This season's coat theme is 'go big or go home.' This season's coat will take you from morning to night and show all it's glory! The bigger the better! The texture, silhouette, embroidery...make it shine! The seasonal length is most definitely midi, from dresses, skirts to of course - coats!

How to wear it? Let one side drop off your shoulder when going out to party with fitted sleeveless turtleneck dress and knee high boots.


Since I moved to Barcelona I never really purchased a coat up to this year when I got a fun thin camouflage print rain coat with beautiful pink peonies (to be featured soon in one of my Insta snaps).

EMBROIDERED

Recently I did a DIY project embellishing denim jacket for me and denim overalls for Anabela with fun iron-on patches. I really love gorgeously embroidered midi coats which reminisce of 70's and will certainly add a feminine note to your office look. You don't necessarily buy a high end embroidered coat, you can just purchase a beautiful floral patch and saw it or iron it on your old raincoat or thin fall jacket.

Valentino

Valentino

Valentino

FUZZY

Faux fur coats are equal part feminine and glam. You can easily style one with fancy sweats and metallic sneakers or with a night gown.

My favorite faux fur coats are in seasonal blush pink and emerald green colors. If you wanna go flashy go for a star print fur like this fabulous Gucci piece.

Cushnie et Ochs

J.Crew

Gucci

VINYL

Valentino

PADDED

Padded jackets are not reserved for sportswear any longer. Go big or go home truly applies here! The puffier the better! Personally I am not a fan of this volume and since I live in mostly warm Barcelona I really do not have the need for a big warm jacket but I managed to find fabulous pieces.

Schiaparelli

Fendi

Balenciaga

WHITE

Always elegant, chic and minimalistic, white coat might require more money invested in dry cleaning but it's a chic and elegant choice for a lady who doesn't live in particularly snowy or rainy town otherwise keeping it clean when worn often might be rather big challenge especially if you are using a public transport.

Angel Schlesser

Delpozo

I know this is not sweet and peachy topic to digest with your morning coffee but as a wave of conservatism is taking over the world (or how I like to call it fear and prejudice) as a response to fear of terorism and waves of refugees sweeping in, I think it's so important that WE, WOMEN try to LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, EMPATHIZE, VOICE our opinion and ACT on this important topic - women's reproductive rights.

Yes, I know, who would think this would even be a question in 21ct Europe right?

"Women are not an interest group. They are mothers, and daughters, and sisters, and wives. They are half of this country and they are perfectly capable of making their own healthy decisions." 
Barack Obama

POLISH BLACK PROTEST STRIKE 

Today on October 3rd Polish women prepared a massive warning strike under the slogan "Black Monday" against legislation strengthening the national ban on abortion.

The women who took part in this strike refused to go to work, schools, universities and left their housework at home, they marched through the streets wearing black as a sign of mourning for their reproductive rights.

This strike is just a continuation of the “Black Protest", a massive reaction to the government's latest plan to further radicalize the anti-abortion law by including things like a five-year prison terms for both women abortion patients, including rape victims and doctors (3 years prison term). It goes as far as recommending an investigations and/or prison for women who had miscarriages.

"Even by conservative estimates there are far more illegal abortions than legal ones in Poland - between 10,000 and 150,000, compared to about 1,000 or 2,000 legal terminations." - source BBC

If this law goes through it will make Poland's abortion laws as restrictive as those in two other countries in Europe: Malta and the Vatican.

WOMEN'S BODY AS POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND

I really don't remember a time in history when all the 'smart' men in suits got together and said hmmm...we really think men are not allowed to masturbate, imagine how many potential babies they just flushed down the toilet???? Right?

No matter if you are pro-choice or rather would prefer laws to regulate what women should do once she gets pregnant and what her purpose on earth really is, you must admit that this debate in it's core is truly a religious debate and a religion should really have no common ground with female reproductive health.

Last time religion and politics mixed, they were burning people were burned at the stake, so let's not do that shall we?

"Just because I am pro-choice it doesn't mean I am pro-abortion. It means I understand that your choice is none of my business and I will always fight for your right to choose."

Here is a thought!

Why don't we just act like decent human beings for a change?

