Brighton

Brighton has always been one of those places that I knew I would love even having never been there. Something do to with the mixture of city life, sea and CUTE shops I imagine. A little while ago, myself, Tom & his family made the 5 hour treck from Cardiff to Brighton for a weekend away. We got a perfect AirBnB right by the sea and spent the weekend eating & exploring.

To keep it concise, here are my 5 favourite things about Brighton:

Lydea’s – Brighton is the best place for vegan & veggie cafe’s and Lydea’s was my fave by far. It’s located in the North Laine and has a very relaxed, cafeteria feel to it. You grab a tray and pick what you want from behind the counter and we sat outside on a wooden picnic bench. The food was UNREAL & I would highly highly recommend going there.

The Sea – Coming from a seaside town & now living in a city, any time I get a waft of sea air and I can hear the waves, I immediately feel at home. The sea is a definite selling point for Brighton, as well as the glorious sunsets and it would definitely be a reason for me to move there.

Interior Shops – I could have spent an absolute fortune in these shops, so it’s a good job I was at the bottom of my student over-draft really. Around every corner, usually next to a DELISH bakery, there’s an amazing homeware shop!

Street Markets – Even though it’s such a big city, Brighton had such a community feel and I think part of this comes down to the street stalls and markets. On one of the streets, residents just put a table outside their front door and sell their old bits & bobs. It was so so fun rummaging through.

Dum Dum’s – I’ve never been a big fan of doughnuts but I had to try one from here. It did not disappoint. I had a caramel/fudgey one – a strong 10/10.

Holiday Diaries: Los Angeles

After a glorious, foodie & relaxed week in San Francisco, we hoped on bus down to the City of Stars. Once again, I could write a novel about how much I loved LA. Weirdly, my first impression was not great and I decided that I wanted to go straight back to San Francisco but I slowly got used to the sprawling size and the craziness of the city. Now, when I think back, the whole trip just seems magical.

Here are my top 5 favourite snippets of Los Angeles:

1. Venice Boardwalk: this was possibly the most diverse, eclectic area I’ve ever encountered. As we were out there doing Geography research, I was obviously looking at the area differently to how I would if I was just on holiday, but I was completely besotted with the Boardwalk. The palms and the skate park to the sunset and the street art, the whole stretch had such an awesome buzz to it.
2. The Griffith Observatory: we were conveniently in LA around the time La La Land came out so coming here was so surreal. I loved the film (& definitely did not watch it twice on the flight) so seeing the set and being able to see the Hollywood sign alongside such an EPIC view was amazing. 
3. The People: I LOVE Californians. The people we met were so so friendly and couldn’t do enough for us. I know for some people (my boyfriend included), think the over-friendly, forward nature is irritating but I loved it!
4. Santa Monica beach: the ocean, the sand and the sun could never get boring. Our hostel was on 2nd Street so we were one block from the beach and right next to Santa Monica Pier. Waking up to 20+ degrees everyday and getting off the metro just in time to see the sunset was the perfect way to start and end everyday. 
5. The Feeling: this sounds so bloody cliché and pathetic, but the whole feel of LA is just magical. There is a reason it’s called the City of Stars, because honestly, there’s just this feeling and buzz to LA that you can’t put into words. It’s what makes you look back on it and think “wow”. It is surreal.

Eliza Days xo

Holiday Diaries: San Francisco

In February I went on the absolute trip of a lifetime. My 2 best friends & I flew 11 hours to San Francisco for the week before embarking on a lengthy megabus journey down to sunny Los Angeles (which I’ll talk about in another post because MY GOD there is too much for one).

