Serene Spa July

Hello from Micky Dog and me!

 

Greetings chic friends!

 

Heading into a new month is a perfect time to reevaluate our self-care and see if there is anything we can add in. I've been pretty good with my daily walks, drinking water, and keeping my food nutritious for the most part, plus portion sizes that are not too big.

What I'd like to add in is some more stretching, downtime with a book, and in general relaxation.

I'm often on the go-go-go which is quite ironic considering I love to dream of a calm, peaceful and serene life. I think I dream of it *because* I'm always on the go! It's for me to hear and absorb!

So this month I will embody a spa ambience in my home and for my wellbeing. You know, that floaty peaceful feeling you get from walking into, or even just viewing a photo of, a high-end spa. But I'm doing it for zero $$ myself :)

What one or two things would you love to add in for your self-care as a focus in July?

Or will you join me for Serene Spa July? I just made that up but it's perfect I think :) Shall we begin?

 

The models for day one of Serene Spa July

Day one's tip is to make your bed as early in the day as possible. It is just before 7.30am as I write this and I have already made my bed. I cannot say that every day but in Serene Spa July where we bring about the spa-like feeling of peace and relaxation into our lives, a neatly made bed will be happening early every day.

There are so many benefits!

💝 A feeling of accomplishment

💝 A neater and tidier looking bedroom in only five minutes

💝 One job ticked off

💝 You get to enjoy it for longer than if you made your bed later in the day

And I’m sure many others! (Please share any I’ve missed :)

As you can see, Daphne and Chloe love to mess it up for me. Chloe jumps over behind the decorative pillow all the time, then flips around having fun and knocking all the pillows over...

And you can see how well Daphne’s leg has healed (she’s in front). She has a big scar on her right front leg but I’m very pleased that she is back to tip-top health again.

So… have you made your bed yet today? If not, quickly do it and come and tell me ‘Yes!’

 

Music playing gently in the hall :)

 

In day two's tip we are calming our senses with music. When I am at home, and even when I'm out in fact (I leave it on for the doggies when they can't come with me), I have soft music playing in the hallway (above). It’s one of my favourite kinds of self-care and the first thing I do in the morning is switch on my music.

I love the way it filters into my office (the lit door on the right of this image), and that I can hear it as I move around the house but it's never too loud.

I switch between actual flutey spa music, background jazz, and anything that is soft and instrumental. You can search for ‘study music’ or ‘spa music’ on YouTube, and I have a playlist on Spotify that you might already know about.

It’s a recreation of a CD I was given when I worked at Dior in their head office almost twenty years ago, and it was created to play when customers had a facial. I have just about worn my CD out and thankfully was able to save it forever on Spotify!

I used to play it before I went to sleep, but nowadays I play it during the day. It is guaranteed to relax me instantly 😊

You might prefer calming classical music or another type altogether, but if you have a little music setup, you can play soft music all day every day. I don’t want to tie my phone up, so I use our very, very old iPod which has all my music loaded onto it and it sits in our very, very old iPod dock. But it’s perfect for what I want! Maybe there is something you can repurpose.

Which fragrance shall I wear today I wonder?

 

And day three's tip is to create exquisite order in a spot in your home. Yesterday I cleaned out and reorganised my side of the bathroom cupboard, plus the drawer I keep my perfumes in. I have a lot of perfume! But I love it and wear it every day, plus I like to have a variety. I would love to be someone who has a signature fragrance but I would get so bored!

So I took everything out, wiped the drawer and cupboard shelves clean, then put things back. I didn’t put as much back. I threw out three products that I know I will never use, and it was such a feeling of relief. All up the cost would be less than $10 and yet I’d had those items hanging around for a long time feeling bad that I didn’t want to use them! I am not usually wasteful AT ALL and use everything up that I’ve ever bought one way or another, but yesterday I thought ‘I’m better than that’. Sometimes I think about things more than other people, lol!

I also rehomed a few backup items in a different area, in a container that I can ‘shop’ from when I run out, such as shampoo, body wash etc. I don’t need to cram all backups into my small bathroom cupboard. And I did a cool thing that is going to be so useful, I had three extra turntables from my pantry. I put those in the cleaned out bathroom cupboard and it is so nice to be able to see all my body lotions and body sprays by twirling it around. I like to choose different ones each day, so now nothing gets stuck at the back!

So today, find one small area that is bothering you, and create beautiful orderliness in that area. It might even be one shelf, don’t overwhelm yourself. Try and do it as fast as you can so it doesn’t become a big ordeal, and then bask in the glow of that space:)

 

 

‘The halo effect’ :)  Nina Cat is ‘helping’ me to write my next book. Actually I think she thinks it is a heat lamp just for her… the halogen bulb gets quite warm. She loves it!

 

 

If you think someone else might like to follow Serene Spa July too, please share this, and if you post your own tip on social media, please use the hashtag #serenespajuly so we can find you!

I will update you again next Thursday with a week's work of Serene Spa July tips, but if you'd like them sooner you can follow me and see one a day on Instagram and Facebook.

xx Fiona

PS. You can find my book '100 Ways to enjoy Self-Care for gentle wellbeing and a healthy body image' on Kindle and in paperback at my Amazon affiliate link here or tap the book cover above.

And the eBook only in my eStore for an Amazon alternative here.