Review of Generator Hostel-London. #BEDM

On my recent stay in London I had the pleasure of staying at the Generator Hostel, as money was a little tight for my visit I thought it would be a sensible option especially when I wouldn't actually be spending much time in the room as I'd be at Blogtacular. 

Now the truth is I'm a hostel virgin, I never backpacked around Europe and normally want the hotel experience for my Husband and I. I've shared hotel rooms before with strangers when helping out with stores openings across the country and managed fine, I'm quite easy going like that; not everyone would be.
Although it's a strange feeling that you maybe sharing a bedroom with a complete stranger, to be honest I was too knackered to care. You can also book single, twin, quad or 10 bedroom dorms.
Prices start at £26.50, although they quote often have special deals on.

On arrival I was struck by the haphazard, but obviously well thought out design elements and well structured communal areas. These left enough room for small groups to be together but not encroach onto others.

I had gallery wall envy here, all the decor looked homely, clean and comforting which if you were spending quite some time from home would probably be a great space to come back to. The whole hostel also came with free wi-fi, which as I was at a blogging conference was a bonus to keep up to date afterwards.

The only disappointing thing (for me anyway) was the uninspiring breakfast, it seemed to lack much imagination but would certainly sustain you till lunch. Maybe a better option would be to wait till 10.30am for the option of a full English instead in their bar area, sadly this wasn't something I could try out, or try some of the wonderful cafes nearby that had more options. I would have really liked the chance to sample their menu but timings for the conference and then the train was against me, it looks like really nice food.

The Russell Street tube is only 5 minutes from here making it a great venue for travelling around London and sightseeing, I'd definitely consider staying here with my children when we come to visit London. I saw other children staying that were enjoying the Eurovision show and colouring at this huge table on the Saturday. I think this would be a hugely exciting adventure for them, and give them the opportunity to communicate with strangers in a positive atmosphere. 

 The whole building had quirky artwork at every turn, this mural was in the stairwell to the ground floor.

This is my bunk, although I actually swapped with Emily Beale so she could relive her childhood of sleeping on the top bunk. The room had 3 sets of bunks, sink, mirror, and underbed storage for your valuables. I was shocked at how comfortable these bunks were, the mattress is probably better than the one on my own bed, and sleep came pretty easy to me both nights. 

A few tips for staying here: 1. Bring photo ID (as it says on the booking form) they will smirk when the only ID you have is your local museum card with a stupid photo on it. 2. Bring a small padlock to lock the underbed storage and protect your stuff, or you can either buy one in the hostel travel shop for £4 or trust people to leave it alone which they probably would but you never know. 3. Do not forget you're in a hostel and barge into the hotel room at 11pm like a herd of rino, there maybe people who checked in after you that have already gone to bed in your room, sorry lady. Also a small torch, or app on your phone maybe useful so you don't have to switch main lights on and disturb folk. 4. Do not lose your room keycard, Generator London is sited down a back alley which I thought may have been scary at night, however we were pleasantly surprised to find door staff waiting to check people in when we came back that night, they did want to see your keycard to get in though.  5. Use the common rooms to party, meet friends, watch movies on your tablet etc... thats what they're for as well as making new friends, although I wasn't there long enough for that. It did make me wish Stu and I had travelled and stayed this way while young, it could have been a great adventure instead we'll hopefully pass that opportunity to our children. 
Until next time Generator, and I'm sure there will be.

Friday I'm in love...#BEDM

with Blogtacular.
It's been a week since I travelled down to London for the first Blogtacular conference, and it's taken me a week to sort the ideas that evolved from being there.  I'd never been to a professional bloggers conference before, mostly because I'd heard such disappointing reports from others and it's a big cost to feel let down, however I didn't need to worry here. Every part of this conference had the enjoyment of it's attendees at heart. From the hand printed by Zeena (filled with amazing products) goodie bags, strong cohesive branding throughout, unbelievable venue to the talented and honest speakers; the event was well thought out in every way.

Now this is where I started to get shaky, I'd come here totally alone only having spoke to some of the attendees through twitter. It's strange that for business I do lots of networking and can come across confident but in this crowd and because my blog is more personal I found it really hard to put myself forward. I did make some great new friends, everyone here was on the same page(you didn't have to explain why you were photographing a book) and after a while I think I opened up a little more and relaxed.

