WONDERLAND: Bargain Bristol Trip

After hearing that return tickets to Bristol were only £5 (!?) - please bare in mind that this is really good as where I live is a considerable distance away - my boyfriend asked if I wanted to go and spend the night over there. Now, Bristol may seem a bit random, but the only thing I had ever seen of Bristol in person is the airport, and I was intrigued as to what the city had to offer. (Not that hearing there is a Victoria's Secret in the shopping centre tempted my decision at all...)

So off on the snazzy-looking coach we went, and after a 3 hour and a bit journey we had arrived to a gloomy looking Bristol - Cabot Circus to be precise! Which meant it was a bit of a trek to our hotel, ibis Bristol Centre, located on the waterfront. Y'know what though? I didn't even mind the trek to the hotel because the location was lovely! We were surrounded by restaurants, a futuristic-looking mirrored ball thing (I think its connected to the Aquarium, so I'm guessing you'll be able to go inside), the River Avon and loads of poke-stops - yes I am on the Pokemon Go bandwagon at 19 years of age... I dunno whether I should be proud or ashamed probably ashamed, but I'm not as bad as my boyfriend who was on it quite a lot:

 

 See, I even caught him in the act - he was only catching a Golbat as well?! Ridiculous! Nah I'm only kidding, I ended up being just as much of a nerd/loser.

Okay, well you're probably wondering about Bristol and how I saw it. Luckily for you guys I did take a few snaps, I didn't take any of Cabot Circus unfortunately, but I'm sure you'll see it on google or whatever!

 Those photos were all on our way to our hotel! The mirrored ball thing I was yapping on about earlier and water feature were literally right outside our hotel which I thought was pretty cool. The shopping centre itself however was a 20-25 minute walk, which might seem like a bit of a trek, but to be honest it isn't actually too far and it's nice to wonder around and see what Bristol has to offer - and yes, Victoria's Secret was amazing!

I have a few more pictures from our evening where we went to this AMAZINGGGGG food place called Za Za Bazaar. It's a buffet style restaurant which was like a 2 minute walk, if that, from where we were staying. You might be thinking 'buffet? Well that doesn't sound very appealing', but it is totally different to any other buffet-style restaurant that I have encountered. They have different stations: one for Indian cuisine, another for European (so pasta, pizza, fish 'n' chips etc etc), Tex-Mex (burgers, hot dogs, burrito's etc), Far East (Chinese take-away style food), Salad - but who really cares about salad at a buffet!?, and Desserts! Also, at some stations you can ask the chef to cook you something and they make it for you right before your eyes! I didn't take pictures of how cool it is inside, but I did take a picture of our food, but it doesn't do it justice AT ALL, cos we both just piled on the food, not bothered by the presentation.

Anywho these are the evening pics!

Yeah this pic reallyyyyy doesn't do it justice, but just trust me that this is the best buffet place ever! Also, great if you have kids - they have anything and everything. I have a younger sister, so I know how fussy they can be!

After our pigging out sesh, we felt like we had to go and walk it off (which didn't really work, as I probably put on 2 stone in one sitting haha!)

Once our night in the hotel was up, we rushed to Wetherspoons to add some more fuel, then quickly looked around Cabot Circus for any last minute bits, to then catch the coach back home in order to get back in time for MTV Crashes!! (Might do a blog post on it... don't know if I can remember to much of it though hehe).

Although not normally known to be a place to have a bit of a 'getaway', Bristol is actually quite a snazzy place - especially where we were staying. The food is amazing, so if you're a foodie like me, definitely go!! The shopping is pretty spot on as well, which has been made even better with their recent-ish edition of Victoria's Secret! Have any of you been to Bristol, or even live there? Is there anywhere I should check out if I go up again?

Hope you're all having a lovely summer!!

Cheerio xo

WONDERLAND - Cinema, Pizza Hut & Bowling Trip Extravaganza

Today has been an exceptionally long day. Knowing it was 2 for 1 on cinema tickets using the Orange Wednesday code, we decided to go to the cinema; myself, my mum, my dad, my 7 year old sister - Mia, my 8 & 9 year old cousins - Kayleigh & Jack, and my auntie. As we were going with children, obviously we had to watch a kids film, and the only one on was 'The Unbeatables'. Unfortunately, this meant waking up extremely early to leave the house at 9am! (That for me is pretty early in the morning folks...)

The weather has been pretty horrible today, so actually, it was a perfect day to venture out with the fam to the cinema... I mean what else could I do on a rainy day? Erm... Your homework that you were meant to do during the whole of the summer holidays?

When we arrived at the cinema complex and booked our tickets, I don't know what happened to my famalam, but we turned into arcade machine maniacs! My mum and I delved onto the pub quiz machines, playing their version of my favourite quiz show 'The Chase', whilst my dad, as always, went straight for the stacker machine. Normally, I would agree with people and say that the stacker machine is a waste of money. However, my dad has won a Nintendo DSi and two £50 notes via these machines in the past, so my opinions of that machine have definitely changed. Although today, that machine was 100% a waste of money... He didn't win a thing!

We then watched the film, which I really wouldn't recommend if you are my age. However, if you have kids or know anyone that has, who enjoy football, then this would be a great film for them to see. My sister and cousins loved every minute of it. For me though, I found it a very random and not very put-together film... I just didn't really get it. Well... I did, but I dunno, it's a very odd tale indeed!

