As we are all aware, non-essential shops were closed for around two months and online shopping has definitely been on the rise. Big online businesses such as Amazon have received so many orders, I'm surprised the internet hasn't crashed! Although after my hacking experience, I haven't quite managed to order from Amazon again...
I've been very good with lockdown shopping all things considered! I've been working throughout this time and even during my spare time, I have had enough things to keep myself entertained with. I also thought lockdown would be a great opportunity to properly have a massive sort out of all of my things (instead of just buying loads of new things), and by doing that, I've definitely learnt that I don't need as much material necessities as I have to survive. Delivery services have been extremely busy so I don't really want to overload them further by ordering stuff that I don't necessarily need. Therefore I decided to make a blog post of all of my lockdown purchases (excluding necessities like food). I did go over two months without ordering anything for myself (apart from the one reworked shirt mentioned below, as well as friend's Birthday presents) and it was worth it!
This post includes everything I have bought since the official lockdown began (not including food, food related treats, presents for family and friends and other necessities!)
In my local city, there is a stall which sells various vintage pieces which I love. In the opening week I was there buying one of their first pieces! I'd go to the stall, have a look and more often than not buy something, as well as having a nice chat with the girl who runs the shop. When we were all in lockdown, the shop has set up a website online and I decided to treat myself to a reworked shirt one Sunday afternoon.
This is now my third reworked shirt from the shop, it is basically a polo shirt which has been cropped and the bottom is elasticated which provides a nice fit and gives it a bit more shape. I knew this would fit me as the other two that I have fit me perfectly therefore I just went for it! This was a Ralph Lauren maroon cropped polo shirt. Delivery was super quick, and when I say super quick, I received the shirt within two days. And this was when we were in complete lockdown. I wasn't disappointed in the slightest, I knew what to expect and it arrived very neatly packaged and it was a perfect fit. Very happy customer!
Homemade candles
I found a small business which sells handmade candles for gamers, with many great reviews. I wouldn't really class myself as a gamer nerd to be honest as I don't play a lot of games (I stick with what I know!) however when I looked at the products, I knew I had to get a couple as they referenced to my two all-time favourite games, and they looked so cute! I purchased the New Horizons candle and the Two Whales Diner candle. New Horizons seemed to be more of a fruity candle whereas the Two Whales Diner seemed to have more of a sweet scent, I deliberately went with two very different scents to see what they were like!
I had no clue what to expect from these candles, but they took just over a week to arrive and when they did arrive, it was a fantastic feeling. From that feeling, I do understand why some people have online shopped so much during lockdown! When I unpacked them, they looked absolutely incredible and very professional. However the main thing about these candles was the smell. My god. The smell of both were so incredibly strong, the scent of both were absolutely delicious. Even with the lid closed on the Two Whales Diner candle, I could still smell the sweet smell of syrup. The tops of the candles were decorated with mini wax toppings, the New Horizons has a seashell, star and seaweed, and my personal favourite decoration was the cute little egg on the Two Whales Diner candle.
As you may be able to tell, I am extremely tempted to purchase some more sometime in the future!
Zox
This was a brand that kept being recommended on my Facebook news feed, selling various wristbands with different meanings. I went on the website, read the story behind the business and how each wristband had a story and meaning behind it. Which really sold it for me. I love the fact the brand was authentic and had a personal touch to it. Therefore I decided to purchase the mystery pack of three wristbands for £25. I'm aware it's expensive, it is a bit of a rip off but I loved the concept and who can resist a mystery bag?!
These were going to take their time in arriving as these were coming from LA, and I decided to order them when restrictions were being eased. I ordered them on Friday 10th July and they arrived Monday 20th July which I thought was pretty good going. They came in this little mystery pouches and I couldn't wait to open them up.
The first one I opened was my absolute favourite of the three, this one has a blue / green design with a white background. The meaning behind this one is to listen more than speaking. I'm not the most massive speaker anyway so this one is pretty true to myself as a person! The next was this light blue one with the word "serenity" printed on it, and the story behind this one is that however old you are getting, it doesn't matter when you are happy and content with yourself. I am not a massive fan of this design but I love the meaning it as it is pretty true to what I have felt since being in lockdown. The third and final one was "forever young" which again, I loved as I do have a childish side to myself and it's a fantastic reminder to embrace it!
Scrabble Tile Fairy Lights
Two Masks
An oak photo frame
So time for a personal update. For our summer plans, we are thinking about going away somewhere remote in the UK just for a bit of a break away / day trips... and since drafting this blog post, I have spontaneously booked a mini inexpensive break in the UK! We have our five year anniversary coming up, as well as my Birthday.... and a few weeks after it will be Jordan's Birthday, so we wanted to do something a bit special / out of the ordinary!
Even though this year has been strange to say the least and we've all had to adjust to a new "normal", I'm actually in a very happy place right now! 2019 was the best year of my life spent with amazing people, I travelled so much and spent a majority of time with my loved ones... it was truly amazing. This year has definitely made me realise how lucky and fortunate I am in life, and it's given me a new sense of appreciation.
We started Project Garden last year, where we did extremely well however we didn't quite finish everything due to the winter months. Now restrictions are being relaxed, we are planning to complete the final part of Project Garden over the next few weeks. The great thing is we pretty much have free reign over the entire garden meaning we could really get stuck in to doing up the garden (as the garden was a complete mess when we first arrived - anything could be better than what we first arrived to!) And it has been great so far, and I'm looking forward to the end result!
