Because Team | Lockdown Diaries

Brains : Meet

02 February 2021

With a third lockdown in full swing, see how the Because team are spending their 'stay at home' days, from the comfortingly mundane tasks to bursts of productivity.

Today's lockdown diary comes from junior fashion editor, Carmen, who shares why her already memorable birthday – that lockdown had successfully guaranteed – was one of her best yet.

For those born in the most-hated month, January, birthdays have always come with a dilemma. How do you celebrate the day when your friends are either penny-less, doing dry Jan or culprit to the month's sombre mood? In the past, I have felt the pressure to satisfy the needs of all of the aforementioned, which would often resulted in me not really enjoying my birthday at all. And that's even if my 13th of Jan birthday magically doesn't fall on a Friday!

But with lockdown in full swing when the occasion arose, I didn't have the luxury of worrying what everyone wants to do. All I had to cater for was myself, my boyfriend (who I live with) and my housemates, who were so concerned that I wouldn't have a nice day, they succumbed to my every want and desire. Subsequently, that was doing nothing of excitement and it was bliss. Here's a rundown of how I made my birthday, where I couldn't really do anything and didn't want to, one of the best I've had.

10:04
My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year, so I took the day off and revelled in a mid-week lie-in. Upon surfacing, I was welcomed by a beautiful bouquet of flowers – that were expertly chosen to match the vase I'd been given for Christmas – as well as a cooked breakfast. A pungent floral arrangement and a hearty morning meal will always bring a smile to my face, and so with a full belly and in an uplifting environment, I reclined to my sofa to continue Girl, Woman, Other – my current read that I'm incredibly late to the party on.

12:26
Midday seems the right time to finally get ready for the day, right? And so I constructed my outfit to match the new love of my life: my Miista shoes. My attentive other half gained a million brownie points for remembering how in infatuated I was with this style that I first found in October, and continued to ponder whether to buy or not the months following. Miista is a London-based brand that makes their beautifully crafted shoes in Spain, and their geometric designs that play with proportions – think: extended soles or bluntly squared toes – often secure an Instagram like from me. And so it seemed apt that I should embark on my daily walk with them afoot.

13:03
Sadly, but quite typical for my birthday, the weather didn't seem to coincide with my happy mood. Despite grey skies and drizzle (that persisted all day) I marched on and had a stroll around my local park. I'm sure you're just as bored of your nearest green space as I am, but to spice it up a bit, try taking a new route. I came across a pond I'd never encountered before and some friendly swans, who were just as interested in my new shoes as I was.

17:20
I finished my walk within the hour and spent a few hours relaxing at home with a face mask, while I waited for the others to finish work. Then, we jumped into card games (Bullshit being my favourite) and board games in our living room, which had been decorated with balloons and birthday banners. No, I didn't turn 18 this year; that reflects the age I feel rather than the years I've actually accrued – which is for me to know and the bare minimum to find out.

19:17
Instead of a take away or (god forbid) another home-cooked meal, I was surprised with a DIY Lina Stores meal. Secretly delivered to our front door was a box of their classic pasta dishes, that only required a few minutes of cooking and was the closest I got to dining out at my favourite pasta place. I would have included a pic of the beautifully presented meal, but it was so delicious that I gobbled it up before I had the chance!

And there we have it, my gloriously mundane birthday that turned out a lot better than expected.