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Travel diaries – Protecting your Jewellery on holiday.

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Hey lovelies, I thought I would share this  blog post following my own experiences when traveling with jewellery.

Jewellery definitely adds something special to holiday outfits. However, I was quick to learn that if you do not take care … you could end up in a hot tangle.

1. Store your jewellery in a small bag or pouch when travelling. This somewhat minimises tangling.

2. If your idea of a good holiday involves laying on the beach soaking up the sun. You may want to consider taking off all  jewellery in the sun as they can get pretty heated.  This will also reduce the chances of any unsightly tan lines.

3. Avoid exposing your jewelleries to sun lotion, chemical and salt water.  This can speed up the oxidation process. No body lies tarnished jewellery.

4.  Finally, should you decide to travel with your priced gems, be sure to use the safety deposit box , if this is available in your hotel room.

Thanks for reading to the end.  Please feel free to leave any further suggestions on ways to protect jewellery when on holiday in the comments box below.

Connect with me @ ijaykheavens

✌&❤

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel Diaries

How to get a hotel upgrade!

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If you have been following my blog you will know that I recently got back from a very lovely holiday.  I really did my best to take everyone with me on this trip by uploading lots of pictures and keeping you all updated on my movements.  Sharing is caring and you can thank me later.😋😋😋

If you missed this you can still catch up by looking through my travel diaries category.

So, we all know that I love a bargain ( better yet, some freeness).I am always on the look out for ways to get the most out of my money.  We had booked to stay at what I thought was an already beautiful hotel.  According to booking.com a 5* hotel. On arrival it was great but we randomly got offered an upgrade to a newer, more luxury resort hotel which belonged to the same hotel chain.

Interestingly, we had considered this luxury resort hotel while booking but did not want to pay the price🙈.  With the offer of a free shuttle to the new hotel, we accepted !

On arrival to out new hotel, I was gobsmacked at the views and still could not believe the free upgrade.  We were offer champers on arrival at the reception… the life.  I do not want to go off track so a Full reviews of this luxury hotel is to follow. Please stay tuned.

After a few nights of trying to understand why the free upgrade, IT HIT ME.  I literally had a secret escapes moment.  ” Even the most luxurious hotels out there don’t like having empty rooms…”  I noticed that the hotel was probably not as full as it could have been.

We booked the holiday for the first week in June.  This is probably not the busiest time of the year for hotels.  It’s not quite summer holidays and schools are still in session.

So I  guess that is how to  get a hotel upgrade.

  1. Book your stay at off peak times when it is not busy.  You stand a better chance in getting a room upgrade if the hotel is not busy and the rooms are vacant anyway.
  2. If you do not ask, you may not get.  In this instance we did not need to ask and it was simply offered because we had great smiles( lol).  But the Asking principle has worked wonders for me in the past.  Especially with airlines.
  3. This is most likely to work with hotels with chains. The idea is that they upgrade you to a hotel within their chain with better rooms, a better location or just more luxury… yes we like luxury .  Alternatively, you can also try this with room upgrades.
  4. Finally, having a great time on holiday is best upgrade anyone can ask for.  Make sure you enjoy your vacations.  Whether you get a hotel upgrade or not.

The idea of luxury hotel not wanting to have empty rooms is one which Secret excape uses to get you and I luxury hotels for a cheaper price. Therefore this was not a fluke or luck. IT WORKS.

Disclaimer -results with the above can’t be guaranteed as each hotel has its own policies.   These are only my suggestions 

    Ps- Do not forget to come back and let me know how you get on.  Or if you have any other tricks up your sleeves on how to get hotel upgrades please share.

    ( Comments below)

     Sharing is caring.

    Before you leave, lets connect- Follow for more travel and holiday tips.

    Lets also be friends on instagram

    @ijaykheavens

    https://www.instagram.com/ijaykheavens/

    Travel Diaries

    Travel Diaries – Striped Culotte jumpsuit

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    Culottes are here to stay. I am absolutely loving this jumpsuit piece. I was always worried about what to wear my culottes with. We all know that Culottes are an awkward breed of skirt /long shirts. Do I team it with a blouse or t-shirt 😒?. As a jumpsuit it’s super easy to wear.

    Dress it up for a day to night look. 😙

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    I have consumed wayyy to much food on this holiday (pls don’t judge me ). Luckily these straight line straighten out all my lumps and bumps while the waist band gives the illusion of a nipped in waist.

                       Fashion magic !

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    How do you wear your Culottes? Is’nt this jumpsuit form a great idea?.

