New York | Photo diary part one

I got home from New York just under two weeks ago. How depressing is that? I can quite honestly say that I didn't expect to fall in love with the city quite so much. It feels slightly surreal that it all really happened... So instead of longingly staring at photos, I thought I'd put them into a photo diary!

Day One
This is quite a sparse day doing things-wise. We were both exhausted after an eight hour flight and all we wanted to do was eat and sleep. BUT WE WERE IN NEW YORK. So after a yellow cab ride to the hotel to drop off our suitcases, off we went for a wander round Times Square.
We stayed at the Manhattan Affinia Hotel, which was perfect for our stay. Situated right opposite Madison Square Gardens and Penn Station, and about a ten minute walk up the road to Times Square - we really were right in the middle of it all. Despite being one of the original grand hotels of New York, it has obviously been renovated quite recently as our 28th floor(!!) room was so modern and immaculately clean. Also, after scouting out a few of the other hotels we had looked at beforehand and realising how far out they were in terms of walking, we definitely made the right decision with The Affinia! 

Day Two
After a super early night, we got up bright and early and made our way to the Empire State building. It was the most beautiful blue skied day, and because we were out so early, there really wasn't that many people around. (Definitely prime time to go!) I wasn't expecting to be as blown away by the views, but I could have stayed up there for hours just looking at everything. We bought a city pass before travelling, which included tickets to the Empire State, Rockefeller, Natural History Museum and a Liberty Island cruise. This cost all of £60 and saved us SO MUCH MONEY, and I couldn't recommend anything more. It's also pretty cool that you can pick and choose, rather than being sold a set package.

After the brunch that dreams are made of at a proper New Yorkian diner, we decided to brave the subway and made our way down to Chelsea market - a labyrinth of food and maker's market stalls. A bit like Camden but posh. We then wandered down the High Line, a disused overground railway that weaves through all the high rise buildings, which has been turned into a gardens full of art installations. 

After making our way back uptown, we decided to rent bikes and spend the rest of the afternoon cycling around Central Park in the sunshine. The weather was absolutely ridiculous - you'd have never know there had been serious blizzards and snowstorms the week before! I think it was about 15 degrees on Saturday afternoon! We didn't realise how huge Central Park is (800 acres, fyi) but after an hour and a half of cycling, with legs like jelly, we made our way back to the hotel.

When we first booked to go to New York we both knew for definite that we wanted to go to a gig or at least go and see live music of some sort. We found out about Jazz at the Lincoln Centre, and were utterly sold by the incredible photos of the glass walled rooms overlooking the city! We booked to go to Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola on the Saturday night and it was so amazing I can't even describe it. We were seated at a table right in front of the band, in front of the windows overlooking New York and it couldn't have been more magical. There's something so spine-chillingly beautiful about smooth jazz, and it really was just the most fun evening away from the typical tourist spots.

So that was far more photo-heavy than I intended, but I got a little bit carried away looking through the hundreds of photos we took... I'm going to work on another post with our photo diary for the next couple of days - for my own sake at least! I'm so horribly sad to be home and I will definitely, 100% be going back to New York as sooooon as I possibly can. It really is unlike any other place I've ever travelled. And I just get why so many people fall in love with the city. There's so much going on, all the time, and there's so many people and cultures and languages and comings and goings. It's so vibrant and so exciting and I feel like you could never run out of things to do there.

Embroidery

I'm at a point in my life (again) where I have absolutely no clue what to do with myself. I've never been the type of person with a life plan, or with ambitions and goals to reach by a certain age. When interviewers ask 'where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time?' I panic and blurt out something about developing my skills and progressing through a role. Because I don't have a definite career goal, so to speak, I feel a bit lost when thinking about the future.

For now, life consists of dog-sitting, blogging, spending evenings with my boyfriend and family and not much else. And on one hand, it feels pretty sweet not to have any responsibilities. But on the other I feel guilty that I haven't found my ambitions or goals or purpose in life yet. I want to make things and I want to create something new everyday. If someone could pay me to embroider 24 hours a day, I'd happily do it. Shame no-one's offering!

