I’ve searched my whole life for a four-leaf clover and never found one.
NAPERVILLE - WHEATON - GLEN ELLYN - ELMHURST - GENEVA - ST. CHARLES - BARRINGTON - BARTLETT PHOTOGRAPHER
The Cozy Cottage by Alicia Staley Johnson
Donegal, Ireland (in honor of St. Patrick’s Day)
Hello, friends,
This week felt like a little bit of everything.
More progress is happening in the kitchen here at the Cozy Compound. Dan is just about finished building the range hood, and soon we’ll be moving on to the wainscoting — one small step at a time toward the kitchen we’ve been dreaming about.
In between all of that, life carried on in its usual full and wonderful way. We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, our grandson had a sleepover, voted in the primary, hosted a senior mini session, photographed two business headshots, and even had someone come by to tour the studio for a bridal shower.
But the highlight of the week was celebrating our grandson turning two. I truly cannot believe he is already two years old. I thought time moved quickly when our own children were little, but somehow it feels even faster with grandchildren. We had a construction truck–themed birthday party in the studio with close family and a few friends, and watching him run around in that space filled my heart in a way that’s hard to describe.
And then there was one small moment that might seem insignificant to most people, but I look forward to it every six months — having our piano tuned. Michael Dulkus comes to tune it, and when he finishes, I get the unexpected gift of hearing him play. The piano always sounds beautiful afterward, but Michael plays so wonderfully that it feels like a private little concert in our home. It’s certainly the little things that bring me joy.
It’s funny how weeks like this remind me that life is made up of both the big moments and the quiet ones — birthdays and family gatherings, but also things as simple as a perfectly tuned piano.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I found myself thinking about luck… which brings me to this week’s essay.
From left to right- Progress on the kitchen. Sleepover at Mimi and Papa’s house. A 2nd birthday party. Michael Dulka tuning our piano. He is the best so if you are need of a piano tuner, I highly recommend him. 630-280-1040
Soft Focus: The Luck We Carry
With Saint Patrick’s Day just behind us, it feels like the perfect time to talk about something small that I carry with me every day — a four-leaf clover.
For the past six months or so, I have been the proud owner of one. It lives tucked safely inside my wallet, traveling everywhere with me. A little extra bit of luck, just in case.
The funny thing is, I’ve searched for a four-leaf clover my entire life and never once found one.
This one found me in a different way.
My mom discovered it decades ago when she was in junior high. She and her friends would sit together in the grass after school — sometimes on blankets, sometimes just cross-legged in the clover — talking about boys and dreaming about the lives they hoped to live someday. While combing through the grass one afternoon, she spotted it. A perfect four-leaf clover hiding among the ordinary ones.
She brought it home, pressed it between the pages of her yearbook, and promptly forgot all about it.
Years passed. Decades, actually.
It wasn’t until my parents moved here to our Cozy Compound that she stumbled across it again while going through old things. There it was, still pressed carefully between the pages of her junior high yearbook, waiting patiently after all those years.
If you know my mom, you know she is the queen of laminating things. So naturally, she laminated it and slipped it into her wallet.
And there it stayed for a few years.
Then about six months ago, she pulled me aside and handed it to me.
She told me she had already had plenty of luck in her life and that it was time for me to carry it.
I hesitated.
Because when someone hands you their luck, it can feel a little bit like they’re giving something up. And of course I want all the luck in the world for my mom — health, happiness, and many more years sitting with us and telling stories.
But she insisted.
So now the four-leaf clover lives with me, traveling quietly in my wallet wherever I go.
And what I’ve realized since then is that I didn’t take the luck from her.
Luck doesn’t work that way.
It multiplies. It spreads. It lives in the people we love and the lives we build together.
Maybe that little clover sat quietly in that yearbook all those years, just waiting for the right moment to reappear — waiting until the day it could move from one generation to the next.
I’ve searched my whole life for a four-leaf clover and never found one.
But the truth is, I already feel like the luckiest person I know — blessed beyond measure with the family, friends, business, home, and life that surround me every day.
And sometimes I wonder if maybe that little clover had something to do with it.
Maybe the luck in our family began the day my mom found it sitting in the grass with her friends all those years ago. Maybe it’s been quietly traveling through our story ever since.
Pressed into a yearbook.
Laminated in a wallet.
Passed gently from her hands to mine.
How lucky I am that she found one.
And even luckier that she passed it on.
