Drawing on tables over brunch | Sip & Tuck Colchester

Last weekend, me and my boyfriend found ourselves in Colchester town after a lazy morning, looking for somewhere to get some lunch. I'd seen a new cafe pop up locally on Instagram called Sip and Tuck, and was quite keen to give it a try, as it looked right up my street!

Situated on the corner of Queen Street, and right opposite the Castle entrance to the park, it's nestled away in the quieter end of town. A nice break away from the hustle and bustle, especially at this time of year with all the crazed Christmas shoppers!

The interior is very 'hipster' and has a bit of a school sports vibe to it, with some tables and seating made from gymnastics equipment - I found out afterward that the flooring in the building is actually from the Stratford Olympic Park, how cool is that? So you can sit and eat all of the cake whilst thinking about all the great Olympic achievements that have been made on that very same flooring, must zero out the calories somehow, right?

Their selection of cakes and pastries is unreal!

The real point of excitement for me, though - being the big kid that I am - has to be the chalkboard tables! So as soon as we'd finished deciding on what to order, we set about drawing each other whilst we waited.

I'm one of those people that gets irrationally hangry - much to Lewis' delight! - so having a little pre-food activity was a great distraction, haha.  

I opted for a hot chocolate - with all the trimmings, obvs - and avocado & bacon on toast. Basic blogger alert. And you can just about see Lewis' little portrait of my face peeking through... let's just say, I don't think either of us will be getting into portraiture anytime soon. 

The food was delicious, served up really quickly, and the vibe in there was really nice and laid back - but cosy too. I'm seriously regretting not having a cake whilst we were there, but at least I've got another excuse to go back!

If you're in Colchester doing some Christmas shopping, or if you live locally, I'd highly recommend popping in for some lunch or even just tea and cake. Their breakfast menu looked delicious, and they also had a few decent Vegan options available too.

You don't have to work in London to be successful | Defining success

Pretty much since I can remember, I've always been someone who is really career driven. When I was younger, I didn't think too much about whether or not I'd want a family in the future, whether or not I'd want to get married, or where I'd like to live. I was always just focused on one thing - my career.

I'm not entirely sure where this drive came from, but even at school, I was always someone who wanted to give 110% to everything I did. It wasn't until I was at University that this started backfiring on me. In my first year of Uni I went a liiiiittle bit overboard.

Your first year at Uni is already such a huge change. Moving to a new town, surrounding yourself with new people, starting a new course - which in itself comes with a million other little challenges. 

But I was really determined to push myself even further. I was studying Fashion Promotion, and it's common knowledge that Fashion probably has to be one of the most competitive industries, so I knew I needed to do as much as possible to set myself apart.

By the final semester of my first year at Uni I was working a part-time weekend job back in Essex - which I was having to commute back home to do - doing an internship in London, writing my own blog and completing my first year of University, whilst also trying to "adult" for the first time and maintain friendships. What happened next is no surprise really!

One day on my commute to London I came over feeling really unwell, I got off the tube and was walking to my office and I just felt like I was going to faint. I popped into Boots, bought a million and one healthy snacks to try and get some energy inside of me, and got into work. I spent the whole day feeling shaky, dizzy and absolutely drained. This was the start of my anxiety.

Unless you've ever experienced anxiety, you might not understand how bad the physical symptoms can be, but if you've ever come close to fainting - that is literally how I would feel every single time I had a panic attack. It was so frightening, as at the time I had absolutely no idea what was going on or why I felt this way!

Fast forward to my final year at Uni, and I'd managed to achieve much more of a balance. I was living at home, had left my part-time job, and just focused on my blog, my degree and gaining some industry experience here and there. I'd become better at juggling my workload.

During my final year of Uni I managed to blag (I say blag, merely because I still have no idea how I ended up there!) a Freelance role working at ASOS. It was an absolute dream come true, I'd wanted to work there for years and I couldn't believe it. The day I went for my interview & trial day felt so surreal, I felt so lucky.

