127. Travel // A Week in Portugal

Oh, it's good to be back in the UK, snuggled up in my cosy bed with a cup of tea and a slice of marmite on toast. I really do miss my home comforts whilst I'm away. 

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you'll know that I've just spent an absolutley perfect week in sunny Portugal. I thought I'd share a few of my holiday snaps and a quick run through of what S and I got up to whilst we were away. Warning: this post is very photo-heavy. 

We flew out from Newcastle International Airport, arriving at our gorgeous apartment (Quintas das Figueirinhas, near the fishing town of Armacao de Pera) at around 9.30pm. We quickly settled in, shared a bottle of wine and headed off to bed for a good nights rest, before our first 'proper day' in the Algarve.

We arose fairly early on our first morning and had a delicious continental breakfast, consisting of lots of bread, croissants, fruit and cold meats. Then we decided to take a dip in the pool which was freezing, I repeat: freezing, but lovely after a while. In the afternoon, we headed into town (taking full advantage of the free shuttle service on offer!) and had a wander along the promenade, taking in the scenery, checking out the local bars (I'd thoroughly recommend Pedro's - they do a mean Pina Colada and an awesome hot dog!) and dipping our toes in the sea. 

 

The next day, after our compulsory swim, read & stroll down the promenade, we decided it was time for lunch and we had the most amazing meal at a lovely fish restaurant called Bombordo, I opted for the tuna steak which was divine, whilst Shane had some weird big fish thing (I have no idea what it was...) and we were served a side dish of octopus which was... interesting... it was surprisingly nice actually, but very chewy! For dessert, we found a lovely little ice-cream parlour serving traditional gelato but in a huge variety of flavours, so I opted for one scoop of Kinder Bueno and one scoop of Ferrerro Rocher. My mouth is watering at the thought of it. Although it was a slightly cloudy day, it was still hot enough to relax at Pedro's with (yet another) cocktail and watch the world go by. 

On our third day, we decided to stay in the resort and have a bit of a lazy day. This consisted of me reading two books, messing about in the pool & sunbathing on our patio terrace. We were luckily just a minute away from the cafe, restaurant and bar, meaning that we didn't have to walk far for our next bottle (or two) of wine. 

It wasn't until the fourth day that we decided to walk down to our nearest beach which turned out to be an absolutely stunning cove beach, with the most incredible views and a lovely restaurant where I had a delicious vegetable tagliatelle. 

On the fifth day, we headed back down to the cove beach and swam around in the sea (which was even colder than the pool!) before sunbathing on the white, sandy beach for several hours and having a spot of lunch at a lovely restaurant on the beach, overlooking the rest of the holiday makers and the dazzling, blue seas. We also got to meet a little turtle, a huge snake and a massive lizard that day too - to say I was uncomfortable, would be a massive understatement!

Day six and I was suffering from some serious chaffing. Sorry, TMI I know, but my God it hurt like a b*tch. I didn't really want to go anywhere, so we just lazed about by the pool, finished off a couple more books, before deciding (it took S quite a while to persuade me...) that we'd take yet another wander down to the beach for a swim and sunbathe. We then had a delicious meal at the beach restaurant again, before heading back up to the resort for cocktails (I've lost count of the number of Pina Colada's and Sex On The Beach's I got through...) and a couple of games of pool.

We spent our final day on the resort, as we weren't leaving for the airport until after 5 o'clock. We treated ourselves to a tasty lunch and tried to soak up as much of the sun as we could, before heading back to Blighty. The resort staff were kind enough to let us keep our things in the apartment until 4 o'clock, which meant we were free to stroll around the resort, sunbathe in the gardens and relax on the patio, sipping ice cold lemonades, until we were ready to go. I finished off another book whilst S had a game of football with some of the kids who were on holiday.

