social isolation | Finding delight.

Last month, I presented you with 10 Things To Do When You’re Stuck At Home.

Today, I thought I’d share 10 more in case you, like me, plan on keeping it a bit more close to home this summer than you normally do. These are some activities for a SUMMER STAYCATION, if you will! Ready? Let’s go —

Make a playlist and have an outdoor dance party.

Half the fun of this activity is sitting down to curate a list of songs you KNOW will get you moving and grooving. The other half is actually heading outside, blasting your tunes as loud as you believe your neighbors will tolerate, and getting your groove on. Get the whole household involved! And if you’re a household of one, that’s ok too. (Note: This activity was totally inspired by this video. So feel free to just jam to this if you want to make your dance party more of a workout!)

Get creative with outdoor soakin’ and splashin’ options.

Public pools might be out of the picture for you this summer. If that’s the case, and you don’t live near any other bodies of water, you might have to get creative! Check out some inflatable pool options on Amazon, go the galvanized stock tank route, or just set up a sprinkler or two.

Pay up for a print subscription.

It’s so easy to stay glued to your devices when you’re home all the time. Why not spring for a print subscription of a newspaper or magazine to encourage yourself to read the news OFFLINE for a change? One of my favorite budget activities from summer’s past was when my friend Katie and I were living together, we would take a copy of the USA Today outside to our backyard to sit in the sun, leaf through the pages, and do the crossword puzzle.

Grab your camera (or smart phone) and have a photo shoot.

Scrolling through pictures of myself over the years, most of them were taken at some sort of an event. A wedding, meeting up with friends for a weekend, a party. With so many events cancelled over the last few months, it’s like there’s a weird gap in these tangible memory-keepers. So corral a housemate or friend and take turns acting as photographer as the other models.

Decorate your outdoor space.

Nothing will encourage you to spend as much time outside as possible as a beautiful outdoor space. Start by picking what space you want to spruce up and then create a mood board. (Here’s one I did for our balcony when we lived in Miami.) Then start sourcing materials and get to creating a wonderful space!

Continue supporting your favorite creators.

I don’t know about you but there have definitely been some choice creators (ie. authors, youtubers, instagrammers, etc) who have gotten me through the last few months. If they’ll continue seeing you through summer, consider finding some additional ways to support them! Share their content with others, buy their merch, post reviews for their books on Amazon…etc, etc. If you’ve been consuming a lot of their free content, do they have any paid options you would also enjoy?

Create a piece of artwork to hang on your walls.

You know that ICONIC post on @BritneySpears where Britney’s painting in her yard with her two kids and they all have little canvases on little easels? THAT COULD BE YOU! Or, you know, you could save arts & crafts as a rainy day activity to do indoors. You do you. I’m just saying…creating visual art of any kind is going to be a fun endeavor for your summer.

Watch Saturday morning cartoons with your favorite childhood breakfast.

This could even become a weekly occurrence! And it doesn’t have to happen on Saturday mornings either. If you want to watch cartoons every Thursday at 4:30 pm with a bowl of nostalgia and milk, be my guest. Maybe you even change into your pj’s. Maybe you squeeze some oranges into juice or bring all your blankets out to the couch and make a fort. Maybe you swap out cartoons for middle grade fiction or prefer childhood lunch foods to breakfast. It’s your life!

Do a book swap with a friend.

Are you a bookworm with a ton of books on your shelves? Do you have a friend in the same boat? Spend some time on the phone with them getting a sense of their favorite reads, how many books you want to swap with each other, and then head to your shelves for books you’d like to pass along to them that you think would be in their wheelhouse. Drop your selections off on their porch with a note on why you made your picks!

Pick an actor and binge your way through their filmography.

Some fun ones to try —
Lupita Nyong’o
Reese Witherspoon
Jim Carrey
Julianne Moore
Dev Patel
Anne Hathaway
Gael Garcia Bernal
Denzel Washington

Have you done any of these things yet? What other ideas would you add for folks who are planning on keeping it a bit closer to home than usual this summer? xoxo

This past weekend was beautiful. Sunny and mild and what should have been Derby Day. Instead, we’re still social distancing. But when I scrolled through my social MEDIA, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of distancing going on.

I get it. It sucks to distance on weekends that are beautiful. Weekends that are sunny and mild and traditionally Derby Day. But we can’t give up so easily. We can’t quit before the world is ready just because we got bored.

So, because people seem to be getting restless and running out of at-home fun that doesn’t involve inviting all their pals over, here are a few additional ideas —

Organize your photos and paper memorabilia.

Social isolation can bring on some serious bouts of nostalgia. While you’re wandering down memory lane, why not create a new photo album or organize your memory box by year?

Meal prep your favorite breakfast foods.

It’s so nice to have foods ready to go in the morning. Without a commute, you may have already found that the start of your day is less frazzled and rushed. This is an additional step to buy yourself even MORE time in the mornings. What you do with that extra time is totally up to you!

Do some landscaping.

We’ll take any excuse to get outside these days! Pop in some tunes or a podcast and get to work weeding, planting, cutting back overgrowth, or whatever it is you need to do to make your outdoor space a special oasis.

Wash your car.

Anyone else’s car perpetually covered with pollen this time of year? Washing it at home is really a win-win-win. Not only does it give you something to do but it will also save you money AND make for a great workout.

Make a pocket letter and send it to a friend.

In the age of social distancing we have to find creative ways to connect with our loved ones. And since, when you’re home all day, checking the mail can be a big highlight, sending a little something by way of the USPS is a great way to do so.

Spend some time in water.

Go ahead and take that extra long bath or shower you would have felt guilty about a few months ago. You have no where to be anyways!

Draft a series of top 10 lists.

I love making lists! Give yourself some creative prompts and record the results. You could make lists of favorites, like all-time favorite books or movies, or experiences. Top 10 meals, vacations, and childhood memories are a few that could really take a while to noodle on (and are super fun to chat about on those family Zoom calls!).

Have a sports documentary marathon.

In the absence of ACTUAL sports being played at the moment, sports documentaries are a great place to get your fix. Think: Cheer, Last Chance U, Ronaldo, The Least Expected Day, The Test, and any of ESPN’s 30 for 30 episodes (but especially The Price of Gold lol).

Create a restaurant in your backyard.

Nothing beats dining al fresco in the spring! Get creative with a beautiful table setting, create ambiance with a Spotify playlist and twinkle lights, heck – you could even design your own menus!

Film a video of yourself reading a picture book.

This would be a super cute thing to send to any kiddos in your life. Don’t forget to do all the voices!

Have you done any of these things yet? What other ideas would you add for folks who are getting a bit restless? xoxo