But guess what? It wasn't for me. The commute made me feel exactly how I felt in my first year of Uni - albeit, not quite to the same extent luckily. But every single day I'd come home feeling absolutely drained and exhausted. I'd spend my entire commute on the tube an anxious wreck, and even when I got into the office I felt like I shouldn't be there. 

I hadn't even graduated yet - why did I deserve to be there?

It was here that my body was finally trying to tell me that I wasn't suited to a high-flying career in London. But of course, my brain took a little longer to happily accept and admit this. *Insert eye-rolling emoji here.*

How could I just overnight accept that something I'd dreamt of for years - a high powered job in the city - was something that I couldn't do? It felt like such a huge failure to admit that it just wasn't for me.

Since then, a whole 4 years later, I've managed to carve myself, what I'd still consider, a successful career, locally in Essex. I've still managed to work for big brands and big names, but within the confines of my comfort zone. I hate the term 'comfort zone' but it's the best way I can think to describe it. 

I still push myself outside my comfort zone from time to time, as that's the best way to learn and grow. But for me, I need an element of 'comfort' to be able to stay happy and - most importantly - sane!

For a long while now, all of this has got me thinking about success and our vision of what success is. To me, to be successful I had to have this high powered job up in London - no matter what else it cost me. But through experiences, I've learned that this isn't the only definition of success that exists. Sure, that is one version of being successful, but there are so many other routes and journeys to success.

Maybe you're about to graduate and are panicking about how quickly you'll be able to become your own version of "successful"? Or maybe you're forcing yourself to stay in a high-flying career or job because you think it's your idea of "success"? 

It's so important to remember that success can mean many things, and I don't think any of those meanings should have to involve you compromising your own health and happiness.

A Taste of the Caribbean in Colchester | Turtle Bay Launch Night

There's been a lot of buzz in Colchester recently, as it was announced earlier this year that three restaurants would be joining the high street - Wagamamas, Five Guys and Turtle Bay. Obviously, if you're a bit of a foodie like me then this is very exciting news! As much as I love a lot of the independent restaurants in Colchester, I definitely think we were in need of a little bit more variety.

Last Wednesday evening I was invited to the launch evening for Turtle Bay in Colchester. Having never visited a Turtle Bay restaurant before, I was really excited to find out more about the restaurant and try some of the Carribbean cuisine - something else I've never really tried!

Everyone I spoke to about Turtle Bay beforehand mentioned one thing - the cocktails!! And as someone who's a little bit partial to a cocktail, I was very excited to give those a try too.

When I arrived I was ushered straight over to the bar to sample a cocktail - not a bad start to an evening, hey! 

I was served a Reggae Rum Punch which was really fruity - definitely my kind of cocktail.

Soon after everyone arrived, and we'd all been given a tour of the restaurant, there was a brief talk letting us know more about the Turtle Bay chain of restaurants. I was excited to learn that they were started by the founder of Las Iguanas - as this is probably my favourite chain restaurant.

They spoke us through the delicious menu, and how the restaurant is inspired by chilled Caribbean beach vibes - something which is very much reflected in the layout and interior.

Next up, rum tasting!

We were told that they have over 48 different types of rum at their bar - who even know there was so many? - and we were given a coconut flavoured rum to sample.

With Turtle Bay offering 2 for 1 cocktails between 7 and 9pm, I'd encourage you to try as many of these 48 rums as you like. Afterall, in their words - drinking rum makes you a pirate, not an alcoholic!

We were shortly shown to our tables to start sampling the menu. 

Starters:

Seafood Platter

Main:

Sweet Potato, Aubergine & Spinach Curry (Vegan)

Jerk Chicken

Dessert:

Platter of desserts

(Cheesecake, brownie, sticky toffee pudding and bread pudding)

The food was incredible! Everything had so much flavour and it was really interesting to try new foods which I'd never had before, including Plantain. 

I opted for the Vegetarian Curry - which as a bonus is completely Vegan - and it was delicious. Full of flavour and really creamy. The Crispy Chilli Squid on the seafood platter was a highlight too. 

Thank you so much to Turtle Bay for inviting me to your launch evening, it was great to get a chance to try so many of the yummy options on your menu. I'll definitely back soon!