I might not be the biggest china hoarder, but I could spent hours browsing through a fascinating ceramics shop and adding tea cups to my list of things I need to buy when I’ll have a home for my own. Especially if we’re talking vintage. Anyone else? Anything that looks cute and vintage-y would make for a nice piece of decor in my opinion, but this Vintage Tea Cup Birdfeeder is not only that, in fact it repurposes vintage ceramic as a birdfeeder to hang in your garden between the branches of a high tree, or somewhere else that is very quite. I’ve not been super lucky until now and haven’t still spotted any bird to take a picture of, but I bet it will come handy later in spring when the weather is nicer and it will be much more pleasant to stand outside and wait quietly. But I do love the idea of trying something like this as soon as spring comes, and yet I’ve already hung my cup outside just in case some little birds want to enjoy in these last sunny days as well! Definitely something to add to any list of things to try.

You’d have noticed a recurrent theme in my latest posts, but as I was saying in my last update, I am totally in love with cozy nights in now that the weather is chillier. There’s something special about autumn and winter that makes nights in something I am always looking forward to, especially if they includes some pampering action and sweet treats to try out. I have put together so many ‘me-time’ nights for myself that I thought it was finally time to share my tips for the perfect pamper night and hopefully chat with you about your favourites ways to spend nights in in autumn/winter (so please let me know your tips in the comments!).

1. Recreate the atmosphere :: picking the scent of a relaxing candle is so very personal, but I think everyone will agree that a pamper night is not the same without one or more candles to recreate a cozy, spa-like atmosphere in all the rooms you’ll live in for the night. I love to light floral scented candles while I’m taking a relaxing bath or waiting for a face mask to dry on my face, while I’m totally a fan of sweet, food-inspired scents in every other occasion, whether I’m spending the night browsing through my favourites blogs, reading a book or watching my favourite TV series. As for season inspired candles, there’s nothing better than the ones that replicate Christmas or winter scents in my opinion, and lately I’m completely obsessed with the super cheap Vintermys IKEA candle, that smells amazing, like cocoa powder, biscuits, icing sugar, vanilla and Christmas spices, basically a festive baking session in a candle – believe me when I say there’s nothing better!

2. Have a well-deserved pampering session :: personally I’d love to justify a pamper night every evening, but I guess it wouldn’t be so well appreciated if it was a routine. Even though I’m more of a shower kind of person, I definitely love bath-time when it’s cold outside (and above all when the festive Lush products are available!). I like to pick my favourite deliciously scented beauty products and have a well-worth half an hour to spend treating my skin to a soothing bath, a hydrating and relaxing face mask, all completed by a good scrubbing action as well as a deep hydrating body moisturizer. I have a whole post dedicated to my favourite beauty picks for a good old pamper time here, if you want to have a peek!

3. Pick your favourite freshly washed bed linen :: it might sound weird, but I love when my bed has good-looking freshly washed bed linen on, I found it very relaxing and would be happier if I could change my sheets everyday – but you know… I’m also a fan of cozy blankets as well, especially when I want to spend my night on the couch and especially since I’m super sensitive to cold!

4. Have some treats :: a cozy night in is not completed without a cup of tea, but when I decide to pamper myself I like to indulge in something a little bit more on the delicious side of things. Recently I was lucky enough to try this hot chocolate from Lindt thanks to the lovely Sally, thick and silky, sweet enough, so delicious, and it has quickly became my new favourite hot drink for any pamper time. You want something to snack on while spending your night in on the couch? Please do yourself a favour and indulge in the cutest milk chocolate hearts! I’ve always been a fan of Lindt milk chocolate, but these are just the cutest little treats, and even though it’s meant to be a present for someone else, I couldn’t resist and decided to treat myself instead. Hello little something just for me!


Something else for you to try on your nights in – Salted Caramel & Chocolate Popcorn Recipe.


So what’s your favourite way to spend your ‘me-time’ nights in in autumn/winter?

As soon as the weather becomes chillier I start enjoying more than ever some cozy nights in (not that I’m a fan of nights out anytime of the year, but you know…!) and it was a while that I wanted to experiment with popcorn and do something a little bit different than salt & butter. I can’t deny I was pushed to actually do it as soon as I saw those super cute little popcorn boxes (similar here) in the shop and I couldn’t help but pick them up to put together a cinema night little party (kind of… me and my boyfriend the only ones invited). I made my caramel, melted most of the chocolate in my kitchen pantry and had a lot of fun at putting together this simply recipe/idea that could be perfect for any cinema night in you’re planning!

Ingredients | 2 Popcorn Boxes:
1 pack of microwave popcorn
For the chocolate:
50g dark/white chocolate + 2 teaspoon butter
For the salted caramel:
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon large sea salt
1 tablespoons butter
1/5 cup water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 :: Follow the instructions on your microwave popcorn packaging and make the kernels pop! When they are ready, pour around 1/4 of the whole pack on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and pour the sea salt over them.


2 :: Pour the sugar in a saucepan with the butter and the water and place it on a very low heat to melt. This can take about 10 minutes, meanwhile you won’t stir the mixture with a spoon, but only gently swirl the saucepan around once or twice.

3 :: After ten minutes add the baking soda and stir it in, then leave the saucepan on a low heat until the mixture starts bubbling. Then remove from heat.

4 :: Quickly pour the caramel over the popcorn you prepared on the baking tray, and using a non-stick spatula mix the caramel around to coat all the popcorn evenly. Leave it cool for 10/15 minutes until the caramel has solidified.

5 ::  Meanwhile melt your dark and/or white chocolate in the microwave, each of them together with two teaspoons of butter.

6 :: Prepare a few parchment paper foils to place your chocolate popcorn to cool.

7 :: Take 1/2 of the remaining popcorn and coat them with the melted chocolates, then place every coated popcorn on the parchment paper foils you prepared. Leave it cool at room temperature or in the fridge until the chocolate is solid.

8 :: Then start building up every pop corn box. Evenly divide the chocolate popcorn and salted caramel popcorn in the popcorn boxes and top with some left over classic popcorn as well. And your little popcorn treats will be ready for the cinema night!