Open-hearted joys 開開心心 67

It’s Lunar New Year Eve! And today I’m actually in London for a team day with work. Now that February is here, I feel like life is action-packed again. Capturing all these little joys has reminded me that it’s completely fine to slow down a little, even if the diary is looking chaotic and wild. Plus, it’s finally settling down post-almost apartment purchase!

There’s a lot to be said for appreciating the smaller, not necessarily finer, details of the everyday mundane. Here’s to another list of petite, open-hearted joys, the moments that’ve brought and woven poetry to my days, this fortnight:

一. Winter sunrises and winter sunsets.

二. Booking our big family trip back to Malaysia and Hong Kong!

三. The post-January payday. Oh it felt so sweet…

四. Afternoon dog walks with my sister. We pack our lunch and walk around the lake, all wrapped up, and it’s the perfect way to break up the day and draw in fresh motivation.

五. Consistency at the gym, mainly fuelled by Red (Taylor’s Version).

六. Continuing the declutter I started in January. It feels so good to be going into Chinese New Year with a clearer space and mindset.

七. Getting going with our Lunar New Year rituals. We celebrate Chinese New Year specifically, so have been deep-cleaning the house, gifting fruit to family, getting our hair freshly cut, buying a set of new clothes, bathing with pomelos… Tomorrow, we’re celebrating Tết with my boyfriend’s family and then Sunday is the Chai family dinner!

八. Watching the garden birds perch above our pond.

九. Love Island: All Stars and a book evenings.

十. Meeting-free days at work. Bring on the productivity!

Share a little joy from your world lately? And, if you’ve started posting a series similar to mine, why not share the love in the comments below?