High five fellas, it's fri-YAY! We've made it through, the weekend is upon us. Time to do a little happy dance.
But first and foremost, time to load up our batteries. Something that can best be done by treating ourself to something nice. By which I don't neccessarily mean going on a shopping splurge or booking an expensive weekend retreat. In fact there are a lot of small and cheap ways to give ourself a little extra care. Things we can do on the daily. And today, I'm sharing 10 of my personal faves. Go ahead, read on, you're worth it!
1. Make yourself a nice cup of tea, preferably with an old-fashioned singing teakettle, instead of an electric one. (Is it me or is there just something very romantic and comforting about the whistling of a kettle? Okay, I guess it's me.)
2. Light a scented candle. I personally love the Figuier candle from Diptyque. Okay so yes, this one is actually rather expensive - maybe even overpriced - but, I haven't found the cheaper alternative that smells just as good up to date. If you have, please let me know in the comments below. My wallet will thank you.
3. Paint your toenails red. Or any other colour, but I just like red because it's a classic, and it just makes you feel tons french, and also way more elegant, non?
4. Bake a banana. I do it in a royally buttered pan with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top and I call it the minimum guilt with maximum pleasure snack of the age. If you want you can perfectly replace the butter by coconut oil, but honestly, nothing quite beats butter in my book.
5. Put on a face mask. I always like a good DIY mask or even better is stopping by at Kiehl's and scoring some free samples. My last visit there paid off the form of a Turmeric & cranberry seed energizing radiance masque sample and I have to say, I've put this one straight on my whishlist. But I don't think it really matters that much which one you put on (as long as it doesn't irritate your skin of course!). What really matters is the time you make to actively take care of yourself in that moment.
6. Write down all the fun things you did in the past few weeks/months. Take the time to relive those moments in your mind, and actively savour your memories. It will give you such a mental lift.
7.Write down all the productive/usefull things you did today. Everything from hanging up the laundry to finally making that dentist appointment, from ticking a few things off your to-do list at work to making it to the yoga mat. Realise fully that even though you might feel like you didn't do enough, or that there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do, you probably busted your ass off, and you surely did the best you could do. So sit back and relax, YOU EARNED IT, BABY!
8. Rub a thick layer of Nivea on your feet and put on comfy cotton socks. I swear your feet will feel reborn afterwards. (I apply this trick quite often myself - I have a standing job, so my feet deserve some extra love and attention on the regular!)
9. Put clean sheets on the bed. Now there's one I don't apply often enough, since way too lazy. But we all now how a fresh made bed becomes a little piece of heaven! (Enter choral singing here.)
10. Go to bed at 9PM. I know this might sound a litte crazy to some, since sleep is just a waste of time and 'I simply can not fall asleep before I've watched another episode of Narcos' and etc. etc. BUT, imagine the possibility of the extra hours of sleep, people! Imagine the bliss, of not feeling like you want to shoot yourself when your alarm goes off in the morning! I say, just give it a shot. And if you're having some difficulties getting to bed in time in general, be sure to check out this post I wrote on 'How to master the art of going to bed on time'.
Got any ideas to add to the list? Let me know!
