This is the first blog post I’ve written since our lives all changed quite a lot. When we wrote about the Rev’s brunch town was still quite a normal amount of busy and restaurants, bars and cafes were all still open so life seemed fairly normal.

Since then, we’ve gone into lockdown and essentially our homes are where we’re going to spend the majority of our time, like the serious majority. I’m leaving the house (via the front door) for as long as my daily exercise is taking me, around 30- 45 minutes! This is totally weird as I was used to leaving the house at around 8am and getting back at just after 7pm most days when I was at work in my office, heading to Reformer Pilates or a gym class after work and getting the bus twice a day.

1. Appreciating the little things

I received an amazing little parcel from Daisy Jewellery this week, a gifted necklace – the Estee Lalonde Goddess Hexagonal Necklace and it is just so pretty and really brightened up my second day of working from home when I was feeling a little bit weird. I love Estee and I’ve watched her videos for years, I really like her style and definitely want to get my hands on some of the rings in her collection too because they are really gorgeous. She’s done so well with the collaboration, Daisy is such a cool brand.

The packaging was also so lovely, the necklace came in a little grey dust bag in a Daisy branded box with a copy of their magazine, the Daisy Times and some super cute wood tied together.

Daisy London is a much-loved British jewellery brand known for beautiful, everyday jewellery with meaning. Each piece is designed to be an extension of your own personal style, wherever you are in the world. Dreamt up in London’s Portobello Road over ten years ago, the brand has grown to cult status and now includes a best-selling collaboration collection with Estée Lalonde.

Sometimes you just need a treat as a pick me up and jewellery is perfect for this, and it really helps us all feel a bit more normal if we’re getting ready and putting on all of our favourite jewels as usual.

2. Discovering new skincare

I had a lovely little birthday gift card left over and recently made a Space NK haul with that and an Nuldge voucher too so took advantage of these and bought some goodies. My parcel consisted of the amazing Fresh Caramel lip balm (smells incredible and comes with cute stickers!), Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer (not quite sure how I lived without this before) and the Votary Blemish Oil which I’m hoping will  clear up my hormonal skin and also smells lovely.

I also did a bit of a bumper Pai Skincare order as they had created some Hand Sanitiser and I’ve been loving trying their products so watch this space for a review of their goodies soon.

3. Taking things slower

I’m actually really enjoying not having to rush the hell around every day in order to catch a bus and get to work on time (it’s much easier to get to work for 9am when you literally have to walk downstairs and you’re not relying on Nottingham City Transport). I’m still getting up at my normal time but it means I can exercise by either doing a Couch to 5k walk/run or some yoga or pilates in the morning and then getting a shower and grabbing breakfast before settling down with my laptop.

Then it’s really nice to relax at lunchtime and do an online pilates class or go for my walk if I haven’t already been out that day, do a few blog photos such as these ones when the sun was shining, video calling a bestie or just hanging the washing out. Working at home really makes you feel on top of your life in terms of little things you can do at home in your breaks and I’m really enjoying that.

When you’re finished at work at 5pm you have the whole evening ahead of you to relax and take time to chill and it’s really making the days seem longer which is nice in a way.

4. Being thankful

I am so thankful for my health, the amazing people in my life, having hot running water, a lovely home to be in during this time and to constantly have people asking how I am because they care. I really am using this time to be grateful for what we have in our life and it really is a good life.

I am also very thankful to have the internet and amazing things like Netflix and Disney+ and Radio 1 to keep me entertained in the downtime at home. I’m also loving Emma Hill’s content more than ever on YouTube – she is my fave YouTuber anyway but I’m loving her daily vlogs they’re really entertaining!

5. Cooking

I’ve always loved cooking and I’m really enjoying having to be a bit creative and trying to use up things we have before venturing out to the shops to buy more things. I’m also appreciative of Hello Fresh and Gousto for still offering their services and they’re really helping me boost my meal making morale! These guys mean that I don’t have to be inventive for every single meal and they offer delicious recipes that are super easy to create.

Here’s to the new normal guys, for now at least.