Showing posts with label week in photos. Show all posts

Exmouth: sun, sea and swimming... PICTURE HEAVY!

I have just returned from 2 weeks in the lovely seaside town of Exmouth, spent with Mark and my family and I can honestly say it was lovely. it wasn't anything fancy but I have returned refreshed and rejuvenated from my enforced ban  break from the internet and some rather yummy food! I didn't do much but potter around [I am a young granny after all!] but I did manage to snap a few pictures! I know seaside holidays aren't to everybody's taste but I was raised on them and I don't think they can be beaten.  The weather was lovely and I was able to potter around town in the charity shops and then down to the beach for a quick swim too...bliss! 

























♥ Georgian rose tea in Topsham. 
♥ Fish Medley Platter.
♥ Chocolate and strawberry roulade. 
♥ The gorgeous Georgian tearooms in Topsham. 
♥ Topsham station. 
♥ A charity fete at a local nursing home [yes I'm cool] with fresh fruit, jams and flowers. 
♥ Feast ice-creams, classic holiday fare. 
♥ Exmouth Marina and a future holiday home? 
♥ Posing in the park after having my hair cut. 
♥ Oh buoy! 
♥ Colourful beach-huts and moody skies. 
♥ Possibly the best letterbox ever?
♥ Footprints in the sand. 
♥ A colourful signpost. 
♥ The tearooms again! 
♥ Hanging baskets. 
♥ A giant papier mache lion at the nursing home (I don't know why either but I wanted to bring him home...) 
♥ A cheesy pose from Mark. 
♥ Ice-cream treats. 
♥ Exmouth clock tower.

Unfortunately it was over far too quickly and I am already missing the smell of the sea and all of that clotted cream... I  dread to think how much weight I have put on but if you can't enjoy yourself on holiday, when can you?! I was a little sad and nostalgic as it reminded me of all of the holidays we used to go on as children with my grandparents but this will probably be one of the last times we all go together as a family. At least I have the memories and the sand in my shoes to remind me! 

Do you like seaside holidays? What would your perfect holiday entail?

P.S. I am looking for people to guest post towards the end of the month as I am off to Italy for a week to celebrate my parent's 25th wedding anniversary, so if you are interested, PLEASE give me a shout! :)
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This week has been...bittersweet

L-R: James, Lisa, Mark, me, Harry and Danni
This week I finally finished my exams and I don't think it has quite sunk in yet. I haven't been quite as ecstatic as I was last year but I think that is because it is all happening for the last time. Saying goodbye to my housemates has been absolutely heartbreaking, especially as I have had such an amazing time this year with some really brilliant people. I really hate saying goodbye and I really can't believe that these three years have gone by so quickly and I'm not ready to let it all go yet. 


Luckily there are a couple of us still around and we have been making the most of our freedom with lots of yummy food and plenty of Pimms.. there really is nothing better in the sunshine! I am planning to spend a lot of time in the park picnicking too, a cheap way to have fun and use up all of the food from my fridge too :P
You may have seen my tweet about finding a grey bag and let me tell you, it was next to impossible. I have a pair of grey shoes that go with pretty much everything and have never found a bag to match them until now! After a morning traipsing around Leamington,  I finally managed to track down this beauty in Miss Selfridge. It is the perfect size and can be used for day or night so I am really pleased with it! I am hoping to wear this for the Aussie party next Saturday, are any of you going? 


(♥)
I also managed to meet up with Sarah, Hannah and  Hannah's friend for coffee today and it was lovely to see them again, even if we still didn't take any photos! I have been slowly working my way through Sex and the City too, as the episodes are only half an hour or so I can watch quite a few a day! That and The Sims 3 have been taking up my time recently, perfect for relaxing on the sofa with! 


How do you cope with saying goodbye? What is the best way to relax?



P.S. Are any of you going to the Aussie party? What are you wearing? 
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This week has been...owl-coholic


I am Maria and I am an owl-coholic.* I love the little critters and I have a vast collection of owl prints. I added to this when I made an order at Dainty Roses last week. Mark treated me to this gorgeous necklace and also added in a lovely brooch to my order. I love the fact that it has a watch in its tummy too which is revealed when you squeeze his ears together... absolutely amazing! 

Cute AND practical!

Mark chose me another owl, a key and a teapot (due to my well-documented love of tea!) I am already eyeing up some more charms so a bracelet or another brooch is definitely in my future! **


Now Danni, Lisa and I have been talking about getting a hip-flask for ages now and I finally caved and treated myself to this cute little flask as a post exam treat (or for if revision goes really badly! :P ) 


At the moment I have over 6 varieties of tea in the house and these Teapig teabags are the newest additions to my collection. I thought the chocolate flavoured tea would be my favourite but I prefer the honey bush and rooibos which is really yummy! I like the fact that it is decaffeinated too as it makes getting to sleep much easier and I'm pretty sure my skin has improved too...


