Sunday Vanity: Relaxation

Hello my lovely Narcissists and welcome to another Sunday Vanity. If you remember last week we talked about inspirations that will help us prepare for the week to come, as Mondays are just those days when you get back into your real life routine. I must admit that this week was quite great for me, I don't know if the inspirational post helped yet somehow it all turned out great, and I had a great time, I also managed to be productive and get some studying done as well as plan and post some posts. All in all it was a fantastic week and I can only hope that this one will be just as good, if not better.

Before we get started on this week's Sunday Vanity however, I would like to announce something. I decided to turn this weekly series into something a little bit more interesting. Sunday Vanity will from now on forward stop being just my own little series of post and it will hopefully turn into a good link-up series that I wish will inspire some of you to take your Sundays and turn them into a day just about you. Below at the end of the post you will see some ground rules that are probably a necessity to keep things running as smoothly as possible and turning this series into a form of communication and bonding between blogs and bloggers.

Sunday Vanity is now a LINK-UP SERIES.

This week in the Sunday Vanity series I would like to talk about RELAXATION. I don't know about you but during the week for me things can get quite busy, especially with classes, exams and essays, just all in all your usual college stuff, and therefore when the weekend comes I find myself craving some quality relaxation time. Luckily I have a fabulous group of friends that keep me from losing my mind during the week with our coffee meetings at the usual cafe, yet as fun as hanging out with them is, during the weekends I still need that alone time that allows me to just take a moment and breathe in and breathe out. Personally I find Sundays just the perfect day for that, wouldn't you agree? So let's see what helps me personally take a moment and breathe.

1. Going to the coffee shop alone. There is something incredibly calming in sitting down at your favourite coffee shop all by yourself. It is something that I used to do very frequently before moving to the city for college, and it hasn't been until just a few days ago that I rediscovered my love for this particular activity, or you know whatever you call it. Sometimes I would take a book with me and spend an hour or so reading while I sip on my coffee of choice, other times I would even take my laptop or notebook with me and write. In fact sitting alone in a coffee shop can be very inspirational at times. But even if I do sit down without my laptop or notebook or even without a book, it will still be a very calming time. 

2. Listening to music. Well, this one is quite obvious, am I right? Who doesn't love to take some time off and put on their favourite album and listen to it for hours in a row? Just a few days ago I had one of those I really really really need new music moments in my life and spent about two hours browsing iTunes for something enjoyable. Luckily I ended up with quite a few new albums, though I must admit that only one of those ended up being on repeat. And that is the new You Me At Six album titled Cavalier Youth. You can listen to their latest single from the same album titled Lived a Lie on YouTube here. 

3. Reading a book. Again a very typical one, though I just couldn't not mention it, you know? I have to admit though that lately I have been very lazy when it comes to books and I haven't read nearly as much as I would have liked to. Currently I'm reading After Dark by Haruki Murakami, who is — if you are curious — my all-time favourite author. Actually it was quite entertaining when yesterday I was reading that same book in a coffee shop sipping my coffee and in the book one of the main character does exactly the same. Except she was interrupted by a guy and I had no such luck myself, boo hoo. :( An honourable mention goes to a book that I read before starting this one and I read it one day, I just could not put it down. The book is actually by my very good friend Henry Noir and is titled Other Lives. I'm not sure if she will decide to sell them or anything but if she does I will let you all know. 

4. Writing. Just as with reading, my writing has suffered greatly in the last couple of months and after my exams it would be just about time that I start up on that again, huh? The entire writing process calms me immensely, as it also helps me develop a different perspective on life and current things that are happening around me at that particular moment. Sometimes I would write a simple short story, perhaps with no planning whatsoever, just that little spark of inspiration and words will flow and my mind will clear itself. Currently I'm working on my novel and although I haven'd finished it in scheduled time, I will make sure to continue and finish it as soon as possible.

5. Coffitivity. I find this page to be God sent, I swear. What it does is that it generates an automatic coffee shop sound to boost your creativity. At first I thought it was silly, you know? But god damn was I very very wrong! I didn't expect it to deliver such a believable sound and yet when I turn it on it makes me feel like I'm actually sitting in a coffee shop even though I'm wearing my PJs in my room. They also have an Android App, an iPhone and iPad app as well as a Mac desktop app, which is the one I'm using most of the time. Check their site and I'm sure you won't regret it!

SUNDAY VANITY FREEBIE - WALLPAPER

Because I started this little series I decided to perhaps spark up your interest with a little freebie wallpaper. I saw some graphic design blogs doing these and since I myself am studying graphic design I thought I might give it a go as well, you know? In the spirit of the Sunday Vanity series and what it stands for, I did a little inspirational quote wallpaper that you can download for free just by clicking the picture above. I think it's very important to love yourself before you start loving anyone else, and sometimes we forget that which is why a friendly wallpaper reminder comes in handy. Hope you enjoy it. 

1. Share your own Sunday Vanity posts with the link-up tool below. It doesn't have to be a relaxation themed one, or anything that I have done, as long as it keeps with the theme of the Sunday Vanity series, which is YOURSELF. 

2. Link back to this blog, either using the badge below or just by putting in a text link somewhere in your post.