Coast of Illinois: Extravagance Everyday

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Extravagance Everyday

Coast Of Illinos's

Secrets to a LandLocked Beach Life

Please not the name change! Rules are just so sever sounding. Secrets are much more intriguing if you ask me.

I wanted to call this post Exclusively Extravagant, but 'exclusive' can have a somewhat negative connotation. Beach life is never about negativity.

Or exclusion.

Beach life is about fantastically wonderful living.

But not ridiculously expensive living.

I know what you're saying right about now.

'How can I possibly live extravagantly without raiding my secret sock drawer stash of cash?'

Well, I am here to tell you how.

First off – put your money in a bank. No one likes sock money. Besides,that's where the HoHo-s go.

Then – think about those times when you felt pampered; when you felt extra special; when you felt fancy.

Now take those times and boil them down to the barest elements.

The defining moment when you felt extravagant.

Here on the Coast of Illinois, everyday extravagance begins with beverages.

I am a coffee drinker. Consequently, I have about one hundred coffee mugs – each with its own special moment.

Currently I am using my Miami mug. It reminds me of the two layovers I had in Miami, the fantastic lunch on the bay, the beautiful, historic hotel we stayed in. I alternate mugs for the seasons and my feelings. But I always fill them with good coffee.

A slightly pricey bag of coffee is a small way to elevate an otherwise regular work day.Especially if you bought it on sale with a Cartwheel coupon from Target...

Coffee is not my only everyday extravagance.

I am a big water drinker. While I generally drink cold tap water, when I need a moment of escape I turn to Perrier.

Yes.

Perrier.

It takes me back to a girls trip to Mexico, beautiful guest house surroundings, artist communities, lunch at the Hotel California, that odd Canadian guy whom I met on the plane and later semi-tried to pick me up at a beach restaurant...

Beverages aren't the only way to exercise extravagance.

I found that White Citrus body lotion from Bath and Body Works smells exactly like a fancy hotel I once...twice...stayed in for anniversaries.

$10 for a big bottle of lotion (or buy 3 get one free...) vs $300 a night...

I hate math but this is an easy one.

When I feel stressed I break out the lotion, apply liberally and inhale deeply. I am instantly transported to that elegant marble bath with the television that appears from nowhere in the mirror...

And funny thing, so is everyone else around me. Every single day I use this lotion at work and every single day I have at least one person comment on how wonderful the scent makes them feel.
(Okay, maybe they aren't all transported to the marble bath. That would be weird...)

Another everyday extravagance, for me, is fancy magazines.
Did you know that you don't have to stay at a Four Seasons to get their magazine? (I highly recommend doing so at least once, but that's a different post...)
My kids subscribed me to the Four Seasons publication for a birthday. The glossy, mostly high end item advertisement filled, four times a year editions transported me away from many a landlocked weekend. Dreams of trips to Marakeesh, shopping at boutique jewelry stores, wearing dresses which cost more than my car...
And at the end of my free time - even if it were only a couple of minutes spent flipping through the pages without even reading - I felt refreshed and ready to fold that weeks worth of clean underwear...

I imagine by now you are sensing a theme here...
Beach Life is happy based.
Find the little things which make you happy - whether its a magazine, a special coffee mug, an item of clothing - it doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't even have to come from the beach.
The only requirement is to feel calm, content, extravagant...

And what could possibly be more extravagant than CAKE, served on real china, poolside....