Weekly Update - March 30th to April 5th

A Leisure Quarantine

It’s been a full week since my office was officially closed due to Gov. Inslee’s orders and now Mr. Mustang’s company has instructed their employees to work remotely as well. Honestly, compared to others during this confusing time I’ve been quite productive with catching up (if not rebooting) blog posts as well as completing chores around the flat that get forgotten.

Saturday

The quarantine order instructed by Gov Inslee says to have gatherings with no more than 5 people - following those rules, Mr. Mustang and I traveled to the far reaches of Pierce County and visited our dear friend Ms. Fox at her new burrow. Mr. Mustang originally wanted to visit only for a few hours so as not to overstay our welcome but after a few bottles of wine, 5 hours have passed! Wanting to support local businesses, I spotted a local italian restaurant that is a mere 2 minute drive away from her burrow and got a platter of practically everything on their menu. From classic red sauce pasta, pizzas, meatball subs and a tiny ceasar salad on the side - we gorged ourselves and talked all through the evening.

Sunday

Luckily as soon as we arrived home, I chugged about ½ gallon worth of milk before passing out on the bed so I woke with no hangover the next morning and felt completely refreshed. If it wasn’t for this quarantine, we would have several people over on this day because this was one of our scheduled Game Brunch that we put on twice a month. To honor tradition, Mr. Mustang and I had one anyways but with just the two of us.

Wanting to be simple with the meal, I decided to make rustic breakfast sandwiches with a light tossed salad on the side. Using local cured ham from Woodinville, diced red onions, provolone cheese and a sun dried tomato pesto aioli that is cooked in our panini press. I hold the opinion that no meal can’t be labeled ‘brunch’ without the most important ingredient, a bottle of sparkling wine so we pulled our spare from the fridge (house rule is we always have at least one bottle in the fridge at all times).

The game of the day was Mario Kart that we got to enjoy playing in between nibbles while also sipping our wine. By the time the gaming marathon was complete, it was around 2pm and I felt a nap was in order - the sun was shining through the clouds in the most perfect way that I drifted off in a matter of minutes.

Waking up shortly after 5pm, Mr. Mustang and I decided to try something new for dinner. Always wanting to support local businesses, we tried a new place that is only a few blocks away from our flat - Tipsy Cow. Tipsy Cow opened about a year or so ago in our area and we’ve been wanting to try it for a hot minute and we felt the quarantine was a perfect excuse to do so. Their menu focuses on uniquely assembled burgers that range from the classics of a beef patty to the exotic of seared ahi tuna patty. Mr. Mustang went for the ‘Beast Mode’ burger that unfortunately does not come with skittles and I went for their original Tipsy burger with caramelized onions. To entice customers, Tipsy Cow also has a special deal where you can add a bottle of wine for $20 which we happily added to our order. For a brief moment, Tipsy Cow even offered $4 growler fill ups however they only had that promotion for less than two hours (after a line formed around the block).

Sadly I didn’t have the forethought to take pics of our meals but I can guarantee they were both delicious with the caramelized onions on my burger being the best part.

We finished the evening by watching Youtube videos of Critical Role and headed to bed early at around 10pm - we couldn’t stay up too late after all, we had to go to ‘work’ in the morning.

Monday - Friday

Keeping a routine is crucial when a “Shelter in Place” is in order so trying not to be too comfortable with our commute being 14 feet away from our bedroom, we awoke at 7am to get ready for the day. There have certainly been times where I forgo brushing my hair until the afternoon or wearing sweatpants instead of jeans when at work but we are still as productive as we would be in a normal office setting.

Using this newly allocated time to be able to work from home, I have been focusing on improving my skills both online and at home. I have been cooking more with both lunches and dinners being homemade and fancier than they would normally be and I’ve been taking a few online classes to brush up on my technical skills as well. One of the most popular classes taught at Yale, “The Science of Well-Being” is now being offered for free on Coursera that I eagerly signed up for and been benefiting from.

Looking back, people might ask ‘what was it like living during the COVID-19 pandemic?” and I would have to say it was one of the most stress-free and relaxing periods of my life. So relaxing in fact that I have already gained two pounds during this time (that I made efforts to lose now loose) because with a kitchen full of food so readily available, it’s hard to resist snacking.

Next week plans? Most likely the same things as this week but with less ordering out I would hope.

Meal Plan this Past Week:

Monday - homemade pizza with salumi cure meat, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil

Tuesday - Cherry Tomato burst sauce and pasta

Wednesday - Asparagus Soup

Thursday - Mushroom Risotto

Friday - Tipsy Cow (again)