Last winter I was lucky enough to be able to take part in what was the holiday off a lifetime, A 2 week holiday to Florida and the Caribbean!

Florida:
London - Fort Lauderdale:

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale after a 2 leg flight from London.

London - Toronto - Fort Lauderdale

Our first day in Fort Lauderdale was spent exploring the area, which involved a massive long walk to the beach front, where we ate lunch in this wonderful cafe, where the chairs and tables swung back and forth (not advisable for while you are actually trying to eat however).

After lunch we continued walking along the sea front and then did a little shopping and browsing in the Galleria shopping Mall.

Exploring Fort Lauderdale:

On our second day in Fort Lauderdale we decided to explore the Intra-costal waterways. Fort Lauderdale in made up of several large waterways, on which is built an amazing array of beautiful houses. You can also get to different parts of the city on the water taxi, as it has a hop-on-hop-off service.

Here is a photo of me and mum on the water taxi.

In the evening we did a night time boat tour called the Jungle Queen, this involved a night time trip along the waterways to a small island, where you got dinner and watched a show.

The Cruise:

Boarding the Ship:

Next on our trip was the cruise. We boarded the boat and were shown to our cabin. It was all very surreal.

While waiting for the ship to leave we started exploring and here is a photo of me at the back of the ship.

As the ship left the dock we waved goodbye to the people on the shore and to Fort Lauderdale.

New Years Eve:

Our first night on the boat just happened to be New Years Eve 2011. This was a pudding we had at dinner.

This is me before seeing in the New Year. And this is the outfit I wore.

A Day at Sea:

The next day was a day at sea. 

We explored the ship, did some swimming and sunbathing and ate...a lot.

Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands:

Our first stop was Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos and it looked like a paradise.

We opted to do a tour of the island, to take in the history and see everything this little island had to offer.

After the tour we headed to the beach and enjoyed the white sand and clear waters, as you can from the photo above. You also get a glimpse of some of our beautiful ship.

San Juan, Puerto Rico:

Our second stop was San Juan, Puerto Rico, and for our excursion on this day we had planned something completely different. To the rainforest.

When choosing our excursions before we left the UK we decided to do things that would show us the most or would be something unique that we might not get the opportunity to do often, if ever.

So we chose the rainforest.

The rainforest was hot and sticky but the views were amazing, and its something I will always remember.

After our trip to the rainforest we had the chance to explore San Juan by night. We ate, shopped and soaked up the atmosphere before heading back to the ship.

St Thomas, USVI:

Next stop was St Thomas on the US Virgin Islands.

We opted to do a mini tour of the island, first took us high up in the mountains and up to Drakes Seat, where Sir Francis Drake used to sit to spy on enemy ships.

Next it was on to Magens Bay, one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It was beautiful and so relaxing and peaceful. We stayed here a while, soaking up the sunshine.

Next it was onto a rum distillery, and amber waterfall before a coffee and back to the ship.

Day at Sea:

Next was another day at sea, where we relaxed, read, took classes, did some sunbathing and enjoyed the views.

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas:

Our last stop on the trip was Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, a private island.

I found this fab little sign which shows just how far away I was from home.

The first thing we did was a nature walk, which took us around the island, we saw historical ruins, beautiful wildlife and I even dipped my toe in shark infested waters!

Next it was on to the beach, for hours in the beautiful sunshine paradise.

How beautiful is this picture?

Disembarking:

Leaving the ship was sad, but it was onto our next adventure. This is the sunrise in Fort Lauderdale as the ship docked.

This was our room on the MS Eurodam.

Back in Florida:

The Everglades:

As soon as we disembarked the ship, it was off on our next adventure, a tour of the Everglades.

I was even brave enough to hold a baby alligator.

More Fort Lauderdale:

For our second stay in Fort Lauderdale our hotel was right on the beach front (our previous one had been close to the port so it was easy for us to get to the ship for the cruise).

We went back to our favourite cafe with the swinging chairs for lunch.

And in the evening we watched our ship leave from the beach.

For the next few days we enjoyed the sunshine, spent the rest of our holiday money in the mall and enjoyed wandering Las Olas Boulevard. Not to mention the food!

I hope you enjoyed this quick blow by blow account of my trip, I was so lucky to be able to go on this holiday and I am so grateful for all the wonderful places I saw. I am now saving hard so that one day soon I can do another amazing holiday just like this!

Have you been on an amazing trip? I would love to hear about it, let me know in the comments below :)

If you enjoyed this post, then please check out the video below :)

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Being an Air Hostess...

People often wonder what its like being an Air Stewardess, and its so hard to explain to someone who has never done it. Its not how you imagine, not at all. So I am going to try and explain it in the best way possible or better still, give you a great way to get an insight into my (old) world!

Try to go to bed while its still light out, and you're not really tired. Make sure your neighbours are stomping around next door, and your family go about their daily business. Lay there for hours getting more and more frustrated with yourself for not being able to fall asleep. Finally drift off to sleep around 10pm, but before doing so set your alarm for 3am.

