Travel item Loves
Spending the last 7 weeks in lockdown, I’ve been both able to achieve a lot - and very little. As a result of the situation, my appreciation for the smaller things has definitely blossomed! Here’s a rundown of some items and moments I’ve been loving more and more each day throughout island life, as well as the rest of our travels since last November.
#1 The trusty Aeropress
Something I bought for Fab based on our last trip to the Philippines, and seeing how much money we spent each day between us on coffee. I used to use an Aeropress at my old coffee shop job, and was amazed at the quality of the coffee that results from such a speedy process. After buying one for my brother-in-law a couple of years ago, I knew this would be the perfect solution for enjoying great coffee on the go. I originally purchased the perfect houseblend for Aeropress from El Union, and since then we have enjoyed a Sri Lankan option (one with vanilla blended in too) a Vietnamese robusta which was so strong I always needed to ask for extra hot water, and since landing in the Philippines we have worked our way through three local blends: baraco, hazelnut-roasted and arabica (which is probably my favourite so far!) We wake up with a coffee, have another pick-me-up in the mid-afternoon and can add it to all sorts of recipes like energy balls, banana cake and smoothies.
#2 Our speaker
Actually loaned from Fab’s mum (thanks so much, Lucie!) we can set our soundtrack to mirror whatever vibe we’re feeling. Right now I’m listening to a Bossa California, Mexican-inspired funky beats mix for a coffee drinking, blog-typing atmosphere. Having a decent sound with bass makes listening to music all-the-more enjoyable, and of course a big shout-out to Spotify for letting us discover all the new music and podcasts over the last few months. Listening to Oprah through a speaker is sensational - give it a try.
#3 My hard drive
Or any hard drive! When I asked for this for my birthday last year, I had no idea how much I’d use it. Storing thousands of photos and eventually documents has given my poor old laptop a little extra breathing room, and has noticeably improved its functioning speed. Plus I don’t have that ‘oh-my-god-what-if-I-lose-everything’ panic, and can store my RAW images so if I fancy a little re-edit, they’re ready to roll.
#3 Local markets
Okay, this is an ongoing fascination of mine - just ask Fab how many times I’ve stopped in the last six months to take photos of the perfect pile of dragonfruits or papayas. It’s too good not to; fruit and veggies are beautiful, and I’d love to be able to buy and eat them ALL. It’s also awesome now that we have a kitchen and can buy the weird and wonderful items we see everywhere! I never knew you could prepare an aubergine in so many ways, or whip tahini into a cream, or that I could chop coriander so finely. Also shout out to our new 85 peso knife, which has become my pride and joy.
#5 My reusable water bottle
I left my first white Chillys bottle on a plane somewhere between Abu Dhabi and Manila, and genuinely nearly cried when I realised [yes, I was jet lagged, yes I was on a long-haul flight and yes I was emotional] but I have literally used a reusable water bottle for every single day that I’ve owned it. Whether you’re in an airport (where it’s a legal requirement to offer water refill) on the road, at a bar, at home, taking a sip in the middle of the night - they are so unbelievably useful and must have saved me so much money in buying single use bottles of water in airports alone!
What have you found a new love for in the past few weeks? It seems like so many people are appreciating their belongings, books, sofas and outdoor spaces so much more since being more confined to their homes. I hope this continues long after we’re allowed out into the world again!
Big love x