And so we find ourselves commencing the final week of our time here in Canggu. I knew the few months we are here would fly by and it definitely has, but it also feels like we’ve been here forever and its become a place we call home.
We’ve certainly made the most of this adventure and experienced the very best that Bali has to offer.
From exciting day trips to see the most breathtaking natural beauty at Leke Leke Waterfall,
and trekking around the luscious green jungle at Teglalang Rice Terrace in Ubud,
to working from the many gorgeously aesthetic cafes,
serving the most delicious healthy vegan food,
and scooting down to watch sunset on the iconic Echo Beach.
I have an extensive list of our favourite cafes, restaurants, bars and beach clubs, so I’ll have to do a future blog post on my personal recommendations for if you’re visiting Canggu too.
But for now we have a whole week ahead of us to enjoy and soak up every moment of the blissful Bali life before we return to the UK via Singapore.
With Valentines Day on the horizon, I was excited to make the most of it here in Bali and plan a romantic date night with my boyfriend at some of our favourite Canggu hotspots.
Every romantic evening in Bali begins with sunset drinks, so at 6:30pm on Friday we headed down to The Lawn for sundowners on the beach with a view.
I wore my new Flook The Label maxi dress with this stunning cutaway detail in my favourite colour of the moment, chocolate brown. To accessorise I wore my Seaside Stories gold plated shell necklace, matching gold shell earrings and Abbott Lyon statement gold bangle.
Once sun had dipped below the horizon and dusk was upon us, we went around the corner to Billy Ho for more drinks and nibbles.
We discovered Billy Ho when visiting Canggu last year, so with its sophisticated ambience giving uptown New York vibes, I thought it was the perfect V-Day romantic evening spot.
For an appetiser we shared the smokey edamame beans and the vegetarian dumplings, absolutely exquisite paired with a glass of bubbles too.
My boyfriend was craving pizza for dinner, so we headed to one of the best pizza spots in town Luigis.
We shared a classic margarita pizza and green leaf salad with balsamic vinegar. Simple yet delicious and satisfied that pizza craving perfectly.
To finish the evening of bar hopping around Canggu, we went to Santanera rooftop for a nightcap. This was our first time here and it was buzzing on a Friday night. Spread across three floors it has a cool, lofty vibe whilst still feeling intimate and exclusive.
It was a perfect Valentines date night in Canggu complete with scenic sunset drinks, refined appetisers and even some classic home comfort food in the form of a very cheesy pizza.
Happy Sunday! We’re winding down after another awesome week here in Bali, so I thought I’d share some highlights of our trip to the island of Nusa Penida yesterday. I booked the trip with a local via Instagram and the total cost was 950k IDR per person, which is just under £50. Comparing this to prices online it seemed the best deal which is usually the case if you book through the locals.
Our day started bright and early with pickup from our villa at 6am to get to the port where the boat was departing at 7am. It took about 45 minutes to get over to the island of Penida where our driver for the day was ready to greet us.
First stop was Diamond Beach, an absolute paradise on earth with the white sand beach and crystal clear turquoise water. We trekked down the precarious stairs to walk along the beach, but you are not allowed to swim as the tide is too dangerous.
Salty toes and that warm ocean breeze was heavenly.
Next stop was the Thousand Island viewpoint where there is the famous instagram spot Tree House Molenteng. Unfortunately they make you pay for a photo here and there was a very long wait, so with the peak midday humidity we decided to pass on this.
It was then a long hour and a half car journey through the jungle roads to Kelingking Beach.
Another jaw dropping view out over the cliffs where many tourists come to get that iconic Instagram snap.
The tropical rain had started at this point so we didn’t walk very far down, but the view from the top overlooking Kelingking cliff faces was magnificent.
1:30pm and it was time for a well deserved lunch at a local Warung, also included in the cost of our trip. I had a fresh garden salad with a coffee and my boyfriend had a tasty sweet and sour chicken dish with rice.
With a long journey back to Bali mainland ahead of us, we caught the fast boat back from the island at 3pm and were driven home to our villa again. Bali traffic, particularly in Canggu gets hectic at rush hour, so it was 5:30pm by the time we arrived back at Casa Cherish.
A long day of travelling and hiking, but very much worth it to have seen these iconic natural wonders of Bali.
Diamond Beach was the highlight for me; it’s pure paradise which got me in a tropical state of mind ❤
26.01.25; celebrating my 30th year around the sun on the wonderful Island of Gods, Bali.
I might be entering my thirties but I really do feel like a twenty year old at heart still.
We kicked off celebrations on Friday evening with a stunning sunset at the iconic La Brisa on Echo Beach.
