GrEAThounds

Hello everyone!

This post has been one of my "promised posts" for a while ("promised posts" being the times I write 'blog post coming up on that soon' about a particular topic on a different post), and since I had a spare moment I thought I would sit down and write about one of my favourite things in the whole wide world: greyhounds.

In case you've been living under a rock and weren't aware, I have a greyhound called Dusty, whom I love to absolute bits *insert adorable pictures here*.

I got Dusty on 27th December 2012. Before I go into detail on how having a greyhound makes life that more fabulous, I'll discuss for a bit how our family came to the decision of getting a dog and then deciding on a breed, and the adopting process we went through to get Dusty.

GETTING A DOG AND THE ADOPTION PROCESS

Our family had discussed having a dog for a while - it had been a running theme to talk about what kind of dog we would get and all the fun we could have with a four-legged furry friend running about the house. But my brother and I never really thought that our parents had seriously considered a dog - these ideas were just fantasies we liked to create in our heads. It had never really crossed our minds that the dream of getting a dog could actually be within the realms of reality, and so when my mum brought it up at the dinner table one night, my brother and I were gobsmacked. My mum continued to say that she'd been researching this for months (which only further shocked my brother and I) and had concluded that the best breed for our family were greyhounds, dogs that are bred for racing but usually need to retire after a few years and are then put into kennels for rehoming, in the hope that they can live out their retirement as family pets.

At this point I was delighted that we were getting a dog, but also a wee bit apprehensive: I'd heard that greyhounds needed a lot of walking and were quite high maintenance (a complete myth, naturally; but more on that later).

Nevertheless, we headed down to a local greyhound kennels called Hersham Hounds, and began the process of walking kennel dogs to see how we coped with the dogs. We walked four dogs to test our capabilities over a few visits to the kennels, and once we'd decided that we wanted to go ahead and adopt a dog, a member of staff from the kennels was sent to our home to ensure that it would be suitable for a greyhound. We were asked to adjust our garden fencing slightly so that the greyhound wouldn't escape, which we did, and that was it.

We were then free to walk dogs with a view to homing, and the first dog they gave us to walk was a bitch called... Dusty (yep, you guessed it). Dusty instantly greeted us by jumping up at each of us in turn and placing her paws on us. It was almost as if she was claiming us there and then. By the end of the first walk with Dusty, we knew she was the dog for us, and took her home for an overnight sleepover to see how she behaved in a home environment. After the success of this sleepover, we reserved her until a little after Christmas, when we could bring Dusty home officially.

LIFE WITH A GREYHOUND

I could go on and on about the endless benefits of having a greyhound, but to prevent boring any readers to death, I will attempt to narrow it down into a manageable list for you all.

1. EXERCISE

Having Dusty has given me motivation to go out, get some fresh air, and walk her on weekends (I can't during the week because of school). As a result, my moods are better, I feel fitter and healthier, and I drink a lot more water. Despite walking Dusty for about forty minutes a day, greyhounds don't really need much exercise at all - we were told that just a twenty minute walk is sufficient enough for the breed. 

2. MEETING NEW PEOPLE

Having a dog means there is always an excuse to stop and talk to someone with a dog of their own on a walk. The dogs are a great conversation starter, and you meet really lovely people who have similar passions to you. It's particularly nice for our family to meet other greyhound owners, because we get to rave about how utterly awesome they are, and since all greyhounds share similar     characteristics, compare the similarities between our respective pets. It's nice meeting part of your "crowd", people who "get it". People without greyhounds or pets at all don't tend to understand why they're so great, and think me odd (*cough cough* FRIENDS) - but other greyhound owners understand completely, which is lovely.

3. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND AFFECTION

This step really applies to all dogs in general - having a dog means having a friend who loves you on a level akin to nothing else you've ever seen. Dogs love more freely and simply than us humans; they love unconditionally and without question; they are unswervingly loyal; they give you reason to smile everyday. Dusty doesn't care what I look like or act like. She doesn't judge me for who I am, or pick up on my faults. In her eyes I am her pack, and she loves her pack. I love that about her.

