A Weekend By the Sea...

Last weekend I travelled down to Plymouth on the train to visit Ben's family. It was so nice to get out of busy London for a couple of days and enjoy being by the sea. On the first day we explored the countryside, wandered around the shops in town and went out for a delicious meal at a steak and omelette place. Then on the Sunday Ben's mum Helen gave us a guided tour and we went to a beautiful seaside pub for lunch. It was like a mini holiday! 

Ben takes lovely photos on his 35mm film camera and I thought I would share a couple that he took last Saturday evening.

What have you been up to recently?

EcoKitty | Playhouse and Catnip Bow Tie

"We take great pride in the quality of our products and design them with the help of our expert kitty team. Everything is proudly made in Britain – in fact it is all made in our hometown, Plymouth! All of our products are made from recycled or locally sourced materials to keep our carbon footprint to an absolute minimum – we use recycled office supplies and an eco-printer too!" Quote from the Ecokitty webpage.

I've noticed that a lot of you also have some very cute cats that make regularly make appearances on your blogs, so I wanted to share with you a cute little company that I discovered recently. It started when I applied for a code on Facebook to get a free Catnip Bow Tie from EcoKitty, a family-run earth-friendly business who make lovely things for cats. I was so excited because the bow tie just looked so cute and I thought my cat would love it. When I contacted them I got a lovely reply from Ellie who runs the business along with, Arron, Sue and Matt. She suggested that I picked up the bow tie when I was down in Plymouth because that's where they are based and it would save me the postage. When I went to pick up the bow tie Ellie asked if Biggie (my cat) liked cardboard boxes, to which I replied "Yes! He just loves to sit in them." (he'll sit in anything) so she kindly gave me a 'Playhouse' for him, which is made entirely from recycled cardboard. 

I gave Bigs his pressies as soon as I got home the next day. The playhouse took me a few seconds to assemble and Ellie had kindly given me some cute stickers to keep it together. It folds out into a triangular shape so that your cat can climb inside. Bigs walked straight into it, making himself comfortable so I knew we were onto a winner with this one. Ellie had told me that thirty percent of cats don't react to catnip. I was hoping that Bigs wouldn't be part of that percentage! But the bow tie had no affect on him and all he did was give it a quick sniff and then walk off. Oh well, at least it can still be used as a toy. 

I would definitely recommend this little company because the people behind it are just so lovely and provide excellent customer service. The Bow Tie retails at just £3.49, so if your kitty is a fan of cat nip and you are looking for a cute little present then i'd definitely recommend it. The playhouse however is a bit pricier at £9.99... I personally wouldn't usually spend that much, even though I do love my cat to pieces. Especially because (as you already know) cats will love sleeping or playing somewhere one day and then are not in the least bit interested the next! But, they do offer a 'Playtime Hamper' which includes the playhouse, the cat nip bow tie and a little limited edition, felt, hand made ball all for £13.99,  which would save you some money and would make a purrrfect present for your cat!

Here's Bigs testing out the goodies himself...

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience.

Photos On Film | Mount Edgcumbe

A couple of weeks ago (I've only just realised it's now August...whaat?) I told you guys about my visit to Mount Edgcumbe in Plymouth and how lovely it was. Ben took some 35mm film photos as we walked round the grounds and I wanted to share them with you! I love the grainy quality of them...it reminds me of photos from my childhood. 

Photos taken by Ben Cornish 

Sunday Sun

Now that we have finished University, my boyfriend Ben has moved back to his hometown of Plymouth. I decided to visit him for the weekend so we spent yesterday shopping and walking around town. Believe it or not, I didn't buy anything! But I did see a lovely summer jacket in a charity shop which i'm seriously contemplating going back for on my way home.

Then we spent today enjoying the amazing weather and explored a beautiful place called Mount Edgcumbe, which is a historic house and gardens right next to the sea. We spent the whole afternoon there, starting off with a picnic and then walking around for a bit and discovering each area. Ben took some photos on his film camera so I'm thinking of dedicating a post to them when they have been developed.

It was incredibly hot so I decided to wear a maxi skirt because I find them to be quite cool and practical in that kind of weather. I'm so glad I did go for a longer skirt because it was so windy there and a short skirt or dress would have been...difficult to keep under control. I took my trusty Cambridge Satchel with me, which i've used everyday since I got it two weeks ago. I'm in love with it and thinking about writing a short review because I read so many and did lots of research before I got it, but struggled to find many about the 15" bag. 

Top: Topshop

Skirt: Topshop sale last month

Shoes: New Look

Rings: Acessorize & Ebay

Nails: Essie- Infatuation

Sunglasses: Ben's

Bag: Cambridge Satchel 15"