Raise your glass… cheers to the new year!
You probably know how to say cheers! in a handful of other languages. How to raise your glass in joyous salutation is one of the first things we learn about a new language and culture. In French it’s salut or santé. We could do a tour of the world, just clinking glasses: kanpai! proost! sláinte! na zdorovie! chin-chin! One aspect of the cheers! a ritual that we often overlook in the United States but which has central importance in other cultures is to look into the eyes of the person you clink glasses with as you do it—if you’re celebrating with several people, pay attention to everyone around you. Taking the time to look into someone’s eyes as you wish them health and happiness for the future is fundamental to sharing the joy of the moment.
Here’s our welcome wish for 2023 at partager la joie: let’s inspire and encourage each other to move forward with a sense of hope and positivity in our new beginnings! January is an opportunity for a healthy reset, to start fresh and find our joy as we edit our lifestyles, take stock of our possibilities, renew what strengthens us, and cultivate goodness within and without.
Wellness Reset
Let January be the time that you reprioritize wellness in all of your daily routines. Prepare nutritious meals and snacks, stay hydrated with plenty of water (pro tip: a great way to start the day off is by drinking a warm glass of lemon water), and add a new year’s boost to your fitness program. This may be a great moment to try a new class or to schedule a few sessions with a trainer! Give renewed attention to your sleep schedule—we often emerge from the excesses of the holiday season a little sleep deprived!
We have found that once something becomes a priority, it’s easier to make it part of our routine, to the point where it becomes automatic. That’s how habits work, and it’s time to pick up some good ones for the new year! Rather than saying, “If only I had the time to practice a little self-care,” let’s make a priority of wellness, taking good care of ourselves, and leading a healthy lifestyle. Let’s say we’ll have time for wellness if we make the time for it.
If you find a wellness habit that works well for you, please do tell! Sharing your discoveries, techniques, advice, healthy recipes, or helpful tips—on social media, in a blog, or just in conversation—can inspire others around you to enhance their own wellness. What a wonderful way to create and nurture a community that’s based in positivity and renewal!
Mindfulness Matters: the Power of Positivity
Make a mindfulness practice one of your resolutions for the new year. Incorporating mindful moments into your already busy day may seem like an overwhelming task. However, what it really means is taking the time to be in the present moment. Give yourself permission to think about how you feel, appreciate your surroundings and enjoy the little moments of joy that occur each day.
Setting aside a few moments every day for some form of meditation (there are many guided meditation apps available if this practice is new to you) is key to recentering your mind-body balance. Journaling is a form of mindfulness, too! Relax and enjoy a peaceful afternoon, light a candle, or sit by the fire with a great book or your journal. Browse our wellness collection and indulge in our unbelievably soft berber fleece loungewear, skin care essentials and earthy scented winter candles.
When we look at life through the lens of positivity, we’re able to see beyond the daily bumps in the road and open our minds and hearts to the many possibilities in front of us. This gets at the essence of our mission at plj—we founded this company with the idea that joy comes in many forms, and the more we do to welcome joy into our own lives the more we are able to share it with all those special people in our lives. As the year renews, think about how you can mindfully appreciate joyful moments in your life, focus on wellness in body and mind and surround yourself with people you love—surely a way to accentuate the goodness around you. How can you be a better friend, first to yourself and then to those around you? With your mindset open to positivity, you’ll find success not only this year but for many years to come.
Energize your Environment
We’ve been focusing on mindfulness and habits so far, but we know that how we feel about our daily lives is closely related to the environment around us. January’s new beginnings are the perfect moment to reprioritize, exfoliate, and declutter—your mind, body, soul, and home!
Refresh your skin
Exfoliation is one of our favorite traditions to ring in the new year. We love scheduling a spa treatment for a combination body exfoliation and massage—the perfect way to rejuvenate and set the tone for wellness through the new year. Making your own body scrub to keep in your shower is also an invigorating way to refresh your skin a few times a week. Simply mix coconut oil, lemon oil, and coarse salt in a glass jar, and enjoy how radiant and refreshed you’ll feel!
Invigorate your senses
If you don’t already use a diffuser to add a bit of aromatherapy to your home, especially during the winter months, you’ll soon be hooked. If it’s calm you want, add a few drops of lavender essential oil. For an invigorating lift, try citrus oil and a few drops of eucalyptus. Eucalyptus essential oil also works like a charm if you are experiencing any cold symptoms. We’ve sourced a variety of fragrant citrus, lavender, and eucalyptus essential oils for our simple roll-on perfumes, body oils, and bath salts. Shop our wellness collection.
