I save 100 dollars a month so I can go on a trip, once a year.I work hard, and that is what gets me up every morning. LOL Diana55

For years my little luxury has been nice bath soap. I think it started when I went to Great Britain in 1980 and I brought back lovely boxed bars of soap as gifts for my female friends and family. I enjoy them twice, first out of the box and wrapper to scent my clothes drawers and bed linens and again when using them in the shower everyday. The better quality soaps are hard milled and last longer as they don't dissolve as quickly as regular bath soap.

Teresa

Great question. I wish I had a better answer. I usually enjoy a glass of wine at night, by myself. I really want to take a free course at our local community college on the Constitution. Might be a bit of an issue with dh due to the night time classes. But that is what I would like to do for myself.
Jo

I did take a jewelry making/metalsmithing class this past fall at our local college and loved it and am already eyeing the woodworking class for fall 2010. It took me out of my normal routine and was totally rejuvinating to be back among co-eds LOL!

However, I love Claires idea of fresh flowers in the bath. I do have a nice flower garden and get cut flowers all spring and summer (and even inito the fall) but nothing is alive this time if year. I think I may pick up one of those grocery store bouquets next time I shop just for the bath - THANKS for the idea!

Alexa

I take trips to Chicago to visit my friend Peppi. DH and I don't take any big deal vacations anymore,and I am OK with that, but sometimes I need to get away. Peppi and her B&B (well, it seems like one) always opens her doors to me and plies me with wonderful food and wine. She sometimes calls up other cooking forum friends and has them come too. That, to me, is about the most special thing I can do for myself.

I thought I was the only one to think of flowers in the bathroom. Guess not! For me? Uh, I don't get to any more. Maybe when the son is more grown up. Until then, it's my cuppa every morning after getting him off to school and before work. That's almost too small to say what I do for myself.

Cultivate my female friendships.

I have a girls group I get together with monthly on the weekends and semi-monthly for a weeknight after work dinner.

I also have a female only annual sleep-over party which I've been doing for 17 years. It's a real blast and it has evolved into a wonderful event that people vye to get invited to.

A year and a half ago I had a girls only martini party. It was so much fun I'm doing another one in February and expanding the invitation list.

I love hanging with my husband and doing things as a couple, but getting together with girls only is one of the best for-me things I can think of. There's just something about the atmosphere of eating (which we always do), drinking (which we mostly do), laughing and talking all at once (which is impossible NOT to do) with the girls which can't be duplicated when the guys are around.

I know some of you think I am strange. :-)

My fantasy would be one day to win the LOtto, and go to the slum areas and hand out $100 bills to everyone.

That would really make my heart happy from the inside out, for a long long time, to see many joyful faces.

Wish me luck.

dcarch

P.S. and $100 for everyone here in the Cooking Forum :-)

Wow I just thought about this and I do a LOT for myself! hahah!

Definately trips to visit Cooking Forum friends!

One small thing is taking myself to lunch at new restaurants. Makes DH crazy because he will say, let's go to XXXX for dinner, they just opened. Nope, been there not worth going again. I miss this because for years I would organize lunch trips with colleagues from my office. I even had a "Wheel of Lunch". The designated spinner got two spins and could choose from the two selections. We also would qualify the selection: Anyone have time constrains? Money concerns? Dietary concerns?

I just got back from the grocery and my master bath is sporting a fresh new bunch of Alstromeria. No, they aren't fancy but they are fresh and put a smile on my face every time I see them. Thanks so much for the suggestion! You have made my week better already :-)

Alexa

CdL, that is a terrific question! Looking forward to seeing what others answer. Maybe I'll get some good ideas!

I'm the only person I know who likes hot tea, and I treat myself to good tea in good teacups. It's become a bit of a ritual. And, like Teresa, I treat myself to good bath soap. As a matter of fact, Sharon got me started on that when she included a bar of her favorite soap in a swap package! (And, Sharon, if you are reading this, WHAT was the name of that black soap? It was wonderful.) Shortly after that, I met a lady who made wonderful soaps, and she would make custom scented batches for me.

