Three Have Fun in St Ives

The Treasure family recently relocated to the glorious St Ives for a week's holiday. The weather was mixed but it didn't dampen our spirits! Mr Treasure and I have been going to St Ives for a number of years and it's become our favourite place to escape to, so it was the perfect choice for our very first family holiday. Little Treasure seemed to enjoy herself and had a number of 'firsts' during the week, including feeling sand beneath her feet and rolling from her back on to her front. It was Mr Treasure's very first Father's Day whilst we were there too!

We love St Ives so much, we miss it when we're not there! There's such a lovely atmosphere to the town, the sea's the most amazing shades of blues and greens and the light's wonderful (probably why so many artists are drawn there). I love watching all the boats bob about in the harbour when the tide's in and then wandering amongst them when it's out.

There are certain things that I think are synonymous with St Ives: the sea, boats, Barbara Hepworth and cats (just the boats missing from this photo)!

No trip to St Ives would be complete without a visit to the Seafood Cafe on Fore Street. Mr Treasure and I always book a table there as soon as we get to St Ives so we don't miss out! We always go for the option of choosing fish from the counter, accompanied by a sauce and mash (or pasta). I thoroughly recommend the seabass with mango. chilli and kaffir lime sauce and parmesan mash...my mouth's watering just thinking about it!

This is such a fabulous shop! Vintage-inspired fabric, stationery and homewares aplenty.

There are lots of great shops to explore in St Ives, from galleries, gift shops and the odd vintage boutique to rummage in, to all sorts of places to buy yummy food when you're feeling a bit weary. We didn't sample the delights of this bakery but I loved the almost vintage look of the shop itself.

We went to Falmouth one day (it rained!) and stumbled across Willow and Stone. There are two shops - one selling all sorts of paper goods and another selling vintage ironmongery.

I had a good mooch around the Willow and Stone shop selling all things paper-related and came away with a hand-printed notebook which has 'Tickety Boo!' on the cover in jolly blue and red lettering.

I absolutely love going to Marazion and St Michael's Mount. I have such fond memories of going there with my parents when I was little and it was really special to be able to take Little Treasure there this year. I had to carry her over to the Mount and back as the causeway cobbles are very bumpy and she was getting bounced around rather a lot in her buggy!

We discovered this vintage shop tucked away in Marazion...

...it was decorated with the most fabulous wallpaper (Cath Kidston, I think)!

I've been a fan of Poppy Treffry's work for a few years now, so imagine my delight when I found she's opened a shop in St Ives! Needless to say I had to pay it a visit!

We stayed in a lovely apartment just out of the main part of town. We even had our own outdoor space, complete with these brightly coloured mosaics.

One of my favourite St Ives pastimes is to search on the beaches for sea glass and china that's been rolled by the waves. It has a lovely worn quality to it. I noticed the maker of one of the mosaics in the apartment's courtyard had used china that had been washed and weathered by the sea.

I think we'll have to book our next jaunt to St Ives soon...I'm missing it too much already!