At the foundation of living a simply luxurious life is consciously choosing to elevate the everyday moments that we may have previously dismissed as unimportant and incapable of being savored, even approached with dread. A significant part of TSLL’s 2nd book – Living The Simply Luxurious Life: Making Your Everydays Extraordinary and Discovering Your Best Self shares multiple ways to do exactly that and tailor your days to your unique preference of living and enjoying life.

Today I would like to share with you 12 ideas I have found to elevate my everyday, many of which have been brought to the forefront of my attention recently as I have been figuring out my new routine in my new home. I know I have spoken quite a bit about this change in my life, so I appreciate your indulgence, but I can honestly say it comes from a place of absolute giddiness. What I continue to do in my life and have for as long as I can remember always doing, is to tailor my way of life to optimitize contentment as well as a feeling of positive contribution to the world and community. This is a ever-evolving process as we learn and grow and apply that knowledge about yourself and the world to our daily lives.

Part of why I believe wholeheartedly in the concept of living simply luxuriously is the necessary requirement that we not neglect ourselves in the efforts to live well and feel at peace with how we live in the world. There is no reason to feel guilty for tending to our needs because after all, if we cannot be at our best, then we are doing a disservice to the world at large as well in our immediate world as well.

Tending the many different arenas of our lives well requires dynamism, and the skills which are required demand we take care of ourselves. This doesn’t mean we have to book an expensive, budget-draining spa appointment every week to recharge. The good news is that we can rejuvenate ourselves every single day so long as we design a life in such a way that our everydays acknowledge what we need and encourage us to be present from morning until we slip into bed for a restful night’s sleep.

Let’s take a look at the list and may your everydays be abundantly full of moments and experiences to appreciate and look forward to.

1.Make your own professional floral bouquets without paying the floral shop price

From combining similar hues in different varietals (seen below with the white hydrangeas and ornamental cabbage) to the salmon/blush gerber daisies and blush John’s Wort, layering with similar colors creates depth, texture and intrigue, along with an eye-catching display.

~YOU MIGHT ENJOY: Arrange Your Flowers with Ease and Effortless Finesse

2. Arrange candlesticks, pedestals and/or candelabras around the home and light regularly in the evening to signal the mind to begin winding down (a la M.L. Longworth’s Petit Plaisir sharing in episode #268)

3. Play the genre of music that nudges you to unwind, letting it fill your home and being.

In the evening, jazz will often stream throughout my home, while in the morning classical musics gently helps me start the day. Both are powerful without being intrusive.

~Check out TSLL’s Classical and Jazz Playlists (here and here)

4. Buy an ottoman or hassock and literally put your feet up at the end of your days

5. Create small areas or tabletop space for board games to remain set up to invite engagement that encourages the absence of technology.

6. Determine what time of day your creative or most productive energies are flowing, and design your day to maximize your efforts, while simultaneously giving yourself permission to relax and unwind during your low-energy periods during the day.

7. Cultivate daily and weekly rituals that are fiercely protected and regarded as your time in your own company and/or your time with those you love. My Sunday mornings (as seen here on IG – #tsllsundaymornings) are my time to savor a weekly croissant, watch my favorite Sunday morning news program and read my Sunday papers without watching the clock.

8. Imagine one living space in your home as you would love it be decorated, and make a plan to create it into being in a time-frame that fits your budget and availability. Start with a small room – the foyer, the mudroom or reading corner, and then make it a priority to invest in curating a space of high quality details that will last for many years to come and beckon you to unwind and enjoy yourself when in that space.

9. Buy a better lamp or light source that creates warmth in the home and flatters the complexion of any person who is sitting in the room.

10. Buy the best quality tea or coffee you can afford and savor the part of your day when you have the opportunity to sip it (sip it while being still, rather than tending to a task that pulls your attention away from the moment of leisure).

11. When enjoying your afternoon snack or aperitif (as seen below as presented by Susan Hermann Loomis), present it thoughtfully, on a tray perhaps or any such way that encourages you to slow down and nourish yourself so that you savor it and as well, do not over indulge.

12. Create a “returning home from work” ritual that prompts a pleasurable sigh of relief and anticipation of the next part of your day whatever it may be. From curating spaces in your home where items are placed or removed and stored neatly, making them easy to find, to arranging the furniture in such a way that you can turn on the radio to your favorite music station the moment you walk in the door or a glass of water is easily found that you drink to hydrate yourself to avoid eating unnecessarily anything that is available to quench your exhaustion.

Every day we have the opportunity to live well, even in the simplest of ways. How you choose to elevate will be unique to you, so have fun exploring what tickles your predilections.

SIMILAR POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~The French Way: How to Create a Luxurious Everyday Life, episode #23

10 Life Lessons from Provence: Slow Down & Savor the Everyday

How to Cultivate Surrounds for Everyday Contentment, episode #219