If you believe abortion is a sin and it's wrong - just don't have one.

Instead of investing into lobbying for reducing female reproductive rights for future generations, why wouldn't we redirect the funds and energy into make sexual education and protection widely available to young people through schools and universities health centers to avoid women having to to make a hard choice like having an abortion?

HOW TO SHOW SOLIDARITY

If you would like to show solidarity with Polish women you can do so by joining their protest online (using #blackmonday , #blackprotest, #czarnyprotest) or offline by taking part in organized protest actions in front of Polish embassy in your country.

This was one of the best desserts I made according to my boyfriend. I rarely do muffins, when I do them I do banana and nuts or carrot cake muffins. I am absolutely desperate with frosting and cupcakes so I rarely try to make those but lemon and poppy seeds muffins are a perfect blend of the two.

They were super easy to make and they make a fabulous fresh, every day dessert with coffee or to take to a party. I had some blueberries left over so I added them when already pouring the mixture into the cups. If you make more then your family can eat in three days time, you can definitely freeze them once they are cool and just pull them out of the freezer few hours before you have guests or defrost them in a microwave.

Give it a try yourself, you won't regret it!

INGREDIENTS

Muffin mixture:
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/3 cup unsalted butter (melted/room temp.)
2/3 cup greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Optional:
1 cup of blueberries or 3 tbsp of coconut

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 220 C (425F).

2. Lightly grease a muffin pan with oil or nonstick spray or alternatively line with paper liners (I made 10 muffins out of this mixture). I am always using those Ikea silicone muffin cups and I make as many as I can fill with mixture. They also come out easy even when not greased.

3. Make dry mixture by steering together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds.

4. Beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). I used manual beater and a butter which I left on room temperature for 20 min as I didn't have electric one handy and muffins came out great. Add sugar and cream together onto butter mixture, add eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest and greek yogurt to it, mix just to combine. Add lemon juice and mix to combine nicely.

5. Add dry flour mixture to this wet mixture and mix until batter is well combined.

6. Spoon batter into prepared cups, but fill them only about 3/4 full because they will grow a bit.

7. Bake for 5 minutes at 220C/425F. Lower the oven temperature to 180C/350F and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean.

8. While you are waiting for muffins to be done you can make the glaze. Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice and drizzle over the baked muffins.

In this post I am sharing 4 trendiest handbag types (clearly alongside a backpack) for 2016/2017 season.

The Novelty Handbag

Source: http://bagatyou.com

This is the kind of bag you buy because you are absolutely drawn to it, it's not a bag you look to wear every day with any outfit. It's a stand out handbag, original piece everyone will admire. A piece you will cherish and save to hand down to your child. This handbag is not a status piece like the brand name bags which scream "I am rich", this bag's statement is "I have a unique style".

My favorite examples of such handbags are Diamond Ring handbag by Homanz, Cuckoo Bird Backpack by Clox and Women handbag by Joanna Kruczek which is actually protected with patent for innovation.

The Micro Bag

The Cross-body Bag

The Top Handle Bag

Source:http://leftbankgirl.blogspot.com.es/

Before I went to spend Summer in Croatia I purchased a bunch of iron-on patches to apply to denim shorts. In my research before purchase and looking around on the streets I noticed more and more people started again customizing their denim jackets and loose fitting denim shirts, leather jackets, bomber jackets, military button up shirts and jackets as well as plaid shirts.






Earlier I found applying patches to long denim jeans a bit childish but then I found beautiful floral (pink peony) ones which look beautiful when applied along pocket seems on high waist culottes jeans. Fabulous 70's inspired denim DIY.

WHERE TO BUY STATEMENT JACKETS

When researching I found two fabulous shops which sell really great variety of statement jackets with patches or writing on the back.  One of them is High Heels Suicide with their popular 'Girl Gang' denim jacket which is available for pre-order now.

DIY - YOUR OWN STATEMENT JACKET/SHIRT

My daughter Anabela was breastfed until about 4 months and then due to serious mastitis I had and lost most of the milk we transitioned to formula (Almiron Advanced Digest). Anabela was and still is a great eater but often quite gassy which disturbs her sleep. She slept wonderful (up to 7-8 hrs/night) once her colics stopped from about 4 months to 5.5 months but then she started waking up to eat two to three times a night. She usually doesn't even finished the bottle but falls a sleep after drinking half of it.

