Currently Coveting: The Atollo Lamp

As I work to frantically put the finishing touches on my house before the holidays hit (Thanksgiving is early this year people!), I’m starting to get into the details. As I’ve said on the regular, I’m slow playing the design on this place because it will be our forever home. I’m trying to be extra diligent about only bringing in pieces I’ll still love in 20+ years (though exceptions can be made. Yes there is currently an Ikea dresser in my bedroom because even this closet can’t hold all my crap). With that must-love-forever goal in mind, I’ve created a wishlist of the pieces I want to have in this house. Currently on the tippy top – the classic Atollo table lamp.

This adorable little guy (or big if you get the large size) has been on my radar for quite some time. Created by famed Italian designer Vico Magistretti in 1977, this lamp was intentionally designed to stand the test of time. Made from gold-plated steel with chrome supports, I think the description from the lamp’s producer Oluce sums it up best: the Atollo is…”disconnected from the historical period and the fashions of the moment.” It’s just damn good. The end forever.

The lamp comes in four color ways; white, black and gold metal or opal glass, as well as three sizes ranging from 13″ to 27″ high. But really the only question is, should you invest in more than one?!

I’m currently plotting a potential home for my lovely little dream light. Some day she will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.

For more of my design crushes, CLICK HERE.

image sources 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

The post Currently Coveting: The Atollo Lamp appeared first on Apartment34.

from Apartment34

3 things it’s taken me 30 years to learn

Yes, that’s right, I’ve just turned 30. The big 3-0! I hit this big birthday milestone and quietly slipped out of my 20’s and clocked into my 30s at the start of October. I’m actually OK with turning 30. I remember when 30 sounded SO old and the only 30 year olds I knew were…

The post 3 things it’s taken me 30 years to learn appeared first on The Travel Hack.

from The Travel Hack

The Journey from Travel Enthusiast to Luxury Travel Blogger

It’s been nearly four years since I start my blog (four years? where has the time gone!) and what started as a hobby has grown to become a major part of my life. It’s foremost my passion and a labour of love but it has also become a full time career and one that I feel so lucky to have. My blog allows me to go out of my comfort zone, live out my dreams, make incredible memories that are preserved forever and pretty much live my best life.
In January 2015 on the one year anniversary I wrote a post about how and why I started SilverSpoon London but nearly three years on so much has changed!! I started writing a blog as part of another website to promote a freelance events planning business but I soon found out how much I loved writing it and decided to separate it off. I had rekindled my love for writing as someone who’d always enjoyed putting together short stories and had pursued a degree and masters in English Literature. I don’t know why I ever stopped but having a blog made me remember how much I loved it.

The first step was choosing a name and with my impending marriage to my Mr Silver, I wanted the name to reflect that. I brainstormed a list and remember so vividly Mr S coming home from work and me reading the list out to him. Silver Spirit….Silver Service…Silver Surfing…SilverSpoon…we looked at each other and knew that was the one. I didn’t even need to think about what my main topics would be. I’ve always been passionate about food; collecting cookbooks, scrape booking recipes, watching the food channel, working my way through a bucket list of restaurants – I basically felt about food the way some girls feel about fashion and beauty! Luxury travel being my other obsession, my blog would have a dual focus including lots of content on my home city of London.
I started on blogger using a basic theme which I enhanced with an Etsy template – I also had a logo designed by an etsy seller. With our big trip to Australia a year earlier and a more recent trip to Thailand, I already had some ideas for content to start working on. The photos were from an old camera and the blog was basic – but I loved it and it was mine. Joining social media channels was the next step with Twitter fast becoming my favourite and the place that I began to meet all my friends. I somewhat neglected Instagram (which I hugely regret now!) as it wasn’t the giant of social media that it is now!
And I was away!! Blogging about my holidays, my honeymoon, restaurants Mr S and I visited – producing as much content as possible and loving every minute of it. Soon I was invited to review restaurants, asked along to events and offered experiences whilst meeting more and more new friends along the way!

The next big step on my blogging journey was investing in my DSLR camera. This was turning into so much more than a hobby and a little creative space on the internet. Mr S and I  actually bought our Nikon D750 camera with our wedding money and we’ve since invested in different lenses and lots of apparatus.
There was a dramatic improvement in my photography and with that an increase in readership. What started as a passion and love for writing soon became married to a passion for photography and visuals. I’ve taken photography classes and workshops and while I’m still no where near where I want to be, I’m pretty proud of where I’ve got to having started as someone with no clue about photography.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

The next big step in taking my blog from more that a hobby to career was moving from the Blogger to WordPress. To my non-blogger readers, WordPress is a more professional platform that allows more flexibility in terms of functionality and design. It took a while to find the perfect person to work on this with me but when it was done I was so happy to reveal my new blog complete with a redesign and greater functionality. It was also the first time I’d ever had any help from an outside source for the blog, having prided myself on doing everything.

The relaunch happened about a year and a half after I started the blog and up until then I was still only blogging about personal holidays. I had my Australia trip, Thailand and honeymoon on there, several European trips and then my dream to to South Africa. I had had one or two press trip invitations but other circumstances meant I couldn’t attend them. When a trip exploring London and Paris with Renaissance hotels landed into my inbox, I couldn’t quite believe it! With an over night stay at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel before jumping on the EuroStar to spend the night at Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel it was an incredible adventure! As we rode around Paris in limos, sipping champagne and stopping at different Paris hotels I was pinching myself in disbelief that I’d been invited on this incredible trip owing to a little blog that I’d started myself but poured so much love into.
Fast forward to today and my blog has taken me to a luxury resort in Mexico, a private island in the Caribbean, a dream trip to Santorini, five star hotels, three Michelin star restaurants, on the Belmond Pullman Train and to the Glamour awards to name a few. I now work with brands who I love and have invested in for years before I had a blog such as Laurent-Perrier, Hakkasan Group, Four Seasons, American Express and British Airways. I’ve also made the national and international press as well as being on the front cover of a magazine!

