Marbella has been a dream of mine for a good few years. At the end of last year I even created a Pinterest board for the future, where I’ve pinned all the beautiful white- washed streets, charming cafes and chic boutiques. I had a plan to visit this city but had no idea the opportunity will come so quick! When Klaudia from Carmelatte asked me to join her on the trip to Marbella I literally couldn’t believe it! Felt like it was meant to be! I booked my tickets straight away and counted the days down like crazy, haha!
Where is Marbella?
Marbella is situated in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca, on the Costa del Sol, in the province of Malaga.
How to get to Marbella?
The closest airport is Malaga airport. Gibraltar International airport is also another option. At Malaga airport, we’ve rented a car from Goldcar. Marbella was around 40 mins drive. What a drive that was though! The mountains views on our way were absolutely gorgeous.
First glance at Marbella
I fallen in love with Marbella at first sight. It felt like a mix of places I absolutely adore- my beloved Mykonos with all its charming white streets, my dream LA (all the roads where full of palms on each side. Also all the incredible mountains views, wow!) tropical Bali with all its lush gardens and banana plants everywhere, vibrant Morocco with all colourful buildings and tiles. Ah, what else I could ask for from one place? Marbella has this incredible cosmopolitan atmosphere. I’ve also had a chance to stroll around few neighbourhoods and it felt like walking around Beverly Hills. Absolutely stunning! I am not going to lie I felt like I could live there!
Where I stayed
During my little break in Marbella I had a chance to stay at Marbella Club Hotel. From the moment I walked in, I fallen in love. This place is so elegant, luxurious and charming surrounded by lush gardens and with stunning views over the sea. Marbella Club Hotel offers different accommodation types : rooms, suites, grand suites, villas and grand villas. There were two villas that absolutely stolen my heart.
Let me show you around Casabel– my love at first sight. I loved the beautiful pool, rattan outdoor furnitures, bohemian feel and its most perfect patio, decorated with hand-painted ceramic murals. Also the villa has a beautiful, private garden lined up with lemon, orange, avocado and olive trees. Ohhh, could I please move in?
Welcome to the home of my dreams! Or the most perfect holiday home!The cosiest living room with a lovely fireplaceAhh I could totally get used to it!Kimono from Miss June and sandals from Renee
Another villa I absolutely fallen in love with was Bel Air with a huge private Balinese style pool and absolutely insane boho decor. This villa looked like taken from my Pinterest board! Take a peek!
The most dreamy decor!
Restaurants
There’s plenty of restaurant choices at Marbella Club Hotel. I personally enjoyed dining at Beach Club the most- as it doesn’t get better than delicious meal in the sunshine with the Seaview, right? I also loved The Grill. Such a romantic scenery for the evening and plenty of sea food options so I was in heaven. There’s also a beautiful cafe located right by the beach that was my favourite spot. Perfect place to relax and have a cup of tea with a view.
What to do in Marbella?
Marbella has so much to offer- from beautiful beaches, mountains, golf courses, lush gardens, charming restaurants, cafes, chic boutiques. Here’s my top recommendations.
Visit Marbella Old Town
I could be strolling these beautiful, white-washed streets for hours. It’s so nice to actually get lost and admire the beauty of them. What I loved the most were the cute, colourful flower pots on every single corner- it’s a very characteristic thing in this region. There’s lots of stylish restaurants and beautiful shops- real paradise for flamingos life myself! I treated myself to another bohemian style bag, yay!
Shop at Puerto Banus
For shopping lovers- you can’t skip the visit to Puerto Banus- luxury marina and shopping complex. This is where you can shop at the luxury fashion boutiques : Gucci, Dolce Gabbana, Prada or sip a cocktail at the fancy bar or beach club watching the super rich on their luxury yachts and the Ferraris passing by. Insane!
