Sure a mini break to watch the opera in Florence over the weekend sounds like the perfect way to get some much needed R&R but it might not be logistically or financially possible. So instead I’ve rounded up 5 lovely things to do this weekend when a mini-break it out of reach.

Head out for a family walk

There’s nothing better than feeling the fresh air in your lungs. And although the kids might kick and scream at the idea of it, a family walk is actually lots of fun. Choose a nice walk through woodland, along the beach, around an area of natural beauty or even a ramblers favourite.

It gives everyone an opportunity to move their bodies, reduce stress, lower blood pressure and spend some quality time together. It’s also a great opportunity for the kids to burn off some energy and you not have to worry about them getting into too much trouble!

Have a date night

Many couples worry that they don’t get to spend as much time together as they would like, So, put the kids to bed early and rustle up a romantic meal together. Or order it from your favourite place and enjoy each other’s company. Spend the evening chatting and having fun. You could even try something different like a board game or test your knowledge with a quiz. You can buy a pub quiz online, and do it from the comfort of your own home!

Catch up on a good book

If the weather isn’t great then don’t worry! If you’re on your own and find yourself at a loose end then pick up that novel you’ve been meaning to finish. Get cosy on the sofa, pull up a blanket and get plenty of snacks. If you have little ones to entertain then let them choose a short story and cuddle up together. Nothing beats family time.

Give yourself a little TLC

When was the last time you had a nice relaxing bath? Well, wait until the kids have gone to bed if you need to, and run yourself a nice hot bath. Drop in a bath bomb or some Epsom salts to help with those aching muscles and make it feel fancy with a candle or two. Pour yourself a glass of something cold and bring a book if you want or put on a relaxing playlist. Shave, exfoliate and buff your skin, then when you’re dry apply lots of moisturisers and a bit of fake tan if you want. Spoil yourself!

Pack a picnic

Wondering what to do for lunch? Why not pack up a bag of all your favourite treats and goodies and head out on a picnic? The kids will love doing something ordinary – a little differently! Don’t worry if it’s raining (it’s forecasted to be rainy in Cornwall), sometimes a picnic in the car is just as fun!

The post Self-Care Weekends: 5 Lovely Things To Do This Weekend appeared first on Strawberry Squeeze.

One of my favourite things about having the blog is being able to look back on all the awesome things we’ve done and reading about it. I always forget the little details so I try and find the time to write about it as much as I can. It’s something I kind of regret not doing when we went traveling in the van, because there’s already so many little things that I’ve forgotten about. The best time was to write them when we were out there, the second best time is to start writing them now, so here I am… This trip only goes back a couple of weeks ago though so I’ll start here.

On Christmas Day my lovely fiancé showered me with gifts. We lovingly bought me my favourite fake tan, some clothes I’d been swooning over at Sea Salt and lots of goodies that he knows I’ve wanted for ages. It was really sweet of him and just showed how well he knows me. Things are great and all (I love being golden bronze and knitwear is always a winner), but I’m all about experiences. Spending the day making memories with my love is far more important to me than anything else. S knows this, which is probably why he also booked us onto a llama walk in North Cornwall! When I opened the envelope on Christmas Day I burst out laughing and was so excited.

We were booked to go the weekend after New Years, so we didn’t have to wait too long before going to visit the llamas. We happened to have a voucher to use from Red Letter Days so we cashed it in to stay at a gorgeous little BnB in Devon to make a weekend of it. It couldn’t have been better timing to use our voucher as it felt like a real impromptu treat when we remembered we had the credit available to enjoy. It was so nice to have something booked after Christmas, too. As much as we adore our friends and family, we found this year to be a little bit exhausting visiting everybody, as we’re usually quite introverted people. It was nice to have some “us” time.

We woke up bright and early on Sunday and headed to the llama farm. When we arrived we were greeted by the group we’d be joining and the owners of the farm. We picked out our llamas before having a health and safety introduction, then we set on our way to wander around the farm. They were absolutely adorable and all their personalities were so funny. We learnt tons about the llamas, their wool and the farm which was really interesting. It was clear that the owners of the farm had a true passion for llamas, and they told us about their travels to Peru to see rare breeds of llamas. Who knew there was so much to learn!?

