Joy365: Week Two

If this is your first Joy365 blog visit, start here - then you can check out week one here too.

My creative challenge for 2026 is to take at least one photo every day. Every week I post my favourite photos of the week over on Instagram - yes, sometimes the photos aren't the best, but that's not the point - they're photos that capture a snapshot of time and tell a story about the day) and then here you'll get the tales behind the pictures, plus any other pictures that I'm particularly proud of in that moment. So, here we go...

Week Two:

Photo One: Our daughter has just started a new Saturday morning club, which gives us a good few hours of silence in the house (which is when I'm writing these blogs!) to set us up gently for the weekend and sort out life admin. Afterwards we headed into town for the afternoon as she wanted to go to a local attraction (Sick to Death - check out our reel about it here) and spend the last of her Christmas money. The light was bouncing beautifully off the Town Hall as we walked back to the car and it looked so pretty!

Photo Two: Self-care Sunday. It was raining and cold so we snuggled up at home (I don't think Taz got out of his pyjamas all day!) and I decided to pop on some nail extensions as all my nails have been so brittle and basic recently. Plus, I love this sofa cushion, so it deserves to be highlighted.

Photo Three: I work from home on Monday, and it's often quite a busy day so my brain can feel quite frazzled at 5pm - so the evening is about washing it off, and setting up for office days. I love our super-deep bathtub, and a big bubble bath is just the tonic to wind down and feel settled for the week.

Photo Four: The rain was lingering on my walk to work, but it's still so pretty. I don't think I'll ever get over how beautiful the city of Chester is, and while I have several route options to take to the office, my favourite is through the park and along the river. This is one of the views from the park paths, peeping over the riverside walk to the bridge.

Photo Five: We had a couple of days of nice, sharp winter weather this week with no dampness, and that kind of fresh cold that feels actually refreshing rather than miserable. The sunrises were particularly stunning, and at this time of year they're often at their best during my walk to work so I'm spoiled for choice on the best vantage spots.

Photo Six: Following on from the previous - the sunsets have also been pretty damn gorgeous this week too! Honestly thought there was a fire somewhere nearby as the light in the office suddenly turned pink and yellow, so I stepped away from my desk and popped outside to capture the colours before they disappeared.

Photo Seven: Work from home Fridays. I definitely needed coffee to get me through the morning! I'd like to experiment more with different types of photography, including still life and product-style shots, so this was the result of my coffee mug - what do you think? Any tips or resources to help develop my photography skills throughout the year are much appreciated - just DM me over on our socials.

A few other pictures from the week: Sunrises, coffee, family time and moments of peace.

Remember, we'd love you to join in with us over on Instagram. We're using the hashtag #ZSPJoy365 or you can tag the account and I'll share on my stories.