This post is sponsored by Kathy Davis to share the company’s mission to inspire people to create a life they love by celebrating life, sharing joy, nurturing relationships and appreciating yourself. There’s a great giveaway at the end of this post, so be sure to check it out! Thank you so much for your support!
I will never forget a comment my mother-in-law made about her home when she called it her “sanctuary.” No matter what else was going on in her life, she wanted her home to always feel like a reprieve from stress and a place she could go to truly unwind, relax and rejuvenate herself.
It was a comment that struck me deeply because it is something I wanted to achieve in my own home. Now that Ryan and I have a baby in the mix, creating a home that feels safe, warm and comforting for Chase is incredibly important to me. I want our home to feel joyful, secure, relaxed and welcoming.
A few months ago, I received an email from Kathy Davis about the company’s mission to inspire others to create a life they love, find joy in everyday moments and celebrate the big and small moments in life. I love their mission and today I’m teaming up with Kathy Davis to share a small handful of simple things I do in my day-to-day life to create a life I love. I’d absolutely love to hear a little bit about what you do in your daily life to help yourself live a life that brings you joy in the comments section of this post!
How I Create A Life I Love Every Day
- Listen to Music
Music is powerful and can alter my mood – and often improve it – in an instant. Music is constantly on in the background in our house and helps keep our home environment feeling alive and joyful, especially when it’s just me and Chase at home together. I can already tell Chase loves music and now that he’s finally embraced my singing (there were a few months there where he hated it!), we sing and dance together daily which always makes me laugh and smile.
- Observe Sadie
I think my fellow dog-obsessed friends out there will feel me on this one! There’s something so uplifting about watching a dog just be a dog. Sadie is, without a doubt, one of the most joyful and energetic creatures on the planet and watching her love for the simplest things in life reminds me that the small things in life can be the source of BIG joy. The level of happiness Sadie experiences when she finds that perfect stick or when we simply say the word “walk,” is unbelievable and, as cheesy as it sounds, encourages me to focus on the joy found in the little things in life.
- 10 Minute Post-Dinner Clean Up
This is one of those simple tricks I read somewhere that I immediately began implementing in my life that made a big difference. After dinner most nights, I try to spend 10 minutes cleaning up. Ryan usually does the dishes, so while he’s doing our dinner dishes, I’ll spend some time wiping down counters, putting away baby toys, straightening up my home office or our living room, etc. It’s crazy how this simple task improves my happiness when I wake up the next morning to a house that looks a little more organized and clean.
- Exercise
Exercising is my “me” time and something I try to do frequently because it brings me so much joy and makes me feel good about myself. There’s something I love about working up a sweat and feeling strong and powerful at the gym or at home during one of my at home workouts. Knowing I am doing something positive for my health and my body makes me feel great and there’s no beating the rush of endorphins I get when a workout is done.
- Go to Bed Early
Whenever possible, Ryan and I like to go to bed early. We’ll often climb into bed an hour before we really intend to go to sleep because we love the feeling of entering our bedroom and knowing the work of the day is done. Climbing into bed early gives us time to read, talk and relax and the feeling I get when I crawl into bed at the end of a long day can only be described as a joyful sense of quiet calm.
Ryan and I recently upgraded our comforter which we’ve actually been meaning to do for years after Sadie ripped into our old comforter back in Ocala when we were away during a particularly loud thunderstorm. Thanks to Kathy Davis we now have beautiful new bedding in our master bedroom – without any vizsla-inspired rips and holes!
We love the calming look of the black and gray Kathy Davis comforter and I accented the neutral look with pops of teal and green to fit with our master bedroom décor. The comforter is soft and warm and also reversible. As someone who used to rearrange her room regularly as a young girl, I love that the comforter is reversible as well, so we can easily give our bedding a refresh by simply flipping it over when I am craving a small change.
- Spend Time Outside
This is a HUGE one for me! There’s something about taking the time to step outside and notice the beauty of nature that helps me look at my stress and problems in a new way. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life when I’m doing my best to work as diligently as I can during my small amounts of free time during the week. Right as I’m really starting to feel the stress, Chase will inevitably wake up from a nap in the middle of a project and I’ll feel my stress level rise. Caring for a baby while working from home means my work and projects must wait until Chase’s next nap or later in the evening when I have time to focus again.
It’s easy to feel stressed out at the limited amount of time I feel like I have to get anything done these days, but there’s something about heading out on a walk with Chase and Sadie that causes me to pause and feel grateful for this struggle. Walking around the neighborhood, breathing fresh air with my baby and our crazy dog makes me feel like the struggle and stress is all absolutely more than worth it. Being a mom brings me so much joy. This blog brings me joy. And doing both things at once everyday is a blessing. Sometimes stepping away from the computer and into the sunshine is the best way for me to remind myself of this simple fact.
- Embrace Mom Mode
One of my biggest goals every day is to keep Chase my number one priority. Since I work from home, sometimes when Chase is awake, I find myself getting in my head and thinking about the next work-related task I need to accomplish but I really, really try to focus on being in the moment with my son. Never in my life have I felt more present than I have since Chase was born.
Having a baby forced me to slow down and enjoy the moments I am living in as they happen. There is nothing better than making my son smile or giggle and though I sometimes struggle with feeling like I’m not doing enough professionally when I am out on a playdate with Chase, I know in my heart that Chase experiencing new things, learning from other babies and enjoying time outside is always more important than everything I’m not doing. The number one piece of advice I’ve received from moms with older children is to embrace and cherish the younger years of a child’s life because they go by so fast and it’s something I try to take to heart. I love being a mom and cannot put into words the amount of joy mothering Chase brings me every day.
- Listen to Podcasts
Podcasts inspire me in my professional and personal life. Focusing on the professional side of things, as a blogger, it can feel isolating at times to work for myself at home with no coworkers. While I know I can always text or call blogging friends, sometimes I miss the energy of the workplace and camaraderie among coworkers working toward a similar goal. Listening to entrepreneurial podcasts or podcasts created specifically for bloggers helps me feel connected to people with similar goals and desires.
Podcasts like Chopped and Blissful Bites often teach me something and leave me feeling motivated to continue to pour a lot of time and energy into blogging and all the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into creating and maintaining a blog. On the personal side of things, the Happier podcast is one that constantly encourages me to focus on my happiness by making small, simple changes in my daily life. Love it!
Kathy Davis Giveaway
And now here’s your chance to win your own set of Kathy Davis bedding to help you create a life you love to live!
KATHY DAVIS™ & PB Fingers Bedding Giveaway
Question of the Day
- What is one simple thing you do every day to create a life you love to live?
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