Photo: Taken by myself on a Canon 700d, Krakow Town Centre 2017. 

The past few years I feel have been rather difficult. Maybe difficult isn’t the right word, perhaps even a little bit overdramatic. What I mean is that in your early twenties I feel immense pressure and confusion to make decisions.

See the thing is, I want my own space, I want to move out but then there’s the decision of renting or saving for a mortgage. I want a stable and growing career, but also to enjoy it. Perhaps what I want in life is a risk, a job that isn’t conventional and something you can’t just qualify for and then do. My degree is in English and Media, it made sense to me at the time, I enjoy reading and writing, I love film, images and videography. To me the perfect job would be blogging full time, not for the PR packages or the good pay packet or even the attention. It’s a job that is filled with everything I enjoy. But I’ll never take that risk to just quit a job and go for it. I’m not that brave.

So that leaves me to a point where you ask yourself, so what now? What exactly do you take the risk for? I haven’t quite figured that out just yet.

One thing I do know is that before I settle down into anything, I want to explore. This world has so much to offer, and I want to experience it all. Push myself to my limits. So that’s what I have decided. I decided to finally do it, after talking about travelling with my boyfriend since we first met, now felt like the perfect time to go.

On January 2^nd, I will be travelling South- East Asia for 3 months, so longer than a holiday but not long enough to feel like I’m gone forever. Just enough to experience somewhere else.

Life is confusing during your early-twenties, and I wrote this post to get it all off my chest and to see if anyone else could relate. Sometimes you have to follow your heart, and just think fuck it, life is too short, there’s plenty of time to worry about careers and a place to make a home. 

There’s so many more experiences to have, more people to meet and food to taste. Sometimes we forget how young we really are, when I’m 60, I want to look back and remember these experiences, that’s why I decided to take some time from work, to be twenty something and make memories.

I hope some of you might think the same, stop stressing and have fun.

I’ll be posting mine and my boyfriends adventures online, if it’s something you’d like to see, then I will share our social and website with you.

Emma :)

We all have one thing that we're fond of, whether it's football, handbags or collecting CDs. Whatever it may be, there is something that makes us happy. For me, it's always been travelling. Don't get me wrong, there are a few things in life that make me happy- good company, food, lusting over handbags and movies. But when it comes to travelling it's something else entirely, it's experiencing something for the first time. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea and when I say travelling I don't necessarily mean backpacking, more like the Hilton in Dubai but still.. you get what I mean.

So do I actually have a point here? To be honest, not really. I just wanted to tell you a little bit about my recent trip abroad because why not, maybe it will inspire you to go.

Where did I actually go then? If you haven't guessed it from the pictures above (no worries if you didn't) I visited Dubai and Bali this Summer with my boyfriend. I flew from Manchester to Dubai, spent four days there, travelled from Dubai to Bali, spent a week there, then back to Dubai for three days, before flying home. That was tiring just to type so you can imagine how the flights were long and boring. But more importantly, was it worth it? Going all that way and spending all that money.

I'm just going to focus on Dubai today as I honestly still can't make my mind up on whether I loved it or not. In the run up to the holiday I spent forever ordering and trying on clothes before sending them all back because I really didn't know what was acceptable. I wanted to be respectful of their culture but I was also very aware of how hot Dubai is. I ended up settling on some maxi dresses (one of which actually broke while we were out- nightmare!) and some flowy pants. So that's tip number one, if you're going, I advise you go for these types of clothes as otherwise, you were looked at quite strangely. I also opted for a scarf to wrap around my shoulders and I was so glad that I brought it with me because whenever I removed/ adjusted it, I felt really out of place.

Dubai is hot. I mean I knew it was going to be hot before we went but oh my, there is literally no air. My best way to describe it is to put your head into an oven. Even the sea was boiling hot and it was incredibly stuffy. I wish I would have gone at a bit of a colder time but nevertheless, inside had air conditioning and it gave me an excuse to look around all of the malls (which were great!!) So my second tip is to stay hydrated and if you're like me and awful with the heat, go when it is a little bit cooler.

Now since I already mentioned the Malls.. why not mention it some more. We visited two malls, The Mall of Emirates and The Dubai Mall. The Dubai Mall was easily my favourite, as like most of Dubai, it takes your breath away. The Aquarium and swarm of people surrounding it, is overwhelming as soon as you walk in, there are shops everywhere and so many restaurants and stores to suit everyone. You feel yourself just standing and looking around for a while in awe. The only downside was that the pound to the dirim isn't all that great so most things were quite expensive but if you have another currency this might not be a problem!

The views are definitely worth a look, we went up the Burj Khalifa during the day and it was such a stunning view. You can pay for various floor levels to suit yourself, and even if you don't want to go up to the sky deck (we never) you can still see eveything perfectly fine! They love a good photo opportunity in there so be prepared to be pulling all sorts of faces and moves infront of a green sceen, and although we didn't buy any of the photos, we still had a bit of a laugh at them.

Dubai was such a culture change for me and it took me a while to get used to. I like to walk around so the gigantic motorways everywhere weren't exactly in my favour. However, I still feel like Dubai has a lot more to offer that I never got to experience so I would love to go again maybe in Spring or Autumn.

Have you ever been? What did you make it?

Emma :) 

 

It's been a while since I've been back from holiday, and I never really shared much of it with you.. (I mean, apart from all the Instagram posts.) I had vlogged a lot while we were away but still haven't brought myself to look through it all and miss it. I guess what I'm trying to say is, can I please go back?!

