Greece 2021

July 7, 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

Now that some countries are easing restrictions and allowing people to fly again there may be some families that may choose to head to a sunny beach or two with the kids in another country.

And one of those families are us. We booked our flights back in February in the hope that restrictions would ease and we could enjoy a beach summer. Now that time has finally come and we can’t quiet believe it.

The admin that’s now associated with travelling abroad can be lengthy not to mention the tests (if you’re not fully vaccinated) and the added complication of being from a country that’s no longer a part of the EU. There are a few things to look into to ensure you can even board the plane lol!

It’s our first time travelling as a family of four so I’ve had to be super organised with the packing and ensuring that both kids have what they need. With everything packed 7 days before our flight we were able to drop our bags at the airport the day before to make us more relaxed on the day of our flight.

Our main reason for travelling to Greece was for a wedding so we decided to combine the occasion with a family holiday and visit one of the neighbouring islands aswell. As recommended to us we picked the island of Thassos for the first 5 days of our stay and we absolutely loved it. A family friendly hotel combined with the most picturesque of beaches made this holiday one that we would remember for a long time.

I total we spent 7 days in Greece. Landing at Thessaloniki airport we hired a car and drove a total of 4 hours to the island of Thassos. This included a 30 minute ferry ride from mainland Kavala to the island of Thassos. Thankfully the kids were well behaved and we took breaks for them to walk when they needed it.

Road conditions were great and the satnav took us to our destination with no issues. Whilst in Thassos we stayed at Blue Dream Palace, a beautiful beachfront hotel with 2 restaurants a beach facing bar and lots of amenities near by. the island of Thassos is heavily reliant on tourism and that is quite evident when you travel around. There are lots of villas, hotels and private hire apartments as well as mini supermarkets and souvenir shops and that’s pretty much it.

We booked a room that came with a private pool and this was a great decision as it allowed the kids to use the pool under our supervision and we knew that they were safe especially as they are young and were using blow up floats. The service at the hotel was great and they really catered to our every need.

As we travelled at the end of June we were expecting high temperatures and it was in the low to mid 30’s for our entire trip, the temperature dropped to around 22 degrees in the evening which was a nice change to the sweltering temperatures of the day.

Greek cuisine is absolutely delicious and the produce is fresh and locally sourced on the island. We had lots of great seafood like sea bream, octopus and mackerel. The lamp chops paired with the Greek yoghurt sauce and grilled vegetables was a combination I enjoyed on more than one occasion.

Seafood platter for one from the hotel in Thassos

We spent a lot of time in the water as we found it was the best way to keep cool during the day. Whether on the beach or in our pool we were always in close enough proximity to the bar or restaurant should we want a snack or take a break for lunch or dinner.

T-shirt and shorts both from Arket (shorts linked) gold sandals and hat from Zara (sandals linked)

There are mosquitoes in Greece and they seem to come out more in the evening. We were well prepared for this and packed both kids and adult mosquito repellent. One evening whilst taking a stroll on the beach we even saw a swarm of mosquitoes flying together! To stay on the safe side we also stuck to bottled water and steered clear of tap water when eating out.

Dress and bag – Zara (dress linked) sandals – Birkenstock (sandals linked)

Our hotel were still exercising measures to comply with restrictions in the country. Which meant that the indoor pool was closed, masks had to be worn inside the building at all times and disposable gloves were supplied to be used when at the buffet stands. They were really strict with this and I did see a family turned away who had arrived for breakfast without masks. There were lots of sanitisation stands but in the hotel restaurant it was difficult to keep distance as the tables were fairly close together.

In the area there were lots of other beaches and restaurants to choose from. I’ll list our favourite restaurants below.

Places to eat in Thassos:

1. San Antonio Restaurant, Potos Thassos, 64002, Greece

2. Taverna Irene, Potos 64002, Greece

3. Elia restaurant by Blue view hotel, Limenaria 640 02, Greece Phone: +30 2593 058053

4. 6. Ayopaotóç, Kinira 640 04, Greece Phone: +30 2493 041225

Third trimester fashion

March 12, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

So as my pregnancy develops and my baby bump becomes bigger I’m having to adjust my wardrobe quite a bit. Finding what is comfortable and also looks nice can be a bit of a challenge.

They say everyone carries differently in pregnancy which is indeed true even for one person your bump can be different from one pregnancy to another.

The biggest change I’ve noticed is how soon I was showing with this pregnancy. Having an elongated bump means opting for longer tops that cover my bump in its entirety. This also meant going for over the bump maternity jeans and midi-length dresses.

