I work fulltime, I’ve got three kids, a husband, a houshold to run and a blog to keep… so you can imagine that I really need to unwind regularly! In today’s post I give you some tips on how to relax after a week of hard work…

1.At home spa treatment

One of the things I love doing to relax is doing an at home spa treatment. I usually do this once a week and in the colder months this ‘spa treatment’ is extended with a long hot and bubbly bath.

Oh how I love these relaxing times… and I can say in all honesty that I really take my time! I start with removing all make-up, followed by a scrub and a face mask. I often scrub my body too, to get rid of all death skin cells. Here you can read a post of an ‘at home facial’.

Then I fill my bath with piping hot water and some lovely smelling bath foam. I light some candles, put on some relaxing jazz and pour out a glass of wine. I then soak in my bath for at least 45 minutes after which I take a short, lukewarm shower. As a hot bath dries out my skin, I rub my body with a body oil. On my face I use some mink oil.

I certainly feel relaxed after all this!

2.Read a book

I do read more these days than I used to and that has to do with my book club!

I love reading, but I just didn’t come around to doing it. But now I have to read my books for the book club gatherings.  I love being able to shut myself down from everything and everyone and live the life of the characters in my books. At night, I put my cellphone away and I try to read about 50 pages… pure bliss… pure relaxation! And I am so glad I ‘have’ to read now as I get so much out of it…

3.Bingewatch your favourite show 

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about my favourite Netflix series (here you can read about some Netflix must-sees). Once I start watching a series that I’m really into, I can’t help myself… ‘one is none’ is my motto so I try to see at least 2 episodes to really get into the story! So if you’ve got any tips… bring them on!

4.Spring walk

I like walking around in a town. Strolling around, doing some window shopping, going through a park, ending up at an outdoor terrace to have a coffee or a glass of wine…

I also like walking around in nature. I don’t do that very often I must say, but whenever I do, I have such a satisfied feeling! When on holiday, we always do some walking tours in the neighbourhood we’re staying. One of my favourite tours was one in the Peak District of which I made this post and of which you can see above picture.

But you don’t have to be on holiday to do a walk in nature. Right at my doorstep is a great piece of nature, ready to be explored. It’s only a couple of kilometres, but it’s just fabulous to see nature changing during the different seasons. I’m sure that wherever you live, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to do a little refreshing and relaxing walk!

5.Catch up with a good friend

I can get so much energy out of catching up with some good friends! It is so important to keep those friendships alive!

Meet up at a bar or at someone’s home, grab a bite to eat, do some games together, reminisce over a photo album of a trip you once did, do some shopping together,… just enjoy eachother’s company. You’ll get so much out of an afternoon off, I swear 🙂

On the picture above, you see me with my best friend Katrien, enjoying Paris and enjoying eachother’s company. Every blonde needs a brunette right 🙂 Here you can read about that amazing daytrip we had to Paris!

6.Have a nice family evening

One more way on how I like to relax is enjoying a family night… my 3 kids, my husband and I, all gathered around the dining room table…using the good crockery and cutlery, drinking out of the crystal glasses, lighting some candles, some soft jazz in the background (which always is a topic of discussion as I am the only one that actually likes jazz 🙂 ), enjoying a fine meal and a nice dessert,…

And our family diner always ends up in doing a boardgame or playing some cards. How I love these evenings, they are so precious to me! I made it a resolution in 2016 to do this regularly and it’s a resolution I could stick to with ease ànd it’s one that I have continued in 2017. Best way to give me energy! Here you can read my thoughts on a quote about togetherness and here is one about quality time with the family.

And you… how do you like to relax? Let me know in the comments as I’m always eager to learn new ways on how to relax 🙂

Love, Kathleen