4. STRENGTHENING THE FAMILY BOND

Silly as it sounds, I think having Dusty has made my family closer and stronger than ever. We often walk her together on weekends, giving us time to spend time with one another, and our common love for Dusty unites us all. I also think that Dusty reminds us sometimes to be less judgemental towards one another and just love our family simply and deeply, looking past all the faults. I also have new-found respect for my parents, as I am fully involved with the care of Dusty and can now begin to appreciate what having that level of responsibility for another being must be like. It gives me a better understanding of how hard it was for them to raise my brother and I.

5. RESPONSIBILITY

I just touched on this but I think that the responsibility of having a dog is good for me. It's made me more protective as a person, more loving (although I attempt to be as loving as I can), and more self-aware. I will admit that I am a person lacking common sense, but having Dusty has helped me think rationally a little more often and as such I am remembering to do things around the house to help out that I would ordinarily forget. Dusty, strange as it sounds, has improved my rationality! Who woulda thunk it? 

I'm going to round up this post by urging you to look up Hersham Hounds, the kennel I adopted my dog from, and maybe looking into the work they do for greyhounds, because it is truly awe-inspiring. I'm not saying you should go and adopt a greyhound right here, right now - I think that would be a deeply unreasonable request - but maybe a quick snoop around the website, or spreading the word, or a small donation if you're feeling particularly generous? I know I, and the eighty-odd greyhounds at Hersham Hounds waiting to be adopted, would really appreciate it. If you're not local to Hersham, the Retired  Greyhound Trust deals with rehoming racing greyhounds up and down the country in general, so maybe you could look that up. 

Thanks ever so much for reading this slightly rambly post - I hope you enjoyed it! - and I'm ever so sorry that there's been a week between my uploads. I go back to school next week, and I'll be studying for my A Levels, so I'm afraid you'll have to get used to weekly uploads as I'll only be able to post once a week. I'm thinking uploads will be on Sundays, but I haven't decided definitely yet.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia x

POST LINKS

Retired Greyhound Trust Website:

www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk

Hersham Hounds Website:

www.hershamhounds.org.uk

GCSE Results

Hello everyone!

Sorry it's a day late, but yesterday I was too busy celebrating my GCSE results to write up a blog post.

Yep, that's right, CELEBRATING! I didn't fail anything; in fact, I surpassed my own expectations!

Okay, here goes... Am I really about to share my GCSE results with the world? Yes, yes I am! I got... *drum roll* 3 Bs, 3 As and 4 A*s! OH MY GOD!

I did not think I would get one A*, let alone 4. Needless to say, stood in the sixth form opening my envelope, I freaked out. The first thing I did after finding out my results was say "oh my God" over and over again, before running up to my History teacher and practically trampling her with a hug of colossal proportions.

All of my results were obviously important to me, but it was my grade in History (I got an A*) that started me crying and probably meant the most to me.

History and I haven't always got on. I love it, but it is an extremely difficult subject and in mock exams I have struggled (for example, in my first set of mocks I got an E). This really knocked my already shaky confidence in the subject and I was struggling to find motivation to do better. But I did, somehow, scrape a C in my second set of mocks, after working my absolute butt off. I was super super pleased with this and it helped me push towards the real exams. However, I wasn't expecting more than a B overall, and to get an A* was, well, unreal. I was bawling, my teacher was bawling... It wasn't pretty.

I am so so happy with my other results also, and I've surprised myself by not beating myself up over the 3 Bs. Normally a perfectionist like me would be disappointed and angry, but instead I am elated. It is like my insecurities have all banished temporarily. It's odd.

Okay, enough self-indulgent natter about me. Onto my friends...

I always knew that my friends would do amazingly - how could they not, the brilliant, beautiful, brainy people that they are? And they did; I am so so proud of all of them. From my Maths buddy to my bestest Science friend ("Thanks, Barbie!") to my impossibly talented slightly annoying (I kid, I kid) friends who got perfect grades. (And I'm not even kidding. Think of the best grades possible - they got those.)

