Jet Setting Fabulously

Post London to Atlanta flight

The picture I instagrammed and tweeted

Traveling clothes for my flight from BWI to ATL

Landed in Atlanta!

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted anything new, but I've been busy busy busy! I travelled back stateside to spend some time with my family and watch both my father AND my brother graduate. My father received his masters from Georgetown, and two days later my brother received his BA from Morehouse College. I was back Stateside for 5 days, but it felt like much longer. I flew into Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon, went to dinner with my brother and father Tuesday night then flew to Washington DC on Wednesday morning. As soon as I touched down I drove to Virginia where I had a tasting with the caterer for the wedding then off to a happy hour with my mother and aunty. Thursday I spent most of the day in a Bobbi Brown masterclass before heading to another happy hour with my father's Georgetown classmates. Friday morning I watched my dad receive his masters before jet setting back to Atlanta where I attended my brother's baccalaureate, helped my mom run a trunk show, watched my brother graduate and headed back to the airport to fly back to London. I tweeted a picture of myself when I touched down in Atlanta talking about my jet lag. I didn't look nearly as tired as I was...thank God. I got a few requests on how I managed to look refreshed right off a nine and a half hour flight. So...here are my tips for keeping it fresh when you feel like crap!

1. Stay hydrated! I cannot emphasize this enough. I drank 2 liters of water on the plane. Yes, I had to get up to pee like 100x but I didn't feel like a dry corpse when I touched down at my destination either. This is important not only for your skin and well being, but also because flying causes bloat which water will flush right out! Who wants to look like Kirby when they step off the plane?! Not me!

2. Don't forget to stretch your legs and walk around. This is so important for health and vanity reasons. You're actually supposed to get up every 30 minutes or so to avoid blood clots. I usually get up every hour or after a movie. Getting up will also keep your ankles and feet from swelling from the immobility for so many hours! 

3. Pack cleansing facial wipes in your carry on. I don't care how much water you drink or how many little walks you take up and down the aisle on that plane, you will still feel dirty when you land. I keep my Simple facial cleansing wipes in my tote and wipe down my face when they finally announce we're descending. I don't wear makeup on long flights (I look like a hot, oily mess when I land if I do), so no worries about leaving a streak of mascara down my cheek!

4. Wear comfy but chic clothing. I always wear leggings, a jersey top and flats when I travel. That is my travel uniform. I can avoid pat downs (unless of course my underwire sets the metal detector off...I mean really?!) and breeze through security in this outfit. I keep jewelry to a minimum...watch and earrings. All other jewelry I keep in my carry on and put on when I get through security if I want some more. I like traveling in my Toms because they're comfortable, but super easy to slide on and off. I ALWAYS bring an oversized sweater since the plane is typically freezing. It's nice to be able to just throw something on to keep warm. I hate those blankets they give you. I can't be convinced they're really clean...

5. Touch up when you touch down. Once I arrived at my destination I dabbed a little concealer under my eyes and applied a few strokes of mascara. Despite my best efforts, I needed a little help keeping my eyes looking big when I got to baggage claim!

Well those are my travel trips to live by. Nothing really complicated or groundbreaking. Mostly common sense.

What are some of your travel rituals?

Madrid: Tapas and a Dinner Date

If I felt guilty about the hot chocolate and churros I threw down on Monday, I certainly worked it off on Tuesday. I walked around literally all day long. I used to think my favorite leopard print Manolo flats were comfortable...no longer. I walked to the Calle Via which was filled with shops and restaurants.

I decided to try some tapas for lunch since I was in Spain after all. I ventured into a tapas restaurant and ordered 3 single plates for myself assuming this would be more than enough. My first plate was grilled shrimp which I did not realize would be looking at me when it arrived. I'm used to my shrimp being beheaded and deveined, but I guess that's not the Spanish way. Despite my initial shock, I took apart the shrimp and took a few bites. I was pleasantly surprised by the light but flavorful shrimp.

I feel like they were asking me not to eat them.

