A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 5 – Carpe Lockdown
November 7, 2020
“Go on a health retreat” is what Fiona Ferris called Day 5 in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. Her idea is that one can use the whole nationally-mandated “lockdown/self-quarantine” situation as a “DIY” health retreat. (Which certainly feels much more elegant and luxurious than framing the situation as “trapped at home.”) She made a list of several actions that would give her the feeling of being on a luxury “spa” retreat. Her list included early nights to bed, prepping nutritious food for easy and healthy meals, daily planned walks, yoga, and extra-special at-home skincare. Not only do the daily actions sound fun but she also has the inspiring thought to come out of “lockdown” feeling pampered and both mentally and physically healthier.
The whole idea of a month-long “spa retreat” is part of my current “Chic Lockdown Plan.” I am hanging on, tooth and claw, to the goal of emerging from this lockdown both mentally and physically healthier than I was when it began. (Lockdown is here. The only thing that I can control about France’s national lockdown is how I choose to look at it.) Fiona gives us a couple of ideas on how to go about choosing a happier and more positive approach to experiencing our “self-quarantine.”
I have used Fiona’s “Chic Plan for Stressful/Tempting Situations” approach before for shorter time periods – I wrote about how to visit fabulous cooks and stay congruent with my health values here. Last lockdown, I kept a “Chic Plan” that focused on working through Fiona’s books, 30 Chic Days and 30 More Chic Days. Fiona definitely kept me focused on being creative and looking for the positive in each day. I like the sound of a “spa retreat.” What I’m struggling with is exactly what “spa” type elements would I like add to my C2 “Chic Plan?”
My current “Chic Plan” has the main focus of “hyggie” – cozy and nurturing – which clearly lends itself to “spa” elements. I already have the “food” plan going – low-carb/sugar-free. (Today was a fun cooking morning. I just made a great vanilla sugar-free creme brulee & a dairy-free/sugar-free creme brulee – using coconut cream – for my daughter’s friend. Then I made a wonderful crustless quiche with gruyere, diced ham and carmelized onions for lunch. Yum!) I agree with Fiona – my “game plan” gate crashers (like Marks & Spencers All Butter cookies and Dark-Chocolate Covered Digestive cookies) must remain at Marks & Spencers. If they physically enter my apartment…. well, let’s just not talk about it.
The next item is sleep. Going to bed before I’m sick with tiredness is a fabulous feeling. I define luxury as being able to go to bed just feeling relaxed and a bit tired and then read a book for about 20-30 minutes. No staying up until my eyes are burning and a tiredness headache is just forming. By the way, the only person who causes all this is MOI. And it usually involves a book that I don’t want to put down (as if it will disappear at 2 am if I don’t finish it right now.) I’ve gotten better at being able to put the book down (I set the timer on my iphone to remind me at the 30 minute mark.) The issue is actually getting to bed at a good hour (for me that would be by 9:30) and then lights out 30 minutes later. This will take a little analysis of exactly why am I actually hitting the bed later than I want. There is no TV or internet browsing that late so I don’t have those excuses.
Walking is big part of my “luxury” feeling. I start the day with a 45-60 minute walk each morning – on the way to picking up croissants or a baguette for the rest of the family at breakfast. Scheduling an “after lunch” walk every day – for exercise (need to stay true & honest on the attestation form) – would be a good mental move. After lunch is the time when internet browsing can easily lure me off-course. If I put an “after-luch walk” on my iphone calendar with an alarm, I can more easily keep myself from putting the walk off until “later” (which often drifts to “tomorrow.”) Ok – it’s on the calendar and I just went for a 30 minute walk. I took my one of my usual morning routes. Things look different later in the day. There are more people moving about and a few shops were open. Look below for a photo of a very charming knitting & yarn shop that is (amazingly) open.
Fiona’s idea to vew this lockdown as an opportunity to craft an at-home “luxury spa retreat” is genius. We point our minds towards a upbeat, positive image and we treat ourselves with a care and consideration that we might otherwise skip. It’s a tough time right now. Let’s make our list of what constitutes a “spa retreat” for ourselves and put the activities on the schedule.
Note: Fiona’s excellent books can be purchased at Amazon.com.