Good Friday!

It's Good Friday and therefore a public holiday in the UK which, if you're not religious or someone who gets holiday pay, is little more than a minor annoyance. As they're council-run, the swimming baths are closed today so we had to swap our Friday session in the big pool (below) to Thursday. On Fridays the entire pool is open for public swimming but on Thursday its lane swimming only. There's two speed options, medium or fast, and, as everyone keeps telling me what a strong swimmer I am, I opted for the fast lane and to my delight I was able to keep up with the female powerhouse swimming alongside me, clocking up a mile before our Spoons breakfast. This probably means sod all to most of you but to me, who has never in my fifty-eight and a half years on the planet considered themselves in the slightest bit sporty, I feel like I've been reborn!

Anyway, on to the rest of the week. After a warm-ish day on Tuesday, Wednesday was bitterly cold with a cruel east wind. We headed over to Birmingham to visit our regular charity shops and, just like when we'd last visited, came back laden with some fantastic vinyl...vintage and modern. What do you think, Stephanie? 

Like any human in their right mind I already own Back To Black on CD (and had the privilege of seeing Amy Winehouse play live several times) but obviously vinyl is far superior ...and this is the original release, not one of the many later reissues.

It's quite unusual to find contemporary vinyl in the chazzas and Jon soon snapped up 6Music indie favourites, Glass Animals & Bombay Bicycle Club. 

I absolutely love Shawn Mendes' Señorita but as this isn't the later deluxe pressing of this, his third album, it's not on there. However, what we did discover, tucked away inside the sleeve is an official signed photo, maybe the previous owner went off him. Can you see Gordon? He's making himself very comfy.

I couldn't resist these Orla Kiely-inspired earrings. Although I'm all about big earrings I wear studs when I swim.

  These deadstock Disco mugs were £1.50 each. They were made up the road at Royal Stafford in The Potteries which sadly went into administration last month after 180 years of ceramic production.

Jon splashed out £3 on a shirt which matches our bedroom wall beautifully. It was originally from Joe Browns who make some great menswear and homewares but the women's clothing leaves a lot to be desired. 

Yet again I wore my embroidered velvet Naked Generation "Amber" dress, I still can't believe my friend Annie spotted it on Vinted for £12. The wind was playing havoc with the hem when Jon took these photos, I'm amazed I managed to keep my hat on! 

Thursday (swimming day) was thankfully a lot warmer so I wore my Groundies with bare legs (makes stripping off in the changing room a lot easier). I'm wearing a vintage India Imports of Rhode Island maxi skirt, an All About Audrey wrap top (bought in 2017) and a reversible block printed quilted cotton jacket from Kharibu (bought in 2023). The jacket did have a collar but it was forever getting tangled up in my hair so I chopped it off and replaced it with some bias binding. 

The builders brought us gifts, two solar powered garden Buddhas which a house round the corner had left on their garden wall with a free sign attached.

Good to see our billions of bluebells starting to flower. It'll be the Irises next. 

The base is starting to take shape, we're awaiting another delivery of sand for work to continue.

Someone's left their mark in the cement.

Still glowing from my 3.75km run this morning, I went coatless when I walked down the road to drop off my Vinted sales parcels. I wore a vintage Mohanjeet, Paris woven cotton maxi skirt (£5, Vinted) with this embroidered linen Free People jacket (£3, Air Ambulance)...

And another day of bare legs and trainers, this time they're my gold Adidas Continentals, a reissue of the 1980s classics...which Jon found in Age UK a couple of months ago. 

Swimming, running, wearing trainers...whatever next? Brace yourselves, I've been cooking, too. (I haven't been taken over by an alien, honest!)

Tidying the kitchen cupboards earlier in the week I found a tin of golden syrup five years past its use-by date as well as a jar of organic coconut oil reaching the end of its life so when I got back from my swim I decided to have a go at making some vegan flapjacks adapting a recipe I found online. (I'm aware that my American readers concept of a flapjack is completely different to ours, same words, different language!) 

You'll need:

3 and a half cups of porridge oats
1 cup of mixed seeds & dried fruit 
Half a cup of demerara sugar
Three-quarters of a cup of coconut oil (melted)
Half a cup of golden syrup

Method:

1. Line a 8 x 8 baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until everything is incorporated.
3. Transfer to the baking tray and level with the back of a spoon.
4. Cook at 180°C for 17 - 20 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown
5. Leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Once cool slice into bars.

Store them in an airtight tin - not necessarily a vintage one like mine which originally held Co-operative biscuits in the late 1950s - but the vintage version IS generally the best version!

Have a fabulous weekend whether or not you do the Easter thing. See you on the other side! 

Travelling Light & How I Do it

Carry-on travel has loads of advantages. You can head straight to security bypassing the scrum at the baggage drop at the airport; its easier on you physically, allowing you to be more flexible in where and how quickly can you move about, it can save you £££s on air fares and finally, there's no chance of your luggage getting lost. In fact, other than not having a different outfit every day, there's no downside to travelling light. Most of traveling light is in the preparation: advance planning and good lists. It's not rocket science, if I can manage it then so can you! Here's how I do it.

•  At least a week before my departure date I get out every garment I think I might want to take and lay them out on the bed in the spare bedroom. After a while I'll notice a palette of similar colours emerging which allows me to see what will work with what. When you pack light every garment has to multitask so, even if I really love something and desperately want to take it on my travels, if it only goes with one other thing I just have to fight the urge and say NO!
• Next I'll make outfits from the collection. I'll try everything on just to remind myself of how something fits. If it needs a slip underneath - or a belt - or will only work with one particular pair of shoes - or creases like a bastard - then it gets rejected. Whilst I'm trying my clothes on I'll then decide on which accessories will work.  This, of course, saves loads of time when I'm away, as I'm not dithering over what I'm going to wear with what. 
• When I think I've made my decision I'll check that it all fits into my case and then hang everything up on the back of the bedroom door (this is where those over-the-door racks really come in handy!) Occasionally I'll take something out or swap something over but I'll never add more. I take the same amount of clothes for a week away as I would for six. Only packing clothes I love and feel good in means that I'm happy to wear them on repeat. If needs be I can always wash my clothes in the shower and hang them up to dry.
• Finally I photograph everything I'm taking and create a Pinterest board, adding photos of me wearing my outfits when I return. This visual reference really helps when I'm packing for my next adventure. 

• Toiletries and make-up : Always check the airport rules with regards to liquids - at the moment Birmingham (like most UK airports) still limit containers to 100ml or less (although you can take as many as you wish) but these now stay in your carry-on and do not have to be separated into a clear bag. However, every European airport I've returned from in the last twelve months still demand liquids be presented separately in a clear bag so I pack my liquids in a clear bag within my toiletry bag so I don't forget the clear bag for my return journey (its also an additional safety measure against spills.) Don't get caught out and be that annoying person in the queue - check, check and check again! 

• To save the faff I try and reduce the amount of liquids to an absolute minimum. I decant liquids and pastes into smaller containers wherever possible, use Lush's shampoo and conditioner bars and although I don't love them, take biodegradable facial wipes rather than eye makeup remover and cotton pads. I'm always scouring the charity shops for sample-sized toiletries - the Korres body butter in a handy 60ml tube (still sealed) was a recent find (as was the illuminated 30x magnifying mirror with handy suction pads). Even the most remote village in rural India has somewhere to buy a plaster or a painkiller so I just pack the essentials.

• Beauty: Eyebrow pencil, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick, mascara, 2 x brushes, tweezers and a pencil sharpener. Much as I love playing around with different shades of eyeshadow, eyeliner and lipstick I limit myself to one of each when I travel. I have a gel manicure so I don't have to worry about my nails chipping (or breaking). Don't forget that mascara and lipstick both count as liquids.

