I am often presented with a version of the question of “How do you do it all?”.
I’m a mom of two beautiful girls, a wife, a sister, a daughter, and I like to think that I’m a good friend. I work a full time job (sometimes 11 hours a day) and my latest achievement has been the start of my interior design business - The Stay Haven. It’s a lot. I get through it all with a bunch of prayer and coffee.
There is no perfect balance to life. No matter how hard I try, one aspect of my life always takes precedence over another. For a long time my career was the center of my focus. I put a lot of effort into being a top performer which paid off in some ways. I was promoted and received several awards and recognition from my leaders; but, my home life suffered. I gave so much of myself at work that I had nothing left for my family, friends, and, most importantly, nothing left for me. I spent years giving my job all of my energy and focus. My life needed a shift; I knew that shift would only happen if I dedicated more time for myself.
In 2019, I developed a list of goals. This list looked different than it did in previous years- it had nothing to do with career success or monetary goals. This reinvented list of goals was focused on my healing. I made a commitment to set aside time to refuel and recharge, and to reconnect with something that bought me immense joy, making my home a place of peace, love and celebration. I knew that self-care would be beneficial to me and the people with whom I interact.
In my daily life I give my family and home 1000%. Instead of putting energy into compartmentailizing each part of my life, I bought them together. There were so many times where my love for design, my ambition at work, and my commitment to my family and friends could co-exist beautifully. Now, I focus on making seemingly insignificant daily occurrences, special and unique. Instead of waiting for holidays to use the “good dishes”, I bring them out for meals at home. My children’s birthday parties are what some may consider over the top, I host theme parties (pre-covid) and immerse myself in every detail to give my guests an experience unlike any other. When creating a virtual learning space for my now 9 year old daughter, I was intentional about hearing her out, in true partnership, on what she wanted from a learning space. She loved what I created, and I was able to feed my own excitement around imagining something as fashionable as it is functional. Making the ordinary extraordinary is my thing, and giving my family and my home all of me is what fulfills me. This passion of creating peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing spaces is what motivated me to create The Stay Haven. Curating and decorating beautiful spaces and creating memorable moments is what fuels my soul. Interior Design and lifestyle branding are my loves, but the creative process involved with both can be exhausting. This is where I knew implementing a self-care routine would play a crucial role.
Everyone’s form of self-care looks different. For some it’s exercise while for others it's watching Netflix or snuggling up with a great book. For me, self-care definitely includes the aforementioned. But, the highlight of my self-care has become my newly formed obsession with baths.
I absolutely LOVE taking a bath to relax and decompress. It’s honestly one of the rare times that I have to myself. My family knows that my bath time is my alone time. The rule is “don’t bother mommy unless the house is burning down” and even then, knock first lol.
My college friend recently launched a line of bath teas named Soaked ( to say that I was excited is a huge understatement lol). As a woman who exercises quite often and carries a 22 month old up and down steps I needed a product that would soothe my aching muscles. I spared no time ordering my bath teas; I purchased the Soaked in Calm and Soaked in Peace. I ordered my bath teas on July 7th and they were shipped on July 8th. I was highly impressed by the turnaround time. Moreover, the bath teas were economically priced and came in beautiful packaging.
What was even more impressive were the teas themselves. There are 5 teas options to choose from. All are handcrafted with unique and refreshing blends. Soaked in Calm, which retails for $14, was the bath tea that I tested out first; it consists of Magnesium Sulfate, Honey, Calendula, Chamomile and Lavender essential oils. I chose this bath tea specifically for the Calendula oil as it is known to be effective for overall skin appearance and helps reduce swelling (which I sometimes have due to exercise or water retention). The other bath tea that I purchased was Soaked in Peace which retails for $22, this bath tea contains Magnesium Sulfate, Hawaiian Red Alaea Sea Sat, Chamomile, 50mg Hemp Derived CBD oil suspended in 100% coconut MTC oil. My motivation behind this choice was shamelessly motivated by the latest craze with CBD oil ( I’ve tried CBD lotions as well as CBD massages and I have been highly impressed with the effectiveness of CBD oil in soothing aching muscles). The bath teas are easy to use, and the packaging provides an easy 4 step “How to use” on its label. No tiny directions or hard to pronounce ingredients just all around goodness in one tea bag. This product is IT for me I love Soaked’s bath teas so much that I was texting my mom to purchase while I was in the tub (she then went on to become a loyal customer of course). Soaked is an exceptionally well made product and is now a staple in my self-care routine.
Self-care isn’t just this “Millennial Obsession”; it’s essential. For years, I felt guilty about taking the time to do things for me for fear of being viewed as selfish. I’m a mom and a wife; so, the world made me believe that my life was no longer about me. The re-framing of my life and simply dedicating time to take a bath in solitude (and be alone with my thoughts and ideas) allowed me to re-enter the world feeling rejuvenated and restored. It allowed me to soak it all in.
You can purchase these amazing bath teas at livesoaked.com
Instagram: @live.soaked
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