The day that these shots were taken, it was an extemley grey, rainy day and it felt like the bright, fresher days of Spring were never going to arrive. Of course, we’ve been treated to some glorious sunshine recently which has caused me to do nothing more than sit outside on my sun lounger – sometimes working on my laptop, sometimes doing absolutely nothing but listening to Audible.
My audiobook of choice being the fabulous Grace Coddington’s memoir. It is however on those rainy, gloomy days that we have all year round here in England that I feel the most hygge if you like. And so here are 5 of my favourite things to do when I’m not working (or writing) and the weather is gloomy.
I always knew that someday I wanted an armchair of my own to sit and read in. I’m an introverted soul at heart and peace and quiet is something I crave in order for me to recharge my batteries. In recent times my armchair pipedream has come true and I love nothing more than sitting back in my rocking chair and reading my favourite books, glossy magazines, or whatever new title I have on the go. Of course, a cup of Yorkshire tea is usually by my side, sometimes Earl Grey depending on my mood.
When I lived in my flat, for the best part of 3 years I only had a shower cubicle and so getting a bath at my parent’s house, or at my boyfriend’s flat was a total luxury that I looked forward to as often as I could. Since moving into our new place, it’s been pretty nice to be able to get a regular bath again. I like to run mine as hot as I can possibly bare, with lots of bubbles.
Usually, I’ll add some lavender baby bath (Because I’m really that extra) and a bath bomb from Lush – My favourite is Twilight. Bathtime is another of my much needed ‘quiet’ times. I like to light some candles and sometimes I’ll catch up on my Youtube subscriptions by propping my iPad up on my wooden bath shelf. Bath time is a bit of me-time that helps me to wind down and feel centred again.
I find reorganising my makeup drawers really soothing and satisfying, especially if i’m feeling het up about a situation, or there’s something nagging at my mind. Some of my favourite videos to watch on Youtube are the ones where people declutter their makeup collection. For some reason, the eyeshadow palette versions really help to lift my mood.
Maybe it’s the ASMR-y nature of them, after all, they are pretty visual and colourful. When the weather is grim, I tend to find myself reorganising, cleaning and tidying my beauty stash and brushes. I’m probably one of the few people who actually enjoy cleaning their makeup brushes. Weirdly it must be rubbing off because Adam saw me doing it one day and liked the look of it so much that he started joining in the swirling and rinsing process.
Back in the day, we’re talking circa 2010 when I was around 17, I was the Queen of watching reality TV. You name it, I watched it. I religiously tuned into Big Brother, TOWIE, Made In Chelsea, everything – nobody got in the way of my rigid TV schedule. As I got older I stopped watching as many of these kinds of programmes on TV, though I’m not really sure why.
However, in recent times I’ve really gone back on myself. Since we sorted our TV package out, I’ve become ADDICTED to coming home from work, throwing my bag down and watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I stopped watching the show as regularly around the time when Kim married Kris Humphries (lol) so I’ve had some MAJOR catching up to do. And I guess while we’re sharing, I’m also partial to ‘Can’t Pay We’ll Take It Away’, ‘Catfish’ and ‘Teen Mom’.
I’ve previously talked about the fact that I am anal about prioritising things and making lists of things that need doing. I must get through stacks and stacks of post-it notes every week. I like to actually spend my downtime writing to-do lists, planning meals and sorting my calendar out.
I love it, I think it gives me a sense of control over what’s happening in my life and I love having an overview of how my week is playing out. Of course, I also like to hit reset on my beauty routine too, making time to put a deep conditioning mask on my hair, de-fuzz and put a fresh layer of tan on. All of these little acts of self-care are perfect for not letting a gloomy day make me feel miserable.
