Sweet friends…welcome to this month’s Where Bloggers Live 08.2020 where I’m sharing my vacation. Vacation? What vacation? I’ve hardly left the house other than to go to Lauren’s to help with babies. And pick up groceries from Walmart. I assure you there has been no vacation-having by my PC or me! Not even a staycation for pity sakes.
For last month’s post, I shared a peek at my kitchen and it was one of my most popular posts lately. The month before, the Where Bloggers Live gang and I gave tours of our outdoor spaces. I had just revamped our yard and patio so I was happy to share! If you missed that post, please check it out here.
As much as I had hoped we were beginning to come out of our Covid cocoons in July, I am thinking that was premature today. The number of Covid cases in El Paso was up 274 from yesterday with 3 more deaths. Gratefully, the hospitalizations, ICU patients and those on ventilators are generally decreasing though. But there aren’t many of us packing up for a vacation ’round these parts. Oh, but wouldn’t a vacation be heavenly?
Where Bloggers Live
Before we get started, just a word about Where Bloggers Live. This fun series is kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…with bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes and lives?
I am also linking up today with my pal Lauren for her monthly Glossies Made Me Do It series, always live on the second Friday of each month. For the Glossies series, we share things we’ve found in magazines lately that we’d like to try or learn more about! In this case my glossy was a special edition of Time magazine, “The Science of Happiness.”
Just a reminder: Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links. This means that if you click or make a purchase from a link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
My Vacation Afternoon
You are probably thinking this won’t be much of a post since there’s been NO VACATIONING of any kind going on over here. Unless you count today when I got on my new suede air mattress with a lim-e-arita in hand. My floppy straw hat on my head. And my Daci long sleeve bathing suit protecting me from the 105* sunshine.
True, this was plenty delicious but not exactly the same as going somewhere away from home for at least a night. Read on to find out some ways a real vacay can be beneficial.
Finding Happiness with a Vacation
According to an article entitled “14 Ways to Jump for Joy” by Ellen Seidman in this special edition of Time magazine, going off the grid for a getaway week or weekend is a great way to find happiness. I can second that, Ellen. Whether it is an elaborate, carefully planned 7 days away at an all inclusive resort or a spontaneous overnight staycation at a bed and breakfast in your own town, benefits abound.
Vacations can:
- provide a boost to our mood even in the planning stages
- help us de-stress by removing us from the activities and environments that cause stress
- break up the drudgery of our daily life
- make us more productive once we return from vacation
- improve our energy level
- create meaningful memories
VisitLasVegas.com surveyed a group of 21-74 year olds who had taken at least one overnight trip for pleasure in the past year. Upon returning home, the individuals polled demonstrated that their vacations actually led to increased happiness, less stress, and improved health afterwards.
During these days of stay-at-home restrictions and social distancing, our weekends may be as close to having a vacation as many of us will get this summer. Seidman suggests that before each weekend is over, we should make plans for the next one. That anticipation can see us through the workweek. So what can we plan for a Covid-19 weekend?
Savor the Small Things
For most of us, a week-long resort vacation is out of the realm of possibility or consideration right now. There’s concern around air travel, the risk of staying in public accommodations. As well as, the worry about patronizing restaurants and stores or attending events where social distancing may be difficult.
Maybe vacations this year look more like staycations:
- spending a night at a local B&B, boutique hotel or private home available through Airbnb and Vrbo
- renting an RV for a weekend and heading out to a remote campsite or setting it up in your driveway
- sleeping in a different room in your home – try the guest room, pitch a tent in the backyard, build a pallet in the den
- or maybe you sleep in your very own bed. But you order dinner from a favorite restaurant or somewhere new and different and have it delivered. Maybe you order breakfast, too. Think room service!
Beyond the Bed
But vacations aren’t just about the sleeping arrangements, right?
We enjoy participating in sip & paint classes at I Painted That! But right now classes can’t be given. However, kits can be purchased and you can sip and paint at home. Lauren and I purchased mosaic kits and are doing them at home.
Instead of a spa day, look into having a massage therapist come into your home. Masked, of course! I searched for ‘mobile massage therapists’ and found quite a few in my area. We are definitely going to be looking into this.
Maybe you get an inexpensive kiddie pool, set it up in the back yard, on the balcony or patio, pull out the lawn chairs, fill up the cooler, turn up the tunes and have a beach day.
Or try a progressive dinner, dining in or on the patio of your favorite restaurants…one for an appetizer, one for the main course, one for dessert and one for a night cap. Worried about eating in? Get each course for take out and find different places to park and enjoy them.
