Yup, those are Christmas pajamas. Yup, it's the middle of summer...
But they are super cozy and they remind us of the holidays - a time when we could celebrate with groups of people... remember that? It seems so long ago... ;)
If you’d told us at the beginning of 2020 that this is what life would look like right now, we wouldn’t have believed you. We have had more plans change than we ever could have imagined, and we know that we are not alone in this. We know that this is a time of uncertainty for all of us. So many people across the world are dealing with massive change, illness, anxiety, and economic strain.
And so we wanted to take a breath and focus on the ways we are bringing happiness into our day-to-day life. We're sharing 5 ways that we are finding joy during quarantine. We are finding daily happiness by choosing to focus on all of the things we are grateful for - jamming on guitar in our holiday PJs is just one of many! Comment below and let us know what you're doing to create happiness in your life during these uncertain times!
1. EXTRA TIME WITH LOVED ONES
We normally spend a lot of our life on the road, touring across North America. Our musician hearts are so sad to be missing out on what was going to be our biggest tour yet this year, but there is a silver lining - we are finding so much day-to-day joy by focusing on being present and appreciating the extra time we have been getting to spend with the ones that we love. We’ve loved our date nights in with our boyfriends, creating new recipes for home cooked meals and discovering new TV shows, podcasts and movies! We’ve loved our sister hang time, drinking rosé and taking time for daily chats that revolve around more than just work! We’ve loved extended FaceTime chats with our family - we talk often on the phone, but quarantine has taken our communication to another level. Even when we are miles apart, we can still create quality time with our friends and family thanks to the wonderful invention of the internet!
2. EXERCISE
We have always valued exercise, and we love workouts like running, HIIT, weight lifting and yoga. Our favorite workout app is Tone It Up which allows you to choose a program that works for your body and your schedule. Having so much more time at home because of the COVID-19 lockdown, we have used exercise to add joy to our daily schedule. It is that time that you take just for yourself to focus on YOU - to feel strong and healthy! Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we are not in a hurry and we can spend an hour working out because we’re not rushing to get to a songwriting session or a show rehearsal. Although we miss these in-person events dearly, we are finding joy in being able to fit in a great workout daily!
3. FOCUSING ON THE POSITIVE… while still acknowledging the loss
Keeping a positive mindset during this time of uncertainty has been so important for us. When our minds start to go down the tunnel of “When will touring happen again!?” or “What will our lives look like in 6 months?”, it’s easy to feel discouraged. But we’ve learned some incredible lessons from all of this, including a) We are even stronger than we thought! and b) It is possible to change your mindset. So when we feel down, we refocus our mindset from what we can’t change to what we can change! However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t allow ourselves some time to acknowledge the loss that COVID-19 has caused. We know that all of us across the world have been forced to make big changes, and it’s healthy to acknowledge that this is hard. We spent our fair share of days crying over the loss of our 2020 plans before we felt ready to start making new plans for this new future. I know we are all doing our best to re-invent and keep the ball rolling, but it is a challenge, and we believe that it’s important to allow yourself some time to grieve the loss. And then the next morning… we get up, we breathe, we exercise, we start fresh on a positive note and dream of what’s to come!
4. LEARNING NEW THINGS
With all of this time at home that we have been gifted (see how we’re doing that ‘positive thinking’ thing!? :D), we have poured ourselves into learning as many new skills as possible. This time is enabling us to re-invent ourselves and to grow. We’ve both been learning a lot of new software, from Photoshop to Final Cut Pro to Quickbooks (ok, this last one is not as exciting, but the feeling of having our bookkeeping in tip-top organization feels sooo good!) It is empowering to learn new things, and we know that once quarantine is over, these new skills will make our “normal” life that much easier! What is that thing that you’ve always wanted to learn, but have just never found the time for? We’d love to know what new things and new skills you’re discovering during this time.
5. BEING CREATIVE
We have always valued time for creativity - our career depends on it! We love writing songs and recording music. But to be honest, when COVID first hit, we were just trying to pick up all the pieces and figure out how to move forward day by day, and creativity didn’t come easy. And then we started doing some Facebook Live concerts and connecting online with our amazing fans, and it felt like we could still do what we love even though all of our tour and EP release plans had been put on pause. That was an amazing realization! (And on top of that, a bunch of you bought special early copies of our Homebound EP packages online - THANK YOU! - so that was definitely the next best thing to signing copies at the merchandise table after a show, and the reason we did a lot of happy dances in our kitchen! :D)
Visit our Facebook page to see more of our Facebook Live concerts!
Now, we’ve taken it a big step further. We have spent the last few months developing a new workshop series for performing musicians and we are SO excited to share that with you soon. We have also been filming a bunch of new videos (from the safety of our home!) so that you can get to know us better and learn more about our musical journey. Finding new ways to be creative has brought us so much joy during this time.
We want to hear what’s going on in your quarantined life! How are you finding joy day-to-day? We know that this time we are all going through is incredibly hard. We had no warning, and at times, it feels impossible. But you are not alone - we are truly in this together, and we believe that we can use this experience to grow and gain strength.
For us, this time on pause from our regular schedule of touring has given us new perspective. We cannot wait for the next moment we can step on stage, and we can promise that we will soak up every single second of it! Until then... stay safe, stay healthy, and hug the ones you're with, or should we say, the ones you're quarantined with! ;)
