joy in the mundane
01:01:36 Share

So I lost my voice this past weekend because I was driving around with my friends. We were listening to music. The windows were rolled down. We were having an incredible time. And it came time for my friends to put on musical theater music. Okay. All of my friends love musical theater. They love Wicked. They love West Side Story. They love Little Shop of Horrors. They love...

They love Hamilton. My friends love musical theater. And so every time we're driving around and listening to music and singing Windows Roll Down, musical theater music will come on at some point. Now, this is the time in the car ride where I sort of quiet down and keep to myself because

because I didn't grow up doing theater. I didn't grow up watching theater. I know nothing about musical theater and I definitely don't know the lyrics. So it's not really my thing. However, on this particular weekend, last weekend, my friends were extra generous and decided to hold up the lyrics for me so that I could learn some of the songs with them so that I could participate. Very generous, very nice.

And we put on Wicked, specifically the Wicked movie soundtrack. And even more specifically, the song Defying Gravity, which went very viral on the internet. Because Cynthia Erivo, Elphaba, in the musical movie Wicked, does this unbelievable vocal riff thing.

in that song and it went viral. So you probably heard it. Anyway, that's like the only thing I know about musical theater is that Cynthia Erivo in the Wicked movie did this like insane riff in the song Defying Gravity. That's like the only thing I know about musical theater.

Anywho, they put that on and I got excited because I knew that in that song, I'd be able to participate wholeheartedly at a certain point. When that riff came around, I knew that that was my moment to shine with my musical theater loving friends. Anywho, to make a long story short, that part of the song came up and I hit it as hard as I possibly could because you have to imagine that

I have wanted to participate in the musical theater adornment for months, for years. And I haven't been able to because it's not my thing. And so I think this weekend when that song came on, I had all this pent up energy that I've been waiting to expel, you know, from from months and years of listening to musical theater music with my friends. I've been waiting for this moment for me to be able to enjoy it, too.

And so I hit it a little bit too hard and I completely busted my voice. My voice is gone. But I will say it felt amazing to enjoy musical theater with my friends for even just a moment. For even just a moment. It was sort of euphoric and I have no regrets. I hate when I lose my voice, but I think it was worth it. I briefly interrupt this episode to let you know that this episode is presented by Dove's new Plant Milk Cleansing Collection.

You know how I love my little treats, and I feel the same way about treating my skin in the shower. So I give my skin what it's craving with Dove's Plant Milk Collection Body Washes. Made with a special plant milk blend, just one shower deeply hydrates your skin and leaves you feeling soft and glowing. My favorite scent is the oat milk and berry brulee, but they all smell incredible.

Turn your next shower into the little treat your skin deserves. Head to Target to buy Dove's Plant Milk Collection Body Wash before it sells out. Now, back to the episode. Anywho, that's not what we're talking about today, okay? I don't know why I just did a full-on, like, 2018 YouTuber story time about losing my voice. No one cares. I don't think you care about that.

So let's move on. The last episode I did on here was about some of my pet peeves. And I think I had a little bit too much fun doing that episode. Like, I love talking about things that piss me off. I love a little bit of drama, a little bit of gossip. And listen, you know, discussing pet peeves is ultimately harmless. Like, it's not that toxic. I don't really think it's hurting anyone.

But it is in some ways sort of a form of gossip, you know, and I know myself. So I put a limit on how much I'm allowed to gossip, how much I'm allowed to talk shit, because if I don't put a limit on it, it actually ends up hurting me, makes me feel bad about myself, blah, blah, blah.

So after I finished recording that episode about my pet peeves, I was like, I guess it's time to be positive. You know, like I gave myself an hour or two to talk shit. Now it's time to be positive. And it gave me the idea for this episode that I'm recording right now. Instead of talking about my pet peeves today, things that piss me off,

I'm going to be talking about the opposite. I'm going to be talking about things that bring me joy. And to be honest, this is a cringe idea. Like I'm cringing at this idea. The second I thought of it, I was like, ew, why would I ever do that? But then I was like, wait, but

It's really the same concept as sharing my pet peeves. It's just positive. So why do I think that's cringe? It's not cringe. It's literally the same exact concept reversed. And the fact that I thought it was cringe made me realize that I really need to do this episode. You know what I mean? Like...

This is a challenge I need to take on because in a weird way, I feel like we've been trained to think that being positive and being joyful is cringe. I don't know when it happened or how it happened, but I feel like especially young people really get cringed out by positive, happy, joyful things. And that really came to the forefront of my mind when I thought of this episode idea. I was like, wait, wait.

This feels really cringe to me, but it shouldn't. Do you know what I'm saying? I don't know. There's something cool and edgy and punk about hating everything, right? And that's why young people are always like, ew, I want to talk about the stuff I hate. And I actually think the punk thing to do is to talk about joyful things, to tell positive stories. Listen, it's not wrong to talk shit sometimes, but

We need balance. And so today I'm going to be sharing mundane things that bring me joy. And listen, this is going to be a challenge for both of us, okay? I know a lot of you are clicking off right now thinking to yourself, I'm not going to be entertained by what Emma enjoys. I don't care about little mundane things that bring Emma joy. That's boring to me. I'm going to go watch a drama video. You know what I mean? Like one of those drama videos about like

TikTokers getting canceled. Like, I get it. You're turning my podcast off right now to go watch that. Part of me doesn't blame you because those videos are entertaining. But this is a challenge for the both of us. I challenge you to listen to this episode and find entertainment in it. But also, I'm going to challenge myself to make this episode entertaining, even though there's no drama, there's no gossip, there's no talking shit. Let's see if we can do this together. Okay, let's begin.

