Present Joys Featured Guest: Alexis Bone
This week we welcome Alexis Bone to share her present joys with us.
Alexis Bone is the wonderfully creative, incredibly strategic mind behind some of our favorite brands, including our shared and beloved client, Organic Oren. Alexis brings a fresh perspective to every conversation. She radiates lightness and possibility and is one of the most brilliant and fun people we’ve ever had the pleasure of collaborating with. Read on to see what’s been bringing Alexis joy—she has many of them!
Moonmaid
I came across Moodmaid via their founder @catmatthews’s Instagram and I think the branding and concept feel so different and refreshing and most of all the product looks so delicious. Like a childhood snack mixed with something your nutritionist says you should eat… a dream! I can’t wait to try.
Grove Grocer
I recently popped over to Grove Grocer while visiting family in Florida and loved every second. My chicken salad sandwich was phenomenal, matcha was perfect, and they even gave me a financier that literally took my breath away (of course I got up and promptly bought 5 more).
Richard Simmons Dance Workouts
I don’t know what possessed me to start doing Richard Simmons Dance Workouts but I’m happy about it. The camp, the joy, and the absolute refusal to take exercise seriously is such a delight. If I’m feeling spicy I’ll do 1.2x speed. Great workout and gives me a giggle, win-win!
Silk Bookmarks
A wonderful Pinterest find & a gift to myself that keeps gifting, these silk bookmarks are so beautifully made and make me even more excited to open my books.
A Year in Provence
My dreams of going to the south of France led me to this beautifully descriptive and charming book about an English couple that moves to Provence. Written with just enough wit and whimsy, it follows the seasons and gives a glimpse into what life is really like in the Lubéron Valley. Perfect easy light read that brought me joy with every page.
Carmen in the Garden Spiced Kumquat Muffins
I was about to leave for a trip and had a bunch of kumquats and a garden overflowing with thyme. A quick Google search led me to this wonderful recipe from Carmen in the Garden (one of my all-time favorite follows). The unexpected flavor combo worked together perfectly & bonus: they’re GF and DF :)
Memory Journal from my Grandmother
My grandma recently surprised me with a journal filled with entries covering many many moments of my life from my birth to early adolescence. The entries include major milestones, little moments, sweet notes and reflections, along with some little bits of memorabilia like my 4th grade report card & tickets to a play we went to in 2008. Funnily enough, I had started journals like these for my family members a few years ago and this inspired me to start them up again.
Old New Yorker Magazines
A couple years ago, I went through a phase of heavy Ebay usage to find some fun old New Yorker magazines. I hung one but only just recently went through the rest and had so much fun reading about the ‘current’ events, seeing what ads were like then, and actually flipping pages of a magazine. Highly recommend!
Knitting Club
When I was visiting my family in Canada in 2023, my Grandma taught my cousin and I to knit & ever since then I’ve been picking it up here and there. It’s so satisfying to select the pattern, yarn, and color and actually make something that I can wear. Plus, the bilateral hand movements benefit the nervous system. My grandma, when she was visiting my family in California about 18 years ago, attended a knitting club at a local library that is still going now. Since I’ve picked up knitting, I started going to the meetings when I could. I’m the youngest by far, most women are long retired and the next youngest is maybe 15 years older than me, and I love it. At the table of the roughly 20 women that join regularly, you’ll hear several different languages and accents, take in bits of all kinds of stories, and learn a lot about buttons. Linda, the founder of the club, spent 2 hours the other day helping me fix mistakes and continue my work on my first big project, a chunky sweater I’ll probably finish just in time for summer (lol)!
Echo Park Pottery
I’ve been trying forever to get into the Echo Park Pottery studio. Being the fan of Peter Shire’s work that I am, I’ve wanted one of his signature splatter mugs for ages. Being the Virgo that I am, I was not loving that retailers of his work don’t allow you to choose the exact piece you want. So I had been emailing them on and off for ages and finally lined up to go select the mug of my dreams. It ended up being just me, Peter, his wife, and their studio assistant. I spent an hour looking at mugs, chatting with him, and selecting the two spattered ceramic beauties I now call mine.
Buttercup Animation
Immediately caught my eye when I saw @maddypease share this on her story, it’s sooo sweet and I love the handmade touch.
Montauk General’s Stop Motion Video
I’m a big fan of what Kate is doing at Montauk General and love her work with Gretchen Kupferschmid. When I saw this video, I was delighted. And when I saw the stories Kate posted showing the actual cutouts from the stop motion, it really got me. Knowing those pieces were physically made and moved frame by frame shows a level of craft, creativity, and intention that is feeling more and more rare these days.
Zoe Brown’s Website
I can’t remember how I came across Zoe Brown’s website but I love how simple, unique, and authentic her website feels while still being functional. It makes me want to go to San Francisco just so I could go see her!
A few more joys from Michelle and Joyce…
Dried Mangoes The dried mangoes from Joshua Tree Health Foods are some of the best I’ve ever had.
Saju My friends Kim and Nancy recently told me about Saju, a form of Korean fortune-telling based on Chinese metaphysics. I inputted my birth info here and what it spit out felt very resonant!
Braids Be it plaiting strands of challah bread or my niece’s hair into a fishtail braid, braiding is a sweet, satisfying way to pass the time.
A Perfect Saturday Afternoon in LA Toured the Hollyhock House, watched City of Dance in the garden(!) immediately after, dinner at Saffys, and a show at UCB Franklin!
Hand-making a Father’s Day Card At 35 years old I’m shocked I’m still doing this, but I have to say I love the ritual of it. Makes me feel like a kid again and I know my Dad loves it too.
UPF Clothing I was looking for a dress for a wedding I’m going to this summer and I tried on a Claudent dress (in tomato red) at Serafina in South Pas. I was so smitten with the fact that the fabric has sun protection as part of the material. I put it on hold, we’ll see!
NYT Sunday Crossword My in-laws were visiting and it’s always fun when we’re together on a Sunday: we all huddle around the TV where we screen share the Times crossword (its formatted for TV size!) and make our way through! Everyone makes a contribution and for 45 minutes to an hour there is nothing else in the world that matters.
Thank you for having me!!! 🩵