February at last and hope that Spring is soon on its way. There are many reasons to love February, not least because it starts on a Monday, ends on a Sunday and is a perfect rectangle on the calendars!
Also because it two of the best days of any calendar month, Valentine's Day and Pancake Day! Two reasons to celebrate and smile, two more chances to show people how much you love them, two days to eat chocolate guilt free and celebrate in style.
There are so many reasons to celebrate yourself this Valentine's Day, after spending almost all of 2020 in some sort of lockdown or severe tier restrictions, away from friends, family and loved ones and our mental health being in the bin, there's no better day to start loving yourself than Valentine's Day.
It may seem counterintuitive to spend some time/money on yourself when there are so many people in worse situations, but if you aren't looking after your mental health, you're not in the best place to look after other people. Being selfish for a few hours/days means your self-love cup is overflowing and then you'd be better placed to look after other people.
So here are a few ideas and ways to treat yourself this Valentine's Day, because baby girl, you're so worth it!
Celebrate Yourself
Now, I'm not saying you have to have a photoshoot in your lingerie but sometimes, just sometimes, putting on your favourite lingerie, spritzing yourself with perfume (which, by the way, is another fabulous Valentine's Day gift!) and spending some time with yourself and by yourself, can be so wonderful for your self-esteem.
You could just spend some time by yourself, learning to love the parts you previously disliked, coming to a place of body neutrality if you're not ready for full on body acceptance/love.
Another reason to love Valentine's Day is that usually, the day after is when all the chocolate, flowers and champagne are half price!
So you can laugh at everyone panicking to buy gifts at full price on February 14th, then casually stroll in on the morning of February 15th and pick out the exact same gifts for less than half price! *usually!*.
Say It With Champers
Here's a really wonderful way to celebrate Valentine's Day, with personalised Champagne from Say It With Champers. There are three different designs to choose from and you can choose from Brut, Rose or Premium Champagne.
You can choose the words on the labels too, from the collar at the top, down to the label on the bottom of the bottle, so you can get really personal and meaningful which is so lovely.
It would also make a wonderful gift for your friends, as you can see from mine below, I celebrated Galentine's Day - which is celebrated on February 13th - as lockdown has made me love my friends even more, so what better way to celebrate them than with their very own bottle of Champers?
Support A Small Business & Buy Some Jewellery!
Now what better way to spread the Valentine's love than by supporting a small business?
There are plenty around if you look for them and just knowing that you're helping to support someone's dream whilst making their day when you place an order, will always trump buying the same thing from a generic brand on the high street.
These earrings are from a gorgeous Etsy store run by a lovely lady called Alice Lizzy. I recently won a giveaway where I won £30 worth of jewellery and a beautiful new jewellery box to keep it all in.
I've previously bought from Alice's shop too and I love wearing her earrings, they feel like a real statement piece and can liven up any outfit.
I know right now we're not really going out anywhere and are wearing more loungewear than ever, but I reckon that Valentine's Day is as good a day as any to dress up and feel your absolute best!
Buy Yourself An Emotional Support Stuffed Animal!
Now I know this one isn't to everyone's taste, but I totally stan having a stuffed animal in your life! I picked up Yogi the sloth from WHSmiths recently and when I say he came into my life at a time when I needed him most, it would be an understatement!
I found him originally when I was going to the post office, but couldn't buy him at the time and I would always keep half an eye out whenever I went in to the post office, but could never find him.
Then last week when I was returning something, there he was, in the half price bin just waiting to be taken home by me! Never have I needed something more and I'm honestly so pleased I was able to give him a home.
I'm not saying you have to buy yourself a stuffed animal if it's really not your thing, but what I am saying is that it doesn't matter if you do.
No matter your age, if you want to buy yourself a stuffed animal, then do it! Nobody has the right to tell you what you can or cannot do because you've passed the age where this this is acceptable!
I'm the girl who shares her bed with stuffed animals and I'm totally OK with that! Everytime I snuggle with Yogi, I'm reminded that at this very moment in time, I'm doing the best I can and that when I walked into WHSmiths, I found exactly what I was looking for.
Plus, he doesn't complain, take over half the bed or snore! So really, I'm winning!
Buy Yourself New Pyjamas!
OK, but hear me out on this one! New pyjamas are like, the cosiest, snuggliest, comfiest items of clothing you can ever buy yourself, so why oh why, on a day which celebrates love, would you not want to wear them?
I adore pyjamas and along with loungewear, have been wearing them pretty much all day, every day if I can get away with it! (usually a Sunday!) I've been treating myself to some gorgeous ones from Chelsea Peers recently and I have to say, they are by far, the softest pjs I have ever worn.
And the ones in this picture were made from recycled plastic bottles! Crazy!
I say, if you truly want to treat yourself this Valentine's Day, then check out Chelsea Peers I promise you'll never look back and want to swap out your entire sleepwear drawer with their amazing pyjamas!
They also plant a tree with every order, which is just another reason to shop with them to be honest!
Treat Yourself To Good Food!
The perfect treat yourself moment has to be ordering a delicious dish from Pasta Evangelists. This has to be some of the best pasta I've had outside of Rome.
It comes all ready to cook, with a handy booklet to tell you how to cook it exactly like they do in Italy. You can even add on cocktails and desserts! What's not to love?
You could even go all out and have a bottle of wine, get the candles out, put on your favourite music or Netflix show to really set the mood.
Or, if you don't fancy cooking (or boiling water and heating up sauce in the case of Pasta Evangelists!) you could always order in.
One of my favourites has to be Wagamama their vegan range just keeps getting better and better and a recent favourite of mine has to be the new Tofu Raisukaree, it's absolutely delicious and well worth trying out this Valentine's Day. Also, order the new vegan ribs, you'll not regret it!
So there you have it, just a few ways you can spoil yourself this Valentine's Day. Let me know if you do any of these yourself, I'd love to know!
Love, Sarah
xoxoxo
