City&coastal

Fashion.Food.Travel

[cityandcoastal]

Last night I was treated to a lovely evening by the other half at Harbour Bar and Kitchen in Porthcawl. It was the perfect food filled evening. To start I had the goat’s cheese and pearl barley risotto with baby beetroot, toasted walnuts and walnut oil. For main I had the 10 oz rib eye steak with roasted balsamic tomatoes, portobello mushroom, pea shoots, skinny fries and peppercorn sauce. And finally for dessert . . . For the first time EVER I tried crème brûlée, I can’t believe I haven’t had it before. It’s because I’m a huge chocolate dessert fan so if I do have room for a dessert when I go out for food I normally choose a chocolate option. I thoroughly enjoyed the crème brûlée so that’s definitely going on my dessert list from now on.

[cityandcoastal]

I don't know where to start, other than saying I've just returned from an amazing few days visiting a friend in Barcelona. Most of the time we spent eating incredible food. The best of that being at the pintxos bar Lá Esquinita de Blai. For those who aren't familiar with pintxos it's a perfect mouthful of Spanish cuisine on a large cocktail stick and each stick is usually priced at €1. I throughly enjoyed everything I ate from breaded goats cheese, and smoked ham rolled in bread crumbs oozing with cheese to the tasty potato and meat bombas. The only regret I have is that we didn't have enough time to make a second visit there, but it's definitely at the top of the list when I return. After our lovely feast and refreshing strawberry mojitos at Lá Esquinita we headed to the magic fountains at Montjuïc to watch the evening display. Other than spending most of our time eating tapas and endless scoops of ice cream, we visited Tibidabo, the bunkers to watch the sunset over the city, La Boqueria and wandered countless times up and down Las Rambles.

[cityandcoastal]

It’s that time of year again where Wimbledon takes over the BBC. I don’t mind, I really enjoy watching it. This time last year I was in London for a few foodie (most of that seemed to be sweet stuff) days in the city followed by a sunny Sunday spent on Henman Hill watching Andy Murray become 2016 Wimbledon Champion. The atmosphere on the hill was amazing, with pimms flowing and strawberries being eaten by the punnet. Something that made the day even sweeter (because I hadn’t eaten enough sweet stuff already) was the free Häagen-Dazs ice cream they were giving out as we entered the grounds of Wimbledon. Finals day was such an enjoyable experience, and something I would like to do again, maybe next year.

[cityandcoastal]

After having a year off my fashion food and travel blog I'm back. Recently I set up a home Instagram account so I've spent a lot of time posting on there but I've missed posting photos about fashion and food. This evening we went out for my mum's birthday. We had a lovely meal at The Bush Inn in St Hilary so I thought now is as good a time as ever to re start my City and Coastal blog. It was the first time I had been to The Bush and it was lovely, so cosy and set in a little country village, with good food. I had the goats cheese wrapped in Parma ham to start. I'm a sucker for goats cheese, I could have done with a second helping it was so tasty. For main I had the piri piri chicken, chorizo and roasted pepper salad. My outfit choice tonight didn't stray away from my usual colour scheme. Monochrome it was, my white vest is from mango, so too is my black jacket. My black jeans are from Zara which are super comfy and the perfect length, finished off with the perfect monochrome pearl sliders which are also from Zara. I look my Mulberry Lily out for a spin today. She is a dream, such a beautiful bag.

[cityandcoastal]

Recently I spent a long weekend visiting a new city, somewhere I haven't been before - Barcelona. It was four days filled of sun, cocktails (mojitos), shopping and eating 😁 ohh and sight seeing, obviously. One of the girlies we were in school with is living there, we stayed in her apartment in El Coll. Friday we wandered down La Rambla stopping off at Amorino for some gelato, and onto Port Vell where we had lunch in the sunshine at Brunch and Cake, it was a cute little place, with a good sounding menu. I had the chicken nacho roll, it came with a syringe of guacamole. It was a lovely place for people watching and keeping a eye on the super yachts in the port. We then wandered back to Plaça de Catalunya where we spent an hour shopping in Zara 😁. Saturday was a grey day so we dressed comfy and wandered the Gothic quarter and El Borne. We had tasty food at Alsur, we shared the mezze board and empanaditas times two 🙊, as it was still grey we didn't rush, we chilled out in the window seat while our food went down, then ordered three of the brownie waffles, they were pretty tasty but I was to full to finish all of mine. On Sunday we got up early and Trekked up the mountain to have an view over Barcelona, it was awesome, we also visited Parc Guëll before heading into the city for lunch and cocktails at Plaça Reial. It was lovely eating lunch in the sunshine, sipping more cocktails and gossiping. I bought a new pair of sunnies for the trip - a pair of Chanel's that I've had my eye on since Nice last August. They are perfect 😁. Monday was another Sunny day. We wandered to the beach, shopped, had lunch in Plaça Reial again, collected our luggage then headed to the airport. I thouroughly enjoyed the trip, I'm looking forward to heading back in the near future 🇪🇸.

