Bucket List: Iceland

Where to go: Iceland in the winter. It's bitterly cold but so beautiful.

What you'll find: Fierce winds and spontaneous snow storms bit hopefully the Northern Lights too.

What to pack: Plenty of thermals and base layers. The days are short and nights long and the temperature can vary tremendously day-to-day. And of course your swimming costume if you're planning to visit the Blue Lagoon!

What to eat: Try to snag a table at Skál where they serve amazing Arctic Char.

Not to miss: Skip the phallological museum (not worth the ticket price) and spend more time outside. The geysirs, black sand beaches and waterfalls are free and absolutely breath-taking! If you have time, see the Sólheimasandur plane wreckage and Diamond Beach.

Bucket List: Hungary

Where to go: Budapest, Hungary (...in the winter!)

What you'll find: Bustling Christmas markets, a constant aroma of hot sugar, cinnamon and wine, peaceful side streets, friendly locals and beautiful architecture.

What to pack: Layers. Layers. Layers. They're key to keeping warm while exploring the city in the icy winter months. In general, we packed one pair of good quality boots, a couple of pairs of jeans, a large puffer jacket, hat, scarves, gloves, and a couple of long-sleeve jumpers and shirts. Oh, and don't forget your swimming costume, flip flops and towel if you're planning to visit the bathhouses!

What to eat: Firstly it's worth noting there's more to Hungarian food than goulash! Try langos (deep fried dough with sour cream and cheese), kürtőskalács (chimney cake dusted with sugar or cinnamon), töltött káposzta (stuffed cabbage), Dobos Torta (drummer cake) and wash it all down with a glass of palinka.

Where to stay: We stayed in Budapest's eight district (also known as Józsefváros), home to the Hungarian National Museum and the Natural History Museum. To visit the main attractions of 'Buda' and 'Pest', you'll have to learn your way around the public transport links (especially in the winter months where a long walk in the icy cold is the last thing you'd want to do). While you can make the occasional Christmas market pit stop, and stock up on 'hot wine', I would advise finding accommodation in the centre of Pest. 

Not to miss: The views from St Stephen's Basilica viewing platform. It's a steep climb (364 steps and then some) but is worth it for the beautiful panoramic views of the city. For an eerie feel, travel to Margaret Island where you'll find only the occasional runner, a 'mini zoo' and a restaurant named Hippie Island.

For The Love of Food

Foodie /ˈfuːdi/ (noun)

a person who is very interested in cooking and eating different kinds of food

We went to Budapest last month for five days to celebrate my 25th birthday. It was only when I returned home and looked at everything we'd done that I realised for the first time ever I made a 'food-to-try while in Hungary' list. The list included all the popular Hungarian foods (minus the goulash and other meat dishes) but included amazing food like langos and kürtőskalács (e.g. chimney cake and yes, had to Google the spelling!)

Granted, the list was by no means exhaustive but rather a couple of the main foods to try while in Budapest. Langos was absolutely fantastic but gave me a bit of brace bother and chimney cake was incredible while palinka was a little too strong for me!

Like many others, for me food is a big part of my travelling experience, even if I've never actually thought about it in that way. Looking back at my photos from every holiday, at least one third of my photos are those of food we've ate, restaurants we've visited, markets and stalls we've browsed and restaurant decor I've loved. Food is a common thread throughout all of our travels so, on this realisation, I thought it was appropriate to start documenting this love of food.

Very fancy goulash in Budapest

Burgers in Manchester 

Canapes in Newcastle

Brownies in Edinburgh

A quiet Bill's in Glasgow

Baba in Naples

Pizza in Rome

Denny's in Florida (our favourite!)

England — home — and a little me and my gingerbread kids

A Graduation Layout Using Gossamer Blue Kits

Hi! Today I'm sharing yet another layout I made using cards and embellishments from the Gossamer Blue September and August kits.

I used a piece of white A4 card as the base and experimented with lots of layering and I love the effect it gives. All the cards used were from the September Kit, but I included a 'so this happened' cardstock embellishment which came in the August kit, a Freckled Fawn wood veneer piece which reads 'happy', and a gold bow clip which came in the September kit. The 'learn' definition was a stamp which came in the September kit also and I just think it was so perfect for this page!