Loved Lately: October

 
Another bi-monthly favourites post for you today, gang! I'm not sure why I end up writing them every other month - perhaps I'm simply boring half of the year. It is entirely possible. This October I've been focusing on self care, self love and calm. I've been struggling a lot more with my anxiety now that the nights are darker and the days are shorter and the items in this post are now part of my combat kit to conquer my panic.


When I told you about my 2017 goals back in January I mentioned that my ~buzz words~ for the year were going to be healing and calm and I feel that, finally, after months of trying, I've fallen into a pattern of self care that feels natural. I may pen a post about my 'basic' self care sometime soon, if you're interested? But for now, let us talk about the things I've loved, lately.

Lush Sleepy body lotion.
You may notice that the side label has been taken off of the Sleepy pot and that is because it actually belongs to my sister and she cannot resist destroying things. My mum bought it for her a few weeks ago because she's been struggling to sleep and when my night panic returned I felt the need to try it as well. I was incredibly sceptical but, honestly, I adore it. I'm not sure if it's the lotion itself or simply the bedtime routine I've incorporated it into but I truly believe it is easing my anxiety and helping me drift off. The scent is so comforting - a gorgeous, creamy blend of lavender and oats. I massage a little blob of it into both of my arms just before I settle down and I'm asleep within minutes.

My Little Pony pyjama leggings.
I don't know how this happened but I'm suddenly obsessed with vintage My Little Pony? These pyjama leggings are from Primark and God are they comfortable. I'm not really a pyjama person but you cannot get me out of these things. I am yet to wear them out of the house but as the weather gets colder I may consider it.

Candles.
Again, in my quest to conquer my night panic I have turned to the flickering warmth of candles. I don't think I'd ever bought a candle in my life and now I own 12 of them. A couple are from B&M and others, like the one in the photo above, are from Tesco. This blue one smells like lavender and iris and although the scent doesn't throw itself into the room at all, the wax is burning surprisingly evenly, especially when compared to some of the others I have. I light all of my candles at night, turn all the lights off and read in the soft glow and it's wonderful.

Topshop 'L' necklace.
As soon as I saw these dainty initial necklaces in Topshop I knew I had to have one. As mine, Luke's and Luna's name all begin with an 'L' (as does my sister's), it felt fitting to wear the letter itself around my neck. My love actually bought it for me as a gift and I wear it every day, along with the blue lace agate pendant Dad got me for my birthday last year. I am tempted to get the letter 'T' as my new baby is called Tilly (or Tallulah) and I don't want to leave her out.

Star embroidered boots.
I don't need to explain why I'm featuring these, do I? Just look at them. They're glorious. Slightly uncomfortable, but glorious.

Polaroid photos.
My Instax Mini has been severely underused this year. When I received it for Christmas last year I decided I was going to save it for 'special occasions' but the days and nights never seemed significant enough, so I had four boxes of film waiting to be used. This month I decided that my mundane was special enough and I've been pulling it out at random to snap things like my babies sleeping on the bed together, Luke lookin' fine and Sunday baking with my sister. The photos are a little small, but I adore their nostalgic, imperfect charm.

Essential oils.

As intended, this month I've been experimenting with essential oil blends in my oil burner. My favourites to use are lavender, bergamot and sweet orange - although not at the same time. I burn lavender and bergamot when I'm feeling anxious, and sweet orange and grapefruit during the day if I'm feeling a little lacklustre. I also sprinkle a few drops of lavender on my pillow before bedtime and, paired with Sleepy, I think it's been helping me calm down.

In The Moment magazine.
The moment I spotted this magazine on the rack at Sainsbury's I knew it was destined for me. I have honestly never adored a magazine so much. It focuses on self care, wellbeing and creativity which is exactly what I need right now and it's such a joy just to look at. It's packed with recipes, articles, happy news and self care inspiration. I really, truly adore it and am half-tempted to order myself the four other editions released before it. (Or perhaps ask for them for Christmas.)

Happy journal.
I picked up this mini pink notebook on a whim as it was 60p in the sale at Sainsbury's but it turned out to be the perfect size to act as my happy journal. Every night I challenge myself to think back through my day and note down the things I'm grateful for or that made me particularly happy. Quorn 'chicken', jumpers, Tilly and Luna are regular entries.

Instagram.
Now that I've removed myself almost entirely from social media and have taken a more laid-back approach to my blog, I've been really enjoying my Instagram. I'm thinking less of myself as a 'brand' and more of a person, which is a refreshing change, and it means I'm giving less of a fuck about what I post. I mean, it's mainly been selfies with my family and photos of Tilly but they make me incredibly happy and who doesn't love pictures of cats? You can follow me here if you fancy it.

Other Instagram accounts I've been loving lately: fiorere, megzmoz, sartorialscot, _iamjayde, bkyrouncefield and houseofintuition.

And finally, some other favourites of note: my skincare routine, Strictly Come Dancing and the two jumpers I bought from charity shops last week.

Oh! and here's a bonus photo of Tilly who decided she wanted to be in my favourites post, too.

Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Goodreads