The Importance of Treating Yourself

Over the past year and a half, the importance of prioritizing mental health has become more and more apparent. For some, that looks like making more time for themselves, building stronger relationships, or rediscovering what actually serves them and brings fulfillment.

Pictured: The Jordan Bouquet

Make time for rediscovery

Over the past year and a half, I’ve embraced this time to get to know myself - to find out what I truly enjoy, what I love doing the most, who I love spending time with, where I want to be, and I’ve worked on weeding out the noise that doesn’t serve me. It’s been a time of self reflection, gratitude for the life I have, and appreciation for all of the incredible people I get to surround myself with.

Passions have come to the forefront, and I’ve been lucky enough to combine my passion for design with some of my previous skills, and have ultimately been able to create a role that perfectly aligns with my 'do-it-all' zodiac.

Remember to breathe

Of course, with discovery and hard work comes exhaustion and burn out. There have been many times throughout this year and a half where I’ve burned the candle at both ends, especially while I was working full time and going to school, and I’ve had to take a moment to just breathe.

To help with this, I now prioritize time for myself (hellooooo self dates!), my sleep, and my workouts, and I've also realized how important it is to treat myself to the things I love (good food + dessert, quality time with friends, time outside, you name it). I've accepted the fact that it is okay to rest - my body and my mind crave it, so it’s only fair to ensure I’ve received enough down time.

Find your mood boosters

What’s one of the ways I treat myself, you ask? Hands down, one of my favourite mood boosters is fresh flowers. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my name originates from a flower, but there’s something special about fresh blooms that soothes me. Whether it’s the scent, the bright colours, the texture, or the life they bring to my home, they always seem to boost my mood that much more.

To find fresh, high quality blooms that last, one thing I’ve found is that there aren’t many great florists where I live. Believe it or not, I literally have to drive at least 30-40 minutes to find beautiful blooms that aren’t from a grocery store! Because of this, I’ve relied heavily on Bear’s Blooms. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re a floral delivery service that allows you to choose the bouquet you like (which are ALL so beautifully curated), choose a delivery day, and they deliver them right to your door!

Besides the curated bouquets, the thing that I love most about Bear’s Blooms is that they send you cut stems before they’ve actually bloomed. This means that if you’re not home to receive your delivery, there’s nothing to worry about, because the blooms will come to life as soon as they hit the water. This also ensures that the blooms will last a lot longer than flowers typically found in stores, that are already in bloom. If sustainability is important to you, they also work directly with local farmers to ship in-season flowers, and waste less flowers by buying exactly to order. Talk about flowers that are worth the investment - and trust me, you're worth it.

If you’d like to give Bear’s Blooms a try for yourself, feel free to use my code LINNEACARMEN for $15 off your first bouquet!

It’s time to stop and smell the roses.

Xo
Linnea

This post was in collaboration with Bear’s Blooms. All opinions are my own.

10 Things I've Learned in 2020

As we put a close to 2020, I'm taking a look back on the year that changed everything, for everyone. We started the year off with the theme of 20/20 vision - hoping to achieve our goals, dreams, trips, and more. Little did we know that the entire world was going to be shaken up. We were forced to rethink everything, take a step back from the hustle, and refocus on the things that matter most. A clearer-than-2020-vision, if you will. My year was full of hard work, focusing on my goals, adjusting to change, overcoming fears, and welcoming new challenges. Without further ado, here are just a few of the things I've learned from the year that was... 2020.

1. Connection is everything.

Even if it's a short FaceTime or coffee date, connecting and catching up with someone can change your entire day. We all experienced the power of connection this year - both virtually and with the ones we love. I haven't seen many of my closest friends much at all this year - some are in other parts of the world - but weekly FaceTimes are pretty much a ritual at this point. It's amazing how much one person can boost your mood!

