Quarantine

Last Month in Quarantine: June 2020

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Isn’t it so cool that after quarantining for four months, being out of work, distance learning with my kid, and basically shutting down my entire life, we have to start the whole process over again because some people are selfish assholes? Yeah, fun times. If we had an ounce of common sense or I don’t know, intelligent leadership, we could be slowly getting back to normal life right now, but we’re not. We’re still in lockdown, and we’re going to be for the foreseeable future. Wear a goddamn mask and stop going to bars. All that to say, as we face down yet another month of quarantine, I’m not super stoked about the idea of looking back at last month’s quarantine. But such is life, and hopefully as I go through these little moments, I’ll find something to make me smile.

I’m definitely more active on Twitter than Instagram these days, and every once in awhile, I like to share a tweet, just because my follower audience is vastly different on both platforms. Pretty sure all my Twitter followers know where I stand, but my Instagram used to be only Disney so I imagine some don’t really know. Side note: I’ve lost a lot of IG followers over the past couple months. *shrug*

Any time I have an excuse to buy an RBG themed product, and a pink lip gloss nonetheless, I’m taking it.

Noticing a theme to my posts for June? I didn’t post often because it just seemed like nothing I could post could truly convey my thoughts and feelings on the trash fire world we are living in right now, but this one really resonated with me.

Talking to Squirt about racism hasn’t been easy. Not because he’s not open-minded or not willing to engage, but because he’s six and his mind goes in a million different directions during every conversation we have about anything. Books have really helped us figure out how to approach the topic with him and these are some of his favorites.

I’m just gonna SJW all up in this post. Not only do Black Lives Matter, but we also need to start taking care of our planet! You can read about my experience with CleanCult here and see how I’m changing up how I clean in order to cut down on plastic waste.

Welp. Can’t say there is much here that gives me happy squishy feelings inside, but the past six weeks or so have been eye-opening. I do have a lot of hope that things are starting to move in the right direction. I’ve had some great conversations over the past few weeks. I’ve also blocked some toxicity from my life (that’s okay too). I’m personally still working to continue to educate myself and do better every day, and hopefully you are too.

Also, stay home!

Quarantine Habits I Hope to Keep

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Look y’all. I’m not going to come in here and pretend like I’ve been #LivingMyBestLife during quarantine. LOL. Definitely not the case. But as we’ve adapted to life during quarantine, a couple of new habits have formed that I’m actually kind of into and would like to make stick around once this whole thing is over. Someday. In the very distant future because for some reason wearing a mask is impossible for some of you. But that’s a whole other story. So yeah, while there are some quarantine habits I will need to kick (looking at you, staying up til 3:00 am), these are the ones I’d like to keep:

Eating dinner as a family or with my husband: There are A LOT of times during our hectic and random everyday schedules when family dinners are just not a thing. We still tend to not eat at the same time Squirt does, but lately we’ve all been sitting together during his dinner time, and then Matt and I eat together after he goes to bed. It’s nice to have that touchstone moment at the end of our day when the two of us talk and connect and actually have adult conversation. This is a habit that tends to fall by the wayside when we both get busy, but I’d like to make a more concerted effort to keep it up during our post quarantine life.

Writing every single day: I know for some quarantine has been a creative drainer, but for me, it has been the opposite. I feel like I NEED to write every day in order to stay sane and my writing productivity has been super high. I finished the first draft of a new book in two months, which is significantly faster than my normal pace. I don’t know that I will always be able to keep that up, but I’m going to try!

Calling up friends just to chat: I think I’ve talked with a lot of my friends more during quarantine than I have in a long time! I live an hour and a half to two hours away from the majority of my friends, and even further from one of my besties, so it’s hard to see each other for a casual hang out. But now that we’re all trapped at home, it’s easy to jump on a call or a Zoom and catch up, and it’s been nice to reconnect.

Spending way less money: In a lot of ways, it feels like we’re hemorrhaging cash because we’re spending more on groceries and alcohol than we normally would. But on the other side of it, we’re not going out to eat or grab a beer. We’re not going to the movies or to Disneyland or to any of the places I would normally go and drop anywhere from $20-$50 on an average excursion. We’re also being more mindful of spending since we’re both unemployed, and that obviously sucks, but I would like to keep up our saving habits when we come out on the other side. (Note: I am still spending a small fortune on books and that will never change and I make no apologies for my book buying habits, I’m keeping the publishing industry alive!)

