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IT'S PARTY TIME!

Welcome back to another round of Friday Favorites! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas holiday, and some peaceful days with your family. Today I'm sharing three projects that would have made great holiday gifts, but are also wonderful to treat yourself after a season of probably not so healthy eating and stressful present shopping :)

NOTE: Since our lovely hostess Jerri recently gave birth to an adorable baby boy, every hostess will post individually on their own during this time instead of compiling a post of everyone's favourite pick – meaning that my party posts will only feature my picks over the next couple of weeks. When you link up your post it will still be part of a linky party that will be shared on ALL of our blogs, so there's no change there!

LET'S PARTY!
 

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin
Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!


You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!
And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

reading time: 5 min


https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M9lsnD8CU7k/Ww3BKtQma5I/AAAAAAAAU2c/TV-LJnPK8kEj5g1EYHfNrIcTIk1x_x2BwCEwYBhgL/s1600/springtosummer03_02.jpg


As we all know, Christmas is a time of love. Today I want to talk about a special sort of love, and that is self love. Because if you ask me, every other movie and book is about love, but not enough people talk about self love – and what this really means.

Which is why this blog post is specifically about how to learn self love.



Hey lovelies, here's another weekly meal plan for you! Plant-based and healthy, as always. Well, mostly. It's Christmas time after all :)



IT'S PARTY TIME!

Today I present to you three rather different shared projects. Firstly, a helpful guide to creating an inviting holiday hostess gift basket. Secondly, an easy owl ornament DIY that will delight any Harry Potter fans and basically requires no more than white feathers and a black paint pen. And lastly, an inspiring post on winter weddings. Enjoy! :)

NOTE: Since our lovely hostess Jerri recently gave birth to an adorable baby boy, every hostess will post individually on their own during this time instead of compiling a post of everyone's favourite pick – meaning that my party posts will only feature my picks over the next couple of weeks. When you link up your post it will still be part of a linky party that will be shared on ALL of our blogs, so there's no change there!

LET'S PARTY!


Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin
Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!


You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!
And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!




Hello snow princes(ses) and winter lovers,

first off: Happy 3rd Advent! I know I'm probably the millionth person to say this – but I cannot believe it's only one week until Christmas! 

Today my roommate and I spent seven hours at our local flea market and sold a bunch of my sorted out stuff from my decluttering sessions. We made a profit of about 100 Euro, and I got rid of about half my stuff (which is great because I'm going to move to a different city by the end of January!!). As it was freezing cold at the (outdoor) flea market, we brought along hot fruit punch and tea to keep us warm. My boyfriend and my dad also came by to provide us with more snacks and hot drinks :)

Hot beverages such as hot fruit punch, chai tea, and hot chocolate aren't only great to keep your little fingers from freezing, but also to get in the Christmas spirit. Here's a round-up of my favourite hot drinks during the festive season!


MASALA CHAI

Ingredients:

6 cups water
4 cups plant-based milk, e.g. almond or soy
6 green (or black) cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp ground anise OR 1-2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick OR around 3 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
4 tbsp tea leaves, black Assam or rooibos
6 tbsp agave syrup

Method: over here.

* 


MULLED "WINE"

Ingredients:

2 cups red grape juice (or red wine for an adult version)
2 cups apple juice
1 fruit tea bag (I used cranberry tea)
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 orange
8 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
optional: 1 star anise 

Method: over here.

*


HOT CHOCOLATE

Ingredients:

300ml hazelnut milk (or any other plant-based milk)
40g dark vegan chocolate
3 tbsp unsweetened cacao or carob powder
pinch of sea salt
1 - 2 tsp ground cinnamon

optional: vegan whipped cream

Method: over here.

*


GINGERBREAD CHAI LATTE

Ingredients:

1 cup (250ml) water
1 black tea bag, or Roiboos tea for caffeine free version
1 cup (250ml) unsweetened almond milk
4 dates, deseeded
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp gingerbread spice *
1 tsp vanilla extract
about 1/2 cup (125 ml) unsweetened almond milk for frothing

optional: 1-2 tsp 100% pure maple syrup

* to make your own homemade gingerbread spice blend, check out the recipe below!

Method
: over here.

*


MINT HOT CHOCOLATE

Ingredients:

2 cups (500ml) unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup (40g) dairy-free mint chocolate, roughly chopped
3-4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
10 small mint leaves, finely chopped OR 2 or 3 drops peppermint essence (a little goes a long way!)
1-2 tbsp maple syrup

optional: whipped cream, shaved chocolate, marshmallows, etc.

Method: over here.




http://www.thefreshmancook.com/2017/12/celebrate-it-blog-link-party_28.html


I'm happy to say that this was featured over at the Celebrate It linky party! Thanks a bunch :)
 

♥

Maisy



Hi guys, last week was a mess – it was Saint Nicholas Day, as well as my boyfriend's and my 3 year anniversary where we went to a "dining in the dark" event (so cool!), as well as my boyfriend's birthday, and we also hosted a party at our place! This week is much more organized and I have more time to write new blog posts, so here's what we ate!



IT'S PARTY TIME!

How are you holding up during this busy season? Are you on a hunt for Christmas presents? I feel like I'm coming down with something but doing everything I can to prevent getting sick (taking turmeric, oil pulling, eating raw ginger (yep), antioxidant rich juices, fresh fruit, warming teas, lots of water, no more chocolate...), and I hope you're all healthy too! 