2. You're not superwoman, and you don't have to be.

You can try as hard as you want, but you have to remember to rest. I started the year very ambitiously with 4 design courses while working full time, and although I knew I could do it, I eventually broke down from the workload, and had a panic attack in a line-up at Staples. I fainted, as my old self tended to do, and woke up to a bunch of strangers staring down at me making sure I was okay. It was a major wake up call to go back to the basics: nourish, move, sleep, repeat. I was going 8383729 miles an hour, and I needed to take a moment to slow it down, rest and just breathe. Little did I know this was some major foreshadowing for the year ahead.

3. Discipline is no easy feat.

This year, like everyone else, I was forced to stop attending my fitness classes and seeing my yoga fam, and that was a big part of my self care routine that was completely cut off. Thanks to quarantine, I had two, sometimes three workout buddies to run or workout with almost everyday, but I was still missing my yoga studio deeply. Having said that, self-discipline is hard. Working out from home is NOT my forté, because I'm someone who needs external encouragement to push harder and keep going. Adapting to the workout-from-home lifestyle has been a struggle and a half to this day!

4. Family time is underrated.

Quarantining with my brother and his gf was definitely one of the highlights of my year. It was nice to avoid isolation during such a trying time, and the cooking-cleaning-workout rotation was VERY much appreciated! It was also a great chance for me to spend time with my brother before he moved away, so that was a blessing in itself.

5. When it rains, it pours.

Along with the rest of the world, I felt like bad thing after bad thing kept happening, and as a mostly positive person, the negativity was really weighing on me. Just as the pandemic was starting, Dash was attacked by the neighbour’s dog, then attacked again 2 months later. A month after that, my Grandma was diagnosed with cancer. The whirlwind of events in combination with my school workload, the travel industry dwindling, and the uncertainty of it all was very heavy, but I kept reminding myself to look on the bright side. At the same time, we were all asked to take a big look in the mirror and recognize our privilege across the globe - we all have tons of it. Recognize it, and find ways to support those who don’t.

6. It's okay to have a bad day.

It's ok to be sad and to have a bad day. You wouldn’t be human if you had beautiful, blissful days all the time anyway. The bad times are what build character and make you who you are. But remember: you can still find golden nuggets in each day. Journaling in the morning and in the evening can help you recognize those nuggets - and make you appreciate each day that much more. Highly recommend it.

7. Friends are real-life heroes.

I have some of the greatest friends a girl could ever ask for, so it's very important to be the best friend I can be in return. Spending any amount of time with my friends immediately lifts my spirits, and my girls trips this year did wonders for my mindset and overall happiness. My book club also didn't die in 2020 - we remained strong over Zoom, and even got to meet our newest bookie irl this summer (2 more coming 2021)! I love each and every one of you!!

8. Clear communication trumps all.

Lessons are constantly learned, unlearned, and relearned again. Remember not to force anything; clear communication is the only way any relationship can work. If you’re not communicating (or being communicated to) effectively, you’ll end up in a huge misunderstanding at the end of the day, and that’s a waste of everyone’s time.

9. If you want something, go and get it.

Want to switch careers? Do it. Go back to school if you have to. Want a new job? Find one you're passionate about and go get it. Want to conquer your fears? Go and do something that scares you. After years of not needing to drive much, I’m finally driving again, and I have no idea why I waited so long. Something so basic and trivial was accomplished in one day of being back on the road. Our fears are often much bigger in our minds than in reality. You might be surprised at how easy some of them are to overcome!

10. Trust the timing.

Time. Is. King. There are so many events in my life that I never understood at the time, but you have to trust the timing. If something doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to, at that time. If something comes back, maybe now is the right time. This has happened to me time and time again, and it couldn't be more true. You never know unless you trust the process and let things be when they need to be.