I feel like I've been very selfish throughout this post, so a section about the pressures of GCSEs and the expectations put on teenagers about them will follow.

Put simply, it sucks. Teens nowadays are under ridiculous amounts of pressure to perform well in exams, schools keep throwing extra GCSEs for us to take as if they're sweets, and it's all about the As and the A*s, which can make you feel worthless if you get anything below that (trust me, I've been there). And it's a completely wrong theory. Any grade is a good grade as long as you tried your best! As my mum said to me throughout exam season and the week leading up to yesterday,"all you need is a C". So if you were disappointed with your results and you're reading this post thinking, "what a massive *insert rude word of your choice here* she is", then a) I'm sorry! Tell me off in the comments! and b) don't be disappointed, because if you gave it your all, then you're a winner, no matter what your grade! *cue cheesy grin and thumbs up*.

'Kay. I'll stop here. Well done to any teens that have received results of any kind recently, don't freak out (because *whispers* they're not the end of the world) and keep smiling, because...

Olivia x

Sunday Evening Pamper Routine

Hello all!

So, last Sunday I was having one of those days (no, not a "woman problem day"; keep your minds out of the gutter) where I just felt bleurgh, dirty and cringed every time I looked in the mirror.

If you too are a teenager then you will understand the frustration of breakouts and feel my pain. Ugh. Something needed to be done, my skin needed a break and I needed some general TLC. I decided to have a relaxing Sunday night pamper.

I LOVE pampering myself as it's an indulgence and is a real joy to do. My thinking is that if you look after your body, your body will look after you, so I like to keep my skin all kinds of happy by cleansing and moisturising it as much as possible.

Today I'm going to talk you through my pamper routine in the hopes that you'll give it a go yourself, with any alterations you wish to make, of course.

Step 1: MAKEUP REMOVAL. Scrub all the rubbish off your face and go eu natural! 

I use Johnson's Baby Lotion and a cotton bud to remove my makeup. Don't judge me for this, okay? I know it's a lotion designed for babies, but it's a cheap product and it works. It also makes my skin feel as soft as, well, a baby's bottom. Hehe.

Step 2: GET NAKED. It's time for a bath!

Here are the products I used for my bath/post-bath cleanse.

LEFT TO RIGHT:

Vineyard Peach Shower Gel from The Body Shop

Bath Salts by Colour Couture Bath and Body (Raspberry and Cassis)

Vineyard Peach Body Butter from The Body Shop 

Body Lotion by Colour Couture Bath and Body (Raspberry and Cassis)

As you can see, I've used a real hodge-podge of products. I am by no means suggesting that these products are what you should be using; you can be as extravagant or thrifty as you like with the products you use. In all honesty, these things are the only things I could find to use, so... I used them!

To start my bath I ran hot water, and began by pouring the shower gel from The Body Shop in to create bubbles. (Top tip: the shower gels create great bubble baths. Thanks, Emma Blackery.)

 

When things were getting all hot and bubbly up in my bath, I added some of the bath salts I mentioned to add to the bubbles (I really, really, REALLY love bubbles).

Ignore the rubbish quality here...

It was then time to test the water...

...and hop in!

I finished off by drying myself and moisturising my body with the remaining products I had.

Step 3: PYJAMA TIME. Get cosy!

I find there is nothing greater than peeling off your dressing gown, revelling in your newly soft skin and slipping on some comfy pyjamas after a bath and cleanse. It's the BEST feeling, so I chose my newest pair from M&S (I LOVE M&S pyjamas) and threw those on. Then I jumped into bed!

Step 4: SET THE MOOD. Create the perfect ambience for your relaxation to begin.

The only real 'ambience' I created was changing the lighting, which I achieved by turning on my fairy lights (see the above picture), turning off my main lights, and burning a candle.

