Cruising at Christmas: My Experience

Hey Owlets,

If you haven’t been keeping up to date with my Instagram account then you might have missed the spam all about my trip on board Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ MV Columbus. This was a bit of a first for me - both being on board CMV’s flagship and cruising so close to the festive season, arriving back in the UK in the first week of December. It’s one of those times where you aren’t entirely sure whether or not it’s a Christmas trip so I wanted to give you a rundown of my trip to help you.

How to Get Cosy this Winter

Hey Owlets,

Christmas is one of the best times of year - there’s so much to get excited about - but aside from the festivities, Winter is cold, dark and grey. One of the things that I’ve tried to work on is creating that cosy Christmas feeling throughout the whole of Winter, even when the decorations come down. So, if you’re one of those people that only feel cosy at Christmas, here’s how to make Christmas last the whole of Winter (sadly without the time off!).

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. 

Check in With Yourself this Winter

Hey Owlets,

As I write this we’re nearly at the shortest day of the year and at 3pm I’ve had to turn the light on in my office. I’m thoroughly fed up of winter despite the fact that I know it’s months until Spring and I bet you’re reading this thinking “same”. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a real thing, but even if you don’t feel the onset of depression as the leaves fall to the ground you can still be affected by the changing seasons. You might feel like you’re in a rut, more tired than usual or just a little bit off. Winter affects everyone differently so it’s important to check in with yourself.

3 Ways to Practice Self Care this Winter

Hey Owlets,

The days are getting shorter, you need to put on at least 5 layers in order to leave the house and it’s ALWAYS raining - winter is officially here. It’s exciting on one hand because that means that Christmas is getting closer, but winter can be really tough on your mental health. If you’re a summer baby like me then you probably find yourself in a bit of a slump as soon as you have to start turning the light on before 6pm. It’s always important to take time out for some self care, but particularly if you struggle in the winter months. With that in mind, now seemed like the perfect time for us to chat about ways to practice self care over the next few months.

In Search of the "Cruise Ship Sparkle" Post-Pandemic

Hey Owlets,

If you read my post a few weeks ago you’ll know that I’ve been really struggling to find the motivation with my blog in the last few months. While I started my blog in 2016, it was in 2017 after just one chance encounter and an unplanned cruise got me hooked on travel that The Owlet was really born. For three glorious years I got to travel, see more of what was on my doorstep and what was further afield and I could finally say that I was doing something I loved. So in 2020 when my wings were unexpectedly clipped and I found myself tethered to a two mile radius in a seaside town that no one has ever heard of, I lost my “why”. It’s understandable - when your whole personality revolves around a love of exploring and adventure, a 2 mile radius is never going to be enough to fulfil you - anyway, how do you write about travel if no one is allowed to do it anymore?

One of the things I found hardest was not being able to cruise, so when the opportunity finally came up to be able to get back to doing what I love most I was more than a little surprised to find myself apprehensive. I’ve long spoken about the magic of cruising where everything feels like it’s straight out of a fairytale and you’re the princess. I love being able to make friends with guests and crew and see new places knowing that at the end of the day I get to re-board my floating home and quite literally sail into the sunset for the next destination.

How I Fought the Comparison Cliche

Hey Owlets,

They say that comparison is the thief of joy. I have no idea who “they” are exactly but they’re right.

It’s such a cliche phrase that even as I’m writing this I’m desperately trying to come up with a title that doesn’t have people rolling their eyes and scrolling past - the internet is all about clicks after all. The thing is, that’s the problem.

For five years now I’ve called The Owlet my home on the internet. I’ve been lucky to meet incredible people from across the globe, create a life that gives me freedom and makes me truly happy. I open my phone to an inbox flooded with kind messages and happy anecdotes that people just wanted to share with me. I’ve created content that I’m truly proud of and worked with brands that I could only dream of knowing I exist. I am so lucky and I have worked so hard to have these things in my life and yet this week I lost sight of it all. 

My Thoughts on Travelling this Year

Hey Owlets,

A while ago I wrote a post about my tentative travel plans for 2021, mentioning that I was considering starting again around March - yes, we can all have a laugh about it now. That has gotten me thinking though, is travel actually going to be possible this year? There’s a lot of conflicting information flying around on the internet at the moment and I don’t think weighing in with my best guess would actually help, but I wanted to talk about my personal feelings and whether I’m starting to plan. I’m hoping that it might help you if you’re also conflicted, and if not maybe you can give me a little extra confidence in my decisions.

So to start with, let me be totally transparent. At the start of this year I actually had several domestic and international press trips in the works - I cancelled all of these until the end of summer and have yet to formally confirm anything for later in the year. I think it’s important to tell you this because I know as a travel blogger a lot of people assume I would take risks to get back to work sooner, but that’s entirely not the case. With that out the way let’s take a look at my main areas of interest for travel.