Working Towards Wellness: September 2025

[itsfi]

Happy September, BIC! 🍃🍂🍁 Pumpkin spice season is underway and soon, the air will get a little crisper and the leaves will begin to change colors and fall. As the days get shorter and cooler, it's important to keep on top of our wellness routines, adjusting as necessary to meet the changes in the weather, our schedule, or life in general.

If this is your first visit to the monthly Working Towards Wellness thread or you've been here before, welcome; we're so happy you stopped on by. Please feel free to stay and check out the thread as oft as you'd like and join if you're interested. If you're back for another month of wellness bingo, welcome back! Looking forward to seeing what everyone, new and returning, has and will be doing this month as part of their wellness practice.

We're each on our own personal self-care journey. If you're like me, that journey varies - some days are better than others. Wellness is a process - it's about progress, not perfection. It takes work. Much of that work falls on us individually, and our efforts towards self-care, as it should, but that effort is, and can be helped, inspired, encouraged, and supported by others - be it friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, and the members of this Community. Wellness takes work - let's do the work together, BIC!

How To Play:

The short-and-sweet of it is to just jump right on in, by undertaking one or more of the activities described 
in a square. Once you've performed the activity, that square is yours - check it off however you like. If you mark off 5 squares in a row, be it horizontally, vertically or diagonally, you've got yourself a bingo! It doesn't have to stop there (or start there), work towards checking off as many squares as you can, or clearing the board, by the end of the month. Just remember, be safe and make adjustments, as needed.

• Be Safe. Always be mindful of weather and safety conditions of your location, and your health and physical condition before engaging in any activities listed. For activities you're unsure of, especially the physial ones, consult with your physician or health care professional before starting an activity and make any adjustments, if and as appropriate.

• Length of Activities. Certain activities may include (in parens) a specified time for the activity. This is meant as a guideline, an example. If this is not something you feel comfortable doing, for whatever reason, perform the activity for a different period of time. Start out at 5 minutes and work your way up from there. If you can go for a longer period of time, go for it. Remember, this is about your wellness and your progress.

• Description of Activities. For more information or examples of the activities described in each square, check out ➡️ September BIC Wellness Activities

Posting: 

Posting about your progress is completely up to you. If you feel up to sharing about the self-care activities you undertook, please do, no matter the number of activities! We love hearing about what worked or what didn't work for you. And, we're always looking to pick up some real life tips, tricks and techniques. 

To post, click "Reply" in the lower left hand corner of this original post and write away in the box that will appear. You can list the activities you performed, with or without your feedback on the activity, and with or without a photo. You can also attach a copy of the wellness bingo card with the applicable squares marked off, if you'd like.

Spoiler

@ather @blackkitty2014 @byme4u @caitbird @CorgiMommy @curlychiquita @danielledanielle @jaaayp  @Mellmars1185 @PDXXXX  @peculiarzmakeup @PrettyPaint @Samtian If I'm forgetting someone, I apologize. I'll try to tag more later. Feel free to tag others who you think may be interested. Thanks to folks who have inspired some of this month's new self-care activities by your suggestions and previous posts.

Also, for those who have been participating in these wellness bingo activities, consider posting your favorite or newly discovered self-care activities to the September is National Self-Care Awareness Month - Share your go-to self-care activities! thread as a way to give  folks, new and long standing to BIC, some real, practical ideas of how to look after our wellness. Having tools at our ready is a good thing when it comes to looking after our well being.

[itsfi]

Woah, I count three BINGO's @caitbird, and well on your way to a couple more! Truly admirable that you're digging in and making the effort to look after your wellness, even when, especially when, it takes an extra measure of effort. 100% agree - it's a work in progress. On so many levels. Sometimes it's a win to just be mindful of the need to make an effort or to want to. Ahhh, the fur babies. Unconditional love.

It can be difficult to write down the things you appreciate about yourself when you're having a great day so to do it on a challenging one, you should be proud of your fortitude and resilience. Strong, caitbird; strong! 

