Small, happy and Saturday six!

Hello everyone! How are we? 

I always like posts like these so I thought I'd do one myself now that I actually have some time for me (hello half term!)

Six favourite fruits:

Apples

Kiwis

Grapes 

Strawberries

Watermelon

Oranges

Six movies I love:

Moulin Rouge! 

Pride and Prejudice

When Harry met Sally

About Time

Bring It On

How to lose a guy in ten days

Six TV shows I adore:

Grey's Anatomy

Scandal

Nashville

Modern Family

Gilmore Girls

Friends

Six girl crushes:

Mila Kunis

Vanessa Hudgens

Emma Stone

Jennifer Lawrence

Lauren Conrad

Kate Middleton

Six things I'm grateful for:

My boyfriend

My family

My different circles of friends

Where I live

My Portuguese heritage

My positivity 

Six things I love doing:

Dancing

Cooking

Reading

Going to the cinema

Travelling

Teaching 

Favourite Disney movies:

Aladdin

The Little Mermaid

Beauty and the Beast

Tangled

Frozen

The Lion King

Places I love:

New York City

Portugal

Disneyland

Philippines

Hong Kong

Do you ever do these kinds of posts? Link me if you have I love reading them! 

Happy Saturday one and all :)

Sophia 

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Small, happy and in PARADISE.

Just a few snaps from what is surely the most beautiful, breathtaking place I have ever been: Boracay Island in the Philippines.

I never, ever want to leave.

We're actually leaving tomorrow after two days here by I'm sticking my head in the stunning, white sand and not thinking about it.

These are the days we work for, these are the days we live for.

Sophia xxx

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Small, happy and touching down in Hong Kong!

Hello there!!

So here I am again, the wonderful, magical, dazzling place that is Hong Kong. It is as busy as it is beautiful and because our room is the size of a box (as in I'm 5ft and can touch both ends of the room....) we are spending the smallest amount of time in the hostel as possible! 

This means boo for updating on here but yay for lots of sight seeing which I suppose is a good thing as I'm loving being able to share this place with boyfriend. We're only here for two days so we gotta hustle Asian style! Seriously, they walk with purpose here, I love it, they get shit done! Boyfriend with his English ways keeps bumbling and getting left behind, it's hilarious.

Until I can't see him, I can worrying he's been 'taken'! Ridiculous, I know,

Anyway, less on that, I mostly wanted to drop in and say hi and I'm sure we'll be able to have a nice catch up on the next more relaxing leg of our tour, Boracay in the Philippines!

Has anyone been to the Philippines? If you have what can I expect? Where would be on your Asia bucket list? What have you been up to this summer? 

Sophia :) xxxx

2 comments Hong Kong, travel

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Small and Happy's Singapore snaps!

Hello there! I am currently alive so I'm sorry for the lack of updates it's just I am currently busy being kept up by jet lag in the wonderful Singapore! 

This is the first leg of mine and my boyfriend's tour of South East Asia and for some reason he has adapted to the new time zone perfectly whereas I...well let's just say I'm glad I have my bloglovin feed!

So whilst tossing and turning in my humid bed (painting a nice picture for you, non?) I thought, 1am seems like a perfect time to update you guys on what we've been up to these four or so days that we have been here! In photo form obviously because four nights on with no sleep is starting to seriously affect my linguistic capabilities...

The famous and exclusive Raffles hotel where we obviously did not stay (cough *I wish, sorry hostel* cough)

But where we DID go for the equally famous Singapore sling. Gin does terrible and humiliating things to me (some other time guys...) so boyfriend finished this off, however I did love peeling the peanuts. Did you know the floor in the Long bar at Rafflea is covered in peanut shells? You're actually meant to throw them on the floor after eating the nuts, no joke. I promise. It felt so counter intuitive and daring just chucking then on the ground. I really enjoyed it!

Living it up wild style here in Asia I tell you.

We also hit up Singapore's botanic gardens and visited their beautiful orchid garden. I took waaaay too many photos of flowers but they're my absolute favourite so I just couldn't resist! 

