Its the season of love and the I Do’s are flying! Personalized, long-lasting gifts are the perfect way to share a congratulations for that bride-to-be. Each of the gifts below can be made unique to the bride you’re looking to shower with love. I’m lucky enough to be celebrating many of my friend’s engagements & season’s of love, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite, personalized gifts for her.
The holidays don’t have to be about grand gestures or clichés. It’s about thoughtful, unique gifts that reflect her style, hobbies, and personality.
Gift giving is one of my absolute favorite things, and this year I’ve compiled a few of my top picks for whoever the special someone untying the bow is.
I’m sure your cart is already full, but I wanted to note that gifts don’t have to be material! Some of my favorite memories include podcast comedy shows, drinking cocktails on a rooftop or buying last minute concert tickets. Don’t be afraid to mark someone else’s calendar – give them a reason to celebrate this holiday season!
It’s almost time to celebrate your leading lady this Mother’s Day. From luxury beach totes to plush bath towels, this guide has been curated to find a gift for every mom. You don’t need to plan an afternoon tea at The Drake to make your Mom feel loved, though that would be nice. Place your orders and wrap your gifts with an extra bow this Mother’s Day.
Here’s to the men in your life and making them feel extra special this holiday season. Whether it be your dad, brother, situationship, or whatever you’re labeling it – this guide has something for everyone.
My favorite gifts to give & receive are those that lead to lasting memories. Here are a few ideas to get your mind movin’.
Don’t forget the cozy options. Date nights, movies, take out, etc. Gifts don’t have to be show stopping to be meaningful.
All items linked.
Tis the season of giving and receiving. This year’s gift guide was curated for the girly girls. Happy shopping, happy gifting and happy holidays from yours truly.
As a member of the latest class of adults, below are a few subscriptions to save the life of your post-grad loved ones. From group workouts to morning lattes, these options are a fun way to give a gift that keeps on giving. There are thousands of subscriptions and memberships out there – find one unique to your girl.
All items linked.
As Euro summer comes to an end, the twinkling day dreams of warm, Sicilian sun bronzing your soon-to-be pale, winter skin are soon to begin. Don’t worry, I’m right there with you. It’s called the winter blues. But, we all know that there’s no better way to combat those blues, than planning your next big sabbatical.
I’ve granted myself the approval of being labeled a “seasoned traveler.” It was a unanimous decision by the committee – me, myself and I. So, as a “seasoned traveler,” I have compiled the ultimate European summer packing list for your next getaway. Whether it be lounging in the French Riviera or wandering the Red Light District later than you should, this list has endured it all.
Identification/Currency
Technology
Toiletries
Accessories
Clothing/Shoes
A compiled love list of all my recent favorites for you to use this holiday season.
Things To Do
Museums/Tours That are worth your time
Markets
Easy To-Go Meals
Fav Eats
Lunch Favs – Tossed, The Salad Project (sooo good, pricey), Beigel Bake (famous)
Fav Pubs/Bars – Old Blue Last, Electric Shuffle (need to reserve), Barts Speakeasy Chelsea (pricey but fun), Barrio (lots of drink deals during the week), The Old Bank of England
Grocery Shopping – £ Sainsbury, Aldi, ££ Co-op, Waitrose, Marks & Spencers
Weekend Travel Tips
Random Tips, Tricks & Findings
Most Instagrammable Spots Around London
Instead of seeing our weekend travels come to an end, why not book a trip to Santorini for a 24 hour getaway? The decision was easy, 30 minutes of thought and our flights were booked. These spontaneous travel plans may or may not have been hatched at 1am, but hey, only the best decisions are made after midnight.
After a long day of travel, we landed in Santorini at 9:30pm, sped through customs and headed into town. We stayed in Fira, right at the center of the island’s nightlife. Our hostel, Markakis Studios, was extremely nice and very affordable. I would recommend it to anyone looking to stay in Santorini.
Eager to see the city and absolutely starved from our delayed flight, we dropped our bags and hit the town. We ate gyros and drank with the locals. Let me tell you, the Greek’s can drink! The rest of the night was spent bar hopping, dancing and downing cheap tequila shots. This was one of the craziest and most lively nights of my time abroad.
Off to an early start the next morning, we had a catamaran experience booked. The package included round-trip transportation, an open bar, lunch, and five hours of cruising. It was unreal. The water was glistening in the sun without a cloud in the sky. We swam, tanned and indulged in white wine and greek yogurt. The catamaran took us to the famous beaches in Santorini and anchored at a few spots for swimming. The water was not at all warm but I wasn’t leaving without jumping in. Towards the end of our time on the boat, we anchored at a hot spring and swam out to it in the freezing water. The hot spring was slightly warmer but ultimately just made the lengthy swim back to the boat colder. The entire experience was incredible, I tried to soak in every moment as much as I could and could’ve cried when it came to an end. They drove us back to our hostel so we could jump in the shower and hit the shops.
The tiny streets of Santorini are charming. Each pathway led to another and the views from peaks were to out of a magazine. We window-shopped, ate more gyros and even ran into donkeys. It was quite the afternoon. We wanted to watch the sunset over the water, so we sat at water-front restaurant and enjoyed the surreal views in front of us. The rest of the night was more relaxed as we had an early flight out the next morning. We met some friends and the bar and chatted until it was time to head back.
