AD // Hotel Kong Arthur, Copenhagen

*We were kindly provided with a two night stay at Hotel Kong Arthur in exchange for this review, but all opinions are my own.

Copenhagen had been high on my to-visit list for a long time for no particular reason other than I really thought I'd like it. And I was right; I absolutely loved it. More on that at a later date though because in this post I'm starting with the aspect of our trip that gave me my first good impression of the city - the hotel.

Hotel Kong Arthur is a four star eco-friendly boutique hotel located down a cobbled street alongside the city's picturesque lakes. But I'm not here to tell you what you can read on the website, I'm here to tell you some of the things that set Hotel Kong Arthur aside from other hotels; the little touches that really made our stay special:

COSY HOUR // I had to put this first because we arrived at the hotel just in time for cosy hour on our first night (and caught it every night after that too). Between 5-6pm all the guests are welcome to gather in the (I've got to say it) cosy lobby for a free drink. The atmosphere is one of contentment and if you accidentally discover the board games cupboard like we did then you're onto a winner (unless, like me, you lose at chess every single time).

A SENSE OF HUMOUR // A lot of hotels are quite impersonal aren't they? Hotel Kong Arthur provided small gestures that made us smile every day; the 'do not disturb' sign in our room with a hilariously honest tick list, the card left under the bed letting us know the cleaners had checked for monsters and the 'ring for a hug' bell at breakfast (we did indeed both receive a hug from the waitress on our first morning).

ECO-FRIENDLY // I found Copenhagen in general to be a very eco-conscious city and the hotel prided itself on being so too. The absolutely delicious breakfast was all locally sourced organic produce; they served apple juice instead of orange juice so it didn't have to be imported. There are also electric cars available outside that you can use to travel in (even to and from the airport) so you can be more environmentally friendly than hopping in a taxi.

LOCATION // We honestly couldn't have asked for a better location, both in terms of getting around and it being beautifully scenic. We were within walking distance of everywhere we wanted to visit (this obviously depends on how far you're willing to walk) and on our last day we enjoyed a peaceful saunter along the lakes in the sunshine.

DECOR // Generally on holiday I'm happy to simply have somewhere clean to rest my head, but this trip showed me how a good hotel can really make a difference. Funnily enough, when it's a nice place to spend time in you spend more time in it, which meant we would happily potter back to rest our legs during the day as well as spend time there in the evenings rather than feel like we had to go somewhere further afield that may be nicer. The decor was pretty much exactly how I like my decor - modern but with hints of the old and plenty of character.

DINING // I've already mentioned the breakfast, but I'll mention it again because it was absolutely delicious and to say it was all locally sourced there was a huge variety. The breakfast room was also the most calming room in which to start your day; big windows letting in lots of light and creating beautiful shadows, cushioned window seats and plenty of room to breathe (or to push out your seat in a full of food haze). The hotel also has three restaurants attached to it; an Italian (La Rocca), Spanish (Pintxos) and Japanese (Sticks 'n' Sushi). We tried the Italian and ate the most delicious ravioli of our lives, both immediately declaring we could eat it all over again then within five minutes struggling to climb the stairs we were so full...

HYGGE // I'm sure everyone has heard of this Danish concept by now since it became really popular a few years back. I never really fully understood it, but I certainly felt it staying at Hotel Kong Arthur; relaxed, content and totally at ease.

Thank you very much to Hotel Kong Arthur for hosting us!

Amy X

On Living A Simpler Life

I was born an over thinker; I assume I entered this world worrying about whether I'd come too soon or too late (my mum would say too late based on how much of a heifer I was) and to this day I overthink absolutely everything from what I should eat for lunch to whether some huge life decision I've made is right or not.

My overthinking tendencies lead to my love of a good list; categorised to-do lists that may as well be called to-do trees by the time I'm done with them, the 'self-improvement' plans that list all the things I feel I should be doing to make myself a better, healthier and prettier person along with all the other self-imposed structure I apply to my life. And it turns out my overthinking tendencies are leading to my head becoming rather overcrowded.

Despite not really enjoying the idea of resolutions as such, I entered this year with a fresh perspective and a stripped back attitude to a lot of things, including how I approach my life in general. Whereas my overactive brain would usually be able to describe what I want from life using a vast amount of bullet points, in short I want to live simpler.

So what have I done to try to achieve a simpler life? Made a list of rules to abide by, obviously. 

DOES/WILL THIS MAKE ME HAPPY? // Sounds easy doesn't it, but asking myself whether something will make me happy before I do it or agree to it is something I want to start doing a lot more. I'm guilty of agreeing to things for the sake of other people, and while that's obviously something I'll keep doing because I'm not the most selfish person in the world (hopefully), I'd like to take my own happiness into consideration too. As always it's about balance isn't it?

FOCUSING ON THE BASICS // I've spent so long making complicated lists filled with all sorts of different things I think I should be doing, which means the simplest of things often get lost. Simple pleasures like walking round the block for a bit of fresh air and to just breathe, making the time to exercise which does wonders for my mind or sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning rather than haphazardly sipping at it in between doing everything else. More of that.

