Lunching in Berlin // Cafe Niesen

The other week my boyfriend and i decided to head out for a coffee and maybe some lunch,

if we saw anything we fancied...

We are home bodies, 

[you could also suggest we are a little lazy]

and very much prefer staying in and around the area we live.

Luckily for us, we have a range of cafes close by,

and luckily for us, two are a minute's walk away!

We strolled around the corner [literally]

to Cafe Niesen, which means sneeze in German, cuuuute!

Located right on the corner of Korsörer Straße,

[where we lived for a few months fact fans]

and Schwedter Straße, 

with a view of the TV tower and a few minutes walk from Mauerpark,

this corner cafe is always packed on a sunny day.

Very popular with locals, 

and anyone wandering past.

You know somewhere is good when every table is full!

The interior is gorgeous.

They have boardgames on a shelf,

magazines and newspapers.

The perfect location to make yourself comfortable for a few hours.

This cafe is a 'self serve' place.

Which, in Berlin, just means you decide what you want and order from the counter,

rather than waiting to get served at the table.

Your drinks and food are brought to you, 

and you can pay either before you eat or when you're ready to leave.

We opted for chai lattes and they came with a real chai blend in a bag,

i left it to brew for a while, 

i loooove me a good chai latte 

and i've never had one come with the spices before,

so it was a luxurious treat!

As we were only out for a light lunch we opted for a slice of quiche each,

one vegetarian without salad,

and one meaty with.

Both quiches came fresh out of the oven, 

toasty and warm.

The veggie quiche was olive and mushroom,

a combination i've never had before,

and my oh my was it delicious!

The meat had leeks and chunks of speck [chunky bacon]

and was equally as tasty.

There was just one guy in the kitchen,

making everything fresh and on the day which is pretty standard here.

They had a case FULL of home made cakes,

about five varieties,

and lots of other options for lunch at extremely good prices.

They even have a 'house drink',

Niesonade,

which is fresh lemon and elderflower syrup,

sounds good!!

As my Kiez [neighbourhood] is quite suburban 

and a popular area for families,

there are always kids outside the cafe,

making their own entertainment while they wait for their parents

to finish their lattes.

[and NOT on smart phones or ipads]

We're often greeted with cute street art such as this!!

Adorable!

If you fancy a day out, 

i whole heartedly recommend you make your way down to Cafe Niesen,

stop for a bit of lunch and a refreshing drink,

then walk on through to Mauerpark.

It's especially beautiful in the autumn,

the leaves are falling and are especially golden this year!

>.<

Food in Berlin // Maria Bonita

Ok, summer is officially over.

Yaaay!

I have to be honest, 

autumn and winter are my favourite seasons.

I love layering, 

i love being able to wear a hat,

gloves, scarf etc.

Pumpkins, hot soup, stew.

Not to mention the C word...

*whispers*

christmas.

That being said, one of my favourite things to do in summer...

eat!

I know in the heat it's sometimes difficult to find an appetite,

but when you have the best mexican place down the street

you find some room in your belly!!

Guys, if ever you are in Berlin and the weather is decent,

visit Maria Bonita.

It's on Danziger Str 33, 

just down the street from the Eberswalder U junction,

and their food is crazy good.

Everything is made fresh, on the day, to order.

The place is tiny, you walk in, there's the counter.

They cook everything in the front, 

you can watch if you want...

if that's your thing!

Not much room to eat inside, 

just a window seat,

which is why i suggest visiting on a warm day.

Plenty of seats outside.

I wholeheartedly recommend the fish tacos.

They're a special,

so won't always be there,

but hell,

they are so delicious. 

Tasty spicy salsas.

The guacamole that comes on the side of the plate is to die for.

I didn't like guac until i tried it here.

Now i am a master and make it all the time!

Try the quesadilla.

Gorgeous!

This was the chicken. There is also beef or a veggie option.

For €6 or €7, it is a serious bargain.

Little tacos alambre, beef and cheese.

We now make a version of these at home.

€5,50.

I know it doesn't look a lot,

but these 3 mini pockets of yum are so filling.

I guarantee satisfaction!!

Those heavenly fish tacos.

The batter is so light, the fish not fishy, 

weirdly, they aren't greasy at all.

There aren't a great many mexican places i've come across,

which is strange to me,

because mexican food is always so fresh, flavoursome, and [kind of] healthy.

I feel like there should be so many more Mexican places!!!

Come to Berlin, 

stay in Prenzlauerberg, 

and come eat at Maria Bonitas.

They sell the most delicious margarita slushys.

For ten euros you can get a meal and margarita.

You can't say fairer than that!!

I love this place.

I want you to love it too.

Burgers in Berlin || Volta

A new feature on the blog today,

welcome to, 

Burgers in Berlin.

My boyfriend and i are burger lovers.

There's nothing better than finding a new burger place pop up and trying it.

Marking it on the mental burger scale. 

Arguing about how it measures up to The Bird or Burgermeister.

I'm going to be sharing some of my favourite places to eat burgers in Berlin,

i might even stretch it to my favourite places to eat,

period.