[cityandcoastal]

A few weekends ago I went to Bicester village with sister and Lauren. It was such a lovely day on the Saturday, the sun shone all day and it was warm as well. I started my day off with milk and cookies at Le Pain Quotidien. I tried their speculoos spread on a small part of my broken cookie, it was soooo good I ended up spreading it on all of the cookie pieces. I have been craving that breakfast most days since. First stop was to Prada for Lauren to buy her very first Prada bag. Sister and I was glad to welcome her to our gang 😁🛍. We strolled around the other shops buying bits and pieces in Coccinelle and Ralph Lauren. We had a late lunch at Itsu. We sat on a picnic table outside, it was lovely to sit in the sun and people watch while having our tasty lunch. We then headed into Bicester town to get a Nutella shake from Dean's diner for the journey home.

[cityandcoastal]

I haven't posted for a while, but during my lunch break I scanned through my blog and thought I should play catch up. Especially because I'm away this weekend, so I will probably have a few posts to write over the next few weeks with tasty food photos. This post is from my weekend in Belfast a few weeks ago. We found a lovely brasserie - Mal Maison on a quite street behind our apartment which had awesome views overlooking Belfast docks and Victoria Channel. To start I had a clover club cocktail, followed by goats cheese, pear and apple salad. For main I chose herb crusted Irish lamb rack with a side of spinach gratin. I approved of the nautical themed decor, it was such a relaxing restaurant which served good tasty food. Big thumbs up.

[cityandcoastal]

For boyfriend’s birthday sister made him a voucher to be spent at Pier 64 in Penarth. I really enjoyed, so did the birthday boy. We don’t often do much just the two of us. So it was nice to spend time together while eating good food. I had been to Pier 64 before but it was years ago. They have done it out since then, and it was looking 👌🏼. To start I had chicken satay with Thai salad and for main we shared the Chateaubriand cooked medium which came with 2 sides and a sauce, boyfriend had chips and I chose dauphinoise potatoes, obviously we had peppercorn sauce, I don’t think I would choose a different sauce to go with steak. The restaurant looks over Penarth Marina, on a sunny day it’s the perfect place to chill on the balcony. I think we will paying them another visit soon but this time for Sunday lunch.

http://pier64.co.uk

Outfit - Top by Zara | Coat by Zara | Jeans by Mango | Loafers by Zara | Watch by Marc Jacobs | Bag by Mulberry

[cityandcoastal]

*NEW BRUSH ALERT* I love getting new make up brushes, especially when they are as pretty as these rose gold Zoeva brushes. I had a gift voucher for my birthday last year but hadn't used it as I didn't know what to buy. I decided I would treat myself to a new foundation brush which I desperately needed and a brow brush. I also had a new real techniques eyeshadow brush for Christmas which is really good too. The eyeshadow palette is by No7, it has a lovely range of colours for day and evening makeup looks. Stippling brush by Zoeva | Brow line brush by Zoeva | Bold Metals pointed crease brush by Real Techniques | Ultimate eye palette by No7 | Le sourcil de Chanel by Chanel.

[cityandcoastal]

Perfect winter look - warm colours, cosy tartan scarf with killer rain boots and bag to finish off. Living in the U.K stylish rain boot are essential 🌧☔️.

Outfit - Scarf by Zara | Boots by Mulberry | Handbag by Mulberry.