This is the candle I used from Lily Flame, called Fairy Dust, and it is honestly the BEST thing ever. It has a great throw even without you burning it and it smells of dreams. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Visit www.lily-flame.co.uk to find out how good it is.

Step 5: FACE STUFF. Banish those blemishes! 

I then began facial cleansing (basically, I slapped a lot of stuff on my face, hoping to make it better).

These are the products I used...

LEFT TO RIGHT:

Sweet Lemon Beautifying Oil from The Body Shop (they've discontinued the Sweet Lemon line unfortunately, but they still do this product in other scents)

Nivea Light Moisturising Day Cream

A bunch of Benefit samples (Eye Cream, Facial Polish and Exfoliator I think)

I used the Nivea stuff first, then all my samples, and then the oil to finish off. My skin was crying with happiness by the time I'd finished.

Step 6: 'YOU' TIME. Relax with some light reading or laptop time!

This is my favourite step...

To relax after I've pampered I usually read a good book - here is my current reading list.

LEFT TO RIGHT

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I decided it was high time I got stuck into this book, to enhance my vocab ready for AS English Lit (help!).

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - my light reading. I've read this before and loved it.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I'm studying this next year for A Levels, so figured I'd better get a head start on it.

After a chapter or two, I'll switch to electronics and feed my YouTube addiction. If you're doing this pampering on a Sunday night (which I hope you are, 'cause that's when this post is published for) then I'd highly suggest checking out Hannah Maggs' YouTube channel; she's a brilliant beauty/lifestyle vlogger and blogger. Every Sunday evening, she uploads a vlog of her week with her hilarious husband Stef and her adorable baby Grayson. All the vlogs are beautifully edited by Stef, are so relaxing to watch, and Hannah is a real beaut. Just search 'Hannah Maggs" on YouTube to find her channel. When I'm relaxing I tend to reach for the comforting videos of beauty gurus, the 'Get Ready With Me' videos or lookbooks, so other favourite channels are Lily Pebbles and ViviannaDoesMakeup (links to their channels are on the 'Other Wonderful Scribblings' page of this blog).

Step 7: SLEEP. Get some beauty shut-eye!

I then rolled over into bed and closed my eyes. Thankfully, I was so tired from all the pampering that I visited the Land Of Nod fairly quickly.

And that concludes my pampering evening! Hopefully you enjoyed reading about what I do to pamper myself and you'll be inspired try something similar tonight!

Until next time,

Olivia x

Going Home - Dorset #15

Hello friends! Welcome to the final post of my Dorset mini-series! Thank you for joining me on this little adventure - I can't tell you how much this means to me!

This post will be super duper short as I'm really tired and just want to sleep! To be honest, I did want to just skip this post but I'd promised myself that I would finish this mini-series.

Today was simply a day of last-minute checking and hurried packing, of travelling and car sickness, of fatigue and lethargy, and of relief when we got home. It was really nice to be back home and I can't wait to see all my friends soon for results day (eek!).

If you have stayed right to the end of my Dorset mini-series, then I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's nice to think that maybe, just maybe, there is someone else out there reading my posts aside from me proof-reading them when they're published. My blog is still very much in its fetus stage (is that a phrase? It is now) so any support I get is really welcomed and appreciated.

In light of that, I want to thank BEAUTYBLOGMARK, Karolina Anne, and WebStash.nl for all following me on Bloglovin', and Natalie Rodriguez for following me on Blogger (if I've missed anyone out, I'm really sorry, but those are the people that I can see are following me on my laptop through emails). As my first followers, like, EVER, you mean an awful lot, so thank you! 

I'm actually very proud that I've managed to blog everyday for two weeks - it's a lot harder than it looks, people!

As I said yesterday, I will be taking a few days off posting to recharge my typing batteries, but will most likely be back on Thursday talking about my GCSE results, pressure, self esteem and expectations. Expect either a super-optimistic post that will be bright and fun whilst I scream of happiness at my laptop (if I do well), or a depressing ramble about how I'm not good enough and never will be and fail at life as I cry onto my keyboard (if I don't do so well)...

