When we first moved into No.80 in late 2014, potential was pretty much all it had.

A handsome early Victorian semi in our favourite area, it had lovely bones but had suffered a series of alterations done on the cheap to turn it into three bedsit flats. Although it certainly wasn’t a dream home to begin with, we realised that we could turn it into one. What we didn’t realise is just how much time, effort and money it takes to get there.

Like most first-time home renovators, we imagined that with a little work we could turn an unloved house back into a family home without many problems. The reality has been lengthy delays trying to secure planning permission, unexpected costly issues popping up taking us over budget and something that no-one could have foreseen - building work grinding to a complete halt with the onset of the UK coronavirus lockdown.

At times, we have felt very frustrated and far away from where we wanted to be. It’s been a longer, harder, more expensive process than we imagined. There’s still a bit of a way to go until everything is perfect, but we’ve been able to order the furniture to take it closer to our ideal space - which feels like a milestone moment.

Life is a catwalk, darling, or at least my driveway is!

I'm now about to start my sixth week in self-isolation, and its a bit of a kicker. With Easter gone, it feels like there isn't anything to look forward to until this coronavirus situation shifts. I've never been very good in limbo - patience is not a virtue of mine - so I'm getting a bit restless. Still, if we have the chance to save lives just by staying home, then that's amazing.

To be honest, it's a miracle that it's taken me this long to start getting restless, but with a full-time job and two kids under five at home, I'm busier than ever.

At least this time is teaching me to really appreciate life's small pleasures and be thankful for my family and our good health so far.

This is going to be a life update post extremely different to any I’ve ever written.

Who could have imagined even a few weeks ago that daily life would so utterly change for most people across the globe?

The coronavirus pandemic started off as something distant and remote - , a terrible problem but one that seemed far away overseas.

Despite the warnings, I don’t think anyone was at all prepared that in just a few short weeks, we’d be on lockdown, unable to leave the house unless it's to go to the supermarket.

All schools, restaurants, bars and gyms closed, and everyone not deemed a key worker at home from work until further notice.

It still feels unreal - I wake up each day and things feel normal for a split second, then I remember the situation.

We’re living through a time that will be difficult for most people in lots of different ways, and its a slice of social history that future generations might be interested in - so I still thought it was worth recording what life is really like during a global pandemic.

There's just something about spring dressing, isn't there?

When the evenings start getting gradually lighter and the temperature creeps above 'very freaking cold' so you don't have to keep choosing comfort over style.

I'm a chilly mortal and I feel the cold a lot, so from September onwards I'm usually swathed in thermal tights, long sleeved Heatgen tops and quilted coats like some kind of suburban mum Michelin man.

It feels good to break free of that and slip into something a bit lighter.

There are some pretty dark things happening the world right now.

The UK, like most other nations, is in the grip of fighting the global Covid-19 outbreak, the country is on lockdown, we can’t see our loved ones and the papers are full of daily death tolls. Life feels like something out of a science fiction film.

So in a lot of ways, it seems a little bit frivolous to still be writing about fashion and beauty topics.

But I believe there is a real need for lightness and for small pleasures at the moment. These are the things which keep us sane in a world we don’t recognise. So I’m pushing ahead with the blog, not least because it keeps my brain creatively occupied!

Shortly before we went into full lockdown, the latest FabFitFun box arrived from the U.S. This quarterly subscription is something I really look forward to - the products are always full size and fabulous, and I’ve discovered some great items.