Our budget has been so tight for so long that I realized I had become a habitual abstainer from small pick-me-ups. DH will say that I have always been reluctant to do something just for myself, but I really had gotten uptight about it the last few years. I'm making a deliberate effort to change that. Everyone needs something to look forward to.

Teresa, that used to be mine, before I switched to fresh flowers! Oh, well, now that I think about it, it still is, even though I switched from bar to the liquid variety.

Jo, wine is good for you, and I love the idea of learning something new. I encourage you to do it if you can.

Alexa, that sounds fun. I used to take classes at the local community college and learned so many things. It's fun being in a classroom again, and being able to take away something new. My husband likes the flowers too, and has put them on our permanent shopping list. I cut flowers for the rest of my house when they're blooming, but still bring home that weekly bouquet. (Typically alstromeria, as they last the entire week.) Oh! That's funny, I just read your post...enjoy your new flowers. Those are among my favorites.

Rob, you deserve fresh flowers, especially now! Or at least maybe some chocolate to go with your cuppa...

May, that's a great thing to do. I only wish I had more girlfriends whose friendships I could cultivate. It seems most of mine live somewhere else, and at least a three day drive away.

Diana, Sherry and Cathy, that's something I'm hoping to do more this year. Traveling is always rejuvenating to me, and I'm ready to meet some of you face to face!

Dcarch, I hope you win!

Shaun, that's refreshing; it sounds like you don't need any help in that department, which is great.

I burn a candle in the bathroom when I'm getting ready for work in the morning. It's one of those big Yankee Candle jar candles that someone gave me as a gift. Makes me feel like I'm getting ready to go to a party, instead of work!

I buy a bunch of $7 to $10 flowers about every two weeks and put them in a vase behind my kitchen counter.

Lots of happiness for my bucks.

Adele

Oh! Virginia, I like that. I would always prefer to feel like I was getting reading for a party, so what a good idea!

Renee, you definitely need something to look forward to. A cup of hot tea is nice, but I want to hear what you're planning to do for yourself, please. Make it good...even your husband thinks you should.

This brings to mind a camping trip I took with my husband when we were first married. We were going to be gone for about six weeks, and money was tight. I splurged on a nice bar of soap even then. When we got to Maine, we chose to split a lobster (my first one ever); I remember I smelled good while I was eating it though. Ah...Aromatherapy, even while camping.

I bought a $40 bar of soap on the internet a couple of months ago. I'm usually pretty good about checking the dimensions when ordering stuff sight unseen. I received it and it was the size of a complementary bar of Motel 6 soap thus making it a really nice thing to do just for myself.

Turns out that it's terrific for your face!! And using it carefully twice a day, it lasts a couple of months.

Renee, assuming SharonCB not Sharon Chase - Magno soap? My mother's favorite. I have a few bars tucked away, I'll pull one out. I use hard soaps for my hands in the bathroom, I'm still working one one I brought back from the UK.

Here is a link that might be useful: Spanish Magno soap?

Jessy, you are a ace sleuth! Yes, that looks like it!

Mustangs, at that price for that size, it better last a couple months! LOL! Can't wait to tell my soapmaking friend about that one. She'll faint.

Claire, I'm honestly happy with treating myself to really good teas and quiet moments to enjoy them. The one thing the last 7-8 years have taught me is that all the self-indulgence imaginable doesn't hold a candle to a half hour completely free of stress. :)

Hmmm. I have regular pedicures. They are my one girlie indulgence. I keep a potted orchid in my bathroom and in the hall bath. Candles are a given. If I have a dinner companion at home I always light candles. I buy myself wine. Occasionally I go have a massage. I buy good aged cheeses. But now my kids have a taste for those, too!

The one thing I have done for years is make Wednesday ClaudiaÂs day. Other than making the bed I donÂt plan anything and do exactly whatever I want. At least once a month I take a walk down town and see whatÂs new in the antique shops. In the spring I sometimes sit in the park and watch the kayakers for a few hours. If I feel like making dinner I might if not we go out. Wednesdays are good days all year at my house.

