I recently got back from my trip to Paris just a little over a week ago and while my trip was so wonderful with the beautiful places to see, exquisite foods to eat, and cultural inspiration around every corner, there is something just as wonderful about coming back home and easing back into the everyday routine of life. Paris has a way of inspiring one to elevate the everyday moments of life in small ways that have a much larger impact then at first realized. While in Paris we stayed in the 7th arrondissement and while this is the location for the Eiffel Tower itself, it is not a “touristy” part of Paris in particular as it is instead more of a residential side of Paris. We stayed off of the very charming Rue Cler where I got to watch true Parisian go about their everyday lives sipping coffee at the cafes, purchasing baguettes at the boulangeries, picking up bouquets of flowers for the home and visiting specialty food shops like L’epicerie Fine for specialty mustards, spices and more. It was observing the ebbs and flows of the daily Parisian life and it got me even more inspired to also elevate the everyday moments of my own life in a beautiful, yet simple way.
While I do work a full-time job where I have a hybrid schedule of working from home Monday and Tuesday and then commuting to the office Wednesday through Friday, my everyday routine tends to stay the same week after week. This weekly routine may seem like it can get monotonous, but it is in the elevating of the everyday moments that makes the workweek a beautiful and pleasant experience. The things that can be incorporated into everyday life to elevate these moments does not need to be complicated or even expensive. We can elevate everyday moments by simply tending to the details to curate the moment for our pleasure versus simply showing up and merely reacting to them.
As an analogy for this concept, I like to use hotels as an example of how this works. I have stayed in many types of hotels in my life, everything from a basic Holiday Inn up to a five-star true to form luxury hotel. While the Holiday Inn will accomplish the goal of having a bed and shower for a basic stay, there will most likely not be anything more to really elevate the experience. Everything will be very plain and therefore very forgettable. But for a five-star hotel, from the moment you pull up to the hotel there is someone there to help you, take your luggage and to greet you warmly. The hotel will have pleasantries around every corner including details such as fresh flowers throughout, beautiful artwork, small delights such as tassels, crystal glasses, marble floors and/or countertops, gold or silver accents, beautiful wallpapers, curated drapes and rugs, plush robes and slippers, and specialty soaps and beauty products will all be present throughout. While both hotels will fulfill their main purpose (a place to sleep and shower while visiting), one will have a more lasting and elevated impact simply due to the beautiful, yet simple details.
So let us also elevate the everyday moments to savor them and to create a luxurious life on purpose. Below I will list some everyday moments that we all expereince with some ideas on how to elevate the moment in beautiful, yet simple ways (including my own expereinces too).
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Getting ready in the morning
How we start our days is usually a good indicator of how we go about the rest of our day too. If we start it frazzled, in a rush and with resistance, then we feel those same feelings throughout the rest of the day as well. To start the day well takes intention and knowing what we would find to be a more beautiful way to get ready in the morning. I get up early to start my day and therefore I set up everything up the night before with simple, yet beautiful details to greet me each morning. I will select my outfit for the next day, fill up a carafe of water to set aside to drink throughout the morning while getting ready, and also set up the bathroom for what I need to create my morning experience. In the morning I first start by setting my alarm for 20 minutes before I have to be up to give myself a gentle wakeup that I can ease into instead of having to jump right out of bed. After I am out of bed I will go to the bathroom and light a scented candle to enjoy while I shower and get ready. Then, I will pour myself a cup of water to drink before taking a shower. After my shower I will turn on the bluetooth speaker and listen to my Luxury Hotel Vibes playlist as I get ready while still drinking water throughout the morning. All of these details create a beautiful morning everyday for me and yet the details are so simple to curate and execute. Take some time to set up your rituals for getting ready in the morning and incorporate your own pleasantries to simply elevate this everyday moment.
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starting the workday
If you work full time like I do then this will be another opportunity to elevate an everyday moment into something beautiful that you will want to savor. This will all depend on what kind of job you have as not everyone has a desk or cubicle, but there are still ways that you can make space to incorporate simple pleasures into starting the workday. Something simple such as starting the day with a hot drink and enjoying some calming music can help to ease into the workday rather than stumbling into it. I like to prepare my favorite coffee at home and to take it with me into the office that way I can enjoy a hot drink first thing as I listen to this Cozy Coffee Shop Jazz on my Spotify playlist. I keep a small desk lamp at my cubicle to turn on for a warmer light source as well as hanging a few pictures that I find pleasing. All of these help me to ease into the workday with intention and to elevate this crucial moment into a beautiful one to savor and enjoy.
