My friend Andrina and I were looking for an ideal, dry leaves covered, Fall shooting location for this look, which in warm climate Barcelona is not an easy task to find. I am not sure if this is because they clean the streets to fast or because Fall is simply that much milder but we finally settled for a pretty park near Barcelona Sants train station with interesting buildings, stairs, sculptures, and colorful pastel walls.
FALL LAYERING.
Fall for me it's all about layering. This season's ultra-popular check print served as an inspiration and a key piece to my Fall #ootd look. As a person who is always cold, I tend to always wear one layer more then what is needed for the temperature.
My idea for this look is to transition from Summer to Fall by layering my L'Agence checkered Summer maxi dress with black skinny jeans, thin military parka jacket from H&M, Intropia suede black leather booties and some designer Western accessories.
Layering allows you to adjust your look to weather morning to evening as Fall temperatures drastically change depending on part of the day and it gives you very well put together an interesting look as more colors and patterns pop out of each layer of clothing.
HERITAGE CHECKS.
Checks are super popular this season especially when it comes to blazers. Checkered blazers have replaced the perennial denim jacket as a transitional jacket piece from Fall to Winter and they are worn over hoodies and with sneakers equally as over sharp button-up shirts and pencil skirts for a more sharp business look.
70's western cowgirl look is also making a comeback especially in accessory: western boots, belts, and hats. Thus I have decided to combine the two for this #ootd just because I am not the type of person to wear the current trend (as on a store mannequin) head to toe as it makes it a bit predictable and not personal enough for me.
WESTERN ACCESSORIES.
The small accessory touches make a huge difference! I feel the best when I accessorize with vintage or unique accessory pieces made just for me or that carry a special, personal memory. This makes a big difference in my mood and confidence when I wear a certain outfit.
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My daughter will eat pretty much anything in muffin form so I am trying out loads of sweet or salty muffin recipes, trying to make them as healthy as possible. This is by far our family favorite sweet muffin.
If your family won't eat all 12 on the same day, you can keep these cover in the airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days of freeze and defrost when needed.
Yield: 12Pin it
Delicious Nutty Banana Muffins
This recipe is really easy and quick to make, about 15 minutes for prep and 30 to bake, it makes 12 pcs of standard size muffins. I just recently upgraded from mini muffin thin tray to silicon 12 pcs muffin tray which is far easier to clean and it lasts way longer than a metal one.
prep time: 15 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 45 mins
ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup of all-purpose/regular white flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup toasted chopped walnuts (1 cup total)
- ½ cup dark chocolate chopped (optional)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup), melted (or coconut oil)
- 3 large ripe mashed bananas
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Mix all ingredients from the dry ingredients list together in a large bowl while you melt butter (or coconut oil).
- In a smaller brown mash 3 ripe bananas, add brown sugar, milk, egg and vanilla extract.
- Mix together dry and wet ingredients just until well combined but don't over mix. Add half of the toasted chopped walnuts & dark chocolate pieces.
- Spoon the mixture into greased silicon muffin trays (I also have individual ones from Ikea which are great), I use coconut oil to grease the muffin tray.
- Sprinkle the rest of the toasted chopped walnuts & dark chocolate pieces on top of the muffins.
- Bake for 25 minutes in preheated oven or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Recipe source: Crafty Cooking Mama (with my own changes to make it healthier)
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Who says wedding rings need to be platinum and diamond? Of course, platinum and diamond wedding rings are beautiful. However, there are plenty of other ring options out there that can be just as special.
If you are thinking that buying a diamond ring is an age-old wedding tradition, then think again. De Beers, the diamond mining company, cooked up the idea back in the 1940s. After decades of successful marketing, people now believe that diamonds are a wedding essential. But are they really?
If you are like me, a person who prefers innovative and edgy items, then a traditional-looking ring might not be the right fit for you. You need something that looks unique in a crowd of similar (read all the same) wedding rings.
To help you get a ring that’s as special as you are, check out these 5 unique wedding rings that are truly different but traditional enough not to scare you off.
Wedding Ring Tattoos
Who says that you need a ring of metal around your finger? It’s your wedding you can do pretty much do whatever you want.
