happiness = waking up before the sun.

Thanks to Pinterest, I stumbled upon four beauty tips for women who normally don't [care].  While I was reading, I thought about my own self-care routine, and how much it's changed over the past few months.

All through college, getting ready took me ten to fifteen minutes.  That included everything between me turning off my alarm to me leaving my dorm for breakfast (or prepping it in my dorm, if I happened to be eating there).  On the whole, I was very low maintenance, and didn't put much thought into styling my hair or picking cute outfits.

And then there's my self-care routine now.  The two biggest changes that I've noticed revolve around my hair and my clothes.

Hair
I love to curl my hair.  Sometimes I use a heated curling iron, and sometimes I use the no-heat method that Nish Happens mentions (and it's pictured at left!).  The latter is typically more difficult because my hair is extraordinarily heavy and thick, but I love the result and it's less damaging than blasting my hair with a hair dryer and curling iron.

And, I can get away with cleansing my hair only every other day (which is apparently standard for many women, but I had no idea).  About a year ago, I switched from using shampoo and conditioner to using a mixture of water and baking soda for shampoo and water and apple cider vinegar for conditioner.  For me, the results were immediate--my scalp isn't oily at the end of the day, I save time by not washing it daily, and I noticed that my hair has a lot more volume and feels lighter.  Plus, I feel better about the products I'm using (and they're cheaper).

Clothes
My standard college ensemble consisted of jeans and a shirt or layered shirts.  Flats, flip flops, and sneakers were the norm.

Now, I still wear jeans (and I think I will always be a fan of layering shirts), but I put a lot more thought into the shoes I'm going to wear, how I'm going to accessorize (I love learning different ways to tie scarves), and what hairstyle looks best.  Some of my friends here have never seen me in sneakers or wearing a hoodie (but you'd be hard-pressed to find one of my college friends who hasn't).

Reflecting, I wondered why I suddenly don't mind spending half an hour drying my hair, or why I suddenly take pleasure in getting ready for the day.

And I realized, it's because I'm really happy.

I take pride in looking my best, both for myself and for my husband, and I enjoy taking that time in the mornings.  I even wake up (normally) between 5:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. to exercise and feed the dogs, and I'm happy about it.  Which is really weird if you consider the fact that I hated waking up at 6:30 in the morning to catch the bus for school, and I even thought that 8 a.m. classes were early when I was in college.  But now?  Push-ups at 5:30 for the fun of it?  Holding a plank while the dogs lick my face/nip my hands because they want to play?  Savoring a cup of tea before the sun rises, so I can dust the house?

Sounds like fun to me!