I have been WFH for 10 months now, so I am very used to being in my own company and finding new ways to entertain myself whilst at home. So I thought that, as more and more people are beginning to self isolate because of the Coronavirus, I would share some of my favourite things to do when staying in.

March has been a strange month so far as it seems like a lot has been changing. Not only in my own life but also for other people around me. Have you experienced the same thing?  I haven't done a life update since last year so thought it was about time...

I have been enjoying the later evenings and random bouts of sun we've been having in Stockholm for the past month. At one point I thought that spring was starting to arrive, then it snowed and we have been having snow on and off ever since. This has really added to the craziness of the past couple of months too; the weather seems to be just as uncertain about what it is doing as I am! I have still been working through my Pilates teacher training and have been enjoying this as a side project amongst other things...

Kitchen + bathroom renovation

We moved into our new flat at the beginning of this year and have been back and forth about whether we should put in a whole new kitchen or just try and update it ourselves. In the end we decided on the latter and last weekend Ted's parents came over to help us with transforming the old kitchen. I spent the majority of February painting the cabinet doors, then over the last weekend we did flooring, sideboards, a new dishwasher and tiles (hopefully a separate post on this to come). We also wanted to refresh the bathroom and have decided to just replace the old bath - the new one should be arriving this eve!

Corona + working from home 

Obviously the world has gone a bit crazy at the moment because of the Coronavirus and I've been quite uneasy not knowing what is going to happen. Ted has been off work for the past week as his office has been closed. Therefore, we are both working from home and I have had to give up my 'office' for the week.

Wedding planning

Things are gradually coming together: I have my wedding dress and the flowers, caterer and photographer are booked for the UK wedding. I have also ordered my outfit for our Greek wedding as of this week. However, I have started to slow down slightly with the planning because of the uncertainty with the Coronovirus. Fingers crossed it will still all go to plan! We still have invites to send and a few other extras to sort out within the coming couple of months.

March to-do list 

• I'm aiming to get halfway through my Pilates teacher training by the end of the month 
• Do the final finishing touches to the kitchen
• Install the new bath 
• Send out wedding invites + have dress fitting (I'm hoping these can still go ahead)
• Choose wedding rings 
• Plan new blog content 

OK, so I know it's a bit late in January to be doing this, but I thought that I would regret it in the future if i didn't - as I love to look back on these things and have a lil walk down memory lane. Just a warning though... it's a long one, so you might need a cup of tea before you start... The reason it's taken me so long to sit down and write it out is because, the end of 2019, and the start of 2020 so far have been SO busy - you will be able to see why further on in this post... I'm glad I managed to post it in January... Just... As I stared to look back I realised I had written quite a few previous posts about my life events, so there are a plethora of them linked below too.

Ok, so if you've read my previous post I'm not quote a local to East London anymore, however, previous to moving to the west I lived on Brick Lane in Shoreditch for a year. During my time in East London I kept a (mental) list of my favourite places to go. And luckily, I had a few pictures on my phone to go with it... please be warned that it is mainly food based.

It has been 4 months since we moved from East London to West London and so far so good. I've been renting since I was 18 and along the way I have lived in many different homes: student houses, shared houses, furnished houses, part-furnished flats, unfurnished flats... you catch my drift. In our latest flat we decided to go non-furnished 'to build up our collection' of furniture.

Along the way I have come up with a few of my favourite ways to make my usually tiny space, feel more cosy and 'my own'.

 



Sketch London has the perfect ambience for a cosy lunch date: the mood gives off a romantic Parisian vibe with the low lighting and pink velvet booths.

Firstly, you need to choose your date. I chose this guy - lucky chap...



... you then you have to pick the afternoon tea you are after, we naturally went for the champagne. You also get a selection of every tea under the sun to choose from.


Whilst waiting for the sommelier to serve the champagne you get time to admire some of the many sketches on the walls and, if you're me, the flooring.


Next they will bring out your tea - you don't have to touch the teapot once if you don't want to, as they come around and top up your tea cup for you if you're running low.



Then they bring out the main attraction - 3 tiers of sandwiches and desserts.





Then onto scones with cream and jam...


And when you think you can't eat anymore, they bring out the Battenberg. But don't worry, as you can take away anything you don't eat in a little pink Sketch doggy bag for later.

If you fancy taking the crockery home with you also, you can purchase them as you leave or on their website here.


Before we left I obviously had to do the obligatory bathroom selfie Sketch is famous for (loosely).

