10 things I’m doing to keep Lockdown sanity.

Ok, I’m not being a moaning Mary. I’ve remained, or at least tried to remain, relatively positive during this lockdown period as I know i have it better than so many. When I’ve had winces, down days and all the rest I just try and keep it within : we aren’t key workers facing people every day, we aren’t on the frontline, and I don’t have any family really to miss!

I know every situation is so unique, mine too…..and I’ve had moments and days when I’ve felt to desperate and helpless and super low. It’s impossible to get away, the circumstances are so strange and it’s difficult as this is all new to us all.

The main thing I am battling with at the moment, is simply anxiety of going outside and also this looming feeling of being trapped and unable to escape….which is kinda true.

I’m trying to re-focus and remain energised and upbeat so here are 10 things I’ve been doing during lockdown to keep myself moving forward, albeit slowly.

1. Blog and social focus. I have a little more Margot-free time at the moment as my husband, Tom has been furloughed and is at home. I’m making use of the extra pair of hands and trying to make as much content as I can and catch up from many months of backlog. I think as a blogger, we always have our little pile of samples and boxes that we get sent, and with it being just me & Margot at home most of the time, plus moving house and all the rest, it’s been REALLY tough to catch up on everything for me. I’m trying to get through everything now and schedule ahead so by the Tom gets back to work, I’m back on top of everything and hitting the ground running.

2. Cooking. One of my first loves and if you follow me over on Instagram you know that I love my cooking. I find so much happiness in cooking, exploring new dishes to eat, trying new cooking techniques and of course……..trying the results! I find the whole process of preparing the food and chopping etc really relaxing – am I weird?! I made this pistachio bundt cake (below) just last week as I’m not really a ‘baker’ so want to kind of tackle that next and it was SO TASTY! I’ll share the recipe soon.

3. Baths & Podcasts. I’m trying to squeeze in at least 2 soaks a week now. Sometimes it’s hard with Margot as she’s being really tricky @ bedtime at the moment but I am having my baths a lot more and I have a brand spanking new bathroom to enjoy them in. It’s hard not to scroll when I’m in the bath but I do try my best to switch off and simply listen to a good podcast for half and hour or so to allow my mind to escape to pastures more alluring.

4. Garden time. We are super lucky in the fact we have a nice garden that’s big enough to have a little stroll and stretch of the legs AND Margot can have a good play and tumble in it. It needs some flowers and plants in the beds which we are working on, but at the moment, it’s just lovely to have somewhere we can get some fresh air and have a breather. We also put a load of bird feeders, a bird bath in the bushes to the side of the house and I’ve taken much enjoyment from watching them all feed and flutter. Wow I’m old and boring.

The stunning lilacs below are from our garden, I never even realised they were lilacs until I saw someone on my Instagram cutting them and putting them into vases! They are so beautiful and they smell wonderful.

5. Margot and Tom-free time. Honestly, this has been tough. Me and Tom never argue, we are both super laid-back but having each other around all day and every day has been quite frustrating at times! Plus I am not leaving the house much so I feel like I can’t get away. Margot is being REALLY hard work at the moment with her terrible two tantrums and I just feel like I need that space every now and then. Even if it’s just going to the spare room for a lie-down or a read for an hour, I think it’s important to try to get away for a little bit.

6. TV. Yes to watching all your old favourites again! I wrote a post about my Top 10 Series Watch During Lockdown and there’s some absolute corkers there. Currently working our way through LOST and loving every stonewashed-denim-jean bit of it.

7. Watching You Tube. It’s easy to get into a You tube hole isn’t it? I have some guilty pleasures and I’ve been back watching a few of my favourites. I haven’t really been watching much TY since way before I had Margot so it’s really nice to have slots of time here and there to be able to catch up and get lost in amongst the content ; there is so much good stuff from crime documentaries to makeup tutorials and just stupid crap to make you laugh.

8. Exercise. An obvious one, but I haven’t been doing my daily ‘leave-the-house’ thing as I feel super anxious about it still. I think I’ve now left the house maybe 3 times in 6 weeks. I would love to use it to go running but I live in a small town and you have to really drive to get to anywhere really beautiful for running. Instead I’ve been doing a workout You Tube video maybe 4 mornings a week before I start at my desk and honestly, I feel good for it. I haven’t lost weight or anything, but I can feel my flexibility and energy levels already improving.

9. Planning. Thinking. Dreaming. Of all the glorious shit we can do when this is all over. I appreciate my friends more. I appreciate our road trips to the beach more. I appreciate being able to drive to a lovely country pub more and I can’t wait to do all of the above and more when lockdown is well and truly over. It’s these small, everyday things that I will love even more. Me and Tom love a cafe/restaurant on the Dorset coast which do a banging Eggs Benedict Royale and we’ve been dreaming of going there followed by a lovely walk along the Jurassic coast. Yes, I’m thinking of holidays and the ‘bigger’ stuff to, but I firstly want to appreciate and absorb all the small stuff.

10. Makeup & Skincare. I’ve been filming a few IGTV videos over the last few weeks and I’ve really enjoyed getting back into makeup looks, using up my stash and just having fun with colour. Yep, mainly I’m makeup free and looking rough as a mongrel, but there are days where I’m loving a full face of slap and a bright lip……just because.

I’ve also found more time to give myself more pampering, I even managed a manicure the other week and I don’t think my skincare regime has ever been this fancy!

So that’s a few of the little things I’ve been doing. Nothing major. Nothing groundbreaking. Nothing that involves a lot of effort and that’s ALL OK. Tell me about you? What have you been trying to do to keep some normality and stableness in your lockdown life?