WRITE IT DOWN // And no, I don't mean in a to-do tree complicated kind of way. For Christmas my mum bought me the Michelle Obama Becoming journal and after spending five minutes every few days word vomiting into it with a pen my head felt a little lighter. I've also taken to splurging random thoughts into a notebook if I feel like I need to, even if they don't make any sense whatsoever. There's a reason I started writing a blog and that's because writing clears my head.

BE KIND // I like to think of myself as generally quite a kind person already, but I wanted to include this one because I think kindness is the most important, yet underrated quality someone can have. Kindness goes a long way and I'm going to try to keep it at the forefront of everything I do.

Is Social Media Putting Us At Risk Of Losing Touch With Our Friends?

You've seen all their holiday photos on Facebook, you've been reading their tweets about whichever TV show they're currently watching and you've seen what they've been wearing day to day on Instagram, so you know exactly what all your friends are up to right?

Call me a bad friend (not quite as catchy as Call me Amy), but it's so easy to get busy, like a few photos on Instagram, reply to a couple of tweets, to all of a sudden realise two months has passed since you actually checked in with someone.

Social media lures us into a false notion that we know what everyone's been doing anyway because we've seen it all. They've posted it all online. Right?

Wrong.

Nobody's naive enough to think that social media is anything but a highlights reel; I can have had the most awful day yet still have posted a happy smiling photo on Instagram because I have a blog post to promote. And just because someone's posting photos of a holiday that looks nice doesn't mean they're happy does it?

I know from experience that it's not actually all that easy to reach out to friends when you're struggling and sometimes the things you're struggling with aren't easy to admit unless you're directly asked about them.

Despite not setting any resolutions or goals for myself this year, there is one thing I'm definitely going to be doing more of. I'm talking about real interaction with my friends.

Everyone knows that juggling life is difficult; work, hobbies, family, relationships so I'm not certainly not expecting to be achieving anything major; all I want to achieve is more. More time spent messaging someone to check in rather than mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and more time spent organising catch ups in advance so they don't end up being abandoned when nobody is free.

Social media is great and all that, but let's get off it every now and then and go back to basics with the people we love. Amiright?

Amy x

SELF-CONFIDENCE // Hacks I Learnt Last Year

I've written a fair few posts on self-confidence in the past from the point of view of someone who's still very much on their journey to actually being self-confident. Last year my confidence took a fair beating, but along with that came some newfound lessons on rebuilding and maintaining it. I still wouldn't necessarily describe myself as confident, but I'm certainly more sure of myself than I have been in the past so I thought I'd share some of the lessons I've learnt.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GOOD PEOPLE // Sometimes it can actually be quite difficult to work out which people make you feel good about yourself and build you up versus who doesn't and 'good people' can be subjective. For me, last year I found myself some genuinely lovely, non-judgmental positive people to surround myself with and it's been so refreshing. Finding people who build me up and who genuinely like me for me has done me the world of good.

DON'T RELY ON ONLINE VALIDATION // I won't lie, seeing the likes shoot up on one of my Instagram photos makes me feel pretty good and there's nothing wrong with that as long as I can stay chirpy when one doesn't do so well too. Sure, it's nice that people on the internet might like what I'm wearing, but it's not the be all and and all and it's definitely not something we should be relying on to make ourselves feel good. At the end of the day I only take Instagram photos of outfits I really like so if I feel good in it the fact it hasn't hit 100 likes on Instagram shouldn't phase me.

TRUST YOUR OWN INSTINCTS // I'm the first person to ask for others' opinions when I have a decision to make or when I've had an idea. While it's obviously great to get advice and guidance, sometimes you have to fight against other people's opinions if your gut instinct is telling you they're wrong. Believe in yourself and when it pays off your confidence will soar.

FIND YOUR LITTLE BOOSTS // There are some very small unimportant-seeming things that can give your self-confidence a quick boost. Everyone's will be different; for me it's wearing a good outfit, having a quick gym session or painting my nails, among other things.

How do you improve your self-confidence?

Amy x

Winter Wardrobe // LOOKBOOK

This post contains some affiliate links, which are clearly marked.

I'm normally very much a dresses, tights and boots gal throughout winter, but this season my style preferences seem to have changed a little. I'm all about jeans, jumpers and casual jackets and I'm very much enjoying getting dressed at the moment (which is handy I suppose seeing as it's something I have to do every day).

It's nice to have a new sense of how I want to dress rather than always turning to old favourites and styling them the same way; while I've still been turning to old favourites I've been experimenting a little more with them. Results of said experiment are below if you're at all interested in some of my fave go to outfits at the moment...

Outfit One: Coat - Topshop (here *aff) // Jeans - Topshop (here *aff) // Boots - Dr Marten (here)

Outfit Two: Jacket - Chinese Laundry // Sweatshirt - New Look // Jeans - Topshop (here *aff) // Trainers - Adidas (here)

Outfit Three: Coat - Primark // Jeans - Topshop (here *aff) // Trainers - Adidas // Hoody - Monki

Outfit Four: Coat - Dickies (here) // Jumper - New Look // Jeans - Topshop (here *aff) // Trainers - New Look

Amy x