Even though Holidays are meant to be spent with the closest ones and celebrating the fact of being together as a family (or at least that’s how I see it), one of the things I’d love to do and have never done is to go for a Holidays getaway, maybe right after Christmas to celebrate the start of the new year in new exciting places. I’d also not really dislike being locked in a chalet somewhere remote out there with cozy fireplace and blankets and all types of tea for more of a romantic option, yet this year I’ll spend it at home again, but I’ll make sure I’m going to spend some of the next Holidays visiting a festive version of a few favourite cities or getting cozy somewhere!

I bet some of you have been more organized and thought of it in advance and maybe are already packing their suitcases to fly over to exotic places, but whether you have somewhere exciting to travel towards or you just have on plan to fly over to your family, and whether you’ll be travelling by car, train or plane, I have something for you! I can’t deny I was kind of tempted of putting together a similar post anyway, so when RelayRides asked me if I wanted to be up and about for a travelling essentials kind of content I just couldn’t say no! So here I have a few staples and tips you don’t want to forget to keep you entertained during a long or short haul or even your winter road trip!

don’t forget ;
phone + headphones :: if you’re the kind of person that really can’t stand the plane/train noise as much as I do, headphones are definitely a must have – just remember to download lots of your music to have it available even if you’re offline when up in the sky! I’ve not joined the club yet but I heard Serial might be a good option too if you have no idea of what to listen to!

universal portable charger :: this one will change your life especially if you have a big quantity of devices to use at once and you don’t want to risk they run out of charge anytime or anywhere you are! Car charger can be a good option too if you’re driving over to your destination instead of flying!

reading material :: my favourite pastime when travelling is reading, I find it very enjoyable even though I’m not as much as a fan of reading on a car! But for the other vehicle options I never forget a book or my Kindle – even though you should really charge it before setting off (not like I did before shooting this post, oops!). Magazines are also a staple!

a notebook :: and possibly a pen too. It’s known that the best ideas come in the strangest places or situations or better when you don’t have anything where to note them down, so always bring a notebook with you even when you’re travelling especially if you’re a creative!

something to snack on :: don’t forget the candies and the chocolate! It’s always a good idea to have something delicious to snack on.

for your hand luggage ;
hand cream and lip balm :: whether you’re on a plane, car or train, air conditioning is the best friend of chapped lips and dry hands, so make sure you have something hydrating with you for them both!

makeup :: I generally don’t love travelling with makeup on, but sometimes situations require a nice face right after getting off the plane, so maybe you’d like to pack some makeup products that are easy and quick to apply like BB creams, tinted lip balms and concealer (which don’t even require a single brush!) to make you look nice!

pack your beauty :: don’t forget to pack your beauty products in a plane appropriate transparent plastic case (mine is from Muji and it’s so perfect!) and to put all the liquids into 100ml little bottles and containers! Even better if you can pack something like a solid deodorant (which is always handy to have with you)!

And now you’re all sorted and ready to fly towards exciting destinations! I’d love to know what you like to carry with you as travelling essentials!

Also if you’re travelling in or to the States you might want to consider taking a look at RelayRides, they have rental cars in several locations and are based on a peer-to-peer process that connects car owners with renters and sort it all out for you by facilitating the communication! So whether you are looking to make some money from renting your car, or making your Holidays travel planning a lot easier, I bet RelayRides might be worth to check out!

It’s been a long while since we had our last catch up so it’s about time to share what’s going on in our lifes now that Christmas is behind the corner. I’ll go first!

This year, Christmas got me hooked: I started being excited about it around mid-November and at that time I was thinking I would have been sick about the Christmas spirit by the time the Holidays actually began, but I’m actually still very enthusiastic about the festive period, all the baking, decorating, wrapping and shopping! I’m practically done with Christmas shopping, which’s never happened to me before (I used to be the one that had still to buy gifts the 23rd of December) with the only exception of one special present that still has to be bought – but it will happen pretty soon. I’ve planned a day of huge festive baking session to put together a few Christmas biscuits sachets to give to each member of the family, and I’m spending these last few days testing out new recipes once or twice for any just to prevent any fail (you know, just in case..!).