One of the recent trends is ditching the metal ring altogether and getting a tattoo that looks like a ring. This option is super handy for everyone who does any kind of manual labor and needs to take off their ring often. Ring avulsion being a very real danger, these tattoos help people stay safe. Sure, you don’t get to exchange rings, but you do get an awesome experience going to the tattoo parlor together.
Some couples even choose to get the impression of their actual wedding rings tattooed on their fingers. That way they get the best of both worlds.
Carbon Fiber Wedding Rings
Say what? Their non-metallic construction makes carbon fiber rings hypoallergenic. Even if you are not allergic to metal, you have to agree that wearing carbon fiber anything is extremely cool. :)
This material goes into making components for supercars, spaceships, and satellites because they are extremely durable and lightweight. So, hyper-geeks rejoice!
These rings have a typical dark grey color and are available in both glossy or matte finishes.
Non-Diamond Wedding Rings
There is no denying that diamonds are extremely popular choices for wedding rings. Therefore, if you want something different you need to find something a bit more unique.
Thankfully, there are plenty of colorful gemstones to choose from that are not diamonds. From lab-made deep blue sapphires to the sparkling green of a natural peridot stone, you will have plenty of choices if you decide to get a stone that’s not diamond.
Wooden Wedding Rings/ Rings with Wooden Inlays
Wooden rings are especially popular wedding ring choice for men. These rings have beautiful wooden inlays encased within a metal ring. The contrasting nature of wood and metal is what makes these rings look unique. If you want to shake things up, buy a set of wood inlay rings and use it as your wedding band.
Ceramic Wedding Rings
Ceramic rings have a unique look and feel. Contrary to belief, they are extremely durable. They also have a typical sheen that matches the shine of expensive porcelain items. Now, because ceramic holds on to paint really well, these rings are available in bright colors.
So, how about a pair of bright red ceramic rings for your wedding? If that’s too out there you can always pick pitch black wedding rings made from ceramic.
What was (will be) your ring option? :)
The gorgeous purple-pink color of bougainvillea flower bush near my home in Barcelona is always the first sign of Summer for me. It reminds me of Greek Island Santorini and it's gorgeous blues, whites with touches od bougainvillea pinks or our Summer destination Dubrovnik, it's stone walls and wraths of bougainvillea framing front entrances to peoples homes.
This #ootd was indeed inspired by this color combination and is hopefully sharing Mediterranean Summer colors and feel.
SELF-PORTRAIT DRESS
After eyeing it for weeks I finally got this mini Self Portrait white lace dress with peplum trim and strappy back. As a mother of a toddler I rarely dare to wear white so for this Summer I made a conscious effort to add some white pieces to my Summer wardrobe. I was thinking I would wear this dress to one or two celebrations but I ended up wearing it a whole lot more.My favorite things about this dress are that although it is not bra friendly it holds your girls just fine without a bra or any other support or a tape for that matter as the material is very rigid and firm. The waist is taken in and gives you pretty curvy shape emphasized with peplum trimming.
GO TO ZAC POSEN BAG
My black and white Zac Posen handbag has been featured in many posts already. I want to be very realistic with my #ootd's. Although white this handbag is my go-to bag for business meetings and also for strolls with my toddler. It has enough of space for a laptop and a spare nappy + all the other essentials I keep carrying around with me.Because it is almost all white it does require a gentle cleaning with leather cream cleaner but I anyways wipe clean all my leather accessory once a month so this bag is no exception.
A POP OF COLOR
A perfect pop of color (other than the lipstick) for any outfit comes from pointy toe kitten heel sandals by Sam Edelman. Looking at my shoe closet I often feel bad I don't wear more often all those beauties I invested my money in for years.This is why I decided not to compromise comfort for beauty when shopping for shoes in order to get to wear each pair more often. These sandals are super comfortable and haven't given me blisters not even the first time I wore them.
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Sometimes you just need a makeup-free, worry-free, laptop free and all other kinds of -free day, out by the pool on the sun and alone. Alone with your thoughts, your worries, hopes, and fears. A time to breathe without doing absolutely nothing else. Sounds simple, I know but it's anything but.
CAN YOU DO ONE THING AND ONE THING ALONE?
We are now in Croatia on vacation, traveling and staying at several locations to meet with some family and friends but also to have some time to be alone, only three of us, as a family.
