What to do with Instagram photos {+ a little offer for you}

God knows how many folders full of pictures I have sitting on my phone, iPad, laptop, memory sticks, external hard drive. Slowly but surely I am beginning to realise that as fantastic as it is being able to take a gazillion photos and store all of them on a neat gadget, by forgetting or not getting round to printing them I am effectively devaluing the photographs. What's the point of them being tucked away on a device, only to be seen on a screen when or if I remember that they are there?

Like many, I took part in the 100 Happy Days project and chose to record this via Instagram. It made me think about the photographs that I took each day and how I shot them - resulting in some nicer than usual pictures I think as they had thought behind them.

With all of this in mind, I am making a more concerted effort to print my snaps and with the 100 Happy Days project, in particular, have a physical record of the little journey of happiness (or, you know, what the project symbolised personally). A quick scour of Twitter suggestions led me to a business called Inkifi who kindly gifted me a mini photo book full of photos that I could directly upload from my Instagram account to their website.

I'd never really tried printing Instagram photos before but having built up quite a collection of them, I hadn't quite figured out where or how I wanted to display them so this photo book was an ideal solution. I envisaged popping it onto a bookshelf in my new flat, changing the page it is open on every now and then. You know, the kind of prop that visitors take a peek at when they pop over and you yourself enjoy looking through a million times over.

First impressions ::

Inkifi are a pleasure to work with - polite, helpful, prompt - and their products are evidently of high quality. As you can see in the photographs, the picture quality is lovely and the paper is pleasingly tough too. I like that they have developed their original roots in photography and web design and applied their passion to a newer medium too. Even more of a plus that they use environmentally sustainable materials.

What I love ::

i. that I have my recent favourite Instagram shots all in one physical place

ii. that I can flick through the book and look at the photos as though I am seeing them for the first time because having them off-screen is WONDERFUL

iii. that delivery was super speedy and free of charge

iv. the simplicity of the idea

v. the brilliant quality

vi. the community feel of Inkifi's website (oh and they have a blog!)

Two little things that I wasn't expecting ::

i. the book is smaller than I expected but then again I'm not really sure what I was basing my expectations on...perhaps the size I wanted them to be rather than any concrete facts. Not really too much of a problem, however, as I'm just used to its size now.

ii. the order of the photographs didn't match the order I'd chosen them in on the website which, again, isn't the end of the world, but did mean that a photo that I didn't really want on the front on account of me being in a hospital bed is on the front. Upon ordering, I had arranged the photos in an order that meant something to my little journey through the last year or so, but you know, it's not a huge problem - the book still looks lovely and serves the same purpose! Not a deal-breaker, but perhaps something to definitely check with Inkifi when you order with them, (and you definitely should order with them...stay tuned for the offer at the end!) especially if you are giving the book as a gift.

If you too are looking for lovely quality Instagram prints, I would highly recommend Inkifi's range of products. As I mentioned above, delivery worldwide is completely FREE of charge. The photo book featured in this post can contain up to 50 photos. They also do huge posters, magnets, square prints, greeting cards and other bits and bobs. I think all of their products would make lovely gifts.

 :: Offer ::

Tempted? Perfect - Inkifi have kindly offered Fill My Little World readers 20% off  so just enter "bee20" in the discount box when you order. Wonderful!

Let me know what you usually do with your Instagram photos and if you order anything from Inkifi :)

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As mentioned above, the photo book was kindly gifted to me by Inkifi but all context is genuine and all views are obviously my own! 

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Travelling with Airbnb

You'll all know by now that I've recently got back from a trip around Spain and the Basque Country. Lots of people have asked whether we stayed in hostels but actually what we did was book accommodation through Airbnb. Not enough people knew what we were talking about so I thought I'd put together this little guide to travelling with Airbnb to show you how brilliant an experience it can be...

What is this Airbnb you speak of? Is it like booking a hostel?

Airbnb is a website where people who have a spare room in their home can advertise it as a place to stay for visitors. In exchange for a nightly rate (which is very often cheaper than a hostel), your trip becomes a great deal more authentic as you get to stay in a local's home, naturally learning more about the culture of your holiday destination and picking up some excellent recommendations for eating, drinking and exploring. For us, it was a brilliant alternative to hostels. During our last European adventure, we inter-railed and stayed at hostels the whole trip, which was a great experience for meeting other travellers, but what we loved about the Airbnb experience was that we had more space and freedom as well as being able to get to know our hosts and any other guests they also had with them.

Somebody's home? As in, going to stay with a STRANGER? Isn't that a bit unsafe?

Airbnb is pretty good at the security side of things. They get hosts and guests to verify their identification online, for example. Sure it was a bit weird the first time we did it as, yes, you are effectively going to stay with a stranger, but the way the website works allows you to see photographs of the hosts and their homes on their profile. Plus you get to see what their interests and hobbies are, what they do for work, and they get to see the same for you, so you never know you may end up making some friends!