Thanks again for sticking it out! 

Olivia x

The Last Supper - Dorset #14

Hello friends! Welcome to the fourteenth post of my Dorset mini-series! Get ready for a fortnight of pictures and posts in which I will attempt to do my summer holiday justice. Here's hoping that the holiday will be good, I'll remember to post every day, and that the cottage we're staying at has wifi (fingers crossed). Thank you for deciding to join me on this little adventure - I can't tell you how much this means to me!

Alas, so we reach the end of our holiday... 

This morning I was mega depressed that we would be going home tomorrow, but my mood soon brightened when I learned that today's agenda was West Bay again, lunch at The Watchhouse Cafe, and dinner at The Hare And Hounds.

We arrived at West Bay at about 12:00,  and set about picking a good spot on the beach to relax for a little bit. Until lunch we sunbathed and people-watched, and I actually remembered to take some photos of West Bay Beach this time (hurrah). Here are the famous pictures in all their glory.

As you can see, the weather wasn't completely brilliant, but there were moments of brilliant sun, which we were more than happy with.

We the headed to The Watchhouse for lunch; this place was the sister cafe of the Hive and my mum and I visited last year. I was therefore desperate to go again and show my brother and dad what it was like. The food there was super yummy and *gasp* I even got to do a bit of celebrity spotting!

Currently the sequel to Broadchurch is being filmed here in West Bay, and so it came about that I saw none other than Olivia Colman when I was eating my lunch! She sat on the table just across from us, which was most exciting. Following this sighting I did try to spot Mr David Tennant, her co-star on the show, to no avail. Oh well.

After all the excitement of lunch, retail therapy was needed, so my mum, brother and I headed to a trinket type shop, where I browsed and helped my mum pick out two fleeces for herself and a statue of a greyhound to go in our lounge. We all then had ice creams - yes, you heard me correctly, ALL if us. Dusty had a child's Mr Whippy with a cone and she ate it all. Every last bit. I know, we feed our dog ice cream. It's weird. But who cares? It's her holiday too.

We then headed home to do some packing (BOO) and then went out to dinner at the Hare And Hounds pub. We had to share our snug corner of the pub with some other couples with dogs, and so spent the evening chatting to them, which was lovely. There was Denise, loud and outspoken but still lovely; Marian, who was really welcoming (she co-owns the pub); and a few other people I've forgotten the name of. Dusty got on extremely well with the other dogs, which was nice, so it was a good evening on which to end the holiday, I think.

And that concludes the second-to-last post of my Dorset mini-series! Just to let you know, I will be posting tomorrow, but that's it for a bit. When I get back I may well take a mini-break from blogging as I've been doing it non-stop for two weeks - I hope you understand! 

Anyway, for the last time, I'll see you tomorrow...

Olivia x

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of my Dorset mini-series!

Caught In The Downpour - Dorset #13

Hello friends! Welcome to the thirteenth post of my Dorset mini-series! Get ready for a fortnight of pictures and posts in which I will attempt to do my summer holiday justice. Here's hoping that the holiday will be good, I'll remember to post every day, and that the cottage we're staying at has wifi (fingers crossed). Thank you for deciding to join me on this little adventure - I can't tell you how much this means to me!

Today was my second-to-last day in Dorset (boo), and we decided to head into Dorchester for the day. If you haven't read my previous posts, you may not know that Dorchester is a town not far from Beaminster with a nice selection of shops and restaurants.

However, before we went to Dorchester, we wanted to visit the old fashioned sweet shop in Beaminster town square. My brother and I decided to walk down together, buy the sweets for everyone, and then be picked up my mum so that we could head straight on to Dorchester. En route we were caught into a ferocious downpour which completely soaked me through (I was wearing jeans and pumps which definitely didn't help my situation). We ran into the shop and bought out goodies, and liked into the car, relieved to get out of the rain.

