2020 MOTHER’S DAY GIFT GUIDE
What a strange, different, and scary time it is right now but through all of that we are still trying to live life as close to normal as possible. With that said, this is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now - CREATE A GIFT GUIDE! I am such a gift guide fan, especially during the holidays. They have definitely inspired many, many gifts I have given in the past.
So this Mother’s day I decided to round up all of my faves that I thought would be a great gift for the moms in your life. This is a mixed bag of items I was given and some I’ve received in the past and also a few I’ve bought for myself that I highly recommend. I hope you all find this super helpful!
Another note, where ever possible I do encourage you all to shop small and locally. I will talk more about that below.
Links to items pictured above:
1. Container Garden Ideas 2. Elchim Hairdryer 3. Towel Set 4. Vanity Table Set 5. Armani Fragrance 6. Bear Claw Back Scratcher 7. Ninel Studio Candles 8. L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates* 9. YETI Rambler 10. Jewelry Organizer 11. Foot Massager 12. Iced Coffee Cozy* 13. Personalized Birthstone Necklace* 14.GLAMGLOW Mask 15. Silk Robe 16. SLIP Silk Pillow Case
*Boston area businesses.
More thoughts on These gifts
1. container Garden
I gifted my mom a container garden last year for mother’s day and I will give her another one this year (re-using her containers from last year). I contacted a local garden shop (Volante Farms - Needham, MA) and I worked with a floral designer to design a custom arrangement. I sent her a few pictures I found online of arrangements I liked and she was able to create a beautiful arrangement for my mom. The whole thing only cost about $75 since my mom had two large container pots that I used (I snuck those out of the house so I could surprise her!). Why I loved this gift idea: These flowers lasted her ALL SUMMER. They did not die as flowers do in about a week. The arrangement became more and more beautiful as the weeks went on.
2. Hairdryer
Long gone are the days that I fuss with drugstore hair dryers. I love the Elchim brand because they last a LONG time. I have one and I gave my mom one a few years back. They cut the blow-drying time in half for us curly hair girls.
3. Towel Set
I think towels are one of those items that we don’t always think about and we can keep the same ones for a very long time. The linked set is a great price point and you can bundle it up with other self-care items (candles, bath bombs, lotions).
4. Vanity Table Set
Who wouldn’t love to have a dedicated space to get ready? If space allows, I think a vanity table is a great gift and one that will be used every single day. I use mine every day, morning and night, to get ready/un-ready.
5. Fragrance
I went through a sample of the linked Armani fragrance and I LOVED it. It is on my wish list for sure. It is a beautiful soft floral fragrance perfect for spring and summer.
6. Bear Claw Back Scratcher
HA! I debated adding this to the gift guide. I got these as a gift (because I may or may not love having my back rubbed). These back scratchers are excellent. That’s it.
7. Soy Candles
I love candles. I love soy candles even more. They make a great gift on their own or you can create a little self-care bundle for a mom in your life. Our candles are made in small batches and made to order and come in a rocks glass jar that can be reused when the candle is done. I use mine as pen holders, makeup brush holders, they can be used as drink glasses and so much more.
8. Sweets
Chocolates are a go-to gift for many occasions. They are delicious and my go-to treat. This year I encourage everyone to skip the large brands out there and search for local chocolatiers in your area. Boston has several great ones and you will receive great quality chocolates while also supporting local businesses.
9. YETI Rambler
I’ve had my YETI for about 3 years and it is the best. I especially love this design because the top is a simple twist on and it is so easy to clean. It does not have all of those little nooks and crannies that over time (if not properly cleaned) will develop build-up.
10. Jewelry Organizer
These are awesome to organize jewelry, they have a mirror and most of them have a lock - in case there are some extra special pieces of jewelry we want to keep safe. This was another item gifted to my mom a couple of years back and it’s been a hit.
11. Foot Massager
I gifted this to myself! While watching a movie or TV, I pull this little guy out and it seriously relaxes the entire body. This is an item people don’t know they needed until they have it.
