Disclaimer: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PEOPLE®, InStyle®, and Sunset®. The opinions and text are all mine.
We are in the thick of summer right now as the days have become hotter, longer, and jam packed with summer activities. We’re all so busy trying to find ways to spend each moment of the day as we work to keep the kids entertained. But, what about you? As you’re busy trying to avoid the “I’m bored” comments from your kids, are you starting to feel like you’re losing yourself in the mix?
A few years ago, I came across the following quote by Audre Lorde:
I have come to realize that caring for myself is not self indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.”
Reading that quote was a lightbulb moment for me. Why? As a work-at-home full-time, stay-at-home full-time mom to two kids, I had never known exhaustion as I did when I entered into motherhood. I was sipping coffee throughout the day, watching wrinkles form on my face, waking up early to the sounds of our kids, pulling late nights to get my work done, and trying to keep my head above the water. And then it hit me when I looked at our kids and saw them growing by the minute. I needed work-life balance so I sought to find it and establish it.
What helped me find a work-life balance that fit within our family life was taking ownership of my self-care. “Me Time” can range from seconds to minutes to hours. Don’t get me wrong, it can be very challenging to stick to the work-life balance lifestyle, especially when work deadlines are breathing down my neck. But, I have become very protective over my work-life balance because it has helped me to decompress, get rid of some stress, relax for a bit, and get back to the everyday life with a clearer mind.
There are many other benefits to “Me Time” that include:
- Having better focus
- Recharging your body and mind
- Giving back to your family
- Being more productive
- Enjoying self-discovery
With the on-the-go, busy lifestyle, it can be easy to forget about ourselves. But, as you can see from the list above, tuning into yourself has so many benefits. Rarely do we have time to sit back, reflect, and enjoy the moment. Since I strongly believe in the importance of “Me Time,” I’m always trying to find ways to squeeze it in when I can (trust me, it’s not easy and my husband is always trying to help).
How can you find a way to squeeze in “Me Time” throughout the week? Make a “Me Time” bag full of items that you enjoy doing. By doing so, when you find yourself with a few minutes to spare or when you make time for yourself, grab your “Me Time” bag and pick an item out of the bag that you know you’ll enjoy doing, even if just for a few moments.
I recently discovered the creation of a “Me Time” bag when both kids were down for a nap and I found some time to squeeze in some “Me Time” in the afternoon. I grabbed my bag, headed out to the back porch since the day was beautiful, sat on the couch for a few minutes, and read a few pages in a magazine. Having the “Me Time” bag made it so much easier to quickly steal a few moments for myself.
5 Items for the Perfect “Me Time” Bag
Here are some items that have made their way into my “Me Time” bag.
1.) Notebook and Pen
Having a notebook and pen in your “Me Time” bag will allow you to jot down notes, write a journal entry, or make a gratitude list.
2.) Chocolate
I’m a certified chocoholic. Enjoying a treat during “Me Time” will help brighten your mood and make the moment special.
3.) Magazine
Flipping through the pages of a magazine is a nice way to spend “Me Time.” While I was doing my weekly shopping at Safeway, I decided to pick up the July 7th issue of InStyle while I was checking out since the beautiful cover grabbed my attention. When I got home, I put the magazine in my “Me Time” bag since I knew I wanted to read the magazine once I found time to enjoy “Me Time.” The beautiful photos and informative articles are a great way to escape, even if I’m only able to read one or two articles at any given “Me Time.”
Wherever you are spending time this summer, PEOPLE, InStyle, and Sunset magazines have the beauty, lifestyle, and entertaining inspiration you need to incorporate your personalized “Me Time” into your everyday schedule, especially during the summertime.
You can visit your local participating Safeway/Jewel-Osco/Vons/Pavilions/Tom Thumb/Randall’s/Shaw’s/Star Market/Carr’s/Acme Market and save $2 on PEOPLE, InStyle, and Sunset with this link for the coupon at Jewel-Osco and a link for the coupon at your local Safeway banner store.
4.) Nail Polish and Nail Polish Remover Pads
I can hardly find the time to schedule myself a pedicure, let alone go to the salon to get a pedicure. Instead, having nail polish in my “Me Time” bag reminds me to spend some time on myself by taking care of and painting my nails. The nail polish remover pads fit nicely in my bag and make it easy to remove my current nail polish and add fresh polish to my nails.
5.) Beverage
When it comes to “Me Time,” it’s always nice to sip on a tasty beverage. For me, one of the ultimate “Me Time” drinks is coffee. For your bag, be sure to add a nice bottle of flavored sparkling water or a non-refrigerated coffee drink so that you can stay hydrated all while enjoying your “Me Time.”
Giveaway
Now it’s your turn to enjoy some “Me Time.” One lucky winner will receive a $50 Albertsons gift card. Please answer the following question in the comments section below:
“Which magazine do you like to read while enjoying some “Me Time”; PEOPLE, InStyle, Style Watch®, Real Simple®, Sunset, or Southern Living®?”
Be sure to include a reason behind your decision or your answer will not count as an entry.
A winner will be selected randomly through http://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday, August 3, 2017. This giveaway is available to U.S. residents only.
Southern Living is one of my alltime favorite magazines. I can find recipes, great home style ideas, and vacation recommendations.
I would have to say Real Simple, as I’ve gotten a bit older and wiser, I don’t feel the need to have so much “stuff” in my house and outside on the porch. I am slowly going through each room with simplicity in mind and getting tons of ideas from this magazine. This magazine has showed me that you don’t need stuff to be happy. Cleanse your house and keep what is important but also keeping it simple, clean, fresh. I have to say I have this feeling of freedom when I cleanse a room and make it simple. I also get new ideas as well of how to decorate simple and I just love this kind of magazine, I swear it was made for me.
