Last weekend I started a journal. I’ve never been a journaler – although you could argue that this space essentially functions as one. As a kid, I remember writing in journals with friends about the boys we liked and the secrets that we would only ever tell each other. It was fun and I wish more than anything that I still had those little books, they would be so hilarious to re-visit. Besides the long games of MASH and doodles of our secret worlds, I never recorded my own thoughts in a meaningful way.

In the past, I think the biggest roadblock to journaling was my question: what the hell do you even put in a journal? It says a lot about my emotional maturity and the level at which I was able to connect with my own experiences that I had literally no clue as to what I would write. Fiction? Sure. Poetry? All the time (even if it wasn’t good). But personal accounts of my life and my feelings seemed so elusive and beyond my grasp. I wanted to know what other people wrote down in their journals as a kind of reference. I was endlessly curious about who to address and what tense I should write in. I completely missed the point that journaling is a personal expression; it can take any form that you choose it to.

So, I started a journal. Nothing special or dramatic, just a daily writing practice where I try not to pause or think too much about the words that I am putting down. It feels good to write with a pencil on paper, a messy cursive scrawl that is almost illegible but serves the purpose that I need. It is a thinking tool, a chance to slow down and catch up with my own thoughts. If I’m being honest, I haven’t written anything very personal or private. It is mostly comprised of ideas I want to explore and the little thoughts that seem to pop out of nowhere but might lead to something worth noting.

Maybe you already do this and I am just super late to the game. It’s only been a few days, but I really love the feeling it leaves me with. Do you keep a journal or have a writing practice? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this 🙂

This set of photos reminds me of spring.

I know that I am a little premature, but I feel so hopeful and exuberant at even the slightest raise in temperature. On Sunday, I walked down the street and bought myself some flowers from the shop. The woman who sold them to me suggested that I dry them, and even threw in a few extra stems of a flower she said would dry nicely. I had the most lovely Sunday morning baking these muffins and arranging this little spring scene. It made me so happy.

Weekends are a kind of learned practice – you start to associate calmness and relaxation with those two days off. This is the first time in my life that weekends have really been just for me. When I was in school, weekends were filled with studying (or procrastinating) and a constant sense of guilt that I had things to do. Now, weekends are for muffins and new adventures!

I don’t have much to say about these cozy spiced muffins because I feel like the title says it all. They are a spin on the classic banana walnut combo, but the result feels even more familiar if that makes sense. It’s a taste I already knew through association and multiple cups of tea. The perfect balance between sweet carbs and cozy sips.

Read also: Should bananas be refrigerated?

Let me know if you make these and have the best week!