Wake Up

My self-care Sunday starts with a little early morning gardening.  Gardening is hard but satisfying work and it keeps my mind quiet.  I love watching it grow and improve year over year.  It is also a learning experience for me as this is only my 3rd year at my house.  Some plants flourish and some fail.  I'm learning when and where the sun shows its face to my yard; how full the trees bloom, at which point in the season and how far they cast their shadow.  My favourite plants are definitely my roses - real leather gardening gloves are a saving grace when tending to these - and Dwarf Asiatic Lilies although I have yet to keep these alive (our resident groundhog loves to eat them).  I find being in the garden a practice of gratitude as I'm grateful the whole while for the life that will sprout from my work, for the beauty it will graciously provide, for the quiet that the work provides.

Work-out

Next up is some ever-relaxing yoga.  I used to go to Modo Yoga and De La Sol Yoga when the world was open and through those classes I learned the poses that I enjoy and that help ease ache in my muscles the most.  I was very skeptical when I first tried yoga, almost hostile to the idea that I would like it.  But it didn't take me long to get hooked.  I especially enjoy (and dearly miss at the moment) hot yoga.  The hot room feels like a spa, my flexibility is instantly increased, and it puts me to sleep almost immediately as I recover in Shavasana.   Now that studios are shuttered due to Ontario lockdowns, I try to make my home yoga routine as 'spa-like' as possible.  

To help with that, I light my hand-poured, wood wick candle from Illumi Candles.  The coolest part?  The candle is in a hand-crafted coconut bowl made from real coconuts!  The wood wick is such a lovely touch as it sounds like a real fire when lit.  I picked the scent of Tahitian Vanilla with Mixed Bouquet and I have no regrets.  If I close my eyes I can hear the wind in the palm trees and waves rushing the beach.  Oh how I wish I was doing yoga on a far-away beach instead of in the dining room with the cats crowding my mat!  At some of the classes I took at Del La Sol Yoga, the teacher would apply peppermint essential oil to the students' necks at the end of class in Shavasana and it became my favourite part of the class.  To recreate this experience, I picked up a Peppermint Halo roller from Saje Natural Wellness.  At the end of my routine, I roll it onto either side of my neck and then relax into Shavasana, breathing in the zingy scent.

Recover

Dirty from gardening and sweaty from yoga, I'll have a shower and spend the rest of the day relaxing in the epically soft bamboo robe from Hillcroft Housecoats which might just be my favourite self-care purchase of the year.  I pretty much never want to get dressed these days.  I won't bother to do my hair, it will go back into the same messy bun from this morning but its cuter than ever because of the adorable scrunchie from Me&You Handmades.  Their newly released, limited edition Spring collection is incredibly fun with new prints and colours.  Scrunchies are back in style and for good reason!

Recharge

With my feet up, I'll enjoy a "pretty pink latte" from Blume in my belly-shaped, handmade pottery mug from Lana Rayman Pottery.  I love the belly shape of this handmade, porcelain mug as it feels so comfortable in my hands.  The feather design adds a whimsical interest to the classic white porcelain.  The Beetroot Blend latte is actually quite delicious and this is coming from someone who is not usually a fan of vegetables in any form!  But this latte is perfect for a post-garden, post-yoga morning as the beets, rich in nitrates, antioxidants and vitamins, support post-workout recovery. 

But what is a good latte without a sweet snack? I pair it with Coconut Clusters that came in my Goodfood box this week and could literally be the only treat I ever need to eat again, they're that good.  Plus, organic and full of seeds makes me feel like its ok to eat the whole bag in one sitting.  And now I'll catch up on episodes of The Handmaids Tale and probably fall asleep on the couch when the afternoon sun casts too strong a glare on the TV.