Starting with matching. Okay, I absolutely love matching. For example, I love when my fingernail polish matches my toenail polish. I love when my bra matches my underwear. Not that I wear bras a lot, because I really don't.

But like I'll wear a little bralette, right? I love when my bralette matches my underwear. I love when I put on an outfit that I feel like matches perfectly. You know, like let's say I'm wearing an outfit and I have a pop of red in this outfit. I have a red bag and a little red pair of shoes. I love when the little red shoes and the little red bag are the exact same shade of red. Wow, that feels good. Wow, that brings me joy. I love showing up.

to dinner with friends and we're all wearing outfits that kind of match, kind of have the same vibe. I love matching. And it's interesting because I'm definitely a matchier person than most, I would say. Like, I actually think some people probably think I'm too matchy.

You know, I think some people probably think that my outfits are like too cohesive color wise. Like there's too much matching going on. But I just have always loved it. It puts my mind at ease. But also like there's something really powerful about sort of like the...

the vision of matching. Does that make sense? Like there's something powerful. You feel powerful when your bra matches your underwear. You feel powerful when you have the same color on your fingernails as you do on your toes. You feel powerful walking into a party if you and all of your friends are kind of matching, you know, like the vibe and the outfit is kind of matching. There's something powerful about it as well. I've always loved matching and it's something that I'm not just doing because

for other people's gaze, right? Like I'm not just matching to like, look like I have my shit together to other people. I like matching for me. I like looking in the mirror and being like, oh, I'm matching, you know, everything matches.

Even if I'm completely alone, if somebody were to lock me in my house for six months, I think I would still put on outfits that match every day. A good example of this would be when I go out on a walk, like around my neighborhood,

I will put on a hideous outfit, all right? Like sweatpants, sweatshirt, running shoes, little active crossbody bag, like not a cute crossbody bag, like an active wear crossbody bag, sometimes a baseball cap, sometimes like a headband. Like I don't look cute. However, I always match, always. Even though no one's gonna see me, I always match because I just love it and it makes me feel good. Okay, next.

Doing chores efficiently brings me immense joy. Okay, let me give you an example of what doing chores efficiently means. Okay, let's say I wake up in the morning. All right, 7 a.m. The chores start immediately. First thing, I kind of clean up my bed a little bit. I wouldn't say I make my bed, but I kind of clean up my bed a little bit.

you know, put the duvet sort of back in its place, whatever. And I always have like cups next to my bed. Like I'll have a Stanley cup and then I'll have like,

reusable water bottle that I brought up so I could refill my Stanley cup. And then like, maybe I'll have like a mug if I had like a glass of tea or something like I always have cups and shit. So I'll gather all those things up, grab my phone, whatever, and walk downstairs. And I start heading towards the kitchen. But as I'm heading towards the kitchen, I walk past my dining room table. And I notice a few dirty dishes on the dining room table that I didn't

put in the sink last night. So while I'm on my way to the sink to co-put all of the cups and bottles and whatever that were by my bed in the sink, I then grab stuff from the dining room table so that I can do it all at once in one fell swoop. So I get all that stuff and then I go to the sink and put everything in there. And then while I'm over by the sink, I notice, oh, there are my pills right there.

next to the sink. So I take my pills that I have to take, like my allergy medicine and my PCOS medication or whatever. So then I go and I take my pills. And then while I'm taking my pills, I notice, oh, the cats need to be fed. So then I feed the cats and everything is all happening in one fail swoop. Is that the term? One fail swoop or one fell swoop? It's one fail swoop.

Okay, I'm totally using that term wrong. Whatever. Anyways, do you get what I'm saying? Like, I love doing chores in a really efficient way. And it brings me so much satisfaction. And it makes chores fun when it's efficient like that. And it's like, every step is intentional. And I just get into flow state like that.

And I really love that. It weirdly brings me joy. Who would have thought chores would bring me joy? But I think that's just a little part of growing up now, isn't it? Okay, next. When there's an actual plot twist in television or movies that I didn't predict 10 seconds before, because I am the annoying person who does that. I'm the person in the group who's like, okay, he's going to get shot in the head. And then 10 seconds later, he gets shot in the head. Or I'm like,

it's their mom knocking at the door because in the show somebody knocked on the door and everyone's like who could it be who could it be and I'm like it's the mom and then we open the door and it's the mom you know what I mean like I'm the one who's predicting what happens next and I try to keep that to myself these days okay

But I can't help it because a lot of television and a lot of movies are predictable. And I get tempted to say it out loud because if I don't, then no one will believe me if afterwards I'm like, I knew it. They're like, no, you didn't. So if I say it beforehand, then I'll get credit for predicting. Anyway, I'm trying to not do that as much anymore, but...

but I genuinely love a good plot twist. And I only bring this up because it's so rare. It's so rare that my jaw is on the floor about something that happens in a TV show or movie. Usually I see it coming. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy TV shows or movies that are a little bit predictable. There's actually something kind of fun about that sometimes too, like maybe even a little bit comforting. I'm not against that.

Okay, I'm not like immediately turning something off if I feel like it's too predictable. That's not always a bad thing. It's just really rare that you don't see something coming. And that feeling of like adrenaline and excitement when you get surprised, there's nothing better. It's so fun. That's when the true escapism begins. When you get shocked by what you're watching. When you're shocked by what you're watching.

I think the last time I was truly shocked while watching something was when I was watching Severance, okay? The TV show Severance. And in the last episode, actually, in the last, like, minute of the last episode of season two, there was a huge plot twist that I didn't predict. And then they left us on a cliffhanger. And it, I mean, it brought me so much joy. I mean, it was stressful, you know, but it brought me a lot of joy. Okay, moving on.

It really brings me joy when I'm thinking about something or thinking about someone and then what I'm thinking about in some way sort of shows up. Okay, so let's say I'm out shopping. Maybe I'm on vacation. I'm shopping around a new little neighborhood that I've never shopped around in before.

And I think to myself, ooh, I'd really love a matcha. Like, I really just want a matcha. And then five minutes later, I turn a corner and there is a matcha shop. There's a shop that specializes in matcha drinks. I love that shit. Or let's say I start thinking about somebody randomly in the middle of the day, just start thinking about somebody.

And then an hour later, they text me and say, oh, I've been missing you. Love that. Love that. Like, I'll actually give a really specific example that happened to me the other day. The other day I was at my favorite brunch spot in Los Angeles. Favorite brunch spot. And at this particular brunch spot, I usually order breakfast tacos.

And then I'll get a few little pastries from the pastry case because they have really delicious pastries. And I'll have a little bit at the restaurant, but then sometimes I'll get too many and bring them home. But it's like a tradition. Like I am always loading up on their pastries. And on this particular day,

I got there a bit later than usual. And so the pastry case was almost completely empty. And I was so bummed because I was like, wait, I really wanted like, I don't know, a little some some, but there was almost nothing left. And so while I was in line to order, because this is the type of place that you like wait in a line, you order, you get a number and then you sit down at a table and wait for it to be brought out for you. And while I was waiting in line, I was like,

staring at the pastry case, like dreaming that I had gotten there earlier and not missed the pastries. And then all of a sudden, right as I'm about to order,

someone comes out from the back with a huge tray of pastries and starts reloading the pastry case. And I was like, no way, no way, no way. And it's funny because I've been to this place so many times. And usually when they run out, they're out. Like I've never seen them reload it before ever in my life.

And there's been times where I've gone there and, you know, had to get something that maybe wasn't like my favorite or whatever because they were sold out. Like usually when they're sold out, they're sold out. So it was so bizarre that they had more in the back. That's like never happened. Anyway, but it was like on this particular day, I really wanted pastries and they came out. I just love that shit when you're thinking about it, when you're kind of manifesting it and then it just happens. Moving on. It brings me so much joy.

When I convince myself that I'm sick or I have a disease or that I'm pregnant or some sort of health-related situation, and then it turns out not to be true. Okay? For example, my period is very irregular. And every other month, it's like off. And it doesn't come on the right day or I just skip a month completely. Like...

Some months I'm right on schedule and my period tracker on my phone, like my period tracker app predicts my period perfectly. And then some months it's completely off. And it's just because I have some hormonal issues. But every time...

my period comes late or I miss it altogether, I convince myself that I'm pregnant, okay? Now listen, the older I get, the less scary that is to me. Like I'm almost 24. I'm not trying to have children, but I think I could handle it now, you know? However, when I was 19, not so much. That would have been a mess, you know? So, but even still, even today, I don't want to be pregnant. I'd like to have...

you know, a bit more years of learning and growing before that. And also, I want to choose when I get pregnant. You know what I'm saying? Like, I want to stop my birth control and make a plan. Like, I want it to be planned. I like planning. I'm a planner. You should see my Google Calendar. It's miraculously organized. Okay? I like planning. So I don't want an unexpected pregnancy, right? It's just not my vibe. So...

Every time my period is late or I miss it because my body is being weird, I freak out and convince myself that I'm pregnant. And it causes me so much anxiety. And usually I try to just calm myself down. And like, I don't immediately take a pregnancy test usually because I try to self-soothe myself and remind myself that I have an IUD. I'm on birth control. You know what I mean? Like I...

The likelihood of me getting pregnant is very low, but also I have hormonal issues. It's normal for me to not get my period on time, blah, blah, blah. And I try not to enable my own sort of paranoia and health anxiety. So I try not to take a test, but usually eventually I take a test. Like if my period doesn't come, I'm going to take a test. And the feeling I get

When the pregnancy test says negative, it brings me so much joy. Okay. Or, you know, if I have some sort of health scare, something weird happens and I go to the doctor and I'm fucking terrified and the doctor says everything's fine. Truly the most joyful experience.

It makes me so grateful every time. And I'm so... It's such a reset. Every time I get freaked out by something like that, that could be life-changing in a way that isn't ideal, and it ends up not coming to pass, it's just... I almost feel like I have a brand new approach to life. Like, I'm so...

positive and filled with joy and gratitude in those moments. Okay, moving on. It brings me immense joy when my cats like the guy that I'm dating. Immense joy. Because I really do believe that animals have a sixth sense. Sixth sense. Okay? They don't just have the five senses.

They have a sixth. I can't say that word. Sixth. They can sense if someone's a good or bad person. I really do believe that because I don't know, like the people who I think are the most wonderful in my life are the most loved by animals. And I just don't think that that's a coincidence.

I don't. And it's so funny because people that I don't really like don't get along with animals as well. You know what I'm saying? Like I've, I, I have seen this in real life. Okay. I've watched a dog, uh,

snarl at someone that I don't like, who I think is not a good person. And on the contrary, I've seen cats who are normally really shy rub up on the leg of people that I love. Do you see what I'm saying? I don't know. I just feel like animals can tell. And I've noticed that throughout my life. And so when my cats, like a guy that I'm dating, I'm like, oh yeah, this is good.

And they actually don't like every guy I've dated. Like, it's been a mixed bag. I mean, one of my cats is pretty nice to everyone. The boy cat, Declan, he's a people pleaser. Like, he just loves everyone. However, the other cat, Frankie, my girl cat, she's a bit more moody. She's a bit more skittish. And so when she likes a boy that I'm dating, I'm like, oh, shit. This is good.

This is good. This is a good sign. Listen, does it mean that they're the one? No, but it's a good sign. Even though I really do believe that my cats can tell if people are good or bad, I still don't really listen to them. You know, like I dated somebody for a long time that my cats didn't like. I could tell my cats didn't like them that much. And I was like, yeah,

It's fine. Did they end up being right? Sure. Of course they did. And I should have listened sooner, but I didn't. But you know what? I think I listen to them more now because I've seen them be right enough times that now I know.

But there's it's like there's something so heartwarming about seeing this is this is specifically what brings me joy. My little moody bitchy girl cat Frankie who literally doesn't like anyone except for me.

She has bonded with one guy that I've dated and it literally, I felt so mushy inside about that. I don't think I've ever like swooned more in my life. Like that. Yeah. Unbelievable. I mean, so precious, such a green flag, like everything about it. Just, just amazing and joyful.

Speaking of my cats, another thing that brings me joy is when I get into bed at night and my cats jump into bed with me. And then the next morning I wake up and they're still there. They slept with me the whole night. How sweet is that? Like, there's something really sad about going to sleep with like an animal in your bed and then like waking up and they're not there. And you're like, where'd you go? Like, what?

I thought we were like gonna hang all night and like cuddle and stuff. And then they leave and then, I don't know, it's just sad. There's just something so wholesome and joyful about the thought of the cats being on the bed all night and everyone sleeping in the bed like one big happy family. There's something about that that just brings me joy. I briefly paused this episode to let you know that this episode is brought to you by Hotels.com. I love to travel and I love staying at hotels.

There's nothing I love more than walking into a fresh, clean hotel room and just absolutely exploding in it. Okay. Putting all my skincare in the bathroom, hanging all my clothes up in the closet and really making myself feel at home. I also love going down in the morning for a buffet breakfast, but booking the right hotel can be hard work if you don't know where to look.

Whether I'm traveling for work or for fun, I'm always looking for the best hacks and perks. And if you're like me, let me tell you, the easiest way to book is with Hotels.com.

Members save up to 20% and earn rewards on every stay. In the money I save on the hotel, I can spend on going out to dinner, maybe doing a little bit of shopping at the hotel gift shop. You know what I mean? Like this could be you if you sign up at hotels.com. Become a member for free and save on hundreds of thousands of hotels at hotels.com. Now let's get back to the episode. All right, moving on. Customized items.

Okay. Like, for example, I have a few items in my possession that are perfect examples of this. Number one, my laptop. Okay. I did something unhinged when I got my latest laptop.

I painted it with acrylic paint. Yeah, I did. And then it started chipping a little bit. So I had to put like a plastic, a clear plastic case over it to protect the paint. But I painted my computer. Yeah. It was like a weird impulse. I've never felt that way before. I've always had just like plain laptops. Actually, not always. When I was in high school, I had a bunch of stickers on my laptop. You know, that was like the cool thing to do in high school. But

But I grew out of that. And then for many years, just had a plain laptop, like no decorations on it at all. And then this last one I got and I was like, I need to do something to this. Like I'm, I'm, I need to spice it up. I need to make it mine. You know, like I want to be at the airport going through TSA and see my laptop come out the other end and know that it's mine. You know what I'm saying? I don't know why that was my thought process, but

I do travel kind of a lot. And it always kind of stresses me out when, you know, I have to take my laptop out and put it in its own bin that I'm accidentally going to take somebody else's laptop because for so many years I had a basic laptop that literally looks like everyone else's and it stressed me out so bad. And usually I'd open it and make sure it's mine, but sometimes I'd be in a rush and I wouldn't and then I'd be so anxious and then I'd like get on the plane and check and be like,

freaked out, my heart would be beating. It's just like not fun. So I wanted my laptop to feel mine. So I painted it. I painted it white, like kind of, I wanted the paint to look sort of chunky and like I wanted you to be able to see the brush strokes. So I did like thick, chunky white paint. And then I painted on the Apple logo,

a realistic looking Apple. To be honest, it looks so cool. I'm obsessed with it. Like, I love it. It's funny because when I first did it, people in my life were like, you are weird. What are you doing painting your laptop? Like, get a case. And I was like, no, I want to commit. I want to paint on the metal, you know? Anyway, I have no regrets. I think it looks amazing and cool and unique. I

I love that. I love that little personal detail on my laptop. It makes the laptop feel like mine. I also recently bought a little tote bag that has my initials hand-painted onto it. I really try not to impulse buy things anymore, but I think I got an ad on Pinterest for...

these hand-painted tote bags. And I was like, oh, I think I need that. I think I need that. So I ordered it and I have no regrets. I use it all the time. I also have an L.L. Bean tote bag that says Miss Emma on it that I got embroidered. It's like a red boat tote bag, you know, the classic boat tote bag.

And I got the words Miss Emma embroidered in sort of a cursive-y font. And I absolutely love those tote bags. What other personalized things do I have? That's all I can think of right now, but...

