The news is brutal and stressful and all about the virus these days, so I felt like it might help (you and me both) to share daily doses of beautiful, good, and spirit-lifting things. I’m going to try to share 5 things a day, both to keep us entertained while we’re staying at home (social distancing matters!!!) and to keep our spirits high in these unprecedented times.

ps— this idea of “five finds” was originally the mastermind of two friends of mine — Taylor + Holly— when they launched their “Five Finds Friday” blog series. The idea has since faded away but I’m bringing it back and encourage you to do the same! (at the bottom of those post you can scroll those old FFF posts — might be fun.)

Here are today’s five finds:

A book to read:

On Flowers: Lessons from an Accidental Florist by Amy Merrick. It’s beautiful, it inspired me to try my hand at turning Trader Joe’s flowers into fun arrangements, it’s just totally lovely eye candy and makes for an excellent coffee table book. The pictures alone are worth it, but there’s so much more in this book too!

A playlist to listen to:

I’m a fan (and monthly supporter) of my local independent music radio station, and it’s been a blast to discover so much new music the longer I listen. I save all my favorites to a playlist, and you can listen here (or below).

A recipe to try:

These times call for comfort food, and even though I’m not a big sweets person, this jumbo grain-free tahini chocolate chip cookie recipe has me DROOLING. Feels necessary.

A thing to do:

Download Erin Moon’s Quarantine Kit and sign up to be a pen pal (for you and/or your kiddos!) to connect with a new human. We all need connection and reminders we aren’t alone right now, so I love this effort.

An article to read:

I loved this piece in last Sunday’s New York Times about a woman who went blind and then started dancing — it’s inspiring and heartwarming and worth a read.

more five finds: