Welcome.
My name is Candace and I am a 50 year old lifestyle blogger. In 2016 I moved back to the West Midlands after living by the sea in North Wales for 3 years. I missed Wales terribly and I still visited often to take in all the beautiful surroundings North Wales had to offer. I had a dream to wake up on my 50th birthday iivng back in Wales. I’m not quite sure how but things fell in to place at the end of 2019 and in March 2020 I finally moved back to North Wales 3 years earlier than planned. I am so excited to renovate my 120 year old cottage and to enjoy adventures galore right on my doorstep. Let’s just say an estate agents definition of ‘finishing touches’ is very different to mine and I’ve certainly got my work cut out!
I have many interests including cooking & baking, crafting, reading, fashion, beauty, and travel; North Wales, Scotland and afternoon teas are particular favourites. It’s only now that I think I am finding my own style and I am beginning to be confident with who I am.
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
When I was at school I took GCSE Photography, back in the day when you processed films in a dark room then developed your prints! There just wasn’t any of this digital lark! I still love photography and nowadays despite owning a DSLR I much prefer to use my iPhone to take pictures with. The quality is fantastic and with the addition of apps, I can edit them right on my phone then post straight to my social media accounts be it Twitter, Instagram or Facebook
AFTERNOON TEA ADVENTURES
My favourite food is afternoon tea and I love to partake in the relaxing ritual that is afternoon tea as often as I can. I have also never been a huge fan of alcohol; I don’t really like the taste. I like brandy and the odd vodka but where everything else is concerned I don’t really touch it. However, I do like cocktails; they just don’t taste like alcohol and I am a huge fan of a cocktail to accompany a good afternoon tea.
TRAVEL ADVENTURES
Travel is something I have always loved and from a young age, I was lucky to visit some fantastic places that weren’t what would have been classed as the traditional child’s holiday destination. As a child, we had always holidayed in Wales for beach holidays but during half terms, we had long city breaks in places such as Brugge, Dublin, and Paris. One year when I was 12 we spent a month touring Denmark and Sweden and I think it was certainly this holiday that ignited my love of foreign city travel.
My first foreign beach holiday wasn’t until I was 19 and I went with a group of friends to Majorca and I can honestly say I hated every minute of sitting by the pool or being sat on the beach. What I did love, however, was tasting local traditional cuisine and spending hours walking around the markets and historic places nearby. Luckily, one of the people I went with wasn’t a fan of foreign beach holidays either.
“To travel is to live”
Hans Christian Anderson
The only other foreign beach holiday I went on was when I was 22 and along with my then-boyfriend, my younger brother and a friend of his, we went to Zante for 10 days. Within 2 hours, despite having factor 50 sunscreen on I was burnt to a crisp and ended up needing to see a local Doctor. I’ve just avoided hot places ever since!
I still love the time spent in North Wales as well as starting to explore Scotland, and taking time to get lost in the heart of a city or explore the history and local customs behind the area.
FOODIE ADVENTURES
I like food, I think I can confidently say that! I also like recreating some of our favourite dishes at home as well as eating out both locally and when away sampling local dishes. I think there is nothing better than a dish cooked with good quality local ingredients and keeping it simple to allow the ingredients to shine.
I’ve been lucky enough to eat is some lovely restaurants including Mitchin starred places but that doesn’t mean I don’t like a local family own pub that serves good honest classic dishes.
There is no sincere love greater than the love of food
Gerorge Bernard Shaw
This blog is my little space on the web where I write all about the things in my life that give me inspiration, happiness and hope whilst I drink my way through buckets of tea.
I can be contacted by email at hello@bucketsoftea.co.uk