Like I love personalized items. I love things that feel unique to me in some way, even though like a monogram tote bag is not that unique to me, but like just that little detail makes it feel more special. And I tend to cherish it more. And I especially get excited about personalizing things that usually aren't personalized, right? Like my laptop, like most people aren't painting things

their their laptops I love personalizing things that aren't normally personalized and I'm constantly trying to think outside the box of how I can personalize things yeah because it just brings me joy and it makes me love the item even more okay moving on it brings me so much joy

when I'm going out to eat and I'm really hungry and excited. The worst thing in the world, okay, not in the world, but one of, I absolutely hate when I'm going out to a restaurant and I'm not that hungry. Because if I'm going to a restaurant, I want to experience the culinary experience. I want to experience the food. And not only does food taste better when you're hungry, but also

I don't like eating if I'm not hungry. Like, it's not fun. Like, I don't want to eat if I'm not hungry. And I hate eating when I'm, I hate eating just to eat. Because then I get a stomach ache. I have a very sensitive stomach. So there's nothing better than having a solid appetite and going out to eat. Like, that is so fun. And

And then you're like reading through the menu frantically, trying to figure out what to get because you're so excited to order. Then the food comes and you eat it and you're so and you're like excited because you have a good appetite and it tastes even better because you have a good appetite.

That is the best. It's the best. And so on days when I know I'm going to go out to eat, I plan accordingly. I'm like, all right, I'm going to have a solid breakfast, perhaps a lighter lunch so that I can be hungry for dinner. I want to be ready. I want to be hungry. I want to have an appetite. I want to feel excited. Speaking of food, another thing that brings me joy is when I eat something delicious and it doesn't hurt my stomach. Because usually...

delicious foods sort of hurt my stomach. All right. Like fried foods, dense foods hurt my stomach. I have a sensitive stomach. And so if I like go out to an Italian restaurant and I have pasta and I have pizza and my stomach doesn't hurt after, it's a miracle. It's a miracle. It actually happened to me the other day. I went to this pasta place in Los Angeles and they import all of their pasta

stuff from Italy, which is cool and sort of unusual. And they specialize in pasta. So I ate a lot of pasta and usually pasta doesn't agree with me. It just like sits in my stomach like a brick and it, and it hurts and I'm crampy and I'm like bloated and I'm uncomfortable and I'm gassy or whatever. I ate this pasta and felt fucking nothing. I felt nothing, no stomach pain at all. And I was filled with joy, filled with joy.

Another thing that brings me joy is when I'm really thirsty, okay? Like parched. Maybe I was just doing something. Maybe I was doing some chores. Maybe I was working, whatever. And I look around and I find my Stanley cup and I pick it up and it's heavy. It's full, okay? There's nothing worse than being thirsty and then looking around, finding your cup with water in it and it being empty. That sucks, right?

It sucks because it's like, I just want a sip of water, ice cold, yummy water. But now I have to go fill it up. You know, like, I don't want to go fill it up. I want to have my water now. There's something so nice about, oh, you know what a good example of that is? This is a great example. When I wake up in the middle of the night, maybe I have to pee.

and I'm super thirsty, and I like haphazardly start reaching around, try to find my Stanley cup, and I pick it up, and it's heavy, and there's still lots of water left in it, and I get to just chug water. The best feeling. It's amazing. It's amazing. And I think it's actually particularly satisfying for me because I'm very particular about my water. Like, I am somebody who really likes to spice up my water, okay? Yeah.

I very rarely fill my cup with just plain water, which some people might think is weird, but I don't know. I just don't really... I don't drink as much water if there isn't something interesting about it. And so some of my fun waters that I drink, I love drinking water with electrolytes in it. I don't overdo it because you can definitely overdo it, but I do a lot of hot yoga. I sweat a lot. So...

you know, I can kind of justify consuming a good amount of electrolytes. So oftentimes I have electrolytes in my Stanley cup. Other times I'll do sparkling water with apple cider vinegar, which is really weird to some people. To me, it's delicious. I also have recently been enjoying sparkling water with a little bit of lemon juice and a little bit of ginger juice. Delicious.

If I'm at a restaurant, sparkling water with lime, but I never put that in my Stanley cup. Those are my waters of choice and there's nothing better than lifting up my Stanley cup and there's still being a lot of my fun drink left in there. Yeah. Makes me feel good. All right, moving on. This is really broad, but anything involving sweet,

Wholesome little cartoons. Anything. If there's a cartoon involved, I'm in. Okay? The sky's the limit when I say cartoon. Okay?

This could be a hand-drawn cartoon. This could be a cute little, like, graphic design-y little cartoon. This could be a little claymation sort of cartoon. This could be... I just love little cartoons, okay? Do you know what I'm saying? Little cartoons. I love little characters. I love an animated movie. I love an animated TV show. I love claymation. I love...

little items like cups or notebooks or purses that have little characters printed on them. I love little stuffed dolls that look like little cartoons, little cartoon-inspired dolls. I love art with little cute cartoons. I just love little sweet, little wholesome cartoons. I...

I always have, like, some of my favorite movies are animated movies. I love Coraline. I love Fantastic Mr. Fox. Those are both sort of claymation vibes. I love, there used to be a YouTube series called Simon the Cat. I think that was like a cute little animated, like hand-drawn animated series of a little cat playing.

Love that. I don't know. I just love little doodles and little cartoons and little stuffed animals and little, like, I just love that stuff. And it brings me a lot of joy. And it especially brings me joy when the little cartoons are actually catered to a slightly more mature audience, you know? Not like they're inappropriate, but they're mature. They're chic, you know? Like, I think Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox are,

are great examples of cartoons that could appeal to an adult visually. Although I don't know if those are considered cartoons. Those are like little characters, clay characters. But you get what I'm saying. I just love anything with a little cute cartoon involved. Ooh, this next one's really good. This brings me a lot of joy. When I get on a plane and... Listen...

