Best Places To Eat In Cardiff

As I've only got a few months of my university life left (very very sad), I am desperately trying to make the most of all of the amazing places to eat in Cardiff. Therefore, I thought I would update you on a few recent trips to some great places that I've been to lately in Cardiff. Except more to follow in the next few months.

Bills, Cardiff 

I've always heard good things about Bills and it is really no surprise. I absolutely loved the style of the restaurant as it had a kind of shabby kitchen style to it with lots of wood furniture and bottles and things to look at. I had the nachos to start and they honestly were amazing, they were home cooked and very thin and crispy with a light spice flavoring which really nicely complimented the salsa, sour cream and guacamole. I then went for the halloumi and hummus burger which also did not disappoint. I also really like the presentation of the food on little boards as I think it's a bit different and has a nice feel to it. Overall, I was really pleased with Bills and will certainly be returning before I leave, I might even venture to the one that is in the bay. 

Stag Coffee, Cathays 

One of my regular little student areas in Cathays has to be Stag Coffee. It's a really nice vintage little cafe which has great decor and a mismatch of furniture. One of the downsides however is it is very very tiny inside and you often struggle to get a seat, although saying this on a lovely sunny day there is plenty of room to sit in the garden or outside the front. I enjoyed a cookie crumble milkshake which was delicious and a brie and caramelized onion chutney panini, it was amazing. I would recommend a quick visit if you are ever in the area! 

Coffee Barker, Cardiff 

An ultimate top cafe for me in Cardiff has got to be Coffee Barker. Again it embraces the vintage, mismatch theme with various types of lamps and mirrors hanging from the walls. It's a really nice place to sit and have a drink and a catch up or even to sit and get on with some work quietly. The tuna melt panini is so tasty, filled with cheese and tomato and it comes with a lovely flavored chutney as well. They also have a range of cake flavours such as parma violet however on this occasion I stick with the chocolate sponge, yum!  

Emma Jaynes Cupckaes, Cathays 

Probably my favourite place to go for a cup of tea and of course a cupcake is Emma Jaynes. This tiny little cupcake shop is just so cute and sweet and the sun is always shining in through the window. They have a different range of cupcakes each day such as; salted caramel, chocolate orange, lemon, cherry bakewell, vanilla and lots more. I also love the retro tables with old Beano covers and old chocolate bars. They also sell baguettes for a really good price and you can choose your own chocolate bar milkshake, what is not to like? 

  

Juno Lounge, Cathays

What an amazing breakfast selection, pancakes, bacon, maple syrup, egg, chips and a sausage patty. It makes me mouth water just looking at it. Juno Lounge is another shabby student style cafe with old picture frames and photographs covering the walls. They do a range of food all day but the breakfasts have got to be up in the top choices and a pretty good price too! 

Overall my favourite place which is listed above has to be Emma Jaynes Cupcakes, for a £2 cupcake you really can't get any better, I honestly aim to try every flavour before I leave Cardiff in July. 

Enjoy eating all the good food, I know I did. 

Alice May 

️Xxx 

University room year three

As I've finally had time to get round to it (yes, I've been very absent over summer) I thought I would do another blogpost showing you the ins and outs of my university bedroom. For the past three years I have done a post including pictures and bits and bobs inside my room to give anyone some inspiration  about how to style a uni room. Or, if you're just nosy, like me it's always nice to have a look inside people's bedrooms.

I put a lot of effort into decorating my room each September as I feel that it's nice to have a area where you can chill and feel relaxed when you are doing your work or just laying about. I like my room to feel cute and homely and just a sweet place to be so I am always collecting little trinkets and odd bits to put in it. 

This year my room is up in the attic, right at the top of the house. It's been weird having to get used to the sloped ceilings but I think they actually add to the cosiness of my room. 

Most of the items in my room will be mentioned in the previous years blogposts which I will leave below, anything that is new I will leave details about here. So this is my bed, I love how it is next to the sloped ceiling as it gives it a nice tucked in feel. I struggled to find space to hang too many pictures because of all the low walls but I hung a picture above my bed and a dream catcher which I bought when I was on holiday. I hung some bunting to the ceiling which I think gives the room a bit of a festival feel to it.

As I had a lot of floor space this year I got a rag rug from John Lewis for about £20 and I love it, it really fills out the room and adds lots of bright colours! 

When I first moved into my room I had too many bits and bobs which made my room look untidy and cluttered. I went to ikea and got this fab storage shelf for £20, it's great for shoving all those bits and bobs you have no where to put! 