So here’s my top 5 snippets of San Francisco:

1. THE FOOD: so I expected the food in America to be good but it surpassed every expectation I had. On the first night, due to jet lag, we had an “hour” nap at 4pm which turned into us waking up at 9pm confused and delirious.  By the time we made it out it was late so we wanted carbs & convenience. We found this incredible, all-American diner and ate all the fries, grilled cheese and milkshakes we could. UNREAL! 
2. Sausalito: we took a bus trip across the Golden Gate Bridge to a small town called Sausalito. It was beautiful. There was a little harbour full of swishy yachts and cute little boat houses lining the water front. We had lunch in a lovely cafe looking over at San Francisco city and the bay and wandered around the cute shops too. 
3. The Golden Gate Bridge: I mean, I could not write about San Francisco and not mention it’s identifying feature. No picture in the world will do it justice. The size and colour is amazing! We didn’t walk across but we drove over it a few times. I love that from every hill in the city (& there are A LOT) you can always see it peeking through. 
4. Twin Peaks: we wanted to find a view point before we left the city and so many people recommended Twin Peaks. We ambled through the Castro, which was such a cool, relaxed area and up some steep streets all the way to the top of Twin Peaks. It was possibly the best view I have ever seen. We essentially had a 360 view of the city. The sun was setting to our left and we got up there at such a perfect time because all of the lights started coming on in the city. Market Street was lit up and looked so beautiful. 
5. The Streets: this was the first time I had ever been to America so I guess this isn’t reflective of San Francisco itself, but one of my most memorable moments of the trip was stepping outside the hostel on the first day, early in the morning, and looking down the street. We arrived late at night so this was the first glimpse of the city I’d seen. I felt like I was in a film. Probably a mixture of buildings higher than I’d ever seen, the noises and the yellow taxi’s planted me right in the middle of Princess Diaries and it was AMAZING. I will never forget how it felt.     

The best thing of all was that I got to spend it all with the 2 best gals I could wish for (puke). That’s all for now folks,

Eliza Days xo

My Favourite City in the World: Tales of Amsterdam

I could talk about Amsterdam for hours and hours, I’ve never been to a city, walked out of the train station and thought, ‘I never want to leave.’ There’s just something so magical and calming about the city that makes me want to pack a suitcase, get on the Eurostar (I am petrified of flying) and spend the rest of my life sipping coffee & reading Dutch newspapers outside a cafe before cycling home along the canals. I can dream!

I went to Amsterdam for the first time last year & even though it rained from the moment we arrived to the moment we left, I fell head over heels. We stayed in a hostel on the edge of Vondelpark which, can I just say, is an amazing location. It’s within walking distance to the Leidseplein and Dam Square and the park itself is incredible! Although in fairness, Amsterdam is pretty compact so everything is within walking or cycling distance. We spent the days wandering around and stopping in cute cafe’s when we got hungry or needed ANOTHER hot chocolate and in the evenings me & the girls ate dinner in restaurants usually along the canals. I can honestly say I have never eaten so well on a city trip in Europe.

From the time I set foot back in Cardiff I needed to go back. So this September I booked another trip to go back (obviously on the Eurostar this time, did I mention I hate flying). We stayed in the Jordaan district in Oud West, which is a quieter, more residential area of Amsterdam but still has a buzz surrounding it, with great bars, cafe’s and restaurants. This time, I lived off pesto bagels. I don’t think the Dutch are famous for bagels globally, but in my eyes there is nowhere better to get a pesto, mozzarella and tomato bagel than in Amsterdam, no lies! We hired bikes and cycled around as if we were locals (even though the massive garishly red rental bikes & our terrible cycling told a different story).

Behind Central Station is a section of the River IJ, where free ferries cross to different parts of Northern Amsterdam every few minutes. We picked up our bikes from the rental place in Central Station & headed across to the NDSM Ship Wharf. This area is probably the coolest area of Amsterdam that I’ve seen. It seems to be an old ship dock with loads of warehouses dotted around and an amazing cafe on the river side. The warehouses all have different projects going on, with the main one being turned into a mini city inside for freelance workers all over Amsterdam to set up a work area for themselves. It is SO cool! I would highly recommend going over. It’s free to get in and you can just wonder around for hours.