The other great thing is that after a stay, each party is encouraged to leave a review of the other which is then visible to anybody looking at the host or traveller's profiles. So you can generally get a feel for the type of person the host is and whether you would be a good match.

You can also see which area the home is in - plug the address into Google Maps and take a peek on street view to figure out if it's the type of place you would like to stay in.

Sounds pretty good. How much time did you spend with the hosts though? Doesn't it get a bit invasive and awkward?

In some instances you will be sharing the property with the host and in others you may have an entire apartment to yourself. All of ours were live-in hosts.

Some hosts are more hands-on than others, but the majority of ours spent time chatting to us each day, suggesting places to eat and sights to see. On the night of the football World Cup final, we had just arrived in Mallorca and our hosts showed us a non-touristy spot for some tapas and beer, and in the end stayed and watched the game with us. It was a fantastic way to get to know the place from the viewpoint of a local (needless to say that Mallorca's party/Magaluf reputation overseas was very saddening for them) and to visit restaurants, cafes and bars that we perhaps wouldn't have had the confidence to stride into.

At another Airbnb stay in Mallorca, we were lucky enough to play with the hosts' naughty little puppy whenever we had the chance, and the hosts shared such interesting insights into their way of life. It was such an eye-opening experience getting to understand how the locals live.

In terms of privacy, all of our hosts respected our space and made us feel as though we could use their home as our own. Naturally, it did feel like we were staying as guests in someone's home so we were on our best behaviour but like I say, they were all kind and encouraged us to make ourselves at home.

Ultimately, like most social exchanges, people will generally reciprocate your behaviour so if you wanted complete privacy then I'm sure that would be respected, but to me that is a wasted experience.

Do you only get access to a bedroom and bathroom?

Not necessarily. Some stays include use of a kitchen and/or communal area. Just check on the property's profile.

When do you pay? Is it expensive?

You pay at the moment you book but the host doesn't receive the payment until after the stay. It is generally cheaper than a hotel and mostly even cheaper than a hostel (especially in Western Europe) but obviously prices fluctuate depending on season/local events.

All in all, I couldn't recommend travelling with Airbnb more. It was an awesome way to meet people and stay in some really beautiful accommodation. I loved that we stayed in streets that were more residential, but only a stone's throw away from the touristy stuff if we wanted it.

Oh and by the way, I have written this off my own back - no affiliation with Airbnb whatsoever - just really enjoyed the experience!

If you've stayed in Airbnb accommodation, what did you like about it? And if not, do you think it is something you might try?

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Finding joy and getting stuff done

Spotted in Valldemossa, Mallorca

As I write this, I am sitting in my room with a towel turban on my head. About 30 seconds ago, I caught sight of myself in the bathroom mirror and did an inward giggle. Do you know the ones I mean? Those discernibly silent laughs which speak volumes in your facial muscles, like someone has metaphorically turned up the volume on your favourite song and your nose and cheeks dance in a scrunched up fashion. Sort of like a crazy smile, I suppose. A crazy smile of a stunned gremlin.

Anyhow, aside from the fact that I almost didn't recognise myself because of the aforementioned creepy grin and hair-drying contraption on head, what I noticed was that this is the feeling I get when the simplest things manage to tap into the blotchy bits of my heart and push them away for a moment (or longer, if I'm lucky). Instead, they make room for a sense of confidence in the fact that a little thing has brightened up my evening.

Today was one of those days where I managed to scoop up all the confidence I could from small joys around me and dish it out in the tasks in order to get through my day productively. It was a huge success! I didn't even realise that's what I was doing until my weird mirror revelation a moment ago.

What I am trying to say is that you can be feeling intrinsically and somewhat permanently broken, sad or consumed on one level but it is important to remember that room for light can exist if only you allow yourself to see.

I hope that if you are in need of a coping mechanism, you haven't ruled out the little things yet.

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Thoughts and revelations inspired by the Nokia Lumia 1520

20 mega pixels is a lot to be carrying around in my handbag, let alone for something sizing up similarly to the length of my face. This has meant that I have wanted to photograph everything with a little itch telling me to do it properly - don't use such a crisp, sharp, beautiful screen to take any old rubbish. So I made a concerted effort to capture little bits of my days in the last couple of weeks that I thought were special, even if mostly for simple reasons. But you know, we're all advocates of the small things here anyway.

As phones go, this is pretty hefty dimensions-wise. I don't think I could fit it comfortably in my pockets without fear of it falling out or getting damaged, and it is slightly too big and thin to hold when taking photos from certain angles etc. However, the huge screen is something which I think I am going to struggle getting used to NOT having. I used to be mesmerised by the colours my iPhone 4 displays but I have been seriously blown away by how stunning the screen on this phone is.

