Top 10 Things I’m Looking Forward to Post-Quarantine

Anyone else feel like time has just stopped? When I look at the calendar, I can’t believe how much time has passed since we’ve been quarantined. It’s been 6 weeks since our world shut down (specifically in Austin), and many areas of the country started even sooner. As time continues to pass and we stay inside of our house for the majority of each day, I realize everything I miss about normal life.

Since I’m sure everyone can relate, I figured I would share the Top 10 Things I’m Looking Forward to Post-Quarantine. I’d love to know if you feel the same or if you have different items on your list! And for fellow Austinites – I included all of the local spots we can’t wait to eventually get back to. Let me know what your favorite places are that you miss!

1. Seeing friends & family. This is definitely what I miss the most. While I feel super lucky that I have Dominick and Leo to spend quarantine with, I miss both my family and friends so much. When all of this began, I was just starting to plan a girls trip with a few of my high school friends that we had to miss out on. Dom and I were supposed to see both of our parents during March and April, but of course those trips got canceled. They haven’t seen Leo since he was six months old and during that time he’s gotten his first teeth, ate his first real food (and now essentially eats everything), learned to sit up on his own, started to babble, and learned to crawl. While I love watching him change and do something new every day, it breaks my heart a little each time that our families are missing it.
2. Working somewhere other than my house. One of the perks of working for yourself is that you can create an “office” almost anywhere. While the majority of the time I would work from home, I loved the days where I would work at a coffee shop for a few hours for a change of scenery. Some of our favorite coffee shops to work at: Mozart’s, Swedish Hill Bakery, Radio Coffee & Beer, Austin Java, Barley Bean. All of these places are very kid-friendly with the exception of Bean and Barley, only because it’s incredibly quiet. Read my full Mozart’s review here.
3. Running regular errands. This is something I never thought I would say… but I actually miss running errands. I miss going to the grocery store and actually taking the time to go through every aisle. I miss running to the post office to ship my boutique orders without wearing a mask and gloves. I miss going to Dallas Market to shop in-person for new styles for Sugar & Spice Apparel. I miss socializing with strangers while doing all of this and the small social interactions that would take place. I’m excited to just get back to normal life, without masks and social distancing from every person we see.
4. Going out to eat. I’ve always loved going out to eat, but I know I will appreciate it even more now that it’s been forbidden for the past couple of months. While we’ve still been able to get take out or delivery from some of our favorite restaurants, it’s obviously not the same as getting dressed up, doing my hair and make up (side note: I’ve never worn sweatpants, no makeup, and my hair in a bun this much in my life), and sitting down with Dom while we order delicious food and wine and have good conversation. Restaurants I’m looking forward to eating at most: Uchi, The Grove Wine Bar, Sushi Zushi, Polvo’s.
5. Spending time at the beach. If you know me or have followed my blog for a while, you already know that my absolute favorite place is the beach, and same goes for my husband. We are both our happiest selves at the beach (doesn’t even matter which beach) because it’s truly such a peaceful atmosphere – and there’s no feeling like the sun on your skin. Now that it feels like summer in Austin, that craving for the beach has only gotten stronger.
6. Going to HomeGoods and TJ Maxx. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a lover of both HomeGoods and TJ Maxx. I can’t resist doing a quick stop at HomeGoods if I’m driving by, even if it’s just to look without buying anything. Sometimes I go there when I need to “escape” – aka be completely alone for an hour. I miss having the freedom to just drive over there for a quick browse or for a distraction.
7. Traveling. Ugh. I know we are not the only ones who had to cancel trips due to coronavirus, and I know our trips were not the most important. But for people who travel every few months, it’s difficult to not be able to jump on a plane or hop in a car and go wherever we want to go. Now that we have a baby, it’s much more difficult to travel in the first place. But with so many of our friends and family on the East Coast, I’ll be thrilled once traveling is deemed safe again. And I can’t wait to plan our next getaway, either! Looking at you, Dom 😉
8. Hitting the bars. I never thought I would miss going to a bar like I did during my nine months of pregnancy, but here we are again. Going to a sports bar for a good game (sports – another thing I miss), sitting outdoors at a brewery on a nice day, meeting our friends on Rainey Street when we’re parents gone wild (lol jk… kinda). While I definitely think I miss this more because it’s something I can’t do – shocker, I’ve never liked being told what to do – I also miss the social interaction of a bar and the excitement of watching a good game surrounded by people cheering for the same team. Favorite bars we’ll definitely be going post-quarantine: Buford’s, Rustic Tap, Icenhauer’s, Bungalow.
9. Having pop-up events for my boutique. This one kind of surprised me, but it’s true. I’ve become accustomed to planning my pop-up events and preparing for the next one as soon as the current one is over. But now, I don’t even know when the next one will be. I could potentially have a pop-up in August, with two more in November, but all of those are up in the air due to COVID-19. It’s sad and a bit discouraging to not have these events to plan for and look forward to, especially when it’s the best way to get out and meet customers in person, attain new customers and get the best feel for what products people are drawn to. The three pop-ups I am hoping my boutique will still make an appearance at this year are: Le Garage Sale, Nutcracker Market, and A Christmas Affair.
10. Spending more time outdoors (outside of my neighborhood). Whether it’s going to my outdoor workout class (7 days a week, with all mamas and their babies, and it’s actually a bomb workout – looking at you Fit4Moms), or taking our dog, Lincoln, to the dog park, I’m beyond excited to get to spend more time outside. While we’ve been taking several daily walks around our neighborhood since being quarantined, and are lucky enough to have a backyard to hang out in, it’ll be nice to get to go other places and enjoy the fresh air again. Some of the top spots we’ll definitely be hitting in Austin: Perla’s Oyster Bar, Rose Bud Isle, Vera Cruz, Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden.

Here’s to hoping we’ll all be able to safely get back to normal life sooner rather than later and enjoy all of our favorite routines, restaurants and shops again!