12. Iced Coffee Cozy
These are awesome to have for cold drinks. I for one don’t like feeling the sweat from iced drinks - these cozies take care of that issue. They also keep the drinks colder for longer. Salem Style Studio is a Boston area-based company and they have so many other accessories in their shop. I highly recommend cheking them out if you are in the Boston area. If you are not from this area, still check them out!
13. Personalized Jewelry
I love Etsy. You can find pretty much anything you are looking for on Etsy. This jewelry shop is based in Boston and please do check them out. But, in the spirit of supporting local businesses also search for Etsy shops based in your City/State and support your local creators as well.
14. Face masks
There is nothing better than a relaxing Sunday night where you can pamper yourself with a beautiful face mask - this one feels divine on the skin and is great to all skin types.
15/16. Silk robe & pillowcase
These luxurious items feel good. The pillowcase, in particular, has so many benefits for skin and hair, since silk has a slip to it it is gentle on your skin while you sleep and reduces tangles in your hair.
I hope you found this gift guide helpful. Happy shopping!
DAILY ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE TO FEEL GOOD AT THE END OF EACH DAY
There are times - sometimes days, weeks and even months - when we are simply going through the motions of life. As you can imagine, just going through the motions can make you feel as if you have not accomplished enough or as if you have not contributed enough value to yourself, your life, your goals and those around you. From my experience, there have been times when I have sat back and really wondered and asked myself what I have accomplished as of recent. Sometimes I can easily come up with many things (big and small) that I feel good about and other times I feel as if my list is pretty dry, even when it's really not! I believe we consistently add value to ourselves and others every single day but I also feel that we often forget to remind ourselves about those accomplishments and we can also forget that we have a lot of control about the good in our lives.
Taking your life day-by-day and having small wins everyday will amount to so, so much. This is why it is so important to do some checks and balances as frequently as you can - below are a few ways you can do just that:
each day is a blank slate
Remember to start each day with a fresh outlook on life. Whatever happened the day before is now in the past and cannot be changed. All we can do is work towards becoming better today than we were yesterday, making better chioces and being more present.
keep yourself informed
Taking in information gives you the opportunity to learn something new every single day. You can pick up a book and read at least 15-20 minutes each day, you can listen to a podcast or read an article. In short, making an effort to expand your mind and learn new things can you only help you become a better and more well-rounded person. Definitely something worth giving yourself a pat on the back for!
make healthy choices
Making the right choice can sometimes be hard because we all know how easy it is to stray a bit. But choosing the healthy lunch and dinner options, putting your phone down so you can get an extra 45 minutes of sleep and being conscious of staying active throughout the day are all healthy choices we can make for ourselves every day.
do something for someone else
Being conscious of those around you makes it easy to find ways to add value. This can be a sincere and heartfelt compliment, it can be anticipating a need and helping when you can. The point is that when you do something for someone else not only will they appreciate it but as long as you do it from the right place you will also appreciate yourself for the good deed.
make notes
It is so important to make note of your accomplishments – they can be a mental note or run down at the end of the day or if you are anything like me, you would write down the little things and the big things you have achieved. For example, I use my planner pretty much every day and I write down the things I have accomplished that day. I think I would probably feel embarrassed to let people read my accomplishments (sometimes I make sure to put down that I gave myself a little manicure!) – the point is that if you do or finish something you have been meaning to do it is worth keeping track of. It almost feels like I am keeping a diary of sorts!
I know that this list can seem daunting but once you consistently begin incorporating these habits soon enough you will start to feel good at the end of your day. A lot of this is about looking at the bright side of life, the good things that happen every day and the good choices we can make.
Do you actively remind yourself of the positive things you do for yourself and others each day? Share how and what you do below!
PRODUCTIVITY MADE SIMPLE: 7 EASY WAYS TO MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS YOUR GOALS
We all start of the beginning of the year with plenty of goals in mind, most of which we want to achieve as soon as we can – which is awesome! I think that we should all have things we look forward to and things we want to accomplish. But all the dreaming and goal setting is the easy part. Creating a step-by-step plan to begin working towards your goals is ehhh somewhat easy. But, when it comes down to keeping yourself accountable and staying productive and consistent about reaching your goals…now that is the hardest part, in my humble opinion.
