Holiday: Miami Memories

You can see my initial post on our amazing holiday in Miami HERE. I've definitely got a case of the holiday blues and want to be back there right now! 

We walked a lot (2 blocks to the beach) and also used the amazing free, yes free trolley bus to get around South Beach which was great when everything was really expensive.

Of course I paid several visits to Sephora and another couple of beauty shops but didn't really buy much. The brands I was looking for didn't seem to be available in the area we were and didn't really have time or the wheels to go downtown. I did of course pick up a Sephora set.

We ate out at some great places although struggled to find just a pub in South Beach (we came across several good ones on our trip to Key West).

News Cafe on Ocean Drive did the best breakfasts/brunches. Thanks to Sunny in London for the recommendation. I ate these pancakes 3 times! Delicious!

The food at Yardbird was amazing (we went twice and I ate Watermelon with Farmer's Cheese twice as it was so lush!) Other dishes we enjoyed were Fried Green Tomatoes and Chicken 'n' Watermelon 'n' Waffles and Cornbread with whipped butter oh and I nearly forgot the donuts - maple glazed with bacon! Bad but so good!

Another place we went twice was Stiltsville Fish Bar which served deliciously fresh and tasty food. Check out the Fish of the Day Po'Boy with Watermelon Pickles (yup, I had these twice) and Burger with Lobster (I kept forgetting chips = crisps and fries are fries/chips). One of hubby's top meals was their Surf & Turf basket with bayleaf and lime crusted fried chicken and spicy fish wings and mine was that fresh salad with crabcake, simple but oh so, so good! Oh and the Key Lime Pie was yummy.

I also loved the hand scrub available to use in the restroom and buy in the restaurant.

We also loved Little Havana and World Famous Ball & Chain Mojitos! We stopped here during a bus tour and meant to go back!

We also had a delicious cocktail at The Gale but the staff were really rude to us (first and only time on holiday) so we drank up and left! 

Wynwood is a great up-and-coming district downtown with great bars and restaurants and the Wynwood Walls. Would recommend it if you are visiting the area.

We drove down to beautiful Key West in a Camaro convertible with the roof down! Due to a mix up with the car hire and trying to find Ulta we arrived a bit later than expected and didn't have much time there.

Christmas wreath goals! Just beautiful. We had an amazing holiday! This year has a lot to live up to!

What are your holiday plans this year?

Spending Ban: Update & Wants #2

I had a teeny tiny spend in Sephora Paris. But I'd factored that in to my Spending ban rules. It would have been easy to buy up the shop! haha - next time!

As I've been away I've not really been tempted by any online deals (whew) but I do have a few wants which I'll be adding to the wishlist - I'll come back to them at the end of my ban and see if I still really do want them. You can see my initial post about the ban HERE.

Here's what I would have bought this week:

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G Baldwin & Co Revitalising Bath Salts (310g - £7.49) - these revitalising salts are enriched with Lavender, Peppermint and Lemon Essential Oils to revive and awaken both the mind and body. 

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OA Face Oil by PLANT (9.5fl oz - £26.95) - I adore facial oils with Sea Buckthorn in them. This oil is suitable for Normal/Combination skins and you can pick it up at a beautiful world. 

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Savon Stories Rose & Geranium with Rose Petals Castile Soap (£9) - I first became aware of these beautiful soaps when Galina over at A Curious Russian in London tweeted about them. They look super gorgeous and if I'm honest I want them all! See the full range available here.

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African Botanics Neroli Infused Marula Oil (£60 - 60ml) - a luxe facial treatment scented with Neroli which helps balance, brighten and restore. Bet this smells gorgeous!

Look out for my further updates and shopping my stash posts. Have you tried any of the above products?

Summer Holidays: Jersey & Paris

We recently spent a week in Jersey and had a mix of super sunny days (and one afternoon of rain!) We went with my mum and dad and had a lovely relaxing break.

We stayed at Handpicked Hotels - L'Horizon Hotel & Spa which is right on the beach at St Brelade's Bay. Each room had a balcony which was great for people watching as well as catching some sun.  A couple of nights of high tides was fun to watch too.

Just along from the hotel was a lovely little shop called Fish n Beads and I picked up some really pretty hand-painted stones (a great little holiday souvenir).

We had a couple of days in St Helier - a lovely town with great duty free shopping!  I loved stopping by Feel Unique (where I bought Chanel's Le Blanc de Chanel) and de Gruchy's for my Tom Ford Scent (link).

On the Tuesday we had a very special lunch at Bohemia Bar & Restaurant which has one Michelin star and the kitchen is run by Steve Smith. The food was simply incredible - some of the best I've ever tasted.  Staff were friendly and chatty but still very professional. Definitely a dining experience I want to repeat!  We decided on the six course surprise tasting menu.  Here are some of my highlights:-

cep - potato - quail egg - sorrel

foie gras cream - sour cherry - duck salad - pistachios

lobster ravioli - sweetcorn - purslane - lobster sauce

our shared cheese selection

We also spent a lot of time on the beach, mainly walking about, a little bit of sunbathing and some time sitting on the hotel terrace with a bottle of wine or two and our kindles!  When the tide was out we walked over to the famous Old Smugglers Inn at Ouaisne Bay.

Jersey Potteries have two restaurants in the bay - CrabShack and Oyster Box and we enjoyed food from both. Sitting outside in the sun at CrabShack was such a simple pleasure!

We also had a trip to Jersey Lavender Farm which was really interesting and informative and we loved feeding the chicks!

We went back to St Helier's for another wander around and stopped by Relish Jersey, a fab deli with amazing grazing platters. 

We had an extra little mini break last week of 2 nights in Paris. I totally fell in love with the City and can't wait to go back. We stayed at Hidden Hotel (Sensation Room) which was really central, just a short hop to the Arc de Triomphe.

Each day we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Lacombe Cafe Parisien (4.1 euros each). Will go back!

Stopping by for some Laduree Macarons was a must as was a visit to Sephora - I had a teeny spend (allowed in my spending ban).

I'm always keen to find roll-on perfumes (which I find harder to source in the UK) so I picked up one in Jimmy Choo (19.20 euros - £13.64) and a couple of Sephora branded bits - I could easily have spent a fortune as the shop was amazing (next time for sure!) The French Pharmacies had loads of cut price Caudalie too!

We found that most of the restaurants we had searched for were closed for the holidays but many were still open. We stopped by Brasserie Lorraine for dinner and shared a delicious Grand Marnier Souffle.

Another food highlight from Brasserie Le Franc Tireur was their yummy gratin savoyard a l'oignon et se croutons (French Onion Soup)

Some snaps from around Paris..

Have you been away on holiday this summer?