Milan

Hello! 
As you will know if you follow my Instagram, I am now back from my travels and settling into Denmark again. I adore being away, but there really is nothing like climbing into your own bed on a night! After such a hectic few weeks away, I have been treating myself to quite a few late mornings and pyjama days, but I am refuelled and ready to make the most of the couple of weeks I have left of my time off! 
Anyway, as I mentioned previously, I have been on a mini European road trip, starting here in Denmark and snaking my way down to the French Riviera. Our first stop (and by first stop, I mean the first place I had time to explore/hang out/take blog pictures) was Milan. I was SO EXCITED to be back in Italy again after spending some of my summer in Rome and Levanto in 2013. Italy just seems to have such a warm, friendly vibe compared to so many other places I have been. The great weather, amazing food and beautiful surroundings may have something to do with that though…

We spent around two days in Milan, wandering, shopping and sightseeing. Our first day took us to Duomo Di Milan, an absolutely amazing building. Everything is so intricate and delicate yet on such a big scale! I must admit, seeing the Duomo was the highlight of Milan for me. We didn't buy tickets to go inside the church (but we luckily got a glimpse of this on our way out anyway. If you take the lift up to the ‘roof’ but take the stairs down you get to briefly see inside too) but instead chose to go to the top, where I spent a good while admiring the gorgeous views and incredible architecture before forcing asking Ellie to take some outfit photos for me. A large majority of the time my blog photos are taken by Ellie to be honest, so if you read this Ellie (And I know you will ) THANK YOU. Sorry for making you take photos of my sunglasses in the blistering heat. 
The rest of the day was spent shopping on Milan's main shopping street. Unless you go to Copenhagen, it is quite difficult to find stores like & Other Stories, Zara and Sephora when in Denmark , especially all in one place, so I made the most of the opportunity! I also popped into Pull & Bear before heading to the Duomi Di Milan and picked up the leopard print belt I am wearing for €8.00. You may start to notice in the coming months that I have a growing love/obsession with leopard print that may or may not be getting out of control. Whenever I see anything remotely leopard-y I get the strangest, strongest urge to buy it right that second, and that is exactly what happened with this belt. I had been looking for a belt to wear with my black midi shirt dress from Monki anyway, and I knew that this would help pull my look together. I'm repping Monki quite a bit in this post actually as that's where my blue lens sunglasses are from too. I couldn't not buy them when I saw the different colours shine through their pearlescent frames! 

The next day, we decided to visit Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the most beautiful arcades filled with cafes, bars, restaurants and, of course, shops. They lay just off the Piazza Del Duomo. Everything looked incredible (and by everything, I do also mean the handbags in Prada, as well as the amazing glass roof and the paintings on the walls).  We then left to do more exploring and to get some lunch. Going to Italy and France seems to have sparked a new (though I feel it may be short-lived) love of iced coffee and I have not yet found somewhere to get iced coffee here in Aarhus that's quite as good as it was in Milan! I also had the loveliest smoked cheese, pesto and aubergine baguette that I think might of been one of my favourite sandwiches in the world. That night, we went back to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele for our last meal in Milan, tucking into mushroom risotto and seafood pastas before getting some sleep in preparation for the long drive we had waiting the next day. 

I should have 3 more travel posts coming soon, from Cannes, St Tropez and then Luxembourg, and I cant wait to show you more of my little adventures! I have some gorgeous pictures to share with you. I hope you are doing well and have had a lovely few weeks! 

Bethany x

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Invaluable

Time seems to be flying past me once again. I arrived back in Denmark around a week ago now and, since then, the days have been zipping past me! I am trying to be productive and give myself projects and things to work on, but more important things (ie. sitting in my pyjamas and watching Made In Chelsea or sunning myself in the garden) are getting the better of me. I suppose that is what the summer is for though!
On the night I arrived back in Denmark it was actually Sankt Hans, a celebration of Midsummer's Eve. It is marked by burning a 'witch' on a bonfire to keep away evil forces. Seeing fires lit up and down the beach was so beautiful and reminded me just how lucky I am to live where I do. 
I had missed being by the sea, so slipping back into what feels like my natural habitat was wonderful. It was also a great reintroduction back into Scandinavia for my Grandmother, who has travelled back from England with us to take a holiday out here and do some thorough catching up. 

Living right next to a beach is such a dream. I love the freedom of being able to pop down whenever I want and have my feet in the sand in a matter of seconds. The weather has only just started being consistently warm and sunny in the past few days, and these photos were taken when it was a little cooler and cloudier. I prefer being on the beach in that kind of weather compared to full sun, maybe because I don't have to worry about sunburn or the amount of freckles threatening to take over my face. It also means the beach is much quieter so it gives Ziggy the chance to run around, dig her nose in the sand and paddle in the sea. The beach is her favourite place to be and you can guarantee that within minutes of arriving she will be burying her face into the ground and kicking sand around her. I feel like these photos only display a fraction of her true excitement!