 All the way to Dorchester I was disgustingly sticky, so I was very relieved when my mum suggested going into a couple of stores and buying me some new trousers to wear. She also bought me some plimsolls to wear too. I actually love my new shoes and trousers and think they're so pretty and comfortable, so MASSIVE HUGS to my mum for that. I had never been so excited by trousers in my life...

After trousers and shoes had been purchased, we wandered around town, browising in shops like Waterstone's (we spent A LOT of time there) and Seasalt (a Cornish clothing brand), and enjoyed a lovely lunch of jacket potato with prawns and a large hot chocolate (which definitely helped me get warm again). I eventually worked up the courage to ask my mum if I could visit the mothership (a.k.a Boots) and I scurried round the makeup counters like an excited child (I'm sad, okay?!) until I decided on what I was buying. I dithered between lipsticks, but decided to save buying them for a while, and instead opted for the Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in the shade "Pink Gold", something that has been an object of my infatuation for a while. I'm obsessed with the colour and can't wait to try it out - let me know if you'd like me to do a review on it on this blog once I've tested it.

That was my only purchase of the day, surprisingly enough - I was simply content to browse for the rest of the shopping trip.

Eventually we headed home to see my dad and Dusty, who had stayed at home all day because Dusty wouldn't have been allowed in any shops and my dad's not a major fan of shopping. We had a makeshift afternoon tea in our conservatory and then had pizzas from the pizza van we'd visited last Thursday (they were SO GOOD). I then got really depressed because tomorrow is our last full day in Dorset *sobs loudly and unattractively*.

Righty, that's all, folks! Until tomorrow...

Olivia x

Check back tomorrow for Dorset #14!

Dog Modelling - Dorset #12

Hello friends! Welcome to the twelth post of my Dorset mini-series! Get ready for a fortnight of pictures and posts in which I will attempt to do my summer holiday justice. Here's hoping that the holiday will be good, I'll remember to post every day, and that the cottage we're staying at has wifi (fingers crossed). Thank you for deciding to join me on this little adventure - I can't tell you how much this means to me!

Today the weather was supposed to be good, and we'd decided to head back to Lyme Regis (I know, I know, for the third time - but we really loved it there, okay?) for the day, and then revisit the Hive Beach Cafe for dinner.

We arrived at Lyme Regis at about lunchtime, and set about making a little camp for ourselves on the sandiest part of the beach there, so that Dusty could lie down in comfort. We sandwiched ourselves between two boats, which served as a nice little wind-breaker.

One of the boats we used as a wall...

We spent an hour or so lounging around on our picnic blanket at the beach, relaxing, sleeping, talking. It sounds so cheesy but being by the sea, feeling the wind in my hair and spending time with the people I love makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I had a good long cuddle with Dusty and she did me the honour of posing for some beautiful pictures for my blog post (she's such an attention seeker!).

My brother and I then walked up to the promenade at Lyme Regis to fetch some fish and chips for lunch, which we ate back at the beach out of cardboard boxes. It was delicious.

What followed was an afternoon of further relaxation, broken up only by a short walk down the the sea with Dusty (she was surprisingly good - usually she doesn't like walking on stones at the beach and she's not a massive fan of getting her feet wet, either) and a trip to the ice cream van, where I paid for a round of cones (I had Lemon Meringue flavour - I'm drooling just thinking about it).

After cones had been enjoyed, my brother surprised me with a slushie (bless him) and we walked down to the Cobb at Lyme Regis (I think that's what it's called?) where I got some nice pictures of the amazing views there.

We then headed back to the car and began the journey back to Burton and Bradstock for the Hive Beach Cafe (by this point it was about five o'clock, and it takes an hour at least to get to the cafe). We arrived at the beach and Dusty had her packed tea (aww), and then we got seats at the restaurant, where I ate fresh sea bream overlooking the sea as the sun went down. It was bliss.

