Wow. Hi guys, it’s been a long time. I definitely did not plan this most recent blogging break. I was certain that after the New Year, I’d come back a better, more consistent blogger and that February would be full of great content. I’d detail my Tulum, Mexico trip, and do my annual birthday blog post and celebrate turning 27. But, none of that happened. And since life has gotten quite crazy for all of us this month in particular, I figured now is as good a time as any for a check-in with all of you. I’ve missed you guys, and I hope you and your family and friends are well.

This post is a long one so in case you skim/skip to the bottom, there is a Reader Survey that I’d love for you to fill out! It’s only a few multiple choice questions so please fill it out when you get a chance!

Life Lately

For starters, like many of you, I’m “social distancing” in my Brooklyn apartment with my boyfriend, Craig and our cat. Two weeks ago, both of our offices closed and started a remote working system for all non-essential employees so we’ve been effectively quarantined for just about two weeks now. We’ve gone out for groceries/other household items about three times, and I’ve made the five minute walk over to our local Dunkin’ for an iced coffee a few times. All that to say, it’s been…weird.

To be honest, the homebody in me has no complaints. I don’t miss going out all that much and I certainly don’t miss commuting on the crowded subway twice a day. No, staying at home isn’t a big problem for me. I love our apartment, and thank God that we decided to take the leap and move last summer. I love spending all this time with Craig. He truly is my best friend and we have so much fun together. And it has been nice “sleeping in” until about 8:45am on weekdays now that my commute is about a five second walk from my bedroom to the living room, aka my new office.

What I do miss are my people. I miss my best friends popping by on a random Sunday afternoon to just hang out and watch Netflix together. I miss brunch dates with one too many mimosas. I miss Friday night dinner and movie dates. My friends have been good about FaceTiming every so often so we all keep in touch but let’s be real, it isn’t the same. I want to hug them and laugh until our stomachs hurt together. I think after all of this, that’s the thing I’ll be happiest to do again. Hug and love on my people.

I also think it’s worth noting here, that I don’t mean to come off insensitive or presumptuous that things will go back to “normal” and we’ll all make it out unscathed. I don’t take that for granted at all actually. The hugs I mentioned earlier would be extra special because it means we’re all here to still hug each other, and THAT is special because not everyone will get that luxury unfortunately. Before this gets too dark though, the last thing I’ll mention is that this crazy time we’re in has heightened my own awareness of our mortality. Something I’ve always been acutely aware of, but that I think about on an almost-daily basis now.

What I’m Doing to Help

But moving on to more positive things, I’m not taking this situation lightly and while I’m at home I have been trying to do my part to help where I can. I am only one person, with an unremarkable salary, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t contribute where I can, right?

With that in mind, I’ve made a few charitable donations to some incredible organizations that are working tirelessly to help. Listing them out below in case you feel inclined to help as well!

1. Save The Children: I’m actually set up to donate monthly to Save the Children, but this month, donations are going towards their efforts to train health teams, provide personal protective equipment to healthcare workers on the frontline right now, and continuing their efforts to help schools and other community programs to keep feeding kids in need.
2. CDC Foundation (via Facebook): Facebook matched up to $5 million in donations towards CDC Foundation for an overall donation of $10 million! According to the CDC website, “the CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do more, faster by forging effective partnerships between CDC and others to fight threats to health and safety.”
3. Coronavirus Relief Fund (via ActBlue): This organization distributes your donation to a number of amazing organizations providing relief to groups most affected by the Coronavirus, including Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry, and National Domestic Workers Alliance.

All that said, even if you’re not in a position right now to make a monetary donation, there are other ways to help! First, social distancing, obviously. At this point I’m sure you’ve heard about cities/states taking these measures to “flatten the curve” and “stop the spread” so I won’t bore you by rehashing all of that. But what I will say is, if you’re one of those people who is still out and about and think this isn’t a big deal, I’d humbly say: you’re wrong. This virus is serious and the effects it’s having on people young and old are serious. Even if you probably won’t die if you caught it, is it really worth it to you to potentially give it to someone who might die? Or someone who would pass it on to one of their loved ones who may die? It’s just not worth it. And frankly, it’s incredibly selfish to take the risk. Because while some of us are still going out and carrying on with life as normal, others are quarantining and social distancing, waiting for the day we can all go back outside without risk. And you are prolonging that.

But I’ll step off my soapbox now.

Another way you can help is by putting skills you already have to use. Can you sew? Look into sewing masks and protective gear for hospital workers! Great cook? Maybe make a little extra and offer some to your neighbors for their next meal.

And if you’re ordering food, consider ordering from some local restaurants near you. They are hurting so much right now and would really appreciate your business more than say, McDonald’s or Domino’s.

So, what now?

Well, now that I’m home virtually 24 hours a day for the foreseeable future, I’d love to get back into blogging. I have a few ideas for posts that I’d like to work on, but I don’t want to just add to all the noise out there (anyone else notice the 193872 instagram lives happening everyday?!). No, I want to be helpful to you guys, my readers. That’s why I’m asking for you all to take three minutes and fill out this quick survey for me so that I can create what you all want to see right now and going forward. I really really appreciate your answers and hope you’ll reach out over the coming weeks with anything you’d like to see. As you guys know, you can reach me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and my email is right over in the sidebar if you ever need it!

Again, I hope you’re all doing well and taking care of yourself and loved ones. We’ll get through this ♥️

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