Holida-ay

So obviously that's supposed to be sung in a Madonna stylee  Am I the only one who looks at words and just sees song lyrics?  Just me?  I'll get my coat...

Actually saying that, I am in no need of a coat whatsoever this week.  I KNOW - please don't all hate me - I am away on holiday.  This is our one big family holiday that we do a year and we usually choose October half term which works for all of us.  Last year it was Orlando (amazing) and this year, it's Mauritius.  

Due to the constantly changing nature of my job (all hail social media), I have so many more opportunities to write about new things and, as a result, I was asked to collaborate with Destinology Holidays and the two hotels.  I have reviewed the hotels for them and in return for this and use of my pictures, we were given a small discount.  I would LOVE to be able to say it was a completely free holiday - in my dreams...

It also ties in neatly with some changes which will be made to the blog in the coming weeks. FEAR NOT though - the changes will be very minor, in that the main feed will still be fashion, fashion and more fashion.  But there will be come extra pages which you will be able to access if you would like, looking at beauty (it's coming!), how to shop my instagram (so you don't have to read a whole page on white boots if you'd rather just see where my jeans are from), travel and food.  And anything else I can think of adding in before the revamp is completed.  

PHEW. Now onto the interesting stuff... and again, one that I've been promising to do for ages.  Bling.  And today - it's the perfect bling to take on holiday. 

It probably won't have escaped anyone's notice that I wear a lot of jewellery a lot of the time.  So whilst this is what I did take away with me to wear, it's also jewellery that I wear every day at home too.

Starting with my favourite every day gems.   From my lovely friend Amy at Chambers & Beau.  15% off with the code ANGEL15 until the 1st November.

Will just point out, I did remove all earrings and bracelets pre attempt at waterskiing.. (there is a not so glorious video of my rather pathetic attempts over on my Instagram account.  As the daughter says at the end of the video.. "at least she tried"...!!).

Two bracelets which I've bought with me and have worn constantly.

Personalised Celestial Stack £90 



Personalised Message Bangle £55




And then my current necklace which I wear every day. 



Winging It Necklace £95  I have the gold one which says "winging it" on it, but you can have them personalised.





Then moving onto my beloved earrings.  Go and have a look - serious earring porn, I promise.  AND what I love about them, is you can mix and match.  Even the husband "gets this".  My current favourites are these:-

Superstar Earrings from £50



Mixed with (so one from each set) the personalised embrace earrings from £50  You can choose the charms to go on so I tend to have one in rose gold in one ear and one in gold in the other.




Then moving onto bracelets.  I have been wearing stacks of these for years now.  And I wear them every. Single.  Day.  They are simply the best quality bracelets of this type I've ever come across.  And I have worn others (not Bella Jane ones) which have broken within a matter of months.  To be fair, I will confess, I am not the more careful with my jewellery and do drag it on and off rather unceremoniously.  Which is what makes these all the more special.  Stock up now for Christmas with the code DMB40 for 10% off until the 12th November, or treat yourself. 

Bella Stack from Bella Jane Jewellery £115  Again, there are lots of other options on the site.  





I will say, if I had to pick one, my favourite would be my initial one. 

Initial Bracelet £35



Whilst I didn't bring any other jewellery away with me - if I had been more organised, I definitely would have gone big on the earrings.  Hair up is my default mode on holiday and earrings are the perfect accessory to make an up do (aka a messy, lazy arse bun) look instantly chic.

Red gems now and I love these.  Not going to lie - did like them slightly more before my 13yr old told me they looked McDonald's signs.  It's hard not to see that once it's out there.. BUT I'm doing my best as I love them. *must un-see, must un-see*.

Metal Pendant Earrings from Mango £9.99




Randomly, these are almost identical to a pair I have from Zara, which are now sold out.  But they do them in three different colourways at Mango and I am tempted to get all three pairs... these ones are perfect for paler outfits.  I LOVE being able to wear creams and pale pinks (don't know why I mentioned the later as I have the sum total of nothing in it... but blush... AHA, I do have blush).  

