What are your little treats to yourself?

[LoveCharlie]

A while ago there was a thread about the little things that make you happy and I loved it, can't find it now.
This morning I had a day off work and went for a walk in the sunshine with my friend, then had a coffee and bun afterwards in a lovely cafe and it filled my cup right up. What are the little things that make you happy?

I love a sofa nap

Driving with loud music

Jellycats

Candles and reed diffusers

The cinema, solo, with my favourite snacks

New socks

Taking an hour to read/do cross stitch/diamond art/lego on the weekend

We have a soaking tub which allows me to sit and soak up to my chin in gloriously hell fired temperature water, I only do it once or twice but it's bliss.

My calm kettle. Bought as a gift by my lovely dd. I then sit in the garden with my coffee. Utter bliss

Daffodils. I treat myself to a couple of bunches every so often.

A new book . I can’t resist. Doesn’t matter if I’m in a bookshop or a charity shop….I won’t be leaving without one.

i do not know how people work in bookshops or charity shops and resist the temptation to take a new book home with them EVERY day!

Getting my nails done every 3 weeks.

My tropical fish.

I was waiting for someone to say Jellycats 🥰. I’m a little addicted to them.

My Jellys bring a little smile to my face every time I see them (especially my newest amuseables).

I know some think they are toys for children, but I don’t care that I’m a 40+ year old woman with a vast collection of them! Life is too short not to enjoy the things that bring us joy.

Sitting in the garden with a coffee and the dog in the morning when the suns out. Even if it’s 5c out, I’ll wrap up and soak in the sunshine and caffeine. Sunday mornings are best with the distant sound of church bells.

Fresh flowers - buy a bunch most weeks but some last a long time! I’ve had some carnations on the go over two weeks now and they are still going strong.

Going to the local big market on a Saturday and eating Chinese from the stall there at 10am. It feels illegal.

If you could, I’d love to hear you share more about how you did this. I know exactly what you’re saying and what brought you to need that (in my own way, I mean) but I don’t know how to treat myself not half-heartedly (or badly if I’m being honest). I feel like a weird nauseating feeling of cringey fraudness come over me-like that feeling when you wear a dress that makes you feel like you’re dressing up in your mum’s clothes and everyone’s going to know you’re not old enough nor sophisticated enough to command that sort of outfit. Ugh am I making any sense? Basically l feel like I need to treat myself well but my self esteem is so low that I feel like a foolish idiot when I try - like I don’t deserve it.

Browsing bookshops. I went to my two favourites on Saturday- Toppings and Mr B's, both in Bath. That was a treat.

And my other is very specific to this time of year - finding the most beautiful magnolia tree. There are some real stunners in bloom at the moment

Me too i went for breakfast with a friend today had a mooch around some book shops and got a few new ones to read and got 3 new candles that smell lush.
Then went for an afternoon coffee in the woods.
Also boked a day trip with simmons coaches normally i book with bella coaches but they had nothing i wanted.

a walk in the woods on a sunny day, listening to the birdsong.
skin care.
yoga classes.

Scented candles and wax melts
Going to get a coffee and a cake after work and sitting on the beach enjoying both
Taking my coffee back to bed on weekends
Having one of the cats come up to lay in bed with me before I go to sleep
Dog walks in the sunshine - especially in the woods or on the beach

Seeing my close friends. It's making me smile just thinking about it. I'm so lucky to have two really good friends.

Brand new bedding and pjs

Quality time with my dogs… big walks, snuggles in bed. They are very calming.

I'm loving these, giving me lots of good ideas. I recently discovered diamond painting and find doing that with a cup of tea so satisfying. Also when the cat decides to lie on me (usually when I'm just about to get up) it makes me so happy.

@Devonshiregal I'm not the PP you quoted but I'm really sorry you feel that way. You deserve nice things and to feel good.

For me personally, I think these things are cumulative. What actually helped me start was yoga. Particularly Sarah Beth Yoga videos on YouTube as she has a really calm, kind style. I started doing them every so often purely because I'm lazy and hate cardio exercise and thought yoga would be an easy start into exercising my body. What really surprised me is it ended up making me feel more calm and at peace. There is something about slowing down and connecting to my body in yoga that I find soothing. I suppose it's a form of mindfulness.

Next it was personal hygiene. I was absolutely terrible at it. I had a hard time growing up, looking back I had a neglectful childhood and I think that spilled into adulthood. As an adult I would only wash a couple of times a week and just felt rubbish all of the time. Eventually I decided that I could still stick to washing my hair a couple of times a week but I had to have a 60 second shower every day to wash my body. Then after doing that for a while it became second nature. I now couldn't bear not washing every day. I deserve to feel nice in my own skin. So I upgraded my little daily washing ritual. Nice smelling soap or shower gel, a scrubby sponge, a fluffy towel to wrap myself in afterwards etc.

This is a very waffly way of saying sometimes if you start small and embed one nice habit, then other nice habits naturally follow as you start to feel better.

@HeartandSeoul on another thread I mentioned I'd ordered some Jellycat keyrings to put on my work bag, and someone said 'are you 5?????' and it really upset me!

But then I remembered I'm a nearly 40 year old woman who deserves things that make me happy, and if that's little floofy soft toys then so be it. Not hurting anyone!

A good, strong, hot flat white
Hot bath with Epsom salts
A chilled glass of wine on a Friday
Holidays (not a small thing though!)
Fresh bed sheets
A nap
A new cookbook
New makeup

Lovely of you to respond. Thank you. Yoga is definitely good - know what you mean about the mindfulness of it.

Doing myself a home manicure once a week
Getting a professional pedicure once a month
Nice chocolate
Hot chocolate
A bubble bath most nights - occasionally using posh bubble bath (Christmas/ birthday presents)
Tea and a scone in a cafe
A cup of tea in bed with the paper at the weekend
Some new bits to freshen up my wardrobe

I got my BIAB nails done this morning. I am about to have a nice long hot bath with Epsom salts & essential oil & a new book, light a nice candle & have a glass of wine while dh is gone to visit is mum for Mother's Day. I don't do this often enough but I'll try to keep it up at least once a month.

Art lesson.
Yoga class.
Nap under an electric blanket.
Meditation.
A little look around the local charity shops.
Buying myself a book.
A new mug.