We also nipped over to Legoland Malaysia which made boyfriend grin like a mad English man all day and we saw Lego versions of some amazing Asian landmarks. Seriously? How good is this? No need to trek to India now...

Their snack game was also very strong and I was immensely pleased with my pot of sweetcorn as an afternoon pick me up. Like I said, crazy teacher on tour...

I even came away with some new friends. #squadgoals

Back in Singapore we popped into to a cat cafe where once again I was reminded that animals simply do not like me as much as I like them. This gorgeous chinchilla Persian was totally above giving anyone any attention, she was the sassiest cat ever and knowing cats and their attitudes like we humans do, that's saying something. The woman even had to bring her special cat food because 'she won't eat it if she thinks it's been out too long' seriously, the Mariah Carey of the feline race.

And finally to finish off this update here is a shot of the lovely SG at night. I tell you, no matter where you go in the world, being to eat outside by the water with loved ones is always going to be one of the top experiences :) but saying that, this is a pretty perfect spot to do so.

Getting emotional in my tired state, my bad. 

Anyway, I'm off to toss and turn some more (ever the sleep optimist!) but how are you all doing? And welcome to the newbies, please say hi!!

Have ever of you been to SE Asia? Any favourite places?

Lots of love, 

Sophia :) xxxx

Leave a Comment botanic gardens, Legoland, orchids, singapore, sleep, travel

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Small, happy and doing...nothing at all.

Well hello there lovely people!

I bring you this photo from my earlier stint on the beach and I'm afraid not much else! I am currently in the gorgeous corner of the Earth that is the Algarve in Portugal seeing my wonderful family.

My days here consist of going to the beach, eating too much and plenty of Mediterranean dramatic moments in between which my fully English boyfriend is amused by to no end. We're just dramatic, passionate people who love to gossip, can't help it!

I will update more soon but right now I am in need of some serious relaxing time after such a hard term at school. Us teachers need breaks! (Waits for the 'teachers have too many holidays as it is' eye roll)

Speaking of holidays, have you been away? Any good UK staycations?! Perhaps some far flung exotic locations? Fill me in, I'd like some good reading material so link me below!

Lots and lots of love,

Sophia xxxx

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Small and happy's snapshots from Copenhagen!

Well hello and hallo there! I'm totally guessing that hallo is Danish for hello by the way, I didn't pick up any of the language during our whistle stop weekend in Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago! 

Just checked.

Hello is Hej.

So Hej, one and all! Whilst I didn't pick up even the most basic of Danish phrases as I was saying what in the country's capital what I DID pick up was a serious love for this clean, exciting, vibrant city (as well as an awesome keyring, but more on that later....) 

Here are some of my Instagram snaps from the trip and I hope they inspire you to go! Seriously it's so near to us in the UK you really just must, an hour and a half flight anyone?!

 

1. The beautiful Nyhavn. Just look at all those colours!

2. Ariel in the flesh! The amount of tourists crowding around this chica was incredible. A little gem in the jewelled crown of the city.

3. The famous open faced sandwiches, althought let's face it, it's basically art at this level! Boyfriend devoured a smorgasbord and highly recommends them to all.

4. A typical Danish (and delicious) breakfast with more muesli than you can shake a stick at! 

5. The fantastic Tivoli Gardens! For the lesser Scandi-familiar this is basically a 200 year old adorable fairytale like theme park right in the centre of town. It's worth a trip purely for this! 

6. A beautiful castle. Can't remember the name but basically there's a lot of beautiful buildings in Copenhagen and this is one of them. Cameras at the ready people!

7. Some lovely interiors Scandi chic style. All of the pastels, I'll have them all please.

8. My new friend, Emerald the mermaid magnet. For those of you asking, yes, she is Emmy for short. And yes, she lives on the fridge. 

Also no, I don't know where her bra went. Saucy.

Anyway, that's a little window into our trip away. I feel like we've mastered the weekend break and it really does just keep you going and make the normal weeks just a bit more exciting. Travel is so enriching and to think that there in Europe there are so many wonderful places on our doorstep is so inspiring!

