Fancy A City Break Soon? Here’s How To Prepare

 

2020 was a strange year for all of us. The pandemic situation stopped the majority of us from doing what we wanted to do. The plans we had needed to be put on hold as the world basically stopped in the vast majority of areas. Vacations and fun were put to a grinding halt due to the safety concerns – and rightly so in many ways.


With that said, it looks as though the world might just be getting back to normal sooner rather than later- yay!!! And, with that, it’s time to make up for lost time. Sure, we all have to work, but when we can, we should head out on vacation and enjoy ourselves whenever we can and make up for lost time.


So, might I suggest a city break? There's something about popping on clothes you’ll love to wear and getting around the hustle and bustle of the populous areas. Of course, you’ll still need to be cautious of your surroundings, but it’s something everyone should experience. If this sounds interesting to you, then here are a few ways you can prepare for the occasion:

Make Sure You’re Looking The Part

How you look doesn’t matter too much in the grand scheme, but surely you’re going to want to look and feel your best when you're on your break. The likelihood is that you’re going to be taking a tonne of photos of your adventures, so make sure you’re ready and looking good! One of my favourite parts of getting away is planning my outfits. Grab everything you need in some Italian Leather Totes, throw your sunglasses on, grab a hat and a killer dress for a meal out one evening and enjoy strutting around one of the most famous areas of the planet. If getting away isn't an excuse to get dressed up, I don't know when is!

Find The Loveliest Possible Place To Stay

It’s not just about what you experience when you roam around, how you chill out when the day is finished matters a lot, too. There’s nothing wrong with finding a small budget hotel, but if you can afford better, then you should take full advantage of it! I've stayed in cheap and cheerful but there's nothing quite like a beautiful room to relax in after a long day of sight seeing.

Have A Plan And Itinerary

There’s a lot to do – especially if you’ve been wanting this kind of break/trip for a while! There are plenty of itinerary ideas to mull over, so it’s worth sitting down (with friends if you’re bringing some) and talking out what you’re going to be taking part in. When you have certain activities at certain times, it makes the whole thing a lot easier to organize. It also means you won't miss out on things you want to see either and if there's a few places of interest in the same area, you can hit them all in one go rather than travelling across the city unnecessarily and wasting precious holiday time!

Bring The Best Company

We touched on it just now, but bringing the right people (if you aren’t going alone) is essential. While the trip and the experience is important, it can be ruined by the people you bring along. It sounds quite harsh, but it’s true. Bring people who you feel will take to the trip and not bring you down through the weekend, week, or fortnight you’re away. Chris and I love going away with our best friends Emma and Gareth. We're all like minded, easy going and the company always enhances a trip.

Don’t Let The Furore Of The City Overawe You!

Some people take to the city like a duck to water. They love the hustle and the fact that it’s so fast-paced. Places like London, New York, Dubai, and plenty of other big-name places can get too much for some. Do what you can to make the enter experience a lot more fun and positive. Don’t put it on a pedestal – you’ll be totally good to go when you arrive!







So those are just a few ideas on how you can prepare for your next trip! Are you planning any for when lock down is eased?

My All Time Perfect Palette | No7

I don't tend to write beauty posts all that much but when I do it's because that particular product is worth a mention and in this case it's the No7 Maple Glow Palette. 

As you can see, I like it so much that I'm now on my second palette! I believe it's meant to be an autumnal palette with the name maple but with my skin tone I've found it to be the perfect combination of colours for all year round!

The palette contains eyeshadows, a blusher, highlighter, contour and bronzer; making it perfect for travelling and having everything you need to make up your face. My favourite eyeshadow colours are the bronze shade as it really emphasises blue eyes and the warm toned neutral I use as wash over the eyelids. The reddy/bronze colour is great to amp up a day look into the evening or if you're going for real autumnal vampey vibes and the maroon/purpley shade I use as an eyeliner!

The eye shadows have a great colour pay off and a great longevity too. I can apply in the morning and it will stay put all day. Admittedly there is some fall out when applying but this is very minimal!

As you can see from the well used and well loved palette, the blusher was a huge hit with me too. Being a beautifully peachy pink with a dusting of gold shimmer, it works to highlight and brighten the cheeks. In the summer the subtle highlight in the blusher really aids in accentuating a tan, whereas in winter it adds a healthy glow up to my skin.

The contour is a beautiful matte which is perfect for defining cheekbones and in my case around my forehead to make it appear a bit smaller! (5 finger forehead here!) It's also not an orange tone so you aren't left looking a tanned mess either which is ideal when you're pale in winter! If however you do want some shimmery bronzed sparkle, the bronzer is perfect for this. I like to use it as an eyeshadow or to dust over my shoulder blades of an evening time in the summer. It's pretty shimmer is subtle too, so you won't over dazzle people when you walk into a room!

As I've already said this palette literally has everything you need and in my opinion the perfect palette! Throw in a mascara, foundation (No7 beautifully matte to be precise) and a concealer and you have an entire face ready to go! It's also a fantastic size for travelling and the large mirror is also ideal for on the go. 

What is your favourite makeup palette?

Gifting During a Pandemic *Ad Gifted

The last year or so has been difficult for everyone and gift giving is something we can do during this time to lift one another up. Be it a birthday, mothers day, a congratulations or even just a pick me up- gift giving is a special thing and today I thought I'd mention a couple of things I've found that I think will inspire you!

