Le Monde Sucré

By now, you might (just might) have noticed that I've became mad about finding new coffee shops and pastry shops in every city I go. And Madrid won't escape this lifelong quest of mine.

My Workout Essentials & My Power Playlist

Everyone has that one guilty playlist that makes you keep running that extra kilometer/mile.  And I'm no exception! Usually, when I'm at home studying or just scrolling through various Instagram/Pinterest accounts laying on my bed, my kind of jams are indie, pop, jazz, soul, the mellow ones, you know? But when I hit the gym, my music tastes change completely and only rap or really enthusiastic sounds are the ones who get me really energized to run those miserable 2 kms I usually do. Of course I then listen to this same playlist for counting those dreaded squats and other tortuous exercises... 
 And here I am sharing my secret for not dying on the runway right at the first few minutes. 

Ni Hao, Two Cappuccinos Por Favor!

Remember Kitsuné in Paris? I might have just found its not-so-distant cousin here in Madrid: HanSo! Well, at least in the matcha department, because everything else is quite different: one is Japanese and quite an all-around brand (with its own clothing brand) and the other is Chinese and experts at the being an espresso house. But both succeed in preparing the fanciest cappuccino (or matcha latte if you prefer) in a clean and chilled environment. 

Mustard is My Favorite Dressing

With Winter approaching Europe, my wardrobe is going through the usual black metamorphosis. But this season I want to spice things up a little (spice, mustard... get the pun?). I shall enhance my outfit with a pop of color, being oxblood, camel or, in this case, mustard. Never thought I could pull it off, but I did. And in this walk along the Plaza de Colón, the amazing Izabela Babiarz captured the moment perfectly.

Com o Inverno a aproximar-se da Europa, o meu armário está a passar pela habitual metamorfose preta. Mas nesta estação eu quero apimentar as coisas (apimentar, mostarda.. percebes o trocadilho?). Tenho de realçar os meus conjuntos com um toque de cor, quer seja bordeaux/marsala, bege ou, neste caso, mostarda. Nunca pensei que me ficasse bem esta cor, mas acho que foi um sucesso. E neste passeio pela Plaza de Colón, a fantástica Izabela Babiarz conseguiu capturar o momento na perfeição.

The Easiest DIY Lip Scrub

Winter is coming... and with this cold and dry season comes the dreaded chapped lips! Although I always have my chapsticks in my bags (or scattered around the house... ups), my lips manage to always look terrible. And also my habit of bitting out the peels (sorry, I know it's gross) doesn't help to the cause. That's why, every now and then, I like to scrub them and turn them from nasty lips to kissable ones. And how? With the most simple scrub you can 
prepare at home!

Coffee for My Soul

Monkee Koffee. A coffee shop for those movie-like rainy days. A place to chit-chat for hours over a hot cup of cappuccino and indie live music playing on the background. If it doesn't feel like home, I know not what will. 
'A happy incident', some might say when coming across this rustic place, where niceness greets you and wifi keeps you.
You'll quite end up losing track of time, for hours in that caffeinated place will fly by. It only meant you were having a good time.

Monkee Koffee. Um café para passar aqueles dias chuvosos de filme. Um lugar para se perder em conversas bebendo um cappuccino com música indie ao vivo a tocar de fundo. Se não te sentires aqui em casa, não sei onde te poderás sentir.

'Um feliz acaso', é o que alguns podem dizer quando encontram este sítio rústico, onde a simpatia nos cumprimenta e o wifi nos aguenta.

Aqui vais perder completamente a noção do tempo, pois neste lugar cafeinado as horas vão voar. E isso só quer dizer que estavas a enjoyar.

Calle Vallehermoso 112 – Madrid 

5 Lip Products Under €10 for this Fall

Hello, ladies! I'm happy to announce that the cherry wine lips season has begun! It's time to take out of the lip drawers your boldest and warmest colors and glam up your face for this Fall. And as for me, for until now I only owned one red lipstick, it was time to buy these hues.

Here's my current lippy situation.

Olá, meninas! Estou muito feliz por anunciar que a estação de lábios cor de vinho tinto já começou! É tempo de tirar da gaveta de batons as cores mais ousadas e quentes para nos embelezar neste Outono. E no meu caso, como até agora sempre tive só um batom encarnado, foi tempo de comprar estes tons!

Aqui está a minha situação de lábios actual.

The Preppy Look

Walking around the residential districts of Madrid opens you up to a whole new city. By getting out of the touristic zones, makes us feel like a local exploring the hippest cafés and appreciating the Spanish architectural vibe. And lucky for me, Madrid is filled with bricks buildings that I find so rustic and the perfect background for a OOTD shoot! Yes, I'm that vain.

Now that the temperatures have dropped, I've been wearing more warm clothes, and this shirt and knit sweater outfit is perfect for this transitioning weather. Check below for details. 

Caminhando pelas zonas residenciais de Madrid, encontramos uma cidade completamente diferente. Ao sair das zonas agitadas e turísticas, sentimo-nos como locais a explorar os cafés mais in e a apreciar a arquitectura espanhola. E sorte a minha, Madrid está toda decorada com edifícios em tijolo que fazem o fundo perfeito para uma sessão fotográfica de um look do dia! Sim, eu sou super vaidosa.

