Similar to the holiday season, we often focus on others during Valentine’s Day. It’s just something by nature that we do. Some of us go on this neverending hunt to find the perfect gift for our significant other to show them our love and appreciation. On the day, we go out to dinner or have some kind of date night to reconnect and spend quality time. But one thing that we forget to do is show appreciation for ourselves, and spend quality time to find balance and inner peace.
With so many things going on in the world, it’s so important to take a moment and show yourself how much you love yourself. So in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing four ways that you can love yourself.
PHOTOS BY: Stephanie Vasiliadis
These photos were taken as a part of a larger, luxe boudoir photoshoot. The more intimate photos were saved for my husband and me to enjoy.
TAKE A MOMENT OF SELF CARE
I cannot reiterate enough the importance of self-care. We often spend a lot of time focusing on our jobs, our loved ones, and the outside elements of the world. We tend to forget that we need to slow down and take care of our bodies, minds, and souls.
Self-care can happen in so many ways and it’s dependent upon how you want to take care of yourself. I love having a spa day at home where I can relax and unwind. To have a moment for myself as I take care of my skin and feel rejuvenated.
But for some, you may not want to have that spa day at home. Instead, you want to go and get a massage. You may want to get your hair and nails done and treat yourself to a nice little gift. It is all up to you. The most important thing is that during that self-care moment, you are recentering. You are finding a moment where the worry that you have been dealing with fades into the background a little. At that moment, it’s all about you and you alone.
To be honest, self-care can make you feel as if you’re being selfish. We need to remember we are all allowed to have those selfish moments. Let’s think about it, the one person that can take care of you the best and knows everything you want and how you want it is you.
WAYS TO PAMPER YOURSELF
There are a variety of ways to pamper yourself during Valentine’s Day. It’s all about making the time to actually do it. No excuses for how many things you need to do so you can’t take time for yourself. Don’t give the excuse that you shouldn’t even try because you’ll get interrupted.
Just set the date, make the time, and let others around you know that you’re taking time for yourself and this is one moment that you would like to have without interruptions. You may be surprised at how easy it is to ask for and get no interruptions.
GO SHOW OFF YOUR SEXY SIDE TO YOURSELF
This year for my own Valentine’s Day present, I decided to have a boudoir session with Stephanie Vasiliadis of Luxe Boudoir. I had seen options of doing a boudoir session previously when I was about to get married. The session, at that time, would have been a little photo shoot to get bridal boudoir photos for my husband to give to him to open the night before our wedding. And though it was appealing at that time, I don’t think my comfort level was where it is now.
So as the thought popped back into my mind, I decided that this year, though I shared the photos I took with my husband, I was going to do the photoshoot for myself and take photos that would make me feel confident and show that I love myself and my body.
Since having my son, I lost a great deal of confidence and love for my body. I felt that it was about time that I got it back. The photos here are some of the more conservative photos from the shoot, and the others were split into two batches – ones that I kept just for myself and ones that I shared with my husband.
I highly suggest having a photoshoot, whether boudoir or not, to celebrate yourself. Make it all about you and show off your body, personality, and your spirit. Print the photos and put them somewhere like your home office, nightstand, or dresser to remind yourself each day how important you are.
GIFT YOURSELF
There is nothing wrong with heading out to go shopping and instead of buying a gift for someone else, you buy a gift for yourself. If there’s something that you have been wanting for a while and even something that you may have asked for during the holidays but did not get – go out and get it yourself. You deserve to splurge on yourself and have the things that you want.
I used to be one that told myself that even if I had the money I wouldn’t buy many gifts for myself. The money could be used elsewhere. But then I learned that life is way too short and you may not get the moment to use it elsewhere. Gifting yourself here and there is something that I tell everyone they should do. You deserve to treat yourself amazingly.
One gift that I give myself is a new charm on my Pandora bracelet. The charm is usually related to something that I achieved recently or a big favorite of mine. Recently, I got myself a Beauty and the Beast Rose charm to signify the beauty and delicateness of my last year. And also because Beauty and Beast is my favorite Disney movie.
Valentine’s Day Gifts FOR YOURSELF:
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