I also love the blue insert drawers which were £2.50 which add a pop of colour to your bedroom! On top of these shelves I love to put candles which make your room look really pretty at nighttime! 

Here is my very cluttered desk but you get the idea, I like to get lots of colourful bits to make a dull room seem a bit more lively. I also added some fairy lights  to my pin board to brighten it up.

I just have a very simple plain mirror which is hung up on the wall, and around it I have some sweet little flowers which were from Amazon just to add a more girly touch. 

I also added some more fairy lights which were £5 from tesco home. I got them in spaceships theme as I thought this would look super cute at night time with the sky window.

Lastly, my favourite part of the room is this little right hand corner where I just put lots of ornaments and bits and bobs. 

I love this turquoise blue colour as I think it's bright but calming at the same time. I have three little tea light holders from Tiger, and a cute teacup and teapot set from Marks and Spencer's. I also bought a vintage style clock from ikea and filled a Amazon jar with some fairy lights.

I think it looks very relaxing and cosy when I'm tucked up in bed with all my candles and lights on!

 Finally, I made a little display of polaroids hanging above the chest of drawers, I purchased some heart shaped pegs and just attached them with string to give it much more homely feel!

Thank you for taking a look inside my room, if you fancy looking at the other two years here they are; 

Year one; http://yayalicemay.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/little-uni-bedroom.html

Year two; http://yayalicemay.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/university-room-year-two.html

I would love to take a look at some of your bedrooms or some homeware items so leave me a comment. 

See you soon, 

Alice May 

Xxx

e.l.f Haul

So a few months ago a brand new e.l.f store opened in Cardiff and last weekend I thought I would buy a few things.

I've previously bought some elf products online as they are always really good value and a pretty decent brand. However, the store is really nicely designed and laid out in one of the arcades in the city centre. 

They have plenty of space and plenty of items, if I had more money I would of definitely bought more than I did but luckily I will be able to pop in anytime now! 

Firstly, I bought the elf mineral infused primer. I've previously seen this mentioned on a few blogs and I was really keen to give it a try. It was priced at £6.95 which is a bargain and it is quite a good sized bottle. 

The primer is a really nice consistency and makes your skin feel so smooth and lovely once you put it on. The pump mechanism is really handy as in one pump you get the perfect amount needed for your face. So far I am really impressed with it and would certainly buy it again. 

 

Next I picked up several make up brushes, I was really in need of a new foundation brush I also got a eyeshadow brush. Both of these were £3.95. 

The foundation brush I chose was the angled foundation brush. I'm still not to sure on my opinion of this, I find the brush quite firm and hard to blend make up with on my face. However, I'm continuing to try it and will see if it softens up. 

I also got the eyeshadow 'c' brush, this a really good petite size perfect for eyeshadow palettes. However it is also quite a hard and firm brush to use where as I prefer something a bit softer. 

One of my top items which I bought was this moisturising lipstick in the colour coral cutie. At only £3.95 this lipstick is a really nice creamy sort of texture. I am also a massive fan of the orangey summer colour which is not to full on and adds a nice nautural summer look to your lips! 

I also got the elf contouring blush and bronzer which was also £3.95 in the colour Turks and Caicos. I really love the size and shape of the set and it also comes with a mirror which is always handy. 

I really like the blush as it is a nice light and nautural colour for the cheeks however I found the bronzer quite heavy and dark, although in the summer months I think I will get more use out of the bronzer shade. 

Finally, I had to pick up one of these eyeshadow sets for £10. This is the baked eyeshadow palette which I got in the colour California. 

The palette consists of ten different eyeshadow shades which works out at only a pound per colour which I think is amazing. Although in comparison to the naked pallete the eyeshadow is not as soft, the colours are still really pigmented and they are blend nicely together to create a lovely effect. I love all of the brown and shimmery shades and I think it is a great palette to have on a budget perhaps whilst you are saving for the naked one. 

Overall, I am really impressed with elf cosmetics and I think at the price they are it is a great brand to test and try out perhaps before buying more expensive versions of things. 

Alice May 

Xx 

Food-a-holic

So lately I've been trying out a lot of good food/drinks. Typical student life, trying out all the local cafés, bars and places to eat in cardiff. Yes I'm supposed to be poor.

So if you are ever in the local area of Cardiff/Cathays here are some fabby places to try out! 

Firstly Face 11. Face 11 is a cute little bar/restaurant literally a road away from where I am living now, always so tempting. It is a really nice quirky and individual place where they serve lots of yummy cocktails, pizza and burgers. 

The cocktails are usually on a 2-4-1 offer which is even better and the pizza similarly is often but one and get one half price. 

