… as we drove down the winding little lanes lined with rows of tall trees, we were greeted by the most beautiful and cozy Log House sitting nearly isolated on a beautiful lake. Just as we pulled into the driveway, the front door opened and who was there to greet us? Jude Law! Have I been transported into The Holiday?! Yes, is the answer.
So, that might not be entirely true, I was just trying to set the scene of how I was feeling all weekend at my Cotswolds getaway with Log House Holidays and my #GirlSquad. Myself, Ellie from The Wandering Quinn, Sam from Yoko Meshi, Sophie from Sophie’s Suitcase and Kara from Heels In My Backpack spent a relaxing girls weekend in the Cotswolds and it was probably the most English thing I’ve ever done.
We stayed in the INCREDIBLE six person Kaiser Cabin at Log House Holidays tucked inside the heart of The Cotswolds. I’d never been to this area of England and it was always somewhere I dreamed of going, basically since I watched the film The Holiday. The two story eco log house sits right on the edge of a peaceful lake, with hardly any other cabins in sight, which made me think of how it would be the perfect romantic getaway, yah know, eventually ….
On the inside of the log house, everything was made from beautifully crafted wood and had a very Scandinavian Christmas feel to it; they even had a Christmas tree set up for us – how cute!! My favourite part was the red spiral staircase going up to the second floor! The bedrooms each had two twin beds however, each room in all the cabins can be made into double or twin beds, too. Another showstopper was the bathroom – it looked like something out of a spa! It had a beautiful claw bathtub with a skylight overtop, which I did not get to take full advantage of! Guess I’ll just have to go back!
Ellie and I bunked up in one of the top bedrooms where we found a little lavender pouch on our pillows – a nice touch (and perfect for keeping your travel backpack smelling fresh). We arrived a bit late after the 3 hour drive up from London but we were spoiled with a beautiful dinner being prepared by the Holistic Chef, Jamie Raftery from La Belle Assiette. This company provides professional chefs who come to your home, with their own ingredients, prepare you an incredible meal, serve you AND do the dishes! No more pretending you made store-bought dishes! Where has this been all my life?!?!
Jamies gave us a little goodie bag afterwards with some delicious Argan cooking oil from Taste of Argan Oil as well as a little sample of ‘Reggae Refresh’ from Born Wild Tea (both of which I’ve since devoured). Over dinner, we sipped on some Canadian Ice Wine (my contribution, duh) and had a cheers to all the fun times we had that year. Sitting around the table with these girls who I look up to was a really nice feeling, and felt like a good way to wind down the year.
A few weeks prior, we decided to do a fun little Secret Santa with everyone. Soph ended up having me (I had no idea), and she gave me a lovely tin of loose Christmas blend tea from Harvey Nichols, but that wasn’t the real gift. She surprised me with a video Christmas greeting from my family back home in Nova Scotia, Canada!!!! My family, including my fluff ball bunny Kingston, all had on Christmas hats and were standing in front of my families Christmas tree! It was so adorable!! Me being the sap that I am, burst out in tears! Being an expat, this is my fourth Christmas away from home, so this gesture was so appreciated and hit me right in the feels. You can see the recording of me being a bawl bag below:
After we ate and I cleaned my mascara away, we lit the fire and lounged around on the comfy couches watching Mean Girls, all of us reciting every line in the film because we’ve all seen it about a million times, and roasted some marshmallows. Andddd relax.
I was the last to wake up the next am (it was my work Christmas party the night before — what a night). After the vegan meal we ate the night before, we felt we should try and moderately keep up with the healthy living and cheffed up some avo, feta on toast with eggs and chorizo. It was a lovely morning so we went for a dip in the hot tub and watched the morning mist rise from the lake. I’ve never gone in a hot tub in the cold (I know, weird right?), but you actually stay really warm! Naturally, we had a mini photoshoot as you can see:
Being a waterbaby with a lake and canoe nearby, we obvs had to take a little cruise. Me being a backseat rower directed from my comfy perch on the stern while Kara and Sophie rowed along. #Diva
If in your mind you’re thinking: this sounds like that scene out of PS I Love You, you’re not wrong. Since movie channeling seemed to be the theme of this trip, I will also say we narrowly avoided a Titanic moment when your boat drifted into a thin layer of ice! CRUNCH!
It wouldn’t be a perfect Cotswolds weekend without a trip to a country pub. We headed into nearby Crudwell into the quaint Potting Shed Pub, which turned out to be quite fancy. Apparently the Royals have a Christmas lunch in it every year – lush! I ordered the Roast breast of chicken, pot roasted root vegetables, morteau sausage and thyme and a pint of the local. It was tres delicious (Royals, if you’re reading this, I speak your language. Adopt me as your own).
After another round of girl chat, we all tucked away for the night.
I was woken up the next morning by Ellie saying ‘LIV, LIV, LOOK OUTSIDE!! IT’S SNOWING!!!’ There was reports of snowfall in the weather forecast but I didn’t believe it because for the past three years Britain has said, ‘this will be the coldest year on record!’ and it never even hits freezing. But, I jumped out of bed faster than a kid on Christmas morning, drew back the curtains and squealed loud enough that people in Timbuktu probably heard. There WAS snow! And LOADS of it!!! I couldn’t contain myself, I was jumping around like a small child. I put my wellies on and ran outside and started making snowmen. If you saw my Instastories you’d know I went a tad overboard! It was honestly a Christmas miracle. I was SO SO happy! It was the perfect way to end a fantastic weekend with the gals. I didn’t even mind that the snow somehow knocked out the power overnight, it only added to the experience.
We cooked breakfast on top of the woodstove while listening to Christmas songs and watching the snowflakes fall outside, I felt like I was inside a snowglobe. It was so dreamy.
In every sense, this was the perfect weekend.
I was invited to stay at Log House Holidays as a guest, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The post Log House Holidays: The Perfect Girls Weekend in the Cotswolds appeared first on Liv on a Shoestring.
