The First Month Things Have Started To Feel Normal – April 2021 Overview

April 2021 has been such a lovely month. It helped that Easter fell during the month, we had some nice sunny spells and the restrictions started to ease this month. I was feeling a bit apprehensive about things easing but I’ve taken it at my own pace and not gone anywhere where I’d worry about too many people. And it’s started to feel a bit more normal. I don’t even think about wearing a mask now. And we don’t question having to be outside to eat food out or see friends. But being able to do those things again has been huge.

April 2021 started with Easter weekend

The restrictions eased so you could meet six people outside by Easter and the weekend was lovely. On Friday, I saw some of my friends for a picnic. The weather was pretty nice overall and it was so nice to catch up in person after what felt like forever. Although thank god for Zoom. On Saturday, we headed to Milton Keynes as Luke had an eye appointment. And after years of talking about it, he’s booked in for laser eye surgery at the end of May which will be so good for him. We treated ourselves to a late breakfast at Tim Hortons on the way back.

And then we also managed to see Luke’s family for Easter dinner. Seeing people outside of us two really made it feel like progress was happening and we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Wedding planning

We have finally started to make progress with our wedding planning. It only took 15 months from our engagement to April 2021, but the pandemic changed so much in terms of preparation. We saw two venues this month. with the third and final one at the very start of May. So by the time you read this post we’ve probably made a venue decision and may even have a date which is so exciting.

Like the true spreadsheet maniac I am, I have started to create lists of things we need to do/ decide on. And some vague budget planning because I know it will be pricy. There will be some things we’ll try and save money on, but we’re both excited to have an amazing day with the people we love. Thankfully we’ve been saving ever since we got engaged, but the budget planning has helped show us how much more we’ll need to save.

Around the house

We made a bit of progress with the house during April 2021. We did some finishing touches on the downstairs loo like adding coving and painting the ceiling. I also picked up some accessories to dress the room so it feels much nicer. And work has properly started in the upstairs bathroom now. We have the whole suite now so the next step is to get the radiator and bath plumbed in then we can get it tiled. So it shouldn’t be too much longer until I can finally have a bath!

I now have blinds on the sliding doors in my office which I’m so happy about. The way the sun moves during the day meant that by about 4 pm I was struggling to see my computer screen. But these solve that.

And we’ve started our garden plans. After a few trips to Ikea, we finally have a garden table and six chairs so it’s really nice to have the option to sit outside. I’m still waiting for the parasol and some other bits to come back into stock. But we also took down the biggest shed in our back garden which was on our decking. This is in advance of doing a glow-up of our decking with a big clean, some varnish/ stain and hopefully a bit of decoration too.

Pampering myself in April 2021

I wouldn’t say I’m high maintenance in general, but I do love a pamper every now and then. So when salons and beauty reopened I booked in a few things; some out of necessity, and some as a treat for me (and to support the industry). It started off with finally getting my hair cut. I had about 4 inches cut off, but it still looks quite long so I may get some more off it next time.

Then I booked in for a full-body scrub which was so nice. It was a bit like a massage in terms of how relaxing I felt, but my body also felt smooth and luxurious afterwards. And I’m so bad at doing full-body scrubs on myself as I always make such a mess! And finally, I got my eyebrows thread. I hate doing my own eyebrows so have been getting them thread for a while, but I think it had been about a year since I last got them done. So the poor beautician had her work cut out for her.

When I had my eyebrows done I did a bit of retail therapy, mainly because I’d timed my trip into Watford for super early in the morning before the queues had begun. Although surprisingly I didn’t really buy/ want much. But it felt nice to walk around and browse somewhere that wasn’t a supermarket or Boots.

All the food

My dad’s birthday is in April so me and Luke headed to my parents for an outdoor Nando’s takeaway. As my brother and his fiance have temporarily moved back home they were there too so we got to see everyone.

When restaurants and pubs opened for outdoor service I met a friend for a pub dinner. We tried somewhere new in Tring and the place itself was great. I even had an alcoholic drink at the pub which I don’t think I’ve done in well over a year now. Me and Luke did our first restaurant dinner and headed back to Las Iguanas which is one of our favs. We planned our meal out way in advance as we knew places would be super busy. And it felt nice to do a date night.

The month ended with my family coming round for pizza and cocktails in the garden. Thankfully the weather was quite nice again so we busted out the Ooni pizza oven. And we shocked everyone at how great it was!

How was April 2021 for you?