[cityandcoastal]

I haven’t blogged for a while now, but I thought that my meal at GBK was worthy of a post. On Friday evening I went shopping to Cardiff for boyfriend’s birthday present. Sister and I decided to have tea while we were there. It was only the third time I have been to Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Its not normally a place we seem to go, but I really enjoyed my meal and Oreo milkshake, in fact I have been thinking about it all weekend. I had the panko breaded chicken satay burger, with a side of truffle cheese fries and myself and sister shared a stack of panko breaded onion rings. It was a very tasty meal on a rainy Friday in Wales. Already looking forward to eating there again.

http://www.gbk.co.uk/

[cityandcoastal]

Whenever myself and sister go to London we always plan very carefully, as we always have so much to do. This time we were showing mum and dad how we do London. We arrived about 12.30. First stop was lunch at Champagne and Fromage in Covent Garden, a new place to all of us. It was very good, the portions sizes weren’t very big but that’s what you need when you have so much planned. It was a small place with a lovely French feel and a steady flow of customers. Myself and dad both chose the new open duck burger. It was so tasty, we both really enjoyed. Another good food place added to my London recommendation list. We had a look around the stalls and shops in Covent Garden and obviously had a Ben’s cookies, the best cookies around if you ask me, especially when they’re still warm. It was lovely to see all the Christmas decorations around the place. The Fortnum and Mason tree at Somerset House was pretty cool. So too were the large mistletoe in Covent Garden. We left the hustle and bustle of Central London and headed out to find our apartment. We were staying at Chelsea Bridge apartments. I would highly recommend if you want something other than a hotel. The location was really good, just around the corner from Battersea Park and Queenstown Road tube stations and a bus stop. Our room looked out onto Battersea power station. The bed was so comfy and the room was really cosy. Ideal after a hectic day of Christmas shopping and showing parents things they hadn’t seen or been to in London before. http://www.champagneplusfromage.co.uk/ http://www.benscookies.com/home/ My outfit - Coat by Zara | Handbag by Prada.

[cityandcoastal]

I love a weekend away. Last weekend was spent in Royal Leamington Spa, with boyfriend, sister, my best friend Danielle and her boyfriend. It was a chilled weekend of good food, laughs, and at 5 o'clock Saturday morning I saw the first snowfall this winter 😬❄️ I was so excited. We wandered around the town, looked in the shops, then stopped off at The Clarendon on the corner of Oxford Street for lunch. The food was really good. I would recommend if you’re in the area. I had a pulled beef burger topped with American cheese and bbq sauce with a side of sweet potato fries. Sister and Danielle had nachos. I don’t often get food envy, but I must admit when the nachos arrived I was wishing I had ordered them. Sister and Danielle were kind enough to let me pinch some of theirs. We wrapped up and headed back into the winter sunshine to continue looking around the shops. Later on we stopped off at a little café for a slice of cake and a hot drink, the service was pretty slow, but we were sat in the window so we just nosed at flash cars and passers by. About 4pm we headed back to the apartment to chill before getting ready for our evening meal at Turtle Bay.

http://theclarendonpub.com/

My outfit - Coat by Zara | Jeans by Mango | Boots by Zara | Handbag by Prada | Scarf by Asos | Sunglasses by Emporio Armani

[cityandcoastal]

6 years, where has the time gone. As a surprise boyfriend booked a table at Langland's Brasserie it was such a lovely evening and the food was top notch. Whatever the weather It's a lovely place to go. To start I had halloumi with balsamic vegetables, followed by the 10 oz sirloin with green peppercorn sauce. It was a lovely piece of meat, and cooked to perfection - medium, just the way I like it. I didn't expect anything, we're not ones for buying anniversary presents or doing much, and last year I lost my grandad the day before, so I hadn't really thought about it. Boyfriend was in work yesterday, on the way to visit grandad I had a text, be ready for 5.30pm, table booked for 6.30pm at Langland's Brasserie, I was so shocked and it was completely unexpected. I even had a beautiful bouquet of flowers when I got home. http://www.langlandsbrasserie.co.uk/ My outfit - Top By H&M | Jeans by Zara | Shoes by Pull&Bear | Handbag by Mulberry | Watch by Marc Jacobs | Necklace by Zara.

