Images via Alex Phillips.

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A few weeks ago I made a quick trip to New York City for Create & Cultivate. My coworkers (who I was traveling with) insisted that we stay at the Refinery Hotel in midtown (on 38th between 5th and 6th). The location was perfect, and I loved the way that they carried out their branding throughout the entire hotel.

Our flight to NYC was a little longer than expected because of the weather. When we finally landed and made it through rush hour traffic to our hotel, it had been about 10 hours since we had breakfast. Luckily the Refinery Hotel has a fantastic restaurant called Parker & Quinn because needless to say we were starving. We started our meal with the Butcher’s Meatballs and NYC Burrata. Both were delicious! The service was wonderful and I quickly followed our appetizers with the Lamb Ragu Rigatoni (told you I was starving). If you are not staying at the Refinery Hotel but would like to dine at Parker & Quinn, they have a separate entrance for the restaurant on 39th.

After dinner, we made our way to our rooms. They were clean, quiet, spacious, and of course, well branded. The studio double queen room comfortably fits two people, but if you have three or more staying, I would recommend getting the deluxe room for space. Next, we made our way upstairs to check out the Refinery Rooftop bar and lounge. The rooftop has an incredible view of NYC including the Empire State Building. The rooftop also has a glass covering if you are visiting during colder months or if it is raining. 

Every morning the Refinery provided coffee in the lobby (life-saving), and in the evenings they served wine (game-changing). I didn’t have any complaints about my stay, which is rare and will hopefully be back at the Refinery Hotel soon. Be sure to check out the Refinery Hotel the next time you are in NYC, and shop all my travel must-haves below! xoxo

Need more New York recommendations? Check out my posts here:

The Conrad Midtown

NYC with Monna

Out recent trip to London was broken up by a day trip to Manchester. We rode a 2 hour train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, mainly so Alex could visit Old Trafford stadium (this is how I got him to go to tea at Harrods).

Old Trafford: Alex is a Manchester United fan, so he set up a tour of Old Trafford so we could have the full stadium experience. We saw every aspect of the stadium including the locker room, tunnel, players seats, owners box, and press room. Go behind the scenes at Old Trafford and see the stadium through the eyes of Manchester United greats themselves. The tour was about 80 minutes long and very informative. Tickets for adults are £18 and if you have your student ID you can get a student ticket for £16.

La Tasca: After our tour of Old Trafford I went on the hunt for a curling iron that worked in the UK and finally found one at Boots. Since we were already out walking around, we decide to just pick a random restaurant and give it a try. We were craving something spicy, so when we saw a Spanish restaurant we were pretty excited. We started our meal with the Pan Del Día, which was grilled bread served with extra virgin olive oil and sherry balsamic reduction. For our main course we shared four different tapas including the Gambas Pil Pil (king prawns cooked in garlic, chilli & olive oil, served with baked bread), Pollo con Chorizo (chicken & chorizo in a creamy white wine & smoky paprika sauce), Chorizo (fresh ‘dulce’ chorizo sausage, sautéed with caramelised red onion, garlic & thyme), and Albondigas (roasted pork meatballs, in a rich, slow-cooked spicy tomato sauce). My favorite tapas were the Pollo con Chorizo and the Albondigas, but Alex liked the Chorizo the best. When we saw the Churros Y Amigos on the menu, we instantly splurged for dessert and did not regret it one bit.

Cloud 23: When we first arrived in Manchester, our Uber driver was kind enough to share his favorite spots in Manchester, including a dining room on the 23rd floor on the Hilton hotel. We had some free time, so we gave Cloud 23 a try before catching our train back to London. The atmosphere and view were incredible and we enjoyed the cheese plate with a selection of cheese, seasonal fruit chutney, grapes and biscuits. Our cheese selection included a sharp cheddar, a mild blue cheese, and one of the creamiest bries I have ever had. They were serving tea as well while we where there and I would not mind going back for tea sometime in the future.

Below are picture from all of our stops in Manchester! xoxo

Images above: The Lowery Hotel.

Images above: Old Trafford.

Images above: La Tasca.

Image above: Cloud 23.