Watch sunset at Belvue Rooftop Bar
If you’re looking for a chilled spot for a cocktail or a glass of a lovely Spanish wine or Sangria and watch sunset over the city Belvue is a perfect choice. They also had the live music playing the night we went and it was so lovely! May I add that for two glasses of local red wine we’ve paid only 9 euro? Wow! And you get this view!
Have a lunch at Organic Market & Food
We discovered this place while searching for a healthy lunch spot. Organic Market & Food was a perfect choice! We actually went there twice as we loved it- once for late lunch and once for cakes. It’s such a beautiful place and the staff working there was super friendly! Not even mentioning my favourite boho decor and such a great food choices- healthy salads, veggies, juices, smoothies etc. They also do a takeaway, so if you’re heading to the beach and would like to take some healthy food with you, look no further. Just a little tip here- if you’re looking to come for lunch and would love to sit outside, it’s better to book a table as they get quite busy and there’s only few tables outdoors.
Chill at the Beach Clubs
In Marbella you can find so many stylish beach clubs with great food and music for either a chilled afternoon on the sun-bed or a crazy night out. If you love beach clubs write these names down : Nikki Beach Club, Ocean Club, Amare Beach, La Sala by the Sea, Funky Buddha Beach, Puro Beach and Max Beach.
Tours around
There’s also lots of places around Marbella that are worth visiting. As we’ve only been there for 4 days we haven’t managed to do that, but that means I have to come back soon!) From Marbella you can go for a day trip to either Gibraltar, Malaga, Mijas Pueblo, Serrania De Ronda or even Tangier in Morocco!
I hope I inspired you to visit Marbella! This place stolen my heart and I hope I will have a chance to come back soon!
We all hear about the negative impact of Social Media these days. I’ve met many people recently who told me how down they feel after scrolling on Instagram. But do we actually do something to STOP? I know from my own experience how easy it is to get addicted to this app. I still find it a place full of inspirations. It also helped me to connect with many like-minded people and this is something I am forever grateful for. However now after doing it full-time for a while, I see many negative aspects of this space too and I had moments that I was feeling super down and frustrated. Why? Well my own fault! I’ve been spending way too much time scrolling and scrolling thousands of perfectly edited photographs , watching all the stories, one unboxing after another, another wow-looking hotel, another insta-perfect couple etc I know it can get pretty overwhelming and make you feel worst when you already have one of these bad days or generally going through some tough time. All that affected me a lot in the past but I’ve started to learn to deal with all that and look after my mental health better. Here’s my top 5 tips :
1. Unfollow negative people on Social Media
We all follow somebody who is super negative but for some reason we’re still watching these dramatic stories everyday. I stopped that and unfollowed/ muted stories of people I don’t want to keep seeing as:
a) they don’t bring any value into my life
b) they have negative impact on my mental health
c) I don’t need their drama in my life
Follow more accounts that make you happy, make you laugh and giving you the positive vibes instead. It honestly helped me!
2. Don’t compare yourself to others
That’s the hardest part. When you’re having a bad day, you’re logging into your Instagram and keep seeing all the paradise locations, unboxing, events, vacations and all that. After some time you’re starting to think your life’s crap. Remember- what people post on Social Media are mainly the highlights of their lives. Many don’t show the REAL life, the struggles, don’t talk about problems so on the outside it all looks perfect and it makes you feel worst about yourself and your life. But scroll down your own feed- maybe to somebody else it’s actually your life that looks GOALS. You know what I mean? 🙂 Remember it’s only a bad day, not a bad life!
3. Spent less time watching what others do and focus on yourself
This is something that I have been practicing a lot recently and I swear it feels so good. Now I am spending way less time online watching people’s stories and I’ve started to invest this time into my development , working on my blog, Pinterest, my projects and dreams. I’ve been also going out with friends more often and devote this “extra” time people I love. I’ve been spending more time outdoors with nature which makes me happier and more relaxed.
