A Weekend in London

Ah, London. It seems like yesterday I lived in South Kensington with a group of my closest friends whilst studying abroad for a semester. I never quite realized how much I took that entire experience for granted until it was over. It was three years ago around this time of year that I was packing up my things feeling extremely bittersweet about leaving a place that started to feel like home. At the same time, I was excited to see my friends and family back home. I had so many stories to share and photographs that my loved ones couldn't wait to see. When I got to Heathrow Airport for my flight back home in May 2013, I felt a bit heartbroken because I knew I wouldn't be back in London for a very long time. Little did I know, I would be back twice after one year and then again the year after that. 

It's funny how life works out sometimes. You just never know who you'll meet or what experience you'll have that might have a positive (hopefully) impact on your life. I met someone very special shortly after graduation and because of him, I've been able to return to London more than I ever imagined I would when I left. I've recently returned from a trip to the UK and thought I'd share how I spent my weekend in London. Although this vacation was over in the blink of an eye, it was the perfect little getaway I needed to take a break from my everyday routine.

I spent the better part of Saturday at Stamford Bridge watching Chelsea vs. Manchester City. Unfortunately, Chelsea's loss was a bit embarrassing, but it was all made better with the Pizza Express my boyfriend and I enjoyed afterward. Saturday night was spent in Covent Garden with a few cocktails and then back to K West Hotel & Spa in Shepherd's Bush. Apparently the hotel bar turns into a really awkward club with a DJ after midnight and we had the pleasure of watching people dance in ways that entertained us for the rest of the evening. We woke up to the sun shining brightly through the hotel window and I was excited to get out and go for a long walk. 

Although I was a bit tired from having a late night out, I wanted to make the most of our Sunday morning in London. We made our way downstairs to the lobby area to enjoy a quick bite of the continental breakfast and then we began a 40 minute walk to The Muffin Man Tea Shop in Kensington. The journey there was met with many distractions on my part. We passed too many beautiful homes and there just wasn't enough time for me to capture them all. I snapped a few shots of quiet street corners, pollarded trees and endless flats in the same white color and size. I love how quiet London is for being such a big city, it's almost like being in the suburbs. I rarely ever feel overwhelmed whereas New York can be such an overwhelming, busy city.

The Muffin Man Tea Shop was charming and small. It was nestled on a street corner with a few tables and chairs in front for guests who wished to sit outside. We sat in a cozy corner table inside and ordered a pot of Early Grey tea for two. The front of the shop had a big glass enclosed area for all of the sweets and treats including muffins, cakes, scones and more. The tea they served was loose leaf tea compared to commercial tea bags, which is what most people are familiar with. Sometimes loose leaf tea can be a bit too perfumy and strong for my liking, but this one was just right with a little milk and sugar. I had a tuna mix and cheddar finger sandwich, which was delicious. It definitely hit the spot since the continental breakfast didn't fill me up much.

I did wish we could have stayed in London longer, but we had to leave fairly early as our check-out time was at 2:00pm. We hopped on the tube to make it back just in time to gather our things and head out the door. Although we had to leave sooner than I hoped, I was looking forward to the delicious Sunday roast dinner we were going to have when we arrived back in Calne, Wiltshire. To top it all off, the honeycomb ice cream we had for dessert was a great end to a perfect weekend. Have you ever been to London and if so, what do you love most about this city?

xx JG

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Finding Inspiration in Your Life

Inspiration is what I need to keep pushing myself day in and day out to achieve more in my life and not settle for what's comfortable. When I'm inspired, my ideas start to flow whether they relate to my job, my blog or even my future career and what I hope to achieve someday. Everyone needs inspiration in their life. A boring, normal routine will not keep us sustained and hungry for whatever it is that will make us feel fulfilled and ultimately happy. Happiness is the one overarching goal everyone has in life. Your partner, family, career, hobbies, etc. all work together to hopefully make you happy. And a happy, fulfilled life is all anyone can ask for. 

I'm not perfect. I get lazy especially after a long week of working long hours. I'm young in my career and sometimes I just don't want to think about what I could be doing to be more productive and contribute more to my overall life goals. When the lazy feelings start to kick in, inspiration is what I need to get back on track. It's the equivalent of drinking expresso in the morning to get a little dose of that caffeine high. There's been plenty of times when Netflix has consumed more of my time than I would ever like to admit. However, I do believe that television is the best way to numb my brain when the thoughts in my head won't shut up.

It's true that inspiration is all around us. However, I can't necessarily say it's always easy to get inspired. I get inspired by people in all aspects of my life. I can be inspired by someone who I know personally or alternatively, I can be inspired by people who I feel like I know because of their blog or YouTube channel. These people more or less taught me that you could create a life for yourself that isn't the "normal" nine-to-five office job. And it's possible to love almost every minute of what you do because no one has the perfect job or life, don't forget that. Having an entrepreneurial mindset has always been ingrained into my way of thinking and the idea of having my own business someday is definitely something I'd like to potentially explore. I'm not sure if that will actually ever happen or if I definitely want it to at this point, but it's nice to know I would never pass on an opportunity because I'm too scared or out of my comfort zone. Don't ever limit yourself or settle for an easy career or life because you will most likely regret it. 

