Filed under: Stylish Travelling, Travel Accessories | Tags: cabin baggage, compact mirror, london, travel, Travel Accessories
The Saturday morning sun shines through the lace curtains of our new room. With a sigh I remembered only six months ago a beautiful day like this would be enough for me to call a couple of friends, get on a train, and have a weekend adventure. But this weekend I was definately staying at home.
In part of my commitment to giving London a proper shot with my proper boyfriend I made a conscious decision this should mean less travel and more London. The problem was, the more I stayed in London, I realised the more I actually bought lovely things for travelling, like the perfect lightweight-yet-adorably-cute compact mirror, or the perfect size bag that only just meets the requirements for cabin baggage so I can fit in as much as possible on my next flight!
I’m saving for my yearly trip home so for the next couple months so these kind of issues are in the forefront of my mind. Itchy feet and empty wallet. Story of my life.
I pulled the dusty curtains to one side letting the light flood in our lovely Victorian bedroom and pulled up the bay windows. I put on my sunglasses and sit on the ledge, dangling my feet in the air. If I close my eyes and block out the sounds of the streets, I can pretend I’m sitting at the end of a jetty in a seaside town far away.
Soon..
Filed under: Make it Yourself, Stylish Travelling, Travel Accessories, luggage | Tags: luggage tags, stylish travel accesories, travel accesories, travel luggage
The conveyor belt creaks to life and prompts the passengers of QF143 to inch further toward the baggage handling system. Slowly but surely, black bags of roughly the same size and shape burst through the serrated curtain, all littered with various ribbons and tags as a half baked attempts to make their bag stand out from the masses.
Passengers ponder which bags belongs to them, grabbing then replacing as they pull out the wrong bags and eventually grab theirs victoriously, or rather, leave with the wrong bag. Even worse is that all the confusion in the meantime could see your lovely luggage returned back to the airport only to be placed among the ‘unclaimed baggage‘ section.
Short of banning these black rectangular, suitcases with tiny wheels, there seems little else one can do. Many people have begun to flirt with the idea of different coloured and patterned luggage but the majority remain with the conformist black luggage that has started many an airport brawl.
If you’re determined to keep your black case, here’s some ideas on how to accessorize:
Luggage tags – stand out with funky shapes, rich colours and unique patterns. I’m loving these ones by MooMoDumpling
Scarf – Buy a unique patterned scarf from a charity store and tie it around the main handle
Ribbon – a small ribbon at the top just won’t make your bag stand out. Try cutting small lengths of thin ribbon and tying them on every zipper.
Get Crafty – if you’re handy with a needle and thread, cut out a shape of a fabric and sew it on to the front pocket of your bag.
If you think tying one of those hideous multicoloured belts around the middle of your case is going to solve your problem, think again. Unique, funky and stylish travel accessories plus your luggage equals easy to find luggage that no one would get away with ‘accidentally’ stealing!
Filed under: Stylish Travelling, Travel Accessories, Travel Do's, Travel Essentials | Tags: fashion, scarf, scarves, travel acessory, travel tips, Vatican City, wrap
After twenty minutes of walking, we arrived sweating at the Vatican City wearing our standard sleeveless top and jeans combos. We size up the line of the queue to enter the church with disbelief…
When in Rome…” I say, for the millionth time since arriving in Rome.
“Can you get away with saying that in the Vatican?” Bec replies. I choose not to answer
The line crawls for five minutes before we get to a sign. Women aren’t allowed to wear sleeveless tops or skirts above their knees.
Sounds familiar? It’s something you could come across anywhere in the world, be it at a church, temple, shrine, even just venturing through a city. Some places you need to cover up, be it out of respect for the culture, unexpected temperature drop …or just to get people to stop eye balling you.
This is when the scarf comes in. A rectangular piece of lightweight material that you can fit in your handbag will become a travelling essential time and time again. As I waited in that line for over an hour, I saw many a woman – from teenagers to grandmas turned away for showing too much flesh and thanked my lucky stars that I’d figured out the scarf trick.
They don’t take up much space, nor do they weigh much. As long as it’s big enough to cover your shoulders and any cleavage you may or may not be showing, you’ll get away with doing all the touristy things you need when in a city that might not share your fashion sense. A travel accessory must-have.
Pictured: Flirt For ASOS Heart Wrap Scarf £10
Filed under: Stylish Travelling, Wish List | Tags: Travel Accessories, travel, corkscrew, bottle openers, wine opener
It’s not often you find a corkscrew with a 10 year warranty. It’s also not often you find a corkscrew for $125, which is exactly how much a VIP Rabbit will set you back.
A corkscrew has definitely made my list of travel
essentials. Sure, they are fairly cheap to buy any the same the world over, but anyone who has tried to purchase a wine or bottle opener late at night in a non-english-speaking foreign country and attempted to mime the action of a corkscrew to confused locals will know: it’s easier just to take one with you.
I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words corkscrew and Rabbit in the same sentence, I don’t immediately think of opening bottles of wine… but maybe thats just me.
Regardless of whether you drop a hundred bucks on this ergonomically designed beauty that opens a bottle in 3 seconds flat, or pick up an el-cheapo from a 99 cent store, a corkscrew is an essential for all travelling nomads.
VIP Rabbit Corkscrew $124.99 @ Metrokane
If you’re going to have to nap on a plane, nap in style. Whilst fellow travelers choose to have their sleeping eye lids naked or covered by a free eye mask from the in flight goody bag, I simply prefer cashmere, dahhhhling!
Grey is huge this season and the pink trim is an elegant detail. Because it’s cashmere its super soft on your eyes and as the strap is cashmere as well, they’ll be no irritating ‘hair lines’ left behind like the elasticated straps on most eye masks tend to do.
It’s got my thumbs up for luxe travel accessories – how about yours?
Eye Mask, £14 @ Oliver Bonas
Filed under: Camping Essentials, Princess Camping, Stylish Travelling, Travel Do's
Sometimes, girls go camping. Up until recently, my camping couture consisted of the oldest dirtiest clothes I don’t wear and ugly camping accessories. And then I discovered Orla Kiely’s camping range. Oh Orla. What was I thinking! All this wasted camping time that could have been spent utilising your beautiful travel goods and accessories!
Can you imagine taking any of this collection to Glastonberry, V, or any other camping Summer music festival? I’d be praying for rain in Orla’s delicious Wellington Boots, and aching for bedtime to curl up in this retro inspired sleeping bag. This collection seriously puts the ‘Princess’ in Nomadic Princess
Don’t know Orla? Orla Kiely started during a dark period of fashion – the 1990s. The name has become renowned for it’s striking retro graphics and highly usable products – from handbags to clothes and now to camping essentials.
Boys listen up! If you want to take a girl camping there is no better bribe than some Orla Kiely camping bounty and a packet of marshmallows.