The keynote speaker to open the event was Joy Cho from OhJoy fame, as a designer, blogger, author and the most followed person on Pinterest, she spoke of her life and the choices made to bring her to where she is now. I must admit at this point I was totally overwhelmed with the things Joy had achieved so far, it made me think what's holding me back? The main point that came from her story was she knew what she wanted and tried, tried and tried until she got there, it didn't matter what obstacles were in her way. It's also amazing to meet people in real life when you've followed them online, with Joy she really is as beautiful as her blog photographs portray. 

The next day was an early start and on the Saturday the event was filled with sponsor stands,comprising of B&Q promoting their new paint range(with meringues no less), Betty & Walter who gave the bloggers all a treat in their goody bags, The Hambledon (who I'll need more jam off in the future), Thompson Holidays and a selection of book publishers. As well as the staff from Mollie Makes who were speakers and had a photographer present. I found these stalls a great talking point for bloggers during breaks, and the people staffing them were really proud of their products and company. There was no hard sell to buy, they really did just add to the fun element of the day. 

The main day was a slam dunk of brilliant speakers, the ones I saw were:
Will Taylor - Bright Bazaar Book launch
Ann Ditmeyer - Discussing value.
Tilly Warnes & Vicky Orchard - From blog to book.
Yvonne Eijkenduijn - Yvestown
Alison Sandler, Annabel Beeforth, Courtney Adamo & Joy Cho - Blogging business panel.
Cathy James - Social Media with Intention.
Caroline Rowland, Heather Young, Kate Carter & Lara Watson - Secrets of the Editors.
Natalie Lue - Closing keynote speaker.

These speakers inspired me so much in different ways, giving insider knowledge of working with magazines and publishers, how they grew their blogs into businesses, they all had such passion and dedication but the one that really touched me was Natalie Lue.  Her quote of Do not "should" yourself, is now pinned to my note board. She discussed the creative nature of blogging, and how her business began but also the point of not making comparisons, admitting her feelings of inadequacy hearing Joy Cho speak and telling herself off for it. Proving that it doesn't matter how big you get in the business we all have our worries. This is what I admired most in all the speakers I saw, their ability to show their worries, passions, open their hearts out to the attendees and then in the end leave them filled with enthusiasm that they could achieve the same level of blog/business success too.  Thank you Blogtacular, I can't wait to catch up with you amazing people next year.

Thank you to MollieMakes.co.uk for the lovely photographs  If you're feeling glum that you couldn't attend Blogtacular then fear not, the talks and panels were recorded and can be purchased through a Virtual Conference ticket, and when released will be promoted online with a virtual party, so you get the social media interaction too.  I'll certainly be buying one to catch up on the sessions I couldn't attend, and be inspired all over again.

What's my style? #BEDM

I have a confession to make, in April I turned 37 and I still don't feel I have any personal style.  I've worked in a clothes shop for 10 years now and help people dress and feel more confident, but I can't do it for myself. I know what clothes I like but they never look or feel right on me, I never really feel like me; this is more a problem in my thinking than in how I actually look.  It's been a problem from my teenage years, having been bullied at school for not having trendy clothes or wearing the right brands, it always weighs on my mind when I choose now; leaving me to pick things I think people would like rather than what I really want. I'm quite good at hiding my style stress but find it's getting worse as I get older, I just want to feel confident for a change. 
This weekend I had the joy of attending Blogtacular, a blogging conference in London, and before I went ended up stressing about clothes, image etc... I shouldn't have worried as while there I met the loveliest, bunch of accepting people there ever was. As soon as I entered all my worries eased away.  I'll talk about the whole experience in another post, but I while there I learnt some great advice from some great speakers and business women.
DON'T "SHOULD" YOURSELF DO IT YOUR WAY GO EASY ON THE COMPARISON 

Photograph courtesy of MollieMakes

Spectacular Blogtacular

My terrific Tuesday news this week is.... 

How awesome does this look!

Of late I've been struggling to find my place in the blogging world, mainly because it was only really for general mutterings and musings. However I feel this year is one of focus for me, choosing what I actually want as a career, where I want my crafts to take me and want I want my life to aim at. Yeah me. 

Kat Molesworth of Housewife Confidential and Kat Goldin of Slugs on the Refrigerator are experienced bloggers and makers that I've followed for several years, with these 2 running the show it's bound to be a great event, and the speakers are spectacular 

Going to Blogtacular is a way of me making a commitment to blogging, making new friends and taking my blogging to the next level. I can't wait to get there. If you're going to Blogtacular give a shout up in the comments so I can follow your blog.