When I say I’ve moved a lot, I’m not exaggerating. I moved almost every year of my childhood and then at 18 became a vagabond in which I lived all over the world for the next 6 years (out of two suitcases which made packing rather easy). In 1999 I immigrated to America and have since lived in 13 homes in 4 states – packing up everything from a studio flat to a house. And whilst in Ireland last month, I learned my Carmel by the Sea home had been damaged by storms and had to come back and pack up what was left and move out quickly.
I was asked by Apartment Therapy, San Francisco to do a home tour of my Carmel by the Sea home. Since I love the site and their home tours, I said yes! Unfortunately, I said yes during a really difficult period for Carmel.
We were hit with severe storms which often left me without power, destroyed a lot of the town, and made the city dark almost 24/7. It left me with little light to photograph and because of damage my flat kept sustaining, left me out of it entirely.
Storm after storm hit until finally the damage to my home and things was so severe that it became unlivable and I had to move out.
Because I never finished photographing my home and because there isn’t anything left to take photos of now, I told Apartment Therapy I wouldn’t be able to participate in their house tours. They liked enough of what they saw any way and recently ran, Alex’s Carmel House Home Tour” on their site.
Although I’d only been in the home a few months and had really only planned to be in it short term, it was interesting to look back on it after the storm and seeing that, despite the lack of time, I made a home. Which proves you don’t need to put in a lot of effort or things to make something hygge. You just need spirit.
Travelling has been a way of life for me since I was 18 and I still spend more than half the year living out of a suitcase. Needless to say, I’ve learned what kind of luggage does – and doesn’t – work for weekend getaways or month long trips.
Generally speaking, I travel with a carry on that contains everything and a light bag/purse (the big green one above, generally) for reading materials, wallet/passport and snacks. If the trip is longer or more involved, I take a carry on, a checked bag and a purse. The luggage has been set for years now so if I want to change my mood I just change my purse. But having a set of luggage that I can count on, ready to go at any moment has completely changed travel for me. And because I believe in buying once and my luggage takes such a beating that I really need to have the best.
And what do I consider the best? Victorinox by far.
I’ve decided to spend a couple of days in London (Knightsbridge) starting tomorrow (Sunday) through Tuesday. I’ve been to London many, many times so I am not in any hurry to rush around the city or see any particular sites. I’m actually more inclined to just take it slow (something I’ve never been good at in London) with lots of walking, some work, tea drinking and checking out the new food scene – so many gluten free places especially.
If anyone has any particular places they love or things to do, let me know as between all of you and Girls Guide to City Life, London I’m sure I’ll have things to do.
I’ll be sharing all my Irish finds hopefully this week – and there are a lot. In the meantime you can follow along via my Photos on Flickr.
Chocolate. Such a nice word, isn’t it? Dark Chocolate – even better. When it’s good it’s oh so good but when it’s bad it can turn people off forever as it did me when I was younger. It wasn’t until my early twenties when I lived in New Zealand and went to a chocolate factory I really started to appreciate chocolate. And if I thought it was good in New Zealand, you can imagine how I felt when I finally went to a chocolate shoppe in Belgium than France!
My only bit of chocolate snobbery is that it must be high-quality, junk free chocolate. This is due mostly becuase of taste preference although since I am allergic to gluten, I can’t have most chocolate that is flavoured or mixed with things.
And what are my favourites? I thought you’d never ask.
The Danish word Hygge (hugh-gah) is a feeling or mood that comes from taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary everyday things simply extraordinary.
It’s about being conscious and authentic from home to work to friends to celebrations to the every day tasks. Hygge can be used to describe a lot of things in a lot of ways.
My favourite? Simple, cosy, charming. That's what I hope to share here.
By the way, I'm alex (