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cooking
If there is one thing that we all have in common no matter where we are or what we are doing, it is that at some point we must stop to eat. For me cooking is something that I simply love and that is because of the way I cook a meal (and I don’t mean the recipes). When it’s time to cook I will lower the lights in the house, turn on the warmer lights from the lamp and underneath the counter, I will put on a beautiful apron, play my cooking playlist on Spotify and basically pretend that I am in a Nancy Meyers movie. Cooking up simple, yet refined foods to enjoy is such a simple pleasure in life, but being able to enjoy the process of cooking is an everyday moment that can be elevated into a beautiful one with simple details. For even more inspiration on this you can read my previous post 10 Tips to Elevate Your Cooking Experience for more tips to try.
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mealtimes
Once the cooking is complete it is then time to sit down and enjoy the good food and good company. It can be tempting to just eat as quickly as possible to move to the next thing, but instead try to really enjoy the meal by elevating it through creating a beautiful experience. Set the table with nice linens, a vase of flowers, put on a light jazz playlist, light some candles, use real dishes, glasses and cutlery, place some beautiful placemats and napkins and elevate this everyday moment into one of pure joy and delight.
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evening routine
After dinner has been eaten, the dishes and kitchen have been cleaned and reset, now is the time to ease into the evening routine. It can be easy (even tempting) to simply pull out the phone to scroll for the rest of the night, but why not elevate the evening routine into something more beautiful and gentle to end the evening? It can be so soothing to pour a cup of hot tea and enjoy a little sweet treat to end the evening. To curl up in a chair and read a book, do some coloring, or even doing some knitting will elevate the evening routine to help us feel more nourished rather than frazzled from being too tuned in to social media. Energetically it feels better to simply enjoy something that brings us joy and will revitalize us for the next day rather than draining us from being over stimulated with too much “noise”. Find hobbies that you enjoy that can be done in the evening to create an elevated everyday moment in a beautiful, yet simple way.
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bedtime
Bedtime is an everyday moment that is often overlooked in terms of elevating an everyday moment in life. While it may seem that all we need to simply do is to lay down and go to sleep, there is indeed moments in here that can be elevated into beautiful ones as well. When it’s time for bed one simple thing that can be done to elevate the moment is to have beautiful sleepwear to slip into every night. Whether you prefer pajama sets, nightgowns, slips, nightshirts, or chemises, invest in some sleepwear that you find to be beautiful and that breathes well while sleeping. You will go to bed feeling beautiful in your elevated sleepwear as well as waking up and feeling beautiful too. Getting ready for bed can also have moments to elevate by doing things such having beauty products that smell and feel good to you, playing soft, relaxing music while getting ready, and also investing into tools that you find beautiful to use such toothbrushes, flossers, face rollers, etc. Once it is time to lay down we can also enjoy a little more time for something cozy such as reading a book, journaling, or if you do look at your phone choosing something that is soothing to watch.
In the midst of our everyday busy life it can be easy to simply let lovely details be just a “maybe someday when I’m not too busy” kind of dream that we never pursue. But elevating everyday moments in a beautiful, yet simple way will simply elevate the quality of how we are living our overall life. Investing in and tending to the details of our everyday life pays back in so many dividends of being able to live in a finer way that makes our everyday life a more beautiful place to be. We get to enjoy our lives and not merely show up and react to them.
If you are unsure of how to elevate the everyday moments of your life try to first search out some ideas on Pinterest and journal about them using the bullet points above as a template. A good journal prompt would look like, “How Can I Elevate Getting Ready in the Morning in Beautiful, Yet Simple Ways?” Then list all of the ideas of your dream morning of getting ready and start to work some of the ideas into your routine. Maybe you want it to be calmer and to be able to move at a slower pace, or maybe you want it to be feminine and stylish like in the opening scene of The Devil Wears Prada. Find what speaks to you in all the everyday moments of your life and begin to elevate them in beautiful, yet simple ways.
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