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Savor Every Moment

Monday, April 20, 2020

Good Morning Lovely Human Beings!

Hope everyone is doing well in quarantine, staying healthy, happy, and sane. If anyone ever wants to talk about their experience, how they're feeling or really anything, I'm always here. Just shoot me a DM on Instagram. 

So lately I have been thinking a lot about living in the moment. If you don't already know, each year I do a one second everyday video (2017, 2018, 2019). And I recently was complaining to a friend about how boring my one second video is recently. Just videos of me walking my dog, the occasional puzzle, and lots of just hanging out. I even made a clip for the video to say, "hey sorry things have been boring, it's day 1,342 of quarantine, not much is going on." 

I look back on my previous one second videos and really miss those times. The good times, the fun adventures with friends, the belly laughs, the up-all-night dance parties, all good things that make me say, "oh I wish we could go back to old times. I miss pre-corona life." 

When in reality, all of those moments were pretty fleeting. Sure I took a one second video to remember it for times like these, but I know that I rarely took time to take a step back and appreciate exactly where I was in that moment and how great it was, I just lived through it. As most people do... 

But I think instead of complaining about not having "fun quarantine content" it's a really good time to slow down and really appreciate the good things. Really take time to savor every moment in quarantine. Especially when things are so crazy in the world right now. I want to take time to really embrace every beautiful flower I see when walking my dog, or the great accomplishment of finally finishing a super difficult puzzle. 

I think I want to use this time to bring a daily practice of really living intentionally into my life so post corona, I can really truly enjoy those up-all-night dance parties like it's my last. 

Because the truth is, no one saw this coming. No one knew the midnight beach trips, kisses at sunset, and deep talks on the balcony would be the last before quarantine. So instead of longing for a "pre-corona" adventure, look forward to all of the future adventures yet to come, adventures that you will enjoy like it's your last. 

I used to be a big goal setter, a big go getter, not that I no longer try or something like that... but I think right now my main goal is to live intentionally. I want to stop trying to set out of reach goals, but take it day by day. Make others around me happy, know that everyday is a new day, a new chance to learn, grow, move, and groove. A new chance to be happy and grateful for every little thing in this world. 

The future is unpredictable, but I want to challenge you all to start living intentionally, savor every moment, and as cliche as it is, live each day like it's your last. (don't go skydiving and doing crazy things everyday or something, but you know what I mean.)

A movie that I ADORE that covers this topic is About Time, here is a clip about living each day with an intention. If you haven't seen it you MUST, it's on Netflix (also he's a time traveler, so that's why he's talking about living a day twice)


Have a wonderful week <3
xo, O
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Quarantine To Do List- Movies, TV Shows, Books + more!

Monday, April 13, 2020

Hello!
It's day 33 of quarantine for me and I am starting to FINALLY get into a quaran-tine... a quarantine routine if you will. In the beginning I found myself feeling pretty out of whack, unmotivated, and lonely honestly, I'm an extrovert, can you blame me? But having things to do and keep me busy has helped a lot with this. So while I wont recommend binging movies, tv shows or tiktoks for hours and hours on end, because that WILL make you feel slumpy. BUT all in moderation right? Right. SO! Here are some recs of things that can keep you busy.

MOVIES
What If, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Catch me if you Can, 50/50, Lady Bird, JoJo Rabbit, Obvious Child, Band Aid, Okja, Mirai, Beautiful Boy, Knives Out, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, At Eternity's Gate, Five Feet Apart, The Sun is Also a Star, All The Bright Places, Horse Girl

ALL good movies. Some super popular favorites, other underrated icons. Give them all a chance and let me know if you watch any of them and what you think! They all have very different vibes, if you want to laugh but also cry but also feel good Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, oh you want to WEEP? Beautiful Boy and All the Bright Places... Linked above are all trailers, enjoy!  

TELEVISION
Zoeys Extraordinary Playlist, Dear White People, The Bold Type, I Am Not Okay With This, Feel Good, Love, Sex Education, BoJack Horseman, Dave, Friends From College

Believe it or not, that's almost all of the TV shows I have ever seen! Minus childhood classics, I basically just rewatch and rewatch and rewatch my favorites and am so picky about new shows! So if you have any recommendations for ME, let me know! Also, looking back at all these shows, they are all SO similar it's clear that I have a type of TV that I like haha...

Ones I haven't seen but are next on my list:
Unbelievable, Elite, Tales of the City, Maniac, Community and moooooore


BOOKS
I'm going to be very honest here and say that I really do not read that much. I read a bunch last summer during my subway commutes, but honestly I have not had the time since, that is until now! I'm notorious for starting books and simply NEVER finishing. 

BUT Right now I am reading The Upside of Being Down by Jen Gotch and I am DETERMINED to finish! So far it is really good, to give you the brief statement that is also on the cover she talks about, "how mental health struggles led to my greatest success in work & life." Pretty cool! Jen Gotch, if you don't know is the founder of Ban.do and someone who I have looked up to for years and years. About half way through, I would totally recommend this. 

As far as other recommendations go, some from the past year or so that I enjoyed were:
#Girlboss, You Are a Badass, Tales of the City, The Husbands Secret and Summer Sisters

The first two are AWESOME inspiring nonfiction books, and the last three are all very different. Yes I read a Judy Blume book, she tried her hand at adult fiction and boy was it a wild ride. If you want some mindless reading, check this out 

Also not going to lie, TikTok has gotten me back into my One Direction fanfic phases, so theres also that...

PLEASE GIVE ME SOME RECS!