    Shop this tall stripped Culotte jumpsuit here👉

    http://m.newlook.com/shop/womens/tall/tall-black-stripe-culotte-jumpsuit_379905109

    White body suit – New look

    White sandal’s – Primark

    Stay connected with me @ijaykheavens
    See you soon
    ✌ &❤

    Travel Diaries

    Travel diaries – Pink Skater dress

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    I figured that I should share what I wore to the beach since I did not leave the hotel in my swimsuit.

    I find that skater dresses make pretty good cover ups.
    They are great as add ons to beach wear yet very wearable when not at the beach too.

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    I am always pleasantly suprised at how flattering and cute this dress is.
    This time I teamed it with pink flatforms and my flower headband.
    Apparently I looked like a real Greek Goddess.
    If your thinking Athena the goddess of wisdom then I will take it as a compliment.

    😘
    Flower head band- Asos
    http://m.asos.com/mt/www.asos.com/asos/asos-pretty-blush-flower-headband/prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=6113160&clr=Pink&SearchQuery=Flower+he&pgesize=250&pge=4&totalstyles=386&gridsize=2&gridrow=103&gridcolumn=1&un_jtt_application_platform=newPlp&un_jtt_redirect

    Pink skater skirt- Dorothy perkins

    Pink flatform sandals -Marks and Spencer

    Handbag – Zara

    Check out my beach video on my instagram @ijaykheavens
    ✌& ❤

    Travel Diaries

    Travel Diaries – Guide to packing a Travel Suitcase

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    I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the new year than in a different environment.  A relaxing space to reflect on the days gone and pray about the days ahead.

    My mission was to travel without checking in my whole life.
    I followed the following steps to achieve this goal.

    1- Research your travel destination. This instantly gives your packing purpose and you do not have to pack for different eventuality because you know what weather to expect at your chosen destination and what local vascinities to expect.

    2- While packing, I found that having everything I wanted to take with me was really helpful. I was able to visually create outfits and consider which items would be most versatile so that I didn’t over pack.

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    3- I chose to pack several neutral items. You might wonder how I managed to pick all those items into my suitcase ? That takes me to point 4.

    4- I learned that rolling your clothing items is the best way to pack and make the most of your luggage space. I did just that and strategically squeezed all the items I wanted to travel with into my luggage.

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    And there you have it!

    5- Shoes were bagged and packed last because I didn’t want the heels to get damaged in transit. Do not forget to distribute the weight of the suitcase evenly.

    I will keep you updated on my travels once I get to my destination.

    See you soon.
    💋💋

    See you soon.
    💋💋

    Travel Diaries

    Travel diaries-Do you have sweet blood? How to avoid mosquito bites

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    I am the worst person for mosquito bites.  These blood sucker just can’t  get enough of me.  Well…. on this occasion I had enough.

    I have tried the various insect and mosquito repellants but I would always come back from my travels with a few bites.
    Until I learnt about this product.
    Can you believe I spent 2 weeks in Nigeria… in the raining season … in Lagos and I did not get a single mosquito bite.
    I am so thrilled right now.  I emphasised raining season because mosquito’s love the damp conditions.

    I could do a little praise dance right now.

    No gimmicks this Avon skin so soft oil spray is the business. I applied this evenly day and night.  Depending on where in the world you are, you might need to apply it more often but IT WORKED.
    Who would have thought it .
    Don’t underestimate THE AVON.

    To make things even better it smells pretty good too. 👌

    I bought mine from Amazon but it can also be purchased from your local Avon representative.

    Believe me … a mosquito free holiday makes for Happy holidaying.

    See you on the next post.
    Until then let’s connect and be friends on instagram @ijaykheavens
    XX

    Travel Diaries

    Travel Lookbook denim on denim

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    This is such an oldie but goodie. A classic ! The first thing that came to mind when putting this look together was ‘I don’t want to look like a cowgirl’. Not that there is anything wrong with cowgirls or cowboys. It just was not my desired look. I personally tried to stay away from denims the same shade and weight…. You should too. image While the rips on this jeans are not visible in this picture. Ripped jeans add a element of trendiness to this look. image image Don’t be afraid to add a bright lipstick to complete the look. A pop of colour makes life more interesting. Anything from shades of pinks to reds and oh maybe a deep berry would do the trick. image Ofcourse with every outfit you must cross your T’s and dot your I’s with some accessories. Happy denim on Deniming 😉 Shirt -Newlook Tall Jeans- Topshop Joni Tall Necklace -River Island Sandals- Dorothy Perkins Let’s connect and be friends on Instagram  @ijaykheavens

    Travel Diaries

    Dubai on a budget.

