November 2019 Favourites

I haven't really tried a lot of new products because I was away for a while but then with the new year coming up I want to use up as many products as possible so I can start a fresh in the new year.

GIFT IDEA: Thank You For Hosting (For Jacinda & Scott)

Some of you may know the story or not and some of you may know who Jacinda and Scott are but here is a brief summary, so Jacinda has a son called Kyle who is the same age and best friends with my brother Ethan, they have known each other since they were three years old. Mum and Jacinda became good friends they both had another son each at the same time, Jacinda's is Logan, my brother is Louie and they are besties. Jacinda is my baby brother Mowgli's godmother. Now Jacinda is originally from Yorkshire but we all lived in Leicester, been on holidays together, partied together. Jacinda. met the love of her life: Scott from Scotland. They moved to Yorkshire, you will have seen that they have twins now, I have done blog posts on it before. Scott got me a job up in Yorkshire and it was a bit of a mad rush and I was offered their spare bedroom until I got settled. I really wanted to get them a lovely gift to say thank you but also a gift that is meaningful however what do you get so this is exactly what I got.

So when I thought about the fit I thought I would get a personalised bag instead of a gift bag so I contacted an artist on Etsy called Minii Vanilla and asked for her to do a picture of their family, then got the picture printed onto two tote bags plus the wording 'One Step Closer' which is a tattoo on Jacinda's foot in a similar font but also it's their wedding song printed on the other side.

Card from Paperchase.

H&M Guns N Roses Sweet Child O'Mine t-shirts for Isla and Iona who are Scott and Jacinda's 1 year old twins, I have a Guns N Roses t-shirt so I thought we could match.

Edinburgh Preserve Hot & Spicy Sauce Collection is mainly for Scott, spicy sauce is a thing that we both have in common, we love them so when I saw in John Lewis this Edinburgh range I thought it was perfect for Scott the Scot.

Scott and Jacinda love gin and their favourite brand is Edinburgh Gin Distillery so I got them Edinburgh Gin Distillery Rhubarb & Ginger, I know Jacinda likes rhubarb.

I remember talking to Scott about Irn Bru and how they are getting rid of the original version so when I came across a pack of 8 I had to get them.

In their house they always have the Walkers Max Strong crisps as well as snacks so I got them a few, chocolates they can all share but Freddos for the twins, I know Jacinda loves Drumstick Squashies but also treated them to some Yorkshire Mixtures. I know Scott loves Reese's and I am sure both of them like salted caramel.

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Scott, Jacinda and their kids for having me, for taking care of me and for being there for me, this year has been a big thing for me and without them I wouldn't have got such a good opportunity and grow as a person.

Travel Diaries (Stockholm 2019)

I thought I would write a little diary of everything I have done over the week (not really a full week) so I can keep and share these memories with other.

Why I Traveled To Stockholm On My Own? (Stockholm 2019)

Why did I travel to Stockholm on my own?
The honest answer is...I am selfish.

I was asked by work colleagues and friends why I would travel to another country on my own especially with my birthday being during the trip and like I said I am selfish. I got to go somewhere that I wanted to go to, do what I wanted to do, walk around at my pace, sleep when I wanted to sleep and eat what I wanted to eat.

Was I lonely on the trip?
No, I had my parents FaceTime me everyday, women at work were messaging me but also I got speaking to locals, that's a good way to not be lonely but also learn new things?

Why Stockholm, Sweden?
I have been a big fan of ABBA since a very young age and always wanted to go and visit, this year has been a big year for me and I thought I deserved a little holiday so chose to do this.

Would I do it again?
Hell yeah, I already have two trips scheduled for 2020 which I will do blog posts on it so keep an eye out.

Connect Hotel City (Stockholm 2019)

I used the site Hotels.com to look for hotels, I wanted a hotel not in the city centre but not too far out, I booked my hotel on 1st November and left on 12th November so there wasn't much notice.

When I first walked in it reminded me of Premier Inn in the UK. I had picked to have Economy Queen room without windows, I wanted this holiday to be relaxing and for me to sleep in and if there was a little light in my room I would have woken up straight the way. 

