We talk a lot on GenTwenty about the idea of romanticizing your life. Whether it’s in general, throughout the seasons, or more, we’ve helped you do it. Today I want to take a different approach and give you some resources and items that help romanticize life that I use in my own life. If you’ve had a hard time romanticizing your life, or aren’t sure how to do it, let this be your guide.
Why You Should Romanticize Your Life
Romanticizing your life is about much more than buying flowers for yourself every week. Even more than creating a whole vibe with your dinner. It’s about intentionality.
When you do things like adding eucalyptus in your shower or get dressed up for no other reason than because you want to. Or, creating a playlist for when you are cooking dinner, you are creating beauty in the mundane.
In my experience it helps me appreciate the small things more. I don’t have to live a life full of big adventures when I’m being intentional about making memories in the small moments too.
Books And Products That Help Me Romanticize My Life
Now let’s get to the resources! In no particular order. Here are the books and products that have helped me romanticize my life, as well as ones I’m looking forward to trying.
5 Books To Help You Embrace The Every Day Romance
These books are all about how to live intentionally. Whether it’s by slowing down and appreciating life more, or by focusing on the good each day, you’ll learn it all through this list.
1) Daily Glimmers by Bridget McNulty
In case you didn’t know, glimmers are “micro-moments of joy that make us feel happy, hopeful, and safe.” In the book Daily Glimmers the author shares examples of glimmers you can look for each day, broken up by seasons. I love that it’s a small book, so you can take it with you anywhere. It is wonderful as a reminder to look for the glimmers in everyday life.
2) Romanticize Your Life: 365 Simple Ways to Embrace the Beauty of Every Day by Harper Celebrate
If you are looking for ways to start romanticizing your life, but you don’t know where to start, this book is for you. Romanticize Your Life will give you ideas for doing exactly that in a multitude of different categories. Some of those are self care, nature, creating, and more.
3) An Intentional Life: A Guide To A Slower And More Peaceful Existence by Kathryn Bardsley
As I mentioned above, the way to romanticize your life is to be more intentional with everyday tasks and happenings. The book An Intentional Life discusses this in much detail. If you live your life on autopilot more often than not, you need this book.
4) The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary by Catherine Gray
One of the biggest reasons why I love the idea of romanticizing your life is because it gives excitement to even the most simple life. It’s especially for those of us that aren’t going through major life events, taking big adventures, and have access to exciting events.
It’s truly helped me be more content with the little life I’ve created for myself. The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary goes deeper on this concept. Helping you to see the joy that is available in the ordinary too.
5) Glimmers: How to Find Pockets of Joy in Every Day by Hayley Doyle
I had to include another book about Glimmers because I just love the concept so much. In this book you’ll learn how to recognize the glimmers all around you. Glimmers gives you exercises and checklists so that you can start finding the glimmers in your life.
10 Items That Will Help You Romanticize Your Life
I’m not suggesting that you go out and buy all the items on this list. What I do hope you take away from this list is how a seemingly simple object can help you transform the moment you are in if you think about it right.
Once you finish reading this list I want you to think of how you can romanticize your life in certain ways through certain objects. You’ll find that it is all about intentionality.
1) Facial Steamer
There are some nights where I feel like elevating my skincare time. Doing this truly makes it feel like I’m at a spa. One of the things I use to do that is a facial steamer. There are great benefits to using a steamer before doing your skincare routine.
A big one is that it allows your skincare products to penetrate your skin better. Using a facial steamer has helped me truly set the mood. This kind of item that helps romanticize life allows me to be more intentional with my nighttime skincare routine.
2) Spotify (Or Other Music Service)
I’m a firm believer that music makes everything better. Cleaning the house? Why do that in silence when you can jam out to throwback hits? Getting ready for date night? A confidence boosting dance party is a must!
I literally have a playlist for everything and I do think it has made a difference in my life. If you don’t like creating playlists yourself, try searching for a good playlist using Spotify’s, or wherever you listen to music, search bar.
3) A Disco Ball
If you know me you know that I love anything sparkly. However, a disco ball isn’t just for pretty decor. This shiny ball can bring an illuminating glow to any room and is an item that can bring you a fun element that will help with romanticizing life.
I love how it reflects light in my room on a sunny day. It makes my room feel whimsical and it’s one of those tiny things that bring me joy. A glimmer if you will.
4) Fairy Lights
We’ve covered daytime lighting, now let’s talk about mood boosting lighting for the night. For that I turn to fairy lights. Hanging these around my room to shine at night makes my room feel infinitely more cozy. Try hanging up some of your own and see how you feel after.
5) Fancy Plateware
Whether you are eating by yourself, or with others, you deserve a nice meal. Dress up your meal and elevate the mood by using fancier dinnerware.
Think of it as an Instagram-worthy place setting, without the need to actually post it. This kind of item may not seem like an obvious way to help you romanticize life. But, just do it for fun and enjoyment for yourself.
6) Journals
As a writer it probably comes as no shock to you that I love to write. Which means I get a big dopamine boost going down the school/office supply aisles and looking at all the notebook options. I have blank journals, guided journals, and even a bullet journal.
Having an item like this around knowing I can pick one up anytime I have something on my mind is another thing that makes me happy. Retelling your day in a journal entry is great for romanticizing life. It can also help you find things you enjoyed about your day.
7) Weekly Flowers
It took me way too long to start buying flowers for myself “just because.” So now I make up by trying to buy myself flowers once a week, or at least every other week. There is something about seeing a bright bouquet of flowers sitting on the table that lifts my mood.
8) Polaroid Camera
Another way to document your memories and give them more importance in your life is by taking polaroid pictures. Something about these types of pictures feel nostalgic as well as more intentional. They definitely bring a fun vibe to any gathering or even normal everyday activities.
9) Tub Caddy
Having a tub caddy is a great way to uplevel a relaxing bath. The options are endless with what to put on them. Fill the tray with candles to set a more relaxed and intimate mood, grab your favorite comfort read and a glass of wine, or even your iPad so you can watch your favorite show.
Taking something simple, like a bath, and turning it into something much more is what romanticizing your life is all about.
10) Seasonal Candles/Wax Melts
As we close up this list I’m sharing one of the simplest ways to create a vibe that you can romanticize, and that is through scent. Leaning into each season is a great way to romanticize your life and get the best vibes out of the seasons.
One of my favorite ways to do this is by making sure my candles and wax melts all match to scents that define each season. For example in the fall I love apple scents and sometimes pumpkin ones as well, winter is my peppermint and winter berry era, spring is all about floral scents, and summer is met with beachy and fruity scents.
A Wrap for Now on Embracing the Romance of Life
I hope you enjoyed this post and are making plans to start romanticizing your life more. Let me know in the comments what items you use, and books you’ve read that have helped you with this.
About the Author
Kelly graduated from Liberty University with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations and a minor in Journalism. Even though it took her a little while to find her career path, she was always meant to be in Communications. She remembers writing poems and songs when she was a little girl and pitching to my parents the reasons why I should have a cell phone when I was a teenager. She currently has a blog (budding-joy.com) where she talks about her weight-loss journey, mental health and personal development. Her hope is to encourage and inspire readers and let them know they are not alone. Reading blog posts like that are what helped her in tough times and she wants to pay it forward. She loves dance fitness, listening to music, and creating layouts in her bullet journal. She's a big fan of planning, especially when cute notebooks and pens are involved. Her dream job has changed so much over the years; right now she'd love to co-own a dance studio.
Website: budding-joy.com