FOLLOWING ON FROM THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF CARE..

Self care, self love etc.. everyone talks about it these days there are now negative connotations around it. People say it anytime, for anything and it starts to not actually mean anything at all. Personally, I think the importance of it all still stands. Self care leads to self love, but what actually passes as self care? To some people that would mean painting their nails or buying themselves a new lipstick. Referring back to my last post; taking time out to read a book, having a bubble bath or meditation is my version of self care. 

More recently, I've been thinking of other ways to treat myself (you deserve it, hun) in a more in depth way. A few months ago I went for my first spa day in Bath and oh my god, it was incredible. If I could, I would go on a spa day every month but.. I can't. What's the next best thing? Bringing that luxury to your own home. 

When there was the option of having a full body massage in the comfort of my own home, that seemed even more appealing to me than a spa day. I work in an office all day for 5 days a week, so annoyingly I do slouch and I don't get enough exercise which then results in me feeling achey. Additionally, I hold a lot of stress in my shoulders and in my head, so I do suffer with bad headaches and a lot of tension in my shoulders.  

My amazing friend Tash is a massage therapist who has her own massage therapy business (it's who you know, not what you know!)... She suggested the idea of me booking in a massage with her to help de-stress and treat myself. 

We decided to do it in my front room. She set everything up, including putting candles around the room which made the room smell gorgeous. She also put some relaxing 'spa' music on which added a very zen feeling. I popped myself onto the massage bed (she even put a huge hot water bottle type thing on the bed for me to lie on, it was so good), I closed my eyes and let myself be completely pampered. 

(Just before my massage, YAS)

She used amazing massage oils which smelt amazing and as soon as she started the massage I just felt all of the tension slowly start to melt away. The whole experience was a dream, I felt so good afterwards and literally had the best sleep of my life that night. After she finished, we had a chat about how I was feeling and spoke through where she felt tension which was really interesting to hear. 

Tash made this experience completely perfect for me, without her little touches it wouldn't have been the same at all - the music, the candles, the incredible scent from the oils and her knowledge of massaging and the science behind it. It's been a few days since now and my body still feels great. I've been making a conscious effort to stretch every morning and evening to help with any aches I get which has been helping as well. 

(Dairy-free cupcakes from the amazing Tash - how incredible is she?!) 

I cannot thank Tash and her incredible hands enough. I'm going to be making sure to be booking in massages with her at least once every 8 weeks now as it's an amazing way to look after yourself. Amazingly, Tash will travel to your home (she covers London and the outskirts of London), she does couples, pregnancy and babies as well - if you would like to treat yourself you can contact her on nacstherapies@gmail.com for more info - I hiiiiiighly recommend! 

THE BAKER BOY HAT

It's official. I am completely obsessed with this Asos Baker Boy Hat. It's obviously been a massive trend over the transitional period and I've seen a lot of people wearing them.. and I gave in. I used to have a brown suede baker boy when I was about 9 and absolutely loved it and it seems the style has made a huge comeback into my wardrobe.

I've been stalking every blogger wearing this hat and seeing how they style it. Some of my favourites include Style Lobster, Megan Ellaby and Pretty Sickly. I spend a good 10 minutes each day scrolling through their feeds in complete awe of them and their incredible style choices. 

As soon as I tried it on, I instantly loved it and knew I'd be wearing it on my weekends for the foreseeable future. I've styled it with some light blue kickflare jeans, a charcoal t-shirt, black leather jacket and my slip on checkered vans. I'm excited to style it with an oversized blazer and trainers, or a midi dress, boots and a fluffy jacket. I'm so excited for autumnal clothes it's ridiculous. 

I think this hat will be a wardrobe staple right round until Spring. They are all over the high street at the moment, so many different options and prices. I picked mine up from Asos for only £16 which is amazing and the quality is great. The only slight downside is, after wearing it for about half an hour you experience the worst hat hair ever. But I guess that's sort of a first world problem.. 

YELLOW SUNNIES AND FEELING INSECURE

 So, I gave in and bought some of those weird 'peodophile-esque' yellow aviator sunglasses. There is just something about them which personally I think is quite cool. Sometimes I catch myself in the mirror and think 'what ARE you doing?!' but I think they're alright and when worn with the right thing, they make an outfit. 

The weather is actually pretty good in England right now, it's warm and we've had quite a few really sunny days. Here I'm wearing a long wide legged black jumpsuit, I picked this up in the New York Brandy Melville last summer and it is still a firm favourite. It's really flattering, and the back is super pretty (I know my bra is on show but I don't really mind that look!) I think it looks so chilled and casual just worn with trainers or some sliders. It's a great 'pub evening' outfit. 

I wanted to touch on a few struggles I've been dealing with over the past couple of weeks. I've struggled with self confidence and feeling overly insecure. I'll catch myself in the mirror and feel deflated for the rest of the day, or I'll see a picture of me or attempt to take a nice selfie after I've spent an hour doing my make-up but.. no luck. Don't get me wrong, I have days where I feel like this but I've never really felt like this constantly and I've never allowed it to really affect my mood or confidence. 

A major aspect of this is comparison. Comparison is an awful thing. You should never compare yourself to others but, realistically we all do it to an extent. I'll be out and a girl will walk past and my instant thoughts will be 'her skin is so clear, why isn't mine like that?' or 'her hair falls perfectly round her face and mine is flat and shit'. It's horrible and I know that I'm doing it but I can't stop it. Social media is also a major player. I work in social media and I'm aware of how beneficial it can be.. however for your own self-confidence, it can be disastrous. Seeing all these glowing, lip plumped, long lashed women with crazy abs and peachy bums can be well, soul destroying at times. 

I think now I've got to the point where I've acknowledged the way I'm feeling and what is making me feel like this, I need to decide what to do to help. Nothing is going to cure or stop it, I just need to accept it. Once you can accept yourself, you feel a lot happier. You need to accept that sometimes you will look like shit, and your skin will break out, and your hair will be flat, you will look a little bloated (or a lot) and you eyeliner will be wonky. That is fine. I'm really hoping this doesn't sound to cheesy or cliche, this is just really how I'm feeling and I thought by writing it all down into a blog post could also help others who are feeling the same as me. 

Please do let me know if you're going through a similar thing and what you think helps?! 

Life can be shit, but not all the time.