I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling a little stuck in a rut – for a lot of reasons, really. Between the 1 year anniversary of COVID popping up (can you believe it’s been a year?!), to still feeling like we’re in the heart of winter, it’s been a bit of a rough time the past few weeks feeling lots of uncreative feelings.
But luckily, the sunshine is slowly starting to come back out and it’s been giving me life, and some much needed motivation. So I thought I’d round up a few things that are on my current bucket list – for this new season I’m calling “Sping-ter” (because who knows if it’s winter, or spring, or something in between at this point…). And let’s be real, we’re really in the 15th month of 2020, so at this point seasons are just a formality 😉
Spring/Winter (aka, Spingter) Bucket List:
Experiment More in the Kitchen:
I am a self-described terrible cook, but over COVID I’ve gotten my sea legs a bit more when it comes to making my way around a kitchen. After many (sometimes failed) lessons from my very patient boyfriend who went to culinary school, I’ve slowly started to nail the basics of cooking and have actually enjoyed it a lot more than ever before. Getting an air fryer for Christmas also changed the game!
So on days where it’s too rainy or snowy to go outside, making something new in my kitchen is a much needed distraction from work and gets me out of a rut. One thing we’ve been talking about for ages is recreating a few of our favorite things in the air fryer – so here’s some things on our list:
- Jack in the Box Tacos (if you know, you know!)
- Taco Bell Crunch Wraps (because #health = #wealth 😉 )
- Gobi Manchurian (inspired by Pub Royale in Chicago)
Will keep you posted if we master any of these recipes, and hopefully share any winning ones with you guys too!
Do a Virtual Wine Tasting:
Whenever the pandemic is over, my dream is to go back to Napa and spend a long weekend drinking wine and sitting in the sunshine (truly, there’s nothing better than that combo!). But in the meantime, having a virtual wine tasting is the next best thing!
I joined Winestyr pre-pandemic last year, with turned out to actually be perfect timing since my consumption of wine went up dramatically (whoops!). They’re a great resource to discover smaller wineries you might not be able to find at the grocery store since these wineries don’t typically make enough cases to get larger distribution. I’ve shipped wine to my friends a few times and we’ve done a virtual wine tasting, and honestly – it’s a blast. The best way to catch up, pretend we know something about wine (spoiler alert: we know NOTHING :)), and drink a few glasses together. I also know that Foxtrot is doing a few virtual wine tastings with their Sommolier too (you just need to sign up for the bundle and you’ll join a group of 35 virtually!), so there’s a ton of places you can do something similar for free, without having to join a club.
Make your Typical Movie Night more Exciting:
We’ve had a lot of movie night recently (between work being crazy lately, sometimes turning on Netflix is the most you can do!), but I’ve been trying to up the game for movie night a little bit to make it more exciting. Whether it’s making a themed dish from a movie, or ordering out from a restaurant (i.e. ordering Ethiopian food while watching Coming 2 America, or attempting beef bourguignon and watching Julie & Julia), doing a little extra makes it a little more exciting. Also, getting candy from the grocery store and pretending like you’re at a movie theatre is always a solid move too.
Take a workout class:
The sunnier weather has motivated me to get my butt back in shape, so I’ve been hitting the Peloton harder these days (follow me if you want to be accountability buddies! My name is “mayamcdonald”), and doing a handful of classes at Studio Three now that group glasses are back. It’s been fun to join some socially distanced workout classes, and get back in the groove of working out has made me feel a little less “blah”. I’ve been taking Diggy’s Torch Class, and love all the Cycle 45 classes too (Samantha Jones is my favorite!). I’ve even been bold enough to take a few 7AM classes, which is wild considering I’m very much not a morning person. It’s been a good way to change up my routine, and makes me feel a lot more productive during the day too.
Take on a home project (or 5, if you’re me…)
We’ve all been spending a lot more time at home this past year, so now that the weather has started to turn more springy, it’s the perfect time to take on a few house projects that you’ve been meaning to do for awhile. I just moved into my new condo a little over a month ago, and my list of home projects just keeps getting longer and longer. I’m attempting to tackle the master bedroom first (my bed frame is finally coming on Wednesday so I don’t have to sleep on the floor anymore!), and once we paint the walls and hang up the new chandelier, it will start to actually feel like it’s coming together.
Plan a Road Trip:
While I’d love to pack my bags and go on a magical vacation, it’s obviously not as easy as it was a little over a year ago. So we’d pivoted to taking more road trips and finding ways to explore more places around Chicago – even if it’s just for a day. Between a getaway to Door County last month, driving down to Greenville and Charleston at the beginning of the year, it’s been nice to plan trips to have something to look forward to. We’re talking about taking more day trips, even just going to Starved Rock on a weekend day to do something outdoorsy. Even if it’s just a small trip, it’s nice to get a change of scenery and plan something more exciting than your living room.
Volunteer:
Don’t get me wrong, COVID has made volunteering a little more difficult, but there are still lots of organizations that could use some help and are still accepting volunteers! If you don’t know where to start, Guaranteed Karma has Chicago and NYC events where you can spend an afternoon volunteering and then get rewarded for it by credits from local companies. Not only will you be making a difference and breaking from your usual routine, but you’ll also feel good about it too.
And when all else fails, go back to watching Netflix with a big glass of wine and ice cream – because that’s a solid activity too 😉
Any activities you’ve been doing Spring-ter/COVID that’s helped pass the time? I’d love to add any good ones to my list! xx