The sentence does not end there because getting on a plane does not bring me joy. I have severe flight anxiety, which has been actually getting better recently. It's kind of dissipating, which is good. I'm exiting a phase of being afraid of flying because I go through phases with it, but it still stresses me out. I absolutely love when I get on a plane, I sit down, I get buckled in,

And I put my headphones in and I start watching my downloaded YouTube videos. And then I slowly close my eyes and I fall asleep. And then I wake up to the plane descending into our destination. Oh, it's like time travel.

To sleep for the whole flight, it's literally as close as we have right now to time travel. And there's nothing better. I actually had the most incredible sleep on the last flight I was on. I was flying home from New York and the flight on the way back from New York to LA was five hours. And it was actually a flight during the day.

I think my flight was at like 2 p.m. And so I was like, I'm probably not going to sleep on this flight. I'll just try to get some work done or whatever. But I ended up sitting down and I got so tired that I was like, you know what, maybe I'll just nap for half of it and then, you know, work the other half. I slept the whole time. It was amazing. And I woke up in Los Angeles like nothing ever happened. It's truly to sleep an entire flight and

It's a euphoric experience. It's amazing. Especially one that's long, like a five-hour flight. I've actually slept the duration of a flight to Europe, which is 10 hours. I've slept an entire flight to Europe before. Amazing. Amazing. You wake up rested, ready for the day. It's the best feeling. Moving on. Repairing a piece of clothing myself. I'm talking about patching a hole...

sewing a button back on, you get the idea. I love noticing something's wrong with my clothes. Listen, I don't want my clothes to be falling apart, right? That's not ideal. But I love when I notice something's wrong and I'm like, oh, I can just fix that right now. And then I go and I sit down and I, you know, fix it. And it's sort of this calm, relaxing activity. And

But then there's also, you know, a reward at the other end because now I can wear that piece of clothing again.

I don't know. There's something about it that I really, really like. I like taking care of the things that I have and it brings me joy to mend them because the things that I own these days, I really like. There was a period of time where I had a lot of clothes in my closet that I didn't really care about. I was like, I could do without this. I don't really care. But I've since...

donated all of the stuff that I don't really like, kept all the stuff that I really, really like. And now I'm left with clothing that genuinely means something to me. So if there's a rip, if there's a hole, if a button fell off, I want to fix it because I

That's a piece of clothing that I care about. And that's how we should all feel about our clothes, ideally. But I had a little shopping addiction for a little bit. So I had a lot of clothes. I don't know. There's just it almost brings you closer to the item when you fix it. It's almost like relationships. Like if you get in a fight with your friend and then you both get over it, your relationship is going to be stronger at the other end of that.

And it's weird. It's like the same thing with clothes. If you notice a tear or something like that in your clothing and then you sit down and you mend it yourself, you feel more attached to that piece of clothing as a result because you put in effort to take care of it. And I don't know, like there's something...

really beautiful about that. And not only do I find joy in feeling sentimental and close to my items, but I also genuinely enjoy the process of like sewing a button, sewing a hole. I actually enjoy that experience. I like sewing. So I don't know. There's just something about that that brings me joy. Okay, moving on. Kind of actually a similar vibe to the last one I just said.

getting to enjoy or use something that I made. Okay. Like painting a painting and then hanging it up on the wall or sewing a piece of clothing or an accessory and then wearing it out or, you know, baking banana bread and then cutting myself off a slice. Like there's something about making something and then getting to enjoy it. That's so wonderful. And I

I don't know. I just, I really love that experience. Like a great example of that would be a few months ago, it was Coachella and I sewed myself a lace bonnet like a month prior to Coachella. And then Coachella came around and I was picking out my outfits and I was like, I get to wear my lace bonnet. It'll match perfectly. And it was just so exciting.

I also really want to buy a big canvas and paint a really big painting because I want to, I don't know, I think that would be really fun to paint like a big statement piece and hang it up in my house because I know that that'll bring me joy. I don't know, like creating things is so much more fun if you get to use it in some way. I don't know. Not that that's like mandatory. Like there are times when,

It's fun to make something just for it to sort of go away. Like an example of that would be, you know, when I was a kid,

I used to really love making fairy houses. Like when I would go on summer vacation on the East Coast in Maine, there was a lot of forest. And I used to go hang out sort of in the forest and I would make little fairy houses. You know, I'd use sticks and moss and weird little stumps from trees and whatever and make a little fairy house for a fairy to live in.

And it was really fun to make that even though I didn't personally get to benefit from that. I still enjoyed making that. I don't know. It's really rewarding to make something that's going to be enjoyed.

Ooh, this next one's a really good one. It brings me so much joy when a bird moves into one of the birdhouses that I have in my backyard. I've always had birdhouses around. Like growing up, I think there was a birdhouse in my backyard.

My mom has little birdhouses at her house. Like, everyone around me has birdhouses. There's something so incredible about a bird moving into the house. Like, one day, walking past the birdhouse and seeing a little nest in there, it's like...

What? I'm a landlord? It's so exciting. It's so exciting. And it doesn't happen often. Like the bird houses I have now, I think I've only seen a bird in there once. Like I haven't had a bird living in one of my bird houses in a really long time. But wow, is it exciting? I don't know. Because like we put out those things for the animals because it's

we want animals among us. Like I have a birdhouse strategically placed by the window that is next to my kitchen sink, right? When I'm doing dishes, I look out that window and there's a beautiful tree there. And so I hung a birdhouse there because I was like, how wonderful would it be to be doing dishes watching a little bird? That would be so wonderful.