If you didn't know, me and my boyfriend went to America for 3 weeks, visiting 4 different cities, 3 different states. We started off in Los Angeles, then went to Las Vegas (amazing!) then to San Francisco and New York. I've been to New York before but hadn't visited any of the other places. I can honestly say I had the best time of my life, from visiting Minnie Mouse, to the Cheesecake Factory, to the heat and madness of the strip in Las Vegas and then finally, to the Magnum shop in Soho.. I mean, to the Empire State in New York!

It was the best way to celebrate my 21st and I made memories that will stay with me forever. I hope that some of you will get to visit these places for yourselves, if you haven't already. Just so that you don't think I'm a crazy person who won't let go of my Summer Holiday.

Also, apart from the amazing places that I go to see, I am missing one more thing and that's Panda Express. A part of me wishes I had never tried it because I ate orange chicken far too much when we were there and nothing will ever live up to it now that I'm home.

I hope that you enjoy the photos and let me know where you think I should go next!

Emma :)

Recently I visited Paris and I'll be honest, I can't stop thinking about these guys! I'm a strong believer of keeping a balanced diet and I couldn't not get myself some when I was in Paris now, could I?!

The shop itself is absolutely adorable and I love the pastel colour theme. There was so many pastries and cakes in all different shapes and sizes. Of course, the macarons are the main event so there was a large variety of flavours to choose from. In the end I managed to narrow it down to eight and in case you are wondering, the nutella (brown colour) and the salted caramel one (golden colour) were my favourites!

If you are ever visiting Paris then I'd recommend that you get yourself some of these and tuck right in!

I also vlogged my shopping experience so if you'd like to check that out then click here.

Emma :) 

Today I visited the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian Hotel and Restaurant to have Afternoon Tea. It was a little on the pricey side but oh my, it was delicious! They met our dietary requirements too and nothing seemed a  hassle. With a lot of choice and alterations to the food served to meet our needs, we couldn't have been happier.

I've never experienced afternoon tea before now and I really enjoyed it. The bottom plate consisted of finger food, such as sandwiches and a tart. This was then removed and replaced with scones, cream and jam (yum!) I don't really want to remind myself of all the cakes and treats on the top and middle plate so I'll just let you observe that yourself!

Edinburgh is a really nice city and I have loved it so far.

Emma :) 

I was going to do this before I went on holiday, but then I realised.. what if when I get there, they don't turn out to be that essential? so I waited until I got back to see what I actually really needed.

I've just spent a relaxing week in Tenerife (you'll be sick of hearing about it when you see what most of my planned posts are about.. oops) and I was glad to have brought these items along with me.

The first thing is a camera, maybe it's not that essential to some of you but I always think it's important to have something to look back on. Also, it's great to show your friends places you visited!

The second is suncream , I mean you wouldn't believe that I'm actually sunburnt since I'm still fairly pale, but it can be dangerous and extremely painful. A good suncream is a must, especially if you're in the sun all day. I took the Boots Soltan Dry Touch, it comes in different factors too to meet your needs.
The last thing that's quite important to me is a good book. I'm not really the type of person who's used to lounging holidays, I tend to prefer to explore quite a lot. So when I do have some time to chill, I enjoy it a lot more with a good book. I'll only get cranky in the sun otherwise! I took a few books away with me this time, Girl Online, We Were Liars, Severed Heads and Broken Hearts and If I Stay. I managed to read them all apart from If I stay.  Severed Heads and Broken Hearts was probably my favourite- I couldn't stop reading it!

I understand that you might not agree that these are essential items, and perhaps something else may be higher in your list but I thought I'd share with you these three things as a lot of my time on holiday was spent using them- or reading them.

Be sure to look out for my Holiday Lookbook and vlogs coming this week! Click here to go to my channel.

Emma :)

If you follow me on Twitter, you might know that I've just taken a short trip to Rome. I went with my boyfriend for his birthday, so I have a little outfit that I thought was cute and comfortable!

The photos were taken in front of the Colosseum on a sunny; yet windy day, so excuse my hair! 

The dress, draper and necklace are from Boohoo. I love the colourful print, it's very suited for Spring and Summer. It's quite thin but the little sleeves still keep your arms warmer if it's a bit chillier of an evening. There is just a zip on the back, the a-line style fits comfortably, and it's not clinging at all. I like this because especially when it's hot, I don't like things clinging to my stomach or arms. 

I chose the draper in a white so it can be paired with a lot of different items in my wardrobe. Again, this is thin but it's a nice flowy fit, so I would keep this aside for warmer months. 

The statement necklace is fairly plain with colour because I didn't want too much going on. There is just a hint of baby blue which I like! This accessory was mainly to help me transition from day to night. My only problem with this is that some parts of it had spiky bits that were irritating my skin. 

I've had the sunglasses since last summer and these are the foldable Ray-bans. I absolutely love them because I always break the arms off sunglasses. They seem to go with everything too as they are a brown colour. 

I wasn't sure how hot it was going to be. So I decided to pair this with some tights and my black vans. I was quite glad that I did this since I was out all day and after walking everywhere, my feet needed to be comfortable! 

I hope you like the outfit. I've also posted a vlog from day one at Rome, day two will be posted shortly afterwards featuring the outfit in this post. You can watch and subscribe here: 

Emma :)