Burgundy and Breton

It's here! Autumn seems to have crept up out of nowhere this year, how on earth is it nearly October? This season is one of my favourites and probably for the most cliched reasons - trees bursting with colour, being able to layer up again (I do bloomin' love a snuggly, cosy knit...who's with me?) and saying hello to some of my favourite colour trends again. Over the next few months, burgundy and berry tones are going to explode across my wardrobe and I am so okay with that. This skirt is a new addition to my many burgundy coloured items and to be honest, it's the first A-line skirt I've ever found that actually manages to fit my waist and bum! Bravo H&M (insert hand-clap emoji here).

H&M top (old - similar here and here) | H&M skirt (can't find it online but it is in store!) | Miss KG boots (via ASOS)

I loved gallivanting around in the leaves for this post, felt like a big kid! I've pulled out my trusty Breton stripes - another favourite of mine for the transitional period into autumn - and my new boots which I literally haven't taken off. I've even worn them on a few rather warm days (hello there sweaty feet) but you know when you get new things and you just want to wear them every day?! Or is that just me...

Katie x

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Travel: A Cornish Retreat

Sigh. I'm back to work after a lovely long weekend in Cornwall. All of the holiday blues (I am literally moping around - better start planning another holiday!) I've written a little travel diary for you and of course, it's packed with plenty of enviable holiday snaps. Enjoy!

Saturday | It's 6am and I'm already up AND dressed. What is the world coming to? Who knew there was a 6am at the weekend? I've thrown on some mascara and foundation, so I don't scare anyone to death. We hop in the car and drive for around 7 hours - achey bums all around. But we arrive in the most idyllic location with views across beautiful countryside and glorious sunshine welcoming us. We're shown to our cottage, which we instantly fall in love with. I mean, look at it. It's small, cosy and compact but ultimately perfect, with a shared garden, swimming pool and hello there king size bed (literally my idea of heaven, I'm such an anti-social sleeper). With the sun shining down, we brave it and go for a dip in the pool. It's not a cold day, but we're thankful the pool is heated! We swim and stretch off our aching limbs, soaking up the sunshine. We make a mad dash back to the cottage, get showered and enjoy some Pimms in the garden, because when on holiday!

Exploring is my literally my fave thing to do on holiday; we found some secret gardens and the office on site has a little farm shop too! Honestly, it was the most beautiful location and we're already planning on returning (and have our eye on a cottage with a hot tub this time!) If you want to know more about where we stayed, check out the Kilminorth cottage website. I've also left a review on Tripadvisor which will be up soon. Sunday | We start the day off with a 40 minute walk through the woods to get to Looe. I say walk, I mean hike. So glad I wore my trainers that day! The path takes you deep in to the woods where it's literally silent - it was bloody lovely and so refreshing to be away from everything. Looe is such a pretty, quaint town with the bluest water. We sat on the beach and ate fish and chips in the sun (gluten free, may I add! I highly recommend Catch). After walking back up to the cottage and resting our legs for a bit (by this point I'm a rather ugly, sweaty mess) we took a quick trip to Polperro; a cute little fishing village. Not a huge amount going on but lovely all the same!

Monday | Panic, last full day of our break! Time for the Eden Project. Have you been? I hadn't since I was a little kid so I wasn't sure what to expect. The rainforest biome was my absolute favourite, with canopy walks, wild birds, beautiful flowers and a waterfall. We visited Looe again and picked up some amazing paintings from an art gallery for our new home next year! I'll get some snaps and put them on Instagram. We stocked up on Cornish goodies and, of course, stopped off for a cream tea, because when in Cornwall. I would totally recommend The Lookout if you fancy a beach-chic cafe with views and a plethora of gluten free options. We had a beautiful dinner at The Old Sail Loft, an amazing cosy yet chic restaurant in a loft - the name kind of gives that away doesn't it! As a newbie to the gluten intolerance crew (I need to make this a thing - who wants to come for GF brunch with me?) I was so impressed with how much GF food was available in Looe. Top notch.

Also, you HAVE to go down to Looe in the evening. The whole bay/harbour is lit up with beautiful little fairy lights, it's the cutest. We only had 4 days for our mini holiday, needless to say we could have easily stayed for longer. I'm already missing our lovely little cottage and the super chilled way of life, but hey, back to reality (and back to planning the next adventure...Dublin is up next!)

Have you been to Cornwall? Do you have any recommendations for my trip to Dublin?

