the friday five

Welcome to this week’s Friday Five! I hope this Friday finds you with happy hearts and full tanks. This week on the Selah St. Simons Instagram page, I hosted a 5 day gratitude challenge. (Creativity challenge starts Monday, so join in!) So as I worked through this week of gratitude, my attention was called to what I started calling “little joys”. Those are the smallest things about our lives that bring us joy. And dear friend, the little joys matter. When we start tuning in to those tiny details, our lives feel richer. Just saturated with gifts. Uncovering our little joys can also help us stay present, keeping us in the beauty of the here and now. So for this week’s Friday Five, I wanted to share a few of little joys that made me happy this week. I hope they can brighten your day too!

1.polite society thank you notes*

I ordered these pretty notes on Day 2 of the Selah Challenge. They were marked way down on Amazon, and just so pretty. I’ve always been a sucker for pretty stationery and journals, so these were a super sweet little joy in my week. Pretty and feminine and not about me, but about sending love and gratitude to others. And...I’m actually giving some away! So hop on over to my Instagram feed at 10am and enter to win some of these pretty cards for yourself! Heads up... you’re the first to know about the giveaway. (Wink)

2. hogwash rosé

Our island has an amazing new restaurant that is totatlly perfect for girls’ nights, lunch dates, and just fostering good conversation. It’s the Golden Isles Olive Oil Wine Bar. They serve up cheese plates, light bites, and wine flights that are 100% Instagram worthy. And, more importantly...it’s all delicious. This is where I discovered Hogwash Rosé. Cold. Pink. Pretty. Delicious. Wine. An obvious little joy. So grab a glass with a girlfriend at Golden Isles Olive Oil, or a enjoy a glass on your porch as the sun goes down. Cheers!

3.one thousand gifts*

I read this gorgeous book by Ann Voskamp two years ago. And this week as I’ve gone through the Selah Gratitude Challenge, I found myself revisting the book for encouragement and wisdom. Ann’s writing style is so beautiful, almost poetic. In the book, she takes a deep dive into gratitude, what it means for our faith, and how it can bless our lives in unexpected ways. She chronicles a personal challenge she set to literally write down 1000 gifts in her life. The book describes her deeply spiritual and enlightening gratitude journey. If you want a beautiful read that will encourage you to see your own 1000 gifts, read this book! (Disclaimer: If you have a brand new baby, the first chapter is devastating . Your mama heart may need to postpone this read for a few months.)

4. sanity and self app

I am only a few sessions deep in this new app I discovered, but so far I like it. It’s a free self care app designed for moms. It hosts a bunch of experts talking for a few minutes on topics moms need most. Topics range from morning meditations, to beauty tips, to journaling prompts, to workouts and stretching, and even personal growth. Recordings are as short as 2 minutes, so it’s easy to find something that will work for you. I like the morning ritual sessions so far. I’ve been slowly working towards developing a great morning routine, and this definitely helps. It was a surprise little joy to find a quick way to invest a little time in myself. Try it out and let me know what you think!

5. this way to start the day**

So one thing I’ve been exploring is adding a gratitude practice to my morning routine. I told you about Rachel Hollis’ podcast earlier this week where she talks about starting her day with gratitude, and how she feels set up for success because her mindset is centered around her blessings. I’ve also been experimenting with the Sanity & Self app to guide me into a good routine. I do, however, eventually want this specific time to be device free for me. The app helps me understand what works for me, but I want to get to a place where I can guide myself through a gratitude practice each morning in solitude. And I love this one. If you read this post about my current practice, or if you did the Selah Challenge this week, you’ll know what I mean. So Tony speaks to this idea of love + light (in different words) as part of his daily practice. Give it a listen or read about it before I give it all away. I hope you are as inspired as I am!

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**Photo for item 5 by my dear friend, Chaney, at Silly Island Photography; sign in photo by another dear friend, Cyle, at Hope Farm Co.