Our Plans
As the summer comes to an end, we could all use a little sojourn. Hope this post and the information from Time’s article “The Science of Happiness” have spurred your imagination for creating a staycation for those you love. I hope to put my own suggestions into play. Maybe for Labor Day weekend?
Your Turn
Have you enjoyed a vacation or staycation this summer? Would love to hear your staycation ideas. Hope you will take a minute to visit the blogs of the other gals in this great group. I am excited to read about their vacations, too.
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Julia at When the Girls Rule
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
While this group of 7 bloggers will soon be completing our first year of this series, we have taken a vote and decided to continue into year two. We have a grand list of over a dozen prompts that will take us beyond this time next year! Hope you will continue to follow our fun.
And be sure to run by Lauren’s blog at Shooting Stars Mag, here. I’m sure her glossies post will be great food for thought.
Hugs and kisses,
Funny, we’ve been talking about vacations for the past several weeks at our house. Even though none of us has taken one, of course, we’ve all gained some of the benefits you’ve mentioned just by our virtual travel and our strolls down memory lane.
It’s also been uplifting to think about where we would like to go when this is all behind us (God willing).
Loved the weekend vacation ideas you’ve suggested! Why not reinvent where you are and approach it with a new attitude. Thanks for the inspo, Leslie!
Thank you, Em!!
I just returned from 4 nights in Victoria, B.C. They have closed the Main Street of the city to cars, extended restaurant patios and added lots of comfy Adirondack chairs to encourage outdoor activities. We have more new cases of the virus than we did a month ago. I guess the fall is going to be a challenge.
How delightful your little escape sounds. That is the perfect pick-me-up. Hoping we can get away soon.
You’ve got some good ideas for creating a mini break in your own home and what a bonus, you have a pool in your back garden!
Our holiday to Portugal was cancelled in June and we were hoping to go to Italy for our 40th wedding anniversary in September, that is not going to happen either! But we have booked 4 nights away at an Airbnb house on the south coast and are planning to check out the beaches and places of interest around there. Plus it has self catering facilities so if all the restaurants and pubs nearby have to close, we can still eat!
Seems that everyone is beginning to make reservations for little getaways in the not-so-distant future. Hope you will be able to celebrate 41 years together in Italy next year. I am going to see my mom next week which will not be vacation at all but it will be a change of scenery.
Oh,I love your long sleeved bathing suit. Don’t think I’ve ever seen one, but if I ever need a suit again I’ll definitely be looking for one of those. Great ideas too. Hope you’re doing okay – stay safe.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
We have managed to escape the virus…knock on wood.
I love my long sleeved bathing suit and reach for it now over the others. Highly recommend!!
What great ideas and the perfect antidote to COVID fatigue
Oh, Covid fatigue. Great expression.
We got to take two road trips this summer. I’m happy we did so! We all love traveling in my family.
I remember your Texas trip. I would like to drive to see my daughter and granddaughter in Ft. Worth but heavens, it is a long drive across the state.
You look so adorable and relaxed in the pool! Makes me wish we lived closer so we could get together… 6 feet apart, of course. 😉 Have a beautiful weekend, Leslie!
Would love to have you and the kids over for a swim!!
Looks like a lovely vacation “afternoon.”
Oh, it was!!
Hey…pool life is like vacation right?? Especially with the limarita!!
But I agree that the planning is sometimes even better than the real thing. Maybe that’s just me, but it’s something so exciting to look forward to. And reliving the memories is wonderful too. Rob and I had so much fun going through the photos and remembering what we did.
OXOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Several years ago, PC and I rented an RV for a week while he played in the senior men’s world series in Phoenix. I absolutely adored the little camper we stayed in. Couldn’t wait to get there, loved every moment while we were there, and have so enjoyed looking back over our photos of that week. Would love to do it again. That’s a good vacation!!
These are all great ideas for a non-vacation! A little sumthin is better than nothing!
SUEDE AIR MATTRESS???
I would love to have a pool to float in. In NY now, some people are RENTING OUT THEIR POOLS – like AIRBnB but for pools – $200 for 3 hours!!! Maybe that could be a little side hustle for you 😉
Bettye
https://fashionschlub.com
Oh my, would love to rent out our pool!! Wonder what kind of liability insurance you have to have? Or just home owners. Hmmm!
We have vacation in 2 weeks and hoping we can go away for a few nights in own country. Enjoy your weekend!
Hope you have the very best time on your vacation.
