My Guide to Las Vegas

The final stop on our travels was Las Vegas!  It is such a great place to visit and totally out of this world.

One of the best shows we saw there is the Cirque du Soleil show 'O', an amazing aquatic performance which left me in awe from start to finish, it really is unbelievable some of the things they can do!

A great way to spend your time in Vegas is going from hotel to hotel, they are HUGE and look spectacular inside and out (so big that in one hotel alone I came across 3 Starbucks!).  New York New York looked amazing and I loved the roller coaster, the Coyote Ugly bar in the hotel is really fun too.
Another great hotel is The Venetian, Italian themed with a Gondola ride going through the hotel with blue skies (indoors!) was one of the craziest things I've seen.

The Grand Canyon is absolutely incredible, it is a trip of a lifetime and I feel so lucky to have been able to see it.  We flew with Sundance Helicopters who I'd highly recommend, our pilot was amazing! We got to fly over the Las Vegas strip and over the Grand Canyon before stopping off at the side and going on the Skywalk - a glass floored walkway over the Canyon, it was incredible!  We then got a few photos from the cliff side, the vastness of the Gran Canyon is unbelievable and totally breathtaking.

Of course you can't go to Las Vegas without a bit of gambling, there is no shortage of opportunities to do this - even sitting at a bar..! Between this and the Britney Spears slot machines I was amazed by Las Vegas!

We had a great night at the Stratosphere near the end of our trip, the bar at the top gives you amazing views of the strip and surrounding area, you also get free entry to the viewing deck from here so it was incredible to go outside and see the views and the crazy rides at the top of the Stratosphere (I didn't have the guts to try them out this time!).  It was a lovely way to spend time reflecting on the holiday with a few cocktails.

Another must see in Vegas is the Bellagio Fountains.  We saw the fountains on the first and last night of our holiday so it brings back great memories of the trip, the dance of the fountains is always different so there is always a great display on.  With the backdrop of the gorgeous Bellagio hotel it really is amazing.

Have you been to Las Vegas before?  What did you think?

I hope you've enjoyed the posts on my recent travels - back to fashion and beauty next week!

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My Guide to San Francisco

One of the nicest cities I have ever visited, San Francisco has so much to offer yet has such a relaxed atmosphere.  My boyfriend and I spent 4 nights in this beautiful city and made some amazing memories - the sights, experiences and weather was great which made the perfect setting for time in the city.

Of course, one of the most amazing sights when visiting San Francisco is the Golden Gate Bridge.  There is something about the bridge in this gorgeous setting that makes it breathtaking.  We were lucky enough to experience the bridge twice, once on a gorgeous warm day and another on a foggy morning - when we first approached the bridge that day we couldn't even see it because of the mist!

Another great, unique part of the city is Lombard Street, it's known as the 'crooked street' with 8 hairpin turns and gorgeous flowerbeds and houses.  It was so exciting to take the classic Powell & Hyde cable car up to the top of the hill and walk your way down, getting to take great photographs from both angles.

While in San Francisco we were lucky enough to see a an NFL Kickoff concert in a square in the city, it was a gorgeous day and a relatively intimate concert with Train and Ellie Goulding!  It was such a lovely chilled out day after having a busy few days in the city - Train and Ellie Goulding always remind me of San Francisco now!  If you get the chance to experience any events in the squares in the city, enjoy and make the most of it.

A must see when you visit San Francisco is Alcatraz Island.  A prison housing inmates causing trouble in other prisons, one of the quotes I remember from my visit is, 'break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz', which pretty much sums it up! As much as the island is now a tourist attraction, it still feels so authentic and the audio tour is great, I'd highly recommend booking a night tour in advanced - really eerie and haunting!

One night of our trip I got kitted out in a Giants t-shirt and foam finger to enjoy a baseball game at AT&T Park, seeing a game here is a great experience and it's crazy seeing the stadium is right on the water!

