Hi my lovelies! As many of you would have seen from my Twitter and Instagram, I spent the New Year in Westward Ho!, Devon. Although it’s not exactly what you’d class as winter sun, due to the storm that decided to hit on New Year’s Eve (what can you expect, it is England after all!). It was an incredibly relaxing and beautiful trip for me and all my family and I’d love to return, even if just for the stunning view.
We headed down on the 30th for our four day trip and the three and a half hour journey actually passed a lot quicker than I thought it would. After a few hours of singing along to my road-trip playlist (find it here), full of throwback tunes and cheesy hits, we were confronted by the most beautiful view I’d ever seen. The British seaside really doesn’t get enough credit for its sandy beaches and wild water.
That gorgeous view, believe it or not, is the view from our apartment. With panoramic views of the crashing waves and nothing blocking the sky it was hard to keep your eyes off what was outside of the window. Eventually I gave up and just decided to sit looking out at it, as seen in my YouTube video on becoming a better you in 2018 (here) where I mention the sea about a thousand times (I’m not even going to apologise!). I adore the sea and if I had my way I’d look out at it each and every day.
We spent our first night in the apartment as it was almost dark by the time we got there and had a delicious Chinese takeaway (had to sneak a takeaway in before healthy January). The apartment was so aesthetically pleasing and well decorated I honestly just wanted to move in. It looked so calm and beach inspired it even inspired me to create a Pinterest board! If you don’t already follow me on Pinterest you can find me here (@chloececiliax).
The following day we woke up and took advantage of the beautiful surroundings by going for a walk. Like every traditional British coastal town there was a long stream of cute beach huts; these two photographed were some of my favourites. The pastel colours complimented my outfit, which is made up of pieces that are all under £20. I paired my tweed skirt with pearl details from SheIn with a simple black roll neck, black tights and black ankle boots to achieve a minimalist, yet chic, look. To add a splash of colour (even if it is just a hint) I added my grey coat (I got mine from Primark but I’ve found an alternative here), my pink and grey scarf (alternative here) and matching pink and grey gloves (alternative here, and these are great as you can use your phone with these). For jewellery I’m wearing my Pandora birthstone ring and my classic pearl earrings.
We had a quick stroll on the beach, which actually ended up being quite dramatic, as the tide came rushing in, leaving my mom stranded down beside the walkway! Once she’d managed to scramble back up the rocks, and after we’d all stopped crying with laughter, we continued on our walk. We battled the strong winds to take in the spectacular views but once it started a torrential downpour we decided it was probably a better decision to get inside. We headed into an arcade and won a few sweets (yet another incredible aid to a healthy January…) and me and Sophie came across an arcade game that we once won thousands of tickets on; we didn’t do so lucky this time though!
My gorgeous Minnie Mouse backpack was a Christmas present from my friend Lauren and it’s from Primark if anyone is interested in buying their own. It’s honestly the cutest bag I’ve ever owned and I literally squealed when I unwrapped it on Christmas Day; as Primark doesn’t have an online shop I’ve found an alternative here and here. We finished off our walk by getting fish and chips, have you really been to the British seaside if you don’t?
On New Year’s Eve we actually ended up staying in as a storm with gale force winds had decided to hit Devon which meant stepping out would have resulted in us literally being blown over! We still put on our party dresses and decided to make our own party right there in the apartment. I donned my gorgeous green sequin dress and black strappy heels to get that sparkly New Year’s vibe, unfortunately I didn’t take any photos but you can see them both in my SheIn Haul.
I still wasn’t quite over the view as you can see from this picturesque shot. It’s so important to take a few moments everyday to really be thankful for the beauty that surrounds me, in fact it’s one of my biggest ideas of 2018 to really appreciate the world we live in.
Here I’m wearing a pink suede skirt and white jumper, which I love. This has become one of my go-to winter outfits as it keeps me warm but it’s also so classy and girly. If you guys would like a guide to wearing pink in winter, as it’s definitely something I do a lot, then please comment down below.
We went for another walk before getting absolutely covered in sea foam – which had me in absolute stitches. We stopped for lunch in Rockpool Cafe, a delightful little cafe round the corner from the seafront, and I had a delicious ham salad baguette. If you’re ever passing through Westward Ho! I’d definitely recommend visiting this cafe as every single member of my family were raving about their meals.
We then spent the rest of the afternoon in the apartment playing on the Wii (talk about a throwback) and spending time with each other. We didn’t have much WiFi whilst we were there and I had to kind of step back and do things that I used to do before I had all of my social media accounts. I read a lot more, I started my bullet journal and I even did a jigsaw! This whole weekend really was an escape from everyday life which allowed me to relax, step back from my life and really think about what I want from 2018. I hope you all have a lovely and happy New Year and get everything you want from the year ahead!
I’d love for you to watch my vlog of my trip over on my YouTube channel, see it down below.
Love Chloe x
Good times x