• Hair: Tangle Teezer, velvet scrunchies (in the same colour palette), hair pin, Wonder Bobble ( the item that looks like telephone cord & the best thing ever for keeping your pony tail in place) and invisible bands for securing my bedtime plaits. When I wash my hair at home I plait it and leave it to dry naturally. As we'll be going out at night and the evenings are chilly, I'll need to blast it with a hairdryer. I have got a little travel hairdryer but I shall email the property owner and ask if they have one I can use, which should save a few inches of precious space. 

• Luggage: I've recently upgraded my charity shopped wheelie bag to a hard shell case. I wasn't sure if I wanted a hard case but after reading a billion reviews I've been converted, the contents won't get damp when I walk down to the railway station in the rain, the outside won't rip and, as the case is made from carbon fibre, it's ridiculously light (but super tough!) I bought my case from TRIPP which very handily has a list of the airlines who will accept this size of bag as carry-on and every airline I book with says yes to this size (55 x 39 x 20). The website often has deals, I paid £35 for mine - and no, I'm not sponsored to say that!  

So what am I taking? 

Three maxi dresses which can be worn alone or layered with the three tops below. The shirred cotton blouse looks good under the dress with the velvet bodice or worn over the dress in the middle. The velvet tops can be worn as wrap-overs or left open as a jacket, you can even wear them backwards with the crossover at the back. 

We're off to the Med. Going by past weather patterns (and personal experience) it should be warm during the day and cool at night (but warmer than the UK!) 

For added warmth I've packed an embroidered velvet waistcoat which works with all three of my dresses and blouses, a quilted Indian cotton jacket and a cropped alpaca jumper (a lucky recent chazza shop find).

As it's still quite early in the season, I'm forfeiting my sandals for trainers. Jon found me these amazing gold Adidas Continentals (a reissue of the 1980s classics) in a charity shop the other day and I love them! 

Jewellery: Six rings, two bracelets, a necklace and three pairs of earrings. I'll wear the turquoise studs to travel in and put the bracelets & rings on when I'm through security. I was thinking about having my usual greenish blue nail colour for when I'm away but I'm loving the colour they currently are (Charlotte, my nail technician reckons that the shade, Stylish Brown, is named after me!)

I'm also taking my Kobo, my phone, a cloth tote bag, my reading glasses, earplugs, sunglasses, an umbrella, a recycled sari silk wrap, a sports towel, a shower cap, 2 x trainer socks, 2 x ankle socks and two pairs of knickers (one pair of each will be worn to travel in). 

Which all rolls up neatly into my bag with room to spare should I be tempted by a souvenir or two!

We're flying with Jet2 who include a 10kg hand luggage allowance so I'm well within the limit.

I'll travel in my Anokhi maxi with the olive velvet wrap top, my quilted jacket, wool fedora, Frye boots and the fringed suede bag. I'll also wear my thermal leggings which will be whipped off on arrival and hopefully won't see the light of day until the journey home!

As you can see, you don't have to compromise on style to travel light. I hope this inspires you to give the carry-on option a go. 

I'm not going away just yet so I'll see you next week.

Vix's Tips - Travelling On A Budget

Yay, after a week of searching, we've finally booked our Winter getaway and the countdown is on!

Malaga, December 2022

Another holiday? People often ask, How on earth do you afford it? Yes, travel can be expensive but, if you do your research, don't have stick to public/school holidays and aren't too high maintenance, you don't have to spend a fortune. We've paid less than £450 for our return flights and seven nights accommodation in a Mediterranean coastal town, packed with ancient ruins, museums, great places to eat and numerous Blue Flag beaches. 

Fuerteventura, February 2024

I thought I'd share a few tips on how we manage to travel well on a budget.

Thirassia, September 2023

1. Location

Be open minded and don't set your heart on a specific destination. Despite being sworn off the Canary Islands following a lacklustre trip to Lanzarote in the 1990s, after finding return flights to Gran Canaria for £38 in January, 2023 we couldn't resist. 

Gran Canaria, January 2022

We start off by searching Jet2 and Tui which allow us to an input our choice of airport and approximate travel dates and come up with a list of suggestions.

