The One About Love
A digital zine for Valentine's week, loaded with joy and delight!
Get cozy and settle in with the Weekly Welcome, where we’ll enjoy bite-sized tidbits of a sentiment to explore for the week and beyond in an effort to foster, nurture, and embrace joy.
Love and kindness are the themes of February. We see it everywhere—from Black History Month to the Super Bowl halftime show to children cutting out paper hearts adorned with their classmates’ names and messages of kindness. Didn’t we all do this as children in some form?
Love isn’t just the shape of a heart, or the colors pink and red, it’s not just the aisle at the drug store overflowing with mass-produced goods. It’s so much more than this, so much bigger than consumerism could ever wrap its greedy little hands around.
Love is loving your environment (home) so much that you do whatever you can—big or small—to protect it. It’s loving your country in the same manner, fighting for what is right because you believe it is capable of better, of goodness, of liberty and justice for all. Love is for your family, your neighbor, and your fellow human stranger. Love is in the small gestures, the embrace that lingers, the hands clasped when tough news is delivered, the “I’m here for you” messages. It’s in the way neighbors show up for one another, to shovel snow or link arms in peaceful protest. Love is “one more book,” folded laundry, a comforting meal, a conversation, an affirmation, “you mean the world to me.” It’s hugs, and kisses, and poems and love notes, and secret messages between two. It’s not just telling someone you care, but showing them and showing up for them. Love is more than can be captured on a billboard, or in a paragraph— entire books cannot even capture the scope of love because it is ever-evolving, ever-present, and everything that is good in the world. And there is still so much good in the world.
Today, and tomorrow, and every day, I hope you feel love in all its forms. Giddy love. Community love. Quiet love. Selfless love. Audacious love. Platonic love. Silly love. Planet love. Self-love. Fizzy love. Romantic love. Puppy love. Familial love. Passionate love. Agape love.
Love in a way that makes you come alive. Love in a way that lights you up. Love limetlessly because you can never, ever run out of love, and what the world needs now is love, something we all have the capacity to give.
Today, in the spirit of love and kindness, I’ve created a digital magazine focused on many forms of love, in my own playful way, sprinkled with music, book recommendations, recipes, art ideas, caring for the earth, romance, and little ways to spread kindness. I hope you’ll settle in with something soothing to sip and dig in. Thank you for being here. You are loved.
“Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all”
—will.i.am
First things first— some books!
As a thank you to my wonderful paid subscribers who make it possible to create here every week (ILYSM!!!), a second February printable goodie— kindness bookmarks!! Print them out and spread the joy. They can also be used as Valentine’s— use the back to adorn with stickers, art, and the names of your beloved recipients. Time to pull out the gel pens. :)
Shout out to reader Chelsea Hanson for the awesome idea. 🩷 All three of my boys will be passing these out at school this week.
“Another day goes by
Still the children cry
Put a little love in your heart
If you want the world to know
We won't let hatred grow
Put a little love in your heart.”
—Jackie DeShannon
🌰 decadent hazelnut fudge— Which is more unbelievable— how easy and quick this is to make or how utterly delicious it is?!
🥜 healthy peanut butter twix bars— for the peanut butter superfans
🧁 classic vanilla cupcakes— Cupcakes always bring the fanfare, top ‘em with handwritten heart-shaped love notes.
🍫 Brittany’s favorite chocolate-covered stuffed dates— I can’t not include these because all I want is a giant heart-shaped box of them. Find my method on page 120 of The Little Book of Winter.
🍠 ube rice krispie treats— Say whaaaaat?!
🍋 lemon olive oil cake— Brightens up the coldest of winter days
🩷 iced sugar cookie hearts— Way more delicious (and easier on the molars 🤪) than conversation hearts.
🍪 chewy chocolate chip miso cookies— I love the combination of miso and sweet chocolate
Random Acts of Kindness Day is this coming Tuesday, February 17th. So babes! I made us some tear-off flyers! Will you join me in printing off a stack (neon copy paper always encouraged!), and posting them up on bulletin boards all over town?! Just snip the little dividers between each message and pop a thumbtack in the top.
Oh, but one more! How about some random acts of kindness BINGO!? Print off the BINGO sheet and spread the love.
The first 5 subscribers to get a BINGO will be comp’d a one-year paid subscription to In Joy! But wait, there’s more! Be the first subscriber to get a full BLACKOUT, and I’ll comp ya a LIFETIME paid subscription. Send me a DM with your completed BINGO and/or BLACKOUT to claim your prize (integrity is the name of the game 🩷 ).
And the source to back up the facts.
Art is joy, love, and celebration. And you can make art anytime, with anything.
And oh, how I love this idea from my friend Amy:
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some but for everyone.”
—written by Hal David, sung by Dionne Warwick
Go out and make some love today.
And last but not least, I have something a little more intimate, so I’m leaving it behind the paywall. Signing off on some sentiments about romance with a side of spice. 🌶️