cake crumbs & beach sand: self-love soiree...

Showing posts with label self-love soiree.... Show all posts

Tuesday, 20 March 2012

Self-love soiree - a whole lot of nothing

There is something about appearing to have all balls juggling nicely in the air. Everything is in sync, kid is fed and dressed, house is spic and span, work is done promptly and I leave the office smiling knowing all is good, to come home to dinner already prepared over the weekend as I am all over it.

And then for the other 95% of the time my ducks fall out of line. Washing is piled high, floors are filthy and kid is fed noodles for breakfast. Aside from always getting out the door in time for school and my work being completed, I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants for the rest. And you know what? I like it that way. I hate the pressure we place on ourselves to be amazing, to be organised and primped and on time and organised. I like disorganised sometimes. I like filthy floors and spending my weekend being with my boys instead. I like that this past weekend I did not undertake a single bit of housework. Zero. I enjoyed some text banter with friends, some long chinwags on the phone, some reading and writing, and lots of nothing. I put a load of washing in at 10pm on Sunday night (because I seriously had to) and I may have watered the gardens. That’s it.

Every so often it’s okay to drop one of those balls. I think it is actually healthy. I made a conscious decision last weekend to not worry about the abode, and I spent more time focusing on my family. When my niece came to visit I sat next to her on the lounge and we talked iPad apps. For once I wasn’t cooking and cleaning and organising my life, I was talking to her. And it felt wonderful. The house looks a mess now but do I care? Not really.

There is always tomorrow.

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And so another linky for my self-love lovers. It's super easy - do something wonderful for yourself and write about it. Or group some photos of small moments that have brought you joy this week, whatever has made you smile. Add my button (code is below) to your post and pop your link in below. Then head on over and check out another self-love lover and share in their joy. Let's spread the smiles!

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Self-love soiree - photography love

Whenever I talk about self-love I often mention that the act of self-love does not necessarily involve material things. It is my belief that self-love is more about taking responsibility for yourself and making time to do things that bring you most joy, rather than spoiling yourself with material possessions. Although I do know acquiring material possessions can also bring one joy.

A lot of girls I know get very excited about shopping trips. I personally don’t get my kicks from clothes shopping, in fact I loathe it. I hate the time it takes and I hate being stuck inside a mall when I could be outside enjoying the fresh air. I also hate the idea of having to try stuff on, for me it is more a time-wasting chore that I avoid. I do however find joy in grocery shopping – I look forward to my Saturday morning supermarket aisle time. I think it is more about the way I spend it not rushing and can just be alone with my thoughts and my shopping trolley. Odd I know.

A material possession which brings me great joy however is my camera. I find myself propelled into a happy space when I am behind the lens, for me it is a wonderful outlet for my creative side. I can spend hours, literally hours, setting up props and tweaking the lighting to take photos of food. Putting aside tasks and chores to spend an entire Sunday morning taking photos is my little bit of self-love. And one I thoroughly enjoyed this week.

I decided, after many months of deliberation, that I would spoil myself and get my hands on a macro lens. I knew it would make my photos pop, but I had no idea just how much. I am still in the very, very early learning stages of photography, I need many lessons and experience yet to be anywhere near ‘good’ enough in a technical sense, but I love the way it transforms me into creative me. I was anxious about spending money on a new lens, I know this hobby could get very expensive. But I used the excuse that it is my birthday this week. And so the guilt of spending that money on a lens gradually diminished. And then the first (unedited) photos propelled me into self-love bliss.

Sometimes I need to remind myself that splurging on something that isn’t necessarily ‘useful’ but more something I ‘want’ is okay. My husband and I are both very focused on paying bills and reducing debt, mostly what we earn goes towards our mortgage and practical things for our home. We drive very old cars as we’re reluctant to commit to car finance. In some ways I am proud of that, but very occasionally I need to remind myself that we work our butts off and we deserve to spend on ourselves too. So this week I did.

And damn it feels good.

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And so another linky for my self-love lovers. It's super easy - do something wonderful for yourself and write about it. Or group some photos of small moments that have brought you joy this week, whatever has made you smile. Add my button (code is below) to your post and pop your link in below. Then head on over and check out another self-love lover and share in their joy. Let's spread the smiles!

Tuesday, 6 March 2012

cake crumbs & beach sand's self-love soiree

What is self-love exactly? Some people think it is narcissism, but it isn’t. It is about self-awareness and taking responsibility for oneself. It is respecting yourself and knowing your own limits and boundaries. I feel self-love on some level is essential for a healthy life balance. And as a full-time working mum I know self-love is imperative to maintaining sanity and self-worth. If I don’t love and respect myself, no-one else will either!

I have no trouble putting my own needs ahead of others'. I am not talking about my family, their needs are paramount and always come an equal first with my own. I am talking about sometimes saying no to invitations, setting boundaries and openly voicing them with others to ensure others are aware of my boundaries. I believe when it comes to our own needs clarity and consistency is our own responsibility, and we each have the individual power to assert it. And what if others don’t like it? Tough.

I fill my every weekend with self-love. My two days off are mine to spend with my family, everything else comes second. This weekend my house chores came second. Or maybe third or even fourth. I looked around and pondered about what I could do, what small amount of cleaning would make the abode look decent again, and then promptly packed the boot of the car with towels and boogie boards and headed for the beach. Funnily enough the mess is still there, and I don’t care. I am still daydreaming about how beautiful the beach was, and the laughs and chatter with my family filled my soul with love. A clean house would never do that.

What did you do for yourself this past week that filled your heart with joy? Did you take time to do something that makes you smile? Did you put aside the chores to do something fun instead?

This is the first of my self-love soiree link-ups, please don’t leave me hanging. Share something with me, ANYTHING! Heck you can post a photo of a cup of coffee if you like, trust me, I will enjoy it.

Grab my button link below and add it to your post, then link it up baby! And please, if someone other than me does link up, head over and say hello.

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