I must admit that I do judge a place by its loos, and Sketch doesn't disappoint on aesthetic. Although once inside the pods, they do feel a bit like glorified portaloo.

So far this year hasn't started off well. I got ill a couple of weeks a go (after Christmas, thankfully) with costochondritis and then a week ago I fractured my rib... so far not so great. Therefore, I'm hoping it can only get better from here - right?

The above is the reason this post is a little later than expected! I haven't done a bucket list for a few years now - the last time being 2014 - so i thought it was time to create a new list... So here it is:

1) Get a kitten! Currently in progress
2) Take a course in something I've never done before
3) Learn to drive/start driving lessons - better late than never
4) Try and eat more healthy/think about what I'm eating
5) In relation to the above - use my cooking books more often!
6) In relation to the above again - eat out less often
7) Keep up regular haircuts - a bit of a weird one, but my hair is currently a bit of a mess
8) Make sure to keep my diary up to date with everything I am doing/stay more organised in general
9) Use my digital SLR more (I finally got one! As mentioned in My 2014 Bucket List - Revisited)
10) Start a capsule wardrobe; spend more on staple items rather than spending willy-nilly

Other posts you might like:
Moving to London, hygge and other things I love this week.
My 2014 Bucket List - Revisited

As you have probably guessed from the title, I have moved to London! We decided to pack up and leave our little flat in Reading in search of a central one in the big smoke, which so far has been great! We took the week off work to explore - which has inspired my first love(s) of the week:

1. Scandi Kitchen 

2. Brick Lane  

Brick Lane has to be one of my favourite parts of London - mostly because of the amazing graffiti that is ever changing - but also because of the amazing variety of street food, vintage clothes and coffee you can get at the markets.

3. The Little Book of Hygge  

4. Nuxe Multi-Purpose Dry Oil 

I haven't found anything wrong with this oil so far and it has been my go-to product now the weather is getting colder. It smells GREAT, and can be used to moisturise body, hair and face. I must admit that I was a bit dubious to use it on my hair, but if you only use a little bit it leaves your hair soft and shiny - I can see this being a firm favourite throughout winter. 


Other posts you might like:
My previous loves of the week 
Things that make me happy - November (2014) 

WARNING: these don't make the most attractive brownies, however, they contain no dairy, gluten or artificial sugar. They taste pretty good too. 

What you will need:

- 1/2 cup of any smooth nut butter (almond butter in my opinion tastes the best, but this time I decided to use peanut butter) 
- 1/4 cup of cocoa powder 
- 3 ripe bananas 
- optional: cinnamon, berries or another other extras you think would work 


Step 1 to creating these 3 ingredient simple brownies is:

Preheat the oven to 185 - 200°C
Step 2
Gently heat nut butter on the hob or in the microwave and put aside to be added to the mix.
Step 3 
Add the cocoa power to a large mixing bowl. 


Step 4 

Crush the bananas with a fork and add to the cocoa powder (the mixture can be added to a food processor too if you want a smoother batter). 




Step 5 

Stir in the nut butter. 



Step 6

Mix together with a wooden spoon - or food processor, whichever you prefer.  



Step 7 

Add to a greased/silicone loaf tin. 

Stress affects everyone in one way or another. Whether it is to do with your personal life or because of work, school or university, there are always small ways to help overcome stress and have a moment of calm. Here are a few of my very simple tried and tested (by me) methods of helping to deal with stress:

Take a long bath 

Do something different / learn something new 
I find it therapeutic to take my mind off stressful things by learning something new; I especially like to use the Babbel app to learn new languages.

Write a list 
If my stress is related to having too many things to do at once, I always like to write a list to organise my thoughts and create a plan of action. This usually helps me to feel more at ease.

Read and/or watch something new 
Reading a book, a magazine or my favourite blogs always helps me to feel more relaxed. Likewise, binge watching a whole series of my favourite programme always relaxes me too, this is also particularly good if you have your favourite snacks to hand - my favourite series to binge watch at the moment is Orphan Black or Friends.

Meditate
This will help you to focus and relax. There are now even apps to help you meditate, I find Headspace an interesting one to try if you're just starting out and don't have a clue - like me.

Go for a walk 
I always find my mood is lifted after a nice long walk (or any exercise) and it can also give you time to think.

Treat yourself 
Whether that's dong your nails, getting a coffee or buying a new top - whatever you enjoy the most without blowing the bank - I love to buy fresh flowers as they never fail to brighten my mood.

Get creative 
I personally love painting, taking pictures or writing a blog post.



A few other posts you might like:
The Lush life 
20 random facts about me