I've Moved

Hey guys,

If you haven't seen, I've moved blogs.

I can't really explain why, I just wanted a new platform to blog on.

If you want to check out my new one, click here.

I'm not going to deactivate this one and might update it now and then but for the most part everything will be updated on the new one :)


Until next time.

 R x

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Adventures in NYC take two.

I know this post is long overdue, but I just had to share it! It is a long one, so I won't be upset if you don't want to read the commentary of our latest trip but this one is more there for me and the fam to reminisce.

Mum & I loved New York so much last time we came that she decided to come again for her birthday. Obviously, we didn't leave daddy at home and Aunty G joined us too. Funnily enough, we're already planning another instalment next year!

For once the long haul was vaguely ok. The movies were good and I was sat next to a lovely couple of newlyweds. Despite mum's argument with another inconsiderate flyer, it was possibly the best flight in a while!

I thought this time we would get an apartment, rather than paying through the roof for a hotel. We stayed in an authentic little apartment in the East Village. It was a tad more stressful than turning up to a hotel with concierge and bell boy but we made it in the end. Apparently, I forgot to add the dialling code when trying to call the landlord. I was convinced we had been scammed and were stuck on the side of the street! Trust me to stress myself out for no reason!

Oh well, the multiple tequilas that followed definitely mellowed me out.

To round off our first day, we stopped in at Mum's favourite restaurant, Kat'z Deli. I'm not going to lie, it's a tourist trap and it's over priced but it's our guilty pleasure!

We decided to get our inner tourist out on our second day. We hit up midtown. We walked all the way up from 14th to the Empire state with a quick stop at our favourite Belgian bar. During our travels, the strap my beloved Rebecca Minkoff Moto bag snapped and there was no way I was paying out for an emergency bag I didn't really want. I ended up wrapping the strap around the flap and making it work.

 You would think that the second time up the Empire state building would be quite unimpressive. If anything, it is better the second time around! It's captivating.

Now, we couldn't get that close to Macy's and not go! Plus, I was in desperate need of a new handbag. After a quick drink in the refurbished cafe and on a handbag hunt I went. There were two new bag options, one was way out of my budget and the other a little too small for my liking. In the end,  the bank of daddy swooped in and saved me by buying half of it as my birthday present! It is literally my favourite bag of all time.

We ended our day in Times Square and Bubba Gump's. If you're going to brave Times Square, I would always suggest doing it at night, it's just too busy and not that impressive during daylight.

God Friday was hell. I had planned a lovely morning on the upper west side and a casual lunchtime stroll through central park. It turned out I had planned a trip to the seventh level of hell.

Breakfast started well at Cafe 82, by far the best breakfast diner in Manhattan... And they do take out! We decided to take a casual stroll towards Central Park, stopping off in a cute little chocolate shop. It took me the whole walk to the edge of Central Park to realise I had left my new handbag on the back of a chair. Bitch has never run so fast! Bear in mind, it was liked 30000000 degrees at this point. Mum and I spent the rest of the walk through Central Park trying not to die! The only good thing to happen since breakfast was receiving the best text ever telling my bestie S had just got engaged ♥

I cried, in the middle of Central Park, I cried.

To round it all off we ended up on the subway at rush hour. I'm not even going to explain how painful that was.

We  ended the night at 5 Napkin, if you followed my last trip to NYC you will know it's my favourite American chain. Me and Aunty G got a little tipsy and went shopping. We ended up losing track of time and left mum and day chilling outside a pizza place because I had the keys! Oooppss.

We thought we would do out own things today. Dad disappeared, probably to the pub and the girls hit 5th Avenue. We started in Bloomingdale's, Aunty G got a make over and mum and I ate the largest chocolate cake ever. Not forgetting the best cocktail ever to grace this planet!

We spent the majority of the day waltzing down 5th, nipping in all the places I wish I could shop! We chose a bit of a poop day for this area, St Patrick's was shut for the 9/11 memorial and it was really quite sad. There was also a workers union parade going up 5th, it was a sea of people and police. We ended up hiding in the Rockefeller Centre, left mum in a cafe and me and G went up to the 'top of the rock'.

If you think you need to choose between the Empire state building and the Top of the Rock, you don't. They both have such different aerial views of the city and both well worth the ticket prices.

