Merry Christmas, friends!

Hello!!!

I would like to wish everyone reading this post a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2020!

May these next days bring joy and peace into your hearts, great foods in your bellies and many many beautiful memories to cherish.

Christmas Decorations in Lisbon

Hello!

It was early December when I last visit beautiful Lisbon, and it felt so good to be back home! But visiting Lisbon in December comes "with a cherry on top": the Christmas decorations are up!!

Ohhh, I love to go stroll through the streets and check out the lights and see what do they have new.

10 Christmas Gift Ideas for your travel buddy

Hello!!

Christmas is just around the corner (where did 2019 go?!) and these times can be quite stressful for some people when it comes to gifts. 

As if it gets harder and harder as time goes by, to find something for those who you care about.

But today, I'm here to help you! Especially, if you are looking for gift ideas for that friend or relative of yours that loves to travel.

Here are my top 10.

3 Places to visit in... The Netherlands (no Amsterdam)

Hello!!

For today's post, I'm bringing back the "3 Places to visit" series. 

I wrote a couple of other posts on this series (more here) but this time, I'm doing a Dutch version of it.

If you are new here, I'm Barbara, Portuguese living in the Netherlands, and I love traveling. So for me, to write this kind of post is super exciting! I hope I can inspire you, somehow, to come and visit other places in the Netherlands besides the "usuals", aka, Amsterdam and so on.

Shall we get started?

Travel | A weekend in Madrid - part 2

Hello!

Today we are getting back to Madrid for part 2 of this trip report.
In case you miss the first post, here you are: part 1

We, me and Mr. A, basically had the whole day of Saturday to explore the city and were very fortunate with the weather; sunny, cold and occasionally a bit windy. But hey, better than rain, correct?

Travel | A weekend in Spain's Capital - MADRID

Hello!!!

I am finally back in the blogging mode and I couldn't be happier to do so with another travel post.

As you may know, these are one of my favorite posts to write and I'm seriously thinking to make this Blog more travel-oriented than before.

But more on that on a future post; for today, we are focusing on MADRID!!!

A week in Lisbon area - Summer holiday

Hello!!!

It has been two weeks since I was back in Portugal, but guess what? I am flying back tomorrow again!! haha More about that in a future post.
For today's, I wanted to share with you what I did during my week in the Lisbon area.
It was a well-spent week and I'm super glad to share with you all the ins and outs of this trip.

Cooper turned 1 year old

Hello!!

It has been two weeks since Cooper celebrated his first birthday, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that today's post is all about our beloved choco-lab-bomb.

Happy Birthday, dear blog!!

Hello!!

Today, this blog celebrates its 6th birthday!!! Hooray!!
It's somehow hard to believe that this blog is still alive after 6 years of its creation, and even though sometimes I grow out of love for it, I always miss it and come back.
In all honesty, I am very proud of myself for having this little space on the web where I can share all kind of things with the 3 people that read this blog. HAHA joking (ok, maybe 4!)

Lifestyle | Kobo - my reading buddy

Hello!!

Not sure if you know that by now or not, but I love books. And reading!

As far as my memory goes, I always liked reading, since a very young age (Mom, if you're reading this, please confirm it haha). But somehow, along the way, while "adulting" I kind of forgot about it. 

Until I found the world of ebooks and then reading came back to my life!

And that's why today's post is all about my reading buddy: Kobo.

Travel | My first time in Vienna - pt3

Hello!

The time has come to write the last part of this trip report, I know it's sad...

Ok, seriously!

Here I am for another post, and as you can see from the title, it's time for part 3 (and final) of this trip report about Vienna.

TAG | This or That - Travel edition

Hi everyone!

Here I am with a new post, and this time, a new TAG! I like answering TAG not only because you get to know me and my preferences but also because it can be quite funny, depending on which TAG you are answering.

Travel | My first time in Vienna - pt2

Hello!

Here I am again, for the second part of my trip to beautiful Vienna, in Austria!

I hope you like this trip report type of posts because, to be honest, they are one of my favorites to write.

Looking back in time, to trips and experiences, is always a good thing to do, in my opinion. Luckily, Vienna provided me enough of those, so here I am again.

Travel | My first time in Vienna

Hello!!

On today's post, I am finally sharing with you some of the sights I've visited while in Vienna. It was back in May when I & Mr.A went to visit Austria's capital. As usual, our stay was short (lovely weekend city trips) but we tried to make the best out of it.

June | A month in review

Hello everyone!!

It's me, B!

It has been a long while since my last post, I know, but I am so glad to finally be back and having the chance to sit here, and write a blog post.

Believe it or not, I did miss it.

Travel - A week in San Francisco - pt3

Hello!!

This is officially the last post about San Francisco, and yet, it's a long one and it brings so many great memories back to mind!!
It doesn't feel like but it has been over one month since I was in this fantastic city and if I could, I'd go back now!

Cooper | We spent a weekend away!

Hello!

How have you been?

Over here, things are going very smooth, spring is finally here (for now...) and we had a lovely weekend. Actually, today's post is related to the last weekend and what we did.

For the first time, we did a road trip with Cooper which included an overnight at a hotel! Like, a real hotel!! 

Travel - A week in San Francisco - pt2

Hello!

Who is ready for the second part of the trip to San Francisco? 

Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and get comfy; it's a long one :)

On this post, I'll take you along on our days 3 and 4 in this beautiful city; and they were intense!!

In case you missed part 1, here you are: San Francisco - pt 1

MUSIC | Metallica show in Lisbon

Hello!

