We are currently rounding out our fourth week of quarantine so I’m sure you’re ready for an update when it comes to content and activities. I’ve actually managed to keep myself busy so I haven’t gone nuts stuck inside all day. I have a bunch of recommendations in this post, but here are some new ideas.
HOT TIP: These are recommendations for when you’re not working, but many folks are still maintaining a normal 9-5 schedule, just remotely. If that’s you, I just discovered these ASMR videos that will definitely upgrade your WFH setting. I really like the coffee shop one.
Activities
- Workouts:
- Peloton – Our bike is currently on lockdown, but I’ve been taking advantage of the run and strength classes on the app. It’s been great.
- Blogilates – This is one of my favorite YouTubers. Cassey is just so happy!
- MadFit – This is a new YouTube discovery. Haven’t gone deep yet, but I think this will be a good account to hit up when I want to mix it up. These workouts are super apartment friendly. That means there are lots of no equipment, no jumping workouts.
- My Hometown Gym – Our community center is doing what most gyms and organizations around the country are doing, offering their services virtually. I like being able to hit up a class with my Mom!
- 305 Fitness/Patreon – If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with 305 Fitness. They were the first to bring their classes to a virtual platform and I’ve jumped on board. I’m supporting my favorite instructors on Patreon because it just feels right. Plus I get bonus content! Think about it this way: Paying 4 instructors $8/month is the same as going to one class in the studio!
- Seven – This is an app that allows you to set goals and sets you up with seven-minute workouts that require no equipment. I love that there are reminders and it’s a low time investment so I’m able to supplement my other workouts with this.
- Cooking/Recipes:
- Bread – Everyone is making bread during quarantine. I loved this super simple buttermilk quick bread and intend to try it again with some mix-ins. I’m planning on tackling sourdough next.
- Pasta – Fresh pasta is my next project. Wish me luck!
- Other Activities:
- Puzzles – I had so much fun doing this one. It took the two of us four days to finish. The first day we worked on it for nearly five hours straight. The hours just flew by, making it an ideal quarantine activity. Some other good ones are here (beautiful with a vintage vibe), here (fun and kitchy), here (Golden Girls!), and here (seems tough).
- Learn a TikTok – I am definitely too old for TikTok, but I have lost hours getting sucked into random videos and trying to teach myself some of the dances.
- Crosswords – My mom sent me a book of them and I’ve been loving it!
- Trivia Night – We got together with a group of friends for a game night. There are definitely more legit ways to do it, but what we’ve done was have one household make/ask the questions and the rest of us answer by writing on paper/whiteboards and holding up to the camera. Whoever wins, makes the questions the next time.
- Game Night – There are some great virtual game night apps out there. Check out Cards Against Humanity and Psych.
- Tastings – Challenge yourself to do a taste test. This could be a wine tasting, bourbon tasting, or chocolate tasting. It could be really fun to do this as a virtual party – send out a list of wines to each participant and meet up to go through them together. Also think about the long game. My beau and I have bought different fancy coffees and are plowing through them to pick our favorite.
- Viewing Parties – I watched the premiere of RHONY as a viewing party with two of my best friends. We drank wine, used the chat function to air our exclamations during the show, and chatted during the commercial breaks. So much fun.
- Date Night Ideas:
- Bouncing Around Europe – A week and a half ago, I made a meal that included dishes from 6 different European countries. Everything was super easy to prepare, but it was a way to get excited about dinner again. We dressed up, listened to records, lit candles, playing a Q&A game. It was memorable!
- Karaoke – I haven’t done this, but I’m noodling on the idea of a karaoke night at home using YouTube on our smart tv. Or maybe just a sing along movie?
- Wine/spirit Tasting – Less about preferences (see: above), more about identifying. See if you can blindly figure out what type of wine you’re drinking or what the most expensive is.
- Mixology Competition – See who can make the best cocktail or mocktail.
- Chopped Challenge – If you’re quarantined with someone, give the other person a stack of random ingredients and see what they come up with. If you’re alone, take inventory of your fridge/pantry, write it all down, put it in a hat, and pick out 5 ingredients and challenge yourself!
- Movie Night – Pick a movie and theme a meal around it. Make popcorn too, of course.
Content
- Books: In the last post I mentioned some of my favorites and what I was planning on reading. Here’s a list of the books I’ve just finished or that are currently on my nightstand.
- Too Fat Too Slutty Too Loud – Review here.
- Caraval series – This is the time to get sucked into a YA fantasy world.
- Daring Greatly РReading this for a work book club. Bren̩ Brown is great, but this is just not my type of book.
- Beach Read – On deck
- The Paris Hours – On deck
- The Guest List – On deck
- The New York Times – Not a book, but I’ve been loving my Weekender edition during these times
- Movies:
- I haven’t watched The Farewell yet, as planned, but I did watch Little Women and absolutely loved.
- A few movies that couldn’t be widely released in the theater as planned are already available. I actually had the opportunity to see an advanced screening of The Invisible Man and enjoyed – great thriller – so check that one out. Haven’t watched The Hunt yet, but that was another early-to-stream film that I might have to check out.
- Downhill – I saw this one in theaters back in February and thought it was fabulous.
- The Spy Who Dumped Me – I figured this would be stupid and never heard many raves when it was in the theaters, but it was actually really funny! It’s free on Prime so definitely check it out for some mindless fun.
- Prime is killing it right now. I’m looking forward to watching Welcome To Kutsher’s, Fighting with Family, Brittany Runs a Marathon, and Troop Zero.
- Sweet & Salty – Fortune Feimster’s comedy special on Netflix had me laughing so hard the entire time.
- TV: In the last post I mentioned we were going to watch The Plot Against America. While the cast is great and the idea strong, we just couldn’t get into it. Here’s what we’ve been watching instead.
- Tiger King – Duh! The last post when live the day this epic show was released, which is the only reason it didn’t make the cut. It’s too unbelievable.
- Ozark – The third season was released about a week ago and if you’re a fan of the show, you’ll enjoy it for sure. We binged the whole thing and it’s my favorite season thus far.
- Unorthodox – I read this book 7 years ago and it made quite the impression on me. The show definitely veers away from the memoir but is still beautiful and offers insight into the Satmar sect of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, an insular community.
- Virgin River – This is basically a Hallmark/Lifetime movie turned into a tv show on Netflix. Sometimes that’s just what you need.
- Also on my radar (but can’t vouch for yet): All American
- Podcasts: A couple shows to add to the my last list…
- Food Court – Chef Richard Blais serves as judge and juror for our greatest food debates. Each episode has two chefs battle highly divisive food categories: blue cheese vs. ranch, bacon vs. sausage, crispy vs. soggy fries.
- Even the Rich – Co-hosts discuss major wealthy families like the royals (Princess Di and Meghan Markle, specifically) and the Carters (as in, Beyoncé and Jay-Z). I feel like they could have gone a bit deeper with some of the royal stuff, but overall it’s fun and gossipy.
- Women of Harry Potter – This one comes from the folks behind Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, a wildly popular show. I actually haven’t listened to that one yet (such an extensive back catalog!) and started with this one, which seemed far more manageable. Each episode tackles an oft-overlooked female character in the Potterverse.
- Also on my radar (but can’t vouch for yet): Little Did I Know. It’s a musical podcast!
Peaches to Apples 