My second plate was fried baby squid. Thankfully, it didn't come walking out on its own. It was a little too greasy for taste, however, so I ended up peeling a lot of the breading off.

My last plate was veal and brie on a slice of roasted bread that was too die for. The meat was really tender and full of flavor and the brie complemented it perfectly.

After browsing a few more shops, I headed back to the hotel to rest and watch more news. My hunny got done a little early so we went to a cute little restaurant recommended by the concierge. I wore black skinny jeans and a black kimono top (yeah I know again...) with some statement jewelry. The restaurant was a French-Spanish fusion and the food did not disappoint. Lucky for me, my hunny is fluent in Spanish and translated the menu and ordered my food for me.

Me and my hunny.

Cheers! 

 Overall, Madrid was beautiful, but I was more than ready to get back to London and get settled into my new home!

Madrid: Day 1

Someone obviously didn't approve of the nudity displayed in the artwork.

Literally a few days before I was set to fly to London, my hunny calls to tell me has to go to Madrid the same day. Little did I know I too would have a ticket just a few hours later. As much as I wanted to complain about having to fly from Washington D.C. to London to Madrid in such a short time frame, I realized that I should just embrace my new jet setter lifestyle and suck it up. Besides, who complains about seeing a city they've never seen before!?!

I arrived in London completely jet lagged with just enough time to see my new home, shower, unpack, repack and head back to Heathrow. Being the little fashion whore I am, I had already planned out what I would wear for the two and half days in Madrid. I figured I would be walking the city most of the day so I brought two or my favorite pairs of flats and called it a day. It wasn't exactly as warm as I thought it was going to be when I landed, so my awesome fits were covered up by my leather jacket both days. (womp womp)

Anyway, I spent most of Monday morning sipping the most amazing coffee I've ever had in my life and watching the only channel on TV that wasn't dubbed in Spanish. (Al Jazeera of all channels!) I finally grew tired of hearing all the awful things going on in the world, so I got dressed and asked the concierge for directions to the bus tour I was interested in taking. His directions were awful and I had no idea where I was going so I ended up walking past two stops before finally getting a ticket and hopping on the bus. I should also mention that I speak exactly 5 phrases of Spanish. I can also count to 100. I didn't want to be the ignorant American being pissed off that no one spoke English, but trying to buy that ticket was comical. It was mainly me yelling "billet" at the cashier only to remember that that's the french word for ticket, not Spanish. I ended up just pointing at the bus tour brochure and shouting "una dia" instead. I wanted to see old Madrid, but because I speak no Spanish and the man spoke no English, I got on the line for new Madrid. What an adventure this was already! I got to see some really awesome "new" architecture, the financial district, upscale shopping areas, and diplomat homes. I also saw a bunch of TGI Fridays, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds and Starbucks...

Fridays? Seriously?

After riding around and hopping on and off the bus a few times I decided it was time to see old Madrid and learn about the history of the city. This was the real Madrid that people want to see. I spent a few hours on a tour at the Palace Real which was lovely for the most part. Some of those rooms were just downright tacky though. Nothing like Versailles, but I digress. I ventured into a cafe and got hot chocolate and churros that were to die for. I don't think I can ever drink Swiss Miss again at this point. I wanted to walk around the gardens, but the flowers hadn't yet began to bloom so it was mostly just greenery. (boring) As cultured as I wanted to be, my eyes finally started glazing over, so I decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. (More news! yay!)

My favorite part of the trip was the bathroom lighting and towel warmer. (kidding?)

Is this a Spanish thing? I mean really? Are we Ricky and Lucy Ricardo? 

The jet lag definitely made me a little loopy.

The balcony from out hotel room at the Intercontinental.

Breakfast of Champions.

All black as usual. Had to add a little neon for a POC!

Finally made it to the bus. Seriously how awesome is that Tarte lip stain though? I need every color.

Palace Real 

Fit for a queen

Some cathedral - I was getting tired and kind of stopped listening.

Overall, Day 1 in Madrid was exciting and beautiful. I made it the entire day without getting lost, and that was really my only goal outside of seeing some really cool sights.