Believe it or not, it's Tuesday again, which means another edition of the most uplifting newsletter out there: Positive DONUT.

With everything going on in the news, I hope you can take a few minutes to slow down and soak in some of the good. Let me know which stories are your favorites. I always love hearing from you!

Have a fantastic week.

-Kailyn

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s newsletter should be a ~2.78 minute read (739 words).

Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe for free.

I am calm, strong, and safe.

At a bright blue building in Edinburgh, Scotland, patients arrive for consultations, occasionally get quarantined, and sometimes require surgery. But unlike most hospitals, leaving a little greener than you arrived is the whole point.

The Hilda Houseplant Hospital, founded by Rosanna and Tom Costello, helps amateur horticulturalists nurse their struggling indoor plants back to health through services including repotting, pest removal, trimming, cleaning, and liquid drips.

• The hospital is part of the couple’s plant shop Hilda, named after Tom’s great-grandmother, which started as a pop-up before opening a brick-and-mortar location in 2023.
• According to its website, the houseplant hospital is the first of its kind in the UK.

Paging Dr. Plant: Each visit starts with a “patient history,” where customers explain how long they’ve owned their plant, what seems to be wrong, and what they’d like done. 

Rosanna and her team then tailor treatment to both the plant and its home, whether that means splitting it in two, keeping it from growing larger, or quarantining it to deal with pests.

Rosanna knows the struggle firsthand. Hilda’s website describes her as a “reformed plant killer,” and says she originally dreamed up the hospital after wishing there were somewhere she could bring her own plants for hands-on help and advice.

• That experience now comes full circle when customers return to collect their recovering greenery.
• “There’s an awful lot of feelings and emotions attached to the houseplants that we see,” Rosanna said, adding that pickups often bring “so much relief and joy.”

For Rosanna, helping plants thrive can also help their humans. She believes houseplants provide an important connection to nature for people living in cities, particularly those in flats.

She hopes to open another Hilda in a new city, with her only goal being to “help more people to have happy plants.”

Don't wait for a special occasion to use the products you really love. From the towels that start your morning to the sheets you sink into at night. Laundry Sauce brings fragrances crafted by the world's top perfumers to the comforts you experience every day.

From the velvety sweetness of French Saffron to the bold, coastal-inspired notes of Italian Bergamot, ultra-concentrated pods pair high-end fragrances with high-performance clean that keeps your favorite fabrics feeling as good as they smell.

🧱 Queens-born truck driver Joe Macken has spent the past two decades building New York City from the ground up… just on a slightly smaller scale. 

After starting with a replica of 30 Rock in his basement in 2004, the 63-year-old eventually expanded his handmade model to a whopping 50 feet by 27 feet, using Google Earth to help recreate the city in painstaking detail. 

Joe’s piece, which took 21 years and ~$20,000 in supplies, is currently on display at the Museum of the City of New York.

🦝 Animal services workers in Dallas sprang into action to rescue a raccoon spotted wandering around a neighborhood with a mayonnaise jar stuck on its head. Mayonesa (lovingly nicknamed by locals) was safely released from the jar and is being cared for by Texas Metro Wildlife before returning to the wild.

🪄 Harry Potter fans successfully campaigned for developers of a $575 million undersea power cable between the UK-Ireland to reroute the project away from Dobby the house elf’s unofficial “grave” on a Welsh beach.

🌕 An eclipse is coming…A total solar eclipse will occur tomorrow, with the path of totality crossing Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and a small part of Portugal. Meanwhile, millions of people across Europe, northern parts of North America, and northwestern Africa will witness a partial eclipse.

Meditation is a simple and effective way to take care of yourself. The act of mindfully sitting with ourselves and our breath can have some amazing effects.

So, what are you waiting for? Try out this quick self-love meditation for an instant boost of acceptance and love for yourself. There's a high chance you'll feel amazing after.

⛰️ Save up to 15%… Cruise 10 days from Santiago to Buenos Aires, through Patagonia’s fjords and Chile’s wine valleys. Book by 8/31.

🐯 Get $500 off… Journey through India from Delhi to Agra, and tiger-rich Ranthambore over 9 days. Book by 8/31.

🏰 Save $300… Sail 9 days down the Seine, soaking in French scenery and everyday charm. Book by 8/31.

Welcome to What’s Your Win?, the section of the newsletter where we celebrate all of the good news happening right here in our community.

Check out the win we received this week!

🏔️ Catherine F. is making the most of the “in-between”

• "My husband and I are relocating to a new home, and there are roughly 6 weeks between when we closed on our old house and when we close on the new one. Our “stuff” is all in storage and we are happily playing the role of nomads during this time, traveling around some amazing US National Parks with no agendas and no stressors (and in some areas, not even any connectivity with the outside world!). It has been a great mental reset!"

🎧 As a new mom juggling WFH and a never-ending mental to-do list, I need all the help I can get to stay focused. When things get loud, Loop earplugs help me dial down the background noise without completely tuning out my surroundings. They come in different levels of sound reduction, so you can choose how much you want to filter out. Check them out. ✨

✨Affiliate link. If you make a purchase, Positive DONUT earns a small commission at NO additional cost. Thanks for supporting our work.

1. What mythical creature is on the Starbucks logo?
2. Which fast food-chain once used the slogan “Think outside the bun”?
3. In what decade was Diet Coke unveiled to the US public?

Because everyone deserves to be hyped up every now and then.

No win is too small to celebrate. And who knows, your moment of gratitude just may inspire someone else to see the little wins in their life, too.

So what are you waiting for? Take a few seconds to think about what you have to celebrate in your life, and share it with us here to be featured in a future newsletter.

Submit a win.

1. A siren
2. Taco Bell
3. 1980s (July 8, 1982)

Advertise with us: Want to reach other optimistic and engaged readers like you? Become a DONUT partner.

Made it this far? Let us know what you think:

👍 👋 👎