If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll know I’ve been obsessed with Skillshare for quite some time and have been suggesting it a lot lately! Whether you’re a creative and like a bit of DIY, a designer and want to learn new topics in your sector or simply someone who likes art and learning new things just in general, I couldn’t suggest giving it a try enough! There’s always something new to learn on there, from basic Photoshop skills to how to run a successful business, and the fact that teachers are both experts and normal people like anyone of us, makes learning even easier and nicer!

Today, though, I’d love to share some more Skillshare classes I loved, but this time all around the lifestyle category: these are basically all classes that will come extremely useful in the everyday life, and that hopefully you’ll find handy and interesting as much as I did!

01 :: Happy Houseplants: Caring For Your Plants
It was probably because houseplants have always been such a mistery to me, but I’ve loved this class and found it so enlightening! Botanist Christopher from The Sill will teach you how to take care of your plants based on their variety, suggest how to pot and re-pot them and everything from what to do when leaves turn yellow, how to deal with eventual infestations and how to manage watering. This free class is something you don’t really want to miss out on if you love adding a little je-ne-sais-quoi to your flat with houseplants but are not very sure where to start with caring about them!

02 :: Easy Chocolate Making: All the Basics from Bean to Bar
Another free class and this one is a sort of chocolate-centered documentary, so whether you’re ever going to give making chocolate at home a go or not, if you love chocolate as much as I do you’ll find this class extremely interesting! Peter and Nate from Raaka Chocolate explain how they got started with making chocolate at first and how you too can go from raw beans to a chocolate bar with minimal equipment.

03 :: Still Life Photography: Make a Perfect Breakfast Picture
Photography to me is always an on-going experience, a skill I always strive to get better at. This class would be so helpful for complete beginners but was extremely handy for someone like me as well, who, with blogging, has been introduced to most photography terms already, but who is always after some smart tips to improve and get better! Ever since joining the class, I’ve been implementing some of the tricks Mariya suggests every single time I take pictures, and now I don’t really know how I was doing without them before!

04 :: Candle Making: Scent Your Way to Paradise
I don’t know about you, but the art of homemade DIY candles has always intrigued me and I’ve given it a go a couple of times already before. So hearing about some great tips from an expert was totally up my street! John will teach you how to get started with your own DIY candle, from picking the best wax for your project to deciding on the scent and everything in between!

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And that’s it! Four online classes you should really check out!
Any other Skillshare fans? x

It’s probably not quite the same everywhere, but here in Italy we’re literally experiencing Summer at its fullest potential, which is not extremely positive if you don’t have a pool or the sea a couple of steps out of reach. But what better excuse to have a few too many glasses of iced coffee if not the heat? … And the fact I need to find some extra energies somewhere or there’s no way I’ll get through these extremely busy working days?

But really, I don’t even need excuses anymore! Nor do you, even if you live somewhere where Mother Nature hasn’t got the memo just yet! It’s Summer after all, right?

Plus I’ve been making the most delicious, sweet, vanilla-ry iced coffee you’ve ever dreamt of, and, yes, a couple of times a day doesn’t even feel enough anymore. Keep reading if you’re after something addictive…

Serves one…

Print

Soy Vanilla Iced Latte

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Serving Size: 1

Ingredients

• 4-5 ice cubes
• 200ml vanilla soy milk*
• 1 shot of coffee
• 1 teaspoon raw brown sugar
• 
  
  
• * Or use classic soy milk or any non-dairy milk of your choice and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Instructions

01 :: Place the ice cubes in a tall glass and pour in the vanilla soy milk to fill 3/4 of the glass.

02 :: Make your coffee and stir in the brown sugar when still warm - do not add the sugar in the tall glass in the end or it won't melt.

03 :: Pour the sugared coffee in the tall glass all at once and use a straw to stir the layers together until uniform. Enjoy!

