Summer Festivals in Spain - Don't miss out!


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I've travelled a bit over the last few years and whenever I think about vacation, one particular country pops in my mind- Spain .
With a rich heritage , hot summers and absolutely delicious food , there's no wonder that Spain is such a popular holiday destination.



Spring marks the start of one of the most well known festivals -The April Fair of Seville and it all started in 1847 as a cattle fair.
Nowadays, the festivity starts on Monday at midnight with the illumination of the fairground and the entrance.Inside,you will find dozens of tents belonging to families where they welcome friends, relatives and  guests for meals,drinks and so much joy.
Flamenco has its origins in Andalucia,so you can expect loads of dancing, good food and good company.






If you missed this festival,don't worry,you can still catch one at the end of June and it's called the Wine Fight- La Batalla del Vino de Haro. From its name I think that you can already imagine what it is.
It all started in the 13th Century ,when the city of Haro has marked its lines between them and its neighbours.400 years later,because of a fight, the people of Haro and their neighbours started throwing wine at each other.
Nowadays, the ones that want to participate to the wine fight must wear white clothing and a red scarf.


Fiestas de Garcia is another well known festival that is taking place at the end of August in Barcelona, when the city comes alive at night for a whole week.
Each street picks a theme so you can be surprised by colourful decorations, delicious  street food and oh,did I mention that it's completely free to join?



This article was written in collaboration with HolidayGems, where you can find low deposit city breaks this summer.I'm planning my next one now.


So tell me,have you ever been to any of the festivals mentioned above?  Do you have a favourite festival? I want to hear all about it!



Leeds Indie Food -The Festival Foodies Shouldn't Miss



We were so blessed with nice weather lately, I feel so grateful to be able to chill for a couple of hours in my backyard, swaying in my hammock while reading a quality book...I feel like I'm on holiday!
With such weather it's a shame to spend time indoors and if you are looking for things to do in Leeds ,let me tell you about Leeds Indie Food .

Leeds Indie Food Instagram Page

For the third year in a row, with over 80 events and 150 collaborations, Leeds Indie Food Festival comes back this year to bring you all things eat, drink and do.

Festival Passport owners ( you can buy them on their page ) will be entitled to big discounts and exclusive free passes and tasters during the event.
Many activities are sold out,so people are loving them,but you can still find loads of activities and even more are announced every day!
From learning how to make truffles to eating brunch ice cream, pizza and prosecco there is an option for everyone.
The last day of the festival will be on the 28th of May, so this seems like a fun little activity for the bank holiday weekend. Make sure that you will bring your family and friends, they will love it.


Tell me, will you be attending the food festival?


Spend or Save ?





I remember my teenage years.I used to tell my mom that I can hardly wait to grow up so I can be independent, have my own money and live by my own.
Well, when this actually happened it wasn't exactly what I've imagined it to be.
Me and Nick moved to the UK with lent money and it was just enough  for rent and food for a month and that was all.We had to figure it out from there and damn,that was tough.
Going from staying at my parents house straight to being on my very own felt like a slap in my face.
There were so many things that I didn't know about paying bills, managing my finances and I had to learn the hard way through my own experiences.








Pictures by Matt Chappell

Two weeks ago me and Nick were invited to Giffgaff's Spend or Save event. Basically, we had to play a game that is about saving money but also spending it wisely.It's exactly like Monopoly, but instead of buying properties you buy Life Goals .( Saving's Account, Buying a Car, Getting Married, etc)

It's crazy how I've almost gone broke at some point and managed to win the game at our table at the end .It's exactly like in real life isn't it?You never know what comes your way.The money that I've managed to save for my retirement sent me on the second place with the most money after retirement.
For this I've won a 250£ towards a charity of my choice.

We've had so much fun, it felt like a night in with our old friends and new friends while drinking prosecco and eating gluten free pizza.
I had the chance to hang out with my fellow bloggers Sarah, Bridie , Luke ,Nick and Steve from Giffgaff as well,  so thanks to Giffgaff  and Jennie for inviting us,we had a blast.


You can find here more details about the event.






Pictures by N. Calini

Lazy Sundays - Pampering and Recovering after a Stressful Week - Adagio Teas, Skinade, Cetraben ,Vitamin Buddy,


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Sundays are meant to be spend with family and friends,but sometimes I like my Sundays to be quiet .When I think about Sunday I think about two things: late mornings and relaxing activities.
Sometimes I like that Nick goes to the gym for a couple of hours and leaves me alone so I can have some me time.