For photography purposes, it is an exciting gadget to be handling and I don't know if it is because it is summer and all my photos seem to feature wonderful, natural light, but I really enjoyed snapping away on this. It has also aided my transition to filming to document, as opposed to just jotting down thoughts in my notebook/iPhone notes. Documenting or wanting to take photos of lots of things can sometimes feel as though you are taking the magic out of the moment, but with a device as thin as this, filming with it or snapping something quickly doesn't feel like as much of a disturbance because it kind of removes the barrier between the real world and camera.

A few more pros :: as a Windows phone, you can easily create/edit/view Office documents; the Nokia Cinemagraph feature is a fun, creative feature; transitions between pages/photos/screens are very smooth; easy to sync with computer; allows import of iTunes

A few more cons :: navigation takes a little getting used to; tricky to hold sometimes on account of its size/thinness; no physical button on front of phone (only sides); editing photos/videos tricky/not as slick as it could be; feeling a little silly using it for the phone feature on the go.

Sometimes things come along which help you out in ways you didn't really imagine. Recently, my corner of the web has been a little quieter and more subdued than it would usually be; it has been in need of a creative re-jig and encouragement. The Nokia Lumia 1520 has propelled the way I document everyday thoughts and images into a format I am finding more meaningful and regardless of whether those videos and photographs will ever make it to the web, it has made me think more carefully about projects I want to pursue and how I present my life. There we have it - a piece of technology which has inadvertently made an impact on my creative efforts. Who'd have thought it?! Nice work, Nokia.

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All images except the first in this post (and this one and this one) were captured on the Nokia Lumia 1520. I must say a huge thank you to the team for letting me play.

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Versailles // My favourite photos

Words keep failing me.

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Versailles // the Palace Gardens

Equipped with a picnic and the rest of the gardens to explore, A and I wandered around in the sunshine, stopping for lunch by the lake. We were incredibly lucky with the weather given that it was early March and not wearing a coat felt like an utter luxury. It was probably even too warm for tights!

Adventuring and relaxing in the vast grounds of the Palace was an absolute dream - the perfect setting for the ultimate catch-up.

Have you had a picnic yet this year?

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Versailles // Temple of Love

Goodness knows what we would have done if there had been no queue for the actual Palace and we'd had to cram that AND the gardens into one day. I'm certain you could spend a few days here and still not see all of it. A common feeling throughout the day was "What on earth did these people need all this space for?" but at least now they're sharing the love and we all get to picnic.

This bit here is the Temple of Love, A's favourite part of the whole of Versailles. Isn't it just beautiful? I showed the photos to my parents and both said that it reminded them of the tomb of Hafez in Shiraz, Iran , but this was in fact part of the English Garden built in 1778. It sits by the Petit Trianon (where Marie Antoinette used to hang out) and is made entirely from marble.

I can only assume this little boy's t-shirt is a reflection of his life motto as he was the only one we saw playing football with Cupid...

After that, A decided it was going to be her day too ...

...I almost left her to it but there was at least another two hours of walking to be done, ice-creams to be found and I needed my tour guide back!

I think A was right - this was definitely one of the prettiest places I have ever visited. Ever so peaceful too. What do you reckon? Where's the most peaceful place you've been to just outside of a city?

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Versailles // Marché Notre Dame

I was very lucky to be staying with A in southern Paris, only a half an hour bus ride from the beautiful town of Versailles. With such beautiful weather forecast, we spent our Sunday exploring the gardens of the Palace of Versailles in the glorious sunshine. Of course, any sunny day must be accompanied by a picnic so when we hopped off the bus, we followed a man carrying a wicker basket to the Marché Notre Dame. Here we let smells and potential photographs guide us, and ended up with a neat little (read BIG) lunch for the two of us.

The place was bustling with families, couples, older people with their dogs, food enthusiasts, cheese experts and friends catching up (like us!). It is predominantly a food market, although as you can see in the last photo, there were flowers aplenty too.

On a Sunday, the market is open until 2pm and although we arrived about an hour before this, many stalls were already packing up and I think we bought the last punnet of strawberries in the entire square, so head there earlier rather than later.

Address: Halles de Versailles, 78000 Versailles

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Paris // Lessons Learnt in Paris

Lessons Learnt in Paris

1. People will pose next to anything. A light in the crypt of the Pantheon next to the tomb of great writer, Voltaire? No flipping problem. The only rule was to be quiet and respect the building anyway. Hmmm.

2. You will almost get run over at least twice a day and therefore appreciate your ability to cross roads expertly in England.

3. There are lines on the metro which will remind you of specific ones on the London Underground. The seats are less cushioned but the stops are much closer together so I've not figured out which the better deal is.

4. Visiting when under 25 is fab because you get free entry into most of the top tourist attractions.

5. Brie and baguette works perfectly with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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