Travel essentials

You may remember that I'm not the best of travelers. I see photos of people jet-setting with impeccable hair and matching luggage and I wonder how they do it. It feels as though every time I travel, no matter the size of my carry on or handbag, I cram it full of stuff and end up exhausted from carrying it around and from trying to find anything in there. I have a friend who travels carrying his passport...in his pocket. Oh I wish I was that easy going! Unfortunately, this post does not relate to some revelation of how to travel light. Nope, it's just a little peak into what I always carry when I travel.

So...I cram all of this stuff into my bag: purse, kindle, sunglasses (don't want them to break in the checked baggage), passports, diary and travel wallet. I finally bought a cute travel wallet from Cath Kidston, and would highly recommend getting one, as it just keeps all your travel docs in one place. There are some gorgeous leather ones out there for a reasonable price tag, like this one from Asos. 

Of course I always print out my tickets / boarding pass before my flight and triple-quadruple check all the details.  

Things I also always carry are a couple of passport photos, as you never know when you might need one and of course my Oyster card if I'm heading over to Sunny England. Yes that Oyster card photo is glamorous, I know. Especially with the glittery star sticker. (Student days) I also for some reason manage to have an extra British Landing Card that I can complete before landing. You American and EU passport holders, I'm not sure you'd relate!

I don't own a very good smart phone (something I need to invest in...eventually), so I also use my Kindle to keep my travel itinerary and any important information, like phone and reference numbers, addresses, flight details etc. I find it very helpful since I don't need the internet to access this document, and you can send it to your Kindle either as a Word doc or PDF. I do also upload all my meetings, flights and travel information on to my Google Calendar, but I like having access to information easily and in one place. I haven't created a detailed itinerary for my trip this time, although I have done that before and found it very helpful to know what I needed to accomplish for when (I had about 3 days to visit four cities and make sure I got to my best friend's wedding on time!). I've heard of a lot of great apps that help with planning trips, so maybe when I get a smart phone I'll try those and see. For now I'll just have to rely on good ol' Microsoft Word! 

Of course I also take lip balm and if the flight is really long then some face cream to keep my skin moisturised. But that's pretty much it! What do you carry when you travel?

Sx

Delightful Souq Jara

First and foremost - Ramadan Kareem everyone! Fasting and non-fasting, I wish you a blessed month and not too many thirst induced hallucinations! *wink* 

There's a quaint Friday market just off of Rainbow Street called Souq Jara. It's open from sometime June-ish until late September, and attracts a mass of local handicraft groups, artists, chefs and trinket sellers who set up under colourful umbrellas and sell a variety of things. 

Louis and I have managed to go once a year since 2012 and we enjoy it more each time we go. I remember the first time I visited it I wasn't extremely impressed. I'm not the greatest fan of markets as it is and I felt this one was a little bit small, cramped and didn't offer many new or interesting things. However, I actually enjoy walking through the cobble stoned street and having a little nosey. What I like the most though is that a lot of stalls are run by women's organisations or groups who use the proceeds to further their individual causes and create better opportunities for their communities. It's nice to see local made products and help contribute to someone's life directly. 

We found ourselves in Souq Jara on Friday and it was the perfect opportunity to take some photos and share them with you. They've expanded the Souq to now include a separate food hall, which previously you could find in the main part of the market. Souq Jara is open for probably a couple more months and if you get a chance to go see it, I would recommend it :) 

Sx

Viewing spot from Rainbow Street of the Citadel.

A busy Rainbow Street.

Adorable key hangers.

Bees makin' honey.

Traditional Jordanian clothes.

Mosaic ceramics.

Show of hands if you ever owned one of these.

You can find the most random of things.

Vintage cameras.

Fell in love with these adorable binoculars.

More vintage cameras and other random stuff.

 

A life size Monopoly piece.

The food hall at the end of the market.

Spectacular view.

Christmas Wishlist

I know it's been a long time since I've done one of these posts, but, as Christmas is around the corner, it's a perfect excuse to make a wishlist! I always claim that I'm super duper easy to buy gifts for. A simple gift card from the right shop is enough to raise my spirits. 

So, here's my last (and pretty massive, I know) wishlist of 2013!

Sx

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Speaking of gift cards, you can't go wrong with an Amazon gift card. I would personally use it for Kindle books, stationary and some other pretty random things for the house.

I've had my Kindle for 2 years now and I can't go anywhere without it. My model is the one with the keyboard, so finding decent yet fun covers is a real struggle. I'm loving the idea of putting your Kindle in a chic envelope, or using this colourful birds cover to help spot it among the mess in my purse!

