Caroline Burke | Burkatron

I love to receive gifts (and to send them to myself.. all hail black friday!) in the last few weeks I've gathered some seriously cute stuff so I've compiled it into what I'll loosely refer to as a gift guide (but basically I just wanted to show you some niceness.)

cards | tiger stores

iPhone 6+ case* | casetify

I was so relieved to upgrade my mobile this year I decided to get the biggest thing on offer- the 6+ and holy hell it's a handful. I don't regret it for a minute but it's been pretty difficult (actually near impossible) to get a cute phone case. thankfully casetify have solved all my cover issues and I can finally ditch the basic black for this tropical beauty... pow! I think a new phone case is pretty safe bet for a xmas gift too, just make sure it's the right size! 

does any one else find it hard not to buy tiger greeting cards? I figure they're handy for last minute card giving (I always forget someone) and well they're so sweet I'd be happy to get a few.

james and I went away this weekend and I wanted to pop to a few shops I don't have locally. I've been quite restrained lately trying to only purchase items that I'll wear often- I've realised that 90% of wardrobe is overlooked in favour of grabbing a basic tee and jeans for daily wear. I guess I'm a creature of habit!

lemon sweater: cow vintage

gingham skirt: primark

bag: vintage

vans: c/o allsole

I'm having a fully fledged love affair with midi skirts ..I've always loved them but now they're back in fashion there's even more of them to choose from.. hurrah! this little beauty was a steal from primark.. second to my love of midi's is my love of gingham (I'm having primary school flashbacks) so this was a total no brainer purchase. 

the only downfall? wearing it on a sunny but windy afternoon.. nobody needs to see my cartoon print knickers making an appearance... well, ever.

everything else in this outfit is quite old, I've been having a wardrobe spring clean so rediscovered this vintage top and thrifted bag (I love finding forgotten clothes tucked away!) the only new addition is these pastel vans from allsole which have finally seen the light of day now the weather has perked up.. hallelujah!

back soon!

caroline x

topshop sunglasses + glitter socks

I've had these for a while but forgot to include them in my last round up duh! when I'm trying to resist the urge to buy EVERYTHING in topshop I'll buy little bits to satisfy my shopping urges.. this time it was in the form of glitter socks (total mush have right?) and sunglasses!

soap and glory scrubs and hand cream

if there's one thing I don't need it's more hand cream but boots 3 for 2 turns me into a crazy person. I figured I could use it as a foot cream instead as my burts bees one ran out last month.. any excuse! the flake away body scrub is an old favourite of mine for fake tanning skin prep but the new addition for me is their breakfast scrub.. HOLY LORD this stuff should not be legal!! I've already considered eating it numerous times as it smells like pancakes and maple syrup.. it's also brilliant at buffing my skin so I'm finding all kinds of excuses to jump in the shower this week.

pop 3 lomography camera

I hold ellie fully responsible for my purchase of this camera! it's pretty awesome though as it has 9 lenses.. 9 people! because of this you get an cool repeating image on each snap when the film is developed .. take a peek at ellies full post here to see what I'm rambling on about (ellies blog is pretty damn amaze so it's well worth a stalker-ish browse) I also love that this camera is gold.. PIMPIN'

lip crayons

more results from my boots rampage.. this time lip crayons! I love lipstick but I find it a bit high maintenance (due to my annoying lip chewing habit I never seem to be able to keep it on for long!) I always seem to have chapped lips at the minute so most mornings I skip the lipstick and opt for something a bit more easy peasy in the form of these little rascals. I tend to apply them then rub them off slightly so they just stain my lips before applying lip balm or gloss.

from left to right these are rimmel colour rush balm in boom chic a boom and rumour has it, revlon colourburst lacquer balm in provocateur femme fatale and maxfactor lipfinity lip tint in 06.

the maxfactor tint isn't really a crayon it applies more like a felt pen but the stain is intence and longer lasting.. perfect for nights out. I've found no real difference between the rimmel and revlon crayons and the rimmel ones are only £6 (I think superdrug has a buy one get one half price offer at the minute) I'd love to try the matte ones but I know old habit die hard and I'll always come back to the glossier ones as they're easier for me to wear.. 

have you tried any of these? 

back soon!

caroline x

a bumper instagram post today! 