I found a small business which sells handmade candles for gamers, with many great reviews. I wouldn't really class myself as a gamer nerd to be honest as I don't play a lot of games (I stick with what I know!) however when I looked at the products, I knew I had to get a couple as they referenced to my two all-time favourite games, and they looked so cute! I purchased the New Horizons candle and the Two Whales Diner candle. New Horizons seemed to be more of a fruity candle whereas the Two Whales Diner seemed to have more of a sweet scent, I deliberately went with two very different scents to see what they were like!
I had no clue what to expect from these candles, but they took just over a week to arrive and when they did arrive, it was a fantastic feeling. From that feeling, I do understand why some people have online shopped so much during lockdown! When I unpacked them, they looked absolutely incredible and very professional. However the main thing about these candles was the smell. My god. The smell of both were so incredibly strong, the scent of both were absolutely delicious. Even with the lid closed on the Two Whales Diner candle, I could still smell the sweet smell of syrup. The tops of the candles were decorated with mini wax toppings, the New Horizons has a seashell, star and seaweed, and my personal favourite decoration was the cute little egg on the Two Whales Diner candle.
As you may be able to tell, I am extremely tempted to purchase some more sometime in the future!
Zox
This was a brand that kept being recommended on my Facebook news feed, selling various wristbands with different meanings. I went on the website, read the story behind the business and how each wristband had a story and meaning behind it. Which really sold it for me. I love the fact the brand was authentic and had a personal touch to it. Therefore I decided to purchase the mystery pack of three wristbands for £25. I'm aware it's expensive, it is a bit of a rip off but I loved the concept and who can resist a mystery bag?!
All of the wristbands are reversible therefore I've decided to write about my favourite design for each wristband in this post. Each wristband also contains a quote card which is related to the wristbands themselves.
Will I be rushing back to get some more any time soon? Probably not straight away as in all honesty, I don't think these wristbands are worth the money which I paid for them! They are a bit of a rip off! However they are decent quality wristbands even so. I did enjoy the concept of a mystery bag and would purchase one again, but I might purchase some designs I actually like / want in the distant future, depending on how much I wear these ones!
During my free time at the weekends, I have sorted out the majority of the storage space that we have behind our bed, I've made it much more manageable and cleared out quite a bit of stuff we just didn't need or use any more. I managed to make enough space for a comfy little den, I had enough cushions and blankets to make it feel that bit more cosy (it's also a fantastic excuse to purchase more cushions / blankets) Before lockdown started, I bought these mini fairy lights for £2.50 each (I got three packs) which I was going to try and hang around the inside of my den, however I found these scrabble tile lights and thought they would be perfect for the wooden ledge part above the entrance. These were very inexpensive at £8, and they were delivered within a few days of me ordering them and they looked incredible. The lights themselves are essentially 10 blank white LED rectangles and they come with 60 reusable letter stickers, which is pretty neat as I can customise the lights to spell out whatever I want! Currently it spells out "HOMEORFICE" (there was only one "F" so I improvised!) as it is right next to my home office working space. I just love these lights, very happy with this purchase!
Due to current circumstances and the fact that wearing masks is becoming compulsory in some places, I have two masks which both cost £5 each. The first is one that I bought from someones house local to myself, there was a stall set up outside and I paid £5 for a black mask with a colourful car print. I was looking for a mask and thought it looked really cool, different and unique. The next mask I decided to order was from an independent shop online based in Sheffield which was this white mask with a colourful raindrops pattern. Which I immediately fell in love with and thought why not have two masks?! You can never be too safe, plus it looked cute. Therefore I bought it and was very pleased when it arrived!
You might wonder why I have included a photo frame... but all for good reason. This oak photo frame is 100cm x 70cm, which is an absolutely massive photo frame! The reason why I decided to buy this was because at the beginning of lockdown I started a 2,000 piece puzzle, measuring at 97cm x 75cm. As I was over halfway through (I have completed the elephant, leopard, rhino and buffalo... just the lion to go!) I thought "I have put in so much time and effort in completing this puzzle, I am going to actually buy a frame and frame it" It is essentially the lockdown puzzle of 2020 for me, I've worked on / off with this puzzle all the way through lockdown. When am I ever going to start another 2,000 piece puzzle again? Probably not for years! It has taken me so long to do this one, as I am not really one for properly sitting down and completing it for hours at a time, and I'm glad that it has lasted me all the way through lockdown.. and I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would!
I looked online for a little while to find a reasonably priced photo frame similar to the size of the puzzle. And I found this one and decided to purchase it for £20. Yes, I know it is 5cm smaller than the puzzle. However the next size up was an additional £40 so I decided that I will just take some of the edges apart so it will be able to fit. This is probably the biggest thing I've ever ordered online, it was huge! But the frame itself was good quality, and it was decent for the price! Now my only concern is actually getting this puzzle into the frame successfully once I have completed it...
I'm aware I've spent a fair bit however I am a firm believer in that you can spend what you want with your own money during these difficult times. I did receive a couple of reasonable refunds from various cancelled trips which was decent, we didn't have anything majorly big planned and I'm just glad we managed to get our money back!
I'd also like to clarify that this shopping haul was spread out over a time period of just over four months... which is pretty good going! A decent proportion of the money I have earnt during this time has gone into my savings accounts, and I am happy to say that I have been very sensible with money during this time. I think it is genuinely because I have cleared out quite a bit and realised how much stuff I really don't need!
Starting from our free weekends in July, we have been dedicating a good majority of our free time into completing our garden transformation. There are quite a few things I haven't blogged about in my life, and Project Garden is one of them (despite it taking up a good amount of my spare time last year).
Although most restrictions are being lifted, I still want to live my life... however I also be cautious and not travel to other countries for the time being. We are working on our perfect staycation space which is keeping us occupied and once complete, we can utilise the garden that bit more. There is always next year for further adventures (when hopefully things would have calmed down!)
So yeah, it's all good...
Amy
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