TODAY I LIKE ··· FLAT PRINTED ESPADRILLES BY NICE THINGS

I must confess I'd never worn espadrilles before, only wedge shaped ones in the summer and just a few years ago when they became quite popular… Considering they come from Spain and have been around for over 7 centuries, it was about time I owned a pair of casual flat nice espadrilles :) 

So this season I decided to give them a go and I'm currently owning 3 pairs!!!! My favorite ones are from Nice Things by Paloma S, a family owned fashion brand from Spain (their shoes are "proudly made in Barcelona" as they claim in their website). They have wonderful and very feminine designs that make their collections unique.

As I am writing this post I am wearing their pineapple printed flat espadrilles :) I love them because the sole is not as flat as many other espadrilles - the extra centimeters are always a plus!

TODAY I LIKE ··· SUMMER IN YOUR LIVING ROOM

I would love to have this large scale print in my living room! Every time I look at it I get the kind of relaxed beachy feeling of those summer days spent lying in the beach with not a single care in the world other than what to have for dinner… Having this at home would be like bottling all  those summer experiences and hanging them up in the wall for you to look at every single day :) 

The artist behind this piece is the photographer Max Wanger, you can buy the print through his website. 

And in case you were wondering, the photo was taken in Tulum (Mexico) :-)

Bri Emery's (DesignLoveFest) living room designed by Emily Henderson and shot by Laure Joliet (link here)

TODAY I LIKE ··· ST JAMES' COURT TAJ HOTEL IN LONDON

It was my 30th (30 already!!!) birthday in March and I treated myself to a weekend getaway in London, one of my fave cities in the world. I went there with my super friend Guille - who has an amazing blog about our lovely city, Barcelona, that you must check! - and we had a wonderful time together :) I've written about London many times before, recommending a good value for money hotel, a great place to have the traditional English afternoon tea, Harrods Food Halls and the beautiful Somerset House ice rink. Today I wanted to recommend another great place to stay: St James' Court Hotel. Mind you, it's not cheap! But it's not one of those super expensive hotels either. I found a great deal through Booking, almost 50% discount, and it was a very special occasion so it was really worth it :) 

The location is superb, just footsteps away from Buckingham Palace and St James' Park. The room was  very big, had every small luxury you could imagine, and the building is very nice, just what you would expect from a classic old London house :)

In case you're planning a trip to London, I would also recommend The Folly where we had dinner on Saturday night: I loved the atmosphere and the interior design. The food was also very good!! It's the kind of place where the music is quite loud and the lights are low :) We went to Sushisamba afterwards, on the 39th floor of the Heron Tower, magnificent views!

And last but not least, if you happen to be wandering around Chelsea, please do not miss Partridges, a charming family run food store in the beautiful Sloane Square just off Kings Road. Oh and by the way, the Saatchi Gallery is in the same square, highly recommended as well!!

London is always a good idea, and giving yourself a treat for your birthday is the best idea ever, specially if you share it with someone you love <3

Notting Hill market

Liberty department store

The Wallace Collection: free entrance and very interesting!!

the nice woman owning the Notting Hill Market stall didn't like our selfies

getting ready for the night… ;-)

The Folly

The Folly

the food at The Folly was so good!

Saatchy Gallery

Partidges 

Harrods Food Halls

Partridges

The Folly restaurant

TODAY I LIKE ··· "DO WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOU DO" ATTITUDE

It takes me 3 hours a day to commute to work. Time that I spend walking, in the underground and in the company's shuttle bus that travels the 60km distance gap between Barcelona's city center and the office. Not bad, eh ;-) I've been working here for the past 2 months and I've experienced the typical commuter crazyness: at first I thought it wouldn't be that bad, that it was easy to complain but you could actually use this time doing useful things like reading, thinking or listening to music. Then I started dreading it. Such a complete waste of time, when everyone knows time is precious!! But I also realized it was not only me: tons of people spend hours commuting to work, at least I'm not driving my own car and I can comfortably relax and enjoy the ride while I whatsapp with my friends, read the newspaper or watch TED videos... 

But I missed the city vibes terribly. This last year has been a bit of a turmoil for me: I left Barcelona for Madrid, where I worked for 8 months - living in a hotel on weekdays and flying to Barcelona each weekend to be with my family and friends. Then I realized I couldn't stand it anymore and I had to choose whether I wanted to live in Barcelona or Madrid. And I chose Barcelona. Found a job in the fashion industry, working for one of the biggest retail companies in the world, and happily came back. 

And then something weird happened. It was suposed to be a joyful new stage in my life. I was so excited and kept giving thanks everyday for having this great opportunity. I wanted to like the job so badly.

But things did not click. It was not what I had expected. And if you are honest to yourself this is something you instantly realize. Of course we should give things a chance (not only work related but also in our personal relationships, this would be another thing to discuss some day...) but I believe we should be true to ourselves and never settle if we feel it's not enough.

And that's what I did. The minute I realized I didn't love this job and I wasn't happy I knew I had to move forward. "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among the stars" is my mantra :) 

So today is my last Monday working for this company. I will always be grateful for the opportunity I was given, but my heart was not in it and I couldn't force it. The sooner you realize what you really want, the better - because it means you can start working on it!! 

I'll tell you about my new job soon. Of course I have a very good feeling about it and I won't let this past experience overshadow my excitement, but at the same time I want to take things slowly :)

Today I used my commuting time writing this post. I hadn't blogged for a long time and I realized I terribly missed it! I'm sorry for writing this long ... I felt I needed to come clean and get it out of my chest!! 

What about you? Does it take you a long time to get to the office as well? Have you ever considered quitting your job? Do you ever feel you are not doing what you love? 

Have a wonderful day everyone!!! Talk to you soon ;-) 

this is me during my commute ride to the office

I love this print from the amazing The Every Girl website 

image via