Getting back to reality after traveling isn’t always easy, but this time we’ve had a good run of it. Today, I’m sharing what’s worked for us after our recent trip to Paris. Here's how I transitioned back into my regular routine.
Beginning with pre-vacation, we did a few key things that were favors to our future selves:
Clear out the fridge of anything that would spoil while we were away
Do the laundry
Load and run the dishwasher
Take out the trash
Take an extra day off after coming back to get sorted
The extra day off worked out really well for this trip because our flight home landed at 8:30pm on a Thursday, allowing us to head straight into a three day weekend. I always like to pick flights that come home Thursday anyway, and typically like to fly early in the day so we have time to settle in - which means that I usually go right back to the work on Friday to catch up before a full week. This change, with the extra day, made a huge difference and it's something I'm going to try to incorporate into future travel planning.
That night, despite getting back to the apartment at around 9:45pm after getting our pups from Kev's parents' place, we did the following immediately when we got home:
Water all of our thirsty plants
Unload the dishwasher
Shower
Unpack the suitcases
That last thing, unpacking the suitcases, is one of those tasks that can linger, undone, for weeks on end (see: Everybody Loves Raymond season 7, episode 22: "Baggage"). I'm prone to procrastination when it comes to tidying, so I've found that unpacking right away is the best way to ensure it happens within a decently acceptable timeframe. I lay my suitcase open right by our front door which is right in the path of foot traffic, and pick up a few pieces when I pass it as I'm moving about the apartment.
We ordered in for dinner, because there was no way we were cooking that night.
The following day, on our extra day off, we rode the jet-lagged early morning wakeup to tackle some big errands:
Laundry
Supermarket
Drop off dry cleaning and pick up wine
Cook a big batch of food (Japanese curry in the dutch oven)
Cook a big batch of food for the pups
Vacuum
For M&m, I also caught up on emails and messages and packed up and shipped a few orders that came in while I was away.
In the evening, antsy to get back to production, I began working on a new vase for an order. I tried to relax in between adding new coils by finishing one of my library books. I also did a quick 10-minute peel with my Ole Henriksen Lemon Strip Peel. (Linked for the three step kit that first got me into the product. Though I don't think the peel is available for purchase by itself any longer, the three step kit had more dramatic results if I recall correctly.)
Pottery, reading, and skincare - a very nice combo for an evening in.
Later that night, Kev and I both passed out on the couch while watching Friends on Netflix, and woke up around 11pm to walk the dogs and head to bed.
Over the weekend, I went to the studio for a five hour session to catch up on work and recycle clay. It felt great to be back there, slowing myself down and exercising patience.
We did our CSA pick up on Saturday morning and made tacos for dinner that night with some of the produce, then Kev made an amazing white bean and tomato breakfast on Sunday using the bread and radish greens we got.
Early Monday morning, I woke up before 6:00am with jet lag and a little anxiety about going back to the office. So I finished the vase I'd started on Friday night, then made myself a turmeric latte and am here, sharing the past four days.
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