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

I’ve always been a morning person ever since I was a little girl. There’s no way I can manage to sleep until late morning or afternoon, even if I’ve been awake for most of the night: to me, not waking up early is missing on the best, most productive part of my day, I’d end up feeling like I actually did nothing the whole day! I really don’t get how people don’t enjoy mornings, with the brightest freshest light of the day and productivity being at its finest!

There are so many things that make morning my favourite part of a day, starting from a precise routine for example – I’m a creature of habits and like my routines. Last year I wrote my about my morning routine and since things have slightly changed ever since (and especially after being inspired by this lovely post by Chevrons & Eclairs), I thought an update was overdue!

So here is what I’m up to on a Winter morning…

The next thing I do

While I’m a big lover of tea, I like to have coffee as first thing in the morning. I’m very sensitive to strong coffee though, so I usually jump between decaf & nice organic coffee (did you know IKEA not only does the best homeware but also the nicest organic coffee? It’s my fave!). I also like a good splash of cold non-dairy milk in my coffee in the morning.

My Beauty Ritual

My morning beauty routine used to require a good half an hour each time, but today it’s a lot shorter and more basic: with my skin being super sensitive to most beauty products, I decided to just stick to the basics and only go for cleanser and moisturizer these days. Recently I’m loving the Lavera 3 in 1 Wash Scrub Mask (for cleanser) & the Aveeno Oatmeal Daily Moisturizing Lotion (for moisturizer) combo!

The last thing I do before work

Right after working out I usually fancy some hydrating tea and quick and easy energizing snacks. I love green tea right after yoga, and dates to go with it! This is also usually the time I write down my to-do list for the day ahead and get started with work.

***

And that’s a wrap! Would love to know what your winter morning routine looks like!
And if you’re one for coffee or tea as first thing in the morning! x

March is already over! Can you really believe it?! I’m ready for the new month to come though, as April is by far my favourite time of the year; with Easter, spring coming to its climax, a few exciting opportunities ahead and my blog’s birthday, how couldn’t I be as excited as ever for it to come?! Springtime it’s cheering me up (bye bye winter blues!) and this not only means I’m pretty excited for literally everything, but also that I’m trying as much as I can to improve my mood and positivity… and also that I started enjoying and appreciating everything I have around, both material or abstract. So yep, expect a huge list of favourites this month! Ready?

Stationery.

You might have guessed I have quite an insane obsession to stationery by now, but this month a pair of little treats has been added to my collection. No notebooks in sight (I have way too many, right?), but I’ve got that beautiful trio of colourful washi tape from Tiger last week, and I’m obsessed! The leopard print one must be my favourite! That adorable cat pencil case is from Petite Mila: made out of 100% organic cotton and the cutest designs, her pouches (which easily double up as pencil cases or whatever you want them to be) and tote bags are probably the most adorable things I’ve seen in a while, and the quality is amazing too!

Candle.

If it’s not a mug than it’s a candle that seems to always appear in my monthly favourites! But I love them! Ikea candles: sometimes they’re lovely others not that much. They are super duper cheap, as cheap as a full size candle can get, but sometimes they don’t really smell of anything really. That’s not the case! This LUGGA Soft Vanilla Candle is one of the best I’ve got from them (especially on the vanilla department) and it won’t last as long, but it surely makes my room smell intensely sweet as sometimes only expensive candles can do!

Kitchen.
No new mugs this month (I’ve been forbibben to buy any other!) but a new entry between the ceramic bowls (similar) was needed when I spotted this cute hearts bowl in a local shop. It’s the cutest thing to eat breakfast in, and pastel colours make the whole experience even more enjoyable. I mean, there must be a theory of something that says colorful tableware makes people happy, right?

Style.
My wardrobe definitely needed a few spring new additions as everything looked a bit too grey and black and white and… woolly. I’ve got this Forever21 Coral Ruffled Dress on sale on a very impulsive online shopping session and I couldn’t have been more right. I’m obsessed. I love the ruffled collar and neckline and the flowy skirt is the most flattering on me. I can already see me wearing it non-stop this spring!

Makeup.
I’m not one that mention makeup that often on here anymore, but I’ve been loving this Rimmel Scandaleyes Thick And Thin Liner – not sure where they are going with the “thick and thin” thing, but I surely like the waterproof formula and the thin felt tip for a fool-proof application. I seem to be able to make my eyeliner look almost identical on both the eyes with this one and it’s something that rarely happens to me!

Drink.
Jasmine green tea, what a lovely invention! I’ve become quite the fan of green tea (only think I didn’t like it at all and now I drink a cup practically everyday) especially when combined with floral or citrus flavours (I’ve rambled about tea flavours lately here if you’d like to read more on the topic) and I’ve discovered jasmine green tea is probably my favourite thing ever! The tea in the pictures is from RealTea which I think is only available in Italy, but the Jing Jasmine Silver Needle Tea is another favourite of mine.

App.
Believe it or not I’m quite over Instagram and that’s all thanks to Steller (and the fact that Instagram pictures never come out as I like, arg!). Steller is a way like another (but neater and surely well-arranged) to tell a story. It allows you to put together a few pictures and phrases and displays them in beautifully disposed pages users can flip through like they’re reading a real book. It’s like a pocket-sized blog, where photography and writing meet into creative stories! I love reading and flipping through others stories as well as creating my own. I’m completely obsessed and have decided that would be the place where to publish all those never-seen blog posts I thought they weren’t that relevant to appear over here (including never-seen recipes, I’m warning you!) – so if you like to have a peek or give me a follow type ‘mielcafeblog’ in the search bar of the app or check my stories out over here.

Workout Clothes.
I’ve treated myself to some new yoga clothes recently as I’ve been good and stuck with it until now! I’ve especially been loving these super inexpensive Striped Knit Tops from Forever21 as they’re just the perfect material for moving into them without feeling too tight or too loose.