We learnt more about the llamas and fed them, which was pretty funny. We got some shots with the llamas (when they weren’t trying to run away from us1) and then made our way up to a small log cabin in the woods where we stopped for a cuppa tea and a scone. It was lovely to huddle around the fire in the cabin, and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to visit at that time of year – the atmosphere was beautiful. After we finished our drinks we made our way back to the barn where the llamas were kept and said our farewells. The entire session probably lasted about 2 hours, which in my opinion was the perfect amount of time to stay on the farm.

We browsed the shops and I swooned over some handmade socks made from the wool of the llamas we’d just walked (how cool is that!?). We then made our way up to the bed and breakfast in Devon.

We arrived at a good time, meaning we could unwind and just relax without feeling rushed to go for dinner as soon as we arrived. It’s the cosiest little cottage I’ve ever been to, we actually ended up snuggling up and having a nap when we first arrived. It was so peaceful, with sheep just grazing out the front (such a contrast from our hectic Christmas!). Feeling completely recharged, we woke up and went downstairs to indulge in a three-course dinner, which was included in our stay.

We found out that we were actually the only people staying at the cottage at that time, I guess because January is a quiet time for them. This meant we got the BEST service you can imagine, and we could feel relaxed knowing we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Absolute bliss.

I’m not sure if it’s because we live in a new-build house or what… but I’m a real lover of old cottages and country homes. There’s something about a Chesterfield sofa in front of a roaring log burner that makes me feel happy. We filled our bellies with tasty food and just spent the evening enjoying each others company.

The food was so good, and the chef even came out and told us about his family recipe for the curry – you don’t get this type of service anywhere else. It’s one of a kind and not your ‘run of the mill’ bed and breakfast.

After a good nights sleep we leisurely checked out of the room. On the way back to Cornwall we decided to stop in IKEA, it would be rude not to! We didn’t have much room in the car but I thought we could pick up a couple of bits.

I ended up buying much more than anticipated including a lampshade with is significantly too big for our house, and it’s now sitting in the corner of the room because we’re not entirely sure what to do with it – Oops! We got some other nice bits though including a full set of pink crockery , then we headed back home.

It was such a lovely getaway. When was the last time you had a romantic weekend!?

The post A Romantic Stay In Devon + Llama Walking + IKEA = A Happy Girl 🤗🌸 appeared first on Strawberry Squeeze.

Micro-poems were then written in response to people’s pictures and circulated around the world via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I was tasked with sharing a moment from my personal morning regime for the campaign and here’s the result!

These boots have trekked this morning miles
to reach rolling blue beyond a rocky ledge.
Time to soak it all in, wait awhile
As white waves foam at the world’s edge

I was super stoked when Sony asked me to take part in this campaign for the Z5, and it was such a beautiful sentiment to team up with The Poetry Society to deliver a truly unique campaign. That’s more than you can hope to ask for when it comes to most marketing activity.

Not to mention, how perfectly it reflects my mornings in quaint Cornwall – when I have the chance to head down to the rocky coast before heading into work. There’s no better way to psych yourself up for a day in the office, than a blustery walk with a lung full of sea air.

The only thing that could possibly make this better, is when the rain passes and I can trade these wellies for a barefoot adventure, and lend myself to a spot of yoga with views that you would NOT BELIEVE!

Until next time. x

*Poems for the Sony Mobile Poetry In Moments campaign are written by The Poetry Society’s team of poets, including Ben Wilkinson & Will Burns.

The post #Poetryinmoments With Sony – Cornwall Style! appeared first on Strawberry Squeeze.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m Anna, a self-employed designer, copywriter and blogger based in Cornwall (aka, the most beautiful county in England! Yep, I said it). I work from my home in the ‘The Deep South’ with my partner and French Bulldog, Pepper, where we watch too much Netflix and eat way too much pizza.

Why did you initially decide to start a blog?

I’ve been an ‘on/off blogger’ since age 13 really. Writing has always been my passion and, as an extreme introvert, I’ve always been heavily involved in the online world (God forbid I ever have to socialise with other humans in real life!). In the early days on MySpace, LiveJournal and Blogger I just used to witter about random thoughts and do a few beauty/makeup review things, but I never really stuck at it for more than a couple of months.

However, in January 2015 I decided to commit to a project for once. I’ve always been the kind of person who can’t just come home after work and do nothing… I like to get stuck in with creative projects, and always be doing something productive.