Katie x

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The last of the cold shoulders

Bonjour beauts. It feels like ages since I've done an outfit post, but it really hasn't been that long (I'm just getting shopping withdrawl). I seem to own pretty much every 'cold shoulder top' out there so why not add another to my growing collection?! I think I'm a bit of an obsessive shopper, in the sense that I find a trend I like and go crazy for it. It's like when I find a good pair of jeans and I buy one in every colour (but that totally make sense, right?) So anyway, I saw this white contrast version online and it accidentally ended up in my basket. And happened to fit and have the cutest ruffle sleeves. Now, I'm not really a frill kinda girl but I felt somewhat girly and whimsical with these floaty sleeves so you know, never say never. 

New Look top | American Eagle jeans (similar) | H&M sandals (old similar here and here) | Primark floral crown (old)

I also cracked out these jeans from the depths of my wardrobe. I bought them last year and forgot how much I love them. Honestly, they're so soft and super stretchy and oh my, I can even lunge in them. Should I ever need to. They're a lovely deep blue shade and have that skinny-but-not-going-to-cut-off-your-circulation type of fit. You know the ones. I also felt this top deserved glamming up so threw on my trusty heels and off I tottered on a Sunday afternoon around some ancient ruins for some blog pictures. Sadly, I think this might be my last slightly summery outfit in a little while! Mainly because I've just bought like 15,000 jumpers for autumn...

As much as I adore summer, I am a little excited for autumn! The cosy in front of the fire and leafy walks type of autumn, rather than the rainy England reality haha. What do you think to the cold shoulder trend? And what are your autumn must-haves this year? 

Katie x 

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Menorca Travel Guide & Photo Diary

I went on holiday to Menorca last month...if you hadn't noticed...sorry for the holiday spam! I think it's safe to say it's a place I know well after holidaying there many times (I've literally lost count) and an island that I've loved exploring over the years. Menorca is a Spanish island, floating around in the lovely, warm Mediterranean and only around a two hour flight from the UK. It's becoming quite a popular holiday spot these days but I still love finding the hidden coves and areas untouched by tourism. I've put together a little photo diary below along with some of my favourite places and hot spots on the island.

Favourite hot spots

Ciutadella - oh my, what a beautiful, old city. If shopping, cobbled streets and street cafes are your kind of thing then Ciutadella is a must visit. Boutiques line the winding streets, tapas is on every corner and did I mention froyo? So much froyo. Evening is my favourite time to visit Ciutadella, when the day is cooling off and the city lights up. Recommendations: Restaurant Cas Consol will BLOW YOUR MIND. The food is great but the views really make it - sit outside and watch the sunset over the marina. You're welcome.

Ciutadella - photo credit imsamsquire.co.uk

Restaurant Cas Consol - photo credit imsamsquire.co.uk

Mahon - the capital of Menorca is a lovely, old city perched on a huge harbour/port. It's rather on the hilly side so prepare yourself for lots of walking! If you like for modern shops like Mango, perfume shops and street cafes then definitely give Mahon a visit. There are some lovely places to eat along the harbour too and the city really comes alive in the evening. Recommendations: Il Porto is a lovely, vintage-meets-chic restaurant and perfect if you love seafood. They also had a deal on certain meals where you get a free sangria - er, bonus?!

Son Xoriguer - probably my favourite beach in Menorca (hello bold statement). It was a little trek from the car park but so worth it to be greeted with the clearest turquoise sea and white sand. There are loads of little private coves as well as the larger beach with a cafe and water sports. This was definitely my favourite place for a dip in the sea, so pretty and warm!

Son Xoriguer

Arenal d'en Castell - yet another one of my favourite beaches which stretches out for miles - well, not quite, but it is one of the bigger beaches in Menorca. I love how spacious it is so you don't end up practically perched on top on another family with Topless Barbara right in your face, getting hit by the football her plethora of kids are kicking (sorry, I'm not an anti-social sunbather AT ALL. But seriously, don't sunbathe anywhere near me and don't disturb me unless it's for a mojito). The beach cafe bar is so ideal and serves great lunches - hello calamari and cocktails. It's also a pretty good spot for snorkelling!

Cala'n Bosch - one of my favourite places to stay on the island, the marina is a hub of chic restaurants, bars and ice cream shops. It's fairly bustling at night but not overly loud or rowdy and a lovely place for some dinner and cocktails! Recommendations: a little out of the marina but Restaurant Es Far at the lighthouse is perfect. Have a late dinner, enjoy their seafood and watch the sunset over the sea (and take some Insta-worthy snaps!) I also 100% recommend Bigfoot Menorca - we hired a private yacht and spent the morning visiting some amazing coves and jumping in the sea! 

Have you been to Menorca before or have anywhere to add to the list? We're hopefully heading to Portugal next year which I'm excited about! As much as I adore Menorca I'm looking forward to exploring somewhere different. 

Katie x

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