April and May have been GOOD. There has been so much adventure these last couple of months, jetsetting to the US at every chance it seems. I mean, I definitely put all of eggs into one basket on the annual leave front. The end of this year is going to have to be weekenders to get me through. But still, I’m enjoying all of the travel!
Here’s the things I’ve been crushing on in-between the swamp tours and the skyscrapers.
Bar + Block
Last month, I met up with some of my favourite blogging gals for a fabulous brunch at Bar + Block in Kings Cross, London. I always love trying a new brunch place, particularly if it’s bottomless, and this place does a bottomless brunch for a ridiculous price of £15, alongside any breakfast/brunch item! (But they start at a fiver). That’s by far the cheapest I’ve found in London and covers an hour and a half of prosecco goodness. Yaaasss.
The best part is they take a polaroid of you and write the time that the drinks will stop flowing on it, so the staff know when to stop serving you. But then you get a lil photo keepsake to take home, which is super cute!
So anyway, Sophie, Sam, Ellie, Liv and I indulged in our endless prosecco and brunch of choice, I dived into the most divine lemon blueberry pancakes, and had a good catch-up.
But it seems we were also there to taste the whole freaking menu! So right after I’d demolished my pancakes, along came several platters full of their very best starters for us to try including chicken wings in raspberry sauce and wild mushrooms on toast! The flatbread was my fave though, delicious!
Then we were offered a main (yes we were still eating). Bar + Block is actually a steakhouse, so I felt it would be wrong not to have a steak whist I was there… And they ARE famous for their sprial cut fillet steak… So what the hell, I gave it a go. And it was perfectly cooked, I’d have it again in a heartbeat.
Any room for dessert? YEP. Hello triple chocolate brownie of my dreams.
So despite going for a girly brunch I actually got to taste a LOT of what Bar + Block have to offer! And I have to say, it was ALL great. You should go there.
New Travel Journal
You know I love a travel journal. Just for sticking flyers and ticket stubs and polaroids in, throughout my travels, you know? Well this month I’m all about this bad boy for my USA trip.
The Coastal Getaway Journal from design studio Sukie, has a super-cute and retro cover with recycled pages inside. Plus, it has lots of brown craft paper envelopes stuck inbetween the pages, so if you don’t have time to stick stuff in when you’re on the go, you can just tuck it into the pouches and deal with it later!
I like this one, it feels good with the textured paper and I think it might be a keeper.
Nike Trainers
I know I’m all about taking heels on your travels, but when you’re doing a full-on trip like my Trek America trip recently, you NEED a comfy pair of pumps for exploring. And I fell for these white Nike Dunk Lo trainers with a gum sole – they’re really comfortable and go with everything from sundresses to jeans and tees.
I don’t have much more to say about these other than they’re my new PIC on the regs. (They’re pictured below at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, whilst people around me spoon to Ziggy Marley…)
Packing Cubes
I’ve been meaning to try out packing cubes for a while now. Other bloggers rave about them but as I usually use backpacks, I couldn’t really see how they would work for me. But as I opted for my American Tourister suitcase on my USA adventures this April and May, it was the perfect time to try them out!
I went for the PRO Packing cubes by X Pro Travel Gear and chose a 6 pack of pink beauts. And as an organisation freak, I totally get it. I had all of my travel adapters and hair straighteners and camera charger in one of the small ones and used the big ones to roll up my clothes and pack in there. And they stayed perfectly rolled because it’s so compact.
Oh and after a couple of days I started using one for clothes I’d worn and needed washing so that they weren’t near any of my clean clothes. It’s an ideal situation!
To be honest I can’t imagine going back to a suitcase full of stuff everywhere, that explodes bikinis and flip flops all over the room every time you open it. I’m officially a packing cube convert, player.
Ctrl Alt Delete Podcast
I’ve discovered podcasts, people.
Josh listens to podcasts all the time and loves them, so I figured I would give them a go. And lo and behold, they’re perfect for killing time in airports! Or going to the gym, actually. Although I don’t do that half as much as I travel…
And the podcast I’m addicted to right now is the Ctrl, Alt, Delete podcast by Emma Gannon. I’m also reading her book of the same name, all about growing up with the internet (I totally recommend it too). But her podcast is about successful and interesting people whose success relates to the internet in some way. Emma interviews them, asks them how they started out, asks them their views on social media, it’s so cool.
She interviews a mix of women, from total stars such as Lena Dunham to internet royalty such as Zoella and Estee Lalonde, as well as a lot of experts in their field that I wasnt even aware of such as illustrators and poets and Mummy bloggers, but still very much enjoyed listening to. I can’t recommend it enough.
Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Another new thing I’ve discovered for flying – noise-cancelling headphones! Yes, I’m late to the party. But damn, they’re great huh?
I didn’t splash out on expensive ones, I got these neat Sony beauts off of Amazon for under 30 quid (now £15.99 in the sale!) and they’re pretty cool. They fold down flat for travel and block out all plane noise when flying, they’ve been completely life-changing on my trips this May! What more could you want? No more shit aeroplane earphones for moi.
Anyways, they’re the things I’ve been hearting in April and May, buddy. Tell me what’s been floating your boat this month!?
Total Blogger Transparency: In this post, the Bar + Block brunch was complimentary and the travel journal and packing cubes were press samples. However all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn’t play you like that, shorty.