So the next question is,

Where next? 

Where would you recommend for a weekend getaway?! Have you been to Copenhagen? 

Sophia xxxxx

Leave a Comment Copenhagen, Denmark, lifestyle, travel

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Small, happy and life lately!

Helloooo my lovely lot,

How are we this Friday Eve?!

Once again my life is going full steam ahead (and even that phrase I feel doesn't suffice) but hey ho that's the life of a teacher in the summer term! I can't sit down for a very long chat I'm afraid so here's a sneaky snapshot of us in Copenhagen last weekend and a round up of life lately!

Eating// Waitrose's delicious healthy choice raspberry balsamic vinegar #middleclassfoods. Totally brightening up my work lunches!

Watching// Jurassic World again. Seriously go if you haven't seen it yet! The film=epic. Chris Pratt=hot.

Wanting// a chow chow dog. I mean sorry, I'm seeing them everywhere I go (so it's obviously a sign) and how could you not want this face in your life on a permanent basis?!

Planning// our South East Asia trip. Anyone got any recommendations for Vietnam or Bali?!

Lifting// weights. Yeah, that's right. My new Pure Gym membership is working me hard!

Obsessing// over House of Cards. I accidentally spoiled myself for the end of season 3 but it only made me want to get to the end of the season more!

Coveting// ALL the summer clothes but knowing I have no need for anything new in my wardrobe.

Reminiscing// about our lovely weekend trip to Copenhagen this past week. Somewhere I really hadn't thought to go and I'm so glad I did. If you're in the UK I really recommend it for a nice trip away. So clean, friendly and some lovely places with lots to do!

Feeling// rushed off my feet, happy, excited, lucky, achy, loved...

And about a million and one other things, but that's life isn't it?!

So catch me up, what's new (pussycat?)

Sophia xxx 

2 comments Copenhagen, house of cards, lifestyle, pure gym, travel, waitrose

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Small and happy's #throwbackthursday

So sorry for the lack of posts, life is going a mile a minute (update soon!)

So let's think back to calmer times...

Boyfriend and I on the beach together in my beautiful Portuguese homeland. Well, half homeland, the other belongs to Yorkshire :)

Happy Friday Eve y'all!

What are you looking forward to this weekend? Any BBQs planned?!

Sophia xxxx

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Small and Happy's 30 before 30

With the onset of my mid 20s very much imminent, aka, my next birthday, I thought it would be nice to sit back and think about all of the (30) things I would like to accomplish in the next few years... I love a good list anyway so writing this was just too much fun! #wildwoman

30 before 30:

Go back to New York

Have a baby

Take part in a sushi making class

Do The colour run (or Colour Walk as I might be better off calling it...)

Get married 

Take part in a cocktail making class

Do a barre core class

Make homemade bread

Grow vegetables in my garden

Get better at tennis

Learn to crochet

Watch a tv show being filmed

Do some sort of further study

See a Shakespeare play in Stratford

Go away on a health detox!

Go to Universal Studios in Florida

(combined with a return trip to Disneyworld, naturally)

Visit Australia

Host a BBQ

Have diving lessons

Improve my Portuguese

Do some volunteering (maybe abroad?)

See a real life panda 

Go to Japan (especially Disneyland Tokyo!) 

Join a book club

Raise money for a charity

 

Do a tour of America!

Develop my baking skills so I have a few go to classic bakes

Eat at a Michelin starred chef's restaurant 

Go on a honeymoon somewhere lovely and secluded

Learn to cook some of my Portuguese grandmother's recipes

So there they are, my list of things is like to accomplish in the next six years. This is not a checklist, nor will I feel like a failure if I don't do everything. This is just a reflection of me taking a step back and looking at what I'd like to do to help myself grow, have fun and broaden my horizons. It's so easy to get caught up in my life which is why I think it's so important to make lists.

As mum always says, 'if you don't write it down, you don't do it!' 

What would be on your list, have you done any of these?

Lots of love, 

Sophia :) xxxxx

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Small, happy and a silent Sunday.

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