Sunday 16 December 2018

Moons & Stars Gift Guide


I'm a little obsessed with anything with moons and stars on at the moment, I'm attracted to stars, moons, starsigns and celestial everything right nowFor the last minute shoppers out there, I thought I'd throw together a gift guide of the things I've found and loved on my own christmas shopping missions. For the loved one, best gal pal, mumma, sister or secret santa in your life!


Happy christmas shopping ★ 
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Tuesday 4 December 2018

The Festive To Do List

No time like December to get back into taking the time out to write a few posts on my little old blog. 
Time is like quicksand at the mo.

I thought I'd round up the things I'd like to do this Christmas, our first Christmas in our new home! It's the 4th December and unlike me, I'm not feeling particularly festive. Maybe it's because we haven't go our tree yet (4 more days!) but I'm up for doing everything to feel the christmas spirit! 

Jo Malone candle

- buy our christmas tree
- make (read: drink all the) mulled wine
- dry orange slices
- plan out pretty wrapping 
- finally light my Jo Malone candle
- have my annual festive day with charlie 
- decorate the tree with henry
- send out christmas cards
- visit winter wonderland 
- watch all the christmas films (most importantly, Love Actually, The Holiday and Home Alone)
- bake mince pies - more than once
- make christmas cocktails 
- build a gingerbread house, for the first time! 
- get a new christmas jumper
- make some homemade presents/decorations
- wrap presents
- have a friends christmas 

What's on your festive checklist? 

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Monday 29 October 2018

Pumpkin Patch

Autumn is my favourite season, so every time it rolls around I get completely stuck into any activity I possibly can. One of my absolute faves (and the entirety of Instagram too by the looks of it...) is to go Pumpkin picking. 

PYO farms have been a favourite of mine ever since I was little, frequently visiting Tulley's Farm with my grandparents to pick strawberries, raspberries and any other goods we could get our hands on. There's something I find so exciting about picking something so bright/colourful/tasty that's come from the ground and searching for the best ones you can find. 

This year, Tulley's Farm introduced a Pumpkin Patch so I headed there with Jasmin and Josh to pick our prize pumpkins! 


Happy days xxx 



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Wednesday 17 October 2018

I'VE MOVED OUT!

So I've only gone and moved out of my family home and into an actual house with my boyfriend! 
It's been a blaaaaddy whirlwind for the past few weeks. 

From finding out the move was officially going ahead, to packing up my life into boxes, to moving in and building flatpack furniture, it all feels like a blur. 

Let's start with September. When we knew things were starting to get in motion with the house, I flew to Shanghai for a whistle-stop trip with work (just fyi, a trip to Shanghai and back can't really be done as a 'whistle-stop trip' without knocking you for six for a good few days!!!) It was so much fun and an the most incredible and fun experience, but a 12 hour flight, a day and a half in Shanghai and a 12 hour flight back is enough to write off the rest of the week! Back into the swing of things and things had progressed with the house so quickly. We were super busy at work, so it was all go go go. A week or so later Henry and I were in IKEA making grown up purchases and having a bicker over how big the TV should be. I took a week off over the move to get myself sorted and pack up 23 years of stuff (boyyy do I have a lot of stuff) into boxes. 
We moved on the 29th Sept, with the help of family and friends and it's now been nearly three weeks in our very happy, first home.


I filmed the whole process of moving out (for myself, more than anything!) and I'll be sharing more and more from corners of our home. It's super cosy, we have far more candles than necessary and I just love spending time here - as if I needed more excuses to have a night in! We've still got a spare room half full of random bits and boxes and very empty walls and spaces but it's coming together and looking great. We've had family and friends visit and I can't wait to have a house-warming with all our faves.

Lots more house content coming atcha...