To me, this holiday was perfect. S and I had agreed that we wanted a holiday where we did "nothing, except sunbathe, sleep and eat" and - to be honest - I think we were pretty darn close to that! It was a lovely holiday and I really enjoyed spending some quality time with S, without the distractions of daily life wearing us down. We were lucky that the weather averaged about 25 degrees throughout our stay, the resort and local area was stunning, and I've come home feeling thoroughly refreshed!

Now to plan our next holiday...

126. Lifestyle // The A-Z Of Me

I find 'getting to know me' posts really interesting, as an inherently nosey person, so when I stumbled across Cat's brilliant The A-Z of Me post earlier in the week, I couldn't wait to give it a go myself!

A - ASOS Curve. This website is literally my saviour, although my bank would probably disagree. I always get compliments on items of clothing that I've bought from ASOS Curve, and spend hours on their website each week.

B - Breaking Bad. I can't even talk about it, I'm still in bits about the ending. I got so ridiculously and embarassingly attached to the show and all the characters, I'm seriously still having withdrawal symptoms, but it is - without a shadow of a doubt - in my opinion, the best TV show EVER. End of.

C - Chocolate. I love chocolate, especially dark chocolate or anything that combines chocolate and orange, mmm.

D - Disaronno. Disaronno and lemonade is my drink of choice, after my sister Fi introduced it to me! It's so good. 

E - Edinburgh. Edinburgh is probably my favourite city in the UK; I've visited with family, with friends and with Shane, and I've loved it every time. The people are lovely, the architecture is beautiful and there is so much to do!

F - Feminism. I'd describe myself as a feminist, in as far as I support the movement for equal rights, and I disagree hugely with misogyny, chauvinism, sexism and all the rest of it, to the extent that I bore my friends and family (and in particular, Shane) to death with my rants. 

G - Gaming. Although I'm not a big gamer myself, my boyfriend is and therefore I've turned into some weird Xbox-sponge that just soaks up all this background noise and info about his games. Seriously, I know a lot more about Assassins Creed and FIFA than anybody needs to.

H - History. I've got a real interest in history and studied it throughout school. My favourite topics are Native Americans, Classics and local history as I live in a really interesting, historic part of the country, near to Hadrian's Wall and home to the infamous Border Reivers.

I - Independence. I pride myself on being independent, it's something that I've had to develop as an anxiety sufferer. I enjoy my own company, I'm happy to be by myself and I can do most things myself, which I'm proud of.

J - Journalism. It's always been my dream to be a writer; whether that's an author of novels, a historical writer or a journalist for a newspaper or magazine. I think it'd be really interesting and I'd love to put my creative talents to good use.

K - Kate Winslet. I know, I know, this is a bit of a sad one, but she's my favourite actress and I think she's just beautiful. I loved her in Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and thought she was hilarious in Episodes too. I love how diverse she is. 

L - Lingerie. As a "voluptuous" "curvy" "large chested" big-boobed" lady, I struggle with lingerie - bras, if we're being particular. I love reading blogs that cover lingerie reviews for ladies with "ample bosoms" as it's so helpful, I particularly love Georgia's blog.

M - Money. I have a serious love/hate relationship with money. I live payday to payday each month as I'm a total spendaholic, but I am trying to tone it down, I promise...

N - November. November is my favourite month for several reasons; it's the month S and I got together (way back in 2009!), it's Bonfire Night which is one of my favourite nights of the year, and it's a beautiful month too as it begins to turn crisp and chilly, and I love the dark nights.

O - Oranges. I love the smell of oranges and the taste of them too. They are so refreshingly summery!

P - Photography. I've had an interest in photography for a long time, in particular landscape photography and I'm always snapping away at little things like my lunch, pretty flowers or my latest purchases, which I share on Instagram and Twitter.

Q - Quiet. Much like Cat, I love peace and quiet. I'm no good with loud noises, unless I'm listening to some awesome music (or having a shouty argument, oops..). I can't sleep unless I'm in total silence either, which can be difficult sometimes!

