With the fact that we’ve a summer holiday planned for the last weeks of August (and by the time you’re reading this post I’ll most likely be sunbathing or dipping my toes in the sea for the first time this year, finally!) and that I felt the need of treating myself a tiny bit this month, August saw a good amount of favourites this time! And it’s quite surprising actually, if I think back at these last weeks, because all I can remember is me being stuck at my laptop trying to catch up with work to feel less guilty about taking a two-week break..!

But here are a few August favourites…

Up Move Fitness Tracker – Jawbone ; Performer ClimaLite Leggings – Adidas

. F I T N E S S .

I reckon it might all be down to the Olympics and the fact even eating *healthy* carbs in front of the television made me feel guilty this last month, but in August I decided to finally up my fitness game a bit. I was a bit sceptical about the Jawbone Up Move Fitness Tracker, but I was proven wrong because right now I’m completely obsessed! This little gadget keeps track of all your steps and also your sleep, and pair amazingly with an intuitive iPhone app, to give you suggestions for your lifestyle, help you reach your steps and sleep goals and also (what I like the most) gives you the capability of recording everything you eat and being able to compare it to what you truly consume during your days. I’ll surely talk a bit more about it in a separate post, so stay tuned for that!

I’m not one that will ever enjoy running, but with the fact I’m keeping track of my steps everyday, I’ve set myself a goal to go for a speedy walk everyday. And while the cheap H&M leggings are so comfortable and easy to wear for practicing yoga, I needed something a bit more appropriate for different workouts, and I happened to find the Adidas Performer ClimaLite Leggings in the sales this month! I’m in love! The ClimaLite technology transports your sweat out of the tissue to leave you feeling always fresh and dry, and I love the fact that they are nicely high-waisted but not too constricting on your stomach and that they really suck everything in (how attractive..!). Needless to say I’ve already bought two more since that first pair…

Fleur Three Straps Flats – Topshop (Similar) ; Embroidered Trim Swimsuit – Ninety Nine Degrees

. S T Y L E .

As I was mentioning lately, I went a tiny bit crazy in the summer sales for beachwear especially, with the excuse I totally needed to invest in some good summer pieces, but in reality just because shopping for beachwear is so much fun, right? And I was on the hunt for the perfect swimsuit to fit my needs, and I happen to be very needy on the swimsuit & bikini front. I have browsed the ASOS sales from top to bottom at least 5 times per day, to the point I started being quite obsessed about finding the perfect one but nothing seemed right up my street, until I found that beauty of a Ninety Nine Degrees Swimsuit and, luckly for my wallet, it was also 50% off! What a lucky day: it was everything I wanted in a swimsuit, with some lovely details, and interesting plunge front but a tight back and it was in my favourite colour too! I can’t recommend it enough for how well it’s made and how nicely it fits!

And talking of summer sales, I finally caved and got the Topshop Fleur flats I’ve been after since such a long time! And this time the perfect excuse was a wedding I’m going to attend soon and the fact you won’t ever see me wearing heels anytime soon… And yes, I’m already obsessed because of their amount of prettiness!

Laurel Wreath Ring – Pandora

. J E W E L R Y .

The entire month of July I’ve been strangely obsessed with rings. I never really found them interesting until I saw someone wearing a few lovely dainty rings in a picture somewhere and there was no way I could get the idea of buying some rings for myself out of my head! And there it started my hunt for some good quality rings I could wear everyday, and there I started stressing everyone about it.

And then, I was lucky enough to receive the most beautiful leaves wreath ring as anniversay gift – you see, stressing others about your current obsessions always works! I’m in love with how beautiful and detailed and romantic it is, and you know me and how I love everything that is linked to nature and the plants world especially. It hasn’t left my finger ever since…

Copper Pineapple ℅ Talking Tables ; Stationery – Oana Befort ; Phone Case Backplates – Casetify

. R A N D O M .

Last month I made a little order from the lovely Oana Befort taking advantage of some sales going on and deciding I need to treat myself to some of those beautiful cards and temporary tattoos again. As always, it was such a joy unpacking my order, she always puts so much attention into details and packaging and never fails to add an extra greeting card that is always as beautiful as all the rest!

I’ve also decided to stock up on phone cases backplates this month! You might know by now I design a few phone cases every now and then for Casetify, and I’m such a fan of the quality of their ‘New Standard’ cases that I felt so grateful they decided to sell backplates for them so that you don’t have to re-buy the whole case over and over again but can interchange them maintaing the main structure. The ones in the picture are three designs from my collection!

And last but not at least, this month Talking Tables has treated me to some amazing table accessories (you might have seen me unboxing the whole thing over on Instagram Stories) and that little decorative pineapple has already made on top of my favourites list! I’d say it’s more on the rose gold side of copper but that makes me love it even more: it has already found place on my dressing table and I can’t seem to stop staring at it!