I love southern living. The decor section is my favorite. They also have great recipe ideas.
I like to read People magazine, it is nice to read what is going on in the celebrity life, makes me feel like my life is not as stressful as I may think.
IN STYLE, the reason why is because I love to keep up with popular trends even though I can’t afford them.
I love to enjoy some Southern Living! It has beautiful home and garden ideas, and features lots of fun places to check out in the south that could be day or weekend trips for us!
My absolute favorite is Southern Living! I love to get decorating ideas and the recipes have been wonderful! My family looks forward to me reading it because they know they are going to get some goodies that I just have to try out when I’m done reading it! lol
I said In style because people is just too much gossip and real simple is mostly recipes n stuff haven’t really looked at the other two
I love to read Real Simple® because they have great tips, decorating ideas and the recipes are amazing! I love trying to new recipes!
I like Southern Living because I like the recipes and the home decorating ideas. I’ve made some wonderful meals from their ideas.
I like reading People on my me time. I like pop culture and celebrity lifestyles. It takes me away….
I love my Real Simple subscription! Especially around the holidays I want to replicate everything.
People Magazine! My job can be very intense, and I find the mindless pages of “Who wore it better” and human interest articles very relaxing and fun to read. People is definitely my guilty pleasure during the day – their webpage is bookmarked on my phone! :)
I must say I enjoy reading PEOPLE magazine. For me, it’s fun to see what those famous people are wearing and places that they go. I often see things and places that are new to me!
I enjoy reading Real Simple as it gives me ideas on how to organize my home, its more educational than the others and inspires me!
I’d have to say Southey Living. I takes me back home. (I grew up on SC, but
now live in CA.) My mom always had Southern Living on the coffee able in the living room when was growing up.
Congratulations! You are the winner of the giveaway! Please be sure to email me your name and mailing address: jen@howto-simplify.com.
Note: Random.org was used to select the winner of this giveaway.
I adore People Magazine in my free time. Its got great photos
I love to read People Magazine. Love hearing about my favorite stars.
I love Real Simple. Gives me great ideas to decorate with stuff I already have and to simplify with things I don’t need
I like to read People magazine because I like to read about real every day people and celebrities.
I enjoy the Sunset magazine and I love the recipes I find in there.
I like to read People. It doesn’t take a lot of thought or concentration to browse through.
I like to read “Southern Living”; it reminds me of home (Birmingham), as it’s published there, and also I can incorporate southern ideas a little further north where it’s not so hot and humid.
i like to read Real Simple when I am having my me time. it has lots of great ideas in it.
I like to read real simple since it always has hack and sometimes even meal planning. In addition it usually has organization ideas and with five girls I really need organization.
I like People Magazine — mostly because it means I can TOTALLY decompress from whatever stressors as I read salacious gossip about strangers (celebrities). Plus the crossword puzzle makes me feel smart haha!
For me, it’s definitely People magazine. It’s sort of my guilty pleasure.
We avidly read PEOPLE magazine to keep up with celebrity news.
My background is entertainment PR (though I am no longer in that field) so I love reading People to keep up with what is going on. Knowing I am not in that insanity relaxes me.
Sunset. I like the recipes, home ideas, and travel articles.
In Style for sure. My reason is I have a subscription and always enjoy reading it. :)
I love InStyle. They show a variety of real women. I can relate to the articles. I also feel like the clothes and things they feature are reasonably priced compared to what some other mags feature.
It would be Southern Living for me. Such a great mag with so many great articles
I enjoy Southern Living – nice to see how clean, well groomed, perfectly decorated homes can be – makes me dream of a potential in mine (lol). Enjoy the recipes as well.
I like to read Real Simple because of all the great ideas I get from it.
Thanks for the contest.
I meant to add that I enjoy reading In Style and Real Simple when I’m having Me Time, and I like those magazines because they have a lot of great decorative ideas, as well as outfit ideas.
I enjoy flipping through Real Simple when I can find a spare moment. They have some great tips and articles.
It would have to be PEOPLE, as I’m a sucker for interesting people, and even celebrities!
real simple and have some lemonadei like to read
I love to read Real Simple during my me time. It feels like I’m being productive by learning ways to better my life instead of just relaxing.
I enjoy Southern Living. I like the many features from decorating to the amazing recipes! It is one of the few magazines I will read every single page without skipping any articles!
I LOVE PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING.
I love Real Simple because its full of tips to make my life easier.
I like to read In Style Magazine during my “Me Time” because I love to get beauty tips and fashion ideas while relaxing. It takes my mind off of other things and I find it relieves stress.
I like to read Real Simple during “me time” because it always has amazing recipes, decorating ideas, fashion tips, and inspiration! It’s one of my favorite ways to relax.
I like InStyle because I think that it has the most informative articles featured every month.
I like to read People to keep up with the celebrity news of the week
I like to get ideas from the Southern Living, I like to try some of their recipes.
I like to read PEOPLE magazine to see how the celebs are doing.
I like to read southern living because it’s more laid back, which is more my style!
We like to read Sunset; it has great ideas for our garden & landscaping, plus we’ve found many delicious recipes over the years.
ME TIME PEOPLE!!! I LOVE IT WHEN I GET OFF OF WORK IT HELPS ME TO RELAX THANK YOU
People is my choice! I love that it includes everyday people and the celebrity news that I want to read about! None of all the fake gossip that happens in Hollywood.
I like to read Real Simple because I find it to be interesting and useful.
I love fashion, so I tend to thumb through a lot of fashion magazines. But, I tend to collect magazines such as Southern Living for the recipes and decorating ideas.
Southern Living.. I love homemaking ideas, gardens and recipes.