About the only other thing I have ever done just for me was give myself permission to buy everything I always wanted when we remodeled the kitchen. It makes me smile every morning and I absolutely love cooking again. This will be my last kitchen so no more thinking I will do that get that in the next one itÂs done and I donÂt have to think about it anymore.

Claudia

I use philosophy skin care & Wildcrafted hair care. If my skin & hair are a mess I feel awful.

Also, DH has always been so generous & brings me unexpected presents frequently. Sometimes, they're small like lilies in February or a new book he thinks I'll enjoy. Sometimes, they're not so small like a beautiful new pair of 18k hoops or a fantastic piece of estate jewelry. With a DH like that I very very seldom feel a need to self-indulge. He always gives them to me in a fun way. Sometimes, he'll mail them from some weird town I've never heard of. Sometimes, he'll hide them in the bottom of my kitchen junk drawer. Once, it took me months to find a present he'd hidden. He's very patient waiting, waiting, & waiting for me to find his treasure. I'm SO LUCKY & BLESSED! (Hmmm, I need to thank him again today for being such a sweatheart!!)

Flowers in the bathroom is indeed a spirit lifter!

/tricia

Bean....yes Jessy's right, it was Magno soap that I sent you. I love the smell of that and take as many as I can to Canada with me as gifts when I go. They also make a shower gel in the same scent, but it somehow doesn't leave you smelling as good as the soap!

Another popular Spanish soap on that same page of La Tienda is MAJA, which is cream coloured and comes in a round shape in black and red paper. They advertise it as smelling of jasmine and roses but to me it smells of carnations, a very exotic scent. I've seen that one for sale in Canada.

Nice things I do just for myself....hmmm...I guess it could be wandering around the garden in the morning looking at the flowers, sitting in the sun and drinking a coffee alone with Bibi on my lap, while Wolf is still sleeping. Going to my Pilates class twice weekly and having coffee and lots of chatter afterward with my friends there. Lots to be thankful for.

SharonCb

I have to say that I certainly do not have an affinity for bath soaps, and I prefer unscented soap, and so I have a hard time relating to the fuss about bath soaps! I do like bubble baths, however.

Last week-end I did buy some new flowers to plant outside so that I will have a cheerful view from the patio window. I don't remember what they are called, but they have brilliantly colored flowers with yellow centers and leaves that look a bit like begonias. I already had pansies and floxgloves blooming, but the pansies were almost done. I should have bought some cymbidiums because they are relatively inexpensive and bloom outside here in the winter. I also bought some new Italian parsley and cilantro for my herb garden. They are all doing very well in the rain that we've been having. I generally do not keep flowers inside, except for orchids, and most of those I keep outside as well.

The other thing I did for myself was install the ceiling fan that I bought last summer in my bedroom. The previous ceiling fan had a remote control that did not work properly, and so it was extremely difficult to turn the light on in my bedroom. I had to walk across the room to turn on a lamp, but now I have a wall switch that works! I can't believe I took this long to do this, but with darker days, it seemed like a necessity.

Lars

Generally, I treat myself to some nice loose leaf tea, but recently I did a big, splurgy thing for myself.

Here at home I've used white Corelle dishes for decades of meals - 30+ yrs. Over the holidays my DS & his fiancee stayed with us and I prepared and served many lovely meals for them & other guests. Whenever I set the table I wished I had nicer plates to set off the food that I'd worked so hard to prepare.

So, last week I ordered 4 place settings of a Villeroy & Boch pattern that I've admired for a long time. The pattern is "Audun" and it goes really well with my kitchen and dining room. The cereal bowl has a little cow in it and makes me smile every morning when I eat my oatmeal from it.

I will add place settings as I can afford to, but for now DH & I can enjoy using these every day.

P.S. DD was delighted to inherit all the white Corelle! She's in the child-raising stage, and it will serve her well.

Naps. I take naps.
Pretty frequently, actually!
DH indulges and takes care of anything that comes up while I'm asleep.
I am fortunate that it's also a stress reliever for me.

Deanna

Lars, DH felt the same way, until I had my friend make him a batch of unscented ultra-rich goatsmilk soaps. :) Then he said, "OK, I get it now." Unfortunately our friend has moved overseas, so I either need to find someone else who will make them the way we like them or learn to do it myself.