OTHER THINGS TO DO

Puzzles! 
tarot cards, party pack, gradient (this looks insane), moms pantry, bottle caps

I've been really into puzzles lately. Never have I ever been a puzzle gal until now. I espeically love the vintage collage-y ones! Here are some cool ones I found online that you can order and enjoy for yourself! 

Bake
(photo from Pinch of Yum)

Lately I have been baking up a STORM! From cupcakes to coffee cake and banana bread, I've baked a bunch and am LOVING IT! Mainly loving being able to use the stand mixer that my family has, I did not have one of my own at my place in Savannah, so this is super exciting. I think my favorite recipe so far was a banana bread cookie cake I made in our cast iron skillet. It was SO good! I just used the cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag and added two bananas, sooo good. You can follow my pinterest for more recipe ideas! 

Listen to a Podcast
Girls Gotta Eat, Very Really Good, Anthropocene Reviewed, Be There In 5, Beach Too Sandy Water Too Wet, Tiny Meat Gang, and I forgot Lizard People!

I'm a big podcast girl. Like seriously LOVE them. I listen to a bunch here and there but these are my main ones that I listen to the most, if not weekly. All super different, most quite funny, I definitely like comedy podcasts. 

Walk your dog or Ride your Bike
Getting outside has been super helpful for me in trying to stay on my feet and be positive. Sunshine is a HUGE help when trying to boost your mood. It's hard being away from my friends, but honestly seeing other people out and about either walking their dogs too, walking with family, or whatever just smiling and waving hello is a nice little dose of human interaction! 

Journal 
Decomposition Book, Rainbow Plaid, Resilience, Be Present, Watercolor, Mushrooms

Journal because holy crap we are living in a pandemic right now and you are going to want your journal as a memory and first hand experience on how you were feeling, what you were going through, and what's going on in the world. Nothing like this has ever happened in our lifetime, so take note, this is going into history books! Also, it's really therapeutic to get thoughts out onto paper and meditate on how you're feeling. 

Above are some journals that you might like and can order today if you don't already have one! 

DIY Your Clothes
Painted Pants, Tye Dye Sweatsuit, Bleach Jeans, Embroidered Tee

So whether it's with embroidery, tie dye, distressing or what! There are a bunch of ways you can DIY and upcycle your clothes! I really love the painted jeans trend, or embroidering on tshirts and bags. I keep seeing these pop up on my tiktok! Above are some of my faves for inspo :-)

Redecorate your Room
I watched this video from Lone Fox where he did a whole room reno with only things he had in his house. This is something that any of us can do! Especially when DIY comes to play anything is possible!! In quarantine anyone can be an interior designer, anything can happen! 

Netflix Party With Friends
Netflix Party is super cool! Basically it's just a Chrome plug in where a chat widget comes up alongside anything on you want to watch on Netflix! So you and your friends can watch a movie or show together in isolation! And chat in real time! It's so much fun, my friends and I have enjoyed it for sure! You can download it here :-) 

Okay that's it for now folks! I hope you found these helpful or interesting! As always please send me any and all recs as well! DM me on instagram! @olivebarrett :-) 
Stay safe and healthy!!
xo, O





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Soooo... We're in Quarantine

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Hi! You guessed it... it's been a while! As you all know, we are really in a wild time right now. For future me reading this and perhaps someone who may somehow be living under a rock, we are in the midst of a very real, very scary pandemic. The Coronavirus has absolutely rocked our worlds, and not in a fun way. Many are losing their jobs, homes, and even lives. This is no joke. 

For a quick update: as of right now, I am in my last quarter of my senior year at SCAD, and unfortunately have had to move home for the remainder of the school year. My graduation has been canceled, as well as all other school events: fashion shows, film screenings, gallery openings, all final shows have been canceled. A pretty big deal for seniors. It's a really tough time for a lot of us. I am on day 27 of quarantine, I have not left the house once besides picking up my prescription once, going on two bike rides, and going back to Savannah to move everything home in less than a 12 hour period.

A lot of people have the mentality that, "now that we have all this time what a better time than now to get abs! Start a podcast! Write a book! Code an app!" While that is all well and good, I just want to remind you that it is TOTALLY okay to take time off. We are going through a life changing experience, it's completely okay to cope in a way that doesn't involve innovation and creation. 

I've noticed a lot of pressure to be creative. Part of me wants to say, "now that I'm in quarantine, I'm going to blog everyday and make videos four times a week and do IGTV everyday!" when in reality, changing up my routine from Savannah, moving home and having to work from home while not knowing what is going to happen next is exhausting physically and mentally. I think I am just going to take my time and take things slowly, and that is okay. 

At first I was really upset at the cancelation of classes and especially graduation, but as COVID-19 gets more serious I am really just counting my lucky stars that I am fortunate enough to be able to be home, safe with my family. I don't know what I would do if someone in my life got infected with the virus, let alone passed away. It's happening to people every minute. So I guess I'm just here to write this little update to say that I am incredibly grateful for my situation, and although it's super scary and difficult to wrap my head around all the tragedy, it's really about taking it day by day. We aren't machines, a time of tragedy isn't a time to be churning out content, it's a time to grieve and process. I'm doing my best to stay healthy, stay on top of my work, and try to adjust to life at home. 

Here's to trying to see the bright side of things. 
Check out my next post sharing movies, music, tv shows, books, and more activity recommendations! 
Please everyone try to stay safe and healthy!
Sending love! 
WASH YOUR HANDS!
xo, O
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