As people start to venture out from quarantine + covid restrictions are slowly being lifted it has me reminiscing about what we did to pass the time in quarantine.
Now, the first week we were in quarantine, I had the “it will only be two weeks” mentality + so naturally, I was going to use those two weeks to get anything + everything done that I had been slacking on. That meant a plethora of cleaning, organizing + purging. I made an extensive to do list that was the length of a full-size notebook page + began with my tasks. There is no rest for the wicked, I was given the gift of time + I was going to use it to my full advantage.Well, that list lasted me about 8 days, because I don’t sit down until all my tasks are done. I cleaned in and out of EVERYTHING, I organized every drawer + closet in our house + I donated more household items, clothes + shoes than I ever had before. Thankfully, I got my purging done pretty quickly, so places were still accepting donations. Heaven forbid I couldn’t get rid of them right away!!
Well, as I was saying, the list lasted about 8 days + quarantine lasted MUCH LONGER!! Now, one very unexpected perk of a long quarantine meant my little sister came home! She lives in New York + had been there for about 4.5 years at the beginning of quarantine. I missed her so much + was so excited to hear she would be back for a whole two weeks!!! Let’s all take a minute to laugh here, she came home on March 20th, 2020 + did not go home until the end of August. So, yes, a FULL TWO WEEKS!!! As my to do list came to an end, I realized I needed things to do to keep me entertained + this allowed my creative side to come out. This is when the house projects came along, for example, we painted a large abstract piece on one of the walls in our house. This still left me with a lot of time + a lot of pent-up creativity. My birthday was quickly approaching (April 19th) + I LOVE celebrating my birthday. I am one of those people who celebrate the whole month, because why not?
The Panic Room had a unique atmosphere of toilet paper + paper towels, located in the bathroom. The bathtub was clearly the VIP section.
What do you do on your birthday in quarantine? Taylor, the sister, + I decided... YOU STILL CELEBRATE! + we did! We sat down + created an entire bar crawl with different “stops,” featured drinks + birthday music. See list below for the “bar stops” we made appearances to:
- Kinnick’s Bar :: Featured Drink:Mask Mimosas
- The Panic Room :: Featured Drink:Essential Sipper (pictured above)
- Pandemic Pub :: Featured Drink:CDC Lager
- Wet Deck Lounge :: Featured Drink:Pina Corona
- Stimulis Deck :: Featured Drink:Quarantini (pictured below)
- Coronaville :: Featured Drink:Covid-rita
- Social Speak East :: Featured Drink:Shhh.. Whiskey
- Club [no] Contact Couch :: Featured Drink:Wuhan Water
Stimulus Deck was located on the front balcony + was supposed to include a black time dress code while sipping martinis.
Now, I am not trying to make light of the pandemic, I know many individuals, families + businesses (myself included) have been significantly affected by this time in our lives. But, I also think it forced many people to bring out their creative sides, appreciate the little things in life + enjoy some unscheduled family time.
This little “bar crawl” we put together throughout the house was literally one of my favorite birthdays!! I got to spend it with my family + although there were others, I wish could have been there it was still so fun! It was a nice opportunity to forget about the negativity that was going on in the world + embrace what we had right in front of us.
Now, if this wasn’t enough to make me feel so special + have a memorable birthday in an impossible situation, there was more!! My parents, sister + fiancé (we were all quarantining together) made me a surprise birthday brunch! Equipped with bottomless mimosas (or at least until the champagne ran out), amazing food + so much sunshine! + not to sound like an infomercial… But wait, THERE’S MORE!! My best friend coordinated a socially distanced, drive by celebration! My friends came over, dropped off gifts (mainly wine, of course), sang me happy birthday + made me the most beautiful cake (picture below)! It was truly such an unforgettable birthday + will definitely always be one of my favorites!
The prettiest cake!
As a year has passed from that time, when I thought it was such a negative situation, I can’t help but be grateful for that time + all my friends + family were a part of it. Now what did they plan to top it this year? Haha!