4. Ignore the trolls
Recently I’ve seen many people posting stories literally crying from some negative, bullying comments left on their posts or DMs. Well, we’ve all been there. The truth is, the moment we decide to put ourselves and our lives online we should be aware of the consequences. I do understand the constructive criticism however if the messages or comments are simply mean, aggressive, vulgar and make no sense- I simply just ignore and delete them. No point wasting time and nerves for anonymous online bullies.
5. Spread the positivity
Remember that the positive starts with you! You cannot dictate what other people share on their profiles however you’re in charge on what you share on yours! Be the positivity, the energy, the place where people would enjoy coming back to. Post inspiring content, places and positive thoughts and encourage others to do the same! Together you could create a positive space and empower one another!
How do you deal with the negativity on Social Media?
It’s been a while! I really missed writing on my blog! I have been very busy with travelling- I have recently been to Thailand ( I will write a separate post about that trip) , London Fashion week and organising upcoming trip to Dubai- can’t wait!
In the meantime I have decided to prepare a second photo editing guide for you as you are always asking me about it ( you can see the first one here) This time I would like to show you my new favourite editing apps that help me to add a little magic to my photos!
1. PicsArt
My number one app at the moment it’s PicsArt. You can honestly do everything with it. There’s plenty of beautiful presets and effects- from fairytale lights, snow, adding hearts, fireworks, stars, galaxy skies and many others! Literally Instagram dream! Here’s some of the examples of my edits with the Pics Art app. The app it’s not free- it costs few pounds a month but I have bought a whole year subscribtion as I really enjoy using it for either Instagram photos or stories.
2. Snowing Pic
Another app I would recommend if you only need the tool to add the snow to your photos (I am mentioning it as I had so many people asking) it’s app called Snowing Pics. It’s totally free and it takes seconds to add the snow. There are different types so you can see which one works best with your shot.
See the example below :
3. Canvas
If you’re looking for a tool to help you out with cute design, there is an app I am honestly loving at the moment- Canvas. I use it for either Instagram stories or boards for my Pinterest. Great news- it’s awesome and it’s free of charge! There are some extras you may need to pay for but I promise it’s worth it, however basic option is honestly enough. You can design so many incredible things using it – logos, flyers, posters, invitations, blog and Pinterest graphics, recipe cards and many more. I am honestly loving it and still exploring how to use it!
Here’s few examples :
4. Facetune 2
Almost forgot to mention the app I am using frequently- Facetune 2. This is the app I am using to make my skin look smother and to make my photos more “glossy” I use the tool called glow on all my photos.
5. Unfold
I have already mentioned this app here but I continue using Unfold app as I am loving it for the Instagram stories! I don’t know if you’ve seen but they have added a new Valentine’s / love theme now and it’s been working so well and made the stories way more interesting! If you haven’t got this app yet you should definitely invest few pounds a month! It’s honestly a game- changer!
Here’s some examples :
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little editing guide! Let me know what are you favourite editing tools!
Can’t believe this year is coming to an end. It has literally flown! I thought it would be a great to sum it up a little. It’s been a HUGE and very challenging year for me and it’s hard not to get emotional.
I honestly don’t know where to start and how to describe this year. But surely 2018 was a year of huge growth- and no, I am not talking about the growth of my blog or Instagram followers here but growing as a person. It was a year of very difficult decisions and hard choices, year of probably the biggest amount of stress but also the year of a huge progress, big changes (that I would have never ever predicted) and big dreams coming true.
As you probably remember 2018 started in the most blissful way for me- I have celebrated NYE and spent the first week of a January 2018 in so far- my favourite place on Earth ( next to the Seychelles!) – The Maldives. Stay there truly helped me to recharge the batteries and inspired me so much. I started the year with a new super positive energy that definitely helped me to push forward.
Together with Siobhan from They.Wanderlust
February has been a very busy month for me as it’s a Fashion Week month. I have been working a lot, attending shows, events and working on various campaigns and creating lots of content. I have spent the entire month working in London.
