A week in Cornwall...

On the 19th June I hopped on a train from Somerset to Cornwall to spend a weeks holiday with my boyfriend and his family. I had very briefly visited Cornwall once before a few years ago, but had never had a proper opportunity to explore this area of England and I was excited to see what it had to offer. 

 To sum up my Cornwall experience in a nutshell; freezing ocean, beautiful sunsets, podgy seagulls and the best fish and chips EVER.

The house we stayed in was near St. Merryn and Padstow and about a minutes walk away from the serene, yet freezing, Cornish sea. 

  The view from the house:

As someone who is terrified of all things freezing and has never dared venture into the English sea before, the thought of plunging myself into the Cornish ocean was slightly daunting. With a great deal of persuasion from my boyfriend, Josh, I set forth (at snails pace) into the sea. 

This picture pretty much sums up my experience in the cornish sea. Me trying not to get freezing sea water down my back whilst clinging onto Josh for dear life. To be fair, the sea was highly invigorating, refreshing and a lot of fun... I'm just a cold water wimp. 

Next, the sunsets. On the Monday night a vibrant pink light lit up the lounge, the sky looked like it was on fire, painted all shades of pink, orange and yellow. 

My two favourite sunsets.  This sunset was the first of several beautiful ones. In my opinion beach sunsets are one of the prettiest sights ever.  

One of the highlights of my trip was without a doubt Sammy the Seagull, with his spindly little legs and huge bulging neck. Sammy stood on the balcony pretty much 24/7, demanding food and eating anything that was thrown at him. From Rick Stein's pasties to ciabatta bread, that seagull lived the high life for the week.... and gradually got fatter and fatter as the week went on. 

Sammy standing in all his glory in the evening sunlight, most probably hoping for us to throw him some tiger bread. 

Mid week me and Josh decided to go off and do some crabbing at Constantine Bay. I have never been crabbing before so was curious to try it. We clambered over lots of rocks covered in mussels, and if you listened really carefully you could hear them breathing which I though was quite cute.

It was a fun but not very successful crabbing experience, we saw one crab and caught one small tiger fish and that was about it. Needless to say it was fun seeing all the baby mussels and clams and the deep blue pools within the rocks.

My favourite day was without a doubt was the Thursday. We had a trip to Bedruthan steps and the beach was STUNNING. It felt like being in somewhere like Thailand or Vietnam with the massive rocks coming out of the water.

After strolling down the beach, falling down sandy sea ditches and exploring creepy caves, we headed to Wadebridge, where I encountered the best fish and chips I had ever had.*

*DISCLAIMER: when I say 'fish and chips' I should really be saying 'chicken nuggets and chips'... but still, they were really really good. 

 So, that is a little snippet and some of the highlights from my week in Cornwall. I miss waking up by the seaside and can't wait to go back! Definitely one of my fave places in England. 

♥

Magic Lipstick!

So a few weeks back I received a little gift. It was a lipstick by the brand in the shade 'Frog Prince.' I had never heard of this brand before so was very excited to try it! The lipstick is in this lovely illustrated box with the message; 'you have to kiss a lot of frogs to finally find your prince.' (Personally I have always loved this quote.) 

When you open the lipstick it is a very very scary shade of GREEN! However, when applied to the lips, it first comes out clear then gradually (in about 2 seconds) turns your lips a lovely natural shade of pink. A perfect shade for summer. 

This lipstick is now a fave of mine and a staple in my makeup bag. It goes with any look and its especially great if you're having a 'no makeup' day but want to add a bit of colour to your face. It is very moisturising and feels lovely and soft on the lips. It also stays on for HOURS. This lipstick is officially kiss-proof. Also perfect if you're going to a party or on a night out and don't want to have to keep re-applying lipstick every 5 minutes, because we all know how hard it is to apply lippy when slightly tipsy! 

So, this magic lipstick (as I like to call it) costs £22, which I think would be classed as a higher end product. Personally, I think it's worth every penny as I use this nearly everyday. I'm in love with colour, such a pretty shade of pink with a soft and moisturising feel to it.

I have also heard 'Lipstick Queen' has released blusher version of 'Frog Prince' which I can't wait to try out!

Magical!

♥

Travel // Barbados

Barbados. Sun, sea, cocktails and beaches. I have now been to Barbados three times, once when I was about 8 and twice last year in July and December.

I don't remember much from my holiday when I was 8, however I do remember this loverly moment.... The one of the right was the bell boy and on the left was the guy in charge of water sports. He used to strut up and down the beach whilst teenage girls oggled him, and who can blame them!? ;)

 So last July I went on a family holiday plus my best friend, Emily, to Barbados. Which, as you can imagine, we were both crazily excited about! We had a great time, staying in The Colony Club hotel in St. James province. We made lots of friends with the hotel staff, including a lovely waiter called Antonio who used to patrol the beach handing out cold towels, cucumber and ice cream. I was in my element! The picture below is one of the bar men called Neil. We caught him sneaking plantain chips out of the tub when no one was looking. 

 This is Javany. One of the watersports instructors, who also ended up showing us the nightlife in St.Lawrence Gap.

Most days we spent chilling on the beach, listening to music and getting our tan on. One day we hired a car and drove round the island. It was fascinating to see a completely opposite, far more relaxed way of life when compared to the hustle and bustle of England. It was a way of life I could definitely get used to.

 As a foodie the highlight of my holiday was without a doubt going to The Cliff restaurant near St. Lawrence Gap. If you're not familiar with the cliff it is essentially a restaurant set on top of a cliff (funnily enough), with great big torches coming out the side of the restaurant, illuminating the water below enabling you to watch the different fish and sting rays as you eat your dinner. Not only does it look stunning but the food is also pretty damn amazing. 

 Another highlight is Oistins Fish Fry, where you get lush food for super affordable prices, can have a browse round some stalls and dance to live reggae music in the square. When I went during summer it was slinging it down with rain, so me and my friend danced the night away to reggae in the rain. 

 Me and Emily loved our time in Barbados so much that we decided to work throughout what was remaining of summer 2015 and put our pennies together to afford a plane ticket back in December. We share the same birthday (Dec 19th) so we decided to spend our birthday out there. This time we stayed in a hotel in the buzzing atmosphere that is St. Lawrence Gap, directly opposite the nightclub 'Sugar' and just down the road from a karaoke bar. Every night we could hear people singing their heart out till the early hours of the morning... yes this did get slightly annoying after a while! We also met up with some of our friends we made from the summer and it was lovely to catchup with them! 

                                            Fruit Punch aka. THE BEST DRINK EVER.

 I can safely say Barbados is one of my most favourite places I have visited so far. If you can put up with humidity making you hair go frizzy I would strongly recommend a trip to paradise! I really want to explore more of the Caribbean, maybe somewhere like Jamaica or Antigua.

♥