Spring is the time of plans and projects. – Leo Tolstoy A lot is going on at the moment. Spring is inching its way in the Northeast, some days more warm and sunny than others,… More
London Trip Day 8: Tower of London
By day eight, we were exhausted from the time change and all the walking we had been doing. So we stayed in bed and ordered room service to the room. We had such an amazing hotel suite so I wanted to enjoy a slow morning enjoying it! When in London, you must have an English Breakfast at least once!
With a slow morning, we enjoyed our brekkie and some coffee before getting dressed for a full day of sightseeing. Be sure to pack layers because the weather is constantly changing! One thing that made this trip so eventful is we had our full itinerary planned in advance so we could fit so much into our days without feeling rushed to do everything. We tried to do one big thing a day and made time to walk around the area before heading to dinner. It also helped that Jake had been to London in the past and he knew what to do in a day to make sure we do a lot but not too overwhelming.
We walked to the Tower of London, a famous London monument, that was on our list of places to visit. In our heads, we had planned to be there for two hours max for some sightseeing before going to our next stop. We had no idea the property was so large with so much to see that we didn’t even see everything. The Tower of London has a lot of historical significance which is why I originally wanted to go but there were a lot of other exhibits; torture, weapons, jewels, etc. to see.
We left the Tower of London with plans to visit again because we could spend hours walking around the large property. Next on our itinerary was dinner at the Sherlock Holmes pub that everyone includes on lists of things to do in London. I hate to be that person to pop that bubble, but it’s fun to walk past and walk in to see the decor, but I found it not worth the hype. The wait was too long for a table to sit and eat and I was secretly relieved. We grabbed a beer at the bar and decided to walk around to find another pub to eat dinner at. One thing I LOVE about London is there are so many pubs with amazing decor and themes to choose from. It seems like everyone after work goes to a pub to grab a pint with their friends and I wish we had that in America.
Since we were hungry but not starving, we decided to walk through the neighborhood, Covent Garden. The neighborhood is appropriately named because just like other parts of London, there are parks every few blocks. Whenever we found a park, I would insist we walk through it to enjoy the greenery because I love how neighborhoods are developed around green spaces. It’s something I also wish we had more of back at home because it was so lovely to walk through. Jake had been to a restaurant in this area on his last trip so we took the long way to do some sightseeing and see The Royal Opera House. Next trip I hope we can find a reason to go inside!
There are plenty of amazing restaurants the challenge is which one to pick. After a week of pubs, we got dinner at an Italian restaurant, Cafe Concerto, and it was such a fun vibe! I love the pubs but it was nice to get some pasta and a cocktail. They had my new go-to, Pornstar Martini on the menu so I was a very happy girl! Some days we had dinner reservations but my favorite dinners were ones we just walked around to sightsee and picked a place when we were hungry.
With a full belly, we made our way to Trafalgar Square, another must-see when in London. The city was alive at night it was hard to walk back to our hotel even though we were both exhausted. There’s so much to do and by now I was starting to be able to walk around and still find our hotel. Luckily, to find our hotel you just needed to find Big Ben since our hotel was next door. A part of me wanted to stay out and grab another drink, but I was happy to get comfy in our hotel room because we had a busy day planned for the next day too!
London Trip: Day 7 Kensington Palace
Each morning I fell in love with our hotel suite even more! We would call room service for tea or coffee to enjoy while we got ready for the day. With a busy day ahead of us, we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to make our way to Kensington Palace.
We were lucky to get a sunny day to visit Kensington Palace. There was an exhibit at Kensington Palace when we visited, From Crowns to Couture, featuring some looks from years past MET Balls and some historical royal fashions to see how trends have changed over the years. It was an amazing exhibit that even Jacob enjoyed and allowed us to walk around the palace. The pictures do not fully capture how historical and amazing this building is.
After we toured the inside of the palace, we made our way to the Kensington Cafe to get some tea and scones before we toured the palace grounds. Have you ever seen a cuter tea set?? I promised myself I would start drinking more tea once I got back home to the States.
Kensington Palace is located next to Hyde Park so we made our way back to our hotel through the park. We came across a cafe by the lake and got Pimms to enjoy while walking which was a nice treat! We kept joking about how different parks are in Europe because they invest in their upkeep and the wildlife is abundant. We had to keep pausing for ducks to cross the walking paths and the swans run the parks and they know it! I love our parks in Philly but there is really nothing like the parks in London here in the States. It may be one of my favorite parts of our visit because everywhere you looked, there was something else to fall in love with or see.
We quickly changed into something warmer to walk around and find a Pub to eat dinner. There is a pub on every corner in London and you can’t go wrong. We ended up at the Horse and Guardsman and I’m happy we did because the decor was everything I imagined a British pub to be!
We walked back to our hotel as the sun was setting and I just held Jacob’s hand as we walked saying to myself, “I can’t believe we are here”. Seeing the city lit up at night, cars driving by, and the hustle of the city brought me so much joy to be a part of.
Evening Skincare with ELEMIS Superfood Midnight Facial
Every night I make time for a little “me time” before bed. I make some tea and put on a podcast like Goop to start to unwind for the night. I’ve loved slowing down and being more intentional with enjoying the little things like washing my face at night instead of rushing rushing rushing. When you experience burnout, you quickly create habits that make you slow down and enjoy the little things. I love to use my new spa headband that I bought in bulk a few months ago to give to my bridesmaids. It was the most popular item in their boxes to ask them to officially be my bridesmaids and those boxes were full of higher-end goodies too! I like to wash my face with a makeup remover like this balm, and then use an acne wash, before using a basic skin cleaner like this one to clean my face. All of this to say, those spa headbands have been a lifesaver!
