Sunday Selections

Am I dreaming? Surely, this can’t be real? Despite repeatedly pinching myself all week long, surprisingly, all of this was in fact real. I’ve just returned from the most luxurious and lavish week in Portugal with the WOW Team and, let’s be honest, I’ve been hit with the most awful case of post-trip depression I think I’ve ever had. When you return to chilly Berlin that is hovering around 10 degrees after waking up to views like this from your private villa in the Algarve, you get what I mean.

So what did we get up to? We basically became princesses for a week. We kicked off the week in the gorgeous Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon and although the weather didn’t greet us too kindly to start with, spa treatments, Portuguese tarts, wine deliveries to our rooms as well as a gastronomical delight at Mini Bar meant that we didn’t mind so much! We had a little explore of Alfama, Sintra and Cascais before checking out, renting a car and heading south to explore Portugal’s stunning coastline, the Algarve. We checked into the luxurious VILA VITA Parc, a seaside oasis and leading hotel of the world, jumped on the back of a golf buggy and were delivered to our breathtaking villa, perched right on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Wait, what? How did I get here again? The next three days were a blur of laughter, sunset picnics, poolside cocktails and sunrise walks and I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I felt to be part of this incredible team. There are so many exciting projects ahead that I can’t wait to be a part of and to share with you!

Here are this week’s favourite links:

WATCH: I’m dying to find one of these notes on my airplane window.

READ: As a freelancer, my spending habits have changed quite markedly since I quit my full-time job, but not because of the reasons you might think. I no longer feel like I have to build a life on the evenings and on the weekends and spend money to cheer myself up, reward myself or to alleviate boredom. This article on the real reason for the 40-hour workweek makes a whole lot of sense.

EAT: After a week of every kind of indulgence (seriously, EVERY kind), I’m going on a major detox beginning today. I want this for dinner.

MAKE: It’s Halloween in a couple of weeks and the holiday is quite popular here in Berlin. I always love the idea of dressing up in a fun costume, but am always a little discouraged by the effort of creating something cool. This collection of clever (and easy!) DIY Halloween costumes is a savior.

BUY: In the past two months I’ve taken six flights and spent a total of 16 nights hotel-hopping. Not that I’m complaining for one second about how wonderful all the travel has been, but my skin is feeling a little unloved right now. I’m feeling the need to give it a little treat.

GO: You guys know that visiting Iceland is at the very top of my travel wishlist. This post on 11 dramatic experiences you must have in Iceland is keeping it firmly in that position!

I can’t wait to get stuck into updating the blog next week so be sure to check back soon! x