I’m a few days late in posting my monthly update, but I hope you’ll forgive me! I’ve been enjoying my down time a little ~too~ much recently, especially after starting a new position at work that’s taken up a bit more of my brain power.
As much as I enjoyed writing my ‘This Week I’m Loving…’ updates, I found they were taking up a lot of my time each week when I could have been crafting useful travel guides that are arguably a lot more beneficial for everyone involved. So what am I going to do instead? Something very revolutionary, I’m sure you’ll agree: switch it up to monthly life updates. If this doesn’t get me a Nobel Prize, I don’t know what will.
Here’s everything I got up to in April!
A weekend in Birmingham
I’m always keen to visit more of the UK, and so when I got a chance to review the easyHotel in Birmingham, I jumped at it! Rather than just head straight back to London, I spent a Saturday seeing what Birmingham had to offer and was pretty impressed with what I saw. Instagrammable backdrops, history on every corner, scenic canal views…you name it, Birmingham had it!
I was so taken aback by what I found in Birmingham that I wrote up an entire blog post on ways in which the city surprised me. Have a read and let me know whether it syncs up with your idea of Birmingham!
Meeting up with bloggers in Hampstead
One of the things I want to do more in 2018 is meet up with more bloggers. Even though I’m the most socially awkward, introverted person going, I loved meeting Ellie from The Wandering Quinn for the first time at a blogger meet-up she organised around Hampstead. It was so lovely to chat all things blogging and travel with so many fabulous ladies – not to mention it was fab to see a different part of London for the first time!
London’s mini heatwave
Man, those 3 days of summer were great weren’t they? Can’t wait for next year’s.
Living my best life at London’s Tea Fes-Tea-Val
I won two tickets to a tea festival in honour of National Tea Day and was pretty much in my element the whole day! My best mate and I made it our mission to try as many samples as we could possibly get our hands on, and we tried everything from tea-based gin, to beautiful floral teas that are meant to help with stress and anxiety. As soon as I get some money, I’m treating myself.
Having the afternoon tea of my dreams at The Ritz
Anyone who knows of my insatiable love for afternoon teas knows that The Ritz has been on my bucket list for years! And in April, Sophie from Luggage Tags and Ticket Stubs made all my afternoon tea dreams come true as a late birthday gift. This was exactly how afternoon tea should be done: sandwich fillings that are creative yet reliable, scones that are small in size but big on flavour, and Chai tea that makes you forget about your beloved English Breakfast for a few hours.
Honestly, if you get the chance to go, do it. I even brushed off my fancy dress for the evening to help me look the part!
An evening of cocktails and food to celebrate Barbados’ Year of Culinary Experiences
Last week I popped by an event near London Bridge to launch Barbados’ Year of Culinary Experiences. It was probably the most fun press event I’ve ever been to, complete with music, dancing, and laughter. Because of the subject matter we also got to try a LOT of food and drink which was all absolutely sensational. I fell in love with the traditional Bajan sweet bread a little *too* much and had to take approximately 14,035 helpings, I’M SO SORRY.
But yes. I learnt from that event that I desperately, desperately need to get myself to Barbados ASAP.
This book
I love hearing other people’s book recommendations, so thought I’d share this babe with you: All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai. I was a little bit put off by it at first because it just sounded (and, uh, looked) a bit like a gushy rom-com novel – but it’s nothing like what I expected. It’s a bit of a love story mixed with science fiction, time travel, and a whole load of wit. If you liked the Time Traveler’s Wife, then I’d say to definitely give this book a go!
