We all go through phases where we feel like we aren’t performing or feeling our best and it’s natural to go through these periods, because let’s face it, we can’t be on our A game all of the time. I for one regularly go through these periods but then I have to take a moment to remind myself of a few important things to keep myself in check and work towards getting myself back on track to being the best version of myself I can be. So here are a few pointers on how you too can do just that…
Don’t Worry About What Anyone Else Is Doing
It’s easy to look at what someone else is doing and take it as an example of what you should be doing in your own life but the truth is, we all have different strengths and abilities so what works for someone else may not work for you and vice versa. As they say, comparison is the thief of joy and aside from that, it’s also a massive time waster. So next time you find yourself looking to someone else for an example of what you think you should be doing/achieving in life, just remember that, that time could be better spent working on your own goals instead.
Give Yourself Time Off When It’s Needed
Whilst it may feel like you’re unable to stop when you have a gazillion things on your plate, it’s so important to schedule time out when it’s needed. If you’re overworked and tired you’re not going to be able to perform your best or be your best you, so it’s better to take time out and then come back and complete those tasks when you’re feeling back on your A game. It could be as little as taking time out for a bubble bath and switching off from the outside world for an hour or two, to taking a week out and getting away from it all completely. However you do it, just make sure you allow yourself that time and schedule it in when and for however long may be appropriate. Everyone needs a break occasionally and don’t feel bad for doing so. Give yourself those well deserved breaks and then you can come back feeling refreshed and back at your best again.
Do What Makes You Happy
If you’re lucky enough to do a job that you love, then great, but if not then make sure that the time spent outside of work is used to do things that truly makes you happy. Now I know that even outside of work, life admin can often get in the way but it’s so important that you still make time for those things that you love; Be it spending time with family, hanging out with friends, working on a project or making time for your hobby. Sometimes we can let the time slip by until we realise that there is no time left at all and so making time for the things that bring us happiness is mandatory.
So that’s it and those are a few tips for how to be the best version of yourself. Obviously it’s important to take care of yourself and make sure you’re getting fed and watered properly but I thought I’d save you the excercise/healthy eating spiel in this post. Anyway, those are a few of my tips, what are some of yours? I’d love to know in the comments below. Until next time, ciao for now!
At the end of August Damien and I decided to take a trip to Porto. I visited Portugal for the first time at the start of the year when I went to Lisbon (which you can read all about here) and it seems I’ve not been able to keep away since, as I then went for a second time for work to Vilamoura in May and then finally again for this trip last month. It’s fair to say that I’ve well and truly fallen for Portugal and Porto did not disappoint.
This has probably been my most relaxing trip of the year so far. I say relaxing, however we did managed to walk just over 94,000 steps within the 6 full days we were there. As you’ll be able to see from some of the pictures, Porto is incredibly hilly and we made it our mission most days to walk down the hill from the old part of town where we were staying, to walk along the river to then cross the bridge and do the same along the other side. We’d often do this twice per day as we did the same when we came out in the evenings too. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side of course…all jokes aside though, although both sides of the river have their fair share of fun, we just personally preferred the opposite side for restaurants as it was slightly less touristy. Plus although both sides of the Douro river have rather impressive views of Porto, we both preferred the view looking out from the opposite side to where we were staying as it was slightly prettier, so there you go.
Where We Stayed
We stayed in Porto for 6 nights, which was a good amount of time but 5 nights would have probably been enough. Once again we opted for airBnb for our accommodation and stayed in the Baixa area which was close to lots of cool neighbourhood bars and restaurants frequented by the locals. I really liked the area we stayed in and would stay around that part again if I were to go back.
Food
We had some really good food whilst in Porto and of course there was lots of good seafood available. If you are into fish then the sardines are a good dish to try whilst dining out by the river – but like I mentioned I’d recommend heading to the restaurants on the side opposite to the old town part if you do. And if unlike me you do eat meat then you may want to try the Francesinha, which seems to be one of Porto’s most popular dishes.
Port
And finally, I of course cannot speak about Porto without speaking about Port – one of things which it is most famous for. I would definitely recommend taking a visit to one of the many Port cellars and of course doing a bit of Port tasting whilst you’re there too. We chose to visit Graham’s, which was one of the Port places situated furthest away from where we were staying (but as you probably guessed – we like to walk). I’d recommend the walk though because the views from the outside of the winery are quite beautiful (as you can see on the image below) and of course the Port is worth tasting too.
The Low Down
When we visited: August 2017 Weather: Average 28 – 32 Degrees C How long we stayed: 6 nights. Where we stayed: Baixa. Accommodation: Airbnb. Must Try: Port Tasting. Sardines and the cod. Recommendations:
-Chill out at the open air bar, Base.
-Check out the bars/restaurants in the Baixa area – and go to the Champanheria da Baixa and try the champagne sangria, it’s soooo good. The atmosphere is also great on the weekend evenings.
-Go to Galeria de Paris for a super cheap yet tasty buffet lunch in the most random restaurant ever!
-Visit the Igreja de Santa Clara church.