Have you developed any helpful new habits during quarantine? Let me know!

CleanCult is Changing the Cleaning Game!

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This is NOT a sponsored post, however it does contain affiliate links.

So little did I know several months ago when I signed up for CleanCult just how important it was going to be! I initially signed up for the service (more on that in a minute) because I am always looking for ways to reduce my waste, and this seemed like a perfect solution. And then we went into lockdown mode and CleanCult became even more essential than it already was.

So what is CleanCult? It’s basically a subscription service for your cleaning products. In your initial box, you receive plastic bottles with the all-purpose cleaner and liquid dish soap, but then in your subsequent boxes, you receive cardboard cartons (think milk cartons) containing the refills. So instead of buying a new plastic bottle (and throwing away an old plastic bottle) every time you need new cleaning supplies, you’re refilling your old bottles and saving on tons of waste. This was the biggest selling point for me personally, reducing the number of bottles I toss in the trash every month. Now, the lockdown bonus is that the boxes are shipped directly to your house, so you don’t have to go out and buy your cleaning products in the store. That is a huge win these days!

Now. My biggest reservation about CleanCult was their all-natural products. Obviously that is a good thing, but I was worried about how clean my bathroom in particular would get using these cleaning solutions. I have a six year old. Kid gets dirty. My bathtub is gross. I was super impressed the first time I used the all-purpose cleaner on my tub. Not only did it clean just as well as Kaboom (which is what we used to use), but it also smelled way better and didn’t leave me feeling like I just inhaled a bunch of bleach. Anyone who knows me knows I am lazy AF when it comes to cleaning, but this stuff made it super easy to clean my bathroom, which is a huge win for me.

In addition to the all-purpose cleaner, we also get their lemongrass bar soap, which smells divine; the liquid dish soap; and the dishwasher tablets. The liquid dish soap and dishwasher tablets have been totally on par with the brands we were buying in store, so I have no complaints about those (but I wouldn’t say they are anything spectacular either). They get the job done.

If you are on the market for a more earth friendly way to clean, I honestly recommend CleanCult wholeheartedly. I’ve been using their products for months, and I purposefully waited to write this post because I wanted to really try everything out. I haven’t been disappointed yet!

Last Month in Quarantine: May 2020

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Hi friends! Black Lives Matter! Keep pushing and reading and having tough conversations! This is not over! Racism is not solved! Also, wear a fucking mask!

Okay. Just wanted to remind y’all of the important things before we get to the petty day to day shit. Man, do I miss being able to do a last month at Disneyland post. I have many days at this point where I don’t even think of Disneyland, but then moments like this pop up and I miss it for reals. I know we have a tentative opening date, but I will not be returning to the parks until numbers are way down (they’re currently rising, so don’t get me started on reopening). So until I can get back to my happy place, I’m stuck looking back at the month in quarantine.

My apocalypse baking has tapered off a bit, but I did make these super yummy toffee pretzel cookies. They didn’t last long.

Traversing the Twilight Saga as an adult was an…experience. I can’t believe I donated that many hours of my life to the cause, but hopefully it provided some entertaining content in a world full of misery.

One of my former students made me this super cute Disney mask and I love it. Also, in case you missed it the first time, wear a fucking mask.

One of my only semi-regular out of the house excursions is going through the drive thru at Starbucks. My Starbucks is the best, and they put these lovely signs all along the path of the drive thru and they make me smile. It’s the little things these days.

Just in case there was ever any doubt, I’ve been a Disney fan LITERALLY my entire life. Also, I was a cute kid. Also, my kid looks just like me.

Not going to lie, I’m kinda bummed the Avengers haven’t swooped in and saved the day yet. Where you at friends?

It’s been a month, friends. Really it’s been a year. Hang in there, stay safe, fight the good fight, and wear a fucking mask!

Four Things Keeping Me Sane During Quarantine

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How are we hanging in there friends? Everyone doing okay? As quarantine stretches on and on with no real end in sight, hopefully we are all finding ways to cope. Honestly, we all just gotta do what we gotta do in order to survive! It hopefully goes without saying that my number one thing keeping my sanity is my husband. He’s a rockstar and taking on a lot of the childcare responsibilities and I would probably be dead without him. In addition to being an awesome dad, he also cooks and makes me eat my vegetables so I might just be the luckiest partner in the world. But I won’t spend this post bragging about my husband (wouldn’t want him to get a big head), instead these are some of the other things keeping me sane during quarantine.