I'm hoping this rather scary looking face mask will also help. I'm not patient enough to leave face masks on for very long but I this one peels off making it a lot less messy and hopefully easier to use! 

make a gif
* Apologies for this appalling pun but I just couldn't resist! ;) 
** I realise that this sounds like an advert for Dainty Roses but Mark bought this with his own money and we would both definitely recommend this! 
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This week has been...full of ups and downs...

As you may know, I have been taking part in the Aussie 'lighter life' challenge and this Saturday I attended a bootcamp day with some lovely Angels at the Reebok gym in Canary Wharf. I thought it would be a day of fun and games but, whilst I enjoyed the exercise we did, the yoga was more intense than I anticipated and 'Gymanda' certainly put us through our paces! When I got there though, I tucked into a yummy breakfast of strawberries, blueberries and pomegranate. I have been trying to eat more healthily recently and my fridge has been stocked with fruit and veg rather than crisps and chocolate! 


Luckily I won the giveaway at the lovely Lily's blog and won some yummy '9 bars' which I have absolutely fallen in love with! They are really filling and packed full of seeds and nuts which always make me feel more healthy ;) 



So far the nutty one is my favourite but the original also deserves a mention! 



I am also indebted to the lovely Lil (who was also my exercise buddy on Saturday!) who introduced me to the infamous Hummingbird Bakery which completely negated any good done by the bootcamp day! I figure though, as long as I don't over indulge then I should stay on track for a lighter life this Spring! 


The wrapping was SO beautiful that I didn't want to open it! 
I also need to mention my most recent purchase. I bought a gorgeous red midi skirt from the lovely Jazmine but I'm struggling with how to style it...heels are a must but I'm not sure about the rest of the outfit which is where you lovely ladies come in! Any ideas about how to make me look chic rather than dumpy will be greatly appreciated and the best suggestion will have an outfit post dedicated to them ;) 


In an ideal world this Danielle Scutt necklace would definitely feature...a girl can but dream! I mean what could be better than teapots and red lipstick?! I also LOVE this teapot ring... jewellery perfection!


I forgot to add that this is an EPIC hot chocolate with Malteasers, fudge sprinkles, marshmallows, whipped cream... it's basically heaven in a mug! 


A special mention has to go to my friends Ian and George this week, who have made me feel a lot less stressed about the dreaded exam season and the revision it entails. I mean what could be better than days spent chatting and doing  walrus impressions with chopsticks?! [I'm afraid I don't actually have photos of this rather amazing occurrence! ] It was just what I needed after another week of illness and stress too :) 






What have you done to cheer yourself up this week? Have you done any window shopping recently? 



P.S. Posting will probably be a bit more sporadic over the next couple of weeks as I have my finals coming up [eek!] so my focus is (temporarily) away from the blog :) 
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This week has been...tea-tastic!

I think liking tea has become a bit of a blogger cliché, along with liking cupcakes, peter pan collars and whimsical vintage prints. I do have the obligatory 'Keep calm...' poster but I genuinely do love tea.. [maybe not as much as Hayley though!] I drink gallons of the stuff when I am at uni (more if I am working to a deadline!) and I like to have pretty mugs to keep my tea in. Last year for Easter, Mark bought me a hand-painted Whittards mug with an Easter egg in the top. When I went to Swindon designer outlet, my first port of call was the Whittards shop and I spotted this little lovely. I am a sucker for anything with a cute print and this mug was no exception!


I should stay straight off that I am a strong brew, milk, no sugar kind of gal but I have always been curious about more exotic forms of tea. My housemate Lisa has this tea and it always smells amazing so I am excited to try it out! The main reason I picked this up though was the cup, isn't the pattern just amazing?! 


I also received some free tea from Clipper after seeing Lucy's fab post alerting me to the opportunity. I have been a fan of Clipper since my mum bought me some of their tea for uni but I  never tried green tea so I am looking forward to trying that! 




I swear, barbeques with my family are the nicest way to spend sunny weekends! Some gorgeous burgers and sausages from a local farmers market, caramelised onion cooked on the barbeque and Fab lollies for pudding. There really is nothing better! 


Our garden looks so pretty at the moment, these ragged edges tulips are everywhere! 



I will leave you with a sneak peek of an outfit post I have planned :) 

What have you been up to this week? How do you spend your weekends? 



P.S. I have rediscovered my love for Tumblr and would love to see yours :)  
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