March was also a crazy month and my last one working full-time 9-5 as a Social Media and Marketing Coordinator ( but in March obviously I had no idea what was going to happen after!) This month I also met someone I have been following since I was a teenager- Eliza from Fashionelka.pl and she was so kind and so inspiring. It was so funny but after we’ve met I had a feeling like I always knew her. Eliza really gave me a kick that was needed! We’ve stayed friends and kept seeing each other during the year. It was really one of the highlights of 2018 for me. It’s a miracle to be surrounded and supported by a person like Eliza and I am forever grateful that we connected.
In April, together with a first bloom of flowers I felt like my business started to bloom too. This is when all the invites for my first press trips started to go through my emails and I was feeling very overwhelmed as I still had a full-time job. It started to get harder and harder to do both- work full-time and run my business. Also this month I had a phone call that nobody ever wishes to receive- my dear Grandma was dying. It was heartbreaking. Few hours after I was already sitting on the plane back to Poland to see her. I made it on time to say bye to my beloved Grandma who showed me the world and gave me so much love and care. I couldn’t put myself together after she passed away. She died in the most horrible way and it was all happening on my eyes and I just can’t get it off my head (even now). But I had to let go…
I came back home to London feeling so bad. Stressed, scared, exhausted. I’ve felt like I couldn’t push forward after loosing her. I started to think to cancel all the upcoming press trips but my mum said grandma would be so sad if I would do that and encouraged me to continue doing what I love so she could see that. I was still a bit off at work but thankfully the director of the company I worked for for was very helpful and he allowed me to do my job remotely after I explained what happened and what business I am running on the side ( I was so afraid to tell him!). I will never forget his words „ You go go go go! You need to take every opportunity now”. That opened many doors for me as I was finally able to accept the invitations, travel the world and build my Social Media presence. and by travel I mean TRAVEL A LOT, TRAVEL ALL THE TIME! I have started with a first Press Trip to Mykonos with Rocabella Hotel- one of my favourite places in Europe. Mykonos always gives me energy and inspiration. I hope I will have a chance to visit in 2019 too.
May is always my happiest month as it’s my birthday month! It started with another incredible press trip to Turkey with Hillside Beach Club where I got to meet many inspiring Influencers from all over the world and celebrate my birthday!
This trip was followed by another insane Press Trip to Mykonos ( how lucky to be there twice this year!) with my favourite Polish Brand Renee Girls ( this year we’ve also celebrated a year of working together!) and this trip was a very special one as I got to be a part of their summer campaign( my first ever Magazine Shoot and Filming! It was so scary but so incredible! I had to get out my comfort zone and break many barriers but I ended up feeling more confident, more comfortable in front of the camera and I was feeling proud of myself! I also loved the results of our work. You can see it here.
June was the most extreme month for me. This month I travelled non- stop. From a trip with my best friends to Marrakesh, through the Italian Road trip with Hertz Europe ending up in the place I have been dreaming to visit forever- Kenya – one of the most incredible experiences in 2018 – Luxury Safari with Fairmont Hotels – still can’t believe I have been there! Here I also met someone that I truly admire and I am so grateful this trip brought us together. Meeting Bonnie from TheStyleTraveller.com was one of the highlights of this year too. After these trips the amount of work was simply insane and I was super busy, jet-lagged and always stressed ( I was still working as Social Media Coordinator at Soho House while travelling to all these places!) Kenya opened my eyes and helped me to realise what really makes me happy. With that saying, after Kenya I have decided to GO for it, to live my dream full-time and I handed my notice in. I have finished working for Soho House on the 30.06.2018. That was a HUGE change in my life. Today I know it was a right decision.
