Early Christmas Shopping + Travel Gifts

Now i'm not usually an early christmas shopper and this is partly due to me either being at uni and having no spare cash or having just got back from travelling and having no spare cash. Plus i'm just not that organised.

However, this year seems to have started differently when I spotted some pretty great things on a website called Uncommongoods.com

The instant draw was the fact the products are sustainable, organic and often recycled which is a big deal when you have a vegan sister and the possible gift ideas are massively narrowed down. Therefore, when I spotted this hummingbird garden stake I knew I had to get it for her. I found this on the Christmas gifts for women page. I was torn between this stake and a flower one but decided that the vibrant colours on the hummingbird was the best choice. I'm glad I did because it's lovely, seriously glad I got this but it is fairly delicate so a nice sheltered spot in the garden will be ideal for this.

I then spotted this gorgeous gala photo display for my mum! As with a lot of mums she's easy to buy for, a book, toiletries or chocolate are always a go too however, it's so nice to be able to get her a unique gift for once that I know no-one else will have thought of. There was also so many other Christmas gifts on this page for mums too. When this arrived I also realised that the pot at the end can be used for pens/ pencils as well as a plant (as seen on the box) which is great! and it comes with some pictures already (although these will be replaced) but it's nice to have a couple different things to play around with to start. 

I then decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present too, when looking at the Christmas gifts idea page I saw a travel section! So I obviously had to look, there was so much I wanted but I settled on this travel scratch journal to help me plan and document the next long trip I take. It has a planning journal with a diary section as well as individual scratch maps for each continent. The only down side of the is that on the North American map it doesn't have individual states so it's either scratch it all or guess the state lines for the places i've been.

Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Are there any other gift sites I should be checking out?

Tips & Tricks: Who to fly with in the USA

Now I by no means claim to be an expert but in this post i'll tell you about my personal experience of both short haul internal flights and long haul international flights for the USA.

I myself am British but during my time working at a camp in New York and the subsequent time afterwards travelling I definitely picked up some tips when it comes to flying in America.

All I can say for internal flights is book with Southwest! They are by far the best that I have experienced especially for budget travellers and here's why:

• No extra charge for baggage - some airlines will be charging $20 plus on top of your ticket price for luggage where as it's completely free with Southwest!

• 2 pieces of hand luggage - during check in when our cases where way over the weight the lovely check in lady at Washington Baltimore airport informed us we could check our bags, have our rucksacks AND an additional piece of hand luggage! She even went to her locker to grab us a plastic bag for our extra piece. I've never had such great service from a member of staff from an airline before.

• Free snacks on board - every Southwest flight i've taken has had free snacks, either pretzels or peanuts which is such a nice added bonus for a budget traveller when airplane food is so expensive there was even free water and orange juice. 

• Flight prices -  in my experience even with all the extras Southwest tend to have the cheapest ticket prices especially if you consider what you'd spend on baggage with other airlines.

• Frequency - Southwest fly so many places internally and flights are super frequent meaning you can almost always find one with them.

International flights are slightly more tricky and often price is the biggest decider, however when possible British Airways will be my #1 and here's why:

• The food! - I'm a big foodie and as we all know airplane food is not the best but I have always been impressed by BA's long haul options on my flight from London to NY and San Fran to London I received 2 meals, multiple snacks and as many drinks as I could manage all included with the price.

• Seats - there's only so much comfort you can get on an 12 hour flight but arriving at your seat to a pillow and blanket as well as a TV in the back of the seat fully loaded with all the latest films, TV and multiple games definitely helps.

• Now this one is a bit bias but being British, flying with BA is sort of iconic, growing up it was by far the biggest, most well known and fanciest airline so flying BA feels special even if like me you're flying economy!

• Frequency - like Southwest, BA fly everywhere all the time meaning it's not difficult to find a flight with them, they are also one of the only british airline to offer frequent flyer miles, although this isn't quite as straight forward as with American airlines. It does require you to sign up for a specific credit card.

As I said, my international argument is less fact based and more opinion but I hope this at least gives you a little insight into making you airline decisions and what to expect.

Let me know what your favourite airline is in the comments!

Disclaimer the airlines have not asked for this promotion i'm just a big fan!

Tips & Tricks: What to pack for a weekend break

This weekend i'm going away to a cottage in Pickering. My aim is to pack light which is definitely helped by the beautiful weather we're having in the UK right now. However I am awful at taking far far to much stuff so here is a list of what i'm taking. I don't think it's too bad for 3 days

Tops 
-  T-shirt to sleep in
- long sleeved body suit for the evenings
- Flower vest top for day/ evening
- Aztec vest for the beach.
- Jumper - because you never know with British weather

Bottoms
- Black Denim Shirts
- Blue ripped Jeans (this may change to black jeans)
- Black cotton shorts for the beach
- Blue PJ shorts



Others
- Underwear
- Socks
- Belt
- 2 x bikini top, 1 x bikini bottom
- Sandels
- Nike trainers

Extras
- Make-up
- Straighteners
- Hair Brush
- Dry Shampoo
- Deodorant
- Shoulder bag
- Book
- Sunglasses
- Toothbrush
- Face wash
- Make-up wipes
- Book





What would you pack for a weekend away? Is this too much or too little?