Las Iguanas Relaunch Review: Bristol

Photo: Alicia Morris

Hey Owlets,

I feel like I've been bombarding you with food a little recently so apologies! Maybe it's the time of year but I seem to have been given the chance to eat in a lot of lovely places recently, so I thought I would share one of those with you today. You may remember that I visited Las Iguanas on Temple Street in Birmingham last year, and I wasn't overly impressed, so when I was invited to the relaunch of the Bristol branch, I wasn't sure what to expect. Having just been refurbished, it opened with a new menu for the spring/summer season which I was really excited to try.

Museum Review: Being Brunel at SS Great Britain

Hey Owlets,

If you're from Bristol then you've probably heard that SS Great Britain (here's a review of the ship if you've not already visited!) has been building a new museum next to the ship. Named "Being Brunel" the museum lets people walk through his life, see where he lived and worked and everything that he created, and a few weeks ago I was invited to take a look on launch day.

I'll freely admit that me and museums don't perhaps go that well together. I have the attention span of a goldfish and that doesn't allow time to stop and read every sign and admire the finest details of an exhibit and I mainly accepted the invitation because I knew that Dad really wanted to take a look around. However, when Brunel himself shook my hand and welcomed me to his museum, I started to think I might enjoy this one (also, I think I wore the top hat with more flare!).

The Best Apps for Bloggers

Hey Owlets,

These days you seem to be 50/50 bloggers and “normal people”, so apologies to the people who live their lives offline, as this is going to be another blogging related post. However, if you love social media (which I’m assuming you do, as you’re here), have a read and you might find something you love! When you decide to start a blog, no one seems to mention how much hard work it is and you can’t always afford to invest in smaller things like apps right away - but fear not, as there are a huge variety of apps to help you along the way, and today we’re running through my top 10.

Choosing Scents for Spring

Hey Owlets,

I feel like I’ve been really heavy on the travel content recently so I asked on Twitter what you would like to see and I got loads of messages from you saying that you never see anyone write about perfumes, so your wish is my command! I actually asked if you wanted to see my recent perfume purchases or my favourite spring perfumes but the vote came out exactly 50/50 so I decided to cheat and combine the two!

It’s funny really - until the last few years I never really bothered with perfume, but throughout uni I’ve grown to love it. Scents are a really strong trigger for memories which is why it’s become so important to me. Jo Malone’s Cardamom and Mimosa takes me back to my graduation, Jo Malone’s Wood Sage and Sea Salt for the time I went to Ascot And Marc Jacobs Original Daisy for my first trip abroad without my parents.

Why I'm Proud to Be Plus Size - #IWD18

Hey Owlets,

Happy International Women's Day! 

I wanted to do something confidence related today to celebrate and I've been wanting to write this post for a while so it was perfect timing.

The world is so full of ignorant people. Overflowing with small-minded haters passing judgement on situations that they know nothing about. I know there are many things in the firing line but one of those that I constantly come across is the attitude towards plus size girls. The idea that once you’re past a size 16 you’re just a blob of fat who’s opinions are invalid (not my words - this is a quote from a “fan”. I won’t give them the satisfaction of being named). But I’d like to tell you something. 

I’m proud to be plus size.

Social Media Scheduling: Buffer Alternatives

Hey Owlets,

I know I don’t usually write that many blogging related posts, but this one felt important. If you’re not a blogger then apologies, but feel free to have a read of my France travel diary instead - it’s one that I’m very proud of!

You may have noticed hoards of people complaining about Buffer over the last few days. If you don’t know what Buffer is it’s a social media content scheduler, meaning that you can have social media posts going out at any time, with the times optimised to get the most eyeballs on your posts. Buffer has long been a favourite of mine - I’ve used the free version since I started blogging, and okay the ten posts on each network was limiting, but it was useable.

Cruise Ship Tour: Fred. Olsen MV Balmoral

Hey Owlets,

I know you're probably getting a bit bored of the travel content so I'll try to make this the last one, but chatting to one of my friends gave me a post idea so I wanted to write it while it was still fresh in my mind. We were talking about going on holiday together but she said she wasn't sure about going on a cruise ship because she didn't know what to expect, and this is something I've heard on Twitter a few times too. So today I thought I would give you a tour of my most recent floating home, so you can have a bit more of an idea of what to expect.

Planning Your Time in Paris

Hey Owlets,

I'm still in holiday mode so I feel like it's the perfect time for another travel post. 

Paris is one of those cities where there is so much to see that you're never going to be able to do it all - especially if like me you only have a day there - so I wanted to talk about what I've learnt from my visit.