March is already over! Can you really believe it?! I’m ready for the new month to come though, as April is by far my favourite time of the year; with Easter, spring coming to its climax, a few exciting opportunities ahead and my blog’s birthday, how couldn’t I be as excited as ever for it to come?! Springtime it’s cheering me up (bye bye winter blues!) and this not only means I’m pretty excited for literally everything, but also that I’m trying as much as I can to improve my mood and positivity… and also that I started enjoying and appreciating everything I have around, both material or abstract. So yep, expect a huge list of favourites this month! Ready?

Stationery.

You might have guessed I have quite an insane obsession to stationery by now, but this month a pair of little treats has been added to my collection. No notebooks in sight (I have way too many, right?), but I’ve got that beautiful trio of colourful washi tape from Tiger last week, and I’m obsessed! The leopard print one must be my favourite! That adorable cat pencil case is from Petite Mila: made out of 100% organic cotton and the cutest designs, her pouches (which easily double up as pencil cases or whatever you want them to be) and tote bags are probably the most adorable things I’ve seen in a while, and the quality is amazing too!

Candle.

If it’s not a mug than it’s a candle that seems to always appear in my monthly favourites! But I love them! Ikea candles: sometimes they’re lovely others not that much. They are super duper cheap, as cheap as a full size candle can get, but sometimes they don’t really smell of anything really. That’s not the case! This LUGGA Soft Vanilla Candle is one of the best I’ve got from them (especially on the vanilla department) and it won’t last as long, but it surely makes my room smell intensely sweet as sometimes only expensive candles can do!

Kitchen.
No new mugs this month (I’ve been forbibben to buy any other!) but a new entry between the ceramic bowls (similar) was needed when I spotted this cute hearts bowl in a local shop. It’s the cutest thing to eat breakfast in, and pastel colours make the whole experience even more enjoyable. I mean, there must be a theory of something that says colorful tableware makes people happy, right?

Style.
My wardrobe definitely needed a few spring new additions as everything looked a bit too grey and black and white and… woolly. I’ve got this Forever21 Coral Ruffled Dress on sale on a very impulsive online shopping session and I couldn’t have been more right. I’m obsessed. I love the ruffled collar and neckline and the flowy skirt is the most flattering on me. I can already see me wearing it non-stop this spring!

Makeup.
I’m not one that mention makeup that often on here anymore, but I’ve been loving this Rimmel Scandaleyes Thick And Thin Liner – not sure where they are going with the “thick and thin” thing, but I surely like the waterproof formula and the thin felt tip for a fool-proof application. I seem to be able to make my eyeliner look almost identical on both the eyes with this one and it’s something that rarely happens to me!

Drink.
Jasmine green tea, what a lovely invention! I’ve become quite the fan of green tea (only think I didn’t like it at all and now I drink a cup practically everyday) especially when combined with floral or citrus flavours (I’ve rambled about tea flavours lately here if you’d like to read more on the topic) and I’ve discovered jasmine green tea is probably my favourite thing ever! The tea in the pictures is from RealTea which I think is only available in Italy, but the Jing Jasmine Silver Needle Tea is another favourite of mine.

App.
Believe it or not I’m quite over Instagram and that’s all thanks to Steller (and the fact that Instagram pictures never come out as I like, arg!). Steller is a way like another (but neater and surely well-arranged) to tell a story. It allows you to put together a few pictures and phrases and displays them in beautifully disposed pages users can flip through like they’re reading a real book. It’s like a pocket-sized blog, where photography and writing meet into creative stories! I love reading and flipping through others stories as well as creating my own. I’m completely obsessed and have decided that would be the place where to publish all those never-seen blog posts I thought they weren’t that relevant to appear over here (including never-seen recipes, I’m warning you!) – so if you like to have a peek or give me a follow type ‘mielcafeblog’ in the search bar of the app or check my stories out over here.

Workout Clothes.
I’ve treated myself to some new yoga clothes recently as I’ve been good and stuck with it until now! I’ve especially been loving these super inexpensive Striped Knit Tops from Forever21 as they’re just the perfect material for moving into them without feeling too tight or too loose.

I don’t know about you, but I’m super ready for April! As much as March has been a nice month (not extremely beautiful and with ups and downs as usual, but not too bad as well) and the weather has been getting lovely, I’ve stepped outside the house today and was welcomed by the most warming 18°C sun I’ve seen this year – so if April is going to be this good… I’m sold! I’ve already planned a bit too many weekends up and about in Milan to visit all the Pinterest-worthy coffe shops I’m able to spot in one day, and if this will to go out and do things is flourishing again in me after this long winter, it’s surely thanks to the official magical arrival of Spring! Plus I’m overly excited for Easter coming next week! Anyone else?!

But back to March, here are a few highlights from the month…

1 :: Being able to go out without a coat, just leaving it at home, best feeling ever!

2 :: Discovering hummus – yes I know I’m a little bit late on the bandwagon with this one, but in my defense I’d say it’s not that common here in Italy! Obviously I love it, especially if served with a lovely homemade romantic dinner for two, such a treat!

3 :: Buying new yoga gear. I’ve been working really hard at sticking with home yoga at least 4/5 days a week and I definitely deserved a treat, so new yoga gear and clothes it is! There’s something so terapeutic about buying new workout clothes – it definitely helps at keeping the motivation alive and treating yourself for all the hard work!