Love your breaking out the good stuff and yes, lunch and a little shopping makes for a great date. And hey, you showed up on the first go! Not all of us manage to do that, even. Hahahaha! 

Oh, I have been meaning to ask you; just out of curiosity about how you like to go about journaling or how you get the most out of it - do you have a preference for going about it - like, do you have a set time during the day when you do it? Or, is it something you like to do when the mood or need for it strikes you? 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a fabulous week next week!

[caitbird]

@itsfi  thank you so much for your sweet and supportive words, it really means so much to me 💜🥰

As for journaling, right now it's more of a "as the spirit moves me" type of thing; that is, it's pretty irregular. I would love to work toward a more regular and frequent schedule with my journaling (daily is my eventual goal), but for now, I just do it when I can. Still, I figure that's better than nothing. 🤷‍♀️

[itsfi]

💯 @caitbird, getting in journal time when you can is better than none at all. I think there are benefits to both approaches - daily vs when you feel moved to journal or when you can. 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  I try to look at it that way - something is better than nothing, etc.

[Samtian]

[caitbird]

@Samtian  woohoo, great job on getting bingo! 🎉

[Samtian]

@caitbird Thank you so much!

[danielledanielle]

@Samtian Target To Treat!!

[Samtian]

@danielledanielle ❤️

[itsfi]

yes!!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 That is an excellent way to go about a BINGO @Samtian ! 🙌🏼 Hope you treated yourself well.. 

 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Thank you! I love Blitzy. I played that game a lot last year haha. 

[itsfi]

My wellness activities for the month are / will be marked with the changing color of leaves during the fall season. 

Week 1 = green

Week 2 = yellow-ish

Week 3 = red/purple (coming soon)

Week 4 = brown (coming soon)

I have the "free space" still left to check off. I have an idea for what I want to do for that square and should be able to get to it next week or the last week of the month. 🤞

WEEK 1: 9.1 - 9.7.2025 

Highlights from last week included 

🛌. Doubling up on a couple of self-care activities in connection with a few nightly digital detox before bed practices. It made both activities feel less rushed somehow and I actually ended up engaging in them for longer than the planned half hour. 

📵+ 🤫  Digital detox before bed + quiet time - Being still for 30 minutes and not falling asleep within that time is quite the feat for me. Keeping the lights on and not closing my eyes helps a lot, but I didn't get to the full 30 minutes without adding on something else like stretching. But, 

📵+ 🧘🏻‍♀️ DD before bed + stretch - this combo I could do for 30+ minutes! Some nights I made it a restorative yoga session for the stretching component, with flashcards to keep the digital detox element going. 

🌺  Aromatherapy took the form of PHLUR Fragrance Discovery Set. I tend to have better luck with their hair and body mists but I discovered four (4) fragrances in this set that I really enjoy. I mean, my wallet isn't super thrilled about that, but the 4 are pretty solid likes. Interestingly enough, most of the scents in this were either an absolute miss or a definite hit. There was only one scent that was not bad but just not for me.

WEEK 2 - 9.8 - 9.14.2025

👟 💪🏼 Wanted to look good for my date so I focus(ed) on exercise (30 minutes) and I'm sore.  My word, the things I do for my date. 

💗  Sooooo .... Date Yourself

I think I may have technically stood myself up the first time I tried this for this month's wellness bingo. Hahahahaha! I had gotten myself all dolled up and I decided to lie down for a few minutes and ended up falling asleep. 😲😬🤣 Fortunately, my date was understanding. 😉 In my defense, I was on the verge of a cold (but didn't know it at the time and my body was needing some more down time).  

🎬  Date Yourself, Take 2 went better. A lot better. Then again, the bar wasn't set that high. 😅

🍾  Broke out the "good stuff" while getting ready for the date - in the form of a few foil samples of fancy schmancy products and I reached for the new Celine perfume I picked up the week prior. Gotta smell nice. 😉 Headed over to the cafe, grabbed coffee to go and walked over to the park, spent the afternoon walking, chatting with myself and taking in the sights of the Japanese Tea Gardens, Conservatory of Flowers, etc. Afternoon was going well so I said 'yes' to a meal afterwards. 