I made a deal with Alex at the beginning of our trip, that I would do something soccer-related if he went to tea with me. After he booked our tour of the Old Trafford Stadium (post coming soon) I jumped to book our afternoon tea at Harrods’ Georgian Restaurant. The dining room has been open since 1913 and the history can be felt through the carved wood, gold leaf, and mosaic decor. We enjoyed the classic Georgian Afternoon Tea complete with a selection of finger sandwiches, warm scones served with clotted cream, strawberry jam, lemon curd, and a large selection of fresh tea pastries. The tea selection all sounded wonderful, but we enjoyed the Blend 1849, which was created to commemorate Harrods’ 150th anniversary. We left full-on sandwiches, scones, and pastries, we honestly could not even finish all the food. While Alex won’t admit it, I think he enjoyed tea (or at least the food) more than he expected. If you are looking for the traditional English tea experience, and a trip to Harrods, I highly recommend The Georgian! xoxo

Keep in mind that The Georgian has a strict dress code for their dining room that does not permit sneakers, shorts, athletic wear, flip flops, or promotional clothing.

Need more London recommendations? Check out my posts here:

London Travel Guide

Pizza Pilgrim

Mondrian London

London Calling

One of my Christmas gifts from Alex was a book about the best places to eat pizza around the world since he knows all about my slight obsession with za. While we were in London I decided that we needed to try at least one of the places listed in the London section, and we were not disappointed in our choice to try Pizza Pilgrim. We walked from Bond Street into the Soho neighborhood, where we found the small pizza shop on the corner of Dean Street and Carlisle Street. When you walk in you are greeted with the heavenly smell of pizza and taken through the small storefront, down a spiral staircase leading to the seating area in the basement. Surrounded by the Soho hipsters in their leather and velvet black ensembles, this was the only time in London that I felt we really stood out. We ordered the garlic, rosemary, and parmesan flatbread for a starter, which was large enough to be my own personal pizza. It is a bit heavy on the garlic, so I would not recommend this if you do not like a lot of garlic and olive oil. We ordered their special guest pizza, which had pistachio cream, crispy mortadella, and smoked mozzarella. I loved every bite of our za and we basically licked the pan clean. Since the guest’s pizza is not a regular on the menu, my handy dandy pizza book recommends the Nduja pizza. The Nduja pizza is a margarita pizza with spicy Caribbean pork sausage and is on the top of my list the next time we visit. I have linked my not-so-edgy outfit below, and be sure to check out my new guide to life, Where to Eat Pizza! xoxo

Need more London recommendations? Check out my posts here:

London Travel Guide

The Georgian at Harrods

Mondrian London

London Calling

Alex found the Mondrian London at Sea Containers while researching hotels on Oyster and decided we had to book our rooms there because it was so chic (which he pronounces as “chick”) and it was walking distance to many other places on our list. The whole hotel was absolutely inspiring with beautiful artwork around every corner. The Mondrian was designed by Design Research Studio under the creative direction of Tom Dixon, who strived to capture 1920s cruise ship glamour with modern twists and sophisticated design throughout the hotel. I booked a river view deluxe room and had the perfect view of the River Thames, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Millennium Bridge. I had to leave my luggage in the hall when we arrived so I could perfectly capture the design of the room before I made a total mess of it. I really enjoyed the waterfall shower complete with my favorite Malin+Goetz shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion after our evening train ride from Manchester. We treated ourselves to a morning of room service, served in my less messy room, and devoured our hot green tea, orange juice, avocado toast with scrambled eggs and tomatoes, blueberry ricotta pancakes, and “English” bacon (y’all their bacon is NOT what I am used to in America, it is basically just ham). Since we were already staying at the Mondrian, we decide to check out their Rampus Room, which is their rooftop bar overlooking the River Thames with an urban Southbank neighborhood feel, and their world-renowned Dandelyan bar (more about that below).

On our last night in London, we decided to finally try out the Dandelyan on the first floor of the hotel since it was awarded third out of the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2016. I loved the atmosphere and the incredible view of the River Thames on the north side of the hotel. I had the Love & Money with Kettle One Vodka, parsley root wine, lemon, grape, and carrot powder. Alex had the Fairchild’s Mule with Hendrick’s Gin, lime, pink clove, green cardamom, ginger, and Perrier-Jouet Champaign. The interior of the Dandelyan was designed by Tom Dixon, like the rest of the hotel, complete with a dreamy green marble bar, pink leather, and plenty of gold details. The atmosphere is perfect for an evening drink and the open room makes it the perfect place to meet up with friends. If you are ever in London, the Dandelyan and Mondrian London are top on my list of places you have to visit! Below I have linked a few of the things I always pack when I travel to keep my skin looking and feeling its best! xoxo

Need more London recommendations? Check out my posts here:

London Travel Guide

The Georgian at Harrods

Pizza Pilgrim

London Calling