Every once in awhile, I make myself for lunch whatever I want to eat. Usually a grilled steak and I eat the whole thing.
Dh is mostly vegetarian and I feel self conscious enjoying red meat in front of him.

Well, at first I thought the question was hard, because I don't get manicures, pedicures, facials. I don't like to shop, I never nap, I use Dial soap, I've had a couple of house fires so I never burn candles. Flowers are nice, but I usually walk right past them without even noticing. I go someplace warm with Elery in the winter because he wants to and I spend most of the time wishing I were back home.

Then I realized that I really do several nice things just for me. Like Sherry, I visit Peppi, or I visit Sherry or Nancy or go to a forum get together. Elery smiles and goes along, he loves Sherry and Roger and Kim and Nancy and says if he hadn't met me first, he'd marry Peppi, but it's still for me that we/I go.

I have stacks of cookbooks and cooking magazines all over the house and I'm constantly getting another one somewhere. I don't use most of the recipes but I sit at night with a cup of tea and the Dead Cat and read. It relaxes me, although occasionally I have to jump up and make something I've found, LOL.

Finally, I farm. It's the most time consuming, expensive and physically laborious "hobby" ever, and I love it. I spent Monday standing up to my butt in the snow, feeding apples to my horses and cows and I was happy. Elery could care less and keeps reminding me that we are definately not making a profit, so it really is just for me. I told him that people didn't make any money at golfing either, or skiing, but they did it anyway, at least I have an end product to show for the money, LOL. And it's cheaper than a casino!

Annie

Up until about 1992 I felt I had been deprived of most everything all of my life. Partly because I put myself last and partly because I couldn't afford it. Since that time I have become somewhat carried away with doing nice things for myself. LOL

I go out to eat most any time I want to. (I'm still too chintzy to go to the pricy ones at night) ;)I get my hair colored when it needs it instead of doing it myself. I make and cultivate as many girlfriends as possible and spend as much time with them as possible because friends and family are the most important things in the world to me, not things. My home is open to any of you on the CF any time. Just say the word and you will be welcome.

I subscribe to any cooking magazine I want. I just recently replaced nearly all of my old furniture and appliances. I am now on my second course in Interior Design at the University of Alabama. I am retired and have no intention of getting a job in Interior Design, because of my health. It's just something I always wanted to do and haven't been able to for one reason or another.

I'm sure there are many other nice things I do for myself, just can't think of them right now.

I learned in Interior Decorating II that you should always put all the colors of your house in your foyer. So I think the fresh flowers idea is a great one for me to start in my foyer. It will make using the colors easy to do. Thanks for the idea!

Beverly

Hmm for many years with the kids a thome financial and marital problems I did very little for myself. I used to play a lot of tennis and that was fun. I really regret that I ever gave it up. If I have time I will take it up again.

I tried the fresh flowers at one point but spent too much time cleaning up the flowers that dropped. I do splurge on nice plants for the yard. In spite of all my gardening the yard looks awful because a tree fell over the the dumba$$ that routed out the stump drove his heavy grinder across the grass (he could have done it from the paved driveway) and made huge ruts. Then my neighbor's idiot gardener used his hedge trimmers on the azaleas and sheared them as flat as a table, cutting away several years growth and all the buds for this spring.

Okay I just did something nice for myself. I vented for the hundredth time about the damage to my yard!

Other than that I splurge on an expensive hairdresser and hair color. I buy cosmetics at the department store not the drugstore. I need to do more for myself especially travel.

I love hearing about everything you do for yourselves!

OK, nobody asked, but I did want to post a tip for buying fresh flowers since Pam reminded me of it. I've also been bugged by dropping flowers, and want to get the most bang for my buck. When choosing which bunch you're going to buy, pick the one where the flowers are not yet opened. They don't look as pretty, but they will last longer; a week when everything aligns. Don't forget the floral preservative, and change the water every day if you can. (Recutting the stems helps too, but I don't always bother with that.) Changing the water is important, so the water level stays high, and bacteria doesn't grow as readily. (I can't tell you how many times my flowers drank every bit of water before I figured this out.) Enjoy your gorgeous blooms!

