What Being an Influencer is REALLY Like

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Hey Owlets,

There’s no doubting that starting a blog has changed my life. I’ve written a different post for every anniversary of starting my blog - they normally look back at some of the amazing things I’ve done that year or what I’ve learnt as a blogger, but this year I decided to take a step back and talk about some of the articles that changed my life from my first post to the dream cruise ship press trip. I talked about how I got there, what happened and some of the amazing experiences I’ve had along the way, but what I didn’t mention is what it’s like behind the scenes of being a blogger.

A Rule-Breaking Summer Lookbook

Hey Owlets,

Summer is just around the corner which means it’s nearly time to dust off those floaty dresses, mini skirts and jumpsuits. It’s the season that most people look forward to all year round, but if you’re not so confident, or worried about being plus size during the season of revealing clothes, it can feel like a nightmare. It’s totally understandable that it might feel easier to suffer through the heat in jeans, but you are worth so much more than that. Just in case you are struggling to decide what to wear, here’s some inspiration that breaks all the ridiculous “rules” about plus size clothes.

5 Places on my Bucket List Post-Covid

Hey Owlets,

I feel like throughout lockdown I've been talking about how to get through every day, making the most of your time & trying to see some positives in difficult situations. However, I feel like (for now at least) it feels like there's a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel, and with travel starting to open up again I wanted to talk about the places that will be top of my list as soon as it's safe to go exploring again.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages MV Columbus: A Review

Update: I originally wrote this article in February 2020 and it was due to be published at the end of March. Due to lockdown I delayed publishing the article and now CMV have sadly gone into administration. However, when I asked on Twitter a lot of you said you would still enjoy reading the review so I decided to publish it regardless.
Hey Owlets,

Yes, I’ve been on another cruise and yes, I might actually be addicted to cruise ships (if that’s possible!) but another trip means I have another cruise ship review for you, and today I want to talk to you about Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ (CMV) MV Columbus. I originally tried out CMV on a 3 day cruise to Ireland aboard MV Marco Polo.

Mv Columbus is the current flagship of the fleet and the biggest ship they own. CMV are a budget cruise line and buy ships from other cruise lines rather than building their own, which means each ship has it’s own unique personality; Columbus was built for P&O Australia which makes her a unique addition as she still has the “P&O-ness” - if you’ve been on P&O before you have to keep reminding yourself who you’re sailing with!

Despite being over 30 years old Columbus doesn’t really show her age. Unlike other older ships that I’ve been on CMV have clearly put the work in to make sure that she’s well maintained and continues to be an asset to the fleet. There are a few places where her age is starting to show (there is the odd rusty, leaking pipe around) but it’s to be expected when she’s spent 3 decades being battered by waves and salt-water spray - even relatively new cars rot if they’re exposed to salt/salt water on a regular basis. 

I Have Some News

Hey Owlets,

You may have noticed that for the last month or so I've been a little quiet - I know it was easier to blame lockdown but that's not the entirety of the story. If you follow me on Instagram you'll probably have noticed that I've spoken about working on a project that I can't talk about yet, and if I'm honest I'm a little concerned that I've overhyped it, but for me it's a huge deal and it's going to be quite a big part of my content going forward. So, the news... ( and no, I'm not pregnant or engaged before that enters your mind)

100 Days in Lockdown: Learning to Love the "In Between"

Hey Owlets,

I can't believe I'm even writing this but we've passed the 100 days in lockdown mark - given that the government said it would be for 3 weeks initially I think a lot of people weren't prepared for it to last this long. I realise that just sitting down and chatting isn't something I tend to do much of anymore, and because of this I've neglected my blog pretty badly over the last three months. In all honesty I've found it hard to think of anything to write because I'm not doing anything - at the start I still had loads of ideas of articles to write, loads of topics to cover & behind-the-scenes stories from trips to laugh about as I shared them with you, but when most days have blurred into one it's been hard to find the motivation to write. As well as this, my boyfriend has always worked really long hours so I was being a bit selfish by making the most of having every day together while my blog gathered dust.

Lockdown Date Ideas

Hey Owlets,

Welcome to week 10 in lockdown - at this point it feels like I should be saying "in the Big Brother house". Since lockdown began I've been in a constant battle of slipping into a routine, that routine turning into a rut and doing everything I possibly can to break out of it. One of the toughest challenges has been adjusting from seeing Jack a few times a week when we both have busy jobs, to living in one room and being together 24/7 for 3 months. Before lockdown, on our days off we would try to have one rest day and one day where we do something nice together. Lockdown turned every day into a "do nothing day" whenever I wasn't working, so we wanted to find ways to do something different within the confines of the current situation. So, if you're struggling too then here's a few lockdown date ideas; I've tried to make them isolation-friendly, so if you're not living together you can still try some of these dates out, and of course these ideas are also great if you're single and want to treat yourself.

Follow Me To: My Lockdown Birthday

Hey Owlets,

In case you didn't see my previous post where I pretty much had a meltdown about feeling old, it was my birthday last week. I know I'm not the only person that had a birthday in lockdown, but it's one of those weird situations that not everyone has experienced, so I got a lot of questions about what it was like. So many, in fact, that I thought I'd go back to "old Owlet" style with a follow me to post. It feels weird writing one of these, but the whole world is weird right now so I feel like that makes it OK.

I can't lie, I was dreading my birthday this year - partly because the thought of being in my mid-twenties was terrifying, but also because I was prepared for a lockdown birthday to be totally miserable. From the start of lockdown I was hoping the world would pick up on my thoughts and ease lockdown before my birthday - it kind of happened, but not really. I'd pretty much decided that I was going to cancel my birthday and have another year of being 23, but the boyfriend talked me into accepting my fate, and between him and my parents they were determined to make it special.