Why alone time is the greatest luxury (and other life lessons my late twenties have taught me)

Last month I turned the ripe old age of 28. The big question was: how on earth did THAT happen so fast?! Last I remember, I was in New York celebrating my twenty-first birthday, charging full steam ahead. Time sure does fly.

My twenties have been quite a ride. I’ve changed my career, travelled the world, completed a degree, studied in Canada and moved to Australia, packing in as many countries as possible in between. Entering my late twenties has also been a time for reflection and changes on many levels. There are things that I now value more and different outlooks I have developed that perhaps I didn’t have back in my early twenties, which is the norm. Lately I’ve been thinking about what those changes are, and have been taking the time to reflect on them. As the year of twenty-eight beckons, dear readers, I wanted to share a few things I’ve figured out so far…

Make time for yourself (it’s not being lonely, it’s being good to yourself)

Time is one of the greatest luxuries we have. There’s a lot to be said for hedonism, but there’s a lot to be said for good health and wellbeing. Life is busy and we spend a lot of it socialising and dashing from one thing to the next. It can be exhausting. So many times I have found myself saying ‘yes’ to social engagements because I feel I have to and for FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Nowadays though, the thought of a jam-packed schedule is daunting, not to mention tiring (admittedly I’m not 78, but I do value my eight hours a night). Don’t be fearful if you’ve not got a busy schedule 24/7 – time to yourself is one of the greatest luxuries. Make time for yourself and cherish alone time, because it doesn’t mean you’re lonely. It’s an essential ingredient to keeping yourself centered and grounded. It’s okay to be alone at times.

Don’t compare yourself to others, because you god damn rock

This, my friends, is one of the hardest things to do, but also one of the most important if you want to be happy in yourself. No one person is the same, that’s the beauty of life – you are just as unique as the next person and everyone lives life differently. You won’t always be on the same page as everyone else your age, and that’s okay. Next time you find yourself comparing yourself to someone on Facebook, one of your peers or someone across the street step back, take stock and remember: dig yourself, you are doing just fine as you are.

Cherish what you have and practise gratitude, dude

During my twenties, I’ve chosen to spend my money on what makes me happy: travel. I don’t have a mortgage yet, I don’t have a flashy car but I do have a colourful passport and a lot of amazing memories, and I’m really grateful for that. You can’t have it all – sometimes you have to choose. It’s no biggie, as long as you’re grateful with what you do have and what you’ve accomplished so far.

Exercise is an essential ingredient to happiness

I admit that often I feel I am too busy to exercise and that it often gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list when I am feeling busy and stressed. But, exercise is one of the most crucial elements to wellbeing, de-stressing and is a free-of-charge mood booster. Make the time in your busy day to get some and be good to yourself, even if it’s for ten minutes a day, no matter how simple. You can work it, gurl.

Stop spending all of your money on food, booze and shoes

Say what?! Yup, there are others things to enjoy in this life, too – invest your hard earned cash in something that will truly enrich you and cultivate the things that make you happy. Sure, enjoy the new threads and a vino or two, hell I still do, but everything in moderation, right? So many times throughout the years all of my spare cash has gone on going out to the pub, and I’ve loved it. But there are other soul-satisfying things to spend your dough on, too. Buy a new book, sign up to a new course, take up a new hobby – keep learning and enrich yourself. It’s way more valuable to you in the long run than that extra glass of wine.

Life is short; sometimes you have to take risks

Occasionally in life you have to take risks in order to live to your full potential – it’s as simple as that. It may not be easy to break a cycle and step out of your comfort zone and yes, it may be hard, but if you follow your heart and give it your all, it will be worth it. Sit through the discomfort of change and remember that you can’t let your fears control what you want to do in life. In order to grow, at times you have to take a leap of faith to figure of what really matters to you.

Know that everything that is meant to be, will be. Don’t you agree?

Until next time.

