Along with the banana, strawberries, honey and lemon smoothies I’m getting into the habit to drink every afternoon, these are the things that I’ve loved in April…

My skin has been so sensitive, itchy and problematic that I’m blessing the existence of gentle natural body products, the only ones I can actually put on my skin nowadays! My favourite shower combination of the moment comes under the name of Yummy Mummy, in both shower gel and body conditioner form: the range is available now at Lush exclusively for Mother’s Day, and I can’t think of a better gift to give to a mum! The scent is sweet and floral with geranium and orange notes, the shower gel has some pretty silver glitters in there (which doesn’t stick to the skin, but shine while you’re foaming it up on your body) and the body conditioner contains organic cocoa butter which makes it such a good moisturizer without feeling sticky or thick on the skin. I probably need to stock on these two before they’re gone!

I’ve always been such a fan of Bioderma that I wasn’t able to think of switching it up with something different one day. I haven’t changed the typology of the product at all, but one day, in desperate need of a makeup remover that was a bit cheaper than my usual choice, I picked up the Garnier alternative – this is how I got to cynically try the Garnier micellar water to discover it’s actually a valid alternative to other expensive offerings. It’s as gentle as Bioderma and as good to remove my makeup (even though I’ll always be partial to my beloved Bioderma, you know!).

As I said, my skin is being very dull and problematic over all my body, so it came the day when I stopped using all those alcoholic deodorant that were just a torture to me and got back to my Natural Organic Deodorant by Earth Conscious. It smells like lavender and comes in a creamy consistency that is extremely easy to apply. It doesn’t last as long as other non-natural deodorants, but it doesn’t ever cause itchiness or redness on my skin, which is a huge bonus!

Since the day I’ve spotted and bought this glass set, I’ve been obsessed: they even inspired a couple of DIY projects, but not only that, they’re also super pretty to drink coffee or smoothies in! I love the simplicity of the clear glass and the cork coaster combination, so much that I have a feeling I’ll be adding more similar homeware to the collection!

These are my favourites for the month of April! I’d love to discover new things in the next month, so let me know what you’ve loved this month! x

Can you believe April is already over? It feels like yesterday that I was trying to sort out how to finish up my Easter chocolate and to who I should have given some of my chocolate gold bunnies as I had too many! Yet meanwhile Spring has officially sprung, shoes and clothes for the new season has been bought, seeds and plants have been planted and a lot has happened! As for every month, not everything has been perfect, but somehow this beautiful warm weather put me in an excited and positive mood about literally everything!

Here are the highlights from my month…

1 :: Observing our two goldfinches meticulously putting together their nest, selecting cotton and straw, trying to split in half a thin stalk by pulling toward opposite directions with their beaks and then finally, a few days later, spotting four little white eggs in there! It totally made my day!

2 :: Spotting so many beautiful yellow fields outside when driving; for some reasons they look much more beautiful when the sun is high and warm, whereas they lose all the charme when the sky is grey and rainy! Luckly, we have been blessed with a lot of blue skies this month!

3 :: Buying and building my new desk. It can seem overestimated, but there’s nothing like a tidy and clear workspace to boost your positivity and creativity, and mine totally needed a makeover! I’m so proud and amazed of how it turned out, so stay tuned for a little workspace update soon 😉

4 :: Getting a new canary. We got him a week or so ago and we’re already in love. We named him Spencer, and it’s a funny red canary who totally loves food and that might be starting to sing too!

5 :: Working outside. Some days the weather was so nice that it seemed a pity to stay inside, but since there was work that needed to be done, I’ve headed outside instead of at my usual workspace. It felt so nice, refreshing and inspiring that it’s totally something I should do more often!

What’s on your April happy list? x

I seem to always complain about if it’s too cold or too hot! These pictures are dated back to last month, when the sun was warmer for the first time this year and we went for a one day trip to Milan with only one thin layer on (a thin flowy dress for me actually!) and nothing else! I’ve been wanting to share these pictures as well as a pair of places where we love to eat when up and about in Milan since a month now, but other contents seemed to always come first and these pictures got lost in the archive of forgotten post drafts; today though, it’s a very sad rainy grey day, and I’m typing from a couch with way too many layers and blankets on than it’s supposed to at the end of April, and I can’t deny I’m one that get so conditioned from the weather – this is how I found myself thinking back of that time when we were in Milan and it was that hot that I’d wished I didn’t decide to wear tights that morning…

We’re finding ourselves wandering around Milan a bit more often than usual lately, for a reason or another, but that day we went only to explore and discover new places, but especially new food! I’ve written down a long list of pretty coffee places, bakeries, restaurants that we need to visit and test before the end of the year, and placed it in my handbag, so that everytime we find ourselves around one, we know where to go and eat!

First stop that day was The Bagel Factory, a place we haven’t stop visiting ever since and that I can’t not highly recommend! They have a tiny shop located in Piazza XXIV Maggio, not far from a nice walk towards the Duomo, and offer the biggest selection of fresh ingredients to compose your own perfect bagel beside from a few suggested ingredients combinations that all sounds amazingly tasty. That day we went for smoked Norwegian salmon, avocado and mayo in a delicious sesame bagel, and that’s still probably my favourite pick, even though their poached eggs and classic or eggplant hummus are something delicious to add and pair with a vast amount of ingredients!

May I suggest also to try their freshly squeezed orange juice, it’s something divine! Next on my list are their brownies and huge cookies, as well as that layered granola and berries yogurt glass they have, sounds delicious!

PIAZZA XXIV MAGGIO 1/8

We spent our afternoon enjoying the sun, walking towards the Duomo with all the calm that a chilled spring day deserves, and spotting other places that immediately made on top of our food-to-try list (we tried I Love Vegetarian‘s smoothies only a pair of weeks later and we are in love! You can’t beat their banana, strawberries and papaya smoothie, it’s super delicious and refreshing!). We walked that much without even realizing if not for our feet that started aching (especially mine!) and for the fact that at a certain point I felt my foot touching the ground only to discover later that my shoes broke and I needed to buy a new pair – I can’t even count the times I’ve bought random pair of shoes just because mine broke in the middle of a busy city! Anyone else?

We walked to China Town (and believe it or not, it was my first time there) and after spotting a few too many cute things, we got back with a huge bag full of the craziest food (like grape and peach oreo, seaweed pretzels and green tea snacks) with the only purpose to try something different!

Lastly we stopped by That’s Bakery for a cupcake or two just before heading home. Again this is a place we visited a few times again as their cupcakes are just perfection! The place itself is a little American bakery, with shabby chic homeware and cute little tables even outside and a lot of options in their menu, like american cakes, cookies, brownies, and obviously their delicious cupcakes which were our first choice after hearing so much about them. Even though it was only the end of March, the day was so lovely that we couldn’t say no to eating outside and went for a red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, chocolate and nutella cupcake (my fave!) and decided to try their cappuccino (which is delicious, for the record). We got lost in chats while sipping and eating and by the time we realized, the sun was setting and the air getting chillier.

VIA VIGEVANO 41

Here’s to more sunny days spent up and about exploring new places out there, especially if they involve food! Plus I can’t wait to share a few more places I’ve already discovered that offer pretty amazing food! x

I’M WEARING ::
Dress – Forever21 ; Bag – ASOS ; Shoes – H&M