T-shirt lovage

I love basic T-shirts, especially ones with clever wordplay, this Tap That Tee is one of my fav's, which I came across on lostateminor.com an Australian based weekly newsletter that showcases the best creative work — music, photography, illustration and more — from around the world. Its pretty cool, check them out.

Tap That Tee $42

Another Tee I am lusting over is the skeleton-cross from the Irish brand The Silver Factory, based in Kilkenny and designed by 16 year old Cameron Cavaliere, who is self taught might I add, impressive eh! Cameron was also chosen to design for Caggie Dunlop from Chanel 4's hit reality series Made In Chelsea's label ISWAI and his designs features in Rihanna's "We found love" video. 

The Silver Factory brilliance does not just stop at Tee's, they also stock a super cool selection of cut offs... and even better they are all reasonable priced, so you can look the business without breaking the bank. 

Skeleton cross T- €25  & Lauren Shorts - €45

Wanderlust & Lipstick

Today while trawling the net looking for cheap ways to discover Kauai, one of the Hawaiian Islands, where I wandering to in the next few weeks, I happened to stumble on to wanderlustandlipstick an amazing blog written by women for well, women who like to wander. It is an amazing resource for all trips, be it a solo trip, a family trip or a trip with your friends, you will find info here, hell, these ladies are so savvy they have even wrote books packed with tips and tricks from experienced travelers. A list of which you will find here Wanderlust books, I will certainly be bagging the For Women Traveling To India guide. 

 The advice on Wanderlust & Lipstick is solid, easy to read, and has plenty of inspiring stories that if your not already traveling, will make you want to travel. For any chicks or even guys out there, travelling or looking to travel check this out, it will inspire, inform and delight. 

Broadway Eh!?!

The second stop on my adventure: San Francisco.... I arrived tired, sorry and sore from my 12 hour trip from New York and after making small talk with my Russian bus driver for over an hour, I was in no mood to entertain anyone, I wanted a bed and sleep fast! When I gave the address of the hostel to the driver I was met with a curious look, on broadway eh, he replied with a half smirk! I had assumed that Broadway in San Fran was of similar glamour to that of New York's Broadway. Oh boy, how wrong was I, in San Fran Broadway is the sex district and I was staying right in the middle of it, the drivers curious look now all of a sudden made sense! I was dubious about my home for the next week, little did I know that I was about to meet some of the most inspiring people that would become similar to a family in the coming days...

Gobshites on Broadway 

Love Life

Love the love

Hells Kitchen Flea market

Dozens of vendors laden down with reasonable priced Vintage wonders = HEAVEN! 

Hells Kitchen Flea Market

Vintage Bottles @ Hells Kitchen

Badge Collections

A mecca of Vintage treasures

Hells Kitchen Flea Market takes place every weekend on West 39th Street, if your NYC on a weekend, head down, grab a coffee and potter till your hearts content, you will not be disappointed by the friendly vendors with everything from Books & comics, Vintage & secondhand everything, Accessories & jewelry, Gifts & stationery, Antiques! 

A home from home...

Staying in hostels, hotels and couch surfing is serious fun, but sometimes, especially at 30, you wish for your own place, the comfort of a home, books on the shelf, your own kitchen etc. I think most travelers have had that one moment at some stage! 

Well, I am no stranger to lusting after my creature comforts so when I stumbled upon Airbnb accidentally while looking for cheap accommodation in New York, I was ecstatic. This wonderful website is a saviour for anyone looking for something different than a deary hotel room or the craziness of hostels. Maybe you fancy a huge modern loft in NYC, perhaps a Yurt in a National Park or a cute room a house close to the airport, well whatever your accommodation desire may be, Im pretty sure you will find it here. 


In a nutshell Airbnb is an online service that matches people looking for short-term accommodations with those with rooms to rent! Simple eh, you need a bed in a home, they can provide it! With couches from 10 dollars to luxury apartments, Airbnb has it all! I have used there service 3 times and my experiences have been wonderful. The website is easy to use and has some really cool sections from its top 40 to a glamping section you will find something you love! Another bonus is it has accommodations in 192 counties! Impressive eh... check them out Airbnb


Another cool thing is while your living it up somewhere, you can also let out your room, home or whatever to make an extra bit of cash! Nice eh....

OUTFIT LUST

I lust after this dress.... from for Love & Lemons, available @ Nasty Gal 

A lil Nasty

Love it!!

NYC- on a budget, finding somewhere to stay

A visit to New York City does not mean “breaking the bank” as most would be think, it can actually be done quite cheaply, IF, you have the right tools… 

Firstly -Somewhere to stay, this is assuming you have gotten yourself to NYC! 

