Kisses & Beach Hair

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Summer temperatures seem to finally be here to stay! There’s not much better than putting on something simple for a beach day. It’s the best feeling to only grab your swimming suit and a solid cover up. Pair it with an eye-catching necklace and you’re good to go! Some sunglasses and a sand-proof bag easily complete the look. Longchamp pulls through again with their easy-to-clean, brightly colored Le Pliage totes. Bring on the sun!

Weekend Moments: Instagram Version

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The beautiful assortment of Sixlets at The Emporium at Thanksgiving Point.
The best sort of package that arrived Saturday morning! Love Franco Sarto!

This amazing, cute guy scaled the face of a mountain because he can.

Miss B had a horrible Saturday afternoon.

Loved Sunday dinner! It was so summery and delicious.
Hope your weekend was fabulous–bring on this week, right? Challenge: do something adventurous!

Explore: Picnic in the Park

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Map by Anastasiia Kucherenko
One of our absolute favorite activities in London was packing a picnic and riding to Hyde Park for the afternoon. We could easily spend an entire Saturday exploring the expansive park! We generally followed one of three itineraries, which were based on tube stop.
1. High Street Kensington: As you are exiting the tube station, be sure to stop at Ben’s Cookies for quite possibly the most delectable cookie in London. Our favorites? Triple chocolate chunk, milk chocolate chunk, lemon and  peanut butter. We generally buy the tin of 4 or 8 (oops) because we can never pick just one each! 
After exiting the station, turn right and walk along Kensington High Street for a bit and you’ll see the most beautiful Whole Foods in the whole world. It’s three levels of brightly colored, gorgeous eats that will make you want to sample everything! Like most Whole Foods locations, there is a perfect salad bar, a hot food bar, and thousands of other choices. We’d pack our faves (in our Whole Foods reusable bag of course) and walk across the street to the park. Kensington Palace is visible along the way. No biggie though, right?
2. Hyde Park Corner: Hyde Park Corner (bottom yellow arrow) seems like the obvious choice and in a lot of ways, it absolutely is. You may want to grab your food beforehand (if this is your tube stop of choice) because since it’s so close to the park, there’s not many options. A ten-minute walk down Piccadilly finds a Marks & Spencer, Pret a Manger and several other quick options. Hyde Park is extremely convenient for finding a Barclays bike. There is a large row of bikes just outside the station inside the park. It sort of facilitates finding the perfect picnic spot. 
3. Marble Arch: This station (top yellow arrow on map) has so many more options than the other two because of its location. There are fast food options, a larger grocery store (Marks & Spencer) and if you travel up Edgware Road, you can find great Lebanese food shops. The north side of the park is probably my favorite thanks to the Italian Gardens. Definitely have a visit! You won’t be disappointed.
Isn’t London the best? 

Destinations: Prague – Day 1

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This trip was unparalleled by any place I’ve yet to visit! Sure Prague is beautiful, breathtaking, historical and inspiring, but at the beginning of February, it’s simply…frigid.
My roommate and I traveled from London to Prague on discount airline (grad school budget), WizzAir, which was surprisingly adequate. Tip: We saved quite a bit by flying in the late evening!
Upon arrival, we took a cab to our hotel and were able to see the gorgeous city lights. Did I mention it was already five degrees below zero at this point? Fahrenheit.
The next morning we set out to explore the city. We had both packed our cutest, winter outfits in preparation for the single digit temps, but once we experienced what 5 degrees actually felt like, fashion objectives went out the frozen window. Therefore, we wore every single item of clothing we brought. Literally. At any given moment I was wearing thermals, jeans, four pairs of socks, leggings, three shirts and my coat.
We walked out of the hotel to start our day and three minutes later, my makeup was gone. My eyes started watering uncontrollably due to the freezing temperatures! We found a Sephora, fixed the problem and were off! Or so we thought. Thirty minutes later we were inside H & M buying sweaters and more socks.
We took the funicular to the top of Petrin Hill and on our way to the Observation Tower, we made a pit stop at the perfectly manicured playground. It was full of modernly-designed equipment–most of which we had no idea how to enjoy, but it was a fun-filled ten minutes!
After the 299-step journey up the Observation Tower (also worth the effort!), we sprinted toward the Mirror Labyrinth. This was absolutely worth the small entrance fee ($2.50) and though it is advertised as a kids’ attraction, we loved the experience. Who doesn’t love a good maze that encourages one’s vanity?
We  finished the day by wandering to Old Town Square to see the beautiful Astronomical Clock. Once we entered the square, it was as if the cold disappeared. The colors and architecture were exquisite and captivating enough to take our minds off the cold. Definitely spend the few dollars to go up the tower–the views are well worth it. The warm colors of Prague complemented the sunset magically!