Sunshine Girl

Perfect Postcard

One city that I've been dying to go to for quite some time now is New Orleans. The energy and food scene alone make me want to plan a trip there ASAP. I've found quite a few awesome hotels through research about the city, and Loft 523 is a standout modern option. It has a great location and was converted to a hotel from an old warehouse. In the second installment of Perfect Postcard, I'm bringing you to NOLA to check out this sleek hotel beauty.

More facts on Loft 523:

Best amenities: Large, spacious rooms & Aveda amenities

Location: Near the French Quarter, but not right in the thick of it

Rates: $$ (on a scale of $ to $$$$); expect to pay anywhere from $100-$300, depending on the time of year and how busy the city is.

Book the hotel here

Scenes from Miami

Remember when I went to Miami a couple of months ago? Well, I finally got around to getting the photos I took with a fun, waterproof disposable camera developed. I'm pretty happy with how they came out and they capture the weekend well. The graininess of the photos is kind of nice. I haven't used a disposable camera in ages, so it was fun to experiment with this one. What do you think?

Perfect Postcard

This post contains two pieces of news. One: I am officially going to start using proper capitalization in an attempt to graduate from all lower-case writing. Woo! Also going to drop my signature on each post (you all know it's me by now!) so if you notice its disappearance, yes, it was on purpose.

More importantly, and second: a new feature! i've been wanting to do a travel series here on the blog for quite some time now, so i'm excited to introduce the new series "Perfect Postcard" to you. As a self-proclaimed hotel nerd and a travel enthusiast, I'm always eager to plan my next getaway. I hope that this series will inspire your travels and help you plan future trips as well. I'll be featuring a new hotel through this series each time, including ones I've stayed at, and ones I hope to check into one day.

More facts on The Townhouse Hotel:

Must-do: Check out the rooftop deck for a great place to catch some sun or delve into a good book!

Best amenities: Free wi-fi, complimentary breakfast & a mostly-empty in-room mini fridge (so you can stash your own goodies in there--no one likes overpriced hotel snacks and beverages that crowd the fridge)

Insider tip: if you walk away from Collins Ave., you'll hit a nice path that runs along the ocean. it's perfect for a stroll or a bike ride, and if you want to lay on the beach, the hotel will give you free towels to take with you.

Location: Very close to all of South Beach's nightlife, but on a quiet side street so you won't be kept up all night. Less than one block from the beach. A 10 minute walk to Lincoln Road Mall.

Rates: $$ (on a scale of $ to $$$$); expect to pay anywhere from $100-$350, depending on the time of year.

Book the hotel here directly for more flexibility in cancellation policy (also available through Tablet)

I would love to hear your thoughts on this first installment of "Perfect Postcard," and look forward to bringing you a new hotel in the next round! Here's to happy travels!

recaps from south beach

i'm still reliving my weekend trip to miami, and there's no better way to do that than to go through photos from my time there. i've also promised some recap pictures for you, so wanted to share a few instagram shots from my days there. they were filled with lounging in the sun, listening to amazing music, lots of dancing and some lovely dates. it was a great escape and i hope to go back to miami, forever one of my favorite cities, soon.

follow my instagram adventures @lanuchan

off to miami

here we go! i'm off, to spend a weekend in the sun with my favorite. i'm heading south to experience an amazing music festival and take some time off. i won't be posting as regularly, but you can stay on top of my adventures through twitter and instagram (username: lanuchan). wishing you all good weekends full of sun and fun..'til next week!

via milk & mode

packing

just wanted to share a few snaps with you from my most recent endeavor, packing for this weekend's upcoming trip to miami. it's one of my favorite cities to visit--i love the weather, the architecture, and the energy. and the fact that i can wear crazy bright prints without a second thought.

festival of lights

i just had to share these breathtaking photos of the light festival in ghent, belgium. aren't they spectacular?

via here

dynamic duo: eiffel tower

two very different takes on one of the most recognizable sights in the world. i love them both.

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london: part two

i wanted to share a few more photos from my past london adventures with you. i talked about the east london walking tour i went on last time, and some of these pictures are a continuation of that, as we walked towards brick lane (known for its shopping and great curry, yum!). on the way, we stopped at a cool gallery, tony's, which specializes in street graffiti art and features graffiti artists--we saw this exhibition. then, tony himself gave us a walking tour of the area and pointed out some of the cool live graffiti by artists like malarky and lucas. i was a fan of the colorful, animated art.

next, a stop at blitz, a new huge vintage shop set up like a department store. i could have spent hours in there, but probably better that i didn't. they had a fun array of accessories, shoes, clothing and homewares and i loved how things were laid out in an approachable way. we headed back to our hotel after that, the aloft london excel, and had a low key dinner nearby.

finally, in this series, a favorite shot of mine from the O2 center, where i visited the british music experience and got to see the large O2 complex (similar to nyc's madison square garden). it was a bit dreary that day, but i loved the circular windows on the building, not to mention the cool pattern on its exterior. hope you enjoyed, round 3 coming soon!

london: part one

finally getting around to posting some photos from my london trip *happy dance* it's only taken me...forever. anyway, these are from my walking tour of east london (led by the great team over at urban gentry), which houses some very cool, hip neighborhoods. vyner street had tons of discreet art galleries, broadway market featured pubs and cafes and hoxton street was home to a very innovative east london furniture shop, which uses discarded wood from the neighborhood to create repurposed furniture.

as you can see, i even got a sweet london memento from the furniture shop, a new doorstop for my room. more to come from the rest of my trip soon!