Where I’ll be spending Christmas day is not certain yet and it’s seriously stressing me out a lot! It’s not as easy as pie to chose where to stay without letting the rest of the family down, and yet it seems so hard to compromise with each and everyone, but I’m sure things will sort out someway or another within a pair of days. Both options will be jam-packed with lots of delicious food, festive environments and quality time to be spent together! More than ever this year I wish I had a home for myself and was able to invite each and everyone at my place, and not only because I want to buy every Christmas themed tablecloth my eyes are able to spot, I swear! Hopefully next year…

I’ll make sure to snap my Christmas away and share on Instagram and then over here as much as I can, but I’d also love to know what you got on plan for your Christmas day and how you’re spending this last week before Christmas this year! Also, if the festive spirit hasn’t hit you yet, I have a Christmas posts roundup board here and a little Pinterest update you might want to check out down below…

Now, we sadly don’t have Starbucks here in Italy so we can actually save most of our money that would otherwise be gone in years of coffee, but at the same time I’ve tasted Starbucks lattes only in a few rare occasions during the past years, and there’s been no chance to try any of their seasonal drinks. When I realized of the existence of their Gingerbread Latte, I felt a bit more excluded from the club of delicious drinks’ enjoyers, which is sad but instead of complaining I decided I’ll have my Gingerbread Latte anyway and made an homemade version of it. Now, obviously I’ve never tried the original which is good because I quite like my result and I’m not tempted to try the real one (I actually am tempted but it’s not possible, same, right?) but at the same time I can’t quite say it tastes exactly the same as the original for obvious reasons, however it does taste pretty delicious, so maybe you cool people that have access to Starbucks lattes can confirm it tastes at least similar?! Both cases it’s worth a try, since it’ll come out super delicious and quite gingerbread-y anyway!

Also I’m super impressed I was able to shoot this recipe, as I tested it out in the last few days at my boyfriend’s place where there’s a nice coffee maker as well as a milk frother, but then I came home and my coffee maker doesn’t work anymore and the milk frother is gone as well. You’ll be wondering how I did… well, a part from the old moka being brought up again, a few secrets for achieving a good latte without any equipment at all (and also for cleaning up the post-syrup mess) will be revealed somewhere below!

Ingredients | 1 Gingerbread Latte:
1 Espresso
150ml milk
For the gingerbread syrup:
125ml water
80g brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 vanilla bean
A pinch of ground cinnamon

assemble it! ;
4 :: Make an espresso and heat up and froth your milk.
5 :: Assemble your latte by firstly pouring the espresso into a mug, followed by 1/3 of the gingerbread syrup you’ve previously made and lastly by the frothed milk.
6 :: Enjoy when still warm without adding any sugar (it will be pretty sweet already!) together with other gingerbread festive treats!

DID YOU KNOW?

This might be obvious to some of you but it wasn’t to me, so I’ll share it anyway just in case some of you are still not conscious of it! You can froth your milk in a standard blender if you don’t own a milk frother (like I do at the very moment): just heat your milk up, pour it into a blender and then blend it away until it’s fluffy on top! 

I can’t say I’m a fan of ginger all year around, but it’s definitely the classic Christmassy flavour that I love to have around this time of the year and this latte is super delicious, extra sweet (just as I like it) and I think would pair amazing with some gingerbread men dipped into it – even though it’s a combo I’ve yet to try! I love the fact that you can definitely taste there’s something sweet and quite citrus-y in your latte, but it still doesn’t cover the flavour of fresh coffee. You can obviously garnish with whipped cream if you like, however I do quite like it to the minimal as well.

Let me know if you give it a try and tweet me a picture if you take one!