Yesterday I was playing with my daughter and I felt a bit restless, I was 'only' playing...no mobile, no distractions, no TV in the background nor radio. A few seconds later a WhatsApp message sounded on my mobile with a loud beep...sounds awful but I felt a bit of a relief (there it was, in a loud beep I was doing more than one thing again).
My mom was asking when are we coming for a lunch, next message then arrived from my sister asking what she should bring. I was answering one message after another not noticing my daughter just standing in front of me with a little rabbit in her hand and a very disappointed look on her face.
'Alo ai!' She ordered pointing at the table, asking me angrily to put my phone down. 'Zeko adormir!' her toy rabbit needed to be put to nap and I was to do it with singing 'Mama voli Belu' a song I remade from a popular cartoon and sing to Anabela before she goes to sleep.
I, who often say how I am very good and conscious about not using my phone much around Anabela have been totally unconscious of how my daughter felt and how much time I spent on two simple WhatsApp messages in the middle of a very important moment during play for her (and I).
DO YOU FEEL GUILTY TAKING 'ME' TIME?
Although I try my very best to be present and in the moments I spend with my family I am not so aware and honest to myself when I need to truly take an emergency time out and just go away. To go away guilt free, most importantly.Go away and be alone with absolutely no distractions. Be alone with myself. Even typing it now sounds terrifying. It sounds like a major waste of time for someone 'so busy' as I consider and pride myself to be.
When I finally do it, when I organize everything at home and at work and leave to have a coffee and read a book in a cafe 2 minutes away from our apartment I find it hard to relax and focus on just reading. I often (not always but often) find myself pulling out my mobile and typing a food shopping list, to do list or looking at kindergarden camera to see my daughter is ok.
Meditation, breathing app and my amazingly supportive boyfriend and a great dad, really do help and push me to go and be alone once in a few days and do something for myself but I often wonder, why don't I also give myself a permission to do the same?
SETTING PRIORITIES AND LETTING GO
One of major 'aha' moments for me was when my boss in the multination company I worked in said to me: "I think that the most capable and most intelligent people find a way to do fewer things but to do them more efficiently." DU-Ghhhh... I thought but it's easy for him to say from the director's (and males) perspective when he is juggling fewer things at the time. Later on (when I got physically sick) I realized that I can to take charge of the priorities I make and my own work schedule and simply not do some things. I indeed became more productive. Why is it so hard to apply this to the daily family life?
One young woman, a cancer survivor said it best "Will I save someone's life if I stay to work late in the office?' No? Then it can wait until tomorrow."
Free People crochett one piece swimsuit.
This fabulous hat which has two holes to tie it through with a silk wrap is from Uterque, the parfume is Amor Amor by Cacharel, there is also a hand cream from L'occitane, a lip gloss Douglas and a bronzer from Kiko.
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Sometimes you just need to take a break, STOP, turn your face towards the sun and breathe. Just BREATHE. This is what I started to do (too late, but better late than never) when I started having severe stomach problems due to stress. Now, when I have the busiest day, I break it down in chunks mentally and I take many small 5-10 minutes breaks to let myself calm down, breathe and re-center myself to be able to do all I need to do despite continuous lack of sleep (toddler mama reality).
THERE IS AN APP FOR THAT - CALM
Although I previously shared my meditation, calming methods I don't think it hurts to repeat it. I use CALM mobile app for guided breathing technique and guided meditation for almost a year now and it really helps me fall asleep easier and calm my nerves because of which I have fewer stomach pains as well. It takes very little time but it makes a significant change to how I feel during the day.
WORK IT OUT
Other than breathing/meditating, sitting outside on the suquietlyly for just a few minutes what really helps me center and calm (mind and body) is a regular work out. My standard workout which I do in average 3-5x per week on a good week or 1-2x on a buisy weeek contains of 30 minute running pace 10ish which makes out to be a good 5-6 km run + weight training for core, back, legs and gluts and ab circuit. Work out takes lots of negative energy and stress out and afterwards your legs might be tired but your mind is fresh and your adrenaline up and running. I am a firm believer that work out contributes not only to your physical but also mental health tremendously so if you are a buisy career women or a buisy mom, consider taking some 'me' time in the gym rather then having any beauty treatment or cafe, I promise it will be more rewarding, especially longterm.