Tassels Pendant Earrings from Mango £12.99



Gold and Burgundy - again £12.99



Or black...




And I'm going to finish, as I have been asked by so many people, with some thoughts on the first hotel we stayed at in Mauritius. 

We decided to do two hotels - for four nights each, as advised by Destinology.  Would have absolutely love to have done longer but a week only for half term dictates you can't really go away for longer. 

First up - was the Long Beach Golf & Spa Resort, which is part of the Sun Resorts group.  This isn't your traditional Mauritian style looking hotel.  It's modern.  It's beautifully modern.  Think Ibiza meets Miami.  This is the impeccable lawn (where I actually did Yoga one late afternoon.. *polished halo*).
 



We had two rooms, after last year agreeing that 5 in a room with 3 growing kids, one of whom is a teen, wasn't the most pleasureable of experiences.  For the first time in FOREVER, the husband and I had a room all to ourselves.  BLISS.  Although to be fair, the rooms are enormous, not to mention the bathrooms.  Special brownie points for the size of the wardrobe space.  Loads.  Seriously, almost as much as I have at home.  We just had two adjoining garden rooms, a short walk from the pools and restaurants but far enough for it be lovely and quiet at night. 

The resort as a whole is large but the one thing we all commented on, was how well the layout worked.  Highlights for us were the kids pool which was the most unlike a kids pool that I've ever seen.  So lots of us have kids.  But as they grow up, the joy is being able to see them but hopefully not hear them. 





Speaking of kids - massive thumbs up to the kids' club.  Activities organised, which you can dip in and out of, at your choosing.  So they did water skiing, para sailing (I'm the muggins that asked if I could go with them to take some photos... errr WHY??  Small tiny, bouncing boat and a propensity for sea sickness was not a good mix..) cayaking, snorkelling, paddleboarding and water polo.  All supervised which meant that gave me the odd hour here or there in....

Me on the boat with the boys... 



....the adult's only pool.  Bliss.  Oh bliss, bliss and more bliss.  Huge beanbag sofas instead of your traditional sunbeds, were THE comfiest way to sunbathe (only thing I will say, is that they're not the most ergonmically suited to lying flat, therefore due to certain folds in my stomach, after the first day with a tad too much sun, I did look slightly like Where's Wally...), infinity pool, fabulous chill out Ibiza style music, drinks on tap and NO KIDS. 



We didn’t put the kids into the club all day (tempting as it was…) – I think most mums would say that you manage to relax in dog years when you get the moment.  A stolen hour is the same as a whole day pre children.  We ate together at every meal, which brings me neatly onto the food.

There’s only one word and that’s exceptional.  Our children had never been privy to a proper breakfast buffet and suffice to say, they were in heaven.  It was obviously waffles and pancakes most days – I will add that the pain au chocolats and croissants were as good as any that I’ve had in France.  Cappuccino and fresh fruit for me (I would love to say my body is a temple but actually, I’m just never hungry at breakfast.   

The 13yr old is also a coeliac and they could honestly have not been more helpful.  At every meal, the chef would come out and talk to her and prepare her something special.  There is the Buffet option in the evening to eat, which we did for the special Indian night but on other evenings, we went to the Japanese, the Chinese and the Italian. All of which are of the highest quality.  Special mention for the cocktails in the bar afterwards - a Mauritian Daiquiri is without a shadow of a doubt, my new favourite drink.  Gin - you are dead to me - bring on the rum...


We would come back to this hotel in a heartbeat.  Whilst it is a big hotel, it never felt crowded – there are more staff to help than I have ever seen at any hotel and all genuinely want you to make sure you have the best possible stay. “if you are happy, we are happy” is the motto they tell you and it really does feel like genuine hospitality.  It’s luxury in a chic, modern, understated feel with a truly international clientele.