Whilst I missed the appointment with my latest monthly favourites, and since I’m feeling the festive spirit quite a lot, I thought it was the perfect time to gather up some festive favourites of mine for this blog. So here are a few things I’m loving lately…

The December Issue of The Simple Things – Although I’m not a massive magazine reader, being a blogger, I’m always after some inspiration and if there’s a period of the year when I can not say no to a cute magazine is the festive period! Jam-packed with the cutest festive recipe ideas and DIY Christmas gifts, this month’s issue of The Simple Things is such a great read for any Christmas-lovers out there. I especially enjoyed their ‘Santa’s Little Helpers’ articles!

Cutest festive stationery – On Black Friday the one only thing I spoilt myself to is cute stationery bits and bobs from Fox and Star – I just couldn’t resist! They’ve quickly become a favourite of mine already: this Rifle Paper Co Pocket Notebook set looks so festive with its gold foil details, and I’m already considering using one of them to fill it up with festive/winter recipes. Also I can’t really wait to use that adorable Winter Walk Masté Washi Tape to wrap some Christmas presents!

IKEA Vinter 2015 Candle – There’s no better thing than candles around this time of the year, right? This IKEA one is super inexpensive as always but smells exactly like Christmas in a glass – like you’ve just finished to roll out the dough and your gingerbread cookies are getting crispy in the oven.

Christmas PJs – Not really sure how, but I happen to run out of pyjamas around Christmas time every year. Not really complaining though as there’s no better thing than picking up festive-printed cosy PJs in wintertime if you ask me!

Lipton Vanilla Caramel Tea – I’ve already mentioned it once lately and even though it’s not necessarily a festive tea flavour, I can’t help but associate any sweet caramel-y aroma with the festive period. It must be that I crave a little extra sweetness during this time of the year, and this tea is just so perfect with its warm, rich, sweet flavour.

Vanilla Chai Latte & Nut Crescents Ritter Milk Chocolate – I just love when Ritter brings out their Christmas limited edition chocolates and that they have new lovely flavours every year. Although I was a fan of the raspberry flavour that came out last year, I’m super excited about the Vanilla Chai Latte one this year! But I must say the Nut Crescents chocolate is always my favourite – creamy + crunchy, so delicious!

Lush Salt and Peppermint Bark* & Five Gold Rings* – Lush at Christmas is just top notch, isn’t it? It must be due to the fact wintertime is the main time I like to indulge in long hot baths, but they also have the best scents and most huge variety of products around this time of the year. I’m genuinely in love with Salt and Peppermint Bark body scrub, with its delicious fresh but rich scent and its hydrating properties, but for a bath pick I can’t get enough of the Five Gold Rings bubble bar, that not only fill up the bath with beautiful bubbles and golden glitters, but also makes the whole bathroom smell incredibly sweet and warm!

Yoins Fair Isle Mittens* – I can’t really get over how cute and how warm these mittens are! Now let’s just wait for the snow to come so I can test them out in their full glory!

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What about your festive favourites?! x

When Christmas is around, I almost always forget Winter doesn’t start before the 21th; but while Winter solstice is still a week away from us, it’s surely starting to feel a lot like Winter indeed! Every change of season I always marvel at how thoughtful nature was when deciding when us human would be (not tired but) ready to embrace everything about the new season. Seasons just come so perfectly in time for me to be as excited as ever for the change! Beside all things Christmassy and festive, during wintertime I get even more excited than usual about teas and candles as well as anything that screams “cosy!” and “home time!” – add a change-of-season must-have – new lingerie – and you’ll get my extremely cosy Winter wishlist!

LINKS ::
1. Beefayre Winter Berries Candle ;
2. UGG Dakota Suede Mocassin Slippers ;
3. Taylors Rose Lemonade Infusion ;
4. Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt Candle ;
5. Eberjey Anouk Bralette ;
6. Anthropologie Snowfall Cookie Cutters ;
7. Frankie Diary 2016.

What’s on your winter wishlist? x

I am a fan of sleeping with my curtains open, so when the first warm light of the day hits I naturally wake up at the perfect time every day. And I’m especially a fan of winter sunny crisp mornings, perfect for waking up early and indulging in a bit extra time in the duvet with a mug of hot chocolate between the hands. And yes, I’m also a fan of extra sweet hot chocolate as first thing in the morning, one of my new favourite winter treat.

While I’m a lover of thick, creamy Italian hot chocolate most of the times, I do love myself something a little bit on the gentle side. Something easy to sip while in bed while browsing through the pages of a magazine. Something to drink in pair with a little baked treat. And I happen to have found the perfect homemade hot chocolate recipe that ticks all the boxes at once! Made with real chocolate too. And you want to try it. You really do.

Print

The very best homemade hot chocolate

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Serving Size: 2 Mugs

Ingredients

• 400ml Whole Milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 40g dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch/flour

Instructions

1 :: Measure out the milk by pouring it into two mugs (around 400ml) and then move it into a medium-size saucepan.

2 :: Put the cornstarch (or flour) in a small bowl or coffee cup and add 2 tablespoon of the measured milk; blend nicely until completely dissolved, add more milk if needed. Then pour the mixture back in the saucepan.

3 :: Add the brown sugar to the saucepan, as well as the dark chocolate (cubed) then turn the heat on. Melt down the ingredients into the milk on a low heat while stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.

4 :: Keep stirring and heating the mixture until the hot chocolate starts coming together nicely (it takes around 10 minutes for the chocolate to actually blend with the milk) and the hot chocolate starts to thicken just a tiny little bit. Do not allow the milk to boil.

5 :: Serve in two big mugs and enjoy! Top with anything you like!

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http://www.miel-cafe.com/2015/12/the-best-homemade-hot-chocolate.html

Do you ever give homemade hot chocolate a whirl?