How are you getting creative during quarantine?

Now our Marketing Assistant, Jessie is a real lover of eating out in fancy places. And since all the bistros, bakeries and brunch bars are shut right now, she's taken her foodie-needs into her own hands.

Jessie rolled up her sleeves to make her own pasta for the first time ever - and it turned out great! If there's one thing that's going to beat the lockdown blues, it's carbs. All day long, carbs.

Bellissimo.

Jessie's top pasta tip: Making pasta is very therapeutic but it's also time-consuming. It's not hard to do, but I did end up throwing dough across the kitchen when it kept breaking on me (rookie). Pasta needs to be made with love and lots of patience. Good luck!

If you haven't heard by now that our Driving Behaviour Coach, Bee has recently bought a Cavachon puppy named Monty, then I'm not sure what rock you've been hiding under. Monty even has his own Instagram (and has double the amount of followers as me but whatever, it's cool).

Bee treats Monty like the fluffy king he is and if there's one thing a king needs, it's a castle. So she's been spending her quarantine time building him a kennel fit for a...Cavachon.

It's not quite finished yet though... so chop, chop Bee! Monty's got some beauty sleep to be catching up on.

Everyone knows the most important meal of the day is breakfast (I'm currently typing this eating a leftover Easter egg for mine) and our Pricing Data Analyst, Shan is showing us how it's done - properly!

Filled with frozen berries, banana, acai powder and almond milk, then topped with granola, chia seed and peanut butter, Shan's created her own insta-worthy acai bowls. Now if that isn't something to get out of bed for, I don't know what is. Delish!

Product developer Keira has got little twin monsters at home, so having a big garden space has come in VERY handy for her right now. She's been keeping the kids busy, while getting that all important fresh air, growing carrots, courgettes and sweetcorn.

And if that wasn't impressive enough (I can't even keep a basil plant alive on the window sill) she's also built her own bird house. She's now waiting patiently for the birds - it's been 4 days.

We're all very excited for Keira's post-lockdown garden party that we're ALL going to be invited to. Corn on the cob anyone? 😜

So here's a conundrum for you: If you had to choose between spending half an hour with your best mate or half an hour in McDonald's right now, which would you pick?

Mmmmm, I do love their fries.

Telematics Team Leader, Jess tackled her McDonald's craving head on by making her own egg McMuffin and hash browns from home. Forget your 5-star culinary creations and your posh poached eggs. THIS is breakfast in bed at its absolute finest.

Jess, do you deliver?

Our Social Media Queen, Lucia has always had a flair for art and the outdoors. She also has the patience of a Saint because she's been meticulously painting little pebbles during her time at home.

To bring a bit of sunshine to everyone's day, Lucia's set up a mini rock garden in a wheelbarrow outside her house, asking passers-by to leave a trinket in the sand. So lovely!

"Here's our painted rock garden in a wheelbarrow, if you'd like to add a trinket, just pop back tomorrow. In time we can see how much it has grown, if those who walk by leave a little something of their own!"

What I'm not crying, you're crying.

When I asked our Pricing Analytics Expert, Anna how she's been spending her time at home, it was no surprise when she replied: "baking!" Anna is ingenie's star-baker back at head office and we're all missing being able to sample (scoff) her homemade treats.

Fougasse was Anna's latest bake. Yep, I didn't have a clue either, so for those equally as uneducated with French cuisine as I am - that's bread in the shape of a leaf.

Anna's also been busy in the kitchen making hot cross buns and cinnamon buns from scratch, which is super impressive. Move over Paul Hollywood, there's a new bread boss in town.

People say that a kid could have all the toys in the world and still be more content with the cardboard box it came in. And our Finance Advisor, Barbara can definitely vouch for that!

Her kiddy winks have been having lots of fun making cardboard creations, from a multi-storey car park to a castle, complete with portcullis.

"My children do actual own real toys but for some reason at the minute they like to make things out of cardboard. Anything to kill 20 minutes!"

Our Trading Director, Luke has never been one to shy away from a challenge and so he's taken lockdown in his stride by focusing on his fitness. Luke's been pushing himself to complete a 30-day strength challenge, building up to a monstrous 250 squats, 3 minute plank and 100 press ups on day 30. 😱

When Luke's not writhing round the floor recovering from that, he's in the kitchen - showing off. Sorry, I mean, being creative. His latest bake was this insanely perfect red velvet cake that looks good enough to serve at a wedding.

You might want do a few more press ups after you've finished that slice though!

When I asked our Web Developer, Elton what he's got lined up to entertain himself during lockdown, he simply said "Woody. He's arriving Sunday!" For a brief moment I thought he might have taken up a sudden interest in collecting Toy Story memorabilia, but then the photo come through... CUTENESS OVERLOAD.

Elton's got two young daughters at home, who have been pestering him for as long as they could talk about getting a puppy. And since the family are all going to be stuck at home for a while, it felt like the perfect time to train a playful Cavapoo pup.

What about getting Woody a little brother and naming him Buzz? Adorable.

It can be a little tricky to think of fresh, interesting meals right now, but our Digital Marketing Manager, Parul has been keeping her family healthy with an array of delicious smoothies.

There's no need to worry about getting your 5-a-day fix in Parul's house, as all sorts of fruit and veg go into her smoothies from kiwis to coconuts. They're as colourful as the NHS rainbow posters the UK are putting up to show their support right now. 😊🌈

Parul's got so into her blitzed up fruit recently that she's started her own instagram page @somelikeitsmooth. Check it out!

So, I'm not quite sure whether these origami masterpieces have been made by Chief Exec, Selim himself, or his children? But I quite like the idea of him and his wife relaxing with a glass of wine in the evening, and one of them suggesting "Hey, wanna make some frogs out of paper?"..."Sure, why not."

Apparently the challenge was to create a piece of art from one page of A4, and it looks like that challenge was won, hands down. We're all toadally impressed, Selim.

It really is the simple things in life bringing us joy right now.