One Nice Thing A Day/Week 4 Recap

The last few weeks have been a true reminder to me as to why we need to make time to do a little something for ourselves...each and everyday. Last week, I was busy getting ready for the Haute Couture fashion show, along with all the other daily necessities that always need attention, and I completely neglected to post my final week of my One Nice Thing a Day Challenge. While I neglected the post, and myself last week, happily, I have made up for it this week :) 

I came across this quote that I thought would be a nice way to close out this time of sharing;

So, what did I do during my last week of the challenge???

*I took myself out to my favorite little restaurant, Lula's for lunch and had their wonderful Grain Bowl. If by chance you are ever in Chicago, by all means, go to Lula's! Fabulous food, and you just might find me there too :)  

I adore African violets. I picked up 3 and made a little arrangement. They have continued to delight me with blooms.

*There's a wonderful little store here in Chicago called Bari Zaki Studio. They do book binding, have book binding classes, and sell the most delightful pencils, colored pencils, paper, and notebooks.   
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I decided that I needed an art fix, so I went in and purchased 6 of their lovely colored pencils. The entire experience was one that truly fed my soul. They wrapped my little purchase in the lovely handmade wrapper that you see below. Even the receipt was given the utmost attention by putting it in the lovely envelope and adding their sticker. 

When I got home, I took a look at the clip and realized that attention had been paid to the smallest of details by wrapping the clip with a bit of Japanese paper. Six little pencils could not have given me more joy!

*I treated my eyes to something special. Just put the eye masks on for 30 minutes and let your mind float away. Heaven! 

*On another day, I soaked for an hour in an epsom salt bath.

*I love lilies! I had thought that I would just purchase the usual stargazer lilies, but when I arrived at the store, they had these lovely Asian lilies. Take note of how full the blooms are. Each and every time that I walk into the room, their fragrance reminds me that I took the time to do a little something just for me! 

*For the last day of my challenge, I sat down and finished the sweater that I had started. I just love it :) It's sleeveless, so more of a vest than a sweater, but it will be nice to wear over a long sleeve t-shirt next winter.

Although the initial challenge is over, as I said earlier in this post, I now see just how important it is to not loose sight of doing for ourselves. Going forward, I have decided to take a suggestion from Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way. Each week plan an "artist's date," something that I actually schedule so that I can look forward to it, even if it's just a trip to Starbuck's for a cup of tea. From time to time, I hope to share a few of those dates with you.

I hope that my little journey has inspired you, to maybe slow down a bit and do something that makes your soul sing. Night before last, I received a phone call from a friend's son. She had gone in for a procedure, something that was done in her doctor's office. During the procedure, her heart rate plummeted, and she was without oxygen for more than 5 minutes. In the blink of an eye, this precious soul was gone. Her passing has reminded me of just how fleeting this life is. By all means, take some time to be good to you.
 Rhonda