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"Cozy living is about creating an atmosphere of warmth, contentment, and pleasure within your home and in your life. It is increasing your awareness of and focusing on embracing the simple, everyday moments to rise above problems, release stress, enjoy friends and family, and to appreciate all you experience." —Melissa Alvarez, author of The Simplicity of Cozy: Hygge, Lagom & the Energy of Everyday Pleasures Over the weekend, I took a day to spend time doing simple activities I don't always have time to immerse myself in as the school year is in full swing. I took a day to exercise the important habit of being present, taking in the beauty of what was surrounding me and let myself feel what I felt. For many people, the past week was a week of external events affecting our emotions in ways we may not have expected and thus were not prepared for. Add on top of that a busy week of regular to-dos, meetings, responsibilities, etc., and it may have become overwhelming. During such weeks whenever they arise, but also when weeks are going well, tending to our self-care is essential. A few years ago on the podcast (episode #122) self-compassion was discussed as well as the seven benefits of choosing not to be our harshest critic, but rather being more gentle with ourselves as we do our best each day, which can be different depending upon the day. Part of having self-compassion is taking good care of ourselves, being aware of our emotional tendencies, being tough and persevering when necessary, but also respecting that with more self-care, the persevering becomes easier. In other words, simply pushing through without the self-care makes it all the more difficult and the quality of what we produce is often severely diminished. While I referenced this week as an example for making the effort to practice self-care, the practice itself is most effective when used preventively. In other words, by instituing regularly routines, rituals and choices into our everyday lives that elevate the quality, we are practicing self-care and thus elevating what we can endure and how well we work through any day that comes our way. Today I'd like to share with you 16 ways to welcome self-care into your everyday way of living. Some are as simple as what types of ingredients you use in your kitchen to cook your meals, while others pertain to your relationships, and even others your sanctuary and daily routine. Let's get started! 1.Buy Quality Butter - look for a high butter-fat count. Often these brands will be from Europe - Plugra, Kerrygold and many French butters. Spend a little more and improve the simple experience with everything you enjoy butter. 2. Make a delicious fall dessert (see today's Petit Plaisir for an idea that will melt in your mouth and is simple as apple pie.) 3. Let yourself wake up without an alarm clock. 4. Take a hot shower and just let the hot water run down your body - stand still, close your eyes and enjoy. 5. Spend time in a bookstore or library. 6. Visit a winery or go wine tasting and enjoy sipping while gazing out upon the fall foliage. 7. Hire someone to clean your house, even if just once is all you can afford. Relish walking through the door and seeing an immaculately clean house asking nothing of you but to sit, relax and enjoy your space. 8. Purchase a luxurious candle, pick up a bouquet of fresh flowers, choose a movie you are curious to watch, either pick up your favorite take out or cook a wonderful comfort meal, and enjoy a truly luxurious solitary evening. 9. Sit outside at dawn or dusk or the middle of the day and just listen and watch the world, Mother Nature, the moment. 10. Cuddle with someone you love. 11. Bring a small bud or bouquet of flowers into your bedroom. 12. Slip into linen sheets spritz with lavender linen spray and dive into a delicious book. 13. Pick up a book that celebrates the seasons. I highly recommend Sharon Santoni's My French Country Home: Entertaining Through the Seasons 14. Plan a weekend away, even if just a town away where you can spoil yourself with mini adventures and dining adventures you have been eager to try. 15. Eat a chocolate truffle at the end of the day and sip a lovely cup of tea. 16. Soak in a hot bubble bath with your favorite tunes, candles lit and finish a good book. (I recently did exactly this and finished a delightful book on living in Paris.) The gift of self-care is not only what it brings to us and enriches in our daily experience, but how it improves our daily interactions and relationships with others. We begin to become more aware of our own feelings and needs as we listen more closely, and as it is a muscle, we can be better to observe when others are in need of a breather, a rest or a boost as well. When we invest in ourselves before the attention is needed, we avoid scenarios and situations we do not want to go through without realizing they may have occurred had we not been dutifully tending to ourselves on a regular basis. Today examine when and what you'd like to do to welcome a few self-care practices into your daily and weekly routine. Enjoy planning and looking forward and when in the moment of these self-care practices, simply savor and soak in the needed nourishment. ~SIMILAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES YOU MIGHT ENJOY: ~Why Not . . . Revel in Simple Pleasures? (two part series) ~The Hygge Phenomenon and Living Simply Luxuriously, episode #148 ~What Does a Simply Luxurious Life Look and Feel Like? ~What are people saying about TSLL's new venture into vodcasting? The Simply Luxurious Kitchen is an 8 episode video series where readers/listeners can now view Shannon cooking in her own kitchen sharing simple tips and ideas to elevate the everyday meal. Be sure to check out the most recent episode (episode #4) and enjoy the remaining 4 episodes each Saturday here on the blog until the end of October. I am loving your cooking demonstrations @thesimplyluxuriouslifeit's real life cooking like home cooks do, and with your stories added in its extra fun to watch---and learn! -from IG follower, viewer and TSLL reader @lynnbhoffman Good Morning Shannon, great content as always. I was making my Sunday breakfast with you. Delicious food and most wonderful company. Thank you so much 😊. -from viewer and TSLL reader Beata What a joy to watch! You made this meal seem completely doable for me! Thank you for all the hard work. I'm looking forward to more of these videos. You are an inspiration! -from YouTube viewer and TSLL reader Julie Petit Plaisir: ~Apple Tarte Tatin ~View the detailed recipe here. ~listen to my interview with Sharon Santoni as she talks about her latest book My French Country Home: Entertaining Through the Seasons from which this recipe was inspired. ~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #227 ~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | YouTube | Spotify Sponsors of Today's Episode Follain try their Clean Essentials Kit for only $22 (50% off the retail price) use promo code SIMPLE for free shipping Le Mystere the first 50 Simple Sophisticate listeners will receive a free Le Mystere makeup bag use promo code SIMPLE Blinkist visit – blinkist.com/ss promo code – SS RX Bar Enjoy 25% off your first order with promo code SOPHISTICATE