5 Things Friday
My essential travel item, new holiday inspired recipes, a fave new SPF, and the must-have heatwave dresses... read on for all the inspo this week
Hello Friends and welcome to a new month. I feel like it’s been ages since I tapped away on my keyboard having a chat with you all. I took last week off from posting to give myself a breather and switch off, so I could completely relax while I was on holiday. We had a week island-hopping in Greece before heading over to Kalkan in Turkey, which, as you know, is one of my favourite places. It was blissful. I’ve just finished writing up my review, which will be in your inbox this Sunday as an extra post for paid subscribers.
Well, after such a lovely holiday, it was back to reality with a 3am landing on Sunday morning, and back to work Monday. I love my holidays and usually suffer with the post-holiday blues, but with the gorgeous weather we’re having, getting back to routine hasn’t been too bad. So, grab a coffee, and let’s catch up with what’s been on my mind this week.
1. Packing cubes have changed my life!
Okay, that’s probably a slight exaggeration, but my holiday packing was made ten times easier with the addition of packing cubes. Plus, getting home, unpacking, and getting everything sorted, took far less time thanks to some key organisation. I had a few concerns about how I would manage the packing for this holiday.
We had five destinations (some just for one night), and I did not want to unpack my case until our final week. I needed a plan to ensure I wasn’t having to search for stuff in my suitcase each night and having to repack every morning. I sorted everything into groups, so beachwear, evening outfits, shoes etc, and then into the packing cubes. This meant that I could easily locate everything in my case, and easily remove items without disturbing the piles. When it came to unpacking, the whole process was a lot quicker and easier to do.
Shoes, jewellery and accessories were quickly back in their places. I washed all my holiday stuff first and repacked it back in the cubes, so items like swimwear and beach clothes are back in a suitcase and waiting for the next holiday. Items that I intend to wear now that I’m home are all hanging in the wardrobe.
The worst bit for me about coming home is staring at a pile of laundry and having stuff in the wrong place. Getting sorted and put away within a few hours of getting home helps me to feel on top of everything and ready to get back to work.
2. Recreating the taste of Greece
Oh my goodness, one of the highlights of our week in Greece was the food! Everything tasted so fresh and delicious and has inspired us to recreate some of the dishes now we’re back home. Mr A is the main cook in our house, (the best thing to come out of the covid lockdown) and regularly whips up homemade hummas (recipe here) and greek lemon lamb on the bbq. My favourite dishes while we were away were Gigantes Plaki (butter beans in a rich tomato sauce) and Prawn Saganaki, as well as all the fresh fish we ate.
The girls gave him this book for Father’s Day which he loves, and a good follow on Instagram is TheVeryHungryGreek.