My room is number 7, pretty much out of the reception the first room in. Not a lot of room so if there was two of you then probably a little too crowded but perfect for just little old me. The bed was really comfortable, I setup the desk with my laptop, I did bring it to do some work for my own business. I never understand why hotels only have a few coat hangers but it was fine, I setup the luggage display thing and opened my case up and organised the wardrobe and the case so it was more practical for myself. I never turned the television on but it was a decent size for this room. The bathroom has a shower, sink and toilet, one thing I didn't like was when I showered the whole bathroom was wet, I didn't even notice the rainfall shower head as well as the normal one.

I had breakfast most days, there was bacon, meatballs, chicken sausages, scrambled egg plus what you can see in the pictures, coffee was decent and so was the food but I wish there was more of a variety.

The staff were lovely, the only issue I had was when I was in bed because my room was so close to the reception I could hear the phones ringing till ridiculous o'clock otherwise it was a nice place, about 20 minute walk to the city centre but not far from a mini shopping centre with H&M, Joe & The Juice, Coop, etc...

Hotel: Connect Hotel City

Outfits Of The Week (Stockholm 2019)

I haven't done a full week, I was in Sweden from Tuesday to Sunday so thought I would still call it that. I just want to say sorry about the quality.

Tuesday 12th November

My travel outfit had to be practical, I know you have to take your shoes off at the airport so shoes needed to be easily removable but also comfortable.
Coat: Pimkie
Scarf: Zara
Jeans: H&M
Top: Zara
Boots: ASOS
Bag: Longchamp
Suitcase: Samsonite

Wednesday 13th November

Coat: Pimkie
Scarf: Joules
Headband: ASOS
Jeans: H&M
Top: H&M
Boots: ASOS
Bag: Zara

Thursday 14th November

Coat: Social Media Store
Jeans: H&M
Jumper: Unknown
Boots: New Look
Bag: Zara

Friday 15th November

Coat: Pimkie
Hat: Zara
Jeans: H&M
Jumper: H&M
Boots: ASOS
Bag: Zara

Saturday 16th November

Coat: Social Media Store
Trousers: H&M
Top: H&M
Shoes: TOMS
Bag: Longchamp

Sunday 17th November

Coat: Pimkie
Trousers: H&M
Jumper: Jack Wills
Boots: ASOS
Bag: Longchamp
Suitcase: Samsonite

Vasa Museum (Stockholm 2019)

I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to museums, I love going and looking around them. Now I had never heard about Vasa, but it's a museum that displays the only intact 17th century ship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628.

Vasa was a Swedish warship built and completed by 1628 on the orders from King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden for the war with Poland/Lithuania and sailed about 1,300m into its maiden voyage but fell into obscurity. Crew of 145 sailors and 300 soldiers and 64 guns.

It sank due to it's very little stability which was known by the king but was sent to sea.

The picture above is called The Rigging, you can stand in one but not on the actual ship, The Rigging was the main top, a worn platform, from here one could furl or unfurl the main topsail.

Gunports: the ports of the two gunlocks which were normally closed during sailing. When they were opened prior to an engagement, brightly painted lion masks glared out towards the enemies.

Scuppers: small round drainage holes in the ship's side. Prior to an engagement the scuppers were plugged and water was pumped onto the decks as a fire precaution.

Vasa Museum has an effective climate control system within the museum. Climate has effected the Vasa, during Summer 2000 it rained and with the mass of visitors to the museum the ship hall's climate control system was unable to maintain consistent temperature and humidity. The ambient humidity rose and fell, iron and sulphur siting in the wood were transported to the surface, it forms harmful deposits on the surface of the ship so a new effective climate control system was installed. Research is still being done on the boat, nobody knows how long the Vasa will survive, if they were to lock it up in a dark, cold room without oxygen then it would survive forever but nobody would be able to enjoy this beautiful boat. Vasa is affected by visitors body heat, breath and clothing which maybe wet due to rain.

The Vasa Museum was built in 1987-1990 in the Galley Yard, used by the Navy from 1723 to 1969. The models above shows the yard in 1942.