apologies for the epic amount of pictures; I always take millions of snaps when I go away and this was a trip I've been dreaming of for YEARS (no joke, I was a big kid)

I wanted to share some of the best places we went to eat as a few of them aren't really in the guide books; plus I did so much research before I went I thought it would be a waste not to share it with you! lots of you have asked for my recommendations so I'll pop them in at the end of the post.. 

take off! | 5th avenue, I was really excited about seeing the famous yellow taxis and they are literally everywhere! | Chrysler building! my favourite of the famous skyscrapers especially at night when the art deco design is lit up! |  washington square | eataly food market | on the statten island ferry- it's free and you get good views of the statue of liberty! | meatpacking district- great bars, this is the place to go at night! | times square | urban outfitters shopping

museum of modern art (moma) | kiosk entrance- one of my favourite shops downtown | the high line, worth a stroll along in the summer | flatiron building | warhol at moma | ed's lobster bar | flea market | eat italy deli selection | new york stock exchange |

ice skating at the rockefeller | more gallery visits | I loved taking street shots | brooklyn bridge | james and I | tea break | moma | central park in the snow | hells kitchen flea market

grand central | french toast at clinton st bakery | financial district | snacks, I'm obsessed with american sweets!  | empire state building | shake shack | eating hot dogs and playing space invaders at crif dogs & PDT | art installations | ridin' the subway

so aside from the obvious sights of new york (times square, empire state, flatiron, chrysler, statue of liberty etc and the emotional 9/11 memorial) there's a million things to see and do. 

each day we picked an area and went off to explore; we'd made a notebook of what we wanted to see in each district (being a bit organised in advance made it a breeze)

so if you're planning a trip these are some foodie places you should DEFINITELY visit (follow the links for the locations etc)

clinton street baking co: one of the best brunch stops in the city, like all the best eateries you'll probably find a queue so leave your name/book a table and go off and shop for an hour! trust me the pancakes & brioche french toast are the best I've ever eaten!!

crif dogs: this place is brilliant! teeny tiny, dark and shaking with old school r'n'b tunes. home of NYC's best wiener but don't expect frills; you'll get a hot dog on a paper plate and you'll eat it off a space invaders table it's hipster with a capital H! you may see a queue for a phone booth inside this 'special' phone is used to gain access to the secret cocktail bar called PDT behind the sliding booth door 

eataly: looks like a small delicatessen until you walk through and an enormous market appears before your eyes! stop and sample the most amazing cheeses and meats at the independent restaurants with a glass of prosecco at lunchtime (a real treat and great for photo's too!)

ed's lobster bar: if you don't like lobster probably not the place for you! if however you do get yo' ass to soho to sit behind the bar and tuck into the most amazing food ever! the fresh buttered lobster roll is nothing short of divine and quite rightly their signature dish! (the lobster ravioli is also jaw dropping -I kept stealing bites from my bf!) seriously tasty.

shake shack: burger lover? you'll probably have heard of this place but it's really a must try! freshly made patties and mouthwatering milkshakes (the peanut butter & vanilla are gorgeous) you may have to queue at peak times but not for long as it's a fast turnaround. 

katz delicatessen: this will be on every tourist agenda (remember that scene from when harry met sally? it was filmed here) but serious fun so you should definitely pay them a visit. be prepared the bustle is non stop and the famous rueben sandwich (it's been on man vs food so you know it's big!!) is the hardest thing I've ever tried to eat.

spice market in the meatpacking district this is a great restaurant because of the decor and atmosphere; we went without reservations and managed to get a chef's table which was pretty awesome. we watched them cook whilst we sipped on cocktails and generally drooled over the incredible smells of fresh spices!

food aside (there is more I could ramble on about) the other thing I'd really recommend is the flea markets (SERIOUSLY BRILLIANT) I went to the hells kitchen flea and it was one of my highlights, full of incredible vintage clothes and accessories. I found the vintage clothing shops massively overpriced in new york so the flea markets really made up for it. don't be afraid to haggle; the brooklyn flea is the biggest and best so definitely worth the trip if you're over there at the weekend! 

I'll wrap it up there before you're all comatose...zzzzzzz! If anyone is visiting this year feel free to ask me any questions, I'd love to help!

back soon!

caroline x