At this time of year we're after a bit of sunshine, not necessarily beach weather, it just needs to be warm enough to walk around without a coat so, once we've got a few ideas, we'll have a look at the Met Office app & check out the weather history for the period we're planning to visit. Anything below an average of 20°C gets ruled out.

Tenerife, December 2024

We don't do purpose built tourist resorts full of Brits, we want culture, history & local flavour, so we'll search the relevant Trip Advisor forums for recommendations from fellow travellers. We'll research any places that sound interesting, hunting for blogs written by real people (as opposed to influencers or travel company affiliates), articles by respected & self-financed travel journalists like Simon Calder and we'll watching YouTube videos which are brilliant for letting you see exactly what places look like. Whatever your thoughts on Facebook, joining the relevant groups for the places you're interested in is a fantastic way of getting up-to-date information.

Another consideration is the availability of public transport at your chosen destination and always worth a search on the TripAdvisor forums. Once we disembark our flight we want to jump on a bus and get to our destination as quickly and cheaply as possible, be able to visit other places and to get back to the airport at the end of our trip without any hassle. A regular and reliable bus service can be a deal-breaker. 

Kerkyra, July 2022

Once we've narrowed down a few likely destinations we'll have a general search for rooms on Booking.com. We had been considering giving Lanzarote a second chance, whilst the flight prices were great, the accommodation in our preferred location was prohibitive. Maybe next year! 

Alicante, March 2022

2. Flights

Once we're happy with our choice of destination we'll check the flight prices on the Ryanair & EasyJet websites just to make sure we're getting the best deal. As Ryanair restrict carry-on to a pitiful 40cm x 20cm x 25cm (the equivalent of a small tote bag) you'll need to factor in an additional £30 -45 per person per flight if you want to take a change of clothes with you. 

Santorini, September 2023

Another cost worth considering are the flight times. Although they can be a little more expensive, we prefer daytime flights so that we can catch the train to the airport. At £2.90 return it's a fraction of the price of a taxi, paying for a mate's fuel or airport parking!

Kefalonia, May 2024

It's also worth checking Jet2 and Tui's Last Minute Deals as occasionally it can be cheaper to book a package. In 2023 our week in Polychrono in Halkidiki cost us £189 per person and last year seven days in Skala on Kefalonia was just £220, with both deals including flights, transfers and self catering rooms (and a whopping 22kg each of luggage - not that we bothered with that!).

Halkidiki, May 2023

For this trip we've booked our flights with Jet2 via their app which reduced the cost by 5% and, as we'd travelled with them last year, we'd been rewarded with loyalty vouchers which shaved another 5% off the bill. 

To keep costs down we never select our seats. Sitting together on costs on average £11 per person, per flight - that's £44 we can put to better use elsewhere. Occasionally we're able to swap seats once the flight has taken off but if not we'll have headphones to hand just in case one of us ends up sitting next to a prize bore!

Kos Town, July 2024

Needless to say, we won't be upgrading our flight to include check-in baggage. A carry-on is more than enough.

Fuerteventura, February 2024

3. Accommodation

Once we've booked our flights we'll take a proper look at the accommodation in the area we've earmarked. As always we use Booking.com and as we always leave property reviews, we're awarded Genius Points which give us discounts and special deals. If you use their App they'll often have lunchtime deals and exclusive offers.

Chania, April 2023

I add a few filters to my accommodation search - a private bathroom, a terrace or balcony and in a location 1km or less from our chosen part of town. I always search prices from low to high and always read the blurb carefully just to make sure that there's a kitchenette so we can prepare our fruit & yogurt breakfast and keep our beer cold. 

Puerto de la Cruz, December 2023

I read all the negative reviews as places are often marked down for silly reasons. The property we've chosen is awarded 7.6 out of 10 and the negatives are really silly ones - no lid for the saucepan, the tree outside is too big and the internet was slow. Someone even took exception to the owner of the property bringing them a welcome beer! People are very strange!

Athens, February 2023

I'll bore you with where we're going and what I'm taking closer to the time. In the meantime we've got Tony's birthday to celebrate and a night away somewhere a little nearer to home.

 

See you soon!