-Go up Clérigos Tower at night for great nighttime views of the city.
-Find Arc of Truth (wine bar) for a cosy intimate setting, great wine and window views of Douro River.
-Go to Graham’s Winery for great views and a tour of the wine cellars – and port tasting (obviously). Would I go again: Yes and would recommend a trip in August too.
I well and truly feel like I’ve burnt the candle at both ends. You know that friend that will say yes to social plans 95% of the time, even the super last minute ones, well that’s me. The problem is, not being one to say no means I’m like this even when I have a thousand other things on my plate and eventually it often leads me to grinding to a complete and utter halt. I say this, but obviously work still needs to carry on, previously made social plans are still in the diary and meanwhile my mind is ready to switch off, I’m left feeling unmotivated and the most appealing option is to go into hibernation.
I think a big part of this comes down to not wanting to disappoint and trying to always be there for the people around me. When I say no to something or have to cancel plans I’m always left feeling so guilty, when in reality I know my friends and loved ones would understand, but I just can’t help feeling bad. There’s also the occasional fear of missing out and for the most part I just love having fun, so will rarely pass up the opportunity.
And that’s the thing, I do have a lot of fun. I can think of so many memories from this year alone that will set me off giggling just thinking about them. I’ve been able to spend some quality time and make great memories with some of my favourite people and I’ve had a lot of pretty cool adventures.
Whilst I sometimes do well with juggling it all, I need to remember that I occasionally need to stop in order to prevent me from eventually dropping everything. Saying no and easing up my social calendar is something I’ve never been great at and I absolutely love making plans, but it’s vital I get better at it in order to allow myself to have some rest and recuperation.
They talk about the work/life balance but I feel like I need ‘time out’ thrown in there too. I don’t mean stopping everything altogether, I just mean giving myself periods where I take a step back from social engagements and focus on work and me time, instead of trying to fit everything in all at once and eventually burning out altogether. This is just a reminder to myself that it’s okay to say no, it’s okay to not be available for everything and it’s okay to have those days that you might not have other plans but that you keep free anyway, even just to have a day for yourself.
Today I’m sharing the final look from my Lisbon trip, which I feel is long overdue, considering the trip was almost a month ago and now my next trip is in less than a week!
Anyway I’m still excited to share this look, as it was my favourite outfit of the trip and in this spot we found the perfect setting, with the blue tiled walls in the back, which complimented what I was wearing perfectly.
Before our travels I’d wondered what to wear in Lisbon, and more so, what to wear in Lisbon during the winter? I knew the weather was going to be milder than in England around this time and I was also aware that a lot of European cities tend to keep it pretty casual, which of course was fine by me.
I did pack heeled boots for the trip, just incase I wanted to step things up a notch in the evenings, however I found myself repeatedly reaching for my trusty Converse. In fact my friend L’Oréal and I both didn’t stop wearing our Converse and found ourselves ‘twinning it’ for the majority of the trip. We even wore our Converse for a night out, which was just as well, as we ended up dancing away until the early hours of the morning, which made it sheer bliss being heel-free.
Although we mostly kept it casual, that isn’t to say that we didn’t put some effort into our dressing. Being able to ditch several layers due to slightly better weather, got me excited to re-work some of my outfit favourites. You will see me repeatedly rocking my Mint Velvet 3 in 1 coat back home but it had been a while since I’d be able to wear it sleeveless. It worked perfectly with this Topshop shirt. Although I’ve been wearing this shirt quite frequently, I haven’t had much chance to show off the wonderful sleeves on it whilst out and about, as they are usually covered up by the sleeves of my coat. I felt the two pieces worked perfectly together and I can’t wait to team them together agin when the weather starts to warm up a little at home.
Finally, a quick note about the jeans. They are of course my favourite go to Farleigh style from Asos (which I wear repeatedly) but you may have noticed the slightly lighter shade of denim. That is of course because I decided to add a third pair to my wardrobe, which I actually featured here. However I since decided to cut the hem off the bottom, which I’m very glad I did because I think it changed them up a little bit.
Anyway, that’s all for now. It’s surprising how much you can waffle on about one outfit but if you’d like to hear more about my Lisbon trip you can check out my travel guide here.
It was a dreary day in November and I scrolled through my Twitter feed in search of some mild entertainment. As my eyes flitted down the screen I spotted my friend, L’Oréal, had tweeted expressing how she was keen to go to Berlin again for a city break. This instantly caught my attention! I’d been feeling a strong desire to take more trips in the new year, especially to places I was yet to explore in Europe…Although I knew it would be a long shot that we’d actually end up going anywhere, I thought I’d put it out there that I was eager to go on a city break too. And so without hesitation I tweeted back…Because you never know, right!
I’m often reminded that not everyone is quite as spontaneous as I am, but when L’Oréal tweeted back agreeing that we should make the trip happen, I was on Skyscanner before we’d even had a chance to discuss things properly.
I was happy to see that L’Oréal was just as enthusiastic as I was when we got round to properly discussing our trip over private message. We both decided on January for our time to travel. Then Berlin quickly evolved into Lisbon with L’Oréal’s suggestion and the slightly warmer weather in mind.