I have to say the indoor flower thing has always puzzled me a little bit. I must be the only one! I used to think indoor flowers were a treat, now, I don't like the mess and I'd rather have something to plant outside, and I do spend lots of money on outdoor plants. I like to think they will give me joy forever (until it gets too big and I cut it down, or it dies, or I get tired of it)
It's funny because I love flowers so much.

I love flowers too but really only buy fresh flowers for specific occasions - usually when I'm having guests for dinner.

For me, they are just too much work - Claire is right, you need to change the water daily, trim sometimes, etc.

My solution: flowering plants. I have two african violets that are constantly in bloom. I also have lots of other plants, some of which never bloom and some of which bloom occasionally. Even when they are not blooming, I love having the green living plants in my house.

I also have a very happy ivy sitting on my desk here at work. Under these florescent lights, the stems stick straight up and are very tall. I water it with my leftover water at the end of the day.

So there's another for-me thing. Plants, with and without flowers.

After a life-changing illness (breast cancer) I think my priorities in terms of being nice to myself are reflected in a lot of the responses above.

Cultivating friendships, cultivating my garden and watching both as they grow.

And travel - that's my true indulgence - moving about the planet as often as possible.

seagrass

I have to say that, much to my DH's delight, I don't do fresh flowers. I have always told him "buy me a pair of shoes". However, he hasn't bought me much of anything all these years. I find Tricia's husband to be a anomaly in my word; he sounds like a prince.

Cathy, I agree. Tricia, may we borrow your husband?

I guess the the thing I do for myself, after thinking long and hard and reading this thread, and not sure how to answer...is living my life on my own terms. I quit a corporate job after they gave me grief for caring for my terminally ill mother. After that I bought a Fetch! Pet Care franchise (not a commercial!) and use my time to care for animals. I don't make a fortune, but that's okay. I love my job....which I really don't even consider a 'job'. I enjoy buying books and reading, both novels and homesteading type books. I really enjoy starting my plants from seed for the garden, mostly heirloom tomatoes and peppers. Growing things is such a nice thing...it just makes me realize how great it is to watch things grow from seed and eat your results! Nothing better.

Because I am self-employed I also enjoy spending time with my dad. I can go over to his place in the early afternoon and watch a movie or right now we are into the early season of season 4 of The Shield. I bought him the 7 series set for Christmas. I suppose I do those things for myself because after my mom passed away I realize time is precious and I only have so much time with him. When he is gone I can't do that and I want to make myself available as much as possible. So I guess the nice things I do for myself are living for me and my loved ones and spending time and enjoying our pursuits that bring happiness. Also, I enjoy travel magazines, car magazines and other 'fantasy' things that spark my imagination. I doubt I will ever live in Bora Bora or drive a Lamborghini, but is sure is fun to dream!

Duane

Duane, I think you have condensed life down to what it's supposed to be to a great extent. Congratulations!

Beverly

I doubt Bora Bora is all it's cracked up to be. :D Sounds like you have the right idea.

Hooking rugs is my treat to me. It's not just a hobby it's something that is all mine. No one else knows squat about it, no advice, no meddling, nothing but admiration for the finished pieces.

Another is a nice hot bath, candles burning, scented oil and a cooking mag or book! LOL

Boy, after reading all teh response, I think I spoil myself. I take naps, buy books and magazines, have some fresh cut flowers and candles that I light. I cook the foods I like to eat, and I go out to eat. I have my hair cut and colored by a pro, because I think I would end up with green hair if I did it myself. I play in the dirt as my Valium substitute, and I torture(cuddle) the dog and cat when I feel like it. I come here rather than clean the bathroom.

And when I need a getaway, I head for Michigan and bunk in my room at Sherrys and torture her puppy. I even force her to cook for me. Then we grab Annie and do silly things like taste wines.....and if I am very lucky, I get to kiss Elery!

This was an eye opener. I am a lucky lady.

I try to go for massage a couple of times a year and a weekend once a year to The Spa at Norwich Inn