Ten happy things – March 20

What a funny old month it’s been. With Cornavirus dominating the headlines and having to go into lock down, it’s been difficult trying to stay positive and be happy… But of course there have been lots of things that have brought me joy this month (although lots that have also made me sad), so here’s my ten happy things for March.

Dinner with friends

At the beginning of March I met up with my friends Natalie and Federique at The Anchor & Hope in Southwark. We’d been trying to organise dinner for ages and I’m so glad we managed it before life as we know it changed.

The food was wonderful! And of course the company was fab too. We had a great evening and I can’t wait to do it again when we’re able to.

Exciting new project

I’ve started an exciting project with one of the UK’s largest charities and I’m loving it so far. I was working in their offices, which was quite nice, until of course we all had to work from home. It’s proving slightly more challenging as understandably people are having to focus on Coronavirus and what it means for the charity, plus adapting to remote working. But keeping busy is helping me keep sane!

Dinner with Holly

Holly has featured a few times in my ‘ten happy things’ posts but not for a while as she doesn’t live in London so I don’t get to see her as often as I’d like. She was down for an awards evening and then a conference so we met up for dinner before she got her train home.

We went on an impulse to Ping Pong on the Southbank, which was so busy! I’ve not been to a Ping Pong for years and was pleasantly surprised by the menu and the food. It was great to see Holly and have a good catch-up!

Read two amazing books

As you might remember, one of my goals this year is to read more and in March I finished two books! One was A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman and it is just the loveliest book that will make you laugh and cry. My friend Mandy gave it to me for my birthday and I’m so glad she did. It’s the perfect read.

The second book I read was Nightingale Point by Luan Goldie, which is set in London and follows five characters after a plane hits their tower block. It’s a really good read but it did make me feel quite sad at times. It was the book that was included in my Repose subscription box.

Gifted Frida socks

The lovely people over at Chatty Feet got in touch with me via Instagram and asked if I’d like a pair of their socks. Oh course I said ‘yes please’! A few days later and these amazing Frida Callus (did you see what they did there?) socks arrived for me in the post.

Aren’t they so cool? I’m a massive Frida Khalo fan so honestly they couldn’t have sent over a better pair. I love them. They have different themes of socks: art, science, literature and royals!

PE with Joe

Thank you Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach, for keeping us all fit during lock down! Joe has been doing live 20 minute workouts at 9am Monday to Friday on his YouTube channel and they’re brilliant. It’s amazing to see how many people join in live – one day he got so close to 1 million!. I’ve done a few now and I always feel so good after taking part.

Started Couch to 5k (again)

As we’re still allowed out once a day for exercise, I’ve decided to start Couch to 5k again. Why you ask? Because I orginally did it pretty much all on a treadmill and believe me, running outside is very different and much harder!

I’m hoping once I complete it, I’ll be able to run outside for a full 30 minutes without having to stop and walk. Watch this space….

Started knitting (again)

To help my anxiety I took out my knitting needles from the cupboard, where they’ve sat for 4 years, and started knitting again. I find it really relaxing, plus it helps me stay off my phone! I’m not a very good knitter though so I’m just making a scarf.

Video calls with friends

Honestly, the one positive thing to come out of all this is how many more phone calls and video calls I have with my friends and family now. It’s so nice to see people on screen and, if you have a good wifi connection, it does actually feel like they’re there. Thank goodness this happened now and not ten years ago when we didn’t have the technology to be able to stay so connected.

Cooking up a storm

Since we can’t go out to eat, we’re bringing the dining experience indoors! My husband is keeping up our Saturday lunch tradition of Italian food by cooking delicious pasta dishes.

We have a breakfast bar so I like to sit there and watch him cook, whilst playing Italian music via Alexa. It feels a bit like when we sit at the counter in restaurants and watch the chefs cook!

As much as I love my husband’s cooking, I also can’t wait for restaurants to open again. I miss eating out so much.

So that’s my ten happy things for March! I hope March has been good to you. Please, stay safe and stay home!