4 :: Being able to take a few days off far from my laptop. It was really nice and such a well-deserved free time after months of working at my laptop every single morning and afternoon (and sometimes evening too, because when you work from home it’s easy to forget what working hours mean!). I switched off and enjoying some free time with my better half, spending the first days of nice weather of the year outside instead of inside!

5 :: Trees covered in pink blossoms! I haven’t seen that many for the majority of the month and it probably was the reason why I felt spring wasn’t officially here until only a week ago, when I started spotting one after the other. There’s nothing that makes me happier and feeling inspired than flowers in springtime, I’ll tell you this!

6 :: The school (literally) of little (and big!) Lindt Gold Bunnies that knocked at my door a few days ago – seriously Lindt and this lady here love to see me gaining weight, but I love them too because sometimes only chocolate would do after a ‘meh’ day.

Three favourite instagrammers :: @milkthistles (for the perfect balance of amazing flat lays, flowers, stationery, breakfast and juices!), @joyceeduyao (flat lays queen!) and @artandsoulcreativeco (because Laura does the cutest illustrations that have ever been!).

What’s on your happy list this month? x

Since deciding to get involved with a healthier approach to food, my kitchen pantry totally has had a makeover. I’ve always been a fan of eggs, or quinoa or honey, but only recently I’ve realized how good they could be for myself and how to make them the base of my healthy meals. Rapidly the amount of healthy ingredients has doubled up into my kitchen pantry as soon as I got to discover the existence and the properties of some of them and as much as I’m aware it needs to grow a lot more in the future and it surely will, I am totally happy with it at this very moment! With these and the help of some fresh vegetables or fruits I can build so many different meals from scratch, most of which are actually super quick and easy to put together and yet very delicious (check my Healthy + Vegan Brownie Batter Pancakes, Quinoa Guacamole Salad, Peanut Butter + Cocoa Healthy Cookies as example of what I mean – but also the end of this post for a couple of my favourite recipes from the web!).

I’ve gathered up my top favourite healthy ingredients I was able to discover in the latest months and am completely loving at the moment, in the hope to maybe inspire some of you to try something different and replace some unhealthy fridge staples of yours with some good for you and your body health!

1 :: Avocado.
I always say I’ve discovered avocado way too late in my life! Since a few years avocado has been my favourite go-to fruit for smoothies, salads, and of course my beloved guacamole. Recently I’ve discovered it’s totally appropriate to add avocado in my brownies and that not only it tastes amazing in there too, but it’s a good one to replace bad fats with healthy fats – I’m sold!

2 :: Eggs.
Eggs are my primary source of proteins and vitamin B12 so I always make sure to add some to my diet! There are so many ways to use eggs and I almost believe you’ll never learn enough on how to cook them! Definitely a nice ingredient to experiment with.

3 :: Coconut Oil.
Did you know that coconut oil is good not only if applied on your skin and hair, but also if implemented into your diet? I’ve always wanted to give coconut oil a go to fry or enrich my food, but never did until I realized it’s probably the best oil to put into your body because of its long list of health benefits and the high resistance to heat which means less free radicals too! I had a tough time at getting used to the taste of virgin coconut oil at the beginning, but now I completely appreciate it and use it to pan-fry literally everything!

4 :: Almond Milk.
I’m a cheese lover, but I realize I need to cut dairy off my diet as much as I can, this is why I’ve decided to start from my milk! I’m not a huge fan of soy milk, but almond milk is definitely my favourite and apparently the one that has a huge list of benefits too!

5 :: Quinoa + Bulgar Wheat.
There’s no need to underline the biggest amount of quinoa’s health benefits! It is an ingredients I’ve always loved and I’m trying to eat it a little bit more often than I used too – I especially love it if paired with bulgar wheat!

6 :: Chia Seeds.
Who knew these little seeds could be both source of fibers, proteins, omega-3s while also being super antioxidant?! It’s been easier than I though to integrate them into my diet, by simply throwing some in my salad or on my eggs or in my puddings!

7 :: Popping Corn.
I was as surprised as ever when I discovered a handful of organic popped kernels has only 20/30 calories! It means I can snack on popcorn everytime I feel a bit hungry and want to indulge in something tasty while also keeping it healthy!

8 :: Cocoa Powder.
Cocoa powder is a kitchen staple to me as I’m a huge lover of baking and, of course, chocolate. Unsweetened cocoa powder is low in calories but high in fibers, iron and magnesium and I throw it in literally everything sweet I cook or bake!

9 :: Whole Wheat Flour.
I really love white flour, but I know it’s important to cut processed ingredients out of my diet as much as possible, and recently I’m getting used and appreciating whole wheat flour as well! Definitely a healthier alternative!

10 :: Coconut Sugar.
As I said, I’m trying to limit the use of processed ingredients, especially sugar and I can’t even remember the last time I used white sugar! Brownie points to me! Coconut sugar is an unprocessed sweetener with low glycemic impact and good nutrients, so I thought to give it a go, and I’m a fan!

11 :: Coconut Molasses + Honey.
Two healthy ingredients I’m trying to use more in my baked goods as well as in my tea (instead of throwing way too many scoops of sugar in there!).

Take a few of these and mix them together to create delicious healthy breakfasts, take others, add vegetables or fruits to make meals or snacks! Those are the current bases of my kitchen pantry and I can do literally everything with their help!

And here are a few of my favourite healthy recipes from the web…
– Sticky Vegan Avocado Brownies
– Quinoa Stuffed Baked Tomatoes
– Butternut Squash Salmon Curry

What about you? Are you into healthy eating that much that you needed a kitchen pantry makeover too? x