We all met back at Schulberg's, our local. Dad had managed to make friends with a couple of Arsenal supporters while he waited for us. Then we headed off to this Greek restaurant we had been talking about. It was amazing. They had real Raki and the food was beautiful, I supposed it helped that I was white girl wasted by this point.

Today was the anniversary of 9/11. I can't imagine many people would want to be in the city today. We chose to use this time to hit up Woodbury common in upstate NY, the discount shopping mecca. Let's just say, we all went a little crazy! on the plus side, I replaced my Rebecca Minkoff with a mini version and tried on my first pair of Loubs (definitely not walking shoes!)

The hour(ish) coach out there is totally worth it, albeit, a little cramped on the return journey. The night time views coming back into the city were almost as good as the Empire and Rockefeller! On our next trip, I am definitely doing either one at night!

We caught an Uber and went to Bill's Burgers downtown. Never introduce your parents to Uber in NY, just don't do it. They became a daily occurrence after that.

Monday was a big day for us, we went all over the county. Started out in battery park to catch the Staten island ferry, which is free by the way! A few pictures of the Statue of Liberty later and we arrived in New York's beloved suburb. I don't want to ruin anyone's Florida childhood but Perkins has gone right down hill. Possibly the only bad meal of the week. One long ass Uber with and Elvis lookalike driving we arrived in Coney Island. The Blackpool of NY. It is my new favourite place! Aunty G managed to get me on the weirdest Ferris wheel ever! I'm just happy my corndog stayed down! We kept up the family tradition and found a miniature golf course, dad won, obviously.

After a lovely afternoon at the beach, we made our way back to the city. An hour later and we make a pit stop in Brooklyn, found a high-rise prison and mum went mental in a Michaels. Seriously, we were in there for a lifetime!

We had no plans for food so trip advisor helped out. Forlini's, an old school Italian restaurant on the border of Little Italy and China Town. It has mixed reviews, but by god it was amazing. It was like being in a 1920's mafia joint. The owner, Joe came round and welcomed everyone, we had chosen quite a quiet time so it was just us and a few other tables. The only complaint I have is their 'apple martini' it tasted like a glass of shaken apple sourz.

We didn't really do too much on our last full day. I hit up all the shops to rinse the remainder of my money. Didn't actually buy anything, I know, I'm shocked too.

If you made it all the way through my NYC memoirs, congratulations!

Until next time.

R x

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

USA vs UK.

I know a lot of my post recently have all been about my trip to America but I thought i'd post about some of the differences between us and our american counterparts. Here's a short list of differences I noticed during my recent trips.

Photos taken from: The Guardian.co.uk, farm4.staticflickr.com, Imgarcade.com & Salon.com

Privacy.

In the UK most toilets cubicles are basically a room on it’s own or enclosed enough that no one can see you. However, in the USA pretty much all cubicles have a two-foot gap at the bottom and top and inch hinges. Because, yeah, we want everyone to see us wee.

Sales assistants.

I’m not saying that all sales assistants in the UK are grumpy, it’s just the difference is so noticeable compared to sales assistants in the US. They welcome you on arrival, will do pretty much anything to help and 98% of them try and find a way to compliment you. (Doesn’t necessarily transfer the cashiers they all seem to hate their lives not matter what country you’re in.

Food.

Everything is bigger in the US, I don’t think they’ve heard of portion control. I bet they have the shock of their lives when they go to Europe.

Beggars.

The majority of beggars in America, well in New York, weren’t just asking for money. They were politely asking or complimenting people before asking help, not the ‘spare any change love?’ we’re used to in the UK. Some were even preaching their life’s story on subway cars, explaining how they got to be in their situations. Some of them were quite heart wrenching.

Tips.

Tips to me are a recognition of good work, in the UK tips are only really given if your server has done a really good job. In the US tips are customary, they even put suggested tips on the receipt! America is definitely the place to work in the service industry.

The Big one… Prices.

When you initially go state side every thing seems more expensive, only because you’re comparing dollars directly to pounds. If you use a currency converter you soon realise that even though the prices look higher they do tend to act

Lincoln Christmas market 2016.

