Tourist in Lisbon.

Lisbon, Lisboa, bela Lisboa. Where do I start? I spent the most incredible 3 nights in Lisbon over the easter break basking in the sunshine, roaming from street to street, admiring the famous architecture but most of all devouring tons of Pastel nata and sipping on freshly squeezed orange juice.

So after enduring a tiring, boring 10 hour wait in Madrid which included several espresso shots, we finally boarded an hours flight and arrived to the beautiful city of Lisbon. I spent the first day exploring the local area since our hotel was in the Praca de Figueira which is one of the large main squares in the centre of Lisbon. It is home to tons of independent shops and markets packed with tourists and locals who are so helpful and kind I must add.

Immediately, the architecture was the first thing that caught my eye. The buildings in the city centre are the remains of pre 18th century before the catastrophic earthquake of 1755. They are brightly painted and adorned with intricate patterns and paintings heavily influenced by the cultures of Romans, Arabs and Germanic people that had once ruled there.

The second day we spent as what you might call 'real' tourists starting the morning off with a delicious breakfast then hopping onto a on open top bus tour for a few hours around Lisbon. Later that day we went down to the port which was only a couple of minutes walk from our hotel to admire the gorgeous scenery, watch the breathtaking sunset and finished off a perfect evening with a mouthwatering meal of prawns and grilled sardines.

The third and final day we spent on the beach and eating A LOT OF FOOD!! I'm sure y'all know by now that I'm a major foodie so this day I must have had at least 5 or 6 meals trying a bit of everything just so that I wouldn't regret not having missed out on any of the food. I most definitely shall not forget the chocolate filled croissant I had on the last day, it was literally oozing with warm chocolate and every mouthful was just so DIVINE! The rest of the day was spent browsing around the shops and picking up some gifts for the family and friends including olive oil made in portugal, famous portuguese chicken seasoning and obviously you can't forget the souvenirs can you? Fridge magnets, key rings, you know the drill.

Bright and early the next day we had our suitcases all packed, checked out of the hotel and ready to hit the road for Algarve which is approx 240km from Lisbon. Hope you enjoyed reading this, stay updated on my Instagram for the next post on my week of adventures in Algarve!

So until next time.

Habeebah xxx

March favourites.

Yes, yes it is. The end of March already. I know. The months are going by super fast and before we know it, summer will have gone by and bam! It’ll be winter all too quickly. 

Anyway, just a quick post to share with you a few things I’ve been loving this month. 

March was a month that I didn’t get to try out any of the new and exciting things off the high street, firstly because I’m skint and secondly because I’m broke. Oh wait, thats the same thing, basically student life doesn’t have that many benefits so anyone willing to hire me? 

So, in terms of make up I’ve not been able to live without the Real Techniques contour brush and since I’ve been wearing bronzer quite a lot this month, its just the perfect brush to give a subtle and beautiful application. Along with the contour brush I’ve been using the base eyeshadow brush from the Real Techniques Nic’s picks collection, and all I can say is that I haven’t used a more simple and affordable eyeshadow brush that is so easy to blend with. Trust me when I say that the brush you use to apply make-up makes all the difference. 

The other product is probably something I’m sure everyone has in their make-up bags already, the Rimmel stay matte powder.  Apply your lipstick, dap on a little powder with your finger, then reapply your lipstick and you’ll notice not only will it mattify any lipstick you’ve chosen to wear that day, but it will last much longer than usual. Try this trick, trust me you’ll be surprised what a little dab of powder can do! 

A quick mention to my trusty old rosebud salve which has saved my lips from drying and lasts for ages. It doesn’t have to be used only on the lips, if you’ve got dry hands, patchy skin? This will definitely do the trick. 

Moving onto fashion items then, which isn’t exactly my strong point, but you may have realised I don’t exactly have the best style, some may call it unique, interesting, some have called it weird but me? I don’t really care, because dressing on a day to day basis is an art, so wear whatever you want, how you want and don’t give a crap what others think. Right back to the subject then, I’ve been wearing my wine coloured Faith heels far too much this month so they definitely deserve a mention on here. And secondly, my Afghan granny shawl which I stole off my mum that I can’t live without now. I’m writing this post from a cafe in Madrid airport waiting to board my next flight and just realised I forgot to pack my shawl with me. Great. Although it is 20C outside so I don’t think I’ll be needing it anytime soon. 

I ramble on too much don’t I? Yes I do, okay let’s get to the final thing that needs a mention in my favourites. Anklets. That’s all I have to say, do yourself a favour and go buy one. They look super pretty dangling on your ankles especially if you’re wearing sandals or low rise trainers. 

Okay then, thats all I have to share with you today. While you’re reading this I’ll be sunbathing in Lisbon and sipping on freshly squeezed orange juice!

Until next time, Ciao Amigos!

Habeebah xxx

Strawberry & banana smoothie cups

I'm sharing with you yet another of my favourite breakfast creations and you can make this as a sorbet too by just freezing the mixture for a few hours. It's super healthy, delicious and you wouldn't even be able to tell that its packed with vitamins and energy boosters. So lets get straight to the recipe then!

Ingredients: 

• 2 frozen bananas 
• 1 cup frozen strawberries 
• a handful frozen raspberries 
• 1/2 a cup coconut yoghurt or any flavoured yoghurt will do
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 tblsp chia seeds 

Method:

1. Place the all the ingredients into a blender/smoothie maker and blitz for 3-4 mintutes or until the fruit has completely blended. 
2. Pour into cups and layer with yoghurt if you want and top with fruit.
3. Enjoy!

A Nutribullet is ideal for this since it whizzes up anything in no time because of its extremely powerful blades.

Hope you enjoy making it.

Habeebah xxx