September is by far my all-time favourite month. It might be partly due to the fact it’s my birthday month, but I also love the feeling of a fresh new start it always comes with, and the fact that Autumn it’s officially here now! This month I’ve found time to get cosy with a pair of books, the very first sweater of the season and a few too many cups of coffee, and I can’t wait to share my favourites with you today!

. B E A U T Y .

This cleanser – I got it before our holiday in August, when I needed to stock up on my usual Lavera cleanser but couldn’t find it anywhere. I also was very keen on buying something a little bit more gentle instead of what I usually used (which I loved, but was a bit harsh, doubling up as a scrub and intense face mask). I trust Lavera so much by now, that I was sure their Basis Sensitive Cleansing Gel wouldn’t have disappointed me. And in fact, I love it! It’s super gentle but always leave even my oily skin feeling fresh and non-sticky. And the scent is absolutely amazing, calming and refreshing, making my daily cleansing ritual something I look forward to everyday!

. B O O K S .

This month I’ve definitely rediscovered my love for reading, and I’m sure I must be grateful to this couple of beautiful books that were just the kind of thing I needed to get back into a proper reading routine!

I’ve actually read Girls In White Dresses during our Summer holiday, and it was such a perfect light but beautiful beach read to me. I loved the fact the author is touching such fundamental arguments for a 20-something like me in such a light and positive way until the very end, even when everything seems to be falling apart. And everything the three main characters are struggling with felt so very real to me, so relatable, that I bet anyone around my same age would enjoy it and impersonate into at least one of the girls.

On the other hand, this month I’ve also read Me Before You, which wasn’t totally as much as a light read, but something that you can tell from the very beginning will make you very emotional by the end. And I loved every single line of it! We also went to see the movie this month, which I totally suggest watching only with tissues on hand, but it was as lovely as much as the book indeed!

. F O O D  +  H O M E .

You’ll know by now about my obsession for coffee and for independent businesses offering quality coffee while also having a special attention for enviroment. And Five Elephant is exactly about that. I especially fell in love with their El Naranjal Espresso Coffee, with, as they promise, blueberry cake and tropical fruits notes. It definitely is on the sweet side, which I totally don’t mind, and has its own unique flavour – that I love!

With Autumn being officially around, how could I not include a candle into this favourites post? During my latest trip to H&M Home, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the clean fresh sent of their Cotton Candle of which I got a mini version immediately after! I love the fact that, although being very small, it diffuses a whole lot of scent filling up the room with the nice smell of freshly washed clothes and linen. Totally a great scent to start with this season, before moving on to spicy and very autumnal ones!

. S T Y L E .

On the style front, I’ve been trying to update my wardrobe a bit for the new season, and I’ve fallen in love with this lilac Mint&Berry sweater I got recently, or actually with the entire brand really! I’m totally into lilac and lavender this year, hence why I’ve been buying everything in the same tone – shoes included! But that’s a story for another day..!

***

Would love to know what’s on your September favourites list! x

This year I was lucky enough to spend my birthday in Tuscany, in one of the most beautiful coves I’ve ever seen, but that meant we hadn’t some proper time to celebrate. Yes, I bought myself cake for breakfast (of course!) and had a lovely dinner-for-two at one of the cosy restaurants facing the local harbor (not bad, eh!), but I hadn’t got the chance of properly putting together a very informal, but still, birthday “party”.

And so I thought we could simply pop some nice decorations on and bake some biscuits and cookies, and have a cosy “cookie bar” table all set up, instead of the usual tea break, that gave us a chance to properly celebrate! The table set up in particular, was definitely inspired by Talking Tables – they were kind enough to send over all the material (the cutest paper straws obviously included!) to put together a birthday table you can hardly forget, with a mint and peach colour scheme, all from their Mix & Match range.

Instead of serving pre-bought sweets, we had fun baking some cookies and biscuits and were happy to transform the sweet bar in a cookie bar, serving the biggest amount of chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever baked into a giant cocktail glass! We also prepared a couple of “cocktail” alternatives, one with some simple freshly squeezed orange juice and the other with said orange juice with a small addition of rum for anyone fancying an alcoholic alternative, and then bottled them all up in the cutest mini bottles, giving all the guests the chance of picking the paper straw they loved the most!

Can’t really recommend Talking Tables enough if you’re planning a bit of an homemade party and need some decorations. They’ll have everything you need to impress your guests! They also ship everywhere in the world, so you have no excuses! 😉

***

Anyone else obsessed with table settings?! x

If there’s one thing I always end up realising when I go on a holiday to relax and switch off, is how difficult I find enjoying myself outside of my little world of routines and working non-stop. Even at weekend, because before having my break in August I felt so guilty about it that I thought I should totally have needed to work all weekends for two months to make up for it. And how tricky it is for me to stop feeling like I’m wasting my time when all I’m doing is, really, just having a well-deserved proper break.

I don’t know if it’s just something going on with the fact I have my own little business and that I really want to see it growing with every bit of me, or if it’s something affecting anyone no matter what their work or duties are like, but it can get a bit tricky for me to understand when it’s time to switch off. And having a two-weeks break last month, gave me enough time to accept I needed to relax and stop worrying and understand how much I need some proper time for myself in my daily life.

So now that I’m back and that I’ve immersed myself into the huge pile of work I have left at home, I’m trying to implement a bit of that habit I developed of taking some proper time to just enjoy something I like – just for the sake of it!

I’m also back at practicing calligraphy, as I’ve always found it very relaxing and easily enjoyable. It’s totally linked a whole lot to work, but still, I’m trying to think of it more as a hobby to practice on my tea-break in the afternoon or whenever I feel I need to focus on something else.

Plus, now that the weather is getting chillier and that the season is changing, I can’t wait to get my hands on a new cookbook or something, to spend some time in the kitchen finally getting back at baking after almost an entire Summer when I haven’t touched the oven if not to bake pizza on a Saturday night (with these muffins being the only exception).

***

What’s your favourite way to relax and have some time for yourself? x