Anywho, after the film had finally finished, we pondered over to Pizza Hut, where we literally stuffed our faces! At the time, it was a really lovely meal, but thinking about everything I ate just makes me feel ill now! I'm still super duper full now! I think I may need a day to detox tomorrow... 

I shared half a large pizza with my mum - my half was the 'Chicken Supreme', which I totally recommend, it's super delicious. I also had a salad bowl, mainly filled with bell peppers, red onions, cous cous and cold pasta. I nabbed everyone elses chips as well... even though I was horrifically stuffed. Ohhh man, someone needs to stop me!!

Can we just take a moment to appreciate my aunties dessert though... I don't know what it's called, possibly a Banoffee Waffle? Something like that anyways.

And yes, that is honeycomb ice cream on the side there - mmm

Finally, we ended the day by having a game of bowling. I didn't play, because in order to have 7 people play, you need two lanes and that would have been an hour and a half wait! I still can't believe how busy it was in there, I guess everyone had the same idea as us! I don't mind though, I'm not really a keen bowler, so I was just happy to sit and watch.

Here's a sneaky glimpse of my outfit that I wore, just in case you guys are interested:

My jeans are from Topshop, my blouse/shirt is from H&M, and my jacket is my beloved bargain from Primark.

On a family day out, I could not just end my post without some sort of family photo:

Oh, what is my dad like!? And my sister for that matter, the poser!

I hope you all had a lovely day! What did you get up to? As always, thank-you for reading.

Cheerio x

Twitter: @xo_chelseey

WONDERLAND - OOTD & A Yummy Trip

Hello m'lovelies, this blog post may not be that spectacular. I may be a tad bit stressed because I just spent an hour writing this post, but the weather took a bad turn which in turn slowed down my internet, and the worst possible thing happened. I. Lost. All. My. Work.

Now, you might be sat there thinking 'Chelsey, why didn't you save your work you numpty' - oh trust me, I bloody well tried! I guess I shouldn't dwell on the past... Stupid goddam internet, losing all my goddam work that I spent a whole goddam hour on... and get cracking again...

Before all this stress, I did have a lovely day with my famalam (that's family to all you unfamiliar to my weird terms). Previously this week, quite a lot of exciting things have happened; my mums birthday (Wednesday) and my AS level results (Thursday), so we thought why not celebrate by treating ourselves to something delicious. Therefore, instead of eating out in Morrisons Cafe after our weekly food shop, we decided to be a bit more adventurous and go to the Seco Lounge in the Royal William Yard, Plymouth.

For this somewhat 'special' occasion, I thought I'd dress up just a tad - here's what I wore:

Sunglasses - River Island (in the sale)

Necklace - H&M (again, in the sale - sorry)

Sweet-heart neckline jumpsuit - Fearne Cotton for Littlewoods (another sale item, what can I say? Girl loves her sales!)

Denim jacket - Hollister

Chunky sandals - New Look

Here are some, really quite awful but I'm learning, splendid shots of the Royal William Yard in all it's glory. Do not be fooled by the blue skies though, it was rather chilly - typical British weather, it's always so deceiving:

Okay guys, get ready for some super scrummy food pics:

I ordered myself a 'Sherbet Lemonade', something new that I'd never had before. However, I had tasted this before... in sweet form. It tasted exactly like the lemon sherbet sweets - extremely sour, but also refreshing. It definitely made me more awake this morning/early afternoon.

My lunch: 'Lounge Eggs' - this consisted of two poached eggs on two English muffins, covered in hollandaise sauce and served with mushrooms. Yup, I scoffed the whole thing #noregrets (and yes, I did just hashtag and ironically, I'm kind of regretting it...)

Duhhh, of course I had to get dessert. I got the 'Raspberry Frangipane Tart' served with vanilla ice cream, and oh. my. god. Just yum.

Overall, the Seco Lounge was a delightful experience! The atmosphere was so chilled, despite the bustle of the busy environment. It was so chilled and relaxed in fact, that the staff didn't wear a uniform! Now, this wasn't a problem for me, however it was hard to distinguish who worked there or not, especially as it was so busy. The food was lush, and there was so much variety! It took us ages to choose (which is not a bad thing, it just shows how good the menu is) - even my grandad had a tough time to decide which meal he was going to have, and that's saying something as he is such a fussy eater!

I urge anyone - if you are in the Plymouth area - to visit the Seco Lounge, as it isn't too bad for price and is worth every penny! However, if the Seco Lounge (for some absurd reason) doesn't tickle your fancy, please go to the Royal William Yard for a stroll around, it's absolutely beautiful and there are loads and loads of other dining options. For example, there is a fresh bakery where you can sit down and eat, Wagamamas (we all know what that is, surely), a River Cottage canteen (serving local food, mainly fishy), there's an Italian and a French restaurant also... Ooo and Las Iguanas - I think that is what it is called. Trust me, there are a lot of options!

Well, that is it from me. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! Have you ever been to one of the 'Lounges' that are dotted across the UK? If so, how was your experience? Also, I would love to hear if you have any suggestions on good places to eat around the South West area. Thank-you so much for reading :)

Cheerio x

Twitter: @xo_chelseey