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    On booking my holiday I heard so many stories about how expensive Dubai was:oops::oops:. I wanted to have a blast without denting the bank account.

    Did you know that in the same way you can get online deals with Groupon UK,you can also get deals in Dubai with Groupon Dubai :o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o. I knowww right! !!!. How did I not know this until day 2 of my 5 day trip.

    http://dubai.groupon.ae/
    Use the link above to get deals of meals,  treatments , hotels, activities and much more.
    I saved over 100aed on the dessert tour using Groupon Dubai.
    Be sure to book early as most deals are subject to availability.

    Also..I found that Time Out was a god send when it came to finding out things to do.  Ladies make sure that you utilise the Tuesdays ladies night. I love a bargain so buy one get one free on drinks gets a huge thumbs up from me👍.

    The great thing about being a lady in dubai that you do get preferential treatment. On the trains there are designated women and children only areas.  Be sure to look out for these because you stand a better chance at getting a seat in one of these carriages than the main carriages.  Did I mention that the trains are spotless.

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    Finally . .. taxi’s in Dubai are mega cheap and it’s easy to get carried away with taking taxi’s everywhere.
    I saved approx 100aed in taxi fares by using the train to visit the gold souk.  This was one of my travel highlights as I got to use the Abrak too.  It adds a different yet culturally rich dimension to what was a very glamorous holiday.

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    This ride was a bargain at only 2 Dirhams.

    Hope you found these bargain tips useful. Feel free to share some of your in the comments box below.

    Let’s connect on instagram @ijaykheavens
    XX

    Travel Diaries

    What to wear Dubai

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    This holiday was probably my most planned for because of all the stories I had heard about dress code in Dubai, the modesty police and the need to be mindful of ones dressing.

    I read several posts and blogs to get ideas and guidance. They were great but what non of the posts told me was that I was going to get stares regardless of whether I was butt naked or dressed in a fur jacket in the desert heat; simply because of my height.

    Anyway, I decided not to take anything too short. By that I mean nothing above half my thigh length…(hope that’s makes sense💭💭).
    As a tally things always look short on my long legs so I figured this would be a safe bet. I soon found that people wore short shorts in the tourist areas and in the malls but I guess you can get away with more at 5ft something.

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    Can I warn you now. Dubai is extremely hot. I found that loose clothing were better.  Hence why my wide leg palazzo outfit was great.  You are probably wondering how I could wear sleeves in the Dubai heat but because the weather is so hot and the sun is pretty intense I found that I needed to keep my skin covered to protect my skin from the intense sun.  My duster coat was very handy for keeping me warm in malls because the air con were on FULL blast.

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    Full outfit deals on fashion blog now.

    Shoes glorious shoes.
    A must have while in Dubai are a pair of rubber flip flops. These are vital for walking around on the beach because the sun is scorching hot. Also I found that while visiting the sand dunes these would have been sooo handy. The sand just goes everywhere.

    Advance warning… if you decide to use the metro to got to the Dubai mall,it about a 15 -20 minutes walk from the train platform to the mall. Also once you get to the mall there are no benches or seats around unless you go to the food court.
    The mall is HUGE so there is a lot of walking around so make sure you have comfortable shoes.

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    Above you can see my outfit to the mall. As you can see I had to pin the neckline of this dress to reduce the plunge but I managed to get away with the cheeky slit.

    Nightlife dressing
    Dubai nightlife reminds me so much of the ‘western world’. They have great bars and clubs so you will be sure to find a place that is to your liking. The music is varied and the people in Dubai sure know how to ‘turn up’. I got the impression that people work hard during the week so they totally relax and rock out on the weekend.
    You can wear whatever you would wear to a night club or bar in the UK  to a bar or nightclub in Dubai.
    In my view the modesty dress code was totally out of the window.

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    On the beach…
    Bikini’s and swimwear are allowed on the beach.  I even saw a few smoking hot topless men roaming around.😍.
    However, you are advised to keep all beach wear on the beach.  Ofcourse if your hotel has a swimming pool you can wear your swim wear at the pool side etc.

    Finally… the views above are mine and are based on my experience. You do not have to agree with it all or any of it for that matter. Like most things in life there is no hard and fast rule.  There will be people who break the rules and norms and those who meticulously abide to them. You have to find your balance and enjoy your holiday.
    Stay tuned for my next insert on money in Dubai.  Having a great and fabulous time on a budget or without raiding your bank account.

    Stay tuned for my next insert on how to visit Dubai on a budget. Trust me you will be amazed .!

    Let’s be friends. Connect with me on instagram @ijaykheavens

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