My ideal Sunday would be literally a sunny day,with two or three hours just for myself, where I can drink my cup of tea, stay online for a bit and just pamper myself.This happens sometimes,so here are the products and drinks that I like to use on those days :





Nothing relaxes me more than a good cup of tea!I drink tea every single day and sometimes a few times per day and I feel the effect on my body immediately. Normally I would drink fruit tea or plant based teas for relaxing,but if there's a rainy day I would for sure choose a black or green tea to get energised.
A couple of weeks ago I received a huge PR box from Adagio Teas and I was totally blown away by the huge variety of teas.When I opened the box I just didn't know where to start.So many flavours and combinations !
I will just talk about some of my favourite ones. Peppermint  and chamomile tea are a must at all times in my house, so I was very happy when I received those ones, but I was even more excited for the Fruit Sangria  and the Blood Orange tins. Fruit Sangria tea contains strawberry, wild cherry, hibiscus, apple and rose hips ,which are all my favourite flavours for a sweet and juicy tea and Blood Orange tea is a combination of blood orange peals with hibiscus flowers and rosehips ,which is a bit more tingly and provides me with vitamin C.
Nick really loved the Jasmine Phoenix Pearl tea,that was the first flavour that he would choose whenever I asked him to pick one.
I think that you can find a flavour for everyone on their website and they have beautiful gift ideas so make sure to check them out.
You can get 20% off  your first order on Adagio Tea website and if you don't know exactly what to pick,you can order the loose tea sample tasters and you will get four types of tea that lasts up to 40 cups.
You can also  buy Adagio Teas on Amazon.





Cetraben face creams and lotion are the best thing that have happened to me while sick.
I have a very,very sensitive skin and whenever I get a runny nose it becomes a pain for me because my skin gets irritated and really red.
If not treated,my skin becomes even flaky and really painful at touch.
When sick I use this face cream that has a thick texture  on my nose, on top of my upper lip and on my cheeks.
I don't like to use these creams before applying foundation  because I feel that the foundation doesn't set right, so I do not use them as day creams(my current one is from Clinique)  but they are for sure my first choice as night creams.
Overall they're good,they're cheap, under a fiver and you can buy them from boots or online on Amazon.
Price: Starting from 2£


Supplements are extremely important to me, I didn't use them before I was 25 but after that I have quickly added them to my daily routine.One big reason why I did that is because of the lack of sun in the UK which affects my mood and energy too much.
Vitamin Buddy offers you a tailored subscription. It's so easy: you will have to take a quiz and depending on your answers they will suggest you a tailored vitamin box .
After  finishing my quiz,these were my results for my tailored box: Vitamin B complex with C,Vitamin D,Magnesium Citrate,Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
 Your vitamins will come in 4  boxes that represent 4 weeks, and each box will have 7 bags of vitamins.
Price: 35£/ month


For my hair and skin I have tried a while ago the Skinade drink.I have received a month's worth of samples to review and the brand says that the real results will be visible in 3 months, but after one month I cannot say that I've seen big results.
The only thing that I can really say is that comparing my skin during winter ,how it was this years versus how it was one year ago ,my face used to become very dry and flaky but this didn't happen while using  Skinade , so I might say that this drink increases hydration, but that is pretty much it.
They say that this drink will give you a natural energy boost,it makes your nails looking healthier and it reduces the appearance of fine lines and I didn't notice either of this effects,but they might be possible after 3 months.
The drink doesn't taste bad,it's slightly tingly and tastes like peaches, quite enjoyable I might say.
Price: 100£ / 30 bottles for 30 days



Holiday Feeling and Celebration





This week got me thinking about my upcoming holidays.It's crazy how time flies, so here I am leaving all the planning last minute making sure that my week is going to be a busy one but at least I've done my final shopping before going abroad.Also, last week I've celebrated Nick Calini (Happy Birthday baby! ) and we've also celebrated MacComms, a PR agency based in Leeds.



Last Thursday I've been invited to MacComms third year anniversary and it was so much fun! I met so many inspiring  people ,had a couple of cocktails with them, ate some cake and laughed until my cheeks hurt.
Congrats to Ellie and her team for smashing it ,winning award after award and working so hard to make their clients happy.