Today's burger eaterie....

Volta.

Tucked away on BrunnenStr,

it's easily accessible and pretty easy to find. 

A bonus for the location is the U8 stops right by it, 

the VoltaStr. stop, no less.

Easy!

Lots of space outside for plenty of bums on benches.

Everything is home made, and in season.

The menu isn't huge, but that's a definite plus.

My favourite places to eat have a small selection, 

meaning they can focus all of their attention on what they actually want to cook.

But, what we came for, the Volta Burger.

€12, with sides.

Can't argue with that.

They have hausgemachte iced tea,

it's so fresh,

but i have an issue with fresh mint.

This just tasted like toothpaste, not my bag really.

My boyfriend though, chugged down 2 glasses.

Some of the best beer in Berlin.

They get it from a local micro brewery.

I'm not sure if it's their brewery, or just a supplier,

but it doesn't matter really, not for beer this tasty.

Here she is, star of the show.

Just delicious.

The burger was really meaty,

the relish was a nice accompaniment,

and the chips are to die for. 

You get a giant onion ring, 

thank you.

The bun kind of falls apart, 

because it's a little twisted roll,

but it's better than an english muffin holding 250g of meat!!

Now remember, this is my opinion,

and not everyone will agree,

my boyfriend certainly doesn't!

I do not like the taste of beef.

I can't eat steak, it tastes...grey.

I have no other way to describe it.

I like burgers because it's ground up beef,

seasoned to shit,

and encased in bread, cheese, relish and lettuce.

Can't really taste the beef.

So that's how i'm scaling things. 

This burger, tasted too much like beef.

Not seasoned enough for me,

the surrounding relish and cheese didn't make up for it either.

So although i liked it, and the chips were FIT,

i won't be coming back to Volta specifically for their burger.

I'll go back, but i'll try something else.

The ambience of the place,

their ideals,

the freshness of their produce,

just gorgeous.

It felt like i was at a really hip, expensive, restaurant.

Well worth the money.

But because i don't like the taste of beef,

this burger is not a favourite of mine!

Still, i would 100% recommend it, 

because other people

[my boyfriend and his parents]

LOVED IT!

NYX cream blush review

I feel like i'm still trying to find my feet with this blog.

Figuring out what i actually want to write about. 

So apologies if me talking about make up isn't your thing!

Anyway,

i love cream blushes. 

I feel like even if you are wearing no makeup,

a quick dab on your cheeks will immediately brighten your complexion.

[and make you feel better!]

I bought this on a whim.

I didn't even test it out in the shop.

I'm glad i didn't test it though.

If i had, i wouldn't have bought it.

It feels more like a gel than a blush.

I was dubious at first.

But after applying, 

[sparingly]

it smooths and blends really nicely.

It doesn't keep that gel feeling for long at all.

My cheeks don't feel sticky,

like they do with some other cream blushes.

And the colour is really pretty.

It looks more pink in the pot,

but when applied it is definitely more of a coral.

This blush is now in my essentials bag.

Sorry Benetint!

NYC cream blush in Rose Petal, €8,95

Posts have been a little scatty this week because i'm a bit ill.

Suspected sinusitis.

Which has resulted in ear problems,

and toothache.

Being the anxiety ridden hypochondriac i am i'm stressing out that the infection

is getting into my brain.

I had another sleepless night,

well, an hours sleep,

because i was worrying that i didn't feel as congested in my face.

I convinced myself it had trickled into the back of my head.

When maybe i'm just getting better!!?

Thankfully i have a doctors appointment tomorrow.

I need antibiotics and i figure

flying with this pressure in my head.....

not going to be nice.

Hope everyone is well and feeling happy.

Benefit 'They're Real!'

Peoples!

I come to you bearing a review of a mascara everybody already loves and raves about.

Never one to follow a trend i am seemingly late to this pants party.

But wait, am i late? 

Or did i just intentionally wait until all the hype was over, 

then present my two cents when you would actually care to read it??

The truth is i'm a procrastination queen and just kept saying, 

"tomorrow tomorrow, i'll do it then"

*whispering* i didn't though...

The other side of the truth is i didn't want to, 

nay, couldn't afford to, 

spend £20 on a mascara before trying it out first.

Luckily for me Elle had it as a freebie some weeks ago and my parents picked me up a few copies.

Thank you parents!

I now have four of these mini tubes and i am super chuffed because, 

yep, you guessed it, 

i effing love this mascara!!!

I am not usually a fan of mascaras with plastic brushes but i'll make an exception here.

The brush gives the lashes an all over, even coating, 

and the mascara, however it's made, is wonderful. 

It left my lashes thick and lengthened, but not clumpy or spidery, which i hate!

Also it dried really fast, 

which i really like, because i'm not one to spend forever on my make up.

Plus, i often sneeze right after doing my mascara,

[i get weirder, i know]

so having it dry quickly was brilliant, no sneezy mess to clean up!

The only thing that irked me about this was that ball on the end of the brush.

It seemed to grab a bunch of lashes and stick them all together if i wasn't careful.