H, Leslie – I am in full agreement regarding the multiple benefits of vacatons, regardless of the type of vacation we take. Your post is packed full with creative ideas — one or more are bound to be a perfect fit for each of us.
Missing our regular summer Camino, Richard and I began ‘#30hikesin30days’. We just finished our 52 different hike in a row. Today’s trail was a 17 km/10.5 mi steep mountain path (Mt. Washington) with breathtaking views throughout. After 5 hours of hiking we came home both exhaused and invigorated — exactly like we feel at the end of day on a Camino. A key difference is that we get to sleep in our own bed. Perfect!
I was so impressed with your 52 hikes. What a great compromise to Camino. And to have all of that beauty within walking distance – more or less – is just incredible to me.
That long sleeve swimsuit is as fab as I thought it’d be.
Your pool looks so refreshing… Honestly, I think anything that gets us away from the news and provides a few minutes of escapism qualifies as a vacation nowadays.
Well said. I am watching less news than ever. And forget to check the number of new cases of Covid some days. I am just done.
I am reaching for my long sleeve swimsuit more than any of the others. I think I am finally realizing the damage I have suffered
from carefree years in the sun.
With your gorgeous pool, you don’t need a vacation! ha ha! Your backyard is a vacation. No, in all seriousness, just take a staycation to somewhere local. We’ve done it twice this summer already. As far as Covid I read a quote “If you stopped living because you’re afraid of Covid, you’re already dead”. I live my life by that. I’ve already wasted 5 months of my life to the government restrictions of this disease. I’m just not gonna do it anymore. I’m too old to waste one more second fearing to do something or go somewhere because of covid.
Wow, what a powerful quote. I told my daughter something similar last weekend. After I had a semi-meltdown. We accompanied her to the outlet mall which is outdoors, and you enter each store from the outside breeze way. We had so much junk in hopes of protecting ourselves and the grandbabies from ‘bad germs.’ Hand sani, wipes, masks, a fan to blow on the baby because she gets so hot in her mask, Lysol spray. I was afraid to touch the kids or anything else, afraid to set anything down. Just maddening. I told my daughter it was just too much. At 62, I don’t feel like losing any more time to this virus, either. Well said.
Hi Leslie – lovely to see you relaxing by the pool. I think we’re all missing being allowed to travel, but you’re right that there’s always little things we can do to take a break. My husband and I have booked a week away at the end of the year on a little holiday island off our coastline – we love it there and it’s still within our home State so travel is allowed. Accommodation is in little self-contained units – so nobody too close and travel on the island is on foot or by bicycle – so lots of fresh air and hopefully no coronavirus!
Oh, Leanne, your get-away sounds so delightful. Hope the weather will be perfect and you will make many (healthy) memories.
Hmm. I thought for sure I had left a comment on this, so sorry if I forgot to hit the post button.
Anywho, we are likewise vacationing at veranda beach this year, although your version is exceptionally lovely with you little gazebo area and hot tub bonus!
You look grand in the long-sleeved suit! What a great idea! By this time of year my arms and back begin to look like pleather. I am definitely going to check these out… if you can take it at 100+ degrees, it should be able to handle a Buffalo summer. It’s really SO pretty besides.
I’m grateful for your suggestions on how to make a vacation when you can’t really take one…there are some great ideas there!!! Sometimes reminding people they can feel special by treating themselves that way can make a big difference.
xoxo
I really, really like the long sleeved bathing suit. I would never have guessed it could be so comfortable. I want to wear it every time we swim. And PC likes it too. Who knew!!
Thanks for linking up with Glossies! This sounds like a really interesting article. I could really use a vacation right about now – even a fun staycation. LOL I think it’s definitely a time where people are being creative when it comes to “getting away” and I love that. You don’t need some expensive trip to reap the benefits, though I’m sure many will be happy when they CAN plan a bigger trip.
-Lauren
I would just like to be able to escape by going to the movies. And we may soon be able to do that. Our nearby theater is opening next weekend. But there don’t seem to be any good movies out right now. Especially considering the potential risk of going!
I’m dreaming of a vacation and I love your staycation tips! We have the lake in our neighborhood but I wish we had a pool I could float around in. I love the print of your long sleeve suit! We used to pitch a tent in the backyard when our daughter was younger. Switching it up and sleeping in the guest room is a great idea.
Jill – Doused in Pink
I love to sleep in the guest room. It is fun to sleep in a smaller bed and the room feels cozier than our bigger master bedroom. Going to hit ole PC up to do that with me this weekend.