Finally on our last day in San Francisco we decided to cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge and see the small waterfront city of Sausalito which is pretty beautiful!  The cycle along San Francisco and across the bridge was a great experience and really lets you see more of the city in the time you have.  Once we crossed the bridge and were taking some photos of the view back across to San Francisco, my boyfriend surprised me by asking me to marry him! It was such a special day and was lovely celebrating together in Sausalito on a waterfront balcony - with a Champagne or two of course!
It's a beautiful city with gorgeous buildings and houses so I'd recommending visiting if you get the chance.

I hope you found my guide useful if you're planning a trip to San Francisco, let me know if you'd like to know more or have any tips for when I return!   

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My Guide to New York

Recently I spent a couple of weeks travelling around 3 cities in America, it was honestly one of the best experiences I've had!  Our first stop was New York so I thought I'd share some of the great places we visited and the highlights of our trip - writing this post makes me want to go back so badly.

We got to see so much of the city while we were there and we stayed literally around the corner from Times Square, so it was great getting to see it every morning and night.  This is definitely a must see when visiting New York.

While in the area I'd recommend stopping off at The View bar within the New York Marriott Marquis (right on Times Square), it is the cities only revolving rooftop bar which boasts stunning views.  We planned to stay for only a cocktail or two but stayed for most of the night and got to catch a beautiful sunset!  

One of my highlights was going to Rockefeller Centre, again, the views from here were absolutely stunning!  We had experienced evening views so it was lovely to see the city in the morning, especially the Empire State Building and Central Park.  

Central Park was another of my favourite places to visit, it really is beautiful and gives you a sense of space in such a huge, busy city.  There is so much to see in the park, I covered less than a third of it and got to see so many features such as the Friends fountain, Alice in Wonderland, Strawberry Fields and the Bow Bridge - not to mention all the people there showing off their talents singing, playing instruments and telling jokes..!  At the corner of the park you also get to see The Plaza and Tiffany & Co on 5th Avenue *lots of heart eyed emojis*.  

I could have spent a full day there, make sure you experience Central Park when visiting New York.  

It wouldn't be a trip to New York without a trip to Shake Shack, this was my first visit and OH MY...it did not disappoint.  Shack burger and cheese fries with a strawberry milkshake = heaven.

I was looking for rooftop bars in New York and we found a great one near the Flat Iron building called 230 Fifth.  It was a beautiful day and sitting on the rooftop with a cocktail, palm trees and the Empire State building as my view felt like the perfect afternoon, we loved sitting here talking about our time in NYC.  

For all the foodies out there we visited another great place for a bite to eat - Katz's Deli in the East Village.  This is a famous delicatessen with the best pastrami on rye sandwich!  It has an old school deli feel with photos of celebrities on the wall from their visits over the years, it's such a great place to visit.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my highlights of New York, let me know if you have plans to visit soon or if you have any other recommendations of where I should visit when I return.  

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The Inspiration Post #9

I spent most of September this year travelling around 3 cities in America (more of which will be documented in the next few weeks!), and towards the end of the month I have been obsessed with London Fashion Week.  London has to be my favourite, I love to see what the amazingly talented designers and design houses can produce while maintaining a British fashion edge.  

Everything from the looks, to the show production and the front rows have been inspiring me recently, wouldn't it be great to go to a show one day?! The dream.  

Classically British brand Burberry presented a stunning show (with a Snapchat story to show it off!), Holly Fulton and Mary Katrantzou ensured shine and shimmer were included in their show with silver panels and hand beaded dresses respectively.  

Anya Hindmarch made tribute to our British high street which is very appropriate considering that is where her designs could filter to, and Christopher Kane brightened up the city with his colourful collection of inspiration from artists across the UK.  

Finally, I was also inspired by the craziness and fun injected into London fashion week from Sophia Webster - the most amazing shoes and presentation! A mermaid laundrette - what's not to love?!

You'll find my inspiration in the images below, it's quite a mixture..!