Jewellery Gifts

Not being able to meet our loved ones in person can be very hard and with special occasions awry it's time to think outside the box, or rather inside in this case! It's been my mother's 60th birthday and my sister's 30th so I wanted to get them something special and sentimental for their birthdays. My mother's birth stone is opal so I had a ring made with her birthstone in the middle and mine and my sisters either side by the very talented Willow Rise Jewellery. It's also lovely to support small businesses at this time and my mum was so overjoyed she cried bless her!

Engraved Gifts

For my sister's gift I went to Engravers Guild of London and had a personalised Swarovski Birthstone Heart Necklace* made.

It's solid 925 sterling silver so I know it will last the test of time and is a classic design which will never go out of style. The engraving comes in an array of fonts and the Swarovski birthstone adds a lovely personal touch to this necklace. 

Engravers Guild of London do lots of personalised gifts for him too so you're covered for all occasions and all recipients. I am very tempted to get the Marmite lid for the husband!!

Subscription boxes

Subscription boxes are a brilliant way to give the gift that keeps on giving! I recently signed up to Papergang as a gift to myself because who said gift giving is exclusively for others right? Treat yo self! I went for this subscription as I'm a stationary junkie and love nothing more than pretty paper inspired pieces. 

The February box was particularly dreamy, including this gorgeous wrapping paper that I've used as a back drop for my photos, a note pad, pen, scissors, ruler and some origami paper too! Paper subscriptions won't be for everyone but there are so many different ones on the market. From beer and wine, beauty boxes, pet boxes and more; there's a box for everyone. The joy you feel when your subscription box comes through the door is such a treat and will brighten up anyone's day!

A good old fashioned letter and/or letter paper!

Letter writing has seen a real increase during the pandemic and I'm not surprised. As an avid pen paller myself, there's nothing like receiving a lovely letter through the front door. Whether you're giving the gift of a letter itself or gifting letter paper to someone who enjoys writing letters, there are so many beautiful papers on the market. 

I recently set up my own Etsy shop selling the papers photographed above! It's called Par Avion Paper and I've seen people buying paper for their grandparents to write to them and sending it as gifts to those on hospital wards. 

It's something a bit different to your usual present and the gift of a handwritten letter is something quite special. Whether you're buying the paper as a gift or buying it to write a heart felt letter, writing paper is certainly special!

So those are just a few ideas on gifting during a pandemic. They won't be for everyone and of course there are plenty of other ideas out there but these are the ones I've reached for to gift others and myself during this time!

How are you gifting during the pandemic?

* I was kindly gifted the engraved necklace from Engravers Guild of London in exchange for a write up in my blog post. 

5 Tips for Planning the Perfect Proposal

Planning the perfect proposal is something many people strive to get right and something Chris and I get asked a lot about also! For most, proposing to the person you love is the one thing you want to make sure is perfect as people (generally) only plan on doing it the once!

So I've picked Chris' brains on this subject as he's the one that proposed out of the two of us and according to him, the trick to getting the perfect proposal is to really think it through beforehand. You know the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and as such, you should let them take the lead when it comes to your planning. We don't mean literally, but consider who they are and what they like and incorporate it into your proposal. 

Location

Location is something to consider when it comes to making the perfect proposal. And this in itself is different for every person. For some, big showy displays in an area packed with people who can witness the proposal itself are all part of what will make the ideal proposal. But for others, this will be their worst nightmare. For us, Chris chose an intimate restaurant. It was just the right amount of display for tables nearby to congratulate us but also we had the privacy we wanted too!

Take the time to find out the right location for your partner to make sure it goes without a hitch. Be it at home, with just the two of you, at a restaurant with a few people present or in a truly romantic place such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Ring

The ring itself is another component of the proposal. Something to bare in mind is bigger, better, more expensive isn't always the way to go. The ring should represent a token of your love and what's important to the two of you. Therefore, it should be something that caters to the tastes of your loved one, from choosing a Whiteflash diamond ring and staying traditional or opt for something slightly different, choosing different gemstones over the diamond such as an emerald or sapphire. It's also lovely to have a story behind a ring. A family heirloom or a handmade ring- these will add to treasured memories.

Logistics

Planning the perfect proposal is something you need help with. Look to your closest confidants and ask for their help in putting together this surprise. You don't want your sneaky antics to give the game away, nor do you want to spill the beans.

Look how young we were!

Make sure you have the diary clear so nothing else can disrupt your plans and if need be, ask others to occupy your fiance to be so you can prepare for the proposal itself without any interruptions. Chris actually proposed on our one year anniversary so we were planning to go out for a celebratory meal. Little did I know he would propose at said meal so that was a very successful logistical plan!

Make Memories

You'll both want to remember this time! As Chris can vouch, it can be stressful making a marriage proposal. In fact poor Chris was fretting about it the entire week leading up to it! After all, it is a life-changing event getting married, and you want to remember exactly how it happened. It can be worth considering hiring a photographer or involving family and friends to take pictures that you can treasure for years to come to give you something to look back on, depending on the route of how you propose.

Enjoy

This should be a happy occasion, and if you are confident you are both on the same page, you need to try not to let the stress overtake the enjoyment and romance out of the event. As much as possible, try to relax and enjoy it! It will most definitely help things run a little bit more smoothly and be more enjoyable for both of you. I remember being absolutely gobsmacked but as soon as the shock calmed down I was truly over the moon and it's one of my fondest memories which led to me marrying my best friend!

If you've already proposed/ been proposed to, do you have any tips for those planing to do so?