Chocolate Box Towns.

Moon and I are on a mission to find places other than Oxford to visit during our weekends, both to take visitors and for ourselves. It's not that Oxford isn't nice (it's not totally my cup of tea but there are a few things I like about it, I guess), but we both commute there during the week so it's nice to find things to do outside of the city.


The weekend before last we took a small road trip around part of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. I have an auntie who lives in the area and have heard nice things about a few of the villages and smaller towns nearby to her local village of Moreton-in-the-Marsh.

On the agenda on this particular sunny Saturday was Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold. There wasn't a whole lot to do in Chipping Norton but we did stop there for lunch, where Moon had quote, "the best burger I've had in my life", so I think it might be worth going back there just for that.





I can already tell that Stow-on-the-Wold is going to be somewhere I'll want to visit again and again. It's a proper chocolate box Cotswoldian town full of independent shops, I'm in love. ♥










We visited fancy farm shop, Daylesford Farm on the way home. THEY HAVE A CHEESE ROOM. #fancy

Wipeout by Invader.

During our visit to the PMQ, we stumbled up an exhibition from the semi-well-known street artist, Invader.

Not only was it a nice find, it was also a pretty interesting exhibition experience. It's one of the few gallery spaces that I've been to that has not only allowed photography, but actively encouraged it. Such is the nature of Invader's work that you can actually see it better with a little help from a small screen than with your naked eye.

Little Hulas.

I've been biting my nails a lot more than usual recently and it's due to this that it's taken me so long to get round to this little review. That and the move, I may have mentioned it?



Little Hulas Mini Nail Lacquers from the Hawaii Collection by O.P.I*
After being sent these so generously, I figured that the least I could do was give them a fair review on fingernails of a decent length, which sounds silly but it's honestly taken me so long to not bite them - not quite as bad as I was but bad enough. I feel like it's something I'm probably always going to have to try and keep at bay, I can't describe it but it's just constantly so tempting.

So, despite the fact that summer doesn't seem to know what the hell it's doing right now, this collection is perfect for summer, as well as, in my opinion, featuring colours that will take you right through to Christmas time if you like.

They're the perfect size to be taken away in hand luggage or popping in your bag but have a decent-sized brush so they're not fiddley or difficult to use, like other similar type of nail varnish minis.

Green Eco Dragon Farm.

As I mentioned in my birthday blog, the last few weekends have meant animals. So here's a little trip we took to the Green Dragon Eco Farm with Moon's brother and his brother's fiancé.



The boys were lucky that it wasn't so busy so they got a go on the go-karts.
The Green Dragon Eco Farm is only a short drive from our new home and we're still trying to get our bearings so after passing it on our way back from The Goat Centre I figured it would be a good place to check out.


What I Wore:
Vest: H&M / Bag: Hong Kong market / Skirt: Vintage / Belt: ASOS / Sandals: Office

Rhinos in The Cotswolds.

...and I'm talking about actual rhinos, not just me visiting the Cotswolds - though that is something I did just do without going to Cotswold Wildlife Park the day before my birthday too.


What I Wore:
Cardigan: H&M // Vest: H&M // Belt: ASOS // Skirt: Charity Shop
For my birthday (last Sunday, I'm behind I know), I spent the third weekend in a row hanging out with animals, I honestly think I might be zooed/farmed out, so I'm clutching at straws to figure out what we're going to get up to with our guests this weekend but I'm not complaining.

I had absolutely no idea what Moon's plans for my birthday were so I was really excited and surprised when he told me we were off to Cotswold Wildlife Park for the day. Do not even start on me that I turned 26, it's totally cool, okay?

Cotswold Wildlife Park is just on the outskirts of the market town of Burford - right next to my favourite garden centre in the world - and it's advertised everywhere. On the leaflets it always says something along the lines of 'get closer to the animals' 'get closer than you've been before' and that's not just a marketing ploy to get you through the gate, you genuinely do. I can't express how impressed I was with this place, particularly after having mixed thoughts on a zoo as popular and large as Longleat Safari a couple of years ago.



I know zoos aren't necessarily everyone's cup of tea and there are definitely some bad ones but when they're doing good work and the animals are happy, well, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon in the sunshine. Cotswold Wildlife Park was actually voted one of the best zoos in Europe too so... All the enclosures were a really good size and none of the animals seemed stressed or annoyed and were actually really relaxed.

One thing that struck me was how trusting they seem to be, there's no electric fences or razorwire here, I actually had my lunch sat less than 10 feet away from a white rhinoceros. Thing is, the few ruin it for the many don't they, so I can be trusted to sit and admire these animals, while someone stupid could take a dive over that fence for a rhino party. It's not quite the same set up for the lions but you get the idea — I hope no one does do that, just because, well, judge for yourself how nice it is...

Old Police Married Quarters (PMQ)

PMQ, 35 Aberdeen St, Central, Hong Kong.
Without a doubt my new favourite place in Hong Kong. ♥

A complex rich with heritage, from its time as the first government school in Hong Kong to being occupied by the Japanese to just a place to live for junior police officers and their families, the PMQ is now establishing itself as the creative hub of Hong Kong, showcasing a range of independent shops, art exhibitions and places to eat.


From that description alone, it should be pretty easy to see why I fell in love so hard. I wish there were more places like it in the UK, which is why I mentioned being so pleased about the OXO Tower taking on a similar idea (long may it continue to develop).

I felt like I noticed more of the endless Chanel/Gucci/Other Designer Things train than ever before so to find somewhere full of unique shops that were either standalone or part of much smaller chains stocking things that I could actually think about affording made a nice change.

If you're ever in that part of the world, it's more than worth a visit, for the visual merchandising inspiration alone!



Wish I could have done the VM in Open Quote justice, it was probably the most perfect bookshop.







Everything is a candle at Glue Associates.



Naturally the white + teal facade was the PMQ's main appeal as a space.



Hong Kong is the most vertical place in the world so pockets of green space are always welcome.








It really goes to show that modernisation doesn't have to mean tearing down and actually, using the history can make somewhere mean so much more. The main thing the PMQ does that I feel is so brilliant is providing such a great opportunity to emerging artists and start-ups with a seemingly lesser city price tag.

I just want to know why everywhere isn't doing this, everyone should be doing this, right? RIGHT?