Oh, Bank Holiday! Every time one rolls around, I’m more thankful than ever for the respite from the daily grind of office life. What have we done to deserve this random day off?! Yet, it surprises people to hear that I rarely go away over this ‘free’ time. I love a bargain and frankly, I will not pay the inflated prices that fall upon my favourite travel sites for these time periods. I don’t have to travel over Bank Holiday, because I don’t have kids yet, so I stick with my off-peak deals to get more bang for my buck.
Butttttttt boy, do I get the travel envy when everyone else jets off for the long weekend. I want to do something, but I hate crowds, hate spending money for the sake of spending money, and really, I could do with just chilling out at home. So I’ve had the genius idea of holidaying at home. This isn’t a staycation (because I equate that with still going away, just within the confines of the UK); it’s about bringing home the little luxuries that I might treat myself to when I’m away instead.
How often do you really treat yourself? On holiday, everything goes, right?
“Sod it, let’s get dessert, we’re on holiday!”
“I’m going to lie in, I’m on holiday!”
You get the idea…
There’s certain things that I never do at home because it feels over-the-top or a waste of time. The same way I will ‘save’ an outfit instead of just enjoying wearing it. When it’s weekends like these and I have four whole days that I don’t have to get on the tube, sit in an office, or do anything that I don’t really feel like, I take the opportunity to do the things I wouldn’t normally do. Brewing a full pot of tea instead of dumping instant coffee into a mug that I can chug down in order to get me through the first couple of hours of the day. Having a full pot with milk in an actual jug just feels more like afternoon tea than my regular morning caffeine fix.
And you know what’s better than my five-days-a-week standard Marmite on toast? Anything served up with fancy kitchen accessories* and especially if it comes to me on a breakfast in bed tray. Wrapped in a big fluffy white robe is how I spend every morning in a nice hotel, and since I’ve had my own in my little London flat, I’ve worn it to sashay around on the weekends after staying all snuggly in bed with a bowl of granola and fruit AND a plate of crumpets (because two breakfasts on a weekend is how I roll too), and honestly, it makes me feel pretty special. I don’t treat myself like this enough and my only reason is because I feel a bit stupid to make all that effort just for me. Which is mad, when you think of it, because why wouldn’t I deserve it?! Why can’t I make the time? Why can’t I do something for myself that I’d do for somebody else?
So I’m going all out by staying in, holidaying at home, and bringing some vacation luxury to my rented slice of North London. No passport needed for this indulgence.
Side table – Futon Company / Fairy lights – Primark / Robe – Primark / Mug – Le Creuset / Tray – The White Company* / Plate – Marikmekko / Teapot – The White Company* / Milk jug – Tesco