Agora que está as mínimas caíram, tenho andado mais agasalhada, e este conjunto de uma camisa com uma camisola de malha é perfeito para este tipo de tempo. Vê em baixo os detalhes.

Cappuccino For One (part II) & The Biggest H&M Store

Today was, supposedly, going to be a big shopping day, but it ended on being more window shopping and cappuccino sipping. This because we went obliviously to the main street (Gran Vía) to get our shopping done only to be leaving the stores grumpy and empty handed. And why? Well, despite being a work day, the streets and the stores were packed with people who either walked too slow or shopped too ragingly. So much was going on that my head couldn't focus on anything. And this was only for two hours, now imagine a whole  day plans ruined. But one thing that definitely caught my attention was this former theater, built in 1928, and now a huge H&M store.

Milk Over Coffee Cubes

 Today I bring you a Pinterest inspo recipe that's been showing on my feed daily. This reversed iced latte is the coolest, literally, I've seen and easy to make! Although the Summer has gone by, I couldn't let this coffee hack go without a try. 

Cappuccino For One

After hunting down some of the hippest cafés in Paris (one example here), I thought it would make sense to continue with that healthy obsession here in Madrid. Normally, I would "stalk" some Parisian girl's Instagram who would post pictures of her coffee mugs in a very artistic way, and from there I would screenshot the location and go straight to the said coffee shop. But as I don't follow that many Madrileñas, and Time Out Madrid doesn't have the best options, my task hasn't been easy. Thankfully, the other day, I found Elisa Navarro's profile (Spanish blogger) and she's loaded with amazing coffee shops shots. One of them was this La Rollerie coffee shop that makes this cute cappuccino art, which is everyone's obsession nowadays, so it became mine too.

Sunday Banana & Chocolate Porridge

Recently, on Youtube, as I was scrolling through daily vlogs, I came across a fresh face: Niomi Smart. This British Youtuber/blogger is so fun to watch and lately she's been posting videos of "What I Eat in a Day". The fifth episode of that series, she starts her day by making this delicious comfort breakfast: a Chocolate and Banana Porridge. It looked so good that this Sunday morning I felt it was the perfect day to try it. 

Here's her recipe with a few of my changes:

Recentemente, no Youtube, enquanto estava a fazer scroll por vlogs diários, apareceu-me uma cara nova: Niomi Smart. Esta Youtuber/blogger britânica é super divertida de se ver e nos últimos tempos tem postado videos de "What I Eat in a Day" (ou "O Que Como Num Dia"). No quinto episódio dessa série, ela começa o seu dia com um delicioso pequeno-almoço reconfortante: Papa de Aveia de Banana e Chocolate. Tinha um aspecto óptimo e por isso senti que nesta manhã de Domingo seria o dia perfeito para experimentá-la.

Aqui está a sua receita com algumas alterações minhas:

My Fall Makeup Wishlist

Hello, girls! Today I bring you my first Beauty Wishlist. These are the products I've been eyeing for some time, so I thought I would share them with you and see what you think of this set. Comment down below if you have already tried them, if you liked them or not, and if they are also on your Wishlist.

Here's my autumn Wishlist:

Olá, meninas! Hoje trago a minha primeira Lista de Desejos de maquilhagem. Estes são alguns dos produtos que já tenho em mente há algum tempo, por isso pensei em partilhar convosco e ver o que vocês pensam. Comenta em baixo se já experimentaste, se gostaste ou não, e se também os têm na vossa Wishlist.

Aqui está a minha lista de desejos para este outono:

Watching the Sun Go Down

If you follow me on Instagram, you might've seen some sunset shots. And that is because we live in a building with a privileged view to the sunset side. Although it is a beautiful show to watch every afternoon from our balcony, we wanted to go to this mythical place we heard about - the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian architectural testimony - which is said to be the greatest for watching the sun go down. As we climbed to the top of this park, - where yoga classes, bikers club, and random people playing frisbee meet - we saw a huge gathering around the fence, numerous people enjoying jazz music that was playing and watching this free spectacle happen. It was such a magical time. Slowly, the sun would go further down until it disappeared completely, leaving people feel pure for having watched such raw Nature's act.

Se me seguem no Instagram, devem já ter visto algumas fotografias que tenho posto do pôr-do-sol. E isso é pelo facto de viver num edifício com uma vista priveligiada para o lado onde o sol se põe. Apesar de ser uma vista maravilhosa de se ver todas as tardes, quisemos ir a este sítio mítico que ouvimos falar - o Templo de Debod, um testemunho de arquitectura egípcia - sendo o lugar perfeito para ver o sol descer. Quando subimos ao topo deste parque, - onde aulas de yoga, clubes de bicicletas e pessoas a jogarem ao disco se encontram - vimos imensas pessoas juntas a uma cerca a ouvir música jazz que tocava e, simplesmente, a verem este espectáculo grátis a acontecer. Foi um momento mágico. Lentamente, o sol descia cada vez mais até desaparecer por completo, deixando-nos a sentir sãos após ter visto um acto da Natureza tão puro.