Weekend Reads #11

Happy Friday!

This week’s Weekend Reads are coming to you from Egypt where it’s currently 9am and temperatures are already soaring towards 35 degrees. Yes, at 9am!

I spent my first two days here doing exactly what you’re meant to do on a traditional, old-fashioned holiday. I did nothing. Absolutely nothing but read, eat, swim, snooze, swim, laze, swim. It was amazing. Especially because we have a swim-up pool right to our room!

But after two days of this we started to get itchy feet and want to explore some of this gorgeous country. Today we’re heading to a small uninhabited island, tomorrow we’re going to Cairo and on Sunday we’re going on a snorkelling/scuba diving trip.

As always, here are my favourite blog posts from the week. If you’ve got any other cool links to add please post them in the comments below!

A crash guide course for Instagram {Virtual Wayfarer}

This is the best Instagram tips post I’ve ever read. Yes, really. Most bloggers offer vaguely helpful tips about cool filters but Alex from Virtual Wayfarer gives an insight into how he captures such gorgeous images and how he reached nearly 50,000 followers – and he hasn’t even been Instagramming for that long. This is a genuine insight into how to get the most out of this social network and how to get involved with Instagram communities – something I wasn’t even aware of existing. Thanks Alex!

48 hours in Reykjavik {Euro Trip Tips}

Ah, beautiful Reykjavik. If you haven’t visited Iceland yet, why not? Get it on your wish list because it’s one of the most amazing places and Iceland was my favourite trip from 2013. Marie has put together a great little guide to the city for anyone who plans to stay a couple if days. A lot of people will use Reykjavik as a base to explore other parts of Iceland so this is also great for people who plan to dip in and out of the city.

 17 little changes to make life more interesting {yes and yes!}

They say a change is as good as a rest and I couldn’t agree more. Even if you have the most exciting life in the world, it’s easy to fall into boring routines. You don’t even realise they’re boring routines until suddenly you do something different and then wonder why you did it in the old way. While I don’t think choosing a different drink in Starbucks will change your life, I do like some of these ideas to change things up a bit. I especially like the tip about house swapping with friends, buying a bunch of foods you’ve never tried and renting a different car for a weekend road trip.

The one where I think about the last 4 years {Poppy D}

This isn’t just a post about London Fashion Week, it’s about growing up and stopping caring about what other people think. I can’t imagine how much pressure there must be on fashion bloggers to always look amazing and I love Poppy’s attitude to it all.

20 things you should know about the British {Rhyme and Ribbons}

I never realise how British I am until I’m travelling outside of Britain and suddenly my tea addiction is really obvious. Oh and my completely unexpected and irrational anger when someone tries to jump a queue. Brits will love this and any non-Brits should read it if you’re travelling over here.

11 eco yoga retreats in tropical paradise {Cultureist}

I want to go to them all!

Blogging Reads

The Big Guide to Creative Content {Mollie Makes}

I downloaded this e-magazine (also available in print if you’re patient enough for the postman) a few months ago and I’ve so far recommended it to virtually every new blogger I’ve met. It’s such a fun, creative, informative magazine and even bloggers with lots of experience will find something useful in there. It is £10 so it’s a pricey magazine but any creative bloggers out there will love it.

Video of the Week

I love this video from Discover Island. Not only does it bring back gorgeous memories from Dublin but it’s also a fun game to figure out who the couples are!

 Competition of the Week

This week’s competition is by PhotoWorld. They have a month-long Twitter competition with three prizes. The first prize is a Lyto Camera as well as £500 worth of vouchers. 2nd prize is £100 CEWE Photoworld vouchers and 3rd prize is £50 CEWE Photoworld vouchers. To enter you just need to tweet a picture with their theme of the week and use the hashtag #WePrintMemories. You only need to enter once but the more times you enter the more chance you have of winning! Find out more about the PhotoWorld competition and how to enter here.