My Thoughts on MV Marco Polo

Hey Everyone,

Today I'm taking things back to "old Owlet"; I genuinely can't remember the last time I did a straight review of an experience, but I'm bringing them back today to talk about a very special ship. I just wanted to preface this post with a few notices so you have all the facts. Unfortunately I was not offered a free cruise by anyone, we paid for the trip out of our own pockets when we saw a cheap last minute deal come up. With that in mind please excuse the terrible photographs - my original plan was to work with Port of Cork while we were there then relax on the ship, but I'd seen so few reviews that after my experience I wanted to share my thoughts in case anyone reads an essay-length rant online and gets put off going on board, because you'd seriously be missing out. Finally, this review is going to be very blunt and straight-talking because there were some things that were laughably bad, but equally this trip is going to stick in my mind as one of the best for a long time to come.

Now that's out of the way, we'll get into the nitty gritty.

How to Spend 24 Hours in County Cork

Hey Owlets,

Welcome to my first travel post of 2019! If you subscribe to my YouTube channel you'll already have seen, but last month I went on a whistle-stop tour around County Cork. I wasn't sure what to expect as it's not somewhere I've ever heard that much about, but everywhere we went was beautiful and I have never been anywhere where the locals are as friendly as those of County Cork.

I've decided to change things up this time - I made a vlog of our trip on my channel so rather than a "follow me to" post I thought I'd share some of my favourite things for you to do if you ever get the chance to visit, and all of these are accessible both if you were staying in Cork or you've come in on a cruise ship.

My 2019 Bucket List

Hey Owlets,

I know we're a few days past fireworks and disco dancing but I'm still in new year mode, so I wanted to talk about why I'm not setting actual "goals" for 2019.

Every year I review my goals for last year and set some more for the year ahead, and every Christmas I look back and get disappointed that I haven't ticked them all off. However, the issue isn't me not trying hard enough, it's simply the fact that I've already completed the easy ones - my goals now require a lot more work and some take a long time to achieve. Instead of goals I'm creating a bucket list for this year. So, here's my list of "not goals" for this year, and how I plan to achieve each one. Hopefully this helps you too!

2018 Take Homes

Hey Owlets,

Happy (early) New Year!!

For the last few years I've written "year in review" posts". "yearly goals", "what I learnt in 201X" so I wanted to do something a little different. I just want to chat about the year that's going to stick in my mind for a long time.

When Big Ben started chiming and the roar of the fireworks and cheers from the crowds huddled by the suspension bridge announced 2018 had arrived I felt strangely peaceful - 2017 was simultaneously the worst and best year for me. I was miserable for so long then all of a sudden my life picked up and I was left running after it, enjoying every second but wishing it would slow down, and that's exactly what happened this year.

A Christmas Card

Hey Owlets,

Every year I spend hours writing a Christmas post - it takes time out of seeing my family and no one reads it until after Christmas Day because they're with their families, so I thought I would scale back a little this year and keep it simple...

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I hope whatever you're doing you have the best day, eat too much food, laugh a lot and spend it with the people closest to you.

Love and Feathers, 

 The Owlet 💜 

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Plus Size Party Look Book

Hey Owlets,

It’s getting towards that time of year where party invites are starting to mount up in my email so I thought it would be the perfect time to share some of my favourite go-to outfits to give you some style inspiration for any Christmas events you may have. I went through a phase a few years ago where I’d just started to get invited to press events, so every time I got an invite I bought a new dress. However since then my wardrobe has started overflowing with formalwear, so I’ve been making sure I wear what I already own instead of buying new, and some clear favourites have emerged. 

How to Decode the Dress Code

Why You Should Travel in Winter

Hey Owlets,

I don’t know about you but as soon as the leaves change and temperatures drop I find myself spending hours looking at holiday websites, planning my next trip and keeping an eye out for last minute deals. I’ve never been normal, so here’s why I prefer taking trips in the Winter.