I have a florentina which has a fried egg on the top and was really fresh and delicious they are all home made in the kitchen. So so good. 

Next cafe 37 is the local almost greasy spoon where you will find most hungover students on a Sunday morning. It's pretty cool as it has an American style theme and everything is so cheap. I had just some toast and a amazing malteaser milkshake! So so so good! They also do all of the traddional fry ups which looked very yummy. 

As soon as I heard my local pub served toffee apple cider of course I literally ran there. This Brothers cider flavoured with a hint of toffee apple was super delicious and it was nice to drink it in the chilled out atmosphere of the Woodville, I'm just a big sucker for fairy lights really. However, I did feel pretty sick after the whole bottle as it is very very sweet. 

Barker tea rooms in Cardiff town was spot on. It opened a few months ago and ever since I had been forever waiting to go. I am a typical British girl who loves nothing more than drinking tea in a cute little tea shop accompanied by some yummy cake or scones and some lovely people. What more could you want really? As the vintage tea room seems to be an ever growing thing I am eager to try as many as possible and this one was perfectly fitted with cosy chairs and mismatching crockey! 

I also discovered the wonder of Emma Jaynes cupcakes which is literally a five minute walk from my house in catahys. I've been twice so far and it's an absolute bargain. Tea and cake for £3!!! Why wouldn't you? As you can see I tasted the Oreo cupcake and the chocolate orange cupcake, both were amazing. I am always spoiled for choice, next time I think I might try the cherry bake well or the peanut butter!! 

Finally, I also recently stumbled across tucker on Sailsbury road. It is a recently open cafe/restaurant where they sell a variety of burgers, pizzas and snacks. Its a lovely place to go for a quick catch up with your friend but also in the evenings they have selective nights for a slection of live music and drinks etc. I enjoyed a gingerbread milkshake the last time I visited which was delicious.

So if you are ever visiting Cardiff, or in fact are living the student life in catahys these are for sure the best places (I've found so far) to grab a bite or two to eat. 

Alice May

Xxxx

Cardiff Vintage Fair

Okay, I still have no clue what so ever about how to work this malarkey, but thought I would post something more interesting.

So today, I took a little wander down to the Cardiff vintage fair, its a cute little fair in City Hall which comes every few months and is full on all sorts of wacky and cute vintage items! I went to the one a few months back when I first moved to uni here and I loved it so thought I would try and drag some more friends along!

It was soo packed out and busy but I still managed to get a few little things which I love!

So I got this cute baggy sort of causal t-shirt which I think will look really cool with leggings and maybe some shorts in the summer, I really liked the saying on it and it was only £10 which I thought was pretty decent!

Next I got the cute little blue ring, I love the baby blue/turquoise colour especially as summer is approaching and I am a massive fan of my rings and that one was only £4 and finally I got the cute little bird necklace, which again is in a nice baby blue! All of my friends always laugh at me for owning lots of odd and quirky items and I thought that would fit the bill at only £8 :)! I also love the fact it has a long chain because I like to wear my necklaces quite low!

So all I all I've had a very lovely day browsing thorough all of the vintage wear ! However I now sadly have an essay to write! The fun life of an English student!

Catch you all later xxx

Just a quickie xx

Just a quick one today as I'm off one for 3 weeks for Easter yay! So so excited to go home and see my lovely family and friends, and get some money from work!

Anyway haven't bought too much lately just a few bits which I will attach below as blogging from my phone!

Went for a lovely lunch with my friend in crepe affaire in Cardiff! Such lovely pancakes, I had banana and Nutella!

Okay so the little fox socks my grandma got me as a gift, from marks and spencer and I just love them as I love anything a little bit quirky and odd! I also got the standard topshop frilly socks in black, I honestly have sooo many but my black ones I managed to some how sick up into the Hoover! I know... So of course I had to get another pair!

I also thought I should get a new phone case and got this one for about £2 on eBay, I thought it was very summery almost like melted ice cream?

I got the cute little anchor pumps for primark for £8 as I thought they would be causal for when the weather is a little bit nicer and I also got the little make up bad for £2 just so I don't leave my make up all scattered in my handbag!

Also picked up the little war cuffs for £1.50 as just really liked them and they were such a bargin!!

Needed some new nail varnish and really wanted to try the gel Barry m and again I thought the colour there like bluey green was very spring and fresh and the purple looked nice too! Also needed another eyeliner and it was 3 for 2 yay!

Anyway that's about it! Hope you all have a lovely sunny Easter! I'm sure I will update you when I'm back home!

Bye
Alice may
Xxxx