We decided to take a little wander down to the beach after stuffing ourselves with fish and coffee (not together, eww) and I got some lovely pictures of the sun setting and the cafe.

The beach at Burton and Bradstock.

The Hive Beach Cafe in all its glory!

My postcard-worthy picture which I am so proud of... Is that sad?

I think that's about it for today - apologies for the short-ish post, but I think I made up for it with the sheer volume of pictures included today (I hope?). See y'all tomorrow for another instalment of my Dorset holiday!

Olivia x

Check back tomorrow for Dorset #13!

Taking Photos In A Toilet - Dorset #11

Hello friends! Welcome to the eleventh post of my Dorset mini-series! Get ready for a fortnight of pictures and posts in which I will attempt to do my summer holiday justice. Here's hoping that the holiday will be good, I'll remember to post every day, and that the cottage we're staying at has wifi (fingers crossed). Thank you for deciding to join me on this little adventure - I can't tell you how much this means to me!

Rain, rain and more rain. This Dorset weather is starting to irritate me...

I woke up this morning to rain (obviously) and some very sad news, which I will touch upon briefly.

This morning I learned that the actor Robin Williams had died overnight from a supposed suicide. I was a massive fan of Robin; I loved him in Aladdin (of course) and Night At The Museum and all those other brilliant films he was in. He was a troubled man, though; he battled depression and addictions to alcohol and drugs for most of his life. I hope that he rests in peace, and finds contentment.

Anyway, onto happier things. Since the weather was complete rubbish and it didn't show signs of changing for the better anytime soon, it was decided that my brother and I would go swimming in the morning and then we would visit the town of Axminster in the afternoon (more on that in a bit).

We chose to visit Bridport's leisure centre for our swimming; we went there last year and really enjoyed it. Despite the horrible weather, the pool was really empty, apart from an elderly water aerobics class and some toddlers, so my brother and I practically had free run of the place. I adore swimming and being in the water, so for an hour and a half, I was in my happy place, swirling and splashing and diving and ducking and just enjoying the feel of the water on my body (that sounds a wee bit sexual, it's not, I promise).

After swimming we had a makeshift picnic in the car park (I'll not dwell on that as I don't think it will make for particularly interesting reading). We then headed to Axminster.

I promised an explanation as to why we wanted to go to Axminster, so here it is: in Axminster lies the River Cottage canteen and deli and my dad and I really wanted to visit there. If you've heard of the River Cottage, you'll know it's a cookery series on TV starring Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (phew, what a mouthful of a name!) and so we were excited to see what sort of fresh foods we could pick up at the deli there.

We arrived at the canteen and deli just after lunch and I managed to snap a quick picture of the place before we headed inside.

However, this canteen and deli was really rather disappointing. The place itself was mainly a canteen and not a deli; we had  expected rather the opposite, and since the canteen is no good to us with a dog, our stop was an in-and-out frenzy. The deli counter was tiny and didn't offer much choice. Deflation all round and I would not recommend this place for a visit as it rather put a dampner on our day. 

After this five minute venture, we were rather stuck as to what to do, so decided to head back home for some relaxation time. We at least had dinner at Uploders (see my Dorset post #4) to look forward to.

Uploders itself succeeded in brightening our day. We used the time at the pub whilst waiting for our food to discuss what we would do for the remaining days of our holiday, and when the food came it was delicious. I ordered rosemary and Parmesan arancini balls in a tomato, herb and garlic sauce and OH MY GOD it was divine. Arancini balls are basically rice balls coated in breadcrumbs, if you didn't know, a bit like risotto in a batter, and they were so good!

When in the toilet at the pub (ew, I know, too much information) I realised that I hadn't taken many pictures for my blog post today, so decided to do an OOTD, in true beauty/fashion blogger style.

Here is the outfit I wore to the pub in full...

Here are the shoes I wore - these darling sandals are from Accesorize and were £35.00.

This is a close up shot of my necklace - for details of where to find it and its cost check my "Summer Snips And Staples" post I did back in July.