Also,talking about holidays, I've been gifted two snorkelling kits by  https://www.simplyscuba.com/  , one for me and one for Nick and let me tell you how excited I am for this!
There are two major reasons why I'm so excited .The first one is that whenever we wanted to go snorkelling on our holidays,we always had to schedule this activity a couple of days before and sometimes the agencies schedule wasn't on the same track with ours.Therefore,sometimes we had to cancel it or we had to skip other activities in order to go snorkelling.
The second reason is that snorkelling is a bit expensive. Every time you want to go snorkelling for two hours or so you will most likely pay from your wallet anything between 30 to 60 euro per person .
Having my own kit means that I can use it whenever and wherever I want ,at no extra cost.
Also,my kit fits in my carrier bag , so I cannot wait to take it with me on my next adventure and to share my experience with you!
You can find here their range of snorkelling kits and many more: https://www.simplyscuba.com/collections/snorkelling .

So tell me,have you ever gone snorkelling? Did you like it? Would you recommend it to anyone?





5 of Worlds Most Exotic Islands - Food that You Must Try At Least Once in Your Life







Summer is not far away and soon we'll be seeing pictures from the most exotic locations all over our feed on facebook and instagram .
Have you planned your summer holiday yet?
Will you be visiting the following islands soon? If so,I've got you covered! Here are the foods that you shouldn't skip !


Mauritius

One of Mauritius's signature drinks, vanilla tea is made from the black tea that grows on the island and vanilla from South Africa.A refreshing drink that you shouldn't miss!
Mazavaroo is the most used ingredient in the mauritian cuisine.It's in fact a chilli paste made by the locals that is consumed with any dish, including veggies and even fruit(mango,pineapple,etc) .

Madeira

Grilled limpets splashed with a bit of lemon and garlic makes the perfect starter for those who love sea food.
Queijadas tops the list of the islands favourite dessert and it's made with cottage cheese, eggs and sugar.A very simple one,but extremely tasty.



Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is one of those islands that you want to visit again and again.
Vieja Fish with  canarian potatoes and mojo is a dish that you don't want to miss.
Vieja Fish is also known under the name of parrot fish and it's cooked in the oven with a lemon dressing.Canarian potatoes with mojo sauce were for sure my favourite dish while visiting Fuerteventura, they are actually boiled in sea water and left there until the water evaporates and the potatoe skin is covered in a salty crust.


Bali

If you will travel to Bali ,you will notice that the locals will use banana leafs as food wrappings.One of those foods are called Pepes and it consists in  small packages of banana leafs that have meat veggies and tofu inside. Bubur Injin is a dessert made of a black rice pudding and coconut milk and it's served either as a dessert or snack.


Malta

Cannoli are a must when visiting Malta, it consists in a fried pastry dough filled with ricotta cream.
Bagrioli is a dish that maltese swear by and it's made from beef cooked in a wine sauce ,with a bacon, egg and garlic filling.Can't wait to try it!

This article was written in collaboration with Destination 2 Luxury Holidays



Have you tried any of these foods ?Which one was your favourite?

Hair loss remedies - Hair Jazz from Harmony Life




I have to admit something. I miss my long hair a lot.I've cut my hair back in September as it was too long,too curly and it was starting to be a pain for me.The exact day that I cut it I half-regretted my decision,but knowing that I did it for a good cause made me feel better.
I'll be honest, I don't have enough patience to wait for years for my hair to grow, so I started taking supplements and completely changed the products that I use .




I have received a set of 4 products from Hair Jazz two months ago and after testing it for so long now I can finally share with you my thoughts on it. I've used it like this: I put a tiny bit of water at the roots and add the shampoo on the scalp and gently massage it.I leave it there for 3 minutes and after that I start adding a bit of water and shampoo on the length of my hair.I leave it again for 1 min, after that I rinse and use the hair mask,leave it for a couple of minutes,rinse again and after that I use the spray.
The shampoo is indeed my favourite product from Hair Jazz because I use it differently and I can really see the results, it leaves my hair feeling the cleanest.
After washing my hair I love using the serum and it makes my hair look really nice and shiny.
Two weeks ago I was asked what did I do because my hair looks so much longer and the funny thing is that I have cut a couple of inches one month ago to make my hair look more even.
Not only that my hair is growing incredibly fast,but it also looks really strong even after straightening it every single week.
One thing that I have also noticed is that my hair doesn't fall as much as it used to and that's a huge win for me!
You can buy the whole set here: https://harmonylife.co.uk/hairjazz-keratin-protector-gift





Are you struggling with hair loss?





*I have received this kit for a review and this is my honest opinion