So I wanted a creative outlet for my spare time, and I thought – what better to write about than my love of Cornwall? Hence, The Cornish Life was born.

What do you blog about and why?

Okay, so I don’t exclusively write about Cornwall (I’m not a travel agent, right?). I include a lot of random stuff in there too, such as random thoughts that pop into my head, my general life experiences, holidays and, of course, my dog.

It’s basically a ‘lifestyle blog’, and a collection of my day to day thoughts and activities. God knows why anyone reads it, but (amazingly) they do, and I really appreciate that!

Any advice to anyone that wants to start a blog?

If you want to start blogging because you’ve heard you can make money from it and have the work-from-home blogger lifestyle, don’t do it. I see loads of people on various Facebook Groups I’m part of say they want to start a blog and their first question is ‘how do I monetise it?’.

Do it because you enjoy it and because you want a creative outlet, or if you’re a business, do it because it’s a great form of content marketing and awesome for building an authentic brand.

When I started in January I just did it for fun, and so that maybe in a few years I could look back at all the cool stuff I’ve done, but my blog has slowly grown and it has opened up a load of opportunities and friendships to me, and that’s awesome, but that’s really just an added perk that I don’t expect.

What are the best aspects of running your own blog? What are the hardest aspects?

My favourite thing is having my own space on the internet where I can write about whatever I want. I have a brand and website design business and I have a business blog on that website where I write about marketing and such like, and while I do enjoy that, I can’t just write whatever I want, because it’s supposed to be kind of professional.

I also love that I have made friends through my blog (hello Cornish bloggers!), and that I’ve been able to use my blog as a portfolio to prove my writing skills for jobs and clients.

The hardest part? Consistently thinking up fresh content that isn’t just copying what everyone else has done. It’s fairly impossible, as the internet is essentially saturated with blogs now, but it helps to work on your personal writing voice and make sure you write about things from your unique point of view.

Which social media tools do you use the most?

As a copywriter for several clients (which involves managing their social media accounts), and as someone with a small business who needs to promote their services, my life revolves around social media. I use mainly Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to promote The Cornish Life, but man, by the time I’ve spent all week doing social media marketing for other people I do not feel like spending more time on it.

I mainly automate stuff now because… bleh.

Where do you see yourself and your blog in five years time?

I am a typical Type A person who likes to make long lists and 5 year plans, but honestly I haven’t made one for The Cornish Life (yet?). Because blogging, marketing and general online stuff is changing all the time, I just feel it’s impossible to predict what ‘Blog Land’ will even look like in 5 years… but I’d like to do more community stuff and networking with other Cornish creative people!

Three blogs you love that we should know?

I follow well over 200 blogs so it’s pretty hard to pick just 3, so these are just off the top of my head fellow Cornish bloggers who are amazing:

Brainfood (Annabel writes about ‘life after stroke’ in Cornwall, and is super lovely in person too!)

On Serpentine Shores (Alex’s blog includes the most stunning photos of the Cornish landscape, if they don’t make you want to come live here, nothing will!)

Salty Sea Blog (Photographer, Sarah, writes the most incredible posts with stunning photos to match. I could read about her life all day long; she tells it like a story.)

The post Interview With a Blogger: Anna From The Cornish Life appeared first on Strawberry Squeeze.

I booked off Monday and Tuesday, so we had an extra long weekend and made sure to stock up on lots of blueberries, bacon and pancakes. Bliss! With Christmas fast approaching, decking out the house with new furniture and planning trips to South East Asia together, it meant money was tighter than usual and we’ve been staying in quite a lot recently, so I wanted to surprise S with something different.

Saturday we cleared our Trello lists (because we are incapable of just relaxing sometimes), and so that we could truly just switch off and relax for the rest of the weekend, whilst still feeling productive. We patted ourselves on the back with a walk the plank sharing platter at the Brigg in Falmouth – which was incredible!

We were served a Rum BBQ Beef Brisket, Rum & Raisin Ribs, Shredded Lamb Shoulder, Smoked Haddock & Cornish Crab Fritters, Sesame Battered King Prawns, Crusty Bread, Hand Cut Chips & Sweet Potato Wedges, Rosemary Buttered Corn Cobs, Mixed Leaves & dips! All washed down with an Apple Pie cocktail, which is Spiced Rum, Vanilla vodka, Cloudy Apple and Lemon Juices with Raisin and Ginger Gomme, yum!