I have a shopping problem and I love Christmas. This was never going to end well.

I know I'm a little late to the game but I have this great habit of spending ages writing these and forgetting to post them :(

So today was the first day of lincoln Christmas market. It's finally acceptable to drink mulled wine at every chance and I was reunited with P. I had the best day! 

We made the right decision and went early, we got there maybe an hour after it opened and even though it was busy it was not night time busy. It picked up when the sun started to set but by then we half way round for the second time. 

There were so many beautiful stalls but a few that I really want to talk about... all the ones that beat me. There are a few I can't talk about as I bought a couple of Christmas presents! 

Let's start with Tickley Spider I think it's safe to say this was mine and P's favourite stall. They make bespoke tweed bags, that are just beautiful. They have chosen a few staple bag shapes and let the fabric speak for its self. I'm obsessed with their 50's bag, the only reason I didn't buy one is that he didn't have any in my kind of tweed - I like mine a bit more on the tartan side. I bought a wash bag and P got the 'marmite' bag. 

After hitting up the Oslinc for an ostrich burger and trying to resist the giant doughnuts, we found the Celtic Spirit Co. We both indulged in their free samples and if I wasn't trying to watch my alcohol intake I would have bought the stall! Their hazelnut baileys is beautiful and their sloe gin had the burn I love. 

A welcome addition this year was a couple of Turkish stands selling decorated pottery and lamps. They reminded me of the markets in Crete. 

On our first time round, the Russian doll stall drew me in, I don't know what it is about them! I ended up caving on round two and bought a Christmas tree and P got one too! We were a bad as each other today! 

Near the end of the market in the marquees that no one can ever be bothered with, I found a gem, especially if you like pottery. I bought a small, heart-shaped dish. All the other ones were fully glazed but this one just called to me. 

I had such a lovely day wandering around but my back is paying for it now! We will be back on Sunday for the annual end of market day sesh.

Until next time.

 R x

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Would you rather beauty tag with J.

Hey Guys!

We have a little tag for you today :) Enjoy!

1.Would you rather go out with messy hair and nice make-up or Nice hair and no make-up?

R: Messy hair and nice make up! You can always rock a grunge look.

J: Messy hair and nice make up... Sorry.

2.Would you rather shave your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out?

R: Shave my eyebrows, I draw them on everyday anyway.

J: Eyelashes fall out, there's no way I'm drawing my eyebrows on... I can't trust myself.

3.Would you rather be forced to shop at only MAC or Sephora for the rest of your life?

R: Sephora all the way! I don't really care for MAC much anymore.

J: The not MAC, I needs that variety.

4.Would you rather wear lipgloss/lipliner look or 80's perm?

R: I reckon I could rock an 80s perm! ;)

J: 80's PERM!!

5.Would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?

R: Overdone blush... Blush wears off so quickly on me it would be acceptable in under an hour.

J: Ahhh I don't know... Foundation line... This face does not look good pink.

6.Would you rather wear MC Hammer pants or biker shorts in public?

R: Mc hammer pants, every time!

J: Biker shorts, because they tight.

7.Would you rather have a bad orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that can't be covered?

R: This is the toughest question! Both are horrible options... I'm going to have to go with the Orange tan, at least i won't be the only one walking around like that.

J: Really don't want to be orange but I don't want to look like I failed.

8.Would you rather have a bad haircut or bad hair color?

R: A bad cut, at least with that you can style it to hide the whack job.

J: Colour. If you have bad cut you can't hide it at least you can change colours.

R: Ohhhhh that makes so much more sense... looks like I'm stuck with a wig.

9.Would you rather have youtube or twitter taken away forever?

R: Twitter. I don't understand it anyway.

J: Twitter! youtube has cat videos!!

10. Would you rather give up using makeup brushes or mascara? 

R: Neither. Haha If I really had to I think make up brushes... I'd just use cream products and my fingers. There's no way in hell that I could give up mascara, although I could just use falsies! Aghhh I don't know?!

J: Make up brushes... fuck it.

This was so much fun to write! We may do more tags with J ;)

Until next time.

