Off the Shoulder Dress {Sold out, but obsessed with this one, this chambray one and this beachy one here}  // Tory Burch Envelope Purse // J.Crew Lace Up Flats {similar here and here on sale!} // Gorjana Necklace

Everyone feeling the love after yesterday’s heart-a-palooza aka, Valentine’s Day? I hope you all had a celebration – whether it was with your main squeeze or included enjoying wine, chocolate and drawing yourself a bubble bath to give yourself a little TLC. Tom and I enjoyed a romantic night out at Mott Street, one of our favorite restaurants in Chicago, and it’s safe to say we’re both extra full today after devouring chicken wings, noodle dishes and their insane dumplings. Delicious food is always the way to my heart, and Mott Street definitely delivered. I hope you felt the love no matter how you celebrated too!

I’ve had quite a few posts about giving yourself a little love lately, and maybe it’s because it’s because Valentine’s Day was right around the corner – but I think we can always use the reminder, especially during the colder, terrible winter weather. And one other thing we can always use a reminder {I might be talking to myself here, but still…} is that it’s always important to give yourself a break too. In a world where we’re always celebrating the hustle {and somehow the mantra “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” is still used?!}, sometimes we just need to give ourselves permission to slow down and take a much needed break. A few years ago, I nearly had a breakdown because I was so tired, overworked and taking on way more than anyone can chew – I’m sure you can relate to the feeling. Besides working full time, and blogging, and balancing a relationship and friendships, I also had half a dozen on-going freelance projects that I loved, but pretty much were slowly pushing me over the edge. I had late week nights, worked all weekend and had a few irrational crying spells a week where I just was so overwhelmed that I could barely handle everything on my plate. It was bad, real bad – and I finally realized that I couldn’t handle it all without completely losing my mind. So I quit the things I didn’t love, and kept the things I did – and realized that even though I might not be making quite as much money, or hustling my booty off each day I was infinitely happier. Oh, and I finally started taking some much needed break too 🙂  I gave myself permission to slow down – enjoy exploring around Chicago and giving myself more reasons to travel too.  I unplugged {which by the way, is the most amazing thing to do at least a few times each month!}, I planned adventures, and I packed my bags so I could enjoy my much needed {and deserved!} time off. I used to be the type of person who always had vacation days at the end of the year that went totally unused – but now I’ve made it a priority to use them all up – and then some of  I can swing it.

And although it’s only February, I’ve already checked visiting my family in Florida off my list of places to go! I went a few weekends ago with my family and Tom, and it was exactly what I needed to take a break from work to relax and unplug. If you’ve ever been to Capitva Island or Sanibel in Southern Florida, you know it’s a magical place – and there’s just enough to do for a long weekend, but not too much that you can’t find the time to unwind. Even better, there’s terrible cell phone reception on the island, so even if you want to document everything on Instagram, you can’t! Weeeeeeee!  So I guess the moral of the story is, do what you love, cut what you don’t, and try not to loose your mind by doing way too much. It will push you over the edge and cause you to randomly cry at hardware stores…and yes, that definitely happened 😉

But maybe most importantly, in the world of feeling the pressure to hustle all day every day, give yourself permission to take a break. Go on a mini-vacation, make yourself a bubble bath, or indulge in a cupcake {or two!}. Whatever you need to do to take a break, give yourself permission to do just that – and do it often. You always deserve a little TLC and a break more often than you think!