I decided to start creating a travel map, of all the places in the world I've visited so far. Here are my first two, which I'll be adding to everytime I travel! I also made a third, of Ireland, as a clue that I'd booked a weekend in Dublin for my boyfriend's birthday. It took him a while...

 

I love the monochrome outline - I've seen something similar online for US states - paired with the little country flags, which are an absolute bugger to stitch... Let me know what you think... Of either of the topics of today's quite mizzo post!

Croatia Style File #5

I have incredibly fair skin, so apart from picking up a few freckles here and there, my tan is unfortunately pretty non-existent! But at least I didn't burn. I did, however, get eaten alive by the mosquitoes of Croatia - repellent wipes didn't even work!

This oversized, vintage shirt is maybe the best thing I ever bought. I love ASOS marketplace but I hardly ever purchase anything from it - this was a complete impulse purchase and I'm so happy with it! It's just the right amount of Hawaiian shirt without me looking like a complete douché (I hope!)

Shirt - ASOS Marketplace

Shorts - Monki

Belt - Amsterdam Markets

Birks - Office

Croatia Style File #2

Day two of Croatia we drove down to Dubrovnik! It's such a beautiful city, but I was kind of disappointed because it was just so incredibly busy. It seemed like there was no time to stop and look at anything, or even just stop for a breather with tourists rushing around and bumping into you. I guess pre-holiday season or even early morning it'd be much quieter, so maybe next time I visit Croatia it'll be on that basis! 

I wore this River Island dress I've had for a year or so as it's so light and airy and I absolutely adore the paisley print! I haven't stopped wearing my Birks since I got them, so for anyone thinking about getting a pair, DO IT. Best footwear choice I ever made.

The main reason for visiting Dubrovnik was for the Game of Thrones tour. Had to be done. I'm not a big fan of walking round with a group of people I don't know, but it was, needless to say, amazing. We were taken round to Blackwater Bay, looked out over the island of Quarth and stood where the purple wedding took place, amongst being shown where various other scenes were shot and where future scenes will be. IT WAS SO COOL. 

 *BLACK WATER BAY - it's called this in real life too...

Dress - River Island

Birkenstocks - Office

Bag - Cyrpus Markets

Sunglasses - Cheap Monday

Croatia Style File #1

Excuses, excuses but I haven't blogged in a while as I've been so busy with work, festivals and holidays (it's a hard life). I promised myself I'd keep a routine with writing posts and styling outfits, but it's so hard once you fall out of step with it!

So to round up, I've just spend the week in Croatia - for anyone who loves scenic places and chilled days by the sea, I'd definitely recommend it. We stayed in a tiny village called Klek, just over the Bosnian border from Dubrovnik, and it was so tranquil and just incredibly beautiful! We met up with my grandparents and Hungarian cousins and second cousins, so it was like one big family gathering!

My first day in Croatia was spent napping - 4am flights are most definitely not the one!

The next day however, we ventured up to one of the nearest little towns called Ston. A lovely red-bricked town full of hidden away cafes, jewellery stalls and kittens. The jokingly named 'Great Wall of Ston' seemed like a great idea in the midday, 30 degree heat... 

We were originally planning to find a beach, hence my lovely ASOS halterneck. I am beyond obsessed with wrap skirts at the minute, the beachier the better. A little souvenir shop was selling them for 30Kuna (£3) so I could hardly resist this with little dolphins on! I'm probably going to take it to Bestival with me and wear it with band tees and inappropriate shoes. 

These were taken from the highest peak of the walls, so please excuse my exhausted appearance. Climbing up there was enough exercise to last me all summer... The views were well worth it. The entire salt flats that Ston is based around spread out on one side, while it's sister town Mali Ston and the Adriatic coastline were to the other. Croatia is probably the most picturesque place to which I've ever traveled!

Skirt - Croatian Markets

Bikini - ASOS

Flip Flops - Adidas 

Sunglasses - Cheap Monday