G x

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Monday 27 August 2018

10 Things That Made Me Happy Last Week {27.08.18}

Wrapping up a bank holiday weekend with a bit of blog post writing. Thought I'd round up a few things that have put a smile on my face recently... 
1. Taking the time to watch more films. I have a very bizarre complex about watching films alone. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the thought of it feels overwhelming  - that a sad film will stay with me and I'll be without a distraction and a happy film will leave me feeling flat once it's all over. Pretty ridiculous I know! It means over the years I've rewatched programs like 90210, Friends or Gossip Girl a gazillion times because it's comfortable and I can get on with other things whilst they play in the background. It means theres a lot of films I've never seen (which shocks the majority of people who find out...) and my 'watch' list is every growing. The past week I made a conscious effort to take time out and watch a few new film in the evening - Crazy Stupid Love, To All The Boys I've Loved Before and Age of Adeline - I loved them all and cherished it as some quality 'me' time. 
2. Early hints of autumn starting to show. We've had the most incredible summer, but come September I'm ready for crunchy leaves, lighting the fire and wearing knitted dresses with tights and boots.
3. August saw some very big and exciting life plans, it's a constant little thread of excitement for me right now.
4. Sunday morning breakfast in bed. Toast, tea, two episodes of Amazing Interiors on Netflix and my boy. 
5. Candy floss grapes. They're back and still SO good. 
6. Not actually last week (but I can cheat, it's my blog) Our work night out at Romeo & Juliet Secret Cinema. It's the most magical, immersive cinema and theatre experience and I was with the best company.
7. A jar of home-made blackberry and raspberry jam made by my boyfriends Mum. 
8. And on the topic of jam, the Victoria plums are ripe and ready on the tree in the back garden to be made into the most delicious plum jam ever (it's always been my favourite!) 
9. Listening to At Home With and Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcasts on my commute. 
10. I'm watching Nadiya's Family Favourites whilst writing this. I forgot how comforting I find cooking shows, they make me feel so cosy! These recipes look delicious and I think Nadiya is a gem. Making an order for the cookbook now. 

What's made you happy recently? :)

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Tuesday 14 August 2018

The Magic and Nostalgia of a Stay-Cation

As a child, I had many happy holidays around the UK, stay-cations if we're being fancy. I was lucky enough to holiday in lots of hot destinations too, but we often would visit my cousins in Dorset for holidays of chilly seas, hunting for sea glass and endless ice-creams.

As a teenager, I specifically remember a serious strop being thrown at the fact we weren't going abroad for our Summer holiday (My god, if I could give 14 year old Georgia a damn good talking to I would - but I'm certain my Dad did for me at the time ha!) Feeling left out as all my school friends were jetting off abroad, I sulked at the thought of a holiday on the west coast of England. I went and had a great time, obviously. 

As an adult, some of the memories I cherish the most and the moments I look forward too wholeheartedly, are the ones devouring Cornish pasties and ice creams, wrapping up warm after dips in the sea and making the occasional rainy day plan. The moments spent on UK staycations with family and friends.


There really is something so special about a getaway in the country you live in. If you need convincing, here's 8 simple reasons as to why... 

1. You don't have the stress and cost of airports and flights - which also means you don't have a luggage limit, which is always a good thing for me - you can take everything you might need, from bikinis and towels to wellies and raincoats.
2. You'll feel relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated. Slow mornings and the easy way of life is something you won't want to leave.
3. Once you've got the balls to do it, a swim in the sea will be the absolute best! There's nothing quite like the feeling of getting out of the sea, drying off as quickly as possible and putting on warm dry clothes, particularly a hoodie so you can snuggle up into it. I find even the thought of it so comforting.
4. You'll have an excuse to eat Cornish pasties, fish and chips, fudge and ice cream every single day.
5. You can't have a UK holiday, without at least one overcast, rainy day. It's not all doom and gloom, there's something very cosy about making a tea or hot chocolate, watching whatever random film is on tv and playing board games in your home from home. 
6. You get to discover beautiful parts of your own country, that will never be too much hassle to re-visit. 
7. Surf lessons! You'll be awful to start with and feel like you've been in a washing machine at the end but it's unbelievably fun and the best workout you can get! 
8. Without sounding like spokes-person for a tourism board, it really is fun for all the family. From tiny tots, to teens, to parents and then grandparents - I've seen my whole family enjoy these holidays and make some of our happiest memories, with so many more to come. 

It wouldn't be right to share the magic and nostalgia of a staycation with a few photos of my last few trips - I really should of dug the photo albums out for a real throwback, but I'll have to save that for another time (They're in the loft. I'm tired. Soz) 

Honeycomb and clotted cream ice cream, the best! 
Pastel beach huts in Lyme Regis.
Crystal clear waters at Lulworth Cove, Dorset. 
Wheal Coates tin-mine ruins near St Agnes, on our mums and daughters holiday with Anna and Lucy in 2014.
Polzeath with family in 2017 - post surfing alfresco dinners of bbq's and seafood, day time diets of ice cream, of course. 
Henry joined us in Polzeath for a few days. We stumbled upon a hidden Rum Bar which quickly became my favourite place - Mai Tai's, full sunshine and the gypsy kings playing and it suddenly felt like a tropical island. 

