Author: Sheree Milli

My house-buying journey

Buckle up, it’s a looong one.  Jan 2021 I’ve moved back to my mum’s during lockdown and decided to give up my London flat, so I have the motivation to start this house-buying ‘journey’. I hate the phrase ‘journey’ but as this is a flipping epic saga it makes sense.  I set up alerts on Rightmove and draw up a list of must-haves and definitely-absolutely-no’s for my dream pad.  I want a period property with at least 2 bedrooms. Nice to have: my own front door. Very nice to have: a separate dining room, bay window and garden.  It’s been SUCH a long process and I feel like my life is kind of on hold. @chez.shez Alerts start pinging for properties but as it’s lockdown I don’t rush to follow up–big mistake–properties are getting snapped up in record time.  See a lovely 2 bed Victorian terrace with a garden on a quiet street next to a cute little pub. I think this is a contender, call up the estate agents and book a viewing. I’m …

Buying Your First Home as a Single Woman

Owning my own home was something I never thought was possible. As a fully paid-up member of generation rent I was fully of the belief that home ownership was simply out of reach. I left university smack bang in the middle of a recession, interned for free and worked hard in an industry renowned for not paying that well (fashion). All while paying extortionate London rents. I never had a penny of savings, never had any money at the end of the month, and frequently got my card declined at the supermarket (until I realised that any transaction under £20 wouldn’t register with my bank and proceeded to get lots of overdraft fees). This sounds all doom and gloom… but there’s a happy ending! You can buy a house as a single woman. This month I had my offer on a house accepted and a mortgage accepted with a good lender. So how did I do it? Read on… Widen your options for where you want to live I have lived in London for almost …

How to Spend a Weekend in Margate

I recently took my first visit to the little seaside town of Margate. To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement, I’ve been checking RightMove for Margate properties since I got back (pretty cheap, if you’re asking). It’s just an hour and a half from London, easy to get around and full of fun things to do. Here’s my 2 night, 3 day itinerary… Friday Get the train from London Victoria, booked early so got a return for around £25. Drink some tinnies on the train there. At Margate station we can’t get a cab and there’s no Uber. So we walk to our AirBnb which takes about 15 minutes. Our Airbnb in the Cliftonville area is lovely and has sea views. The host gives us some insider tips to Margate including a restaurant suggestion Roost, which we make a booking for that evening. There’s an Aldi supermarket round the corner so we get some provisions for the weekend. Wine and beer and bagels, eggs, salmon and avocado for breakfast. And snacks of course. …

Your Guide to Agonda, Goa

Agonda was the perfect place for me to end my trip to Goa, India. It’s definitely a restful place, so if you want parties and action then nearby Palolem might be more your bag. I really wanted to RELAX on my holiday – something that I don’t usually do while I’m away. So Agonda was ideal because there’s no temptation – the pace of life is so slow and there’s a huge yoga community, so it’s hard not to get caught up in the healthy lifestyle while you’re here.   I f*cking glowed after a few days here. Seriously, my skin was radiant, I was well-rested, I developed triceps after the most intense vinyasa classes I’ve ever tried. And the beach is wonderful; quiet and full of adorable cows that I took to feeding each evening. In fact, I had quite the menagerie of animals: two dogs that slept under my sun lounger each day, a drunken white horse (for real), kittens and, of course, a herd of cows of various shapes and sizes. Anyway, …

Cinque Terre Travel Guide

Planning a Trip to Cinque Terre? Italy has too many beauty spots to choose from, but if you like quaint villages and stunning sea views then the Cinque Terre is a must visit place. Read on for tips on visiting Italy’s Cinque Terre. Which village should I stay in? I can only speak from my experience, but having spoken to other people while I was there, I’m pretty confident I made the right decision when I chose to use Monterosso as my base. Monterosso is probably the most happening of the five villages and has the biggest beach – which is stunning! It’s also super easy to get around, it’s so small you can get everywhere on foot. How do I get there? I flew to Pisa for a wedding in Tuscany, then got the train from Pisa. My flights cost £65 form London and then the trains were only about £30 return for a first class ticket. I urge you to get the trains in Italy – if you’re British the cleanliness, punctuality and …

How I Saved Enough Money to Travel

Let me start by saying I started at zero, well, less than zero. I had literally no savings at all – I’d never had any. I also had a few outstanding debts, nothing major, and a period of unemployment after quitting my job. So all the methods I used to save money were legit and off my own back. I am just not a natural saver at all, I’m pretty bad with money so it was really hard, I admit, but I did it. Temp Work This is something a lot of people do throughout their studies or as graduates, I had never done any temporary work but I signed up to a few agencies after starting and quitting a permanent job with people that I literally hated, and soon found temporary admin and reception work. I must say working in dull, lifeless offices was quite a shock after my years working in fashion in London. One office I worked in was so like ‘The Office’ from the comedy show I thought I was being …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Panama: Part. 3 Bocas Del Toro

Bocas Del Toro is definitely a party town, I loved the vibe, it felt very Caribbean and just fun. It’s really close to Costa Rico and is so lush, green and tropical. Bocas is comprised of four main islands: Isla Colon, Isla Carenero, Isla Bastimentos, and Isla Solarte, and you get about by getting water taxis everywhere (so fun). How to get there We flew from Panama city ($100). It was such a good flight, very minimal security, it took about 5 mins to get in the airport and the flight is around 40mins. Where to stay Bambuda Lodge is amazing. It’s a completely off-the-grid ecolodge. All the water is filtered rainwater, the electricity is solar-powered and there’s no plastic straws (haha). It really is stunning, set in lush greenery with gasp-worthy views and a giant waterside. We paid approx $50 per night for a private room but they also have dorms. There’s a great and free jungle trail right next to the lodge which takes about an hour and ends in this cool lagoon …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Panama: Part. 2 San Blas Islands

Let me first say… this was the best travel experience of my entire life. Despite being a copywriter, very wordy and verbose, it’s really hard to put into words just how wonderful the San Blas Islands are. There are many ways to visit these islands between Panama and Columbia but we chose to push the boat out (there’s a pun in there) and charter a private boat. This was really expensive BUT ultimately so worth it and it made our 5 days very, very special. A brief history of San Blas (Guna Yala): They are 350+ small islands off the coast of Panama and Columbia. There are indigenous people called Guna who inhabit about 49 of the islands, who originally came from Columbia 100s of years ago, the Guna worship a god named Erragon and their currency used to be coconuts so you’re not allowed to touch any coconuts in San Blas. It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty with pristine waters. We arranged everything via a company called I Travel by Boat who were …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Panama: Part. 1 Panama City

Full disclosure, I did minimal research before traveling to Panama… in fact i wanted to go to Peru or Columbia but the flights to Panama were cheaper. I’m so glad I ended up in this latin paradise, and I’m baffled as to why it’s not a more popular travel destination. Truly one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been, here is my guide to 2 weeks in Panama… Panama City I flew from London to Panama City via Madrid which took about 13 hours all in all. The flights cost roughly £530 return with Air Iberia. Getting a taxi outside the airport is easy and it’s about $30 to the city centre. Panama City looks WILD. I had no idea there were so many skyscrapers – it looks so modern! It really is an impressive skyline and as it’s right on the ocean, it just looks so cool. I stayed in a place called Selina which I found on booking.com, I thought it was a design hotel but it was actually a really nice …

#50booksin2018 August & September

This year I set myself a challenge to read 50 books, and I though it would be a breeze and I’d read way more. But it hasn’t been. Keeping a diary of my reads has been great as I can see how my reading peaks and troughs over the year. Some months I’m a real book worm, others, life takes over or I simply don’t feel like it. This month is actually two combined as I’ve had a busy one. Anyway, here’s what I’ve read in August and September… Valley of The Dolls This was a Ladies Lit Squad read and it was unanimously well received – this never happens. I loved this fast-paced Hollywood tale, and while I laughed at some of the seriously dated references (a ‘sleeping cure’ for weight loss? Please.), the characters did resonate with me. This is a classic for a reason. Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller I was really looking forward to reading this tale of a historian staying in an old country pile with only a bohemian couple …