Wine: Duh. The duhest of all duhs in the history of duhs. My wine consumption has definitely gone up during quarantine. Luckily, it was down pre-quarantine because of some heartburn issues, but now that we’re in lockdown, I’m loading up on the Tums and having at it.

Vintage Real Housewives: We’ve got some good seasons happening live, but it’s not enough for lockdown mode. I’ve been going back and watching Real Housewives of Atlanta and it has been saving me every night. I’ve watched sporadic episodes, but never a whole season continuously and these women are magic. I finished season nine and I’m about a quarter of the way through season ten and they’re keeping me sane.

Books: I’ve posted about this a couple of times and it’s for real, y’all. I’m escaping hardcore and reading (and buying) tons of books and I’m not mad about it.


Writing: I haven’t been writing what I “should” be writing, but I guess that’s the one good side of not having a book deal yet, I can write whatever I want! I’ve been working on a new fantasy romance manuscript and I am loving it. It’s been a lot of fun, and there’s no pressure, so I’m definitely finding some solace in my daily writing time.

I’m also taking a lot of comfort in baking and texting with friends, but I would be completely lost with my wine, Housewives, books, and writing. What’s helping you keep it together during these wild times?

Three Non-Essentials I Will Never Run Out of Again and the Two Best Quarantine Investments I Made

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This post contains affiliate links.

I’m sure when we come out on the other side of quarantine, we will have changed the way we live our lives, probably forever. Those who grew up with parents or great grandparents who lived through the Great Depression often talk about some of the lasting effects the experience had on them, and I think we will probably all be the same. I think it goes without saying that I will never again run low on paper towels, toilet paper, flour, or yeast. Those essential items have been in high demand since lockdown started (hopefully you were all able to get them when you needed them!). But what about non-essential items? What has been getting you through that you wouldn’t have expected? I’ve got a couple of things I will never run out of again, plus two investment pieces that have been worth their weight in gold.

Non-Essentials I Will Never Run Out of Again

Wine: I know, I know, you might be arguing wine is most certainly an essential, and you’re not entirely wrong. But the truth of the matter is you don’t HAVE to have it. But boy have I needed it! I was actually going through a bit of a wine slump pre-quarantine because I’ve been getting some bad heartburn and wine makes it worse, but I very quickly found my way back to the nectar of the gods once I was trapped inside with my kid all day long. I’m still pretty stocked up on wine (thank god) and I will never again let my supply dwindle.

Kiehl’s Lip Balm: I’ve talked about my love for this stuff before, but I didn’t realize how intense it was until I found an unopened tube in the back of my cabinet and had a freaking dance party. I was running low and getting worried, and I was saved at just the right moment. This shit is the best and I don’t know that I could live without it.


Books: I mean, this is a duh, but I do feel vindicated because I have had a massive to be read pile taking up space on my shelves for years. Like I usually have at least fifty books I haven’t read yet, sometimes more. And guess what? I’m reading the hell out of those books right now! I still have a ton on my shelf, and were booksellers to shut down tomorrow (knock on wood, please don’t let that happen!), I would have plenty of books to see me through. Though I have, of course, been buying new books throughout quarantine, just maybe not at the pace I normally would. If you want personalized book recommendations from me, make sure you check out my page on Bookshop!


My Two Best Quarantine Investments

Kitchen-Aid Mixer: So full disclosure, I didn’t actually buy my mixer, it was a wedding gift so I’ve had it for years. It’s been a little neglected since Squirt was born, but man, we are making up for lost time. We’ve made cookies, pretzels, churros, cheesecake, cupcakes, lemon bars…we are baking our asses off over here, and I could not be more thankful more this mixer.

Espresso Machine: I ordered this little bad boy during the first week of quarantine and it has been amazing. It’s super easy to use, and makes a great latte. We still go to Starbucks every once in a while, but for the most part, we are making our own coffee at home and it has never been more delicious. Plus, since this model is so affordable, we’re definitely saving a lot of money on coffee. (This is the exact machine we have, btw.)

As we all do our best to make it through these crazy times, sometimes it’s the little things that keep us going. What items have been lifesavers for you?

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