Credits: Left - Reed Krakoff Coat, Blue Emily Cho clutch & Christian Dior Heels.
Right - Fendi Duffle & Jimmy Choo Pull on boots.
SEE: Don't know about you, but I am dead excited and giddy as a kid high on candy for the new season of Gossip Girl. It is my ultimate guilty pleasure. There were some seriously envious style moments last season, such as the above images, which are perfect for fall. I have to ask, Will Chuck and Blair get it together??? Ooh, and Season 7 of Dexter will be out soon too surely? Bring on October I say!!!
DRINK: I love coffee, especially in the mornings, but with the new season rolling in, I do love to indulge in a good spiced Chai Latte on those cooler evenings when I've returned home from work. It's my revive me thing, that along with a coupla Digestive biccies. Perfect. I believe this will be a perfect winter warmer too with all the spices, smells wonderful & it does kinda remind me of Christmas too!
image via here
What you need:
- 2 individual tea bags
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (- I used way less than this as it becomes very sweet otherwise.)
- Whipped topping and ground nutmeg, optional
Make it!
Place the tea bags, cinnamon, ginger and allspice in the coffee filter of a drip coffeemaker. Add water; brew according to manufacturer's direction.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the milk, brown sugar and creamer. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through and sugar is dissolved. Pour milk mixture into mugs; stir in tea. Dollop with whipped topping and sprinkle with nutmeg if desired. Yield: 2 servings.
Recipe via Taste of Home
BEAU-TEA:
BEAU-TEA:
Earlier this week I read a brilliant Beauty tip via Vanessa's recent post on Inspirational women on her blog Decadence for Divas featuring Sharon of Fashion-Isha.com.
Tea & tea bags are such amazing & inexpensive health supplements, Sharon's tip about using Green Tea leaves from the bag for your face is brilliant. It's full of antioxidants, helps clear skin (pimples), helps preserves youth and is also good for you if you drink it! No wonder Sharon looks that amazing, i'm still getting the fact that she's a busy mum and an entrepreneur too!
Earl Grey Tea bags: Great for comforting and healing cold sores, apparently an anti-depressant/mood lifter, full of antioxidants, fantastic fever reducer & relaxant! The bergamot in earl grey is good for inflammation and is a known for digestive aid.
Whenever I'm in Hong kong, I always pour myself a mug of Jasmine tea in the morning, my late grandmother always prepared a pot daily upon waking up. It has become one of may daily rituals too during winter. Needless to say there are plenty of benefits of drinking Jasmine or Oolong tea too - both are great for digestive aids... which is always why you'll see Chinese peeps drinking it during dim sum/yum cha! That alone would be my excuse to stuff my face!
Image via Honest Cooking here
EAT: Tzatziki -Yup, I'm going all Greek on you. I figured I rarely talk about the cuisine which I love so much. This delightfully refreshing yoghurt & cucumber based dip is super easy & quick to make and goes with pretty much anything. Most commonly a side dish to go with meat or to fill with kebabs, it's also super scrumptious with warm crusty bread or pita. You only need a few ingredients and you're ready to go, but the secret is using a damn good Greek yoghurt such as Total - believe me it'll make a difference & remember to drain the cucumbers of water too.
What you need:
Cucumber
A tub of Greek Yoghurt (250g) or goat/sheeps yoghurt.
Crushed garlic - I use 1 large one, but if you prefer more go for it!
Dill or chopped mint leaves - down to preference
Fresh lemon juice
A little salt
Drizzle of olive oil
Make it!
Peel a cucumber, cut it in half & remove the seeds. Finely chop or grate it - which is what I prefer and leave in a colander with a little salt until it has given up some of it's juices. Alternatively squeeze the water out and pat dry with kitchen towels then fold into a little olive oil & yoghurt. Season with a crushed garlic clove & a little dill or chopped mint leaves. Add a squeeze of lemon juice (or a wee bit of vinegar if you don't have lemons), et voila!
via here
This summer I've gone through many many books and I am finding it a little overwhelming just how many books I actually have. Before I moved to Greece I had to get rid of a load, usually passing them onto friends and now I find myself in a similar situation where the bookshelves are beginning to overflow again.
It's clearly time to de-clutter and have a look at what I won't read again and get those ready for friends (we often swap, so I get a new read), re-sell via Amazon, donate to a library or give to charity. I'm not quite convince I'll ever become a Kindle person... but if I find myself in another book situ taking over the whole apartment, I'll consider making a floor to ceiling bookshelf like the one above.
Alternatively, I'd love to start a new room with a beautifully styled bookshelf like this one above. I love the use of plain white paper to unify the covers and disguise the spines.
Speaking of books, what are you all reading at the moment, any good ones to share?
X.O.X.O
p.s A warm welcome to new readers and big fat Greek style hugs to everyone else for sticking around!
