Happy long weekend! Labor Day Weekend is awesome for so many reasons. It’s the last bash of summer, the commencement of fall, the beginning of PSL season, + so full of Labor Day Sales that you’ve got no choice but to #TreatYoSelf. My bestie Christina + her hubs just left our house after a loooooong, fabulous Labor Day Weekend together at our casa. OMG. What a joy. There’s just something so insanely wonderful about friends who will drive 9 hours to spend time together. Throughout the entire weekend, I was just trying to soak up the moments, especially since it’s oftentimes months in between when we get to spend quality time together in person like that.

This phrase has been on my heart all weekend, so it only made sense to Monday Mantra it up.

“Take the Time.”

More Monday Mantras here.

Oftentimes, I think we tend to take time for granted. We spend time with friends, but we spend it on our phones. We figure we’ll see people again, so we don’t necessarily feel the urgency in really squeezing out every possible second together. Instead, we halfass our way through get-togethers, intermittently checking notifications + refreshing inboxes in case something “important” comes up.

We forget that spending time with our friends + loved ones IS the important thing. Everything else can actually wait.

Actually. It can.

In today’s society, we’re conditioned to believe that our notifications control us. An “urgent” email means we should stop everything else in life. Repeated phone calls mean it just can’t wait. While sometimes this might totally be the case and something really can’t wait, oftentimes…it can. We take the time for things that we think matter in life, oftentimes forgetting that they’re not necessarily what really matters in the long game.

In this gogogo world of dinging phones + perpetual stimulation, don’t forget to take the time.

Take the time…to spend time – unplugged! – with friends. Put the phone down. Put the phone down in another room. Talk. Ask Q’s. Learn new things. Have deep conversations about things that matter to you.
Take the time…to journal yo’ thoughts. Write down words. Write down feelings. Get to know yourself repeatedly. You are always changing, always growing, always blossoming into your best self.
Take the time…to call your grandparents. Tell them you love them.
Take the time…to go on walks outside (also unplugged). Stop + smell the roses. 😉
Take the time…to clean the house. The whole house. No more shoving things under rugs or in closets (guilty).
Take the time…to identify what really matters to you. In life, in friendships, in work, in play. In future homes, in pairs of jeans, in liquid lipsticks, in cups of coffee.
Take the time…to learn something new. Something new to cook, or an instrument to play, or a new style to wear. (Here a few trends to try right now!)
Take the time…to chat with neighbors. You might have really cool people all around you.
Take the time…to read a book. Justbecause. I’m SO so bad at this, but I’m hereby solemnly swearing to be more intentional about it and make it happen. Hold me to it?
Take the time…to purge yo’ life. Of anything that no longer serves you, or brings you joy. Ala The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
Take the time…to call people. Instead of texting, pick up the phone, throw in headphones, and TALK. Have personal conversations instead of impersonal texted words. Hear someone’s voice + get to know what *really* makes them LOL. 😉
Take the time…to get organized. Loose papers, random knick knacks, piles of clothings…organize it all.
Take the time…to pick up some fall candles from Bath & Body Works as soon as they’re half-off. Thank me later.
Take the time…to get one step closer to a really big dream. Write down the dream, work backwards, and figure out one thing – just ONE thing! – that you can do TODAY to bring you a lil’ bit closer to that finish line.
Take the time…to treat yo’self.

Which can start right here…

LOFT – FLASH SALE!!!

Top Picks: Fiesta Dress, Prettiest gauze scarf, Stock up on these!

NORDSTROM – Up to 40% off!

Top Picks: These booties, This twisted everyday top, Hunter rain boots!

MISSGUIDED – 50% off Everything [CODE: AMERICANGIRL]

Top Picks: These sweaters! (I have a few already + have more in my cart – SUCH good prices even normally, and with 50% off?!? Some are literally $12. *all the heart eyes*)