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Sunday we lazed around the house with slightly hazy heads, we worked on some really exciting blog stuff (coming soon!) too! We went out for dinner again! With a belly full of pizza I told S he couldn’t drink anymore, because in the morning we were off for a surprise!

In the morning I whisked S off to Bedruthan Hotel and Spa, he had no idea where we were going until I got lost on the way there and he guessed! I’m not even entirely sure how I got lost, but hey ho! Once we arrived we had tapas before making our way to their spa. I could get used to these Mondays.

The spa overlooks spectacular sea views that we swooned over whilst relaxing in the deep and luxurious hydro pool after basking in the cedar and lavender caldarium saunas (yes, two saunas!). Unfortunately the eucalyptus steam room was out of service, but to be honest, we barely noticed! Completely relaxed, we made our way back from the North coast of Cornwall.

I surprised S in the morning with presents and coffee, very bitty coffee. Turns out your meant to be the coffee UNDERNEATH the filter – oops! No one teaches you these things.. Regardless, S absolutely loved his Daniel Wellington watch, peanut butter chocolate and Kraken rum. We pulled on our wellies and took the dogs for a walk at Cardinham Woods, Bodmin.

It was truly beautiful, the tall trees towering over us and the crisp air felt like we could have been anywhere in the world. Even when it started raining, the dogs started escaping from their harnesses and it was pitch black, we still managed to find the funny side of it.

Once we got home, cleaned the pups and warmed up, we made homemade sushi. We had both been wanting to make our own sushi since we met, but everywhere we tried to get a table or inquired about booking lessons were either full, too far away or not open. Turns out making sushi is HARD. I blame the instructions being vague, and not the processco, white wine or bottle of rum that impacted the outcome. We made smoked salmon & avocado, and tuna cress & spring onion sushi rolls.

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The post ​What I Did At The Weekend appeared first on Strawberry Squeeze.

Beaches are the Best

Some of the best beaches in the UK are in Cornwall. If you are ready to surf, or simply just out for an invigorating run there may be no better place than the stretch of coast from Newquay to Perranporth. Newquay’s reputation has just grown and flown. And with good reason; your surfing experience here will be simply stunning. Hire a surfboard or book into a surf school for the best experience. Perranporth’s miles of sand and stunning vistas lends itself to mind blowing walks and is the perfect place to clear the cobwebs with a good run. Ever dreamt of riding a horse along a beautiful beach? This is the place to do it.

Check out the Pasties

Heading down towards Truro and Falmouth. Two of Cornwall’s most famous towns contain plenty to see and do and eat if you’re feeling ravished after some time on the water. Cornish Pasties are a protected brand and here is the place to see why. A genuine pasty has a potato, swede, onion and beef filling. Accept nothing less and they are delicious

Rest and Relax

You’ll need somewhere to stay and there are no shortage of options. Basing yourself somewhere central to your list of things to do and makes real sense. Check out hotels in Looe for a relaxing change. Looe is just brilliant and has bags of atmosphere. From here it’s not far to spread your wings to take in some of Cornwall’s major attractions.

Green fingers

Both the Eden Project and the Lost Garden’s of Heligan show the visitor real gems at both ends of the gardening spectrum. Eden has over 100,000 plants and is an amazing sensory experience. Heligan displays the finery and grandeur and vision of a beautifully restored 19th century garden. Both are equally stunning.

Stretch your legs

The coastal path winds around Cornwall and offers the walker some incredible vistas. You might not feel up to taking on the whole track so why not dip for a five mile section that stars in Looe and winds down to Polperro?

Have a drink

Cornish Ales are famed and rightly so. Mix it up your beer with a little genuine piratic atmosphere. St Agnes has it all and the famous Driftwood Spars will hold you spellbound.

Leave the tourist trail

If you have the time, head further down towards Land’s End. Take a detour out to St Michael’s Mount and walk the causeway at low tide. Or head down to the Lizard and Kynance Cove. These stunning beaches will have you held for hours simply watching the surf pounding over the rocks.

Be entertained

The Minack theatre tucked into the rocks near Penzance is an unforgettable experience. If you are visiting in the summer, try and catch a performance.

With your senses filled, head back to your hotel for a sumptuous hot tub and a deep revitalising sleep. Knowing you’ll head back restored rested and taking home some Cornish magic.

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