Although we only had 24 hours in Santorini, it was the perfect little getaway to end our semester of travels. Each moment and view was more beautiful than the next, reminding us of how lucky we were to have had the opportunity to experience places like these in our 20’s. There’s truly nothing like traveling through Europe with your friends. The end of the trip foreshadowed the goodbyes of the week ahead, but the moments were bittersweet and I would do anything to do it all over again.
Landing in Amsterdam was a dream. It was one place that has been on my bucket list for years, so it felt surreal to actually be there. Travel was seamless, we flew on Friday night and took the train into the heart of the city. Our hotel was only a five minute walk from the station which made lugging our bags though brick streets much more bearable. We stayed at Hotel France, the room was nice but nothing special. The location could not be more ideal though, it’s in a great area. Starved from travel, we walked around the city and found a cute Italian restaurant for dinner. I ate a spinach ravioli dish that was to die for which it made the hours of hunger worth the wait. Absolutely stuffed, we obviously had to head to a desert spot for chocolate drizzled waffles. We spent the rest of Friday night walking around the Red Light District and bar hoping. We met some English people at Excalibur, a medieval themed metal bar. It’s fun chatting with English people about London because I’m able to participate in conversation without sounding like I don’t know what I’m talkin about. Friday night was incredibly fun and only made me more excited for the rest of the weekend.
We woke up early Saturday to get in line for famous Dutch pancakes at PANCAKES Amsterdam. These pancakes were legendary. You’re able to customize your pancake with an unbelievable list of toppings. My pancake had ham and spinach and was topped with whipped cream – it was sensational.
Following breakfast, we walked 30 minutes through the city to the Heineken Experience. The weather was gorgeous. We stopped for canal photoshoots along the way and forced our dear friend Hunter to be our cameraman. Once we got to the Heineken Experience, we were ushered into a line where we were given a quick introduction of the company and its founder. It was incredible to hear how far the brand has come. The rest of the tour was very interactive. Free beer, bright lights, impressive demonstrations and fun games throughout. My favorite section was the advertising display room. With Heineken having been around for so long, it was interesting getting to see how their advertisements transformed as technology advanced. I loved the experience and would recommend it to anyone that visits. I was told before going that it was similar to Disney’s Epcot for adults, I’m not sure how exactly I would describe the tour but that’s a good way to put it – the rest is up to your imagination.
Right around the corner from the Heineken Experience was a street full of bright boutiques and unique home shops. I could have spent hours shopping around in Amsterdam. The style reflects a soft edge, it’s very fashion forward, but in a more comfortable, chic way. I loved the Dutch aesthetic. One of the shops had the most unique, custom made tea sets. Since being in London and I’ve turned into a little tea enthusiast and have mentioned wanting to have a tea set from my time abroad. I bought the cutest four piece, colorful set to bring home with me. We shopped around for an hour or two before heading for lunch off of the canal.
We ate at one of the street cafes with boat seating. The toasties were mediocre but the views and atmosphere were unbelievable. Sippin’ cider on the canal made for the perfect lunch.
After lunch, we headed to the Red Light Secrets Museum. The museum takes you through the history of prostitution in Amsterdam. It was an unusual yet compelling experience. It’s hard to think of something like the Red Light District being legal when so many horror stories have come out of it. What really caught my attention were the stories from the sex workers. Many of the women were using it as an opportunity to get back up on their feet while others enjoyed their career and did it for themselves. The museum took you through the process of prostitution on the Red Light District, the walls had celebrity names, business men and sporting stars that have participated. At the end, there was an opportunity for guests to write their dirty secrets to be displayed on the wall of confessions. Some of the stories were hilarious – it was a nice comedic relief after a museum as heavy as that of prostitution.
Luckily for us, there was a dessert shop next to the museum so we shared stroopwafels and ate by the canal before our next venture. We walked towards the Anne Frank house and got on a canal boat for a tour of the city. The tour came with dutch cheese and bottomless drinks. Boating through the canal was such a fun experience, the city’s architecture is so unique and beautiful that every turn was photo worthy. With Amsterdam being an expensive city, we took advantage of the bottomless hour and drank rose like it was water. We didn’t realize it until we got off the boat but wow did we have fun!!
After a long day of exploring, we bar hopped around the city and met Amsterdam locals to drink with. We ended our night with late night chinese food and wild stories to bring home.
Sunday was a dream. I have talked about wanting to go to the Tulip Festival in Amsterdam for years. Waking up early Sunday was not ideal after our Saturday night adventures, but the weather was impeccable and we had the most perfect day ahead of us. We hopped on our bus to Keukenhof Tulip Gardens and made it there by about 9:30am. The gardens were unreal. Vibrant shades, endless rows of radiant fields – it was a dream. We spent hours walking around the gardens, taking photos of the views and soaking up every piece of the beauty.
We headed back to Amsterdam and grabbed dinner at a local canal restaurant. We ate, laughed and enjoyed our last hour or so in the city before heading back to the airport for our Sunday night flight back to London.
I loved everything about Amsterdam. It has been my favorite city thus far, behind London of course. The city is simplistically romantic with gorgeous canals and tons to do. I would love the opportunity to go back one day. It’s a trip I will never forget.
Places I would have gone if I had more time: Anne Frank House (sold out months in advance, book tickets asap once you know you’ll be traveling), The Van Gogh Museum and Pluk Amsterdam.
Paige Marie 