Friday 17 April 2015

Weekly wisdom #7


Oddly, it's often when the end goal is most tantalisingly within our grasp that the motivation to just keep going is the hardest to maintain. If you're in the thick of essays and exams, or just want summer to hurry up already, I feel ya! But now's not the time to give up on yourself. Today: Don't stop, get it get it. 

Sunday 12 April 2015

This week I'm lovin'


Run-of-the-(tread)mill gyms aren't for me. Exercise has always played a huge, fundamental part of my life, it's just I've never seen gym membership as a prerequisite to staying active. This isn't to say there's anything inherently wrong with them at all - I appreciate they totally are for some people - but up to now I've personally associated fitness centres with repetitious rows of uninspiring, colourless machines and testosterone-fuelled grunting in the weights area. All of which kinda detracts from the pure, unmitigated glee and sense of wellbeing I otherwise equate physical activity with. It is - or at least should be - fun


Saying that, I'm always open to trying out fresh fitness hangouts, all the more so when they profess a new approach to habitual gym monotony. Enter 1Rebel: the self-proclaimed "new face of fitness". Far from the soul-destroying, intimidating set-up of many a fitness counterpart, their no-contract workout "boutiques" are inspiring, friendly and certainly induce those all important positive endorphins. And that's before you start on the health haunt's faultless interior (those changing rooms!) and on-site Roots & Bulbs cold-pressed juice bar. Needless to say, this week's hip-hop/R&B themed "Ride 'n' Grind" group spin session left me in the highest spirits possible. Turns out, not all gyms are created equal. 

Friday 3 April 2015

A visual diary: 5 days in Amsterdam


Coffee, culture, design, travel, (really) good food; there's not much more needed to plant a bigger smile on my face. No surprise, then, that my fresh lil trip to beautiful Amsterdam - accompanied by my equally beautiful soul cousin Ellen - was pretty hard to top.


Five days filled with five of our favourite things, in uncannily likeminded company, was exactly the relaxin' remedy required to push us through our holiday workloads and remind us that there's always a very nice light at the end of the uni tunnel. 







With the unsurpassably cool Volkshotel as our beloved base - couldn't big it up enough - and adopting the "traveller not tourist" mantra throughout, we more than happily accepted our self-set mission to hit upon all the off-the-tourist-beaten-track gems we could manage, together fashioning a tailor made trip that got us springing out of our (impeccably designed) bed each morning.








Usually kickstarting with a quick jog around the local park and side streets, our days - as is proper, in my books - were structured around a foodie/coffee schedule which more or less looked like: coffee > breakfast > coffee/tea > lunch > coffee/tea > dinner. Some say excessive, I prefer gastronomically curious (the gorgeous eateries and caffeine hang-outs are pretty innumerable). Of course, not without slotting in a spot of sightseeing, culture jaunts and retail treasure hunting, too! 









Rather than drag ya through every (Amster)damn day, I've forged a petite but sweet list of particularly lovely spots - which I guess functions as an informal mini guide - should you ever find yourself in the darlin' Dutch capital. Scroll down if you fancy! 







The accommodation:

♥ Places we went and loved 
EYE (film institute)
Foam (photography museum)
Jordaan district

*photos ft. me were taken by Ellen McNeelance, all others mine!*