February 2026 Joy Journal

Welcome back to the Joy Journal! In these final few days of February, I am happy to cozy up on the couch with my laptop to reflect on the joys it brought. Our joy jar has quite a few more folded-up papers of memories in it today. Earlier this month, I happened upon a Psychology Today article about joy. This quote stayed with me: "Tiny joys are not a denial or wishful thinking. They don’t cancel the reality of the storm; they keep it from becoming your whole universe." I think this nicely captures the root of why G and I are keeping joy in our focus this year. For us, it’s not to pretend that every moment has been joyful, but to gently remember that joy has indeed been plentiful.

With that in mind, here are my reflections about the many tiny joys that kept us smiling throughout February.

Fun February

Because of February’s traditionally bleak weather forecast, my friend Hannah has an annual tradition she calls Fun February. It’s all about intentionally making fun plans to make the most out of the month! Thankfully, this year, February has included many beautiful-weather days. Because of Hannah’s inspiration, it has also included a lot of fun activities, like bookstore meetups, dance workshops, and Olympics-themed dinner parties. I’m not sure it gets more textbook joyful than doing a choreographed dance holding a balloon! It’s also included reframing daily things, like going for walks or crafting, to really emphasize the joy in those opportunities. I look forward to this tradition every year, and this year it truly aligns with our mindset for 2026 overall.

Steeped February

This month also brought several tea parties: one high tea with G for Valentine’s Day and a tea flight with a friend. The high tea was at the most joyful of locales: a castle! Right in the middle of suburban Kansas. I loved the hourglass brew timers they brought to each of us alongside our miniature teapots. We also enjoyed a tower of savory and sweet tea treats. My favorite was probably the profiterole! Neither G nor I bothered to attempt the cucumber sandwich. I appreciate our mutual cucumber aversion.

On another day, a friend and I went to a different tea shop and ordered tea flights. We both researched the extensive list beforehand to narrow our selections. It was so much fun to try a wide variety and chat about our mutual love of baking!

Gourmet February

Keeping with that kitchen theme, I asked G for his most joyful moment of the month, and his first thought was the arancini we made. You can read the full backstory in my post. I agree with him! After so many years of anticipating making these, it was so much fun to make them together. We make a great kitchen team!

I also had lots of fun making (and filming snippets of) a variety of recipes in February. I made tiramisu, a cookie cake, a spumoni cake, and cinnamon roll pancakes. Sweet recipes that infused dashes of joy into each weekend. I have so much fun setting up the scenes for my photos and videos. The whole process of cooking and then stitching all the clips together truly sparks my creative spirit!

Crafty February

Speaking of creative spirit, maybe you noticed those two hand-crafted candle holders next to the Joy Jar in the post photo? Those came from a mosaic tile workshop we attended! Although we may not be ready to become full-time mosaic artists, G and I sure did have a ton of fun in this class. The hosts provided a full rainbow of tiles in various shapes and instructions for affixing our designs to our candle holders. It took a bit of perseverance to continue the intricate, tile-by-tile gluing process. The delicious baklava and Turkish coffee they served at the halfway point of the 2.5-hour class made all the difference!

I also made more progress on my reindeer barn cross-stitch project this month. I enjoy the flexibility of cross-stitching: you can work on it for five minutes or a few hours. Even though the individual sessions don’t usually look like much has changed, looking back at a month’s worth of consistent effort shows how far I’ve come. What a good reminder of quiet, calm persistence in general.

Sporty February

On the louder side, one thing that surprised us about February was that it turned into quite a sporty month for us. G and I went with friends to a professional indoor soccer game this month. We had a lot of fun discovering something new to us. And getting out of the house on a Sunday night!

And, of course, the Olympics! We had such a strong kickoff to the Olympic spirit with a themed cocktail club event with our friends. The delicious dinner of polenta, caprese salad, and peach bellinis got us straight into the Italian spirit. I also (finally) made the aforementioned tiramisu after promising G I would make it for the past five+ years.

I loved the figure skating events and watched nearly all of them. Of all the disciplines, ice dancing specifically captured me this Olympics. I watched a Netflix documentary featuring the three teams that ended up on the podium and read a fun novel about Olympic ice dancers. It was so fun to learn about and be able to appreciate even more during the competition.

I also loved the women’s event and, right alongside the rest of the world, felt inspired by the messages of confidence, resilience, and joy that each of the competitors embodied. What a wonderful way to spend the evenings this month!

Wrapping Up February

In the past week, we’ve started to notice our daffodils poking up through the ground along with a few other signs of new life in our garden. I absolutely love this reawakening time of year outside! It feels simultaneously joyful for the present moment and hopeful for the future potential. This feeling of joyful anticipation is how I’m going to carry myself into March. It’s not wishful thinking; it’s simply a reminder that every season eventually turns.

Whether joys have flowed abundantly for you in February or you are practicing your own celebration of the tiny joys to broaden your perspective, I’m sending you so much love! I’d love to hear what you would put in your (metaphorical or actual) joy jar this month!

xx