About
I keep the receipts so you don't waste yours.
The Circle — Curated. Interesting. Reviews. Curiosities. Lessons. Explore.
Photo idea: swap this for a candid shot of me at a café or hotel terrace — notebook out, coffee mid-sip, natural light, no studio backdrop.
The Circle started as a notes app. Every time I bought something I regretted, stayed somewhere that looked nothing like the photos, or found a small brand doing something genuinely good, I wrote it down. After a while the notes had a shape — six recurring things I couldn't stop chasing.
Those six became the name. Curated for the handpicked finds. Interesting for the obsessions that hijack my week. Reviews for the honest verdicts. Curiosities for the facts I can't keep to myself. Lessons for what the mistakes cost me. Explore for the lodges, hotels, cities and back roads that changed my mind.
I'm not a critic and I'm not an influencer. I'm the friend you text before you book, buy or believe the ad. I use my own money on most of what appears here. When something is gifted or sponsored, it's declared at the top of the post — and it still gets the same verdict it would have earned otherwise.
What you can expect: short paragraphs, real numbers, strong opinions loosely held, and zero pressure to buy anything. If a post saves you money or sends you somewhere brilliant, it did its job.
"Recommend it like you'll have to answer for it. Because you will."
What I stand for
Four things I won't trade.
Honesty over hype
If it disappointed me, you'll read that first. A recommendation is only worth something if a warning is possible.
Receipts, always
Prices, how long I used it, where I stayed, what I paid. Facts get sources; opinions get labelled as opinions.
Taste you can trust
Curation is subtraction. Most things don't make the cut, and that's the entire point.
Curiosity as a habit
I follow the rabbit hole and bring back what's worth your time — even when it's gloriously useless.
The brand promise
You'll always know what something costs, what's wrong with it, and whether I'd buy it again.
No fake five stars. No paid-for enthusiasm. No recommendation I couldn't defend to your face.
Three things I'm always hunting for
- 1A hotel breakfast worth setting an alarm for
- 2Objects that quietly outlive their price tag
- 3Facts I can drop at dinner and get away with