5 Things to Do at Home This Weekend

Hi, how are you? Are we okay? Are we going a little stir crazy? It started raining this week in Vancouver, so we’re spending a lot more time indoors and missing the sunshine. With the weather keeping us inside and it being week 6(?) of quarantine, I thought it would be the perfect time to put together a list of ideas for things to do at home. From putting in a little effort for a date night to stepping outside your comfort zone to try new work out, let’s keep trying to move through this time of straight-up weirdness.

1. Join a virtual book club
While we can’t meet up in person, now is the perfect time to join a book club. It gives purpose to reading and it’s nice to discuss a book with a group of people afterwards. Right now, I’m reading Sally Rooney’s Normal People and have her other book, Conversations with Friends, in my queue. I’m finding Indigo ships the quickest for books compared to Amazon right now in Canada. If you’re having a tough time picking something to read, try taking this quiz to find the perfect book to fit your mood. And no worries if you don’t have a group of friends or family to start your own book club because there are virtual bookclubs you can sign up for and that’s what we do now.

2. Draw yourself the perfect bath

If you don’t like baths, then there must be something wrong with you! Kidding, but in all seriousness, it’s a really good way to take time for yourself, as well as relax and detox your body. To set the mood, try lighting your favourite scented candle or diffusing something spa-like such as Eucalyptus. For the bath, I enjoy a combination of scent, bubbles and detoxification properties so I’ll usually mix a few things together. I’ll add a scoop Goop’s G.Tox, a couple drops of eucalyptus and sometimes throw in some moisturizing oil as well for good measure. If you enjoy a glass of wine in the bath, be sure to drink lots of water before or after since they already tend to be dehydrating.

3. Move your body — try some yoga or go all with a remote retreat

The Class by Taryn Toomey offered a 3-hour remote today, with more to come in the next few weeks. Sky Ting Yoga offers on demand yoga flows for $20/month. My personal favourite, Turf, is offering classes every day for $12, and even have a class you can do with your kids today at 2pm PST. My favourites are Metaband with Lane Finely — she has so much energy and it’s so contagious — or Yoga Sculpt with Kate Alvarado for a real burner.

4. Host a remote movie night

I try to avoid watching TV during the week so we can look forward to it on the weekend (and also so we don’t run out of things to watch :). I love setting up for a good movie night by slipping on a good loungewear set or pyjamas and pouring myself a glass of wine. Choose something to watch from this list. I’ve also been making my favourite almond flour chocolate chip cookies which are best eaten fresh out of the oven! So gooey and delicious.

5. Plan a date night in

Sometimes we forget to make things feel special, especially when we’ve been cooped up at home with our loved ones for over a month. Phil and I decided to make more of an effort to plan a special evening once a week. We cook almost all of our meals, so we like to pick a favourite restaurant to order take out from and experiment with a new bottle of wine. I always make sure to put a good playlist on (I love Ashley Kane’s playlists), light alllllll of the candles and dim the lights. I find putting on a dress (with a cozy cardigan and barefoot) and a little makeup on is also nice. Even though these things sound trivial at the moment, there’s something nice about making a little more effort to sit down with your loved one and actually connect for the evening.