My Self Care New Year's Resolutions

I hardly ever make New Year's Resolutions if I'm honest. I usually set goals for myself for the following years, but never really anything that falls under the 'resolution' category. However, for 2020, as it's the start of a new decade, I thought I'd set some, mainly self care ones. I've been suffering from depression for a few years now and I'm not going to lie, it really gets on my nerves. But there are lots of things I can do to ease it which I just don't do, which is kind of silly really!

The Tea Files - Waldorf Hilton

Recently I was invited down to the Waldorf Hilton (gifted) in London to try their brand new Sugar Plum Fairy themed afternoon tea. They host afternoon tea all year round in their beautiful restaurant, but until the 2nd February they've transformed the menu to create a beautiful Nutcracker theme which is perfect for the festive season! 

My 'Unrealistic' Goals for 2020

It seems like this post has become somewhat of an annual series now, but you guys always seem to like it and I always seem to find it interesting, so why not bring it back for another year!

A Weekend in the New Forest

A couple of weeks ago I took a little road trip down to the New Forest to the little village of Beaulieu to stay at The Montagu Arms. We were kindly invited for a gifted stay and it had been so long since I've been to the New Forest that I was excited to explore, especially in the Autumn. 

How To Spend 3 Days in Athens

Back at the start of October I headed on a press trip with BRB Travel. If you've never heard of them, they're basically like a travel subscription where you pay monthly and then receive a surprise trip in Europe every four months! We had no clue where we were going until the postcard dropped through the door and revealed that we were going to Athens! I'd never been to Greece before, so was excited to see what the city had to offer.

The 7 Most Instagrammable Spots in Disneyland Paris

Last month I finally got to go to Disneyland Paris for the first time and boy was it amazing! I won't lie, I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did, especially because I love the Florida parks so much, but I found that I absolutely fell in love. Not only were the rides amazing and the Disney magic was there, but it was seriously instagrammable.

How To Create Your Own Accidentally Wes Anderson Style

Photography by Rebecca Carpenter

If you didn't know, Wes Anderson is my all time favourite film director. I just adore everything about his movies, from the unique storylines to the unique cinematic style. But of course, the thing I love the very most is the costumes. His films are so stylised that at this point I will often pick things up in shops and say, "This is very Wes Anderson", even if I can't pin point exactly why. 

Hey Puddin'! - My Harley Quinn Cosplay

If you saw my Sabrina Halloween cosplay, you may also have seen my Harley Quinn project pop up on the feed! The Harley Quinn idea was actually my first idea for Halloween, but I ended up working on Sabrina as well with Russell and Rebecca.

My Guide to Instagram is Now Live!

I am so excited to reveal that I have written an eBook! Eep!

Happy Halloween, Witches

 

Dress gifted from Hell Bunny | Wig gifted from Annabell's Wigs

Back in September, I contact my good friends Rebecca and Russell (who you may remember from my 50k celebration photoshoot and video) to help me with a very exciting project for Halloween. This year, I wanted to go all out with a themed shoot, based on one of my favourite spooky shows of the year: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. If you haven't seen it, it's basically Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but a complete reimagining based on the comics of the same name. It's far darker than the comedic show we all remember from our childhoods but I absolutely adore it.

My Geneva City Guide

A few weeks ago I headed on a cheeky press trip to Geneva in Switzerland for the weekend. I've passed through Geneva plenty of times, however never actually explored the city. It's always been more of a stopping destination for ski trips. However, I was excited to see what the city had to offer, and maybe find some pretty places that aren't as well known on Instagram as other European destinations.

Hakkasan, Mayfair

My dad and I have become quite the partners in crime when it comes to reviewing restaurants now, with our latest escapade leading us to Hakkasan in Mayfair (gifted). They kindly invited us down to review their new Hakkasan Collection menu in collaboration with shoe designer Lucy Choi, and it seemed like the perfect place to celebrate my dad's birthday. A two in one!

The Chelsea Creperie

Last week I stopped by the Chelsea Creperie (gifted) (in Chelsea, if you didn't guess) to try a few of their crepes (if you didn't guess, they serve crepes!). I am a huge crepe lover, but I've never been a huge fan of savoury crepes if I'm totally honest. So I was intrigued to try them, as well as the classic sweet treats that I know and love.

Why Starting Musical Theatre Again Was The Best Decision I've Made

Depending on how closely you follow along with my life on social media, you may or may not know that last month I was lucky enough to be in a production of Legally Blonde the Musical at the Theatre Royal in Margate. Now, if you've been following me for a really long time, you may even remember the time I was in Sweeney Todd in Brighton, in which case, thank you so much for sticking around me for so long!

My Porto City Guide

Back in June (yes, this post is extremely overdue) Tom and I headed to Porto in Portugal for the weekend. This is somewhere I've wanted to visit for ages and I was excited to see what the city had to offer. This was actually Tom's birthday present from me, as it's a city that's been on his list for a while too. 

A Look Inside Mamma Mia The Party!

Earlier this week I was invited to Mamma Mia The Party  (gifted tickets from London Box Office) at the O2, and as someone who has grown to absolutely love Mamma Mia over the years, I was so excited to see what was in store! I brought along with me my own mama, who is also a huge fan of the movies, to experience the evening with me.

How & Why I Started Blogging

One question I am constantly asked whenever I do an Instagram Q&A is, 'how and why did you start blogging?', so I thought it was time that I wrote a blog post on the topic! So many people nowadays are interested in entering the online content creation industry and want to know where to begin, so hopefully this will give you a little bit of inspiration if you're thinking of doing it for yourself.