Try Couch Surfing, if your open to meeting new people, experiencing different cultures and neighborhoods, and sleeping on a couch or air bed, then I would highly recommend Couch Surfing. At the outset I was a little fearful of it myself but having tried it, I would say I am in love with it… this will hands down beat any hotel you will ever stay in, why you ask, well, hosts genuinely want you in their homes, as opposed to hostels in hotels that are only taking your booking because you are paying them! Couch surfing hosts are different, they actually want to share information, a meal, stories or whatever with you. Most are only to happy to take you on tours, give you local knowledge and 9 out of ten times they know everywhere and anywhere you can get a cheap meal. 

You will need an account with Couch Surfing before you can begin and most will require you to have some friends or a reference. However, if you don’t have these, DO, and I stress DO get yourself verified. This is very simple, its does involve a small donation to the Couch Surfing Organization, but hey they are a non profit, who will in turn be saving you piles of cash, so they are worth the little donation right!?! Once you have done this they send you a nice little postcard to your home address with a code to verify where you live on it! This will give hosts piece of mind for sure, as this ensures that the lovely folks in CS HQ have your home address in case anything goes wrong! 

So what are you waiting for, go sign up - www.couchsurfing.org 

Don’t just take my word, TIME Magazine said “CouchSurfing isn’t just a means of accommodation; it is an entirely new way to travel.*

Couch surfing buddies

Couch surfing buddies - How did a bunch of Germans, 2 New Yorkers, A Turkish and A Irish girl meet? A couch surfing party! And, seriously don’t we look like a happy bunch x

Photeeees

The one thing about traveling alone is that fact that I am in none of my photees! I decided to take a self portrait in this really cool lane in Central Park and this chick jumping and skipping along just happened to skip past... resulting in a kinda cool pic!

Inspired by Strangers... Or new Friends!

People had been telling me for a long time to start a blog, journal your adventures Bon, keep us all updated etc, so finally I did start one just before I jetted off! I was nervous and a little shy about it to be honest and thought, hey, Il just keep writing and maybe tell folks when Ive a little more content! But its hard blogging sometimes, does anyone care? is this worthy of reading? am I just talking to myself? all questions that ran through my mind and yes, I got a little lazy and discouraged! So when I received a "Love your blog" Tweet I was super excited, someone loves my blog, yay...almost immediately I felt inspired again, someone actually reads what I write,  I wonder who it is?


Well, it was none other that Elisabeth Harri, owner of the fab-u-lous www.prettysunday.com  a UK based online boutique selling rare and unique clothes to stylish ladies all over the world! Check them out, you will find something wonderful at a great price! check out my fav picks below.


Those who know me, know that one of my life long dreams is to have my own clothing range and store,to be told by someone who had achieved was a huge honor, thank you Elisabeth for inspiring me and rekindling my blogging flame!

Lace cream cardi, the perfect cover up!

 one of my favs, so cute, and a steal @ 18 bucks

"The Fear" Lessons learned on the Subway

To say I had “The Fear” of the subway, would be an understatement! I’ve managed to mostly avoid it, but in a city this size, usage is inevitable. So, this my second trip I find myself lost, standing on the platform, looking quite the tourist, wrestling with the map, that I cant read! I glance up to see if I can spot some help, and my only option is 2 home boys, clearly wasted, and when I say home boys, I mean home boys, blinged up to fuck, proper ghetto gospel shit., So I decide Im actually ok for directions, il wing it…

Home boys are eyeballing me to a inch of my life… Oh god, god, I’m gona die, oh Christ on a bike, shit, shit, shit, is all that’s going through my head.

After what seemed like an eternity  ,the train finally arrives, I hop on head down and boom, 2 home boys drop down on either side of me…

Homeboy 1- Yooo internationaalll, where u formmm?

Home boy 2 – slightly singing… Internationallllll

Me – Ummm um Ireland..

Home boy 1 – Ireland, really baby, I love the irish

Home boy 2 – he love the Irish ladies

Me – nervous smile and laugh, thanks

Home boy 1 – well international, me and my home boy we were watching you on the platform you know, and we were just sayinnn that you gots pretty eyes

Home Boy 2 – Preetty Eyeeees

Homeboy 1 – and gurl you got back.

Homeboy 2 – Baccck

Home boy 1 – But baby, you need some sun on your skin, and meat on your bonnesssss

Home Boy2 – again slightly singing, sun on your skinnnnn and meat on ur bones; I said meat on your bonneeees

Me – well, shir what can you do only laugh at that…and a smile appears on my face, so I make idle chit chat and turns out home boys are actually quite nice, not wasted, just colorful characters… 

Lesson learned from this, well 1. the subway is not to be “Feared” and 2. Never judge a book by its cover!