July started with a well-deserved holiday. I have headed to Fuerteventura to visit my childhood bestie Marta from Martabrezo.com and we’ve spent the most wonderful 2 weeks chilling, exploring the island, dancing, singing, surfing ( well she was, haha!) It was truly one of the most favourite times of this year for me. I slowed down, recharged and got myself ready for running my business full-time. I came back new-born that really helped our relationship with Salvo- because of all the stress I was facing it was extremely hard 6 months for our relationship. I struggled to find the balance, I became a real workaholic- not a loving and supportive girlfriend I used to be. Trip with Marta helped me to relax a bit, forget about the most difficult months and start off fresh.
I got back to London in the Mid July and yet, my bofriend made my biggest dream come true- we’ve booked a trip to Aruba to see flamingos ( crying writing this as it was honestly my biggest dream!) 4 days later we were on the plane, holding hands and we felt closer than ever before. It was honestly such a wonderful trip. I started to learn the balance – I was still working and creating content for you but at the same time I gave myself time to tan, relax and enjoy time as a NORMAL couple on holidays without recording every single thing. We promised each other to take more trips like that! Travelling only for work is not always easy!
In August I have decided to spent time with my family, as through the year I really struggled to find the time to go home. I also felt like my mum needs me after grandma passed away. I spent almost 3 weeks of August with my mum and brother- firstly in Poland and then in Crete, Greece. It became a little tradition to explore a new place every year with my mum ( last year we celebrated her birthday in Mallorca). We truly loved our little trip together. It was actually the gift from my mum for my 25th birthday so it was very special. I hope we will travel together again in 2019!
September started with a big BOOM. Again a Fashion Week month! This time I haven’t only attended London Fashion Week but I was also invited to attend a couple of shows in Paris! It was honestly incredible. I have seen so many beautiful shows, attended many fabulous events, connected with lots of inspiring boss babes I have been always following on Instagram but never met in real life so it was so nice to finally meet and enjoy this busy time together!
What a dream, Paris Fashion Week, wow wow wow! I was really blessed to head there with my friends – Klaudia and Aleksander who took the most magical photos for us! If you ever need photographer you should definitely hire Alex! He does the magic!
This month I have also flew to Ibizafor a big press trip with Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza to celebrate the opening of Hard Rock Hotel in London in spring 2019. Really looking forward to it! It was such a fun trip full of parties, beach clubs, incredible dining and night out experiences. I have stayed at places I could never wish for! It was INSANE!
20.09.2018 was also a big day for us as we have moved to the new beautiful apartment in London (after MONTHS of constant search for THAT dream place). It was a huge success and happiness for me and Salvo. We’re slowly working on it but we’re already grateful and happy for a bigger homie! I finally have my dream The Blonde Flamingo office, yay! What a big dream coming true for me! Finally have my little space to create for you.
October started with an insane invitation to Grenada from Grenada Tourism Board- goals! I was crying from happiness! I couldn’t be more excited to explore another incredible Caribbean island and let’s be honest- escape the horrible London’s weather, haha! This trip gave me so much energy, we had a great Influencer team on Board – Taylor, Scott and Dave– we honestly had so much fun together! I hope we will travel together again in 2019!
November brought 2 fantastic Press trips that I am forever grateful for! I have headed with Pink Lady Apples to Avignon and also to the House of Laurent Perrier with Laurent Perrier ( I couldn’t believe my eyes when these invites came through my email) I had the best time learning about these incredible brands while being surrounded by the most talented and inspiring UK Influencers ( It was my fourth press trip with Bonnie, how lucky we were to travel together so much this year? I couldn’t be happier)
December was another busy month. I have created lots of Christmas content in London, I have travelled to beautiful Zakopane, Poland with Klaudia that brought many childhood memories. It was so magical to experience snow and the mountains after so many years! I have finished off the month with a amazing Press trip to Trentino – I have been snowboarding after 6 years break. It was a little bit challenging but oh wow, how beautiful! I really, really missed it and I want to do more snowboarding this winter for sure.