STARTING WITH BABY FOOD

I started introducing solids with cereals (without gluten) and continued with zucchini (1/3 of medium zucchini) once a day around noon for lunch along with a bottle of formula milk (180 ml) and I went on for 3 days with zucchini to see if there will be any allergic reactions. I continued the same way with other foods: apple, pear, red potato, avocado, banana etc.

I intentionally went with veggies first before fruits as I was afraid she might refuse to eat veggies if I start her with fruit which is usually sweeter and easier to eat then unseasoned vegetables. Now Anabela is 6 months and I started combining foods we already tried to make these meals more nutritious, tasty and fun for her. Thankfully, so far she loved all she tried.

If you are wondering what are the signs to look for to check if your baby is ready to start with solids read more here.

In different parts of the world different foods are recommended by pediatricians to start with, I discussed this topic in great length with baby nutritionist here in Barcelona, Spain and I also referred to food charts I found in Croatia (download here) and one I got from nutritionist which is widely used in Western Europe (download here).

Source: Wholesome Baby Foods

The main difference I found is that in Croatia (and most Eastern Europe) they recommend to start introducing solids with 6 months while in Western Europe and US recommendation is to start anywhere between 4-6 months.

Personally, I think it's best to get as much knowledge you can about the topic from your pediatrician, nutritionist based on your baby's situation and then just bring informed decision yourself on when to start.

BABY COOK

After discussing it with our pediatrician we started slowly adding solids to Anabela's diet once per day in small amounts starting with 4.5 months. I purchased Beaba baby steam cooker which my friend Iva recommended which makes it super easy to steam cook and mix into pure baby's food in minutes. You can even make two meals (fruits and veggies) at the time as it has two pitchers.

Get your baby cook bellow:

ANNABEL KARMEL (Website)

Annabel Karmel is a fellow “mumpreneur” from United Kingdom juggling life as a busy working mother of three with a hugely successful career. Since launching with the book Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner more than 20 years ago, Annabel has written 40 books, which have sold over four million copies worldwide, covering every stage of a child’s development.


With more than 20 years’ experience under her apron, Annabel has become the UK's number one parenting author, best-selling international author and expert on devising delicious, nutritious meals for babies and children. Her website also features wonderful recipes for your moody pregnancy appetite.

The website is incredibly easy to use and contains recipes per baby's age. There is a drop down menu on the right side of her website where you enter the age of your baby and then you get beautifully pictured recipes for your baby. You can also see Annabel's recipes for pregnancy, family or the baby on her mobile app or if you prefer a book she also sells cookbooks on her webshop.

CHIARAS LITTLE PLATE (Instagram)

Chiara's mom, originally from my home town of Zagreb in Croatia is also a chef and she features fabulous baby food images and recipes on her Facebook page in Croatian and Instagram in English. My friend Petra recommended this page which definitely serves as inspiration for me both for meals I cook for my boyfriend and I and for Anabela. She also plans to do cooking classes for mom's in Zagreb soon. Her pages are definitely worth following so check them out!

KIDS FOOD UNIVERSE

What are the great cooking inspiration sources you use when preparing food for your baby?

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS 

1. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Cut turkey (or chicken) into small bite size stripes, season it with salt, pepper and sweet paprika spice. Cook until meat is well cooked, set meat aside on a warm plate.


Heat the oven to 185C (365 F).

2. Use the same pan, add some more olive oil if needed and brown onion and garlic over medium heat, add mushrooms and vegetables. When vegetable is roasted add meat and mix well.


3. Beat 1 egg, sour cream and mustard in a bowl.

4. Spread puff pastry over the baking paper, spread vegetables and meat mixture over it, poor sour cream mixture over the meat & veggie mixture and spread shaved cheese over it. Roll the pastry with tucking the ends inwards.


5. Coat the role with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds or linen seeds. Bake for 40 minutes on 185 C on baking paper.

Bon appetite! Delicious!