Dishoom, Kensington

A few weeks ago I was invited down to Dishoom's Kensington branch for dinner to try out their delicious sounding menu. As you all know, I'm a huge fan of Indian food and I had only heard good things about Dishoom through the grapevine, so I was very excited to try it for myself! Our meal here was complimentary in exchange for a review but all opinions are my own.

How I'm Learning to Ignore Online Negativity

Dress - C/O Chic Wish (aff) | Shoes - C/O Paradox London (aff)

When it comes to receiving troll comments online, I feel like I've been extremely lucky over the years. In the five years I've been blogging, up until maybe the last six months, I could probably count the number of times I'd received hate on one hand. It's one of those things that I just never really thought about. If I received one I'd laugh it off because it seemed so crazy and random that it almost didn't feel real. 

Pittabun, Carnaby

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to Pittabun in Carnaby (gifted) for a taste of the Greek life at their little shop. I was definitely intrigued to see what kind of thing they brought to the table with a fast food experience, especially since everything is, as the name would suggest, in a pitta! 

4 Tips for Creating a More Inspiring Instagram Feed

One thing I see very frequently in regards to Instagram is people complaining about the app, mostly because they now find it uninspiring or they feel that their content is penalised by the algorithm. It can be pretty disheartening to put all your love and work into photos that then don't really seem to do well, while scrolling through a feed of other people's photos that aren't even inspiring you anymore. 

The Rise of Influencer Hatred & Why It Needs to End

Dress - ChicWish (gifted)

When I first started blogging, there was a kind of general nonchalance regarding it as a career choice. For reference, I started blogging in 2014, a time when there were actually very few 'professional influencers' and most people simply blogged as a hobby. The idea of it becoming my job had always been an early goal of mine. As someone who is extremely creatively driven, the idea that I could work for myself and be creative was a huge draw for me. I'd spent many years trying to choose a career path but often reaching a dead end because there was really nothing that I could see myself doing. That was, until blogging happened.

YouTube - I'm Back!

You heard right, after forever being absolutely terrible at keeping up with my channel, I am finally back on Youtube! In fact, I've done it for three weeks straight so far. I know, I'm just as shocked as you are.

Maze Grill, Chelsea

Last week I was invited down to the Maze Grill on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea to try out their new Chelsea Flower Fever menu that they currently have running to celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show! I've been to the original Maze restaurant, but never the Maze Grill branches, so I was excited to see what it was like. For full disclosure, our meal was gifted but all opinions are my own, as always!

My Guide to Tunis

 A couple of weeks ago I was invited on a very exciting press trip to Tunisia with Nothing to Wear, an amazing company who rent out designer dresses to encourage more sustainable fashion. For full disclosure, the press trip was gifted but this post is not sponsored, nor am I under any obligation to write it. I just had such an amazing time in Tunis that I couldn't not do a travel guide for you all!

Am I Working Hard Enough?

Recently, I've begun to have this weird feeling that despite everything, I'm really not working hard enough. I couldn't tell you exactly why I feel like this, because there isn't really a day that goes by where I'm not working on something, however, it's constantly there and I feel a bit rubbish about it. Therefore, I thought I'd write a blog post about it, as you do.

Becoming Mrs Jordan - First Wedding Dress Try On

So the idea of trying on wedding dresses has been a dream of mine since I was little. As soon as I got engaged I knew it was the one thing I was looking forward to the absolute most out of all the wedding planning! So, a couple of weeks ago the lovely people at Dress Dreams Bridal invited me down to their boutique in Sevenoaks for my first ever try-on experience! 

Scent of the Season - Juicy Couture Bowdacious

It's that time again - another Scent of the Season post. I say another, this is like the second one but there you go. I actually love writing these posts because I always get so excited about using another fragrance!

The Tea Files - Waldorf Astoria, Las Vegas

The Tea Files goes international once again, this time from a little known town called Las Vegas! You may remember from my City Guide for Vegas that during the press trip we had afternoon tea at the Waldorf Astoria, and as promised here is my full Tea Files review for it! 

A Perfect 6 Day Road Trip Through Europe

For my birthday, Tom decided to plan a road trip. It all came together due to the fact that there were so many locations in Europe that I wanted to visit, particularly in the Spring, and when we google mapped it, it turned out they were all very close together. In fact, parts of our road trip were shorter than a drive to Scotland and back!

56 Questions to Ask A Potential Wedding Venue

As someone who has always been insanely organised with everything, choosing the right wedding venue is very important to me, and so before I visited any of my potential choices, I made sure that I had a list of all the questions that I wanted to ask them before I went, just so I knew exactly what I was getting myself in for! 

My Las Vegas City Guide

I was recently invited on a gifted press trip with the Las Vegas tourism board to experience the 'ultimate girl's trip away' in Vegas. Now, Vegas is kind of known for all the drinking and gambling, but as somebody who does neither of these things I was excited to see a different side to the city. And boy did I find one!

The Vurger Co, Shoreditch

Last weekend I was kindly invited down to the Vurger Co. in Shoreditch to give their all-vegan menu a whirl. As a head's up, I'm not actually a vegan myself, I'm a pescatarian but I would absolutely love to go full veggie one day. The idea of vegan food has kind of a reputation of being bland and no match for the original, and I've definitely experienced this before in restaurants, so I was intrigued to see how the Vurger Co. took on fast food while still keeping it yum. 

Becoming Mrs Jordan - Bridelux Atelier

A couple of weeks ago I was invited down to Bridelux Atelier; a wedding show that specializes in showcasing luxury wedding brands. I was invited along with Couvélie, who kindly gifted us our tickets and who create absolutely beautiful corsets and I couldn't wait to see what was in store at the show!