For dinner we went to another awesomely aesthetic spot in Canggu Penny Lane.
It was the Ubud health bowl for me and a hearty buttermilk chicken burger for my boyfriend.
On Saturday I treated myself to a blow dry at The Rustic Sun Canggu as it’s less than £15 pounds here in Bali!
That afternoon we went to a new beach club Luna and soaked up the scorching sunshine, whilst dipping in and out of pools and lounging in our private pod sipping cocktails.
For dinner I changed into my new Flook The Label beach dress, a birthday gift from my boyfriend which I chose last week in their boutique in Pererenan.
Luna beach club comes alive at night too with spectacular lights and even a fire show.
Sunday 26th January, my actual birthday, I awoke to the cutest surprise from my boyfriend.
He organised with the villa manager to decorate the pool with a happy birthday message, balloons and even a floating breakfast.
This was truly the best way to welcome in my 30th birthday.
After a very chilled day relaxing at the villa my the pool, we headed down to Batu Bolong Beach to catch sundown.
Our third magnificent sunset in a row and the perfect way to see out my big birthday weekend.
We enjoyed a nice dinner at The Lawn where I had my favourite classic Caesar salad with prawns.
The night finished at Deus Ex Machina Sunday sessions live music and 241 cocktails of course.
Mood for my thirties; Happy. Content. Staying in my own lane. Healing. Freeing. Flourishing. Growing. Glowing ❤
Happy Sunday from beautiful Bali! We’ve been here in Canggu a week now and I still can’t believe we get to call this our home for the next two months!
We’re staying at the stunning Casa Cherish villas in central Canggu, only a 15 minute walk down to the beach.
With its Moroccan inspired interiors every corner of this two bed villa is so aesthetic, and the private plunge pool is a luxury to have in this 30 degree tropical heat.
We’re settling into Bali life nicely and fully embracing all of our favourite things about this wonderful island including:
the endless sunshine,
buzzing cafe culture,
delicious foodie scene,
active lifestyle,
beach sunsets,
morning surf sessions,
lucius green palms,
the freshest fruits,
friendly locals and doggies,
aesthetic interiors,
boutique shopping…the list goes on.
It’s only our first week on the island and we’ve already done so much, but when you’re living in such an exciting place surrounded by likeminded people, it’s hard not to be motivated to get out and seize every single day.
Two months sounds like a long time however I don’t doubt it will fly by and we won’t want to leave. So I intend to enjoy every second here in Bali by actually slowing down a little to focus on being fully present in the moment.
Alignment: you are in the right place at the right time ❤
And so we find ourselves on the final day of the year and ready to ring in 2025 at midnight. This year has been beyond brilliant and I hope you guys have enjoyed coming along with me for the best bits of 2024 through my vlogs here on YouTube.
In this second instalment of Vlogmas, festivities are in full swing as I host friends for a wine & cheese night, enjoy more cosy date nights with my boyfriend, and help my parents prepare to host the family for Christmas Day.
Expect all the indulgent food and drinks, lots of cute winter outfits and not forgetting when we see my dad playing Santa in the local town for charity!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too and I can’t wait to share another adventure filled year ahead on YouTube, starting with an epic trip to Bali and my big 30th birthday in January.
The December Diaries are here and I thought I’d split this month’s vlog into a two part ‘Vlogmas’. As soon as the festive season begins its all about celebrating the year that’s been and embracing the merry times with colleagues, friends and family.
It might only be the first two weeks of December, but in this instalment of Vlogmas I fully embrace the festive season with cute interiors decor, cosy winter date nights with old school Christmas movies and plenty of fun work parties.
So grab a warming cuppa or maybe a cheeky baileys, and come along with me for the silly season diaries!
With just over a week to go until Christmas Day, silly season is well and truly in full swing! Last week I had two Christmas parties in London with work, so I thought I’d share with you what we got up to and how we got into the jolly festive spirit.
Last Tuesday was our member’s Christmas Social event at Hijingo Bingo in Shoreditch. We chose this activity as something different and immersive to mix up the usual networking format.
Starting at 11:30am, guests enjoyed drinks in the bar until they were ushered through the illuminated tunnel and seated in the main room for bingo.
Unlike typical bingo, there are dancers and a ‘bot’ who introduces each game and explains the rules as well as the prizes up for grabs. From a holiday for two or up to £500 cash, the prizes were very desirable and got everyone enthusiastic to play the games.
After the first few games there was a break for food served in the main room. This was a selection of festive inspired bites including pigs in blankets with a miso maple glaze, and turkey roulade with a cranberry puree.
