*This post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market. They are super psyched to help us relax more this year!
I am no expert on meditation and I need help relaxing more but one thing that I do know is that setting intentions and creating a quiet meditation space are great steps to making 2017 and more goal oriented and focused year! With the help of Cost Plus World Market, I've been working on creating this space in a sweet, quiet corner of my home. It's in this space that I can take a few moments a day to focus my energy and hopefully find a little more peace/happiness by finding that focus. I've put together some of my tips and tricks on setting intentions, setting up a comfortable area and finding inspiration in the process. Whether you supplement with spa products or by bringing a cup of tea, relaxing your way should be an important part of every day. Though these are my tips. the beauty of it is, you can tweak to create exactly what is right for you!
Creating a calm and serene area can be as easy as finding a quiet corner of your home, lighting candles and taking a moment to yourself. If you're anything like me, you want to make that little area your "own". We have a spare bedroom that I've always found relaxing, from the color we painted it to the way that the light hits each corner of the space at certain times of the day. Finding the decor to match the space was easy, since my aesthetic already swings toward Cost Plus World Market's eclectic and funky decor. I chose a small wood slice accent table, an aqua suti floor pouf and a chenille throw as the centerpiece items to my nook. I think that choosing calming, yet fun colors helped me make the space my own but if you're more into neutrals, then you can do just that. Remember, make it your own!
Adding small touches is just as important. You'll notice that I've got a sort of yoga/meditation vibe so I went with that when adding little trinkets to my nook. An amethyst druzy chunk, flameless candles, crystals (amethyst, rose quartz and raw quartz), lavender + sage smudge stick and a lotus stone votive helped to pull the small space together and encouraged a peacefulness.
This year, I've decided that setting intentions is a much better idea than having New Year's resolutions that may or may not come to fruition. Setting intentions is a great way to set your day, week, month and even year off on it's best trajectory. It can be a small intention (be kind to everyone you meet today) to something much larger (I want to see myself excel in my work this year).
I think a great idea for setting intentions, then keeping them as reminders, is to use a jar or something similar to keep them for easy access. I snagged a jar from Cost Plus World Market, quickly hand painted the word "intent" and started filling my jar with intentions for better living. This isn't something to stress about. Your intention for the day can be a word, a phrase, a quote from someone else... the point is that you're setting a path for what you want to see for yourself. If you need inspiration, one of my favorite kickstarters is the Art of Attention: Yoga Deck from Elena Brower (a thoughtful Yoga instructor). Each card can speak to you on a different day and perhaps strike the cord that you needed to think about. The Hamsa card holder is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT to keep a meaningful card at eye level for as long as you need to see it.
If you take the time to relax, breathe and make time for yourself you might be surprised how you're more apt to be inspired in your every day, rather than succumbing to stress. When you're constantly worrying, it's hard sometimes to let the good in... or at least in my experience. Meditation or even sitting with your thoughts for five minutes a day can make all the difference in resetting your mindset and improving your attitude. Find joy in the area that you create for yourself. Your corner of the house can be off limits to the kids or you can share; just find what makes you happy!
What are your tips and tricks for finding your happiness at home? Do you have a relaxation nook? Snag some of my faves for your personal space below!
You may have caught my post last week where I basically complained about my plight in life even though I have a ton to be thankful for. As intended, it was a cleansing breath so I could flush out the negativity that I had been feeling for a couple of weeks with the purpose of bringing a new outlook to my 2017 for me, my family, our mutual goals as well as my individual ones. I took some time to just think about what my resolutions would be for 2017 and decided that meh, resolutions are not for me this year. What I want to do is to set intentions and attainable goals for the year so that I was living with some purpose rather than say Oh well, I want to lose weight (obviously), drink more water (should be every day of my life) and eat healthy... those shouldn't be resolutions, those should be lifestyle adjustments. I think I will be in for a more successful and happy year if I just live by some intentions set out of the gate.
I always seem to let this one fall by the wayside. When I'm busy or moody or generally unhappy, instead of doing something that I enjoy (sewing, painting, baking etc), I always do more of what I don't enjoy (knock things off the household to-do list ie: dishes, organizing etc). I am in a constant battle with my urge to be productive versus my urge to be a creative individual. What happens is that I end up trying to get everything done so that I can sit down and be creative, and that list is never ending, so I don't end up investing in the things that I enjoy. This year, I want to be better about balancing my responsibilities and my creative priorities.
This year, I want to be better at saying no to things that won't be beneficial to me on a personal level. Will I go to every blogger event that I'm invited to? Likely no and not just because I have two kids at home now. I want to make sure that if I am going to spend time outside of my home, that I am investing in quality time with quality people. Brunch with good people with trump a shopping party with people that I may not know. This isn't to say that I don't want to get out there to network and meet new people but I think it's going to be important for me to spend my time cultivating good relationships with the good people in my life. I have a lot of worthy people in my life already that I may have let those relationships slide. I intend to change that this year by investing again in this strong foundations.
This is going to be a tough one since I'm pretty sure that I was hardwired from birth to worry about anything and everything... that being said, it's worth a try! I spend a lot of time worrying about things that are out of my control and if the election season last year taught me anything, it's that I can beat my drum the loudest that I can and worry 24-7 and the outcome of things may still not change. I am going to try to compartmentalize my worry and channel it into action and/or flush it out so it doesn't cause me to have unnecessary heartache. Again, this one is going to be an intention that I will have to work on actively because "worry" is a default for me in many situations but is one that I'm working to change.
This one is important. I already try to do this but having been so tired the last couple of months, it certainly has been hard to keep positive and therefore be kind no matter the situation. Sometimes, when you're in a sucky situation yourself, the last thing that you want to do is to go out of your way to make someone's day better. Whether I was in the end of pregnancy exhaustion or the beginning of postpartum with a newborn, I think it's helpful to look beyond myself and how I'm feeling and look to how I can make an impact around me, whether it's with my children, people I meet or friends in my life. Being kind isn't always convenient and you won't always be thanked for it, but more now than ever, it will be important to treat everyone with a tender attitude and understanding even if you have to put in a bit of extra effort.