It's people who work creatively for a living that inspire me most- whether they are authors, bloggers, editors, screenwriters, actors, etc. Those people have always been my No. 1 sources of inspiration. Find the type of people who inspire you most and use that inspiration to further yourself creatively or help you to achieve your personal goals. If you're in the scientific or medical field or aspire to be, you may be inspired by specific doctors, researchers, chemists or geographers you know personally or know through books or the media.

It may be cliché to say this, but my experience studying abroad changed my outlook on life. Up until that point, I'd never been out of the country with the exception of Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic because I have family there. I studied abroad in London while I was in college and fell absolutely in love with the city. I was lucky enough to be able to travel while studying abroad and visited Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, Istanbul and various parts of Ireland including Dublin, Galway and Cork. After all of the planes, trains, buses, metros and trams, I definitely understood what the term "wanderlust" meant. Traveling made me fall in love with life all over again. I saw the world and my place in it with a fresh pair of eyes and I'm really grateful to have had that experience.

Additionally, I find my hobbies inspire me on a regular basis. Make sure you take time out of your schedule to have "you time" whether that involves playing sports, writing, reading, cooking or hiking. Whatever it is you love to do in your free time, make sure you take time to do it no matter how busy you are. Because I love to write, I've spent weekends taking classes and intensive workshops at Gotham Writers in New York City. Taking writing workshops added value to my life because I was inspired creatively whilst getting the opportunity to work on my craft. Lastly, music inspires me in the same way that a book helps me escape from my reality. It's not that I need the escape, it's more that I like it. I hope this post has given you some ideas as to how to find inspiration in your life and I hope you use that inspiration to achieve whatever it is that will make you happy. I'd love to hear what inspires you most.

xx JG

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March Beauty Favorites

I picked up some really great products this past month that I know I will love all year around as they've already become staples in my collection. March is always an interesting month weather wise because you never really know what to expect. The promise of spring keeps us happy and hopeful for warmer days to come. And the days become longer making us feel more productive although we still have the same amount of hours in a day. One thing that makes me really happy is seeing the sun set later and later each day. Ah, just the thought that summer is around the corner gets me too excited for happy hours after work, lunches outside, long weekends and everything else sunny and fun. But before I get ahead of myself, we still have a ways to go...

Even though we are officially into spring, my lips and skin are still feeling quite dry. I have the type of skin that needs to be moisturized everyday or else I tend to get excema patches. I thought I'd give Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream a try because well, it better be good given how much time people spend talking about it! This award-winning cream calms, protects and hydrates skin for up to eight hours. My favorite part about this product is how versatile it is. You can use it 100 different ways by putting it on your lips, elbows, any rough patches of skin, eye lids, cuticles, cracked heels and the list goes on. It has one downfall and that's its smell. I even have the fragrance free version, but am still turned off by the peculiar smell that I find hard to describe. This cream is really hydrating and has really improved my dry patches, so I'm starting to look past the scent.

When I saw this lip color on a beauty blogger I follow, I knew I had to have it straight away. The shade is an absolute dream and one that I've been on the hunt for. Kat Von D Lolita Everlasting Liquid Lipstick is described as being a medium-dark rosy brown color with neutral-to-warm undertones. The texture is fairly lightweight and it has a beautiful matte finish. It's perfection and looks great with so many different makeup looks.

While we're talking lip colors, I've been getting more into lip liners recently and have been exploring a few drugstore brands. I was looking for a dark lip liner that would pair nicely with a few of my deep, dark plum and red lipsticks. I stumbled upon NYX Retractable Lip Liner in the shade plum and thought I'd give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this product. The color glided on my lips fairly smoothly and the color pay off was exactly what I was hoping for. This lip liner also helped my lipstick last all day with very few touch-ups needed. In case you're wondering, I wore the color plum under MAC Sin lipstick. Just make sure your lips aren't cracked and dry before putting on dark colors such as this one because it will only accentuate the lines and cracks.

Filling in my eyebrows never used to be part of my makeup routine. I just never felt like I had to because I've always had pretty thick, dark eyebrows. I eventually jumped on the brow train nonetheless and now I fill in any sparse areas with an eyebrow pencil daily. Lately, I've been loving using the L'Oréal Brow Stylist Plumper Brow Gel Mascara after I fill in my eyebrows with a pencil. It sets my hairs in place and adds a nice tint that makes my brows look even more full. Did I also mention it's very affordable?

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to the best liquid eyeliner I've tried thus far. I'm talking about the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, don't act like you're surprised! This eyeliner is a cult beauty favorite that I recently started using and boy does it live up to the hype. It glides on the lid super easily, which makes the application process 10 times easier. The superfine and flexible brush also makes it easier to create a flawless wing. Practice still makes perfect though! What products have you been loving this month?

xx JG

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