When your alarm goes off leap out of bed (then sit down again because you've made yourself feel sick), grab your make up and try and make yourself look presentable, as hard as that might be at this unearthly hour with minimal sleep. Then try and ram your contact lenses into your already tired eyes. Wait for them to sting and water and generally feel uncomfortable. Get into some sort of uniform which feels too tight, itchy and just generally uncomfortable. Next try and force some breakfast down your throat, and try and have some coffee to wake you up. Next get together your things, go outside in the freezing cold and drizzle and drive half an hour to the airport.

When you arrive at the staff car park, park up and get your things out. Walk across the car park in the cold and the drizzle and shelter at the tiny bus shelter until your bus comes. Try not to fall asleep on the short ride to the airport terminal.

When you arrive walk quickly and avoid eye contact with everyone. This is imperative, if you catch the eye of any passengers they WILL ask you stupid questions. Walk quickly to security. Remove half the clothes you've spent all morning trying to put on. Using your super Stewardess strength put all this onto the conveyor belt at staff security. Spend 5 minutes trying to negotiate your yogurt and your lipgloss through security. Walk super fast, in your six inch heels, to the crew room.

When you arrive try to look like a pro and be able to easily find yourself at sign in. Go to report station and wait. Grab your bottle to fill with water, spill it over your shoes while filling up. Return to report and realise everyone has been waiting for you. Pretend to listen while the captain tells you about the flight path and makes a joke that either nobody gets or cares about considering its only 5am. Smile. Answer two questions on First Aid, try to look like a pro when really you're racking your brains while thinking "I totally don't care and wish I was in bed". Then answer 2 questions on safety. Grab your stuff and head out into the rain, hunting for whichever stand your aircraft is on. Sods law will say it is on the stand furthest away from the crew room.

Get onboard and freeze. This is mandatory because all the doors will be open. Make safety checks and wait for passengers. Smile.

See the first passengers heading up the aisle will make your heart sink. You've been up for 4 hours but the day is just beginning. You'll be thrown into utter chaos. Passengers, by their very nature, have lost their brains somewhere between check in and boarding, so will need you to do the most basic of functions for them. You'll soon learn how to judge a bag at 25 metres ("there is NO WAY that is going to fit in the overhead bins" you'll think to yourself. And you will be right). Passengers will need to be shown their seats, how to put their bags up, will ask you all sorts of silly questions (and some sensible ones). Bags will be everywhere, limbs will be everywhere, coats will be everywhere. Nobody will be in their seats. You'll check your watch and panic about slot times. You'll try and get people into their seats. You'll arrange and re-arrange the overhead bins. You'll stare at the pile of bags that you just can't find room for and panic. People will be in the aisles and in your way. You'll be lifting and moving bags with such ease, on your six inch heels, that people will think they are as light as a feather. Your arms will kill, your wrists are breaking, and you'll be screaming inside...but you're still smiling.

The doors close, the doors are armed, the passengers are sat down and everything is calm. Until the demo video won't work. You grab a demo kit and walk, one the taxiing, bumpy plane, in your six inch heels. You'll have to point to exits, pull on oxygen masks, demonstrate life jackets. No-one is watching, but you have to smile anyway. Then its to your jumpseat for take off. Your jumpseat is mid cabin, facing the passengers, who just insist on talking to you. All you want to do is relax for 2 mins, rest your tired feet and tired body, but the passengers believe, that because the stewardess is sitting amongst them, this must be an invite for a conversation. You have to answer the same questions everyday "Is this your first flight today", "Is this your only flight today" etc etc. Soon the flight deck release the crew, and while you're excited to get away from the mindnumbing conversation, its back into the heels. Walking on an ascending plane, at an angle, in high heels is tough.

The next few hours will pass in a daze, you will serve numerous drinks, and meals. You will get up more times than you ever imagined because people will press the toilet call bell thinking it is the flush, despite it having a picture of a stewardess on it and being nowhere near the toilet. You'll have to tell people 80,000 times that the seatbelt sign is on and they cannot get up during this time. You'll be stood on your feet for 8 hours, with passengers demanding things of you left, right and centre. You'll be at the end of a massive toilet queue with everyone else. You'll be running back and forth, in your six inch heels, earning every penny of your money. And if you get to eat your food in one sitting you'll consider the day a success.

Finally you will be ready to land, the passengers will have made a total mess, be asleep in all sorts of weird and wonderful positions and you will have to wake them to get them ready for landing. You will have to tell everyone they need their belts on, you will then have to tell most of them again. You will put more tray tables and seatbacks up than you can keep count of. You will repeatedly tell people we're preparing for landing and they need to remain seated. Then you will need to tell them again. Finally the cabin will be prepared for landing, everyone is seated, belted and packed up and ready to leave. You will have to return to your jumpseat for more mundane conversation, but its ok this time, because you'll be getting rid of them all soon, the shift will be over and you can almost feel the soft hotel pillow against your head.