That's why we put out birdhouses because we want the birds among us. And so when they move in, it's so exciting. It's like I, it almost feels like you're communicating with the animal. It's like, hey, I invited you to come hang out here with me. Anyway, speaking of birds, another thing that brings me joy is seeing a rare animal when I'm out and about. Okay. A rare animal, not meaning like, like super rare, like,

you know, like I'm in my backyard and all of a sudden a wild boar shows up. It's like, wait, what is that doing here? That's not supposed to be here. That's really rare. That's weird. Or it's not even rare. It's just not supposed to be here. I'm saying like this. Okay. I'll give you an example. It was a rainy day and I was walking around my house doing chores. Starting to sound like all I do is chores. It's kind of true. I spend a lot of my day like cleaning up after myself, honestly.

But that's because I really like to have an organized home. So it's sort of my own doing. But anyway, I was walking around doing chores. It was a foggy day and I love fog. Okay, I think fog is probably my favorite weather. Actually, now that I'm getting older, I really love like a hot sunny day, but I really love fog. All right, anyhow, tied for first place with a hot and sunny day.

I love a hot and sunny day and I love a really comfortable windless foggy day, like 75 degrees, foggy, no wind. I really like that. Well, actually, maybe like 65 and a little bit of a brisk, a slight little breeze, but not cold. Anyway, it was foggy and I was like, wow, what a beautiful foggy afternoon.

So I walked up to my window that looks out on my pool and I look in the pool and my jaw dropped because there were ducks in my pool. Ducks. I've never seen ducks on my house property. Definitely not in my pool. I've never seen ducks remotely even near my house. I was so excited. I literally...

I got out my camera. This is actually kind of sad. I got out my camera to film them. And the second I set up my tripod, they flew away. I wanted to take a clip of them swimming around in my pool on my camera, but

They flew away. It was really sad. But you know what? It's just, it's my memory now. Only, only I've seen it. And it was so exciting because I was like, what are you guys doing here? Do you know what I mean? But it's the same thing as like, if I'm on a hike and all of a sudden I see like a weird frog or like, actually that might scare me a little bit. Frogs are a little bit weird. Maybe I see like a turtle or something or a toad.

Oh wait, a toad is a frog. A tortoise. Sorry, not a toad. I don't know. I see like a tortoise or a turtle or something. Or I'm driving through like a forest and I see a moose. Or I'm driving through the countryside and I see a bunch of pigs.

That's not really a wild animal. But I just get excited when I see animals that I don't normally see, you know? Like, I never see ducks in my backyard. I don't often see turtles or tortoises when I'm on a hike, you know? I don't get to see pigs very often. I just love seeing unusual animals.

It's so satisfying and fun. I really love to see deer as well. Like sometimes when I'm driving around at night, I'll see deer like running around in people's front yards. And I'm like, what? What are you guys doing around here? It's just fun. Oh, another good one is seeing a bunny. Like being on a hike and seeing a bunny. That's exciting. I love bunnies. I never had a pet bunny, but I do love bunnies.

Okay, next. I love when I find a song that's so good and makes me feel so euphoric that I play it over and over again for a month straight. It doesn't happen to me very often. In fact, it only happens a few times a year. But when it happens, it's so incredible. What's the last song that that happened to me with? You know what? Finn Wolfhard. Finn Wolfhard has really put out some bangers recently.

Like his song, Trailers After Dark. Really good song. Finn Wolfhard has put out some songs recently that I've been playing on repeat. Yeah, I'm into it. I'm fucking into it. So that's probably the last time that happened to me. But it's just so rare that a song will hit that nerve. And so when it does, it's just...

And it's so fun to have a song that you are excited to play. Do you know what I mean? I hate when I get in the car and I'm like, ah, I'm kind of in the mood to listen to music, but nothing really appeals to me right now. Like I'm not really into anything right now. It's so fun to get into the car and be like, I want to play music and I know exactly what I'm going to play. I don't know. That's fun.

Although I will say I'm somebody who drives a lot in silence. And yeah, I exist in a lot of silence. But there are moments when I really want to listen to music and I'm in the mood for it. And it feels so good when I have a go-to song of the moment. Next, when I'm staying at a hotel and they have a buffet breakfast. There is something about a buffet breakfast that

I feel like a kid again. Like I feel, okay, how do I explain this? I feel the same way as an adult when I go to a buffet breakfast that I did as a child. It just feels like a free-for-all. I'm like, I get to have all of this. I can grab whatever I want. I can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I don't have to crack open the menu and commit to something. I don't have to commit to eggs and avocado. I don't have to commit to

to ricotta pancakes. Like I can have it all. I still get the same excitement now as an adult as I did as a kid. And I don't know. I just, I love a buffet breakfast. I love being able to go up for different rounds. Like I'll go up and start out with, you know, maybe some with some protein, like some eggs and then I'll,

You know, sit for a second and be like, all right, you know, I'm craving something sweet. Go back up, have a yogurt parfait. Eat that. Get a little bit full. Let it digest for a minute. Go back up. Get some hash browns. Fuck it. Realize, you know what would be really good? A chocolate croissant. Get back up. Go grab a chocolate croissant. Sit back down. My dad and I, when we're traveling, we hang out at the breakfast buffet for hours. Hours. Hours.

Just hang out, eat a little bit, chat a little bit, digest a little bit, get back up, eat, sit. Like we're doing it all, you know? We try a little bit of everything. We spend hours at the buffet. It's so much fun. And it's even better when the seating is outside. Ooh, and the weather's warm and I'm eating a breakfast buffet and it's warm. Wow, that's one of the best experiences. Next, it brings me a lot of joy

when I think that I don't like someone, okay? Maybe I had a bad experience with them.

maybe I don't like their presence online or maybe my friends don't like them or something like, I just don't like someone. I think I don't like somebody. And then I have an experience that proves me wrong and makes me rethink it. I love that. I don't like not liking people. I do like talking shit and I do like a little bit of gossip and I do like a little bit of drama, but never when it's that serious. I don't really like disliking people.