Because maybe a four-leaf clover isn’t something we carry for luck at all.
Maybe it’s simply a reminder of the life, love, and good fortune that have been growing in our family all along.
WHAT I’M LOVING THIS WEEK
Inspiring Follow: @harolds_finishing_touches
This week’s inspiring follow is Harolds Finishing Touches — a beautiful boutique lifestyle store founded in 2011 by creative director Aaron Bourne and located in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
If you follow them on Instagram, you’ll quickly understand why I’m so drawn to their world.
Aaron’s reels are slow and soothing — glimpses of garden paths, antique vessels, weathered stone, and quiet moments that make you want to step outside and create something beautiful. They feel almost like a form of meditation. I often find myself watching them and dreaming about the next corner of the garden I want to bring to life here at our Cozy Compound.
In a world that moves far too fast, accounts like this remind me to slow down, gather beautiful things, and let the garden evolve one thoughtful piece at a time.
If you need a little creative calm in your feed, this is a wonderful one to follow.
What I’m Loving: the LOST KITCHEN
The Lost Kitchen has been one of my quiet obsessions for a few years now.
I first discovered the show The Lost Kitchen on the Magnolia Network during the pandemic, and it quickly became one of those shows that felt like a deep breath. The story follows chef Erin French and her remarkable restaurant set inside an old mill in the tiny town of Freedom, Maine.
Every week Erin creates an entirely new menu based on what is local, fresh, and in season. Watching her cook feels less like watching a chef and more like watching an artist at work. She composes meals the way a painter composes a canvas — with food, flowers, atmosphere, and feeling.
Part of what makes The Lost Kitchen so magical is how rare the experience is. Erin doesn’t take reservations in the traditional sense. Instead, there is an online lottery each year for the entire season (the restaurant closes during the Maine winters). Thousands enter, hoping for the chance to dine there.
And yes… I’m one of them.
Every year I enter that lottery and imagine the day I receive the email telling me that Dan and I will be heading to Maine to experience one of Erin’s beautiful, seasonal meals in that little mill.
It feels a bit like winning the culinary version of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket.
If you haven’t watched the show, I highly recommend it. Erin’s story — which she shares in her memoir Finding Freedom— is deeply moving. Her journey from hardship to creating something extraordinary in her little corner of Maine reminds us that sometimes our greatest reinventions come after our hardest seasons.
And that food, when made with love, can be something far more powerful than a meal.
It reminds me that beauty often begins with what is right in front of us — the garden, the season, the table — and the quiet intention we bring to it.
Local-ish: Batavia Boardwalk Shops
I know it’s only March… but I’m already looking ahead to spring and one of my favorite little weekend spots — the Batavia Boardwalk Shops in downtown Batavia.
The Boardwalk Shops, operated by Batavia MainStreet, are such a wonderful concept. The small storefronts act as a business incubator for local entrepreneurs, giving them an affordable place to launch their ideas, build a customer base, and eventually transition into permanent brick-and-mortar shops downtown.
And the program truly works — 15 alumni shops are now thriving in Batavia, including favorites like Light & Pine Collective,, Farmdog Flowers, and New Moon Vegan.
They reopen May 8, and every year it feels like the unofficial start of the warm-weather season. It’s such a fun place to wander on a sunny weekend, discover new small businesses, and support creative entrepreneurs in our own community.
One more little reason to start dreaming about spring.
2026 Season: May 8 – December 20
Hours:
Friday: 11am – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 11am – 4pm
114 East Wilson Street, Batavia
Looking to refresh your headshot?
For a limited time, we’re offering our Headshot Special for $325 (that’s $50 off our regular rate) on sessions booked now through March 28th.
You can choose:
• Any weekday (Monday–Friday) — scheduled based on your availability
• Saturday, March 28th — bookable online for a streamlined experience
Each session includes:
✔ 20-minute session
✔ Choice of backdrop: White, Black, or Natural Studio Space
✔ 5 professionally edited, high-resolution JPEGs
✔ Online gallery delivery for easy download
Whether you're updating LinkedIn, refreshing your website, or elevating your personal brand, this is a simple, polished way to get images that feel confident and current — without taking up your whole day.
Spots are limited!
Reply to this email to secure a weekday session
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schedule Saturday, March 28th below:
We’d love to see you in the studio!
with love and light,
Alicia Staley Johnson
of Alicia’s Photography
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