recent Lifestyle blogs
reducing the plastic : hello ecofiltro

reducing the plastic : hello ecofiltro

Over the years we've been finding that, especially over the summer, our use of plastic water bottles increases significantly. We always recycle plastics, but we were creating our own small mountain of bottles and often our plastics bin (which was only collected every...

benvenuti winery : kaldir : istria

benvenuti winery : kaldir : istria

"Three generations of a family on a mission to preserve the traditional grape varieties and the wine culture of Istria and Motovun..." So says the website of the Benvenuti Winery, located about 20 minutes away from where we used to live in Istria. And, if there's one...

cooking : air fryer style

cooking : air fryer style

Since we bought our air fryer in the New Year, we've noticed that we are definitely using the conventional oven much less. It's been used maybe three or four times, if that, and if we were in our home, I'm sure we'd noticed a reduction in energy consumption. However,...

mi smart air fryer : 3.5l

mi smart air fryer : 3.5l

We've considered an air fryer for a while, but haven't done anything about acquiring one, as we thought they might be a bit gimmicky. Used a couple of times and then put back in the box and pushed to the far recesses of the cupboard. Only to be got out again when we...

christmas in andalucia

christmas in andalucia

Well, Christmas 2024 is certainly going to go down in our record books as a pretty memorable one. Although we couldn't spend it with family - our rented apartment, although lovely, isn't really big enough to accommodate guests and whilst I wait for my Spanish...

autumnal food : spinach & sweet potato bake

autumnal food : spinach & sweet potato bake

Now that the clocks have gone back, it's time to break out the autumnal recipes. We've had a wonderful summer of tapas and salads and fresh fish  - light food, which doesn't leave you feeling too full - but now that the candles are out, and throws are appearing on the...

macana : sanlúcar de barrameda

macana : sanlúcar de barrameda

Eating out in our new temporary home of Sanlucar de Barrameda seems to be very easy. With many options, in what The Guardian called, Spain's new capital of gastronomy, we do seem to be very spoiled for choice. We're still to get stuck into really exploring the food...

when the airbnb experience goes well…

when the airbnb experience goes well…

We've been on the road now, for over three months, having sold up in Istria and waiting to complete on our dream Andalucian townhouse. We've stayed in a variety of hotels and apartments along the way, and are onto our third Airbnb stay. The first was for the month of...

splashes of colour…

splashes of colour…

Currently, most of what we own is in a storage unit, back in Istria, and we are travelling light (although the packed car would suggest otherwise), as we move around Andalucia, getting to know the region of our new home. The purchase hasn't completed yet, so we don't...

house hunting : spain : andalucia

house hunting : spain : andalucia

Since our house in Istria went on the market in March 2024, after we completed the new garden to the rear of the house and did much internal refurbishment, our minds have been focused on finding our new home. We knew that our Istrian adventure had come to an end. For...