Remembering to take a break...

Last weekend Nick and I went to Devon (about an hour away) for a weekend break. This was an amazing Christmas present from my mum and I have been so excited since opening the secret envelope under the tree.

Everyone has moments when life gets overwhelming, having anxiety means this happens for me often, don't get me wrong I love my job and my life but the stress and anxious feelings seem to build and creep up on me without me realising. This luscious weekend away really enabled me to strip away any negative feelings and really relax, it has made me realise how important it is to just take some time out once in a while and stop going at 100 miles an hour.

We stayed on The Hoe which is a coastal area of Plymouth City. On Saturday morning we walked into the City centre and did a spot of shopping, I'm really enjoying H&M lately and finally bought a pair of jeans, I have been searching for the perfect pair for 6 months!

The view from the hotel

We went to The Americano Coffee House for lunch which we have never been to thinking it was just coffee, but oh no, this place is brilliant! They have such a big food menu including burgers, salads, grills, sandwiches and not to mention the best flavours of hot drinks EVER! I went for a Ferrero Rocher Hot Chocolate but there was chocolate orange, Oreo, strawberry cream and pretty much everything you can think of. I had a sweet chili chicken ciabatta which they really generously filled and the sauce was incredible!

We strolled back to the hotel at 3 to check in and see our room, we were on the 7th floor and had a gorgeous view of the city and country fields behind it. The gym and pool were free to use and we couldn't resist so did an hour workout, I mainly used the treadmills and tried to do fat burning cardio exercises, getting in the pool afterwards was lovely and a relaxing swim was the perfect cool down, not to mention the steam room and sauna.

After a shower and spruce up we had dinner in the penthouse restaurant, the food was incredible and Nick was very jealous of my roasted pork with bacon, leek mash, roasted carrot and apple sauce. Being too stuffed for dessert we sat in the bar and enjoyed a few drinks before heading to bed and watching a film.

The next morning I had a naughty cooked breakfast and soon felt like I needed to use the gym again so I've been enjoying going for runs and using my 10 minute cardio app.

We are looking at local hotels that have a gym and pool which we can use at the weekends to make sure there is just a small section of the week reserved for relaxing.

What do you do to take time out?

Little Lottie XO

Weekend of Sunshine

Here in Cornwall we don't get much sunshine but lately it's been splendid! Reaching highs of 24 degrees we are looking forward to a warmer summer, fingers crossed it will be gorgeous for my birthday next week. 

The weekend is a precious time as its the only time off work nick and I have so we like to adventure and make the most of it. This weekend was one of the hottest and to kick start it on Saturday we went to a gorgeous tea room around 10 miles away from me, I can't tell you the name as they don't want to advertise but I can tell you they had gorgeous horses and delicious food! 

We ate bacon and runny egg in a granary bap with a gorgeous salad on the side. Ever since my first visit to the tea room last summer I have added fruit to my salads, I have a sweet tooth and it definitely makes them more enjoyable! 
Don't forget the chocolate and clotted cream milkshake for afters! 

After filling up on all things yummy I drove Nick and my sister down to the shores of Falmouth and we did a short 2 mile walk along the coast to the neighbouring beach. The views were stunning and I'm so lucky to have this on my doorstep. 

To work off our mammoth lunch we played badminton and headed to Nick's family's house to watch Frozen! It was my first time seeing the film (I know, late as always.) The occasional 'Do you wanna build a snowman' has the tendency to slip out whilst I'm working. 

Sunday cranked up the heat and Cornwall reached 26 degrees which is hotter than Cyprus when I was there last month! To cool down nick and I filled up the childhood paddling pool that my family dug out of the loft to donate to charity, we were 'testing it out'. It may be small but we had fun with water fights and foil boat racing, the thrilling life I lead. 

The weekend always goes by too quickly and now I'm back at my desk for another week. What do you do at the weekend?

Little Lottie xo