The second round of games commenced before the event concluded at 2:30pm. Short but sweet, the bingo games were great fun and we had fantastic feedback from our guests who really enjoyed the afternoon.
I’d highly recommend Hijingo Bingo as a venue not just for the fun and immersive bingo experience, but also for the brilliant management team who were very well organised, super friendly and worked hard to deliver our event seamlessly – https://www.hijingo.com
Moving onto our second festive party of the week, on Thursday we went back to Shoreditch for our staff party at an escape room followed by a dinner. We met at BOXPARK beforehand and enjoyed some street food for lunch, as well as a few drinks to kick off celebrations.
At 2:30pm we were booked for our session at the escape rooms at which point we split into our teams and were assigned our rooms. My team’s room had the theme of time travel and our mission was to travel back in time to Paris to locate the weapon used for a murder. We all got very into the story and enjoyed the challenge of solving the mystery as a team.
Our dinner reservation at 5pm was for a pasta restaurant called Noci in Shoreditch. To start I had the endive salad with grapes, walnuts and a pistachio dressing which although was a generous portion for an entree, was still the perfect light bite to begin the meal.
My pasta of choice for the main course was strozzapreti with tomato, taggiasca olives, fried aubergine and a vegan cream cheese on top. The pasta was deliciously fresh, the sauce was very tasty and everything was served nice and hot.
For dessert I had the plant-based chocolate mousse with olive oil, sea salt and toasted almonds, a gorgeously rich and chocolatey note to finish on – https://nocirestaurant.co.uk
The night continued on at another bar in Shoreditch where the drinks continued to flow and we had a very merry time indeed. Needless to say, we know how to live up to the fun and games of silly season!
Another weekend has come and gone and now the countdown to Christmas is on. We kicked off the festive season by putting our Christmas tree up on the 1st of the month and enjoyed a cute and cosy date night this first full weekend in December.
We braved the stormy conditions and ventured over to Farnham for Saturday evening reservations at Jack & Alice.
The town was bustling despite such adverse weather and the twinkling Christmas lights made it feel very festive indeed.
My fit for the evening was my favourite dark wash flared Stradivarius jeans, this long sleeve backless mushroom colour top from Bershka,Stradivarius cowboy boots, vintage inspired oversized gold ASOS earrings, a cute chocolate brown knitted beret from Urban Outfitters and my velvet green Sandro handbag.
To complete the fit I stayed warm in my new caramel brown faux fur which I brought a few sizes up to get that chic, oversized look.
As a family run business that prides itself on working with the best local suppliers to deliver high quality fresh food and drinks, I have been keen to try this place since it opened and we weren’t disappointed.
Greeted with a warm welcome from our lovely waitress, we were seated at a table for two by the window amongst many other diners on a busy Saturday night, making for a fabulous atmosphere.
I started with an Espresso Martini as I haven’t had one for a while and with it being date night, how could I not. Needless to say, that look of love in my eyes tells you this martini hit the spot.
Being our first time, the waitress explained the extensive menu offering lots of options including fish, meat, vegetarian and vegan dishes too. They recommend about three plates each, so we ordered two plates each plus two sides as well.
I chose the roasted butternut squash with Dorstone goats cheese, caramelised onion and hazelnuts, the padron peppers (of course) and a side salad, whilst my boyfriend had the buttermilk chicken tenders with kastu dip, the duck tacos with cucumber salsa and hoisin sauce, and a side of fries.
Everything came together and you could tell it was freshly prepared as it was all perfectly hot and beautifully presented. We agreed our favourite dish had to be the duck tacos which were a delicious mexican take on the classic duck pancakes.
We decided to order an additional plate as we had room for more and we wanted to try the wild boar tortellini with a rich red wine mushroom sauce. The pasta tasted homemade and the parmesan crisp garnish was the perfect cheesy pairing to complete this exquisite dish.
We were delighted with our experience at Jack & Alice from the friendly and attentive staff, to the tasty selection of light bites which you could tell were made from the freshest ingredients. A great date night spot for something a bit different with a varied menu to suit all tastes. Checkout their website here – https://jackandalice.co.uk/farnham/
Our cosy December evening continued back home as we lit the fire, opened a bottle of red and watched my favourite Christmas movie The Holiday; the festive season is in full swing! ❤
Winter season is here so its time to get cosy and embrace cute winter fashion, indulge in foodie delights and soak up the wonderful family time.
I might be a summer girl at heart, but I can certainly get on board when it comes to snuggling in front of a film on a cold winters night, or perhaps treating myself to a cheeky cheeseboard…or two!
So grab a hot choccie, a warming cuppa or even a glass of red, and enjoy coming along with me for a jam packed social month of November.
Dani Aneka 