Girl In The Pretty Dress

I look forward to going to Scotland every winter. Sadly this year I spent the entire holiday feeling very poorly indeed. Back home, whenever someone asked me how the holiday was I replied with "Well the medical centre was excellent , and the three pharmacies I visited were lovely." That being said, staying indoors wasn't too bad, with these views to admire... We rented the most charming and secluded cottage.  If I won the lottery I would buy it (I liked it that much!) When I was feeling up to it, I didn't have to venture too far to see more of the scenery. The cottage is surrounded on all sides by secret pathways and spectacular views. The most spectacular part was perhaps the three waterfalls, which you surrounded the house and could be heard everywhere you went. The village of Lochgoilhead doesn't offer much more than a medical centre and a post office, but the one benefit of having to make multiple t...

I am just going to say it... I think Charleston is possibly the prettiest city I have ever visited. Not to mention the most warm and welcoming. It really showed us some amazing southern hospitality. We only stayed a couple of nights, but I could easily live here.  On our first evening we arrived starving after a long, long drive. I had heard wonderful things about Magnolias but sadly they couldn't squeeze us in. So here is my hot tip: head next door to it's sister restaurant Blossom . Which is every bit as good and much less crowded.  For shopping; you can't beat King Street, but the market hall was fun to wander through and we also found a fun farmers market on the square (held once a month). Mostly though, I spent my time in Charleston drooling over dream houses and other pretty places. Oh, and if you want to splash out on a fancy dinner - try this place . I celebrated by birthday with a Bison steak which I a...

Last month we took a little time out and headed to Pembrokeshire for a few days R&R. Driving south we took the scenic route through Snowdonia and along the Pembrokeshire Coast before arriving at our destination: Slebech Park Slebech really is a haven away from the rest of the world (no mobile signal). The building itself isn't much to look at, but the converted stable-block rooms are a modern twist on country comfort. The main thing I loved about Pembrokeshire was that virtually everywhere was dog-friendly and Cali was positively encouraged into every restaurant and shop with us. (It's a good job the rest of the world isn't like this or I fear she'd have a terrible shopping habit and I'd have an empty bank account!) We visited Pembroke Castle on our first day and enjoyed a free guided tour. Followed by a look around the town (and in Cali's case, a chance to scoff all the yummy biscuits people offered her) and an afternoon on Tenby beach. ...

Two months ago Cali and I took some time out and spent it with family in the Scottish Borders. We stayed in this house , which is what I would call 'Unusual' and 'Unique'. It's extremely spacious which makes it excellent value for money - but (I'll be honest) not quite to my taste. The house is not too far from Kelso which is a perfect town for a touristy day out shopping for knick-knacks. It's also only an hour and a half from the coast. We visited Eyemouth - which has a small but perfectly formed beach and a great coastal walk (past the smugglers bay!) If you do get chance to visit Eyemouth, I would also recommend this lovely pub . But the main draw of this house is that it's very much off the beaten track and the best of the Scottish Borders is right outside your front door - waiting to be explored. On another note... this post is, as usual, a little late. I've been getting into bad blogging habits over the past year and you may have not...