn't make financial sense. That would be true! But it's also true that my heart is no longer in it. While I think I could muster up the energy to keep the brand alive, I know I do not have what it takes to encourage the brand to thrive. It's not fair to anyone to do something part way, and that is why I know it's time to close this chapter.

This idea of not having your heart in something and that leading to not having what it takes to keep that thing thriving really resonated with me as I continue to work through my thoughts and feelings about writing (or not writing, as it were) fiction. I appreciated the simplicity in her statement about something that I’m certain didn’t feel like a simple decision to make.

🍫 I haven’t made these brownies yet. But I want to. If you beat me to it—please report back about how delicious they are! I am certain they will be delicious because I’ve never made a David Leibovitz recipe that wasn’t (see: this year's award-winning office holiday cookies)

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What’s new with you? Leave a comment and let me know what you’re enjoying today!

Be well, find tiny joy,

Mary Chris