Love,

 

Image source: unsplash.com

Fe-line Paws of Approval – August

As we’re nearing the end of August, it’s time for a little update from the Top Cats at Fe-line! We’ve been busy planning events for the rest of 2014 and looking ahead already to 2015, and if you can’t make it to any of our meet-ups then you can still hang out with us online: we’re on Twitter with our #felinehour every Tuesday evening from 8-9pm. Here’s what we’ve been enjoying, thinking about, talking about and wearing at Fe-line HQ this month:

Anaïs

I don’t have a very tangible paw to give away this month, but my Fe-line Paw of Approval has to be given to housemates. I’ve been house-hopping between friends’ homes over the summer and have rediscovered my long lost love for coming home to a gaggle of girls! I made some of my best friends when flat-sharing at university but then went on to lodge with an older couple,  live with only one lovely friend, and then move in with my boyfriend. Over the last few weeks I’ve been reminded of just how much fun it can be living with mates: we’ve cooked for each other, watched TV and films together and socialised with each other’s friends. Even though my boyfriend and I do all those things all the time, having some female friends to share the evenings with seems to make these activities like more of an occasion. I’ve loved hanging out with a girl gang more than usual, and it’s made me really appreciate and miss other friends who I don’t get to spend this kind of quality time with. So, that’s why I want to put a paw up for house sharing friends across the lands!

Debs

This month, my Paw of Approval goes to the makers of my favourite dress: Eucalyptus. I’ve owned various Eucalyptus items over the years and, whatever size I’ve been, I’ve always found that their clothes have that all important flattering cut. They are my go-to brand for lovely, floaty, pretty clothing – their skirts have acres of material that properly swishes when you spin, love it!

Eucalyptus is a London based company which was started in 2002 by a “girls only team of designers, determined to create individual, comfortable and feminine fashion with a good touch of quirkiness”. What could be better than that? For more info, you can visit their website: http://www.eucalyptusclothing.co.uk/ or, if you’re Oxford based, you can drop into the covered market where Fresh Clothing stock lots of their yummy clothes.

Jo

My Fe-line Paw of Approval has to be baby related this month. The Babe has learnt to crawl this month, started teething, had his first stomach bug, two colds, moved into his own room and then back into ours and there has been little time for much internet surfing or cool links collecting. My life has been a repetition of chasing after him, repeating “Don’t eat that”, administering nurofen, applying bonjela and fighting him to go into the pushchair/car seat. My quiet little baby has disappeared and has been replaced by a raucous little boy (I absolutely love it).

So I am giving my Paw of Approval to the Munchkin duck bath.  I went into Boots looking for a non slip mat for the bottom of the bath and this is what I came out with. (FYI this is not a picture of The Babe it is a promo shot of the product). I think the duck bath is the best £8.99 I have spent on a baby item, because not only does it make my life a lot easier, it makes bath time really safe but it is also so much fun. Munchkin products are great for this they make parents life easier but are also kid friendly and budget friendly. I don’t have to hold The Babe in the bath anymore and this saves my arms, he can happily sit in the duck and play with his toys and so he has the freedom that he loves, it’s win, win. The only thing I am asking is when they are going to make an adult one or a big one to go in the garden?

 

Rosie

My Fe-line Paw of Approval this month goes to Coco Wedding Venues. I am (sadly and happily!) not in the market for a wedding venue any more but this website is just sigh worthily beautiful. Coco was set up by Emma Hla at the beginning of this year and has gone from strength to strength, rapidly increasing it’s venue portfolio and being nominated for Best Designed Blog at the Wedding Blog Awards (you can vote for Coco here!) The idea behind the website is to bring together a style focused directory of beautiful wedding venues which are all helpfully categorised by Coco’s Wedding Venue Styles including Rustic Romance, City Chic and my favourite Bohemian Beats.

The Coco blog is also full of useful (and very pretty) information for brides and grooms to be, from unusual colour palettes to news on new venues and swoon worthy wedding suppliers to real love stories. The blog is a great wedding resource tastefully put together and lovingly narrated by Emma’s characterful writing. But more than that, it’s a great source of inspiration and incredibly uplifting, as looking at pretty things always is! So make a cuppa, sit back and indulge.