I don't want to dislike people. So it brings me a lot of joy when someone proves me wrong. And it's happened to me many, many, many times. I remember there was this one person who was kind of rude to me once and then I decided I don't really like this person. And then the next time I saw them, they were a bundle of love. And I was like, wait, this person's great. You know, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so quickly.

And it was so rewarding. You know, it made me feel good. I was so happy to have one less person to dislike because again, I don't like disliking people. I don't want to dislike people. So to be proven wrong is joyful. Oh, this next one's really good. It really brings me joy. When I'm at a party or a bar or something like that and music's playing, it's bumping really loud. And then all of a sudden,

They start playing Tongue Tied by Group Love. Sorry, call me fucking basic. Okay, call me basic. But every time I'm at a party or a bar or something like that, or I guess a club, but I don't really go to the club, and Tongue Tied by Group Love comes on, it is euphoric for me. I love that song. Everybody loves that song. The second the song comes on, everybody in unison screams every time. Everyone's so excited.

And I'm excited because I genuinely love that song. And you know what? I often don't like the songs that everyone likes. I'm not saying that I'm fucking different. I'm so different. I'm not like other girls. I don't like the song that everyone likes. But I'm genuinely not being a pick me. You can fucking call me a pick me. You will call me a pick me. You're going to call me a pick me.

because of what I'm saying. You're going to clip this. You're going to put it on TikTok and you're going to say Emma's a pick me. Okay. I get it. All I'm saying is there's a lot of times when I'm out where everybody gets really excited about a song and I'm like, eh, I don't like that song that much. Group love, tongue tied, I love. So every time it comes on, I'm like, this is amazing. It's communal, but it's also personal. Like I get excited when that song comes on when I'm alone.

But when there's a bunch of people around who are also excited, it's amazing. Okay, next. Moving on. It brings me so much joy when someone randomly takes a picture of me, like maybe one of my friends or...

I don't know, my parent or something, when they randomly take a photo of me and then they show me and it's such a good photo. I look unbelievable. I look hot. I look cool. I look candid. And I wasn't even trying. They just took a random photo of me. And suddenly I now get to post this on grid. It's going straight to freaking Instagram because it's that good. How awesome is that? Because I swear it's so hard to get a good photo. It's always when you're like,

and you're like trying to figure out the lighting and you like picked a spot to take the photo and it's all planned and stuff that the photo just doesn't work out. And then every once in a while, randomly, a candid one will work out. And it's like, why do we ever even try? You know, the magic happens when you're not trying. The best photos are taken candid, I think. It's just hard to get good photos. And so when one happens on accident,

And no planning went into it. It was just easy. It was an accident almost. So awesome. I love when that happens. And I really need people in my life to be taking even more photos of me because I want to experience that feeling more often. Okay, and last but not least, we have the classic summer day. Okay, you all know what I'm talking about. The classic summer day brings me so much joy. Okay, I'm talking about waking up at like 8, 9 a.m.,

Having a relaxed morning, okay? Hanging out by the pool, maybe going to the beach in the afternoon, getting a tan, swimming, talking shit, listening to music. Then at around 5 p.m., getting in the shower, looking tan, looking hot, getting ready. Then going out to dinner, perhaps sitting on a patio having dinner. Wow, awesome.

Wow. Then going out and the weather's still warm. You're wearing like a cute hot outfit and you're not cold because it's hot out.

and everybody looks hot because it's summer and everyone's sun-kissed and happy. Sorry. Sorry that that's as good as life gets. To me, that's what heaven is. I hope when I die, I go to an eternal summer where every day I get to wake up, have a little coffee, hang out,

by the pool, hang out by the beach all day, then go to dinner and sit on a fucking patio, then go out, then go to bed, then do it all over again the next day because it's fucking summer, baby. That is one of the most joyful experiences I think a human being can have. It's unbelievable. And I don't even really like going out anymore. Like I don't like partying like that. But there's something about the summer day. It's just magic. It's magic. And that's it.

Those are all the things that I could think of. But listen, maybe I'll do this again, okay? I've made like 10 episodes about all my different pet peeves. So maybe this will become a new series. Anti-pet peeves, joy in the mundane, okay? And I actually encourage you all to write down a list of things that bring you joy. You could write down five things, 10 things, 20 things. I today listed 23 things. So maybe if you want to one-up me, you could do 25 things.

But I really think it's a positive exercise to write down things that bring you joy because it can sometimes be easy to be pessimistic, to be nihilistic, especially nowadays. And I think it can be really valuable to remind yourself what brings you joy. And so I suggest that you try it.

And so that's it for me today. I hope you enjoyed hanging out with me. I absolutely enjoyed hanging out with you. And if you want to hang out again, new episodes every Thursday and Sunday. You can listen anywhere. Although video is on Spotify and YouTube. Check out Anything Goes on social media at Anything Goes. Find me on social media at Emma Chamberlain, on YouTube at Emma Chamberlain, and check out my coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee. Today I was drinking a little matcha latte, a little homemade matcha latte,

using our matcha. Disgusting sound. Anyway, I love you all. I appreciate you all. It is always a pleasure to hang out. And luckily for us, we get to do it all over again in a few days. So I'll talk to you then. All right. Love you all and goodbye.