 R & J x

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I don't know who created this, but here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cr1z3_CILs

The best martini in Manhattan

I feel like this post needs a little explanation... I wrote this back in September whilst living the dream in my soul city but I can't let the martini's of New York to go to waste! I was on a mission to find the best martini ever! Spoiler, I didn't really find it. So far my favourite is still a good old dirty martini from The Rouge Saint in Lincoln.

#1 The Belgian beer cafe on the corner of 5th & 26th. Dirty gin martini. $8 

A very drinkable martini doesn't give the normal burn! One for those who want to look awesome, don't particularly enjoy the burn of a good martini and drink more than a couple at a time . Overall, a very good martini and very cheap.

Dirty gin martini, A-

You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a martini. We went to 5 Napkin for tea and I had to settle for gin based cocktails. The first one was made for me, called smokin' Rosie. The second was a French 55. Both were lovely but the smokin' Rosie needed food.

Smokin' Rosie. C+

French 55. B+

We took a quick pit stop in the David Burke cafe in Bloomingdales. I had a cool as a cucumber, at $18 it's not the cheapest in the city but it was the most beautiful tasting drink I've ever had! The mix is simple, gin, agave cucumber and lemon. I even asked for the measurements, 2oz Hendricks gin, 1oz of both agave and lemon or lime, muddled cucumbers with a splash of cucumber juice.

Cool as a cucumber. A+ 

Next, we moved on to schulbergs on 2nd & 12th I had multiple negronis here. The first time we went I got them 241 at happy hour but we went back a couple of days later and paid $12 each. They were very drinkable and very alcoholic.

Schulberg's negroni factor A- 

Sam place different cocktail. I realise I was searching for the best gin martini and I had only had 1! So we got another in schulbergs. This time at $14 it was a little on the pricey side. It was drinkable at first but the more and more you got into it, the burn became apparent. If anything this is my favourite martini experience.

Schulberg's Martini A

I hope y'all enjoyed this one! If your heading to the big apple anytime soon, you need to try the cool as a cucumber cocktail in Bloomingdales!!! 

Until next time.

R x

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Lazy Girl Nails: Take Two.

So if you caught my last post in my series for lazy girls, you will know that the Nails Inc. Paint cans are pretty much a waste of money.

This time I bit the bullet and bought Sensationail. I have so many nail polishes I thought best to get the Polish to gel starter kit, so I can use up my current polishes before splurging on the gel ones.

In the box.

For £49.99 you get:
Led lamp
Gel Primer
Gel transformer
Cleanser
Lint wipes
nail files
Mixing tray - for some reason mine wasn't in the box :(
Shitty cuticle push

How to apply.

So there are two ways to apply using your own polish. You can either paint your nails as normal, wait for it to dry and then apply the gel or you can mix the gel and polish together. I went with the first option and painted my nails first. One nail messed up and I ended up peeling it off, so I did one nail the mixing way.

First Impressions.

Lets start with the painting method first, as this is the way I did the majority of my nails. It was just as tedious as painting my nails normally. Boo. I suppose it would have been easier if I had used a fast drying polish! Once they were dry, I followed the surprisingly easy to follow instructions and cured the nails, ending by cleaning of the sticky layer. The first thing that shocked me was that they were completely dry! I don't know why but I was just so shocked. If you're anything like me and have shaky hands, the only down side to this method is the amount of polish on all over the skin.

So on to the mixing method. This actually worked much better and my one nail was done within 2 minutes, from start to finish. So they recommend for a full set to mix 6 drops of the gel transformer and 6 drops of your nail polish together. As I was only doing one nail I mixed three, it was probably enough for two nails. I would bet my 98% of my life that 6 drops would not do both hands! Even though this method was wayyyyyyy easier and quicker, I used so much more gel.

Overall, I'm a happy bunny. It only took me about an hour in total and that was mostly spend waiting for my polish to dry. It's easy as pie to apply and feels great once they are on. I'm going to see how long it lasts, the box claims up to two weeks but my nails usually chip within hours.

Results. 

Ive been using this system for about a month now. I even went out and bought the actual gel polishes! I think having the actual gel polishes make it 10 times easier! my nails take minutes now! There is only one issue I have with it... I just can't stop peeling them off. Whether they last a day or a week as soon as one chips i peel them all off. I'm working on it but it's just so satisfying to peel them off!


Until next time.

 R x

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