I am very aware that not everyone who reads my blog likes Metallica so most likely this post isn't for you. However, I do think that Metallica is one of those bands that it's worth to see live at least once, whether you like or not because they always put on a massive & mind-blowing show!

Travel - A week in San Francisco - pt1

Hello!!

I am suuuuuper excited to be writing this post about my trip to San Francisco, just a couple of weeks ago.

Some months ago, I wrote a post about 3 places I would like to visit in the USA and San Francisco was among those mentioned so you can imagine how happy I was when we finally were able to plan it, book it and actually be there!

Beauty Haul in San Francisco

Hello!!

Today's post is a beauty haul that I did in Sephora, in San Francisco.

If you know me by now, you know that whenever I have the chance, I'm always in to visit a Sephora store. Here in the Netherlands, we don't have it, so, it's totally justified, right? 😁

I try to avoid going crazy over there because it is tempting especially in the States since they have brands I can't find here in the Netherlands (nor in Portugal).

Travel | Long haul flight essentials

Hello!!

Still living in the "San Francisco" mood, I figured it would be cool to share with you what are (or were) my long haul flight essentials.
These items were thought to make my whole journey more comfortable, so I'd arrive at my destination as sharp as possible.

Jetlag: how to overcome it ASAP

Hello!!

I normally don't post travel-related posts on Tuesday, however, as I am currently dealing with today's subject, overcome jetlag, so I figured it would be appropriate to share it as I "do it".

As you may have noticed, in case you follow on Instagram and/or on Facebook, I was in San Francisco (CA, USA) last week and it was a blast!!

Travel - A weekend in Venice (pt2)

Hello everyone

While I am still enjoying my days in San Francisco (oops, major spoiler if you don't follow on Instagram) there is still some beautiful photos to share of Venice.

In case you missed part 1, then please check it out: Part 1

Skincare | Top 3 Hydrating Masks

Hello

If you have been reading this blog, and more specifically my skincare related posts, you may now that I'm that girl with the best skin you can have: sensitive, dry and dehydrate! YAY! the best combo ever... not! Therefore, I always gravitated towards products that help to provide moisture and hydration to my skin, while being gentle. Or else, I'll feel the side effects right away.

Travel - A weekend in Venice

Hello

It was mid-March when I finally visited Venice for the first time!

For the longest time, me and Mr. A have been talking about going to Venice, but somehow it just ever came to happen.

Until now, when we decided to go celebrate our 10th anniversary in this beautiful and so remarkable city.

Get to know me - 10 favorites

Hello everyone!!!

Long time no see, right?

I know, I know... Last time, I wrote I'd keep up with blogging and all that, and in the end, I didn't.

But it was mostly due to lack of free time and organization.

Now, I've got a new "plan of attack" so I can have more free time to dedicate to my hobbies, blogging included.

So, for my "comeback" I thought of doing a different type of post; now that I think of it, a tag for a change, and what better than a "Get to know me" tag, right?

But, this one is a top 10 favorites tag.

1. Favorite Food

Caldo Verde Soup.

This is a Portuguese potato and kale soup and I love it!!! Can eat it any time of the day, and if you let me, I'll eat a whole pan of it in no time.

2. Favorite Drink

Caipirinha!

(or fresh still water haha)

3. Favorite Scent

The beach scent...

4. Favorite Color

Navy blue.

5. Favorite City

Lisbon, of course!

When I think of my favorite things!
(please excuse the awkward hand situation going on...)
Photo by Emilie Garcin

6. Favorite Animal

My sweet choco bomb, Cooper!

7. Favorite Hobby

I have many hobbies I like, and hardly any time to dedicate to any of them, but if I have to choose just one, then it would have to be reading.

8. Favorite Emoji

😎

9. Favorite Flower

Hmmm... tough one as I'm not a "flower girl", however, I like Hortensias, for example.

10. Favorite Restaurant

A good Japanese restaurant always makes me happy.

---

I hope you enjoyed this tag and feel free to answer this tag yourself.

Hey, did you also notice that this post marks the very first post where I actually am on a picture?! Like, full-on?! Yeah!!!

And not just any picture; this one, was taken by the lovely and super talented Emilie Garcin. Visit her website and be amazed by her work!

I'll "see" you soon on a new post!

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Travel | How I organize and plan my trips

Hello!!

Tomorrow I'm going on my first trip of 2019, and with that in mind, I thought it would be cool to share with you how I plan and organize my travels.

One of my favorite things to do is to plan and organize trips; I know for some people this is a very stressful thing to do, but I just love doing.

Cooper - 6 months update

Hi everyone!!!

Just a week ago, my sweet Cooper turned 6 months!!

It took a while to process the fact that time is just going so damn fast and that he is quickly becoming a junior Choco-Brownie-Boy.

Maastricht - Travel

Hello!

Some time ago, while talking to a friend about places to visit and travel plans, travel posts here on the blog and so, he made me a very interesting question: "Why don't you share photos of the city where you live?"

That got me thinking, and indeed, I hardly share any sights of Maastricht.

So today's post is all about this beautiful city! 

New photography challenge

Hi everyone!!

If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you may know that one of the things I like to do in my spare time is to take photos of the places I visit. I do not know how this got started, but it is something I really enjoy doing.

Yet, it is also true that most times I do it only if I visit someplace new. 

Visiting Lx Factory - Travel - Lisbon PT

Hi everyone!!

During my last visit to Lisbon, I finally went to Lx Factory, a place I've heard about many times but never been there myself.

I thought it would be like many other places that only tourists find a "must-see".

I was so wrong...

Hello 2019!!

Hello everyone!!

First things first: Happy 2019!!!😊

It has been a long while since I last posted something, but it was necessary to take a little break during the holidays.