This ring is from Accessorize and cost me £4.00 in the sale.

This ring is from Fossil - I got it in the Summer sale last year and although it should have cost me £45.00, I got it for only £9.00 (gasp!).

This is my clutch from M&S - it's a very old clutch but I use it because someone very special to me bought it for me a while back. Because of this I have no price details, sorry.

I then had my pudding of ice cream at the pub (you can tell I have a slight addiction to the stuff) and we went home, where I wrote and edited this blog post. 

"Ta-ta for now", as Tigger would say, and I'll see you all tomorrow!

Olivia x

Check back tomorrow for Dorset #12!

Storm And A Teapot - Dorset #10

Hello friends! Welcome to the tenth post of my Dorset mini-series! Get ready for a fortnight of pictures and posts in which I will attempt to do my summer holiday justice. Here's hoping that the holiday will be good, I'll remember to post every day, and that the cottage we're staying at has wifi (fingers crossed). Thank you for deciding to join me on this little adventure - I can't tell you how much this means to me!

You know that feeling you get where it's towards the end of your holiday and you know you're going to have to go home soon? I woke up with that this morning and it was horrible. We go home on Saturday, and the days seem to fly by so quickly that I'm scared the holiday will be over before I'm ready for it to end...

Anyway. I pushed down the deflated "I'm going home soon" feeling and headed downstairs for breakfast. We decided over food to visit Portland today, a small island near Weymouth that's only accessible via a giant causeway. We'd never visited here before and I was intrigued to see what it was like.

We got to Portland just before lunchtime, and headed to the coast. The wind was ruthless but the weather was lovely and the sun was strong, which eased the cold and made the temperature altogether more bearable. We walked around the sea for a while and I got some awesome pictures of the rolling white horses and the rocks at the bay.

We also walked up to the lighthouse, which excited me immensely. I love lighthouses but I've never seen one in real life, so that was definitely something to tick off the bucket list. And of course I couldn't let the moment pass by without taking a few pictures, could I?

We then had lunch at a restaurant right by the sea, called The Lobster Pot, which funnily enough had no lobster on the menu (a little odd, in my opinion). Nevertheless, the food was very nice and I certainly enjoyed having my battered cod and chips right by the sea.

On the way back from Portland (despite it being a lovely little island, there really isn't too much to do there) we stopped off at a viewing point which let you overlook the entirety of Chesil Beach and the docks across the causeway from it. It was truly a sight to behold and I captured the moment pretty well, I think.

 

Also at this viewing point was a statue of the Olympic Rings, marking the sailing events that took place in and around Portland at the London 2012 Olympic Games. I did the natural touristy thing and posed by it (ignore my appalling hair and don't look too closely at my face; I'm squinting because of the wind).

After Portland, we headed to Dorchester for a spot of light shopping. Dorchester is a lovely town with a mix of rural and modern areas, including a lovely high street with well known branded shops as well as one-off crafty stores. After a few purchases were made (my only one was a birthday card which I intend to stick on my bedroom wall reading "Fifty Shades Of Greyhound") we stopped off at a tiny cafe-and-shop called Re Loved, which did the loveliest coffee, hot chocolate and tea, all served in vintage mismatching teacups and mugs, which I loved. I was particularly fond of the teapot that my parents shared which was in a novelty cottage shape and was just too adorable for words. If you're in Dorchester, I recommend checking out Re Loved, as their drinks were really good and their little shop full of used items was both sweet and clever - their aim was to re-home unwanted goods, thus "re-loving" them. Cool reference to the name, huh?

We then headed home and bought pizzas, which we had for dinner at home in comfy clothes. I then watched episode 1 of the GBBO (Great British Bake Off) new series, which is possibly my favourite show ever - if you haven't got it in your life yet then I seriously pity you. 

Time's a ticking and this post needs to be up before midnight, so I'll leave it there. Hope you enjoyed day ten of Dorset, see you tomorrow!

Olivia x

Check back tomorrow for Dorset #11!