As I don’t have much longer to go I won’t be adding any new pieces to my wardrobe but I have started thinking about my wardrobe post baby. Especially the weeks/months following the birth which I remember were filled with lots of breastfeeding! Being a nursing mum means ensuring that I’m wearing items I can easily feed in whether I’m at home or out and about. For me tops that button up are the most convenient. I’m not a fan of having to hoist up my t-shirt in order to feed my child so having to just undo a couple of buttons to allow baby to quickly latch on worked best for me.

Here are some ‘breastfeeding friendly’ dresses that I quite like:

As always thank you for reading and I hope you found this useful if you’re an expecting mum x

Maternity fashion

April 25, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

I must say that since finding out that I was pregnant maintaining my personal style has been something that has taken a lot more thought and consideration. Over the years I had heard from my friends that are mums that they really struggled to find really nice trendy high street items to dress their bump and they were so right!

Celebrating my birthday earlier this year

During my first trimester (and much of my second trimester) I was luckily able to team many of my loose fitting tops and shirts with leggings (I bought a couple of sizes up from Zara, you can purchase the exact pair here) and maternity jeans from ASOS. I bought two pairs, which you can purchase the black pair here and the blue pair here. Being able to wear much of my existing items not only saved me a few pennies but also allowed me to maintain my style and dress my bump the way I wanted.

I found out I was expecting in September the winter months meant boots, jumpers and nice stretchy tops I could layer with. Now that the weather is warming up its a lovely change to be able to wear loose flow-y dresses that are comfortable.

This was at the very beginning of my second trimester, baby bump was not very visible at this point!

Dressing for the summer I must say is sooo much easier. Firstly wearing less layers is more comfortable for me. Also the warmer months marked the midway mark of my pregnancy which meant having a little more energy and nearing the finish line. I found that A-line dresses are perfect for growing bumps as well as fitted dresses made with a nice stretchy fabric are great too.

Thank you for reading my first pregnancy fashion post. If you’re a mum or are expecting I would love to hear about your experience with maternity fashion, leave me a comment or drop me an email at fuschiasequins@gmail.com

Celine!

July 13, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Could we just take a brief moment to applaud the style genius who is Celine Dion’s stylist? I have to say that her creativity and eye for colour is something else! I love each and every single one of these outfits. She certainly knows what suits her an is unafraid to explore shapes and fit. Check these lovely outfits out!

New lippy alert!!

June 20, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

Hi everyone! I know its been ages…but I didn’t really want to post anything until I had a product review or an outfit post to put up. Dont forget that you can follow me on my instagram page @fuschia__sequins where I post a few times a week 🙂

Okay so I had a short trip to Dubai recently and I absolutely loved it. The thriving city oozes luxury and class at every turn. I got some time to browse around Dubai Mall and loved the plethora of brands that were on offer. these weren’t just the big brands we all know and love but there were many that were local too such as Charles and Keith they had some gorgeous shoes and bags and guess what…they ship to lots if countries so check them out!

I of course had to pop into Sephora and have a look at what they have. It was a pretty big branch. Being a lover of matte lipsticks I was looking for a really nice nude shade to add to my collection as most of my matte lippys are either pinks or reds. I probably tried about 30 on the back of my hand then I stumbled across the Gucci Spring Rose Matte Lipstick. Now I know what your thinking Gucci may be a little much for a simple lippy but the richness of the colour and the texture on my skin left me unable to put it down.

Although being a rosey pink when you first look at it on brown skin the shade is definitely a nude beige colour. I have tried lots of Sleeks, Rimmel, Maybelline. Loreal matte lipsticks and also mid-range ones such as MAC and NARS and I can honestly say that the finish of this was totally different. The matte is also velvet to the touch and lasts! I did also wear this with a lip primer to further enhance the colour.

This purchase was an investment piece that I know I’ll be wearing for a while 🙂 I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have used any of Gucci’s other make-up products and your thoughts on them.

Thank you for reading,

Claudia x

Not forgotten

June 1, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Its been an entire 14 days since I last posted on here and I must say that I’ve really missed it. Things have been a little busy but I’m throughly looking forward to sharing some more beauty and fashion posts with you all really soon xx

Cannes Film Festival 2017

May 18, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I do like a bit of glamour every now and again and there was lashings of it at this years Cannes Film Festival, is love to go to this one day. Check out some of the outfits I liked 🙂 xx

Where to shop – tips

April 25, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

When it comes to shopping on the UK high street compared with other countries I’d say we are pretty spoilt for choice. Whether you like to stay on trend with the latest looks or are looking for something a little quirky or different you’ll be sure to find something you love and within your budget. We are at a time in fashion where you can look great for less with some of our most loved brands creating stunning pieces at great prices.