Once my face is really clean; my makeup is off, exfoliated, and clean, I sit at my vanity and apply retinol. I used to use retinol twice a week but now I use it nightly because before it was for preventative reasons but now my skin really needs it for the benefits! Next is the ELEMIS Superfood Midnight Facial. I’ve been a big fan of ELEMIS in the last few years and the night cream leaves my skin looking smoother and brighter. You know when you see people online with the perfect glowing skin and you wonder how their foreheads can look shiny in a good way? It’s because they use a good night cream and this one gives me hydrated skin that is just glowing when I wake up in the morning. It took using a night cream to understand how important they are in your evening skincare routine and I think I will cry a little tear when I run out of this one!
Friday Favorites 1.19
If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy tales and I like them best of all.
Audrey Hepburn
I am bundled up and enjoying the first snow day in years! With all of the snow and ice this week it’s nice to be able to stay home during this snowstorm and be able to enjoy it from home. It took me a few days to get ready for the new year, but I have finally settled into a routine.
- Saltburn
- Buccaneers
- Real Housewives of Miami
I got a Blendjet for Christmas and it makes my mornings so much easier! I like to prep my smoothie at night and put it in the fridge so I can just grab and go in the morning. My one issue is that it doesn’t blend frozen fruit but I don’t mind prepping a smoothie with frozen fruit at night because by morning it’s melted enough to blend together.
One excited purchase I’m excited about is I signed up for the gym last weekend and I’ve been really committed to it.
Picked up these black leggings with gold buttons from Zara and I’m so excited to style these!
One great thing about January is the after Christmas sales! We picked up a few ornaments for our tree next year.
Last weekend I did a big grocery trip to set myself up for success this week. I’m back to eating healthy and that means meal prepping! I’ve been eating a salad for lunch and packing pretzelcrips, peppers with hummus. Instead of counting calories, I’m focusing more on healthy meals and healthy snacks during the day so I don’t eat junk food when I’m starving at the end of the day. For dinner, I made taco salads and rice bowls with protein this week and we enjoyed a nice pork tenderloin in the crockpot on Monday. I love using the crockpot but I always forget about it!
Starting to swap out my Christmas decor for hearts and pink!
Finally sitting down and working on my posts about our London trip. It’s nice to go through photos and write about our trip, I’m already planning our next trip back!
London Trip: Day 6
One of my favorite things about five-star hotels is the breakfast. For the first time since we got to London, we slept late and then dressed to head down to breakfast. Our only concrete plan for the day was our engagement dinner in the evening so we spent the day as tourists.
We walked through St. James Park to meet up with our friends to say a final goodbye to our friends who were flying back home that afternoon. Jacob had been to London a few years ago and fell in love with Pimms so we got a pitcher to share. St. James Park has a cafe with quick-service food and cocktails. When we ordered Pimms cups for four people, the girl who worked there asked if we would like to order a pitcher instead and Jacob’s eyes lit up when he found out he could order one!
I learned that every park has a little cafe or two and often sell Pimms so we made a deal that if we see one we have to order a Pimms because it’s a drink that is hard to find in the States and is very delicious!
From there we made our way to the London Eye to view the city from up high. London weather is very bizarre because it was sunny one minute and then started to rain while we were in line to get on the London Eye. It’s definitely a touristy thing to do but you have to do it at least once.
Jacob chose our hotel because it was in walking distance to Buckingham Palace so we made our way there next! We took the long way to see as much of London as we could.
At this time we were weeks away from the Coronation so streets were starting to get blocked off for the preparations.
We made our way back to the hotel to get ready for our engagement dinner at Petrus, a Gordon Ramsey, Michelin star restaurant. It is a fixed menu that was delicious and a wonderful experience!
PUR The Complexion Authority 4-in-1 Cloud Cream
Over the last few years, I have been really committed to my skincare, morning and night. Funny how they say it only takes 21 days to make something a habit because that is a true statement when it comes to my skincare routine. Now without much thought, I grab for my skincare products in the morning and can’t go to bed without a few minutes at my vanity to use serums and my night cream.
On our recent weekend trip to New York City, I packed my skincare necessities knowing I wasn’t going to have the time to do a longer skincare routine while on vacation. I still had to pack my night cream and my PUR The Complexion Authority 4-in-1 Cloud Cream for the morning. This cream is unlike anything I ever used before because it starts off with a gel consistency making it easy to apply to your face and neck. Within moments, it transforms to a serum-type consistency and is quickly absorbed by the skin. My face is immediately hydrated and my face looks more plump which is nice during the cold, dryer months of winter. By the time I get my foundation out, my skin is dry enough to apply my foundation without it getting greasy like moisturizers can often be under makeup. I’ve been loving the no-makeup look so with a little bit of my Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter Foundation, the two products easily blend together to cover up any imperfections with enough coverage without looking like I have makeup on.
This cream feels like one of my higher-end products, especially with the high-quality ingredients but is very budget-friendly and can be found at our favorite stores, Target or Ulta. I loved being in our hotel suite in New York City because we would order room service and I would enjoy my second cup of coffee while getting ready in the morning. If only every morning could start off that peaceful!
Blonde Rosie Blog 