Please don’t think I’m saying any of this to brag, I’m still pinching myself in disbelief that a silly little hobby that I started turned into so much more and has become an integral part of my life. It’s something I’ve worked tirelessly on from the moment I get up in the morning to when I go to bed at night and it’s all honestly been a dream come true. Today I continue to write about personal holidays as well as press trips and only accept sponsorships from brands I trust. My content remains as organic and authentic just as it was from the beginning. Above all I want to say a massive thank you to my readers who have stuck with me for nearly four years…you’re the best!!

For me blogging has been about so much more than press trips, sponsorships and restaurant invitations. I’ve made a group of friends who have become incredibly dear to me. Not a day goes by without a what’s app to my best blogging friends – we’ve come to rely on each other in so many ways and have become friends for life through our common hobby.
Lastly, I want to write about my personal journey through blogging. Despite my love of travel I’ve always been scared of going out of my comfort zone but blogging has made me conquer so many fears and face my anxiety and hang ups head on. Without blogging I’d have never ascended Table Mountain, gone in a helicopter, ridden a camel, stayed in the middle of the jungle. SilverSpoon London has been a huge part of my personal growth and in years to come, if I ever stop blogging I’ll remember how I got the courage to make those changes.
Starting and developing my blog really has been my greatest ever journey and I’ll alway remember the day I started – I only wish I’d taken the plunge sooner!

 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

The post The Journey from Travel Enthusiast to Luxury Travel Blogger appeared first on SilverSpoon London.

from SilverSpoon London

A Great Start in 2018 with the new Mini Cooper in Ice Blue

Come 2018, British luxury car, Mini Cooper launches the MINI Ice Blue special edition Cooper S Hardtop, and also consider giving your British automotive style icon an upgrade if it was the core 3-door Cooper S model

from LUXUO

17 Things to Do, Savor & Experience in November

“November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.”

― Clyde Watson

November is the middle child of the fall and holiday season it seems, and perhaps that is exactly as she prefers it because as the gaiety of October concludes with costumes and candy, all of a sudden we are plopped into November.

If you are like me, you revel in this quiet month, the gradual warm up to the holidays, the anticipation as well as gratitude that December isn’t here just yet as whether we want it to be or not, we aren’t quite ready for it.

November offers warmth as we seek it out more and begin our “snuggling in” season. The  wool scarves, hats and gloves come out of the closet, no more excuses to stay inside as the weather’s temperatures have decided that for. Now is the time for reading, dreaming, taking deep breaths and realizing how much the year of 2017 has brought into our lives as it becomes more apparent, more real, more . . . wow, 10 months have indeed already passed.

The pace of November is sweet with its leisure, steadiness and unassuming nature. As is the case, below I have compiled 17 things to enjoy doing, tend to to enhance the enjoyment and savor as we inch ever nearer to the grand finale of the year – December.

1. Take note of the goodness and the progress you’ve made over the past 10 months.

2. Give love to your local businesses with your time, purchasing of gifts, ordering ahead for special food items, etc.

3.Read a delicious book about food, Paris and dreams coming true . . . eventually

4. Watch a cozy mystery in the theater and be reminded of Agatha Christie’s brilliance

5.Finalize your itinerary for holiday travel and then let the journey take you where it may

6. Catch your breath and slow down, pamper yourself with a seasonal facial or favorite spa treatment, regroup and let yourself get excited about the upcoming holidays

7. Make a new recipe using seasonal fall produce

8. Seek out and add one item to your fall outerwear essentials that is the missing piece (a classic cashmere scarf, a pair of booties, a warm wool coat, a pair of slim, yet warm gloves)

9. Virtually be transported to New York City as you sit down and enjoy the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

10. Cozy up at your favorite bookstore or a new bookstore if traveling

11. Create a shopping list for the holidays: decide on things or experiences, items for the decor and gatherings, items you need that might go on drastic reduction with the upcoming holiday sales, etc.

12. Seek out your holiday stationery 

13. Hold fast to your health regimen: your workout for aerobic caloric burn, time for mindfulness and stretching to usher in the tranquility and regular strength exercises to maintain your metabolism. Your eating as well: eat moderately, savor, don’t be speedy.

14.Make soup, pick up (or make) fresh, crusty bread, stay in one weekend and invite a few friends over for a soup and sip afternoon gathering. Play board games (or pretend to play board games), relax and just enjoy their company before everyone steps into the holiday bustle.

15.Put the house (exterior, yard, sprinklers, etc.) to bed for the winter.

16. Remind yourself of all that is going well as often as you can remember to do so

17.Stock and prepare your travel tote for the upcoming trip or unexpected spur-of-the-moment opportunities to get away and enjoy a different destination separate from your everyday.

And with that, we are in November. Wishing you a most abundant, love-filled and ideally paced eleventh month of the year.

~SIMILAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~Why Not . . . Reduce Your Holiday Stress? 

~Why Not . . . Decorate For Autumn?

~Why Not . . . Prepare for the Holidays?

from The Simply Luxurious Life®

5 Crostini Toppings That Make Awesome Appetizers

Looking for the ultimate appetizer recipe? Give these crostini recipes a try. You'll love the variety of crostini toppings and flavors.

from Fine Dining Lovers

Esben Holmboe Bang at Food on the Edge 2017

Chef Esben Holmboe Bang, during a presentation at Food on the Edge 2017, explains how cutting the staff working work at his three Michelin starred...

from Fine Dining Lovers