Anyone Fancy a Game of Chess?

It is the last day of November and that means that life in lockdown will be soon coming to an end here in England, or least it will be less strict.  And while lockdown ends tomorrow that still does not mean we are back to normal – starting December 3rd England has different tiers and based on where you live the rules are different. Here in London the biggest constraint on daily life is that you can not meet people from other households.  However, the government announced last week the concept of Making a Christmas bubble with friends and family where between December 23rd and December 27th everyone in the United Kingdom can meet people from two other households to celebrate the holidays.  Mark and I are planning to leave London and visit his Mom for Christmas and while restrictions are not ideal I am glad we can at least get together to celebrate! 

Speaking of family while on a Zoom call with my parents in the States last week they asked what Mark and I have been up to and to be honest, life in lockdown has not been super exciting.  There are very few places to go or things to do but besides work I have found a few other things to fill the time. Thus today I wanted to share a bit more about my life in lockdown , this is what I have been up to: 

1 | Working Out –  Today my Peloton reminded me that I have now worked out every day for four weeks.  Yes, that is 28-days in a row.  But before you start thinking I am nuts most of those have not been super hard spin rides, especially as my knee has been acting up.  I have been using the bike to ride on low resistance as part of my physical therapy as well as taking Peloton strength, yoga, and stretching classes.  That said I still rode 350 miles in November.  (If you have the bike, tread, or even the app we can be Peloto friends, my username is kellyann) 

2 | Binging Netflix  – You would think after nine months of working from home I would have exhausted everything on Netflix, but no!  I have watched the full series of Emily in Paris,  Get Organized with the Home Edit, and Instant Hotel as well as introducing Mark to some classic films including the Notebook and Almost Famous.  However, the real winner hands down was The Queen’s Gambit.  I was so sad when I realized the show was a limited series and only seven episodes.  The main actress (who is not actually a red head) shared on her Instagram that Queen’s Gambit is the number one trending program in 63 countries and Google Search queries for “how to play chess” have hit a nine year peak. If you have not seen it yet please go watch it and then come back here to let me know if you want to play chess on the ceiling. 😉

3 | Holiday Gift Guides – I promise this is the last time I will mention them but I put together 10 holiday gift guides with over 100 gifts and they took an inordinate amount of time to research and create.  If I had not had so much free time at home during this lockdown I likely would not have done them but it was a fun break from wedding planning at times.  

4 | Cooking up a Storm – Mark and I like going out to eat but with all restaurants closed during this four week lockdown we have only ordered in takeaway once. Otherwise been spending a lot of time in the kitchen both cooking up new recipes and making old favorites.  We love these Healthy Turkey Lettuce Cups and have made them many times and tried this Chicken Parmesan Baked Ziti for the first time. We also spend many hours creating a Thanksgiving feast which was great on Thursday evening and for leftovers the next day.

5 | Getting in the Christmas Spirit – Over the last month we have gone all out decorating the flat with indoor and outdoor lights as well as wreaths, mats, stockings, and a decked out tree.  It is really nice to be in such a festive space and I have also been picking out presents for people on my list as well as designing my family Christmas cards which you can find here. 

6 | Finding Great Deals Besides shopping for presents for others I did a great deal of shopping over Cyberweekend and when I arrive to my parents house in Florida for New Years I will have boxes waiting for me from  J Crew, Nordstrom, Sephora, Shopbop, and Zappos.  I have also purchased a few things here in England as well – besides my new home storage solutions I have picked up a few items to help me stay warm this winter: 

What has your life in lockdown like?