From Trentino I got on the plane to Naples, Italy where I’ve spent Christmas with my boyfriend’s family. It was so lovely. My family back home in Poland is quite small so it was so nice to experience the big Italian Christmas ( still thinking of all the food haha!) I was surrounded by so much love I can’t put in words. I am actually sad now to be back in London. I wish we could have stayed longer! Also the weather was so beautiful! ( how lucky they are for a 18 degrees and sun in December!?) We’ve spent the time relaxing, eating ( all the seafood OMG), I have also brought one of my favourite things we do in Poland and I was teaching Salvo’s cousins how to make gingerbread cookies! They had so much fun, my heart was melting! We’ve also had strolls and breakfasts by the beach, we even found time to visit my favourite beach club. Ahhh, such a wonderful time!
These two gave me so much love this Christmas!
As you can see this year was huge for me. I had to break it down by months and it actually helped me to really see the growth and the progress. It was one of the busiest, most stressful year of my life but after visiting all these incredible destinations, meeting so many inspiring people, growing my company, learning and experiencing so many incredible things I think all the stress and hard work was worth it and I feel ready to push even more in 2019. Thank you so much for all the support you gave me this year. All this would never ever happen without YOU. Thank you so much for being here! Promise more content, more travels and more inspirations in 2019.
Don’t ever be afraid to chase your dreams! They are waiting for you.
Here’s your favourite TOP 9 posts from my Instagram in 2018! Over half milion likes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am now getting ready for chasing more dreams and more flamingos in 2019!
6 years since I decided to leave everything behind and move to London. Why am I writting about it? Yesterday I attended Mary Kay event to celebrate the Beauty of Confidence. Part of the event was the coaching session with the International Life Coach Liz Wilde who asked us few questions. One of them really got me emotional. We were ask to write down 3 things we’re the most proud of. For me the top one was the decision to pack my pink suitcase and move to London on my own at the age of 19. Second part of the exercise was to close our eyes and play the movie of this moment. I got so into this session and literally this entire period of the past 6 years came through my head. My pink suitcase that got broken at the airport, my crying mum who wasn’t ready to let me go, the moment of saying bye to my little brother, my friends, my pink bedroom, my comfort zone. I saw all the struggle- finding the first job, struggle with money, with finding real friends. The first crappy job that I literally don’t want to remember but now I know it all happened for a reason and it was meant to be a part of this journey. I then remembered the most painful break up with my first love, feeling lonely and lost in London. I remembered the ridiculously small room I was renting. I remembered falling in love again. I remembered the moment I decided to quit the job I hated and move forward with my career. I remembered moving the flats every single year and first visit of my family. I had all these flashes of my first blogpost and first 100 of followers on my Instagram. I remembered the first blogger event and first people I’ve met in the industry who inspired me and helped me to believe in myself and spread my wings. I remembered my first written interview and very recent moment ( that now honestly feels so far away as I had too much going on these months!) of leaving my full time Social Media job and moving blogging full-time. All these moments kept flashing in my head, I am not gonna lie I had tears falling like crazy! These were the hardest and most challenging years in my life. But do you know what? If I had to do it all again, I would. 6 years ago when I moved here, I had a vision of what I have today but I never really knew if this dream will come true. But I listened to the voice of my heart and never took anything for granted. I pushed, I worked hard, and I won’t stop. Some people say I am lucky, but I don’t agree. Nothing ever came easy in my life. It was all hard work, dedication and not listening to people who told me to stop or to “be normal”. Maybe you’re not where you’d like to be today, but continue pushing for what you really want in life and don’t stop even when others tell you it makes no sense! We live in such a beautiful world full of opportunities and there’s enough space for everyone out here! All we need is the confidence, vision and the power to fight for our dreams.
During the event I also written down one very important quote. “Love starts with loving yourself”. I couldn’t agree more. This is where you need to start. Thank you Mary Kay for having me at this wonderful event. I will keep reading the notes I’ve taken in the moments of self-doubt.
