Easter Continued...

For this post I'm going to write a little more about my Easter, and share the rest of the photos I took with you.

If you've read my previous Easter post you'll know that Easter for me this year was a wonderfully relaxed time; the first Easter in a while that I've been able to completely enjoy. For the last five or so years things have been pretty chaotic for me and my family, and looking back Easter just whizzed by in a flash without me even realising or being able to enjoy.

For many of you reading this, you may be able to relate to me not being able to make the most of the Easter weekend. A lot of us live an extremely fast paced life and with work, school and other commitments it is incredible difficult sometimes to stop and fully enjoy such moments.

Over time I'm realising more on how important it is to make the most of special times, such as Holidays, Celebrations, and the times we spend with loved ones. Also, taking time out for ourselves; for you reading this, to acknowledge all that you are working towards. All of us are going through a heck of a lot all of the time and we often forget to give ourselves some self respect and a much needed pat on the back. 

Something that I find is great to help me with this is staying in the present moment; to make sure I do find the time to stop and savor such special moments. This doesn't necessarily have to be during a Celebration or a Holiday such as Easter. But dedicating a day in the week to slow down, to relax and to enjoy; if not a day, perhaps an evening.

Doing so is guaranteed to help refresh the mind, to help with feelings of stress, or a low mood, and is the perfect opportunity to acknowledging all the great things there are in life, especially at this time of year when its getting brighter outside, with longer, warmer days and the world is finally waking up from the dark, gloomy Winter slog. 

Right, so now I've gotten that ramble out of the way (and thank you if you've read this far!!) I'll go back to Easter Sunday...

I spent the day with my Mum, we had a very relaxed day; starting off with waking my Mum up with Easter gifts in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other and later grabbing a stack of magazines to flick through. 

Then, after having this much needed slow morning we headed out for a lovely yet rather windy morning walk along the seafront, followed by a wander along some of the back streets of Hove and Brighton, the Sunlight on this morning was great for taking some photos, so of course I did just that. I'll now share some of my photos of the buildings and surroundings.

This was a little Mews off on of the streets in Hove. I love the shadow effect from the bright sunlight bouncing off the Terrace houses. 

This walled, gated house and courtyard garden at the end of the Mews really fascinated me. Although it was difficult to see much of the garden I quite like the feeling that I know there must be a beautiful little courtyard behind the gate. The fact that its kept so private and hidden away adds to the beauty and fascination and keeps the mind thinking of what may be behind the closed doors.

I felt quite inspired with the lighting for this shot. There was just something about the Sunlight on this Easter Sunday that made me want to take photos of everything! Does this photo make you wonder what 'La Cucina' is? I'll leave you guessing...

Here, the clouds started cast over the blue sky and the only Sunlight was shinning on the Sea, glistening brightly which formed a silhouette of the Church. The tall, long pole thing standing out to the left of the Church is the i360...a new viewing tower currently being built, what are your thoughts on it?

After our wander we headed for a cup of tea at a cafe called 'Verano Lounge'; my Mum recommended to go as she'd been a couple of months ago for a work thing and has been raving about it ever since. I can now see why she raved about it so much and we both really enjoyed our time chilling, sipping tea and coffee, chatting and reading. 

The staff are very friendly, and the cafe itself is quirky, spacious and grand, having plenty of room for dining tables when there for a meal, as well as huge comfy, leather sofas and arm chairs if there for a more relaxed coffee. Even though its pretty big and airy the atmosphere still feels warm and inviting. We both now agree its our favourite nearby cafe and I can guarantee we'll be going back in no time which I'm very excited about!

You can now see what I mean about Verano Lounge being quite grand.

The Cafe is filled with all sorts of works of Art which as a lover of Art myself, I definitely enjoyed admiring and looking around at them.

I adore the fact that they allow dogs into the cafe, obviously only well behaved dogs, hehe. But yes, I just thought it was lovely. Plus this dog in particular was incredibly cute. He even had a little teddy to play with - bless.

Once back home we spent the afternoon preparing Easter Dinner and as soon as we got all the dishes cooking I prepared a little Easter egg hunt to do for a bit of fun and giggles, which we enjoyed a lot, and I felt like a little kid again :) Finally after Dinner we fell asleep in front of the TV whilst watching films. It was the best day I’ve had for a while and a memory I’ll remember forever.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, it means a lot! I'd love to know your thoughts on it, so make sure to leave a comment or private message me - I'd love that :)

Lots of love xxx