Burberry / Classic jacket with gold detailing (Vogue.co.uk)

Holly Fulton / Classic shape with the addition of sparkle and shine (Vogue.co.uk)

Anya Hindmarch / An ode to John Lewis (Vogue.co.uk)

Mary Katrantzou / Detail, detail, detail! (Indigital)

Christopher Kane / Plastic fantastic! (Vogue.co.uk)

Sophia Webster / Mermaid laundrette & bright coloured shoes (Vogue.co.uk)

Topshop Unique / Front Row (Topshop Blog)

Alison Moyet & Orchestra at Burberry SS16 (Telegraph.co.uk)

Sophia Webster / Mermaids at show (Vogue.co.uk)

What were your favourite shows from LFW?

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Lip Loves: MAC Creme Cup

Lipstick is a great way to enhance or dress up your make up look, it's the perfect make up product to transform you from day to night super quickly.
As every other beauty blogger will know, MAC has one of the greatest ranges of lipsticks to choose from - various textures and so many gorgeous shades to choose from.

My go-to lipstick for any occasion - and new obsession - has to be MAC Creme Cup.  It's such a gorgeous pastel pink shade with pink blue tones that go great with my skin tone (NW15-20).  My sister had bought this and raved about it, as soon as I tried it I was hooked!  It's a subtle and very buildable lipstick with a great texture.  I love the MAC Cremesheen lipsticks as they are very moisturising and creamy, but because they are so creamy they need topped up every few hours.

This is a MAC shade I will definitely repurchase when this one is used up (which could be pretty soon!).  

Have you tried MAC's Creme Cup?  

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My Favourite Granola Recipe

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, there are so many options to set you up for the day ahead.
One recipe I came across in the Honestly Healthy cookbook is Nutty Granola.
Porridge is a firm favourite of mine but I was looking for another healthy alternative to mix things up a bit and I'm obsessed with this granola recipe!  It's full of oats, nuts and seeds so it's not filled with any nasty sugars that are bad for you first thing in the morning.

This recipe tends to last me all week or longer, I love to have it as breakfast with greek yogurt, sprinkled on top of my porridge or as a snack throughout the day to keep me going - so it will make about 4 servings.

To make this Nutty Granola you'll need the following ingredients:

• 50g dates (remember to remove the stones!)
• 100g jumbo rolled oats
• 85g mixed raw cashews and pecans
• 15g pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp honey (I currently use agave nectar)
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 160ºC/325ºF/gas mark 3.
Prepare the measurements of your ingredients above so you're good to go.

Simmer the dates in 1cm of water (no more or the mixture will become too wet) until they are soft, I then turn off the heat and blend with a hand mixer until the mixture becomes a smooth consistency.

Add your remaining ingredients to the dates and mix well, gradually add in half of each ingredient and mix, then add the other half.  This will make it easier to combine the ingredients without too much mess!

Spread out your granola mixture onto a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes in the oven.  Once the 15 minutes are up, shake the tray slightly so the mixture spreads out a little, then reduce your temperature to 100ºC/225ºF/gas mark 1/4 and bake for another 30 minutes or until your mixture becomes golden and crisp.

Leave the granola to cool and then store in a container - as simple as that!

Do you have a healthy alternative to granola which you love?  The great thing about this recipe is you can add different nuts or seeds if you have other preferences.

Let me know how you get on with the recipe!

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Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Forever

Recently I was lucky enough to receive the lovely Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Forever as a gift, and I was so excited to try out Marc's newest scent.  It's similar to Daisy Dream - from the scent to the bottle and packaging.
The bottle is in the similar Daisy Dream shape however has silver and blue daisies rather than gold and white across the bottle.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Forever is a gorgeous fresh scent and an extension or, a 'deeper interpretation', of the already well loved Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream scent.  It has similar key notes of blackberry, grapefruit and pear; heart notes of jasmine, lychee and blue wisteria and base notes of white woods, musks and coconut water.

This fragrance is a deeper scent to the original, it's still fresh and invigorating due to the slightly stronger, fruiter scents pulling through, yet leaves a lingering of the base notes a few minutes after you've sprayed the fragrance; because of this you wouldn't need to use much for it to give off a strong, lasting finish.

I love to wear this as a day and evening scent, fresh for during the day yet deep enough to pull off for evening occasions.

Have you got Daisy Dream Forever?  Let me know what you think of the scent.

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