Weekly Wrap-Up {Favorite Isolation Activities}

Happy Friday, friends!

Tomorrow marks three straight weeks of social distancing for us. I was thinking this morning about how much life has changed in less than a month – just a month ago we were hanging out with friends outside of the school, going to restaurants, and visiting Target without a care in the world.

I miss Target, y’all.

It was a little encouraging to think about that, though – to recognize how much life can change in such a short period of time. Who knows what things will look like another three weeks from now, but I’m slowly starting to adjust to this new phase of life and trying to see the positives whenever I can.

We’re all getting pretty creative about staying connected with our loved ones and doing fun things around the house to keep our sanity, so I thought today would be the perfect day to share some ideas. Here are a few creative things we’re doing to try and keep things interesting in isolation:

• Community Hunts: Our neighborhood is doing lots of these lately – painted rocks hidden near the sidewalks, teddy bears in front windows, etc. If you have a neighborhood Facebook group, try to put something together then go on a walk to see what you can spot!
• Zoom Dates: This past week, we consumed Tiger King via Zoom with some of our best friends. It was SO FUN to sit down every night and chat with them, and we had something to look forward to all day long. One night, one of our friends showed up to the date in a full suit – complete with dress socks and shoes! We all died laughing, and it was such a fun way to shake things up and make the evenings feel special. We finished Tiger King (what a WILD RIDE), and now we’ve started Wild Wild Country – it’s been so fun to have this standing date!
• Marco Polo: I had heard about Marco Polo a lot before all of this but I hadn’t ever tried it – well, some of my friends use it so I decided to hop on shortly after social distancing started and my goodness it’s been such a lifesaver. I LOVE getting to see my friends’ faces every day, and it feels so much easier to send a quick video message with the kids running around than it does to type out a long text. The kids are also loving it as a way to keep seeing their friends!
• Block Scheduling: I don’t know what I would do without our school schedule every day. It has helped both me and Jackson feel like we have a little control over our days, gives me purpose all day long, and helps me avoid those feelings of “will this day ever end?!” Of course, some days we toss the schedule out and just do what we want, but it’s been a lifesaver on those days where we’re on the struggle bus.
• Getting Ready: I don’t know about you, but I find that I feel a lot better on days when I take at least a few minutes to get ready for the day – even though I’m not going anywhere. Even if all I do is change into clean sweatpants and put my hair in a ponytail, putting in a little effort goes such a long way and makes me so much more productive. This goes for the kids, too! I only let Jackson stay in pajamas all day over the weekends because I swear to you he’d live in pajamas if I let him but I think it’s important to maintain at least some sense of normalcy!
• Supporting Our Favorite Local Businesses: We’ve been trying to continue getting drive-through or takeout food at least a few times a week to help support the local restaurants that we love. We take extra precautions like wiping down all of the food containers, sanitizing our hands and the car after we interact with the drive through or curbside worker, and (of course) thoroughly washing our hands as soon as we get home. It makes the day feel way more special to even just run through the Sonic drive-through for a drink, and we live in a small town where many businesses and restaurants are really hurting so it’s important to us to do what we can to help.
• Gratitude Journaling: I’ve been working on writing down a few things I’m thankful for every morning before I get out of bed. It really sets my mindset for the day, helps me focus on what’s important, and keeps me in a good headspace.
• Get rid of Facebook: Probably the most helpful thing I’ve done in all of this is deleting Facebook from my phone. Y’all. Total game-changer. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself constantly checking Facebook for updates or news and it was just not a healthy place for me to be spending time. So, I removed the app from my phone and now I only check Facebook once or twice a day from my computer. It has really helped my mental state and, in a turn of events that will shock no one, I really don’t miss much of anything.
• Baking: If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I love to bake with my kids and this time has been perfect for lots of baking! Jackson and I are chocolate chip cookie fiends (click here for a ton of the recipes we’ve tried on our quest for the perfect cookie). Anytime I have a really difficult day, baking seems to make it a lot better.

ICYMI: This week on the blog

• I hung some giant family photos on our staircase and I shared all of the details on how you can do it too. I love how they turned out – they really complete the space, I think!
• Need some ideas for how to keep yourself busy and make your yard more welcoming? I shared a ton of my favorite outdoor projects from the archives – now is the perfect time to try a few!
• From the archives: this super simple chocolate bark recipe is always a winner – and it’s so versatile that I can almost guarantee you have all the ingredients on hand.

elsewhere on the internet…

• I am so invested in this project – I’m sitting on pins and needles for the reveal!
• Did you see this gorgeous print that Bre’s daughter made? Bre is selling digital versions for just $5 and all proceeds are going towards purchasing gift cards from local businesses and restaurants to hand out to people still working on the front lines (like grocery stores, healthcare workers, etc.). I already bought mine and can’t wait to have it printed!
• These abstract coloring pages are so adorable – and free!
• This new collection at Target is basically going to outfit my entire house. Can’t get over this pillow, this vase, this art print, this faux plant, and this mirror.
• I LOVE posts like this. So fun to see real-life examples of design mistakes with actionable ways to fix it!
• This dining room is the stuff dreams are made of.

Have a happy weekend, friends! See you back here on Monday!