Envelope//Birds

I'm still vying for one of these CSC babies. Gorgeous colour.

From here.

Travelling in style is, unfortunately, not my style but I'm hoping to change that in 2014. Can't go wrong with a bright, leather travel wallet, to store all your essentials. I always carry my passport, itinerary, travel insurance details, important numbers and a few passport photos when I travel. They'd look a lot nicer in a wallet like this! 

Asos Premium.

It's winter again and Amman is getting cold. I've managed with staying warm by throwing on a coat until now but I'll soon need some heavy duties earmuffs and mittens to brave the weather. And who said earmuffs are only cool until the age of 4?!

Earmuffs//Mittens

Though it's the beginning of winter, I am a believer in looking ahead. Looking ahead in these oh so fetch Ray-Bans [I just watched Mean Girls, can't help it].

Fetch, non?

Last, but by no means least, a girl can dream in a little Tiffany bling :D

In case you're wondering, here & here.

 

Just ooooone more...

From here.

I have a *REALLY* addictive personality. For example, a few Christmases ago, a friend and I (this is our little secret) became obsessed with white chocolate Cadbury fingers. When I say obsessed, as in, we hunted them down in every super market we visited and I must've eaten about a trillion of those little pieces of white chocolatey yummies. Now, just the thought makes me feel a bit queasy. I ate so many, that I think I reached the set lifetime quota for an adult female.

This is true for many things. Nutella for example. I don't really like Nutella *collective gasp from the European continent, je sais*. I don't have crepes with Nutella, I don't eat toast with Nutella. I pretty much dislike the majority of hazelnut flavoured food stuff. However, about a year ago, for some unknown reason, I bought a jar of Nutella, unscrewed the lid and picked up a spoon. Approximately 7 jars later, I'd had enough. Again, can barely think of Nutella at the moment without feeling a teeny weeny bit of nausea.*

However, one of my few habits obsessions passions, that is here to stay is: SHOPPING. I love it. I can't help it. I could shop shop shop till I drop and still find new and more exciting things to "aim" for. I'd say I mastered shopping sometime between 2007 and 2010 - when I was living in Central London and Oxford Street was my best friend. I surprised myself once (ok I was actually proud) by noticing a woman's shoes on the Tube, guessing they were from Office and then confirming that my guess was indeed correct (and, of course I got them in my size, what do you take me for, an amateur?). 

I got that good.

I spent *a lot* of money on shopping during my time in the UK. Of course, it doesn't help when you work in the City and everyone around you looks like as if they're auditioning for "Suits". My wardrobe grew, and I am not ashamed to say that I loved and still love all of my clothes. Every piece, I bought after falling in love with it. Boy do I have a lot of capacity for love!

Anyhoo, when we moved to Jordan, I had to be very choosey about the clothes that I brought with me. Louis and I limited our luggage to 3 suitcases...between us! The rest of my clothes are neatly packed away in leafy Hertfordshire. Every once in a while, I wish I had a virtual wardrobe, you know, like the one that Cher had in "Clueless"? Well, I would love if someone would invent a virtual closet like that. Better yet, a wardrobe where I can look into my closet back in Sunny England and get my clothes delivered to me here...I guess kind of like a Narnia-wardrobe situation (and they used it to live as royalty - silly people!). I know it sounds crazy. 

The truth is, I miss my clothes. As in, every once in a while, I get the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach that you get for home sickness, but for my clothes, shoes and bags. 

Living in Jordan has made it easy for me not to go all cray-cray on buying clothes. First of all, the clothes here are like 1.5 - 2 times the price they are back in the UK. Sure, I can go find outlet shops, but that will just mean I re-start my addiction ahem, talent. Secondly, and this may be a controversial point, I feel that living in Amman kind of suffocates any expression through fashion that I may have. While back in England my go to daily work outfit was a dress, tights and waist belt, I haven't worn tights in God knows how long. And I don't intend to. I get enough hassle when I wear jeans, let alone "show" some leg. (feel free to read more here)

Going back to my original point, of having an addictive personality, I recently spent a week in Dubai (read: credit card havoc) where I allowed myself to go and buy a few essentials. I went to the mall on my second day there and, after buying a couple of tops and a pair of shoes, I calmly informed my brother that I was satisfied with my purchases and that I wouldn't be returning to the shops for the rest of my trip. 

He had to drive me to the mall 3 more times after that :D 

Love,

Sx

*current obsession is Butterscotch pudding (American definition). I give it 3 weeks.

**I'll post a separate entry with some of the things I bought from Dubai.