Lisbon had never been somewhere I’d thought of going to before, but I quickly got enthused about the idea when I found flights for £40 each, to go over on the second weekend in January. Of course we couldn’t say no to that and so Lisbon was booked and my first trip of 2017 was set in motion.
The Important Stuff
Rather than rambling on too much (more) in this blog post, I’d rather give you the important details that may help/benefit you if you’re panning a trip to Lisbon during the winter…Or any time for that matter. I must admit that L’Oréal and I didn’t do much touristy stuff, with the focus of our trip being on relaxing, eating and generally just hanging out and enjoying the laid back city.
That’s one thing I can tell you, that Lisbon has a super chilled and laid back vibe for a city. You don’t feel in a particular rush to go, or be anywhere and people seem to slowly ease into the day without much rush – that’s how it felt on the weekend at least.
Transport
In terms of transport, the subway is affordable and easy to navigate (if you’re use to the London Underground, you’ll find Lisbon’s version a doddle). We only used the subway once during our weekend, and that was to get us from the airport when we arrived, to Baixa-Chiado – Although I’m sure we’d use it more if we were to go back during the summer and explore more areas. Our tickets cost less than two euro each and were easy to buy from the ticket machines at the subway station.
Accommodation
For our accommodation we stayed in an AirBnb, which we’d actually booked pretty last minute (the week before), although I wouldn’t recommend organising it so last minute during the summer, as you may find many of the best place have sold out. I’ve noticed the AirBnb that we stayed in is already starting to fill up fast!
I’m saying all of this presuming you’ve heard of AirBnb and at least know what it’s all about but I do realise not everyone has used it yet. It’s a great alternative to staying in a hotel, whereby you stay in someone’s home instead. Not to worry if you don’t fancy shaking up with a random family, there are plenty of Airbnb’s available where you can rent the entire home to yourself (like the one we stayed in here)…Overall it generally works out affordable and pretty good value for money. Our AirBnb was excellent and right in Bairro Alto, which is an area I’d stay again if/when I were to go back. Also, if you’re new to AirBnb you can get £25 worth of travel credit if you sign up using my link here…You’re welcome. 😉
The Weather
The weather when we were in Lisbon was thankfully much milder than in the UK! We left England with snow and arrived to blue sky and sunshine. The average temperature was thirteen degrees celsius, which actually felt warm compared to back home. The sky was clear and blue for the whole of our trip and we even managed to eat al fresco for lunch on the Saturday!
The Nightlife
The nightlife in Lisbon is really good fun – from what we experienced anyway. Although we only made it out, out, one night of our trip, which was the Saturday, we found that there were plenty of bars to choose from which seem to get busier later into the evening. Later into the night you’re likely to find groups spilling out onto the streets, with plastic cups in hand giving the city a summer type vibe even in the winter. The only downside to the Lisbon nightlife (and also the only negative thing I can say about the entire trip), is that it’s still legal to smoke in bars over there, so if you’re not use to the smoke it can get a little overpowering! However, after getting over the fact that you feel like you’re back in 2006, you’re likely to get use to it and happily dance away into the early hours, especially when you’ve had a few drinks like I had.
Food
And last but not least…(my favourite) Food…If you’re going for somewhere that’s offering the local cuisine, you’re likely to find a lot of meat, fish and potatoes on the menu, usually with the one vegetarian option of lasagne. The local cuisine is very tasty though if you do happen to try it but not to threat if it’s not for you, there is lots to chose from! Even in the small radius from where we stayed we found a verity of different restaurants, with everything from vegetarian to vegan options, so there really is something for everyone and overall I found the food to be really good!
Also whilst in Lisbon I do recommend you try the Pasteis De Nata, which I insisted on calling a ‘Lisbon Pie’ for the entirety of the trip when I didn’t know the proper name. Whilst in Lisbon someone on my Instagram recommended we try Manteigaria (a pastry shop/cafe selling only Pasteis De Nata), and it was an excellent suggestion!
The Low Down
When we visited: January 2017 Weather: Average 13 Degrees C – Mild with blue sky. How long we stayed: Friday to Monday – 3 nights. Where we stayed: Bairro Alto. Accommodation: Airbnb. Food To Try: Pasteis De Nata. Suggestions: Take Comfortable Shoes. What we spent there: Roughly €160 each on food, drink and transport for the entire weekend. Would I go again: Yes! Would I go again in January: Most certainly!
I think it’s pretty clear to say that we both LOVED Lisbon. The people, the vibe of the place, the colourful buildings, the blue sky in January, were all brilliant! We’ve been told by almost everyone that we should visit again in summer, which I would certainly love to do, but I’d also strongly recommend Lisbon for a winter getaway destination too. If you’re from the UK especially, jetting off to Lisbon for a weekend of blue sky and slightly milder weather over January or February, is the perfect way to beat the winter blues. It certainly helped me beat mine!
Have you ever visited Lisbon? What city breaks do you recommend?