R - Reading. A good book can keep me occupied for days, I just love to read. I tend to stick mainly to chick-lit but I occasionally delve into the odd classic, or even action sometimes. My favourite authors are Cecilia Ahern and Mitch Alborn. 

S - Shane. I've been with Shane for 5 years in November, I can't quite believe it myself! He's my rock. We argue a hell of a lot but, you know what, how can you appreciate the good without being subject to the bad sometimes? He keeps me sane, he supports me, he makes me laugh, he understands me and, most importantly, he loves me (and I love him).

T - Twitter. I'm a total Twitter addict. I'm constantly checking my news feed and I find it to be a brilliant tool for networking my blog and meeting lots of other lovely bloggers and readers. You can find my Twitter by clicking on the icon to the right of this post.

U - Umming and Ahhing. I'm an awful decision maker. And by that I don't mean that the choices I make are always awful, but just the length of bloody time that it takes me to come to a decision! I drive myself crazy with it.

V - Vinnie Jones. One of my (numerous) cringe-worthy celebrity crushes. This list also includes Ade Edmondson, Seth Rogen and the posh guy on Gogglebox! 

X - Xbox. I'm pretty much an an Xbox widow whenever there is a new game out, plus it's the only thing I could think of for X apart from X-Ray or Xylaphone! 

Y - YOU! Thank you for reading this post and for all my lovely readers who comment on my posts and chat with me on Twitter, it means so much to me and I'm eternally grateful.

Z - Zodiac signs. I'm not sold on the idea of horoscopes but I still do find them fun to read once in a while, it's guilty pleasure! I'm a Libra and I do think that many of the characteristics are very suited to me, however a lot of them are pretty general so, like I say, I'm not totally sold on it.

I hope you enjoyed reading this little personal, getting to know me post!

125. Guest Post // Everyday Eye Shadows

Hi everyone, I am Emily Napier, I have a little beauty blog over at What Beauty Taught, and can more often than not be found tweeting over on What Beauty Taught.  I have been allowed by Becci (very brave of her!) to guest post today to chat about my favourite eye shadows.

I have to say I'm a little lazy when it comes to applying eye shadow on a day to day basis, sleeping is just way more appealing! But on those days where a fancy looking a bit more presentable and ladylike, I always opt for neutral tones for an effortless yet polished look. And these are the ones I reach for...

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow - 35 On and On Bronze and 70 Metallic Pomegranate.

These are my ultimate favourite Eye shadows of all time. Seriously, these have incredible staying power, great colour pay off and are a perfect base if you want to pack on more products for a more intense look. Metallic Pomegranate is a gorgeous deep purple colour with a slight gold shimmer running through it and On and On bronze is almost taupe, making it so versatile and wearable. The cream consistency makes these effortless to apply and blend - fool proof. If you don't have these already, what are you waiting for?

MAC Eye Shadow in Woodwinked

An intense copper, bronze which is highly pigmented and blends like a dream. For day time I only put on a very small amount and blend it out with a brush to make it look more sheer. I usually put MAC Pro Long Wear Paint Pot in the shadow Painterly underneath as it is a neutral base that holds product amazingly, but you could even put Maybelline colour tattoo underneath for more impact. 

Oriflame The ONE Colour Impact Cream Eyeshadow in Beige Pearl

I was lucky enough to win this through a Twitter competition about month ago and it has become a staple of mine when I want a really subtle, light look. I would say this is more pale pink than beige and it has a slight silver iridescence when the light hits it. The cream consistency makes it super easy to apply with your fingers and lasts rather well too (not as good as Maybelline but what is??) Perfect for that spring/summer freshness without  the effort.

MUA Professional Eyeshadow Palette - Heaven and Earth

In this palette you get 12 neutral shimmery shades ranging from pale pink which are great for inner corner highlighting, coppers for defining the crease and dark browns for all out smoke! The shades blend well together meaning you never have to create the same look twice (unless you want to of course!). I would suggest putting an eye primer underneath as they don't have great stay power on their own. Nevertheless, at £4 for 12 shades, who can complain?