My hot girl summer seemed to come to a screeching halt for much of the summer, right after my sizzling Vegas trip. I’d say it was due to my need to rest after retiring my Vegas Memorial Day weekend ritual. If you care to recap that trip or missed it, check my highlights tab on instagram. Until I packed my bags and headed to Paris and London for a long overdue vacation, my summer had been room temperature. A blog post documenting my time in both beautiful cities will soon come but in the meantime let’s chat about self-care. Work life is busy per usual and I know I have talked about work life so much on this blog but truthfully, it is what consumed me most of the year. I apologize for the broken record, however I am happy to report that I have completed my presentation project for my staff enrichment program and I am done. No more additional hours of work or work-related projects taking away from my creativity. I am back boos! When I drafted this blog post I had the week from hell and while I ultimately got through it, I thought about other ways I’d gotten through the past few months and thought it would be beneficial to share with you all.

Stepping away from pointless stimuli everyday and closing in on what keeps me sane is something I’ve had to learn but I wanted to share a few ways I practice taking care of me that is both easy and cost-effective I hope to also open up the conversation on this blog post to really get you thinking about the things you currently do for self-care and things you can incorporate to improve your self-care activities. These are not in order of importance, because frankly, they are all important to me.

1. Make-up Applications

   Call me crazy but the best part of an event is getting ready for them. The process of applying make-up is insanely therapeutic for me. I usually carve out a bigger chunk of time to enjoy the experience of applying makeup. I will turn on my favorite tunes or listen to a newly curated playlist and just zone out. 

2. Hike

   It’s no secret that I love to hike. It’s my favorite way to stay active. I appreciate the moments of unplugging for a few hours to get some fresh air and connect to nature. Los Angeles has so many hiking trails throughout the city; you are guaranteed to find a trail to explore.

3. Write

   I started writing in journals in college and it’s been a part of my development emotionally and mentally for a lot of years believe it or not. At that time, I had a lot of tragedy happen and I didn’t know how to process it without feeling suffocated by my thoughts. College was rough for a couple of years but therapy and writing helped me get through the harder times. I’ve been writing ever since.

4. Drink water, sleep and mind my business.

   I am a water drinker. I prefer it over anything else and I have it on me all the time. I also have this irrational fear of dying of thirst and I feel the most secure when I have a bottle of water close by. I am a huge believer in work-life balance. I literally roll my eyes the “sleep when dead” mantras are thrown around. I cringe at the thought that people who don’t get adequate sleep think they hustle harder than those who do. My friends can tell you; I work hard and I play hard, but guess what else I do? Sleep. All of these things keep me looking youthful, energized and stress free.

5. Practice saying no.

   I have made great strides in this particular act of self-care. I used to commit to everything and end up resenting myself for doing this when I really should have said no. The only justification that matters is, “I don’t want to.” I still have a ways to go, but it has made a tremendous difference in my life.

Make up deets on this look on IG post. Lashes are from @fexy.beauty lash style is fluffy.