Welcome Lytham Girl Diaries blogger Alexa
“Women who wear black lead colourful lives” so Neiman Marcus; the founders of the American luxury department store once said, and I agree. A good 90% of the time you’ll find me dressed almost entirely in black, don’t ask me why, I just love it! But don’t be fooled; my life is not a monochrome palette or a dull shade of grey as you’ll come to see…..
Start at the very beginning
On a sunny, albeit slightly chilly Spring evening clad in black (of course!) with my oversized grey scarf I wait in Barrique for the arrival of the fabulous Denize; Lytham Life and Style herself. After a flustered greeting (she’d just been to the pre-opening of the new Gusto restaurant) we ordered two flutes of the Anna Rosé Cava, delicious by the way, and sat ourselves down.
We had first met 9 months earlier at the launch party and fashion show for my new online store Avenue A, so we had a bit of catching up to do. After all the pleasantries we got down to business and from that day #LythamGirlDiaries was born! The life and times of a late twentysomething Lytham girl blogging about where’s buzzing, where to be seen and what to be doing out and about in our beautiful little town and locally
Lytham is forever changing whilst always maintaining its style, character and charm, I would say a little like me and add a mischievous wink but perhaps that’s a touch too tongue in cheek for my introduction to you all, I’ll save that side of me for when we’re a few blogs along.
You’re bound to have noticed that there have been quite a few new places opening their doors in Lytham over the last couple of months or so, and as the key to most Lythamites hearts is through their love of good food and drink, that is where my focus lies for this post. I’m going to let you in on where I’ve been, what I’ve been getting up to and my opinion on the new “it” places in town……
Lytham gets a bit of an unnecessary bashing sometimes for being pretentious and snobby, admittedly it can be on occasion, but that’s more about certain individuals rather than the town or venue that you’re in. I like to think if you’ve got a positive fun-loving vibe going on then those that don’t, are the ones with the problem and most likely to pick up on the “pretentious” atmosphere….leave them to it, get another round in and have a good time! Cheers to that!
Barrique Wine Shop, Bar and Deli, Market Square
Ambiance Bar and Restaurant, Henry Street
Gusto, Dicconson Terrace
These three welcomed new additions to Lytham have been on my go-to list recently, and by go to, I mean frequent as often as possible, so much so I should really be given loyalty cards or something!
Barrique
I have lost count of how many times I’ve visited Barrique since it opened, I LOVE the place and everything about it; the relaxed atomosphere out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the “Champagne Strip” otherwise known as the Dicconson Terrace-Henry Street curve; the friendly greetings and service from Jake and his lovely team; the deli menu and delicious foods; Tapas Tuesday buying a bottle of wine and getting a complimentary platter to eat; the fizz, the wine…..oh the list goes on and on. This little gem gets a Gold Star from me and that is a privilege in itself because I am not so easy to please! Ha!
Gusto
Bringing a big city restaurant to our little town and doing it in style, just what we needed! So far to date I’ve been three times and have six more visits in the diary for July alone, it must be good to get me going so often and especially in such a short space of time. With one visit already under my belt this week and the other six pending it works out at almost two visits a week…..bye bye bikini body **sob**.
The décor and interior is designed to be “inspired by the traditional grand cafes of Europe, Gusto is all about making the everyday exquisite” and it ticks all the boxes in my eyes. I just need to get all my oufits planned now for the Gin Tasting evening, Cocktail Club soiree, mid-week lunch, Cocktail Masterclass, Brunch and yet another delicious meal…I think I’ll leave the figure hugging mesh bodysuit and pencil skirt in the wardrobe next time and let my tummy relax and enjoy the chocolate fondue dessert!
Ambiance
This new Turkish Restaurant & Cocktail Music Bar is the subject of another blog, as since writing this, was lucky enough to attend a special tasting evening in the restaurant, although I have been to the bar loads recently…….I’m usually the one dancing manically, so watch out for me & the next blog!!
Until next time
So there ends my first official #LythamGirlDiaries blog post, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved living it and relaying it all to you lovely people. Next LGD post coming soon, and if you see me out and about don’t be shy, come over and say hello!
Kisses
x x
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @alexandraelizat and Instagram alexaelizablog
*All photographs courtesy of @alexandraelizat unless otherwise stated.
*All photographs courtesy of @alexandraelizat unless otherwise stated.