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I told you it was going to be a long list, but that’s it, my August favourites all rounded up!
What’s made the top of your favourites list this month? x

2016 has been the very first year I started attending weddings as a guest. And apparently, as you keep venturing in your twenties, these are occasions that will keep happening quite often! But really, I never gave it a proper thought before about how hard dressing for wedding guesting can be. Because your dress can’t be anywhere close to white or you’d be confused with the bride, but it shouldn’t be too short either or you’ll look innapropriate during the rite, but you don’t want anything too constricting either because your food baby will appear by any minute…

What I’ve learnt about it so far is to go for a soft flowy tissue option and that maxi dresses would totally do the trick most of the times. Also pastels are a great solution, you’ll rarely go wrong with them at a wedding! I’ll be attending a very special wedding, the second this year, very soon and I won’t lie when saying I wish I was introduced to Sherry London and their evening dresses UK a bit sooner – because I may or may not have found the dress already, but the inspiration I was able to find over there is amazing!

At Sherry London they offer dresses of any kind but I was especially fascinated by their evening dresses collection between the others, with amazing options for maxi dresses in every shade of pastels and with the nicest details. And if you’re going to attend a wedding soon, I’d highly suggest to give their long evening dresses a proper look, as there’s something for literally anyone (they also have a petite range, which make them earn some extra brownie points)! The little selection in the image is of dresses I’d happily wear to attend any wedding really..!

. L I N K S .

01. Lace Long Chiffon Maxi Evening Dress ;
02. Halter Neck Backless Chiffon Evening Dress ;
03. Shoulder Straps A-Line Pleated Chiffon Long Evening Dress ;
04. Jewel Neck Pleated Chiffon Maxi Dress – Petite ;
05. Scoop Neck Chiffon Evening Maxi Dress With Knotted Waist .

Anyone else finding it quite hard to dress for a wedding? x

Post in collaboration with Sherry London but all opinions and love for maxi dresses and pastels are my own.

P.S. Posts might be a bit sporadic over here in the next couple of weeks, as we’re finally enjoying our holiday! I hope to share a few holiday themed posts in the meanwhile, if wi-fi is going to collaborate! 😉

If there’s one thing I start missing when around the last month of summertime, that is surely baking. With the heat calming down slightly, this last week saw a couple of nostalgic baking sections, doing my favourite thing of them all: testing and trying new recipes!

This one was firstly properly put to the test last week by my mum, and, based on my grading scale of how well and quickly they went down, these were on top of the list of new recipes we should have made again! It’s basically incredible how these little carrot bites maintain a sort of gooeyness and softness even if they’re made of whole wheat flour – you can’t even tell! And I’m such a fan of the combination of carrot + chocolate..! They make for the perfect healthy but indulgent afternoon treat, that’s for sure!

Doses for 12 medium-size muffins…

Print

Healthy Carrot + Chocolate Muffins

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serving Size: 12 medium muffins

Ingredients

• For the base...
• 3 medium carrots
• 110g vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 150g raw brown sugar
• 90g rice flour
• 150g whole wheat flour
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 
  
  
• For the glaze...
• 50g dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon raw brown sugar
• A splash of water

Instructions

01 :: Preheat the oven to 170°C.

02 :: Wash thoroughly and peel the carrots, then ruffly chop them into pieces and place them in a food processor together with the vegetable oil and eggs. Then blend until smooth.

03 :: In a large bowl, sift the flours and add the sugar and give them all a nice stir. Pour the carrot mixture in and stir nicely again. If too sticky, add a splash of water - the mix should be quite runny.

04 :: In a glass, squeeze one lemon and add the baking soda. Use a teaspoon to quickly stir, allowing the mixture to rise and create bubbles. This will create a sort of instant baking yeast that will keep your muffins soft and chewy but will make them rise extremely nicely!

05 :: Pour the baking soda and lemon mixture into the muffin batter and stir well. Spread the batter into 12 medium muffin moulds or paper cups and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

06 :: Check with a fork the middle of one muffin before removing them from the oven. Then leave them cool down completely before moving on with the glaze.

07 :: In a saucepan, melt down the chocolate with the sugar and a splash of water until nice and runny. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate glaze on top of each carrot muffin, garnish with nuts, granola or chocolate chips and then pop them all in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened completely.

08 :: Remove from the fridge 5-10 minutes before serving and enjoy!

3.1

http://www.miel-cafe.com/2016/08/healthy-carrot-chocolate-muffins.html

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I can already picture myself enjoying these all autumn long – but they make for the best summertime afternoon treat as well, if eaten still cold and paired with freshly made chocolate milkshake 😉

Let me know if you give them a go! x