Posts in travel
Port Eliot Festival 2018 - culture, cocktails and stately homes
port eliot

Last weekend I went to my first ever British festival at Port Eliot (I say British, because I did attend WOMAD for a day in New Zealand several years ago!).

Being relatively new to Plymouth I had never heard of the festival before, but now that I've experienced it I will definitely be going back! Set in the Port Eliot estate the festival sprawls across acres of grass, gardens, woodland and atmospherically ageing buildings.

As the festival itself describes it "Port Eliot is a festival unlike any other. Whether you’re swimming in the estuary, picnicking under a 300 year old tree, rocking out at the Park Stage, canoeing on the river, catching an intimate gig in the church, watching a cooking demo in the Big Kitchen or dancing ‘till the wee hours in the Boogie Round – our home is yours for the weekend".

One of my highlights was a cooking demonstration by Jasmine Hemsley, she spoke to us about her Ayurvedic lifestyle and made savoury puda pancakes for us to taste. Another highlight was the duo Hymn for Her - check out their foot-stomping country blues music, it'll get you moving!

See below for a taster of the weekend - as you can see, the weather decided to turn grey and rainy for the entire weekend, but it didn't dampen our spirits! ;-)

Sadie x

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travel, Sadie's musingsSadie Hawker
Toucan embroidered headband by Anthropologie - Sadie's style
anthropologie toucan headband

On a belated-birthday weekend away in Bath I experienced my very first visit to an Anthropologie store. Having lived in New Zealand for so long, I think I missed the Anthro-buzz when it became popular in the UK. Now I'm HOOKED! 

I treated myself to a delightfully pink embroidered toucan headband by Namrata Joshipura. I am in LOVE with it and already want another one!

Sadie x

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style, travelSadie Hawker
Travel diary - take me back to Cascais, Portugal!

With weather getting colder and colder the closer we get to Christmas, I'm fondly reliving the week of gorgeous sunshine I experienced in Cascais!

My sister is a teacher in Portugal and has tried and tested many of the restaurants, cafes, bars and beaches, and so I was in expert hands!

This was my first trip to Portugal and I already can't wait to return. The buildings, the people, the food, the WEATHER - everything was amazing. I can't believe I haven't visited sooner. I'm a longtime vegetarian and Cascais was one of the most veggie friendly places I've visited outside of the UK. Yay!

See a selection of pix from my trip below - and if you have any questions write them in the comments and I'll try to help!

Sadie x

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travel, styleSadie HawkerComment
Four of the best tropical perfumes

I love holidays (who doesn't!). And I love perfumes that remind me of times spent lounging with a coconut cocktail while I'm sat working at my desk.

I'm always keen to sniff a new scent, but it is rare that I buy one. I love subtle scents - I have a strong sense of smell and so find heavy perfumes nauseating. Who else has had the annoyance of squirting perfume all over themselves after an initial quick sniff, only for it to quickly become overbearing, and you spend the rest of the day feeling sick from it?! Well I have done this MORE THAN once at duty free before a long-haul flight. Learn from my lesson, my friends! Spray cautiously! ;-)

So after several years of sniffing, resisting the temptation to spray, and then re-sniffing, here are my top recommendations for a coconut / vanilla / tropical scented perfume...

Enjoy!
Love, Sadie x

1. Lavanila Vanilla Coconut

lavanila coconut

Hands down THE best smelling perfume I've ever worn. I've worn it almost every day for three years and am still in love with it. I get so many remarks of "you smell nice", even when it's not been freshly sprayed! I first bought it in Sephora Times Square at 1am. A sales assistant asked if he could help, and to my delight he found me my perfect perfume. I also tried the Lavanila Vanilla Summer fragrance which did the whole-i-feel-sick thing to me, after I'd purchased it of course.

It's a subtle scent of vanilla and coconut. It smells great sprayed on your hair! The bonus is that it is also a 'healthy fragrance' which has no chemicals.

Shop Lavanila here.  

Lush Vanillary

2. Lush Vanillary

See the trend here? Vanilla smells? Well there'll be more coconut smells too, as these are my scent-vibes! ;-p

Lush Vanillary is a STRONG scent! If you have a sensitive nose, spray sparingly. One or two squirts is plenty! It's a perfume that lingers, too. Unlike Lavanila, it's quite easy to find Lush products in the UK, and so I recommend having a sniff next time you see a Lush store.

Shop Vanillary here.

3. The Body Shop Coconut Eau de Toilette

The Body Shop coconut perfume

Cheap and cheerful, a simple coconut perfume that's good for every day wear. It's a nice, summer scent, and a good back up tropical perfume. And it's even easier to sniff in store than Lush!

Shop Coconut Eau de Toilette here.

 

4. Pure Fiji Starfruit Coconut Oil Rollerball

Pure fiji

I was lucky enough to holiday in the South Pacific seven times while I lived in New Zealand. During our holidays at Musket Cove, Malolo Lailai, in Fiji, we were given Pure Fiji toiletries in our bathrooms. They. Smell. Divine. I've since bought several of their heavenly scented products and whenever I use them they take me back to my holidays in Fiji.

One of my favourites is the Starfruit Coconut Oil Rollerball - it's a handy size to keep in my handbag and it smells amazing. I do find that the scent needs to be reapplied regularly, though.

Shop Pure Fiji here.
See my Fiji travel diary here.

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beauty, travelSadie Hawker
Current faves - Bimba Y Lola

I discovered Bimba Y Lola on a recent holiday to the Canary Islands and immediately fell in love with their graphic prints and colourful illustrations!

I had to buy one of their bright colourful scarves - the Black Flower Scarf. It has so many cute animals tucked in amongst the flowers I can't stop looking at it! Its size means that it layers well over a simple t-shirt or can be worn over a blazer as more of a shawl.

Here are more of my current faves from their latest summer 17 #thisismaasai collection. What do you think?

Sadie x

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travel, styleSadie Hawker