And with that, my friends, I welcome 2021 with open arms. Not that it will be any less difficult - it will be full of its own challenges - but perhaps we'll all have a slightly better, less self-focused outlook on life, and on what matters most. Sending love and light to all of you for this new year! ✨

xo

Linnea

A Note on Worthiness

Wor·thi·ness /ˈwərT͟Hēnəs/ The quality of being good enough; deserving of respect, which tends to mean something different to everyone. I recently listened to a session on Mine’d focused on self worth, and it was too good not to share some of the golden nuggets, along with my thoughts on the topic. For years I believed I was unworthy - unworthy of attention, the time of day, honesty, respect, commitment, unconditional love. Every now and then, I still have to remind myself that I am worthy of all of those things. Maybe you’re in a similar situation, on the hunt for worthiness within yourself, or maybe you’ve lost it in your current situation. Whatever the scenario, before you can choose worthiness, you need to ask yourself what your self-worth means to you. How do you view worthiness? What does it look like? How do you want it to make you feel? How do you know when you have self worth?

Before you even begin your search for it, you need to understand exactly what you’re searching for. Take time to embody the notion that you are worthy. Worthy of time, thought, care, dedication, attention, respect, humour, alone time, adventures, slow sundays, home cooked meals, self care, nice gestures… worthy of love. You need to sincerely believe all those things before you can receive them in abundance. The quality of your relationships - the people you surround yourself with and allow into your life - are all directly correlated with how you view yourself, and in turn, your worth.

The quality of your self worth dictates the quality of your life. If you really see your value, you’re not going to put yourself in a situation that’s detrimental to your well being (guiltyyyy 🙋🏻‍♀️). You know how valuable your time is, so you shouldn’t accept anything less than that.

In order for worthiness to really work, you have to ensure it’s unbreakable - and it’s a constant work in progress to keep it that way. Are you journaling daily? Meditating? Making time for yourself and your thoughts? Or is your day constant chaos, bowing down to the needs of others? If you were royalty, how would you present yourself differently? Why do you think that is?

When you stop giving out second chances to those who’ve constantly let you down, that’s when things start changing. Remember: there never has been and never will be another you. You are a unique human being that brings your own light and gifts to the world. So remember to choose YOU. Lean into your growth and watch the magic happen. You’re worthy of the magic, after all.

xo

Linnea

Blogging with Intention

Hey friends, it’s been a while - but this time, the break was intentional. Before I picked my content back up again, I wanted to make sure I took a step back and reflected on the type of content I’d like to be sharing going forward.

Although I’ll be continuing to share my home/beauty/lifestyle tips and finds on here, I’d also like to go back to my roots a little bit by posting more meaningful, valuable content, particularly around positivity and mindset. I used to be an open book on this blog when I started it, sharing almost every little detail of my life as I blogged almost daily from a coffee shop before hot yoga class. And honestly, the blog became an extra outlet that let me explore different thoughts and ideas, which was incredibly helpful for my own mindset, self awareness, confidence, and where I placed my compass in life.

That portion of my content has been lacking… maybe, because I’ve been uninspired? Unmotivated? Or feeling like I don’t bring enough value to the table for anyone to learn anything new?

Regardless, I’ll be doing more of the work, and sharing more with all of you. So welcome back to the blogitty blog. Be prepared to read my rambling thoughts and how I navigate this little life of mine, finding snippets of joy along the way.

Speaking of joy, the most wonderful time of the year is right around the corner. Is it as joyful as everyone chocks it up to be? Well, it comes with its own baggage and associated memories for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely brightens the mood and gives everyone something else to focus on other than politics and the pandemic, but it’s also a little bit of a trigger for many, including myself. A significant moment in my life took place during the holidays, and I’ll never get that moment back. It’s taken time to rid of the bitterness, but year after year, the gratitude for that very moment grows. I wouldn’t be nearly as independent/spicy/self aware/cognizant of my time as I am today, and for that, I am beyond grateful. That being said, I love the holidays very much, and will do everything I can to celebrate them in all their glory. So over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing loads of exciting holiday content - decor, gift guides and all. Keep your eyes peeled and stay safe out there!

xo

Linnea