5 things that made me smile this week

This week has been a crazy week of birthdays, job opportunities and redecorating my over cluttered room. I feel like I haven't stopped in weeks and finally my body is telling me to stop, relax and enjoy the Easter long weekend that's coming. The little things have really made me smile this week and most of that has been sitting back and watching my friends and family go about their normal lives around me. This weekend will be filled with chocolate, laughter and hopefully a sunny Monday afternoon spent watching the football ( league) with my dad and sister. However here are the 5 things that made me smile the most.

1. Looking through old family photos to put a beautiful photo book together for my Nan for a very special birthday.As I was going through the photos I love knowing that I have an amazing friendship with my family and at Christmas my sister and cousin joked that we are cousins by blood but friends by choice and it couldn't explain it any better.
2. Chatting with my Contiki friends and going through the photos makes me want to do it all over again and makes me very nostalgic specially with the cold weather coming. Here is a photo of my amazing travel buddies Instagram.
3. Visiting my Nan for her birthday yesterday my mum, my two sisters and I all managed to end up at my grandparents place at the same time with my pop home from work to enjoy some afternoon tea. It was like fate wanted us all there together. 
4. My Make up career is leading me in a direction that I never thought I would be going in. It is really nice to be able to see people encouraging and supporting this and it makes so grateful that I have some truly incredible people around me and that my skills don't go unnoticed.
5. My beautiful clean bedroom makes me feel so happy and relaxed at home and I have enjoyed nothing more then coming home to my bedroom, lighting a candle and hopping into bed with a good movie or tv show.

 What made you smile this week? :)

Keep up to date with my crazy life here.

http://instagram.com/samanthatherese

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Weekend Inspiration .008

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Around the World .003

Ischia

I was lucky enough during my time as an Au Pair in London to meet the family I was living with in Ischia for a week to help them look after the kids. Ischia is the largest islands in the Bay of Naples. Ischia is heavily visited by Italians and Germans and I found a very little amount of the locals could speak English, however they were more then happy to give it a go and I shared some very funny moments with the locals trying to order meals when I was alone. The family I worked and lived with had relatives living on the island and spent a couple of weeks there over the summer visiting and asked me to come over so that I could spend the evening with the kids while they caught up with family and friends. This meant that I had the days free to myself to explore the beautiful island. 

It is the perfect place to go and relax with is beautiful spas and its well know thermal baths. It has the most amazing scenery with its vineyards, picturesque small towns and the beaches. From what I have been told and read the beaches in Ischia are better then those on neighboring island Capri. 

Sant' Angelo is a fishing village that is car free and only accessible by foot. With its beautiful beach, cafes and fisherman houses it almost feels like a step back in time. The houses are typical fisherman's houses with whitewash walls lining the winding streets and lanes. I spent the day here wondering around the local shops, getting in a local cafe and catching some much needed sunshine on the beach.

The Island is famous for its thermal springs and it has been said that people travel from all over to feel the effect of the spas.  We visited Poseidon which is the most famous and largest of the thermal parks on the island. The thermal pools are standard pools that are fed by the natural hot springs which come from the volcanic activity of the island. We spent the day in and out of the different thermal spas and when they all became to warm we spent the rest of the time lying by the pool enjoying the amazing weather.

Ischia is the perfect place to spend a week doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying the local food and wine. I spent my time wondering the island, shopping in local boutiques and eating so many amazing meals. The locals will make you feel right at home. If your headed towards Naples I recommend that you add a couple of each days and take a ferry over to Ischia. It is a real hidden treasure.

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Weekend Inspiration .007

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