Making sure I follow through in doing what I tell myself I want to achieve is hard because, frankly, being your own boss is hard. I find that when you have no one else to be accountable to but yourself you may give yourself a few too many passes to push things off for a lot longer than if you were working on completing something for someone else. Do you agree? Which is why I compiled a list of what helps me stay productive through those moments (and days) when my dreams just seem to big or too cumbersome to achieve.
Make lists
I keep a running list of the things I know I need to do. I do this for my personal life - like doing laundry, blow drying my hair (all of you curly hair girls out there know that this task needs to be planned out!), doing my nails and the list goes on. I also do this for Ninel Studio – I have a list for updates I need to make to the website, a list for candle production (what I need to make, inventory lists), a list for planning my editorial calendar for the blog and a list for bigger projects down the road. Having a place that you can refer to when you need a high-level view of the things you need to get done will give you a little boost of energy to start working.
Use time blocks wisely
This strategy has really done wonders for me. Blocking out time to do specific tasks is a really great way to stay productive. If I know I have an hour in my day to spare I try to put it to good use. For example, as I am writing this blog post, I literally just got home from work and will be picked up in 45 minutes to run a few errands (i.e. shopping) so I got right to it and started writing this blog. Every minute counts. When I get back later tonight I will block out one more hour to edit this post and schedule it for publishing.
Plan your day
This is like the idea of using time blocks wisely in that we need to plan the day out. Yes, sometimes things come up and we cannot stick to a strict schedule but having at least a rough idea of what we want to accomplish the next day will help up stay on track and continue to move things forward. All you need is 10 to 15 minutes to sit down and write down what you want to accomplish the next day. This is a great way to get a head start on your day!
Use the Pomodoro technique
I must admit that I don’t always remember to do this and it is mostly because I am in and out of meetings for the better part of my day and I feel that the Pomodoro technique allows for best results if you have a good chunk of uninterrupted time on your hands (say around 2-3 hours). The basic idea of this technique is to work in 25 minute increments and take a 5-minute break and do this repeatedly for as long as you need to in order to accomplish whatever task you are working through. This technique is AMAZING – the times I can implement it I feel my productivity increase dramatically.
Skip the multi-tasking
Trying to focus on more than one thing at once really does not work for a lot of people. It certainly doesn’t for me, especially, if I am working on something that requires my undivided attention. I know it can be difficult to not reply to that email that just came in, after all, it will only take two seconds, right? Wrong! Breaking your focus to reply to that one email that will only take two seconds means that you are very likely to lose your train of thought and it may take you a while before you get back into the swing of things. This will slow down your productivity, big time. So, my advice here is to focus on your task at hand, the email can wait.
Listen to music
I like to listen to upbeat instrumentals to get me working a little bit faster. One thing I cannot do is listen to music with words while I am trying to write a blog post or draft an email – so music like electronica is pretty much my go to these days. Am I the only one?
2-minute rule
I incorporated this into my personal and professional life a few years ago and have not looked back since. The 2-minute rule means that if you have a task that will only take 2 minutes to do – just do it. But if it will take longer than that you should schedule some time to do it. The only time I do not use this technique is, as mentioned above, if I am already in the middle of something and a quick task comes across my desk. But aside from that, the 2-minute rule is fantastic a getting those little things that come up throughout the day out of sight and out of mind as quickly as possible.
There you have it – those are the ways/methods I use to stay productive and stay on track of my goals in my day to day life. Like I said in the beginning of this post, having dreams and goals is easy – making sure we work towards them one task at a time is hard if we do not feel motivated enough to do so. I hope one or all the techniques I have listed help you stay motivated and productive to reach your goals. Happy 2017!
Now your turn! Do have any other tips and techniques that help you stay productive to reach your goals? Do share below!