Lighten up your home
The start of a new year is the ideal time to declutter your closets, pantry, and other indoor spaces. Once you pack away your holiday decor—take time to organize your home. Give yourself a fresh start and contribute to a worthy cause by donating clothes, coats, and any gently used items that have been taking up space in your closet. Restocking your pantry with nutritious items is also a step in the right direction toward your healthy lifestyle goals. This is the time we love to brighten our spaces with crisp crisp linens, softly textured neutral throw blankets and new tableware to usher in a sense of casual, calm elegance to our home.
On our Epicure Agenda
Let’s Do Brunch!
Sunday and brunch have become synonymous at plj. We love gathering at home or meeting up at a favorite spot for this weekend ritual. It’s a great way to catch up and relax, whether you’re cozy by a fire or out in salty air on a winter getaway. See this month’s epicure for plenty of inspiration for home brunch. We love to share in your creativity and success—tag us in your next recipe post and we’ll share with the plj community!
Food for your Soul
Soup season means it's time to enjoy a comforting bowl full of goodness anytime! Flavorful and packed with nutritious ingredients, soup can serve as a dinner staple during the winter months. Take a break from elaborate meal planning and keep cooking simple this month with our classic chicken, roasted vegetable minestrone, coconut curry butternut squash, lentil and spinach recipes.
Refresh and Brighten our Menus
Turning the calendar page to January gives us an ideal moment to turn a new leaf and balance our menus with plenty of healthy vegetables and bright citrus notes. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables are part of our January meal planning—we just can’t get enough of leeks, carrots, kale, ginger, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, and pineapple.
Our morning glory muffins are a handy, nutritious on the go breakfast for the whole family as we go back to work and school after the holidays. Jump-start the day with a warm glass of lemon water as a simple hydrating tonic. A green juice with ginger, lemon, and kale is also a great way to reset and re-boost our immunity after the holidays. A warming turmeric latte is a perfect, non-caffeinated afternoon treat, and our tangy lemon curd is like a ray of winter sunshine when spread on toast or stirred into yogurt.
For winter weeknights, soups and stews are both nourishing and comforting, but we like to create balance by keeping them light and fresh, with extra emphasis on vegetables. Planning a special weekend gathering? Whatever the occasion, we’ve got you covered with plenty of inspiration, from Belgian waffles with cinnamon whipped cream to our roasted chicken with root vegetables, our sumptuous slow-cooker bolognese sauce, or a fresh and zesty stir-fry.
Epicure:
Green Juice
Ginger Tea
Turmeric Latte
Banana Pineapple Smoothie
Morning Glory Muffins
Nut Butter Energy Balls
Simply Sweet Scones
Lemon Curd
Eggs Benedict
Belgian Waffles
Crunchy Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Roasted Minestrone
Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup
Carrot Ginger Soup
Classic Chicken Soup
Stir Fry with Ginger, Shrimp and Snap Peas
Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables
Slow-cooker Bolognese Sauce
Grapefruit Bellini
Winter Design Notes:
At partager la joie, the winter months are all about letting life bloom at its own pace by keeping things simple, clean, and streamlined. Following on the busy heels of the festive season, we like our space to feel airy, light, and bright. Keep your design palette for table settings and flower arrangements simple. Winter bulbs and branches accented by sprigs of greens can go a long way toward creating a winter tablescape or an arrangement in your home. Mix in assorted votives and lanterns to reflect the natural elements of the season. Use simple greens like eucalyptus or lemon leaf in your vases. We love a cluster of winter branches like birch or a blooming branch added to a large container in a foyer or kitchen island. Monochromatic flower arrangements in your living spaces add unique style and warmth.
Fill your home with clean, warm scents—a fresh bunch of eucalyptus in your shower, lavender bath salts, lightly scented candles like our Juniper and Lavender or Amber, with its earthy, clean fragrance. Textured, soft throws in your living spaces will keep the mood light, bright while enjoying a lazy afternoon by the fire, keeping cozy in our super soft berber loungewear. Shop plj
Face Forward
C’est la fête! At the end of this month, we’ll be celebrating three years since we launched partager la joie, with a heartfelt mission of inspiring friends near and far to cultivate spaces and occasions to cherish one another. It seemed like a small intention at the time, but you never know where such new directions might lead. We are profoundly grateful for the journey of sharing our joys with you and look forward to all the exciting goodness to come
Let your own resolutions blossom too, this season. Seed ideas for a bright and beautiful lifestyle space, rekindle an old friendship, revitalize your body and soul for the year ahead. Be open to all the wonderful possibilities that await, and may your new year be bright and full of new and inspiring ways to share the joy!
The new year is a great time to focus on implementing the change we want to see: in our own lives, in our immediate sphere, and even in the wider world all around us. With brighter days on the horizon, let’s prioritize taking good care of ourselves and each other and facing forward with positivity lighting our way.
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