We obviously went to the Red Light District, which fascinates me, & the IAmsterdam sign, the museums and Dam Square but my absolute highlight was spending the evening drinking rosè in Vondelpark after cycling around the city all day. For the 5 days we were there, Amsterdam had its hottest 5 days of the year so Vondelpark was crammed full of people playing football, having barbeques and drinking, it was the best evening!

I could literally write an essay on Amsterdam but you probably stopped reading 3 paragraphs ago! I’m now going to continue looking for an apartment & a job so that I can pack my bag as soon as possible (or as soon as a graduate even).

Vaarwel,

Eliza Days

My Favourite Brunch Ideas

Brunch is always always a good idea! It’s most definitely my favourite meal of the day & I’m never really up in time for breakfast (#studentlife) and can’t wait long enough until lunch so it’s the most perfect meal!

Here are some of my favourites for brunch:

Scrambled eggs on a toasted croissant: this is a fancier version of eggs on toast but it’s just as easy & tastes so lovely! I’ll fry up some mushrooms in butter and pepper too and toss them over the top.

Poached eggs & spinach on a toasted muffin: without blowing my own trumpet, I think I’m the queen of poached eggs (ok, I blew my own trumpet). This is my favourite breakfast at the minute. I sometimes add a bit of basil pesto to it as well, which tastes so good!

Baked eggs: for this I chop up mushrooms & tomatoes and put them in an oven proof dish. Then I throw in a handful of spinach, a pinch of salt and blacken pepper and then crack 2 eggs into the dish and bake in the oven until the eggs are cooked but still runny (7-10 mins). Also, there’s hardly any washing up! Win!

French toast: I soak thick white bread in whisked eggs and milk before frying the bread in A LOT of butter! Once it’s browned and crisp on the outside, I pile it on a plate and top it with raspberries, a drizzle of maple syrup and a dollop of Nutella, so bad but tastes AMAZING!

Writing this has made me hungry, so I’m off to make brunch!

Eliza Days

Autumnal Love

I thought I’d write a little seasonal post for you & tell you my 5 favourite things about Autumn! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m really not a fan of the colder, winter months but this year, I’ve decided to embrace it (& just focus on Christmas).

1. Layers: I LOVE clothes so much & I can never choose what to wear in the mornings so when it’s cold I feel as if I don’t have to choose and I can just throw all of my favourite things on at once and call it ‘layering’.
2. Hot chocolate: Drinking hot chocolate in the summer just doesn’t feel right somehow, so with the colder days comes indulging in huge mugs of hot chocolate topped with loads of cream and a flake, YUM! 
3. Leaves: This may seem like a weird one but I love watching the leaves fall from the trees and more so, I love seeing the leaves change colour…they look SO pretty!
4. Log fires & candles: Winter spiced, cinnamon candles are just the dream! I love getting in when it’s cold outside, lighting ALL the candles (my house could be considered a fire hazard I’m sure) and getting the fire lit. Isn’t it just the coziest feeling ever!
5. Bonfire Night: When I was younger, I was petrified of fire works but now I find them so magical & spectacular! I can’t wait to get all wrapped up, hold sparklers & drink hot chocolate this year! Woo! 

What’s your favourite thing about Autumn?

Eliza Days xo

Blogvember?

Oh I do love a pun! So what better way to embrace a good play on words than to blog every other day throughout November annnnd call it BLOGVEMBER! Woo!

Having not blogged in a while, I think committing to uploading a blog post every day throughout November isn’t achievable, especially as I have so much uni work on at the minute. But I feel that every other day is achievable!

Over the last few months I’ve tried out some awesome new make-up and beauty products that I can’t wait to rave about, started experimenting with a different style (although I haven’t said goodbye completely to the old faithful black jeans & a striped tee) and been on some incredible adventures that I can’t wait to talk about on here.

SO, here goes!

I wouldn’t say I’m the most committed person in the world, for example my gym membership lasted from January this year until I cancelled it in September…I tried to commit to cleansing, toning and moisturising my skin every single night but I am still partial to a face wipe or two & going to the library every day from 10am-5pm is slowly becoming 3 times a week for about 3 hours. But, I will try my very best to have a blog post up every other day for you. I’m sure there will be the odd day I miss because, well, I’m only human.

lots of love

Eliza Days xo

Date Day: Fruit Picking

Having been in a relationship for over 3 years, dates kind of get left behind. The idea of “date night” makes me absolutely cringe so I decided to think of an alternative date idea that we would both love and that didn’t cost much.