The plane lands, everyone stands up while taxiing and you'll have to jump up and scold them for standing, reminding them how dangerous it is, and make them sit down and belt up. The seatbelt sign will go off and everyone stands up immediately. Bags and people everywhere, phones beeping to life, people on the phone uttering the same boring lines "Yes, I've just landed". As they all leave you'll repeat the line "Thank you, Goodbye" more times than you'll care to remember, with the best fake smile plastered all over your face. As the flow eases and the passengers take a break from coming at you you'll drop the smile and rest your face. As soon as another comes into view its back on with the fake smile.

Once they are all gone, you'll close up the trolleys, grab your stuff and head off the plane and head home/to the hotel. Its been fifteen hours since you got up this morning. Heels off, uniform off, make up off. Into bed, set an alarm and sleeeeeeeep.

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Happy Saturday Crafters!

Today I wanted to share with you a project that was very personal to me and one I was very pleased with the way it turned out. I hope you enjoy it...

When I set out to make this cushion I didn't even have an idea in my head (which is what generally happens with my most favourite pieces), I just knew I wanted to make something for my best friend, I wanted to incorporate elements of her personality into it, and I wanted it to be totally her style.

So I took a blank piece of fabric, I closed my eyes and I thought about what I wanted it to represent to her. At the time I was making it she was facing an important decision about where she wanted to be, and from there, it came easily.

(Stay tuned later for a step by step guide of how I made this cushion)

The "Live. Laugh. Love" is a phrase we are all very familiar with these days, its everywhere, on everything, and I think for a lot of us, it does mean a lot. It's all we really want and need out of life. For someone with a hard choice, its nice to be reminded of that.

The heart shape idea obviously came from the idea of love, what girl in this world doesn't want to be loved!

I found this cute ribbon, which I put over the corner of the cushion, emphasising what the cushion was trying to portray.

The idea for the plane, came from her love of travel. She's a free spirit, she's travelled, she's lived abroad, she loves embracing different cultures and seeing new places.

This cushion was surprisingly easy to make, although the main part was long winded to stitch, I really enjoyed it, and I think its always nice when you're excited about making something beautiful for someone who is special to you.

How I made the "Live. Laugh. Love" Cushion:

1. Cut out two pieces of fabric the desired size of your cushion.

2. Cut out a smaller square that will fit on your cushion. This will be the centre point to your cushion, and will be where your stitching will take place.

3. Next, using either a stencil, pre-cut letters or free hand, cut the words Live, Laugh, Love out of fabric. You can use either all the same fabric, or different fabrics like I did.

4. Next cut out the plane shape and the heart shape.

5. Pin words & images to the fabric.

6. Blanket Stitch words in place.

7. Blanket Stitch images in place.

8. Stitch the vapour trail from the plane, through the heart and up the material.

9. Cut out a piece of wadding the same size as the centre piece, and place this under the centre piece and stitch it to the main fabric of the cushion. This will raise it up and bring it out of the cushion.

10. Stitch the two main parts of the cushion together, back to back, and turn through.

11. Now here you have two options, if you've made your cushion with the idea of putting another cushion filler inside it, you will need to add a zip. I, however, made my cushion with the intention of just stuffing it. I stuffed it until it was quite padded and then stitched it up.

12. Voila!

I hope you enjoyed this blog post, let me know what you think in the comments!

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If any of you have travelled by plane then you’ll know how dehydrating it can be travelling for so long, combined with the dry air onboard produced by the air conditioning, as well as travelling at altitude and the air being somewhat different.


As an air hostess this was something I had to deal with on a daily basis and thought I would put together a little guide on how to keep yourself hydrated while flying.



Water:



One of the best things you can do to hydrate yourself is to drink enough water. That’s before your flight, during the flight and after the flight. Its important on the day of travel to make time to drink water, as its not always easy enough when you’re running about getting yourself ready for travel, but its really important for your body and your skin to make sure you are well hydrated before flying.



Its difficult these days with not being able to take drinks through security and rising prices airside, but if there is one thing you buy before getting on the plane, make it a bottle of water. Most airlines will either sell or provide water onboard too.



And once you’ve landed, make sure you continue to hydrate yourself, to ward off any of the effects flying has had on your body.



Moisturising Cream:



To keep your skin hydrated when flying pack yourself a moisturiser. Nowdays you can only take on board liquids and creams if they are 100ml or less, but you can get plenty of travel sized products these days. A moisturiser will enable you to keep your skin hydrated on the plane.



Lip Balm:



To keep your lips hydrated and to stop them cracking and splitting on the plane, choose a nice, hydrating lip balm, in particular one that is good for dry lips.



Eyes:



If you suffer from dry eyes, or you wear contact lenses then you might want to invest in some eye drops. These will moisten your eyes and if you are a contact lens wearer they will really help. Lenses dry out really quickly on planes and it makes them harder and scratchy, and can really irritate your eyes. You might also want to take a spare pair on lenses just in case they become too unbearable.







I hope that helps! Happy Travel!


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