The self-care industry has really gone head first into essential oils and I for one am all for it. I utilize essential oils in my day to day life for many purposes, but one I tend to forget about it stress relief. So let's make a pact together that when the going gets tough, we reach for the good stuff! ha ha

Obviously I mean good quality oils... but I digress.
​The point is something so simple as smelling or applying a scent could totally change your day around. 

My first go to for stress relief is always going to be Lavender. The soothing scents as you may already know are great for sleep, peaceful feelings and calm vibes. I'd have to second this. I prefer to put a little lavender on my wrists and on the back of my neck when the going gets tough. However my favorite use is to put a couple drops on my pillow before crawling into bed after a long day. #instantcalm

Sometimes I think there's a reason we tend to get sick during the wintery months; other than the bitter cold air. It's a time that we are forced inside and for good reason! It's time to look inward and reconnect to your intuition. Gift yourself time to rest so you can reflect, refine and redefine your life. 

First up, It's been a while and a whirlwind.
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So much has been happening in my day to day that I haven't been able to keep up a regular blog schedule; which should be a reminder to check in with my priorities/goals before I became overwhelmed! Needless to say the Universe replays messages until we get them and if we learn to lean into the seasons we're about to learn how good it feels to let go of things just like the leaves on the trees. 

Sitting with the Seasons is a concept I've been toying with for some time. Autumn is such a good example of this concept. I'm all about feeling the vibes of the seasons and Fall is about letting go. We often know we should let go of things when they no fit, are useful, etc. However, I find it's often the memories associated with that thing/pattern that we have a hard time releasing. 

This is where the trees can teach us a thing or two. ​

Today is my birthday and I'm super excited to continue my yearly self love tradition as a gift to treat myself. We all deserve a little extra love and care on our birthday and who better than you to treat yo'self?! (Cue Parks & Rec Tom & Donna montage).

I'm all about simple self love rituals; whether its buying yourself flowers or treating yourself to the "fancy coffee". Self love and self-care do not have to be about expensive spa days--though it could. It's about taking the time to acknowledge yourself and gift yourself some "me time". ​

This ritual is simple but requires a few items to amp up the ambiance. If you don't have the exact item, try substituting whatever makes sense via your beautiful intuition. This ritual is designed to happen before you shower, but if you're pressed for time you can at least bring that sugar scrub in the shower and feel luxurious afterward. Or treat yourself to a long hot bath after complete with rose petals, your beverage of choice and a good book. 

Those of us who keep track of Mercury's crazy cycle know how much we dread hearing those words, "Mercury's in Retrograde." Mercury is said to rule over communication, travel and technology and in our fast paced world those things going haywire can cause quite a few issues. Have you ever experienced flight cancellations and tech failures during a mercury retrograde? Those things alone can cause some communication issues...

But what if we took Mercury's patterns as a sign for us to look backwards and slow down?

When Mercury goes "retrograde" it appears that Mercury is moving backwards in the sky and lucky for us we just started another round on Sunday, July 7th. 

Truth be told, I'm not a big Valentine's day fan.
However, I'm not one to miss a chance to talk about self-love and self-care! In the last few years I've started to shift the idea of Valentine's day to be a day to check in with myself, making sure I am getting what I need to care for myself so that I can present my best self to those I love. 

Let's jump right into some simple self-love ideas for your Valentine's Day/week or every day life!
(Because you shouldn't need a specific day to love yourself; it should be constant!)