Surfin couches, who would have thought!

So couch surfing, I remember when I was first told of this alien concept, I remember thinking to myself, good god, why would anyone let random strangers sleep on there couch!?! Now, after trying it and becoming part of this amazing yet random community, I know why, I’ve become enlightened so to speak! They are kind ass folks, that’s all… others trying to help others, and well, isn’t that just a nice way to be! 

I arrived in NYC not knowing what my couch surfing experiences would hold, I was leaving my fate in the hands of random strangers, whom I never met or spoken with, only contact through brief email exchanges. Anything could have happened to me, I left myself wide open, and I am so thankful that I did, what a wonderful bunch! Yes, that is right, no weirdo’s, murderers, mental folk, just honest, kind and caring people, all looking out for my every need! I was taken out for the most amazing lunch, saw a NBA game, had traditional Turkish food cooked for me, I slept on the best of couches and blow up mattresses, had the most inspiring conventions, learnt more about various cultures than I ever would have from some cheesy guide book, saw Cuba Gooding Jnr, stayed in the Village (a super posh part of NYC for those who don’t know). I even got my fortune read by a world famous physic!! Seriously, I shit you not, all of these wonderful experiences were given to me by people whom I never encountered before, all willing to help out a fellow traveler, for nothing, zip, nada… no agendas, no cash… just out of sheer kindness! 

Whatever notions I had about the world being a bad place vanished in NYC, and who would have thought NYC in the big bad city, is where I would have experienced the most random acts of kindness I have had to date! 

That’s the cool thing about travelling I suppose, all the preconceptions and small minded thinking disappear, you become open to the world and realize its full of amazing people, who want to help, who care, who will you to succeed and will go to great lengths to make your journey that little bit better. I owe a lot to NYC and to my couch surfing buddies, you made me a better person (hopefully)!

Love & Light x

couch surfin buddies NYC

Fortune favours the brave...

So Im off, parties had, goodbyes said, tears shed and Im sitting on the bus, thinking, I need sleep, Im fucking crazy, do i have enough money, will I be alright, will my friends and family be alright!?! I grab blue ted, curl up and stick on my ipod in a bid to settle my mind! I wake up just before Dublin Airport and all I want to do is puke, my poor little belly feels like its been invaded by the america army of nerves, worry and fear! The door opens, I nearly jump out, grab my bag, have a quick fag in the hope it may calm me down. It in fact makes me worse, but the kind lady who gave me a light, senses my unease and quickly tells me, fortune favours the brave my dear, smiles and potters off… I laugh as I had been told this many times over the past few weeks, and although still Im worried, somehow this has made me feel better! Alot better!

Living the dream

So with just over 3 weeks left till the beginning of my Soulful and Stylish adventure, I spent the listing some of the awe inspiring peeps I would like to meet along the way, and oh boy there are many, including Obama (hey a girl can dream) here is a little taste of who I would love to have a cuppa with (cuppa being tea) so Irish I know :)

Diana Warner, Artist and jewellery designer and owner of DWNY described as ” the happiest little boutique in New York City” how cute eh! I came across Diana after spotting her stunning jewellery on The Hills and became a little obsessed when I saw her Materialism that Matters Campaign MAKE IT HAPPEN.” This cause-oriented fashion endeavour was created to stimulate, educate, and motivate the minds of both those within and outside of the fashion community, as we seek to empower others with the knowledge and inspiration to shop for a cause” This lady is truly Soulful and Stylish and someone I would love to meet! 

Sophia Amoruso, founder and CEO of Nasty Gal. I am in absolute AWEEEE of this woman. Nasty Gal is THE gem of online stores stocking some of the coolest clothes ive ever seen. I want everything in it! From humble beginning selling Vintage on Ebay, Sophia has turned Nasty Gal in what can only be described as a Fashion Phenomenon. I WANT, NEED and MUST meet this lady. If you don’t already know about Nasty Gal - check it out www.nastygal.com - you will not be disappointed.

Timothy Ferriss, author of the four hour work week (awesome book) this may be a little unrealistic, but hey, this is my dream trip after all! Il keep you posted on this!

Hot diggity dammmm, its NYC baby…

This jumper from Nasty Gal has got me berry excited about my first stop is NYC, the big apple, the city that never sleeps, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of… and me, lil old me… I am scared, fooking dam right I am, but looking forward to it with a kinda rose tinted uncertainty and I NEED this in my suitcase!