Affirmation quote of the day:
“It’s not selfish nor banal to take care of yourself. It’s a necessity. The prosperity of your family and business is based on your well-being.” Source Unknown
Four months+ into motherhood (read: balancing the baby and the business), I found myself in desperate need of a professional manicure and pedicure. A cry for self-care, me-time, a simple luxury…
Without a fully developed support system on-site (one of the bigger challenges being an expat) and thus, no one to leave the baby with and not daring yet to bring him to a salon with me, my partner - the incarnated rationalist - suggested the most simple solution: have a nail artist come to my house. Huh? It may be an Italian thing, I thought. It actually never crossed my mind to ask for a beauty service to be performed in the comfort of my own home. I wasn’t sure if that was even possible in a smaller city like Florence where it sometimes seems that the time stands still. Googling it, certainly didn’t get my hopes up. Doubtfully, I contacted the nail studio of my trust and guess what? Without batting an eye, they were totally up for it.
I booked a manicure and pedicure on two different days (hoping the appointments would overlap with my son’s nap times but not pushing my luck too much in case he wouldn’t sleep).
Long story short: it’s been a beautiful experience. Especially because it’s a wonderful example of women supporting women, fellow business women and working moms understanding the needs and treats of womanhood. That said, I’ve got a masseuse coming in tomorrow. The hairdresser’s up next week. Give it a try!
If you only have 15 minutes for yourself…
Fifteen minutes sound like nothing but sometimes it’s everything.
Here is a list of things I try to do for myself whenever I get the chance (napping not included):
face masks (love Dr.Jart+)
meditation / mindtravel (think of a happy place you’d like to travel to)
workout, stretching or breathing exercise (I really enjoy the postpartum workouts on YouTube by Kaya Renz and Pregnancy and Postpartum TV)
read a book (I wish I haven’t read Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors yet)
make a coffe/tea/juice and just sit there and enjoy
actively do nothing
browse through a magazine
do some online shopping (you deserve it!)
Side note: I highly recommend to put your phone aside for your 15 minutes of me-time. It’s such a distraction and too often I find myself wasting time scrolling motivelessly on Instagram or getting hung up on Whatsapp with conversations that do not need immediate response… and no, checking your mailbox does not count as me-time.
Any other me-time ideas that take 15 minutes or less? Share them here.
#Grwm: My 5 minutes make-up
I’ve never had a crazy extensive beauty routine, so getting ready fast in the morning comes pretty easy to me. I’m also a fan of no-make-up make-up, so I wouldn’t want to pretend I can do a cat-eye or smokey eye in less than 5 minutes. However, I like to feel put together and I would never do a business video call or meeting without make-up.
Surely, the choice of beauty products is pretty subjective and based on trial and error… Over the years, I’ve narrowed down my ultimate essentials.
Here come the 5 products I use every day and have been rebuying for many years:
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