It’s Thursday, Wimps. I’m seriously glad you’re here because I had one of those "wake-up-and-sniff-the-bizarre" moments this week, and I needed someone to share it with. 

Picture this: an axolotl—a salamander that looks like it just stumbled onto the wrong planet—wiggling its way into my heart. A little girl in shin guards lands her first kickflip, bursting into tears like she just unlocked an achievement in the game of life. And then, the cherry on top: Monday decided to give me a simple kisss of sunshine on my face as I left Switchyards, and it changed the way I spent the next 5 hours before bed. 

Sometimes the world feels like it’s tilting off its axis, and these tiny moments keep me from falling off the edge. Yet, wonder isn’t rare. We just get so familiar with life that it all turns invisible. The decaf-vibe (to me) is less about being chill than it is about pressing pause, noticing things, being present. It’s about realizing most of  what we think of as being ‘meh’ has it’s own magic.

A Video / A tough little girl lands a kickflip: It’s not every day I get to be thankful for the instagram algorithm but it fed me this beautiful short video of delight and celebration, that demands to be shared. Go root her on!

A Video / Axolotl - an aquatic salamander: My sweet wife-to-be shared this little character with me, and the exact image of what my heart does when she reminds me she loves me (despite my challenging neurotic parts).

A Book / Kissa by Kissa: written by Craig Mod. I've met this delightful man. He walks Japan. I mean really walks it for hundreds of kilometers at a time, and really sees things because of it. These are short stories and quiet observations paired with warm, nutritious photography, all of Kissa’s a type of cafe that’s going extinct in Japan. He also has an a great newsletter. Highly recommend it.

A Site / This is Colossal: If you don’t already enjoy this site, then let me just say you’re welcome. They have a great newsletter too, and it’s always full of the most wonder-full craft and art. This will regularly wake you up — with or without caffeine.

An Movie / The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: I really hope this is just a good reminder for most of you, but if you genuinely haven’t seen this beauty, please go watch it this weekend, or just now. Do it now. Whenever I need to laugh, and be reminded about the rich texture of life in a package of sincere laughter, this never disappoints.

We’re kicking off 7 weeks of giveaways with these beauties starting, Monday, November 11th.
(Last Monday)

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A reply from last week’s email that made my day:

Hello!

It was really lovely to receive this email today. Totally unexpected. I visited each of the links and felt uplifted after reading them. I really needed an escape from the darkness. Thank you for being different. And special. You brought some joy to me today. 

- LauraYo!