THAT'S A WRAP #OOTD
My go-to brands for this #ootd are my usual suspects - Free People mini-wrap floral dress made out of cotton-linen material, cool and super soft, perfect for Summer. The same as back when I was living in New York, today when I am a busy mom I carry 2 pairs of shoes with me at all times as sometimes after work meeting I run to pick up my daughter from nursery and take her to park so I go from pumps to sneakers within few hours. I love wearing Spanish made fashion so I opted for Uterque white sneakers and pumps which both go great with the floral wrap dress. My accessory of choice for this outfit was my 'stressed but well dressed' leather Zara clutch.
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One of my favorite thing about living in Spain is how it spoiled us with delicious fresh market produce all year around. Of course, there is always a seasonal fruit like, in any other country, however gentle Mediterranean climate allows for locally produced oranges, bananas, berries and similar in my country (Croatia) exotic fruits are all year around treat.
TRAVELING MARKET
Thursday afternoons are for me always reserved for the local farmers market 'Mercat de la Terra'. In Barcelona, local producers of honey, meat, cheeses, bread and produce have a small market in front of the neighborhood park so each day of the week a different neighborhood is visited by this traveling farmer's market.
TOP 5 MARKETS IN BARCELONA
Even if you are visiting Barcelona as a tourist, you will surely enjoy experiencing, taking photos and sampling local but also imported exotic fruit, fruit juices, tasty Spanish cheeses, jamon /prosciutto and local pastries. Bigger, more touristy markets tend to be more expensive. I definitely recommend local, small park markets for all who are staying in Barcelona for a longer period.Here are my favorites:
1. Mercat de la Boqueria. The biggest and most colorful market in Barcelona. The prices are truly fair in comparison to quality, variety, and quantity you get. When I first visited Barcelona I got a bunch of exotic spices as souvenirs for my family and friends. The only watch out I would mention is that La Boqueria is closed on Sunday's as many other places in Barcelona.
2. Mercat de Santa Caterina. The second oldest market in the city, also one of city locations tourist like to visit for it's architecture, history, energy and of course fabulous produce. It is certainly less buisy then La Boqueria but absolutely worth the visit, don't go on Sunday, it's closed as well :)
3. Mercat de Galvany. This is my neighorhood market, it is a bit pricy but offers great product variety. The market features gorgeous architecture, resembeling a church more then a market entrance from outside. There is a cafe there as well to take a quick espresso break after your weekend produce shopping trip.
4. Mercat de Sant Andreu. This market is smaller then previous three but it's very cozy and less crowded with small stalls, shops, bakeries and bars where you can grab a drink and tapas produced from fresh local ingredients. I can recommend Rabasseda restaurant where I had drink and tapas with my mom when she first visited.
5. Mercat de Sants. Like other Barcelona markets Sants Market offers stunning architecture and on top of wide variaty of fresh produce you can also buy a lot of ready to eat meals. My very favorites are empanadas with goat cheese and caramelized onions.
MARKET OOTD
We haven't shot this look inside of the markets as the light is rather dim and there are always to many people. For my market #ootd I choose red and white polka dot frill dress with strah hat and my super comfortable Uterque sandals from last season. The leather net bag is the same one I had in Tangerine post but here I use it as a market bag.
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Wearing leopard print can be a slippery slope. You can go all out and just wear it like Patsy from the Absolutely Fabulous TV show. Alternatively, you could just go boring old red lipstic, leopard print piece combined with black accessory.
SCANDINAVIAN LEOPARD PRINT #OOTD
On the other hand, you can just go neutral or invent your own 'leopard print look' like I tried with this 'Scandinavian leopard' kind of outfit where I highlighted Zara's midi leopard print dress with white accessory.When I think of Scandinavian style (be it apartment furnishing or fashion) I think of clean lines, lots of white and very simple cuts. Obviously, leopard print is all but clean and simple, but, when it's photographed with white accessory and over clean background it does give a Scandinavian vibe.
WHITE ACCESSORY
When it comes to accessory, I usually shop independent designers but since I live in Barcelona I often opt out for 'made in Spain' pieces like those from Uterque brand. The white leather pumps with point toe and V cleavage are from Uterque (a bit hard to break in but super comfortable on strap end). White earrings are from Violeta by Mango. If I wear a purse with this look it's usually YSL mini or a (less practical) white leather clutch with no strap.
Do you ever wear leopard and if you do, how do you style it? :)
p.s. Looking for more inspiration.
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