Near us, there is a huge fruit farm called Hendrewennol where you can pick your own fruit for just £1 entry, so without telling Tom where we were going, we jumped in the car & I directed us there. We both LOVE berries & I have never been fruit picking before so it was perfect.

We had the best day, the sun was out and it was a gorgeous. We packed a picnic and ambled around the fields picking blueberries, raspberries,gooseberries and strawberries. It’s such a lovely feeling being able to pick berries from a bush & eat them straight away, they tasted delicious and so fresh. I would definitely recommend taking a relaxing afternoon gander round your local pick your own fruit farm.

 

Hope you’re having a wonderful summer so far

Eliza Days xo

 

 

August Goals

1. Spend Less: This month, I’m really going to try to keep track of what I’m spending. I’ve never been a saver and am renowned in my family to be terrible with money. So throughout August I’m going to try to spend less on things I really don’t need.
2. Take more pictures: whenever I do something memorable or fun, I never take pictures because I always try to focus on being there and not seeing it through a lens. The other day for example, we walked up the Glastonbury Tor and I was so busy taking it in, I hardly took any pictures. I know this isn’t a bad thing, but I’d really like to be able to look back on pictures and remember the experience through them.
3. Appreciate small gestures: when someone does something for you so frequently, it becomes the norm and I think we stop appreciating it as much. Something like being brought a cup of tea every morning is something I take for granted now that I really shouldn’t, so throughout August I’m going to make sure I appreciate all the small things in daily life.
4. Meal planning: with some serious inspo from ViviannaDoesMakeup, I’m going to open up the cook books armed with post it notes and meal plan the whole week, do a food shop based on that & try my very best to stick to it.
5. Cooking from scratch: this leads on nicely from the last point. I have recently become really lazy in the kitchen and I’ve tended to choose convenience over spending some quality time creating meals from scratch. Over the next month I’m going to dedicate more time to planning and cooking meals from scratch. It’s something I really enjoy so I need to find time for it in my day.

 

Hope you all have a wonderful month,

Eliza Days xo

Sunsets & Confusion – Being 20

Oh I do love being at home. I would now consider myself a fully fledged Cardiffian (I’m at uni there, my boyfriend lives there and I guess that’s where my life is now) BUT I’m still struggling to let go of calling West Wales ‘home’ & I guess I don’t have to. Whenever I come back to Aberaeron I feel completely content and relaxed in my surroundings. I don’t over think anything, stress about anything or feel like I should be doing things constantly. My brain just chills out.

Now that the weather is getting a bit nicer too, when I come back we (we = me & my family) spend time sitting on the harbour wall, watching the tide come in and going for a late night swim in the sea. We sit in the garden drinking tea all afternoon and go out for lunch and sit in the beer gardens eating honey ice cream. It’s just pure bliss. Also, the sunsets here are out of this world!

I really do love Cardiff, I’m not denying that, & being there does make me really happy! But there is just something so wonderful about coming ‘home home’ as I call it.

Being 20 is a strange age, we’re kind of half way between being fully fledged, rent paying, grocery shopping adults and being stroppy teenagers who need our washing picked up from where we dropped it and a roast made for us on a Sunday. I guess we need to embrace it, your 20’s are of course the best years of your life…but it’s also such a confusing time. If you’re a uni student or have moved away from home, you also have the ‘home home’ thing going on & if you’re anything like me, are stuck between wondering where ‘home’ really is.

This really has been a rambling post that hasn’t gone anywhere but it’s just something I wanted to talk about. I probably seem so ungrateful, moaning about where I call home when I’m lucky to have a home but, ah, those first world problems! Does anyone else feel like this or am I just making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Eliza Days xo