[cityandcoastal]

This isn't the first time I've written about 19MS and I'm sure it won't be the last either. One of the girlies is upping sticks and moving to Barcelona, so we couldn't let her leave without trying out the pretty new tapas and cocktail place in our hometown. It was the second time I had been, and throughly enjoyed it. Sister and I kicked off the evening with Disaronno Sours at my place before heading out for food. While everyone was arriving we ordered our first round of cocktails, I lost count of how many rounds there were. I sipped a peach iced tea while deciding on what I would order. It took me a while, I was too busy nosing at cocktails being made. I finally made a decision - ham and cheese croquettes, sweet potato fries and pancetta wrapped dates. We put the world to rights over several cocktails - 2 frozen strawberry daiquiris and a mojito for me. I didn't feel satisfied food wise, and seems as the girlies were ordering seconds, I thought I better had too. A second helping of sweet potato fries and ham and cheese croquettes did tip me over edge, making me feel too full. But they were just as good second time round and I'm sure it won't be long before I will be back. http://www.19marystreet.com/

[cityandcoastal]

We arrived at the Lifeboat College at 5.30pm. Our room had a lovely view, overlooking the Quay and Holes Bay. We had a table booked in the Italian restaurant Alcatraz in Poole later on that evening, so we had a few drinks in the bar then jumped in a taxi and headed to the restaurant. Alcatraz was a busy little place with a great atmosphere. I had bruschetta to start with 2 strawberry mojitos, followed by 8oz sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce and another 2 strawberry mojitos, they were really good. I was too full for a dessert but we were keen to go to a cocktail bar after dinner. A recommendation was made that we go to Drift Bar and The Gin House both located on The Quay. So that’s what we did. There was a live singer in Drift Bar when we arrived. We headed straight upstairs to The Gin House first for a quiet drink before going back downstairs to listen to the singer. I didn’t think I liked gin, but I surprised myself. I had a Bombay Sapphire and lemonade, I really enjoyed it. I’m now able to add gin to the short list of alcoholic drinks that I like. It was such a cool little place, and it was good to go somewhere that wasn’t part of a chain. Before we knew it, it was 1.30am so we wandered back to our room at the college for a kip. Sunday morning we met a friend who works in the Lifeboat College. He gave us the coolest tour I’ve ever had. I saw parts of the college that I hadn’t seen before. The best bit was the ALB simulator, you can have a go at driving an all weather lifeboat. The assessor is able to change the weather conditions and the scenarios on scene, as well as sounding alarms for man overboard, engine problems and many others. I had a go at driving, it was so difficult and really makes you appreciate how much crewman have to think about while out on a shout. It’s such a cool bit of kit, I was so impressed. But after our fun morning around the training facilities it was time to hit the road.

My outfit - Top by Mango | Jeans by Mango | Heels by Zara | Handbag by Mulberry | Watch by Fossil.

[cityandcoastal]

As a surprise boyfriend booked a 2 night break and tickets to the Southampton Boat show last weekend. Saturday was a lovely sunny day and really warm when the sun broke through the clouds. We wandered around the different stands and nosed around all the boats, they were amazing. There were plenty of food stalls to choose from for lunch, pizza, baguettes, fish and chips etc. I chose a bbq pulled beef baguette, I was so hungry and looking forward to tucking into it I forgot to take a photo 🙈. After lunch we queued to look around the biggest super yacht that Sunseeker had on show. I fell in love, it was so shiny and new. It was beautiful. It boasted a spiral staircase, 2 kitchens, 1 twin bedroom and 3 double bedrooms all with en-suites. The master suite even had a walk in wardrobe - every girls dream. After we spent half an hour onboard the Sunseeker dreaming it was ours we headed over to the Guinness stand to get drinks, sit in the sunshine on deckchairs and listen to the live band. At 3.45pm, not a minute late the Red Arrows flew over head and performed an awesome display. Once they finished, we headed back to the car, We were staying the night at the RNLI college in Poole.

http://southamptonboatshow.com/ http://rnli.org/howtosupportus/getinvolved/Pages/RNLI-College.aspx

My outfit - Top by Zara | Cardi by Mango | Jeans by Mango | Espadrilles by Massimo Dutti | Handbag by Mulberry | Sunglasses by Ray ban | Watch by Fossil.