When the weather isn't quite so warm my go to cardigan is this grey slouchy one, ie. the fluffiest, cosiest cardigan ever. I do have a slight confession to make though- This cardigan isn't even mine- It actually belongs to Ellie and I steal it at every given opportunity. Aaaah the joys of being a twin. Obviously the clothes stealing works both ways, and many a dress/jumper/top has managed to slip onto her clothes rail. Its quite a good system really, as it means I can always borrow one of her many striped tops and she can always come to me for jewellery or a jazzy shirt. Our saviour is that we don't have the same shoe size as I imagine that would cause some problems (she wears very nice shoes).
I also got my hands on a little leopard print shirt when I was back in the UK. I had wanted one for AGES and I couldn't believe it when I stumbled across this one in Primark for 3. It also vaguely reminds me of the Greta Blouse by Collectif, a blouse I have lusted after for quite a while!

Recently, I received an email from the lovely people of Invaluable, an online auction marketplace. They asked me to share the story of some meaningful jewellery that I own as part of a project they are running, and I couldn't resist giving you all a peek into my collection, so I jumped at the chance! 

I only have one piece of jewellery that I wear every day without fail, and that is my ring. If you pop over to my blog every now and again, you'll have seen it cropping up in my posts and, though I've only been in possession of this ring for about 4 months, it is my most treasured trinket. It first belonged to my Grandma, who then gave it to my Mum, who then gave it to me. I remember being little and admiring the rings stacked up on her hand as we baked coconut cake or whisked up pancakes but this ring was always my favourite. I love how the stones have been made to look like tiny stars through the engraving and the thicker band. It also happens to fit me perfectly and is constantly on my finger, no matter what.

When  Invaluable contacted me about this project they said that 'Jewelry is timeless and carries memories along with us, and that is something to be celebrated'. It was this that made me want to take part the most, as this ring will not only hold the experiences that I have, but also holds the memories that my Mother and Grandma have made whilst wearing it. I think that really is the magic of vintage. Every time the piece finds a new owner or is worn by someone new, a little bit of personality rubs off onto the item. I suppose this is sometimes through a scratch or a rip or an imperfection, but often it's not visible at all and adventures of the past are stored. Having something that reminds me of the women of my family, especially when I'm further away from home, is really special and it not only means I'm carrying memories and experiences but my loved ones around with me.

Another favourite of mine are my beautiful Les Nerides earrings. I bought them whilst in Paris last July, whilst having a wonderful day exploring the city and shopping with my Mum. I had admired Les Neriedes online for quite some tim, though had never had the chance to see them in the flesh, but I came across the counter whilst in Galeries Lafayette (I swear it is the most beautiful store in the world) and fell in love.  Everything from Les Neriedes is so delicate, detailed and feminine and although it is a little pricey for costume jewellery, it is 100% worth it. Whenever I look at them I see Paris and remember wandering around the streets of the Jewish quarter, my trip to Laduree and a hilariously bad run-in with a cheese fondue. 

I still have so many pictures from Paris I haven't shared on here! I couldn't resist adding a few into this post to try and give you an idea of what those earrings remind me of. 

I treasure my Vivienne Westwood pieces too, as I do with the rest of my V.W collection, but other than that, I love all my jewellery equally. I have a little collection of secondhand jewellery that was picked up on my travels growing ever so slowly (hopefully I can add to it on my upcoming trip to the south of France!). I also have a few bits from my family like the atomic brooch with green stones ( it was my Mum's in the 80s) and my purple Swarovski ring from my sister, Leah, as well as some little bits I've picked up here and there like my enamel Rose necklace from Poorboy Boutique and the Red and diamante costume ring that I thrifted in Rome. Whenever I wear that ring all I can think of is Clam Spaghetti and how Italians may be the warmest, friendliest people on earth (and also how I will be heading to Milan for a couple of days soon, eeeek!).
I've been packing for the last few days too. As I mentioned, I'm going on Holiday for a while, driving down to Cannes and making stops in Germany, Italy and Switzerland to name a few. I am SO EXCITED to be having a little road trip again and I'm going to quite a few places I have never ever visited before, which only adds to the excitement. I hope I can share my travels with you through my Instagram and then my blog when I get back, I should have a whole lot of exploring to show you!
I hope you're enjoying the hot weather we seem to be having at the minute (at least where I am!) and have been having a lovely few weeks.  Do check out Invaluable if you can, even if just to have a little look at all the treasures on the site. There really are some beautiful things on there, from jewellery lots to antique toys. Well worth a peek! Thanks to Invaluable for the help and letting me be part of the Project.
Bethany x

More posts for the Invaluable project:
Rose and Vintage (one of my favourite blogs, Ellie is such a wonderful writer! )
In Any Direction
Run Baby Run
Alexie RicRac

See Invaluable and their gorgeous jewellery here. You won't regret it!

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