3.1

http://www.miel-cafe.com/2016/07/soy-vanilla-iced-latte.html

And that’s, in a nutshell, what I’ve been basically feeding myself with for the last few weeks (not literally, but quite similarly!). It’s so simple, quick but amazingly delicious that you really *HAVE* to give it a go yourself!

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What’s your favourite way to drink iced latte? x

Don’t know about where y’all live, but here in Italy we’re fully experiencing some proper Summer heat! These last few days have been so hot that I barely had the strenghts of moving my body around the house, let alone all things that involved stepping outside or, well, in the kitchen (living hell!).

But this proper Summer weather is leaving me feeling like I really need a proper holiday. With sand between my toes, sea salt in my hair and properly tanned skin. And a front-sea pool if it’s possible too!

It felt totally appropriate today, to share my current Summer favourite beauty and style picks so far. And this year I’m all about the tanned look, coral nails, flowy skirts/dresses and airy tops!

Tanned Healthy Skin

I’m not really the biggest fan of getting a natural tan, not if it doesn’t involve being a couple of steps away from the sea. My skin is naturally so pale and white that, even with SPF on, sunburns are always behind the corner for me. On the other hand noone likes to look as pale as mozzarella cheese in full summer when there’s no way you’re going to hide those white legs without sweating the hell out of you!

So self-tanning it is. I’ve tried a lot of self-tanners in the last few years, but one I’m still quite fond of since last year is the Garnier Ambre Solaire Bronzer Self-Tanning Lotion. I find it easier to go for natural looking gradual self-tanner instead of the instant options: they give you a more natural glowy look and, if applied well, they rarely look streaky! This Garnier gem, in particular, builds up a lovely tan in only a couple of applications, but being a gradual tanner, it allows you to decide how dark you want to go (which, for someone with such a pale skin, is always a bonus).

And with self-tanning, you can’t really go without a good quality scrub to keep your skin smooth and, also, to fix any self-tanning mistakes (although I’d also suggest a cotton pad drenched in lemon juice – it does miracles!). I’ve recently discovered the amazing Frank Body Coffee Scrubs and I can already picture their incredible scents as something that will always reminds me of Summer – because of how essentials they’re being lately! Their Grind High Club kit is perfect for summertime, allowing you to try out three different products in one – plus it’s perfect for travelling!

And lastly, this is another favourite from last year, I couldn’t really live without the Soapwalla Deodorant Cream that is treating my pesky and sensitive underarm skin so well! I’ve never found a natural deodorant that worked so nicely, always leaving me fresh and smell good!

Coral Nails

Like with lipsticks, Summer is the only time I usually like to experiment with slightly brighter colours. This year I’m loving a bit of coral on my nails and toes (especially!). I’m such a fan of the Ciaté Encore! Nail Polish formula and colour against slightly tanned skin, that I’m sure I’ll see it on my fingertips all summer long!

The Maxi Dress

This is a huge deal for me, as being petite, I never really thought a maxi dress would have looked some sort of good on my body figure nor I’ve ever found a maxi dress “short” enough for my height. But after deciding midi skirts was definitely my kind of thing, I thought I’d venture in the maxi dresses department as well, and now I think they’re all of what I want my summer wardrobe to be made of!

I’m especially fond on beautiful patterns, if they’re tiled or floral, even better! The one I’ve my eyes on now? This blue/red bargain from H&M!

Flowy & Airy

With my wardrobe, I’ve been finding myself dusting off some old loves more than everything this Summer, but I have definitely implemented a couple new pieces to it that have quickly become essentials. This ASOS Peplum Sun Top is definitely one of my favourite things, with all those lovely pastels implemented into one single piece, and the fact that is so light and airy it seems to wear nothing at all!

I’m also all about this Zara Pleated Midi Skirt of dreams, which, more than a statement piece, has become a basic I’m sure I’ll keep wearing in the years to come. And lastly, denim dresses are still my favourites, and although I did had quite a few in my wardrobe already, since I get so much wear out of them, this year I invested in a couple more, and I couldn’t really say no to this ASOS Denim Cold Shoulder Smock Dress!