How To Romanticize Your Life (Even When You’re Broke Or Tired)
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Wondering how to romanticize your life seems to be a common theme these days. We humans are hungry for something more. More than the same ol’, same ol’. Having moved to Spain, I have learned a little something about this. So let’s dive in to how you can do this no matter where you live, how much money you have, or how tired you feel.
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My life in Spain
Living abroad isn’t always a postcard. Like anything in life, it has it’s ups and it’s downs. Being the daughter of Germany immigrants, I have a healthy respect for what my grandmother and mother went through after the second world war. Starting a new life in America was not an easy feat.
Now that I’m an immigrant myself, I have a newfound respect for what they went through. For the types of adjustments they had to make. No, life isn’t always easy in a new country. But that’s okay.
Why Did I Move To Spain?
For the beauty. For the slower pace of life. For the adventure. I was a new empty nester and I knew I had two choices. Sit at home in Maine and rot, or get on a plane and have an adventure. I chose the latter.
Some people say I’m brave, and I understand why they say that. Some say it was stupidity, and I can get behind that too. But for me, it was a “sink-or-swim” situation. I had hit a dead end and desperately needed to shake my life up a bit. And boy did I shake it!
The first 7 months felt like an endless vacation. Nothing felt real. Once I got over the stress of arriving and getting settled, things slowed way down. I was surrounded by epic, Mediterranean beauty, enjoying incredible food, and making new, lifelong friendships.
But now that the “honeymoon phase” is over, some days feel heavy, and that’s okay too. But what helps me most, is to try and find the little things in my day to romanticize.
Learning how to romanticize your life isn’t about having an endless source of money or energy to do extravagant things. It’s about presence. About slowing down. About noticing the small things.
So I thought I would share with you some simple, real ways you can infuse softness and magic into your everyday moments, just like I do. Because it has saved my sanity more than once.
Why Romanticizing Matters
Romanticizing your life isn’t about aesthetics for Instagram. It’s about emotional richness that is just for you.
This mindset shift has helped me view my whole life in a new light, especially during low moments.
The whole overarching theme of Lazy Girl Travel is to enjoy low-effort, high-feeling, sensory pleasure over hustle. Yes, that includes travel. But it doesn’t have to. In fact, you can fully romanticize your life sitting at home on your couch. Believe me, I’ve done it!
How To Romanticize Your Life (Even When You’re Broke Or Tired)
Here’s what I do to make my life a little more magical. And at the end of this, you’ll find a free download with suggestions to help you do the same.
☕ Café con Leche Mornings
I love coffee (and sometimes tea). I start every morning with a cup of something warm For me, that means brewing my coffee with ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves mixed into the grounds (Please only do this if you use a paper filter. The spices can clog other types of machines). Then I warm up some oat milk and add that to my freshly brewed coffee with a bit of sweetener. It not only wakes me up, but the spices sooth my soul in the process.
Why It Matters: Starting your day with a “ritual” is a great way to start your day intentionally. It gives you a few moments to stop, wake up, get your brain moving, and consider how to best approach your day.
👗 Wearing the Dress Anyway
While work may come with dress requirements, that doesn’t mean you can’t dress things up. Dressing your absolute best is a wonderful way to feel your best. Or better still, on a weekend day, get completely dressed up just for yourself and take yourself out on a date. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Get a coffee, and take a walk in a local park or even through a local mall or shopping center to window shop.
Why It Matters: Feeling really great about how you look should never need a reason. Do it for you. Do it for joy. Do it for the feeling. That’s all the reason you need!
📸 Turning Walks Into Film Stills
Get your brain away from social media, and take some photos for you. Not Instagram! Take photos for the feeling, not the likes. Use editing software as a way to honor your view of the world. Put a vintage spin on one photo, and a more modern spin on another. Documenting your life and things you enjoy should be routine, whether you share them on social media or not.
Why It Matters: Taking photos of the little things you notice forces you to slow down and appreciate the small things. Enjoy that sunset, photograph that pigeon, snap that delicious sandwich you made, and document your park stroll. Noticing the small things is the best way to remember gratitude for the life you already have and gets you away from thinking you need something different to be happy.
🍷 Balcony Wine & Unread Pages
So admittedly, I do not drink. But I can fully appreciate the feeling that comes with a good glass of wine. The thing about enjoying a drink like this is, it naturally romanticizes the moment. Now down misunderstand me. I’m not promoting alcohol or insinuating that you need it to enjoy a moment. What I’m saying is, little things like a glass of wine (or a cup of tea), can force you to slow down long enough to breath, rest, and recuperate after a long day.
Why It Matters: Letting the act of “showing up” be enough at any given moment is a fabulous way to be grateful for the moment. To truly sit in a moment without a phone or other distraction and just focus on the drink in front of you. It pulls you into the moment like no other, and that is a critical skill for romanticizing your life.
🌅 Sunset Perfume & Kitchen Dancing
Scent is an absolute mood changer. Whether it’s your favorite perfume, incense, or sachet of dried herbs, a good aroma can change your whole day with one whiff. It’s a great way to get into the mood required to romanticize any moment of your day.
Music is another way to do this. Putting on a song that really moves you and swaying to the beat in your kitchen can completely turn your day around. Combine both a good smell and a good song, and you’ve just romanticized the heck out of the moment in a way you won’t soon forget.
Why It Matters: Here again, it’s about slowing down and noticing the moment. Seeing that you don’t have to spend a ton of money or even get on a plane to experience something wonderful in your day. In fact, moments like this can literally mean the difference between living and simply surviving.
Tips for Creating Your Own Lazy Girl Rituals
So let’s recap a bit. How can you create your own daily rituals that make life a bit more magical without spending a ton of money or needing a lot of energy?
- Choose a signature scent and use it often.
- Make one area in your home feel like a sanctuary. Even if it’s small with just one candle. Make it special for yourself.
- Create a playlist that matches your ideal daydream and play it often.
- Start your morning with light, warmth, or silence, and don’t forget a warm drink to get you started.
- Find beauty in something ordinary (like laundry on the line or coffee foam art). Noticing the little things will make life happier.
Permission To Be Soft
These days, it’s so easy to get caught up in the rat race. Many work two or more jobs just to make ends meet. Most things are getting more expensive, and time is always at a premium. With so much coming at us all day, every day, for our own sanity, we need to take these moments, no matter how brief, to collect ourselves and gain some mental clarity and stability.
- You don’t need to wait until your life looks “better” to enjoy it.
- Sensuality, beauty, and joy aren’t earned, they are claimed.
- Even the quietest, messiest days can hold romance, and it’s critical that you find it.
In Closing
This is the “Lazy Girl Way” that I’m creating for myself here in Spain. It’s not performative, and it’s definitely not perfect. But it’s critical for my mental health, and I’m sure it is for most people as well. You aren’t actually being lazy. You’re just learning to live gently and truthfully. To see the beauty in the mundane.
Free Download
If you want to give this a shot but need a little help, here is a free download with a list of ideas to get you started, as well as room to write down a few of your own ideas that are specific to your own life an lifestyle.
⭐ Download Your Freebie Here ⭐
I hope you discover tons of romance in your life!