I wondered if this was just because the wand is smaller, 

as it's just a sample size.

I brought this up with a friend of mine and she assured me it's not clumpy or overly large on the normal sized product. 

Well then, i'm sold!

Please enjoy some pictures where my large pores and smaller eye are excruciatingly obvious... 

No mascara...

With Benefit They're Real.

Woah look out, try not to poke your eyes out with those bad boys!

[how?]

This is just one coat.

I'm not one for multiple layers of mascara so getting this result with one coat, 

happy shell!

So there you have it.

 I, as well as many others, love this mascara.

The hype is not just hype, 

it really is as good as 'they' all say it is. 

As soon as my 4 samples run out i'll have probably saved enough money to treat myself to the actual real life full sized version,

and let me tell you, 

i am excited!

I read somewhere that asking questions at the end of a post connects you to your readers so...

did everyone watch Game of Thrones this week?

;-)

Kukee jewellery and a wishlist of sorts...

I stumbled across Kukee quite by accident. 

I was looking for a name necklace, and found their site via a google search.
I decided to go ahead and buy a necklace, and get it delivered to my mum's so i had a nice treat to look forward to coming home!

When i got back and she gave me my pile of parcels,
[i may have treated myself to a few bits...]
i ripped this one from Kukee open straight away.

Lookit the cute packaging!

I love this necklace. 

I wear it all of the time.

It's a bit different to the popular tatty devine-esque name necklaces lots of people have.

The letter cubes are chunky yet dainty at the same time.

The chain is the perfect length for me.

If you look at the photo above you can see some larger links in the chain.

These are on either side of the letters and prevent them from separating and rolling around to the back of your neck!

Ingenius!

They don't seem to have the named necklaces or bracelets on the site anymore.

It's a shame really.

Not to worry though, there's lots of other pretty things!

After putting my new necklace on i went straight to the website and looked at ordering a few more things.

Treats!

I chose some necklaces that are all of the things i love.

Space, dinosaurs, and skulls.

I am such a nerd i know.

There's a few other bits i want from the site...

These super cute skull bobbles are calling out to me.

Not pictured is the matte black one, sooo good!

For £1 each i might treat myself to all three.

These diamond pretties.

Swoon.

I'm getting a diamond knuckle tattoo when i go home so i want these!

These safety pin earrings couldn't call out to the punk in me more.

And finally this little pyramid.

Ah, i'm going back home in a couple of weeks so might have to place another order because seriously, i freaking love this website.

Keep checking their facebook.

Every now and then they post really good deals and offers. 

Did i mention Kukee has a page dedicated to £1 jewellery?

One pound.

Crying.

Just to make things clear, 

anything i talk about on here i've bought myself.

No-one has ever sent me anything to review, 

[waah!]

i felt like i just needed to clear that up.

I love bargains, and i love quirky jewellery that you can express yourself through.

That is why i love this site so much.

Dainty Doll eyeshadows £1!!!

This is NOT a purchase from fragrance direct!

I'll admit, when 'everyone' was blogging about the DD blushes, i mooched over for a nosey.

But i didn't like any of the colours, so, feeling a bit sad, i left it.

When i go back home one of my favourite things is the discount shops.

[and asda, but that's a whole other post altogether]

We have a retail park that has three, THREE, stores!!!

B&M, Home Bargains, and Discounts UK. 

Go on....keep scrolling, it's good...

All of the discounts!

It was Discount UK where i found this little haul. 

Their make up section is amazing.

Seriously, go check it out.

Sally Hansen, Wet & Wild, Bourjois, so many great brands and so so cheap.

What caught my eye though was the beautifully packaged Dainty Doll eyeshadows.

I literally gasped.

My dad was all, "are you ok? what's up".

I stood at the stand for ages, riffling through the packets to see the range of colour.

Turns out there were only 3 choices.

2 eyeshadows, and 1 eyeshadow base.

I couldn't decide.

Then my dad was like, 

*exasperated sigh*

"Shell, they're a pound each, just throw them all in the basket" 

So i did!

For the sumly [is that a word?] price of £3!

These can retail anywhere from £1.99 on Fragrance Direct, to £14 everywhere else.

The choice on FD however isn't that great. 

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my bargain.

Wearing my smug pants.

01.Are You Experienced  02.Frankie Girl  03.Teach Me Tiger

Two of my cases don't have a mirror, but how many mirrors does one person really need?

The shadows are really pigmented, can be worn nice and subtle, or really build up that colour.

I'm super happy with Teach Me Tiger.

It's a shimmery orange/gold colour, 

and is a colour i have been searching for but never knew it.

The eyeshadow base is easy to apply and so creamy.

It reminds me of Benefit's LemonAid, just not quite as yellow, or solid.

If i'm honest, i prefer the DD base.

I feel it lasts a little longer and is easier to apply.

Ah shopping!

Discount store shopping.

Ain't nothing better.

I picked up a few more bargains whilst in the UK.

Will be posting about them, so look forward to that!

Also a fresh new analog post.

Exciting, non?!