Returning to the Biggest Carrot Show and playing with my Nikon D3300 DSLR

In preparation for my Year Abroad, I've invested in a new camera to take with me to Germany. It's a Nikon D3300 DSLR, which my camera-savvy dad tells me is a nice little starter camera for somebody who, a year ago, was relying on an iPad for photographing purposes. It's considerably smaller than his own camera, and nice and light to carry around, which makes it perfect to take on any potential trips and outings at home and abroad.

Once I'd remembered to take off the lens cap, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the D3300 was to use; at the moment, I have everything set to 'auto' while I learn what all of the different functions do, but I've still taken some nice pictures. The seven photos in this post were taken last week before, during and after the Latchley, Chilsworthy and Cox Park Show, which, as you may remember, I visited last year at the very start of my blogging escapades, way back when everything had to be Instagrammed to oblivion.

Editing-wise, I've not done a great deal to the photos I've taken with the D3300 so far, although I've enjoyed playing around with things like the contrast and gamma correction in IrfanView. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some of the camera's inbuilt settings once I get used to it a little more, so I'll keep updating as I learn more - and, of course, as I go on the trips to take the pictures in the first place!

Blue skies and belated blogging

You may or may not have noticed that I've been taking something of a blogging hiatus since the New Year. Returning to university, exams and general hecticness have meant that I've not been able to do much in the way of writing blog posts, not to mention the weather - the UK's biblical storms have not exactly been conducive to my ramblings, as they've meant that I haven't been able to get out and about to take nice pictures of anything. 

However, this once-in-a-century/eight-in-two-months freak weather has got me reminiscing about the lovely weather that we had by chance when we visited St Ives, Cornwall, just after Christmas. By then, some of the country was already underwater and further destruction was already forecast, but somehow the far western tip of Britain managed to escape it for the most part. 

Taking advantage of a mid-winter deal, we booked to stay at Tregenna Castle, a beautiful hotel with views over the town and the Atlantic Ocean. Here are some of my favourite pictures from our brilliant mini-break - hopefully we'll be back in St Ives very soon.

The festive joys of late-night shopping at Princesshay

Not a lot of things make me feel more festive than late-night shopping. The fairy lights, cold winter air and bustling streets could make even the most unremitting Scrooge feel Christmassy in no time - when it goes right, that is. But if you think that tackling the High Street for presents, particularly under cover of darkness, is hell on earth, perhaps Exeter's Princesshay could help to persuade you otherwise.

The lovely people at the shopping precinct have been organising an array of events over the festive season to make your Christmas gift-hunting an exciting, enjoyable experience. When we visited a couple of weeks ago, we refuelled during our shopping trip, making the most of the free churros and Pimms offer, exclusive to Princesshay customers with a receipt from any of the centre's stores or cafés.

Younger children can be difficult to keep happy, but Princesshay had Father Christmas, the Snowman and his Snowdog on hand to entertain even the tiniest shoppers - and even my boyfriend, who will be 20 this week, the big baby...

Official style spotters were also recruited to seek out the best-dressed shoppers and some of Princesshay's most stylish buys were on display on the winter catwalk; pieces from the likes of Oasis, Reiss and Coast demonstrated that fashion doesn't have to come with a designer pricetag and can easily be found on the High Street.

If you're not quite sorted on the Christmas present front, there's still plenty of time to get down to Princesshay before the big day - and tomorrow the Coca Cola truck will be in Bedford Street from 9am-5pm, so if you're a fan of that iconic festive advert, make sure to pop down and have your picture taken! 

Written in partnership with Princesshay shopping centre, Exeter.

It's beginning to look just a little bit like Christmas...

The weather has got a lot colder recently and I'm starting to feel festive! Although I'm not sure that we're properly into winter yet, we've had a couple of frosty mornings and there's a late autumnal chill in the air. The colours of the trees on our street here in Exeter look so pretty and fortunately they seem to have remained intact, in spite of the 'storm' we supposedly had a couple of weeks ago. 

Oli and I took a break from our heavy work schedules last weekend and strolled down towards the quayside, with our trusty Exeter Trails Café Culture map in hand. We visited the Coffee Cellar, a lovely independent coffee shop situated in one of the Victorian wool and cider cellars, and I made what I thought was a valiant attempt to finish the most enormous slice of carrot cake known to man. 

After our refreshments, we walked along the riverbank. The storm seemed to have done a little damage here but it was still a lovely excursion and it's always nice to have a break from the textbooks, translations and such like.

This weekend, Crikey It's Vintage held their Christmas handmade, retro and vintage fair at the Thistle Hotel in Exeter and I braved the planned march by the English Defence League to do a little Christmas shopping. There were some lovely festive decorations, including bunting, baubles and tree ornaments, as well as pretty handmade gifts. These earrings from Kimbows would make great stocking fillers and you can mix'n'match any of the necklaces and bracelets for a set price.

Although I've seen and admired The Peagreen Furniture Company's stalls at many of Crikey's previous fairs, I've not bought anything from them until now. While I was smelling some of their festive scented candles (including eggnog, spiced gingerbread and cinnamon toasted almonds - yum!), I spotted a perfect present for a loved one. Of course, I couldn't tell you what it was or who it's for until after December 25th!

Kitsch In Sync and Otto Retro both had stalls at the fair. I thought that Kitsch in particular had a vast range of pretty little gifts for Christmas; the problem with trying to shop at Crikey is that I saw far more things that I wanted to buy for myself than for others, which is v selfish, but everything was just too lovely. 

I really ought to pay a visit to Exeter-based Otto, but I've not yet made it! I rather wanted to try on all of their hats and there was a beautiful evening dress on display. There's a masquerade ball for the joint languages' societies in January, so I may find myself in want of a new-old ballgown yet...

As well as some familiar favourites, I came across Ravintsara for the first time. Based locally in Crediton, Sara creates hand-crafted, unique accessories and bags, including these pretty felt ones above. Most of her products are made using recycled materials, so they're good for the environment and, at affordable prices, good for your purse too; I'll definitely be looking out for Ravintsara at future events.

The Christmas lights are being switched on in Exeter's city centre on Thursday, and the German-style festive market will be opening on the same evening, so there's going to be lots to look forward to over my next few weeks in the city. 

Don't forget that the Unique Boutique arts and crafts market will be at Exeter Phoenix on November 30th and December 14th, so do come along and, in the meantime, keep an eye out for a new blog post in due course!