Days at Seatown beach - this beach holds so many memories for me. I still laugh with my Granny about the time she started dancing in the ice-cream shop here, turning myself and my cousin Scarlet's faces a bright shade of pink with embarrassment. Searching this, and many other beaches, for every piece of sea-glass we could find. It's just chunks of glass that have been rounded off in the rough and tumble of the the waves, but I would search for hours with Granny and Scarlet and I still have a hawk-eye for it. The little pub in the distance was where myself and my family sat celebrating my dads birthday 15 years ago, to receive a phone call to say my cousin India had been born. We were all there, having just made our 20p baby bets, ready to visit her the next day! The photo is from a trip my best friend Abi joined us on in 2012. We stayed in an amazing house and the 2012 London Olympics was happening at the time, lots of exciting evenings shouting at the tv for Mo Farrah and Tom Daley! 
 A long weekend in May 2017, my Dad took me and my little brother to visit our family in Dorset and we visited one of my favourite beaches, Charmouth Beach. My love of crystals developed from there and a quaint fossil shop, I still have all the gems I picked up from there over the years and every time I go back I vow to pick up another. From all my own childhood memories here, it was magic to see my little brother fossil and sea glass hunting just like we did. 
It's really lovely that my boyfriend Henry spent all of his childhood holidays with his family in Cornwall. We get to share these times with each other now and show one another the places we used to visit, all the while discovering new places of our own. Last Summer, we stayed in Port Navas on the Helford River with his entire family. It was a reunion with about 7 other families they used to spend every Summer sailing with. It was a really happy week of laughter and reminiscing (or for me - hearing lots of funny tales from the past!) with my second family. 
Dodging ominous showers in St Mawes. 
Darn good fish'n'chips at Rick Stein's for our last evening in Cornwall. 
To say I'm not the strongest surfer would be putting it nicely, but I absolutely love it! Last time, I did however take a foam board to the face, at speed, which does in fact hurt like a bitch. 


The happiest time. I can't wait to book another one. 


-- For some of my best recommendations, check out my Seaside Guides -- 
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Saturday 4 August 2018

Making Memories in Mallorca

3:30am. alarm. taxi. airport. flight. 

and by 9:30am we were stepping off the plane into the warmth of Mallorca! 

Despite having been together for over 4 years, Henry and I have never been on a holiday just the two of us, so we were unbelievably excited to be jetting off on our first holiday for a full week of being just the two of us. 

I thought I'd share some of my favourite photos and best moments from our trip, it's a mix of phone snaps (we loved the Huji app!), underwater GoPro fun and my DSLR. 


We stayed at HM Alma Beach, a small but beautiful boutique hotel in Can Pastilla. It has the most incredible rooftop pool and Sky Bar, but you had to be quick to get a sun-bed in the morning. 


Our first night, wandering along the shore seeing what Can Pastilla had to offer. The first of many sunsets. 


Our first beach day. I quite honestly think swimming in the sea is the best and most freeing thing in the world, so I'm very content lying on the beach with the option to dip in the sea at any moment. Calamari and exotic fruit smoothies at a little surf shack for lunch.


That evening, we got a quick taxi to Palma. A night roaming around, admiring the Cathedral, golden hour light, palm tree and shutters galore, finished off with sangria and paella.


More pool and beach time - Pina Colada in hand, of course. Inspired by the v. talented Alex, we made the most of testing out my GoPro dome, it's SO hard to use but great when you get a good shot. I'll just have to take more holidays to practise...


We decided to rent a car to explore the north of the island. Just FYI, driving on a skinny road with a sheer drop on one side, rocks on the other, in a car you can't damage and on the other side of the road is ever so slightly testing for a relationship. I held my breath most of the journey... but somehow we managed the drive without an argument and Henry was basically my hero for doing all the driving! It was well worth it though. Deia was breathtaking with lemon trees, coloured shutters and flowers everywhere. We then drove on to Port De Soller and had the most amazing Tapas overlooking the boats. 


More pool and beach days, oufit shots and delicious food. Missing the endless relaxation so much already. 


We rented a scooter to drive along the coast. A fun little experience! We definitely drove along a path that was only for pedestrians, but got the best sea view, sooo...


Our last day was absolutely blissful. We went on a boat trip with Magic Catamarans and it couldn't of been a better way to spend our last full day! An hours trip to a turquoise blue cove, where we could jump, dive, snorkle, swim or soak up the sun, then a bbq on the boat before the trip back. When we arrived back to the hotel, I slipped up to the pool for one last moment in the sun with a Strawberry Daiquiri, then joined Henry to watch the England game against Sweden in a bar over the road (At that point is was still coming home, so the excitement was real!) We watched it with a family we got chatting to - they couldn't of been nicer and were absolutely hilarious, we ended up spending our entire last night with them. Lots of Sangria and games of pool (turns out I'm a pro... at potting the while ball). So our last day was a special one!


Two very happy faces after the best holibobs.
xxx
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