🙏  Practice Gratitude - Sometimes the things we're grateful for become most apparent in hindsight.They can live in your head from the start but they can hold a deeper, more profound, meaning in your heart on a later occasion. And, sometimes, the blessings are in disguise. 

🍫  New Season, New Things to See, Do, Learn, Explore - All this talk of Dubai chocolate got me curious where I might get my hands on some. Surely, there must be a store in the city that has Dubai chocolate, right? Riiiight?!! I've been noodling on it a bit. Did some googling, triangulating locations, figuring where places were located, etc. and then,  while on a walk yesterday, a thought suddenly came to me - dun, dun, duuuuuun!!! [Yes, it was that dramatic, at least in my head, it was! Hahaha!] And, on a hunch, I took a detour, guided just by my gut feeling ...  aaaaand whad'ya know? 

They do have Dubai chocolate?!! Or, at least they advertise that they do... Of course I haaaad to go inside!! In my mind, the worst-case scenario would be they ran out of the Dubai chocolates and I'd have to just settle for a bag (or two) of delicious and indulgent but entirely unnecessary Torres chips since I was already there.

The "problem" though, as it turned out, was they had two (2) different kinds of Dubai chocolate bars and the woman behind the counter had not had either.  I decided to get both. Problem solved. 

I'm heading out to a casual little get together later today. I've decided to bring both these chocolate bars with me and if the mood is right and a few of the guests are willing to be guinea pigs, there will be a blind taste test of these Dubai chocolates. Stay tuned, BIC; stay tuned! 

☕  Check In with a friend: Yes, I did; with a few friends; seems like we're starting off with a social September. Some check-ins focused on me, others on my friends; and a handful involved a mix of here's what's going on with me and how you doin'.  

📚  Read; Audiobook; Podcast; Blog; TV/Movie: Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building started up this week! I tried to space out the 3 episodes that dropped on Hulu. Tried is the operative word. Also received a rec for a podcast and have been listening to parts of it here and there. Just finished it this morning before putting this together. Good podcast. Good rec. 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  wonderful self care progress! I laughed out loud at your dating mishap 🤣, that sounds so much like something I would do...but I am glad you were able to have a successful date on the second try, it sounds like it was lovely! And yay for Dubai chocolate! I am trying to focus on eating better, but if I were to somehow end up with some again, well, I wouldn't say no...😅

[itsfi]

lolololol @caitbird, yeeeeaaah, it's one of those things where I just think "how do you always manage to get yourself into these situtions ... like, seriously, how???!!" But, it definitely made for a good laugh. 😂 Well, that's how you know it's a good piece of chocolate - not gonna pass if it somehow makes its way right in front of you, ha! I saved a piece of each and brought it to the lady at the store so she could taste them if she wanted - so she'd have a point of reference if someone else were to ask the difference between the two. 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  sometimes you just have to laugh about these things 😂

Aww, that was nice of you, I bet she appreciated it!

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi What are your two favorite Phlur fragrances? 

Oh my goodness. I can't allow myself Dubai chocolate. I am usually decent at self-control, but I cannot stop eating a Dubai chocolate bar if I get one. 

You are too funny falling asleep before your date! 🙂 

[itsfi]

Ooooh, good question @PrettyPaint! Hmmm, let's see ... 🤔 I'd say Father Figure and Soft Spot - the former because for some reason I don't typically find myself liking perfume where fig is the primary focus (and I've made an effort to try a few over the last 18 months) but I like Father Figure, and the latter because there's something very warm and comforting about it for me. Soft Spot is what I wanted, or maybe expected is the better word, Missing Person to smell like. Both are slightly more than a skin scent on me, which helps, and both were surprises for me from the set as they're not ones I typically go for, so I'd say those two. 

