Little Life Upgrades for Daily Happiness
Cashmere knitwear and cashmere homewares by Nuan Cashmere
In a life imitating art kind of way, our search for daily happiness could be descried, in Tamagotchi terms (or The Sims for a profoundly close approximation), as fulfilling various need gauges, of which ‘bladder’ is inevitably one, and, no less importantly, ‘comfort’ and ‘fun’, are others. When you slog a day job that you just can’t wait to leave behind on a Friday afternoon, weekends are sacred. Neglect them and something has got to give somewhere, and enriching them is made infinitely easier with certain upgrades. Be it the metaphorical in-app purchase or the literal polyester to cashmere switch, ‘little life upgrades’ are those extras and improvements to your daily life that might at first be considered unnecessarily luxuries, but will bring more happiness than the material cost. Here are a few rules I live by.
1 Luxe loungewear
Even though we spend our most prized leisure time in loungewear, for many of us, our loungewear wardrobes are the final destinations of all poor retail choices, from the ill-conceived floral leggings to the innumerate stretched-beyond-recognition tees. But let me just put it out there, you haven’t lived until you’ve spent all morning in a heavenly-soft cashmere dressing gown, or stepped out into a crisp Sunday afternoon snuggly wrapped up in a chunky scarf.
2 The grownup bed linen
There was a time when – thanks to a sort of ‘poor-student-Stockholm-syndrome’ – punishing myself via such penny-pinching options as ‘luncheon meat’ that disturbingly resembled dog food in aisle opposite, and collection day furniture upon which pens forever rolled thither, yielded a perverse sense of satisfaction. So the symbolic appeal of buying my first 800 thread count Egyptian cotton sheet set seemed like the graduation into adulthood that rivalled even making my first mortgage repayment. Soft furnishings are now a little life upgrade I’ll always invest in. My new obsession is cashmere everything, from throws to cushion covers – visually luxurious and also gratifying to the touch.
3 Buying for now
While wastefulness and empty extravagance are very un-Beige Renegade, so is the idea that the best of everything must be foregone for an illusory rainy day, of opting for a cheaper or disposable alternative, on the logic that we’ll buy something nice ‘later’. It’s the plastic flowers instead of fresh, because they will just wilt, and the polyester sweater instead of wool, because it would just get ruined anyway. But these are most likely false economies. You will spend as much on replacing poorly made imitations as you might have on buying the real deal in the first place.
As for some little life upgrades that I have never regretted:
- Choose only natural fibres for your clothing and soft furnishings
- Make up a beautiful bed with layers of pillows and cushions
- Buy the best airtight containers for your cupboard
- Switch your K-mart mugs with a bone china tea set
- Buy high quality scented candles for every room (and don’t be afraid to burn them)
- Collect artwork that lifts your mood
- Buy books in their hard cover versions
- Splurge on quality German or Japanese steel knives
- Invest in quality basics, like lingerie and tee shirts – they are more comfortable and will last longer
- Instead of repurposing old clothes to wear around the house, buy luxe loungewear that you won’t be embarrassed to step out in
- Hand down your drawer full of costume jewellery to your niece, and get a few ‘signature’ pieces in gold or silver
Featured in this editorial:
Clothing:
Nuan Cashmere Luxury Robe
Nuan Cashmere Hand Knit Cable Sweater
Nuan Cashmere Coco Infinity Scarf
Nuan Cashmere Leather Accented Poncho
Homewares:
Nuan Cashmere King Size Throw
Nuan Cashmere Large and Lumbar Knit Cushions
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Great post and beautiful photos!
Yes, yes and yes. You are a woman with the same thoughts on investing in quality items. Down to the luxe mattress and Japanese knives. It is likely the reason I have collected bits and pieces for our home slowly. I have a list of the essentials I need, but have taken time to make sure the purchases are the best quality I can afford and long lasting. Of course, it goes without saying they are also rather minimal and classic to last longer. Besides a couple of ‘travel’ and antique pieces I have collected (DON’T LET ME IN AN ANTIQUE STORE!) it is all clean and classic around here. I am OBSESSED with Le Creuset for our cookware and even mugs and black and white Missoni towels for a little something different!
These photos are beautiful J, I love the look of the cashmere robe too, it would just be so lush! I’ll have to check them out. Thank you!
xx Jenelle
http://www.inspiringwit.com/
Your legs are so beautiful.
So cool!
Love,
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Simply beautiful
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While this is aesthetically pleasing to look at and read about, science is against you and all the esteemed happiness you can get from your luxurious purchases, my friends, which the exception of the maybe the high quality sheets.
Haha I completely see where you are coming from Amanda! But I think the point I was making was not that luxury purchases will bring happiness. What I am trying to say is that our wasteful consumerist culture encourages us to choose cheaper and poorer quality alternatives for our households, which we think is helping to save money, but are essentially false economies. On top of this, we often underestimate the positive effects a beautiful home environment can have on our mood, which in turn affect all other aspects of our lives.
Beautiful pictures! ❤
Xx
http://www.idressfortheapplause.com
this is such a lovely article!
Fash ‘n’ fudge
Fash ‘n’ fudge
Very beautifully written! This has inspired me now to be on the hunt for some luxurious lounge wear!
Love this, but probably tricky with pets. Will definitely have to tick with non-shedding dogs, lol
Great list! It’s the little things that really make your day easy!
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http://www.fashionnotfear.wordpress.com
I am totally in on getting scented candles and books with hard covers. Also your pictures are great again. They is so much grey in it and they’re aesthetically subtle to look at.
You certainly have a unique way of writing. And thanks for the tips!
xo Margaret
http://www.maleemaleehong.com