Having lived in London for many years there were certain brands that I could bank on to find a gem for an occasion or to simply freshen up my wardrobe. Now with internet shopping being so conveniently at our finger-tips, finding what you need online saves the trip to multiple shops and trying on item after item. Personally, I prefer trying on what I buy and saving myself the annoyance of having an item delivered and finding the fit isn’t right (especially if I’m pressed for time). I also like feeling the material, looking at the finishing and judging the quality before making a purchase.

If like me you don’t mind shopping in stores then sample sales are a great way to find good quality clothing at a great price. I follow ldnfashion.com who always has the latest sample sales on their site. They often share sample sale dates and location for brands such as Reiss, Temperley and Mulberry but to name a few! So do check it out.

Speaking of Reiss, they also have an outlet website where you can find items for both men and women at a discounted cost, you can access the site here.

For special occasion wear Karen Millen has an outlet site where you can find wedding guest ready dresses too.

If you’re looking for boutique brands as well as some more established names such as Diane von Furstenburg then check out coggles.com they have a great selection of men and women’s designer fashion plus homeware all at reduced prices.

Lastly all over the UK you can find entire outlet shopping centres that have many of the well known brands covering sportswear, beauty, women’s fashion and more including London Designer Outlet Wembley, Freeport Braintree in Essex and Bicester Village in Oxford. There are many more around the UK and Europe, you can find the full list of them here.

I hope you find this helpful!

Claudia x

Heel me up

April 11, 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

I’m a huge fan of high heeled shoes, they are my footwear of choice! High heels change your posture, the way you walk and most noticeably your height! They are the common shoe of choice on catwalks and are our go to footwear when we want to ‘glam up’. Considering high heels have apparently been around since 1553(!!) it seems us women have always had a little bit of a thing for these types of shoes.

What interests me the most however are court shoes or pumps as they are known in the USA. Court shoes originated from the medieval fashion traditions of the wealthy in Europe and have been popular ever since. In Margo DeMello’s book Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia, she states that the first heels were actually worn by noblemen who sported a heel on their boots. Heels were traditionally made of staked leather or wood (which must have been rather heavy!). She also mentions that prior to this time high heeled shoes were only possible in the form of clogs or elevated sandals with many cultures adapting their won type of elevated footwear such as the Japanese geta, the turkish stilted sandal and the chinese flower pot shoe.

chinese flower pot shoe — Chinese flower pot shoe

turksih stilted sandal — Turkish stilted sandal

I’m so thankful for the creative minds who continued to develop this beautiful idea for a heeled shoes and the creative directors that bring us beautiful designs season after season – thank you!

I love a good court shoe not just for its classy elegance but also because they are super versatile, you can dress them down for a casual outfit or can glam it up for any special event.

For your viewing pleasure here are some pretty cool court shoes from one of my favourite shoe brands Rupert Sanderson.

Enjoy!

Claudia x

Individuality

April 9, 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

I’ve deliberated about what I want this blog to actually focus on. There are a plethora of blogs that cover (in detail) fashion, travel, beauty, lifestyle in different ways and I often think that all bases have been covered BUT in actual fact we are all so different and we were all born unique and its in finding what makes us different is what truly sets us apart. Sometimes finding what that ‘thing’ is can be a journey because of the endless amounts of similarities that we find with others. As I post pictures on my Instagram page and think of new content for my blog I’m increasingly being driven to think a little bit more deeply about what it is that defines me as Claudia. What is it that really moves me, what motivates me how am I different to those around me. I think about this in the context if branding quite a lot as it is something for which I have a passion.

To think about what makes me the same as another would be rather easy, we can use similarity to find belonging within a group or a movement but sharing what defines you and makes you stand out can initially be daunting. Why be daunted by something that can become beautiful? Pushing past where you normally stop and challenging yourself daily can be a road to discovery of what truly makes you unique.

I guess all that I would like to say in this post is that if you’ve been wondering lately what it is that makes you different, don’t give up on that journey of discovery because you will find it. Look for it in the comments you receive from others on the way you do things. Look for it in the things that bring you joy and satisfaction. Look for it in the things that make you smile helplessly or give you butterflies in your stomach. Look for it in the things that uncontrollably excite you and bring out your creativity.

Enjoy this gloriously sunny Sunday!

Claudia x