I left more detailed thoughts on the product page for the individual fragrances, but here's what I wrote for them in the review for the discovery set itself - 

* FATHER FIGURE: Green but not grassy with a warm, woody dry down. One of the few (or maybe only) fig scents I enjoy. A surprise hit for me. 👍🏼

* SOFT SPOT: The jasmine in this is gentle & delicate; it has a lovely quality to it, blending beautifully with the creaminess of the vanilla and the soft sweetness of the amber. I would consider picking up a full size. 👍🏼

Have you tried many scents from Phlur? Any ones you like?

lol, yeah, chocolates are a weakness. I've gotten better but I definitely have my moments. And, they're not like moments where I'm down and am more susceptible or open to drowning myself in a bar of chocolate either. 🤣 I start with one and no intention of polishing it off and then I come back for another little piece, and another and ... 

😂🤣😂I know!!! I'm a mess! I will not lie down before heading out on a date. If I have extra time, I'll just ... grab a bite of chocolate instead, HA!

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi Oh wow! Soft Spot sounds really nice. I do like Missing Person, but I think I might like Soft Spot even more based on the way you've described it. From the "modern" Phlur collection, I mostly have the body sprays (Vanilla Skin, I think it's called). I think my "favorites" are the discontinued ones. I have a bottle of both Hepcat and Moab. I tend to like smoky, woody, spicy type fragrances, though. 

[itsfi]

@PrettyPaint, are Hepcat and Moab from the brand when their bottles were square-ish shaped and white and opaque? Ooouh, smoky, woody and spicy scents are great with fall winter coming up. I like when scents have a bit of a smokiness to them. Have you tried PHLUR Mini Vanilla Smoke Body & Hair Fragrance Mist 3 oz / 88.7 mL eau de parfum spray ? (ahhh, it let me tag it!! 😲😆🏆) I wouldn't mind if it were smokier but I like to use it (alone or with a vanilla) to layer with other scents, mainly ones that may be too sweet or too floral on their own for me. 

I feel like I may or should know this from last year's holiday gratis unboxing, so forgive me for asking again, but waht does Missing Person smell like to you? I'm always just a little curious because on me, I can't ever really smell anything. 

Sweet Spot is definitely one of my faves from the brand. I finished the sample vial from the set but will hold off on getting a full size ... for now. I gathered all, or most actually, of my discovery sets for Shop Your Stash / Use Your Stash Challenge: Fall 2025 🍂🍁 and want to figure out what I really lke or what layers well with what fragrances I already have first. I'm likely going to get an advent calendar this year with at least some fragrance in it so I don't want to get too carried away with too many perfumes before the holidays. This is my way of trying to be good.  

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi Yep - they are the white, square bottles with PHLUR in big grey letters. I use it sparingly because I'll be sad when it runs out. I haven't tried the vanilla smoke. That sounds like something I'd like. How is the longevity? 

I always have trouble describing missing person. It does have a laundry-type scent to me, and it's a little powdery. That's interesting that you can't smell anything. It's actually pretty strong on me for whatever reason. 

I'll definitely need to try Sweet Spot; maybe it would be smart to get the sample set! Do you have any idea which advent calendar you're going to get this year? I think I'd like to get one too, but I haven't really researched them yet. 

[itsfi]

@PrettyPaint, Vanilla Smoke is one of the ones with better longevity. I’d say it ranges from moderate to good. Better in the cooler seasons and when layered over a lotion. 

I was surprised (in a good way) by this discovery set. I tried the previous version and the fragrances in it didn’t really suit me, so I wasn’t sure how this one would turn out. Not all the perfumes in the set were hits for me but I thought the set offered a good variety of fragrances from the brand.

I’ve gone back and forth on a couple advent calendars. Trying this year to go for one with new to me products, so that makes it a bit more challenging. I had a couple on my list after last year but passed after I saw the products included. They were fabulous advent calendars; I just had a few too many items in it already. 

Any particular type of advent calendar you’re looking for? Skincare? Makeup? Hair care? Nail? Fragrance? A mix? We have a thread going with advent calendars listed as they become available - mostly beauty advents but also non-beauty onesAdvent Calendars 2025