BEING LIZZI – 27.04.20

As we start Week 6 of UK Lockdown for the Coronavirus I thought I would give you a little life update from the comfort of my home… where I have been for six weeks; you see I started to work-from-home and I stayed home the weekend before Lockdown.

It does now feel a very long time since freedom! That said, I have my health and for many many people, Coronavirus or not, health may be a real struggle right now, so my heart goes out to you if you are not well, I truly wish you a speedy recovery.

Like you (no doubt) I have had days of complete boredom, I certainly lack concentration and I am now at a point where I have zero interest in the news, starting a project or even trying to get my life plan together. I am sure many people are using this time very wisely, whereas I am just surviving each day as it comes. I’m looking after those that are in my home or those that I look after because they are high risk – apart from that, I have no other agenda.

If you have kids and you are homeschooling, I applaud you – I think it’s the first time in my life I have been grateful for being childless; I put my hands up first to say I would not have coped with that, it would be PE, Art, Flower Arranging and Dancing all day if it was left to me!

I have had the chance to read, watch more telly and listen to podcasts and audios that perhaps I wouldn’t normally get time to do, so I thought I would share some of these with you.

Time for listening

One that I got in to quite early on in Lockdown was Fake Heiress – The true story of Anna Delvey, who conned New York high society into believing that she was a multi-millionaire heiress. It’s quite extraordinary what this young girl got away with for so long, she certainly used ‘fake it to you make it’ strategy to the full! This is on BBC Sounds, and I loved all six episodes!

 

BINGE WATCH

It’s huge… and it’s gone global! One of the most successful Netflix dramas in 2019/20! And I loved it.

If you’ve not yet had the chance to watch the Money Heist, a Spanish (poorly dumbed) drama where a group of talented no-hopers first take over The Mint and then later on in another series The Bank of Spain, you are missing out! I have a crush on The Professor… a secret crush on Berlin and who doesn’t want to be Nairobi, she’s the coolest chick in town!

Four series… you’ll be addicted!

 

Start from the beginning

If you read my blog…. you must surely be a fan of Sex & The City. It’s a fashionista’s go to for all things girlie and styling! And it’s the perfect time to watch the old episodes again! I’ve already admitted that it inspired me to write last week’s style post with the black slip dress.

On my instastories I asked my followers which character do they believe they relate to most…. and so may people got the right answer: All of them – that was how the girls were made up, it was meant to be a little of each character in every single one of us.

 

Dining In

We’ve been using Hellofresh for nearly three years now. I find it a great way to control my eating and it helps me with weight management. And during UK Lockdown it has been a great support for getting healthy fresh food. We usually order four meals a week, but I’ve increased this to five at the moment, which means I don’t have to rely on the supermarkets too much.

I have noticed a lot of fresh food in store, and it’s really important we don’t waste this good food. I am a real advocate for not wasting anything! Hence why I shared my recipe for Vegetable and Lentil soup as you can simply throw in ANY vegetables that don’t have much life left and make this into a hearty and healthy soup – that takes no time or effort at all!

There is no excuse to be wasteful at the moment, we all have the time to manage what we eat. My motto is, if you don’t know what to do with it, YouTube it – there will be lots of recipes that you can watch to help you.

 

A MOMENT FOR OTHERS

I’ve really enjoyed sitting down and writing cards to people, especially those family members I’ve not seen in a while. It’s so rewarding when you get a thank you call or text a few days later after sending, you know you have made a difference to someone’s day.

I’ve not gone out and bought any cards for this… I’ve hunted around my house for any cards that I have. For example I used an anniversary card to send to someone, I just used white sticky labels covering the ‘anniversary’ elements, but I knew the recipient would love the image on the card. I don’t think they care what the card is, it’s the time you’ve spent writing that counts, and they do appreciate it.

 

A moment for your thoughts

One of the other things I have started to do is write a journal, it’s not about writing a Lockdown diary – completely the opposite in fact! Just noting down how I am feeling, what I am grateful for, has helped clear my busy overactive mind. It’s something I have been doing that takes no more than five minutes.

 

 

A little (online) retail therapy

I am sure at some point over the last five weeks you have hit the ‘add to basket’ button, for whatever items you have shopped for. We are being hit at every angle with so many enticing offers, it’s hard not to take a look.

Just be a little careful on what online purchases you are making… I’ve experienced some online shopping discomfort which I thought I would share, it’s just points to note before hitting the ‘pay now’ button:

When will they actually deliver?  Take a look at the their customer service page for timescales or chose and pay for next day delivery, that way you will be prioritised. I am still waiting on items that I ordered early April, that have yet to be despatched…. but they have my money!

Money matters! This is another point to highlight – when will you be refunded? I’ve discovered with Zara, that I can’t return until they shops open (they will give me 30 days – how nice!) But they have charged my credit card…. and they are not open (so I will have to support this purchase until then)

Free deliveries  – but are they? Do you have to spend more to get free delivery? Really think about the offers some retailers are sending out – I am not keen on the ones that make you buy more to give you something… you usually find you are buying just to get the free delivery. Just buy what you need, and if you have to pay delivery choose the one that suits you best – it’s likely this will save you money

Check the Return information  – Read the small print before buying – how do you return? when will you be refunded?  And most importantly – do you have to pay for returns? I’ve been stung…. so check the small print and if you can’t see it, ring them and ask.