For this week's feature round I picked two DIY tree ornament ideas, two healthier Christmas treat recipes, and one seasonal body scrub. Isn't that llama hilarious? 😁

NOTE: Since our lovely hostess Jerri recently gave birth to an adorable baby boy, every hostess will post individually on their own during this time instead of compiling a post of everyone's favourite pick – meaning that my party posts will only feature my picks over the next couple of weeks. When you link up your post it will still be part of a linky party that will be shared on ALL of our blogs, so there's no change there!

LET'S PARTY!
 

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin
Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!


You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!
And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

reading time: 2 min


It's my boyfriend's birthday today, and since our 3 year anniversary was also two days ago, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to post something love related :)

Following my blog post on 20 Outdoor Date Ideas, here are a bunch of suggestions for when it's cold out and you really don't want to leave the house. Since my boyfriend and I have been living together for more than three years now, your home can become rather unromantic and mundane. So make it a cozy and special place again that is worthy of romantic dates!

Here are 20 budget-friendly ideas for how to transform your day-to-day home into a love nest.


20 At-Home Date Ideas

01. Set up a private cocktail bar (or lemonade bar, whatever you prefer) and slow-dance to soft music in your kitchen or living room.

02. When you use your kitchen daily for cooking, turn it into a more romantic spot by having a cozy candle light dinner. Set a fancy table with flowers and red wine (or an alternative that suits you), and use dimmed lights and fairy lights to create an intimate atmosphere. Get dressed up even though you're "just at home", and eat something you don't usually cook. It doesn't matter if that's homemade sushi or just Chinese takeaway – anything eaten by candle light is romantic ;)

03. Do an at home movie night! Make your own popcorn and snuggle on the sofa. Movie suggestions: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Garden State, Dirty Dancing, Jurassic Park, Mr & Mrs Smith, Easy A, The Notebook, Blue Valentine, or La La Land.

04. Play a board/card/computer game or do a puzzle together (that's actually quite fun to do!).

05. Do a (homemade) chocolate or cheese fondue night.

06. Do an at-home spa day! Run a long hot bath (DIY bath bombs?), light some candles, apply fun face masks... Your boyfriend will appreciate some pampering too.

07. Give each other a massage. Whether that's relaxing or more sexy is up to you ;)

08. Build a cosy blanket fort in your room (bring snacks) – and then make out inside it.

09. Make a time-capsule with photos and letters of you and your partner (e.g. letters to your future selves, secret letters to each other, or bucket lists). Decide an opening date, such as a 5 year or 10 year anniversary, or just the same date next year.

10. Draw portraits of each other. To make it even more fun: draw each other with eyes closed!

11. Watch funny YouTube videos and laugh your asses off. Here's a good place to start.

12. Learn some more about each other by playing a fun personality game such as Never Have I Ever or Who's More Likely To.

13. Put an air mattress and comfy blankets on the living room floor and do indoor camping.

14. Do an at-home karaoke night and go sing your hearts out. You can just search for karaoke on Youtube to find tons of karaoke versions of songs.

15. Choose a cultural theme and centre your date night around it. Make food, play music and watch a movie from or about that culture. For example, if you choose Italy, you could make homemade pizza, eat gelato for dessert, listen to some Italian folk music and watch a movie like "Life is Beautiful" or "The Godfather". If you choose Japan, make your own sushi, play traditional Japanese music and watch a movie like "Memoirs of a Geisha" or "Spirited Away". Some other fun theme ideas are Vietnamese, Mexican, Greek, Ethiopian, Russian, or a certain decade like the 1920's.

16. Take YouTube dance lessons.

17. Look at each other's cringy old photos and have a good laugh about it :) You could also look at photos of you two together in the early stages of your relationship and take a trip down memory lane.

18. Do a blind taste test where each of you let's the other try some yummy treats like peanut butter, chocolate and fruits, but also some meaner foods like mustard, chili, baby food etc. Use a blindfold or an eye mask.

19. Watch a movie you've never seen before (any genre will work for this, but romance, crime or melodrama will probably be most fun). Set on mute and improvise the dialogue.

20. Have a progressive dinner date! So start with an appetizer at one restaurant, a main dish at a 2nd restaurant and dessert at a 3rd restaurant. That way you can eat three different cuisines all in the same night!


Do you have any more ideas for at-home dates? Leave them in the comments below! I hope I could inspire you to switch it up a little :)

♥

Maisy



IT'S PARTY TIME!

Two weeks until Christmas! Who else is excited? The book store I'm working at is buzzing with customers at the moment, and I haven't gotten all of my Christmas present myself yet, but this Friday and Saturday I'm taking a mini vacation from work to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, our 3 year anniversary, and also to get some more presents for Christmas... what are you up to this weekend?

At this week's feature round-up I present to you a cute Christmas tree DIY, a soothing tea recipe to fight the cold, an adorable reindeer cookie recipe that can easily be veganized, and a healthy meal idea for this year's Christmas dinner!

NOTE: Since our lovely hostess Jerri is currently pregnant, every hostess will post individually on their own during this time instead of compiling a post of everyone's favourite pick – meaning that my party posts will only feature my picks over the next couple of weeks. When you link up your post it will still be part of a linky party that will be shared on ALL of our blogs, so there's no change there!

LET'S PARTY!
 

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin
Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!


You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!
And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

 reading time: 1 min


Happy Saint Nicholas Day! 🎅🏿

Mulled wine is a traditional drink during winter here in Germany, especially around Christmas. We call it Glühwein here, which translates to "glow wine" and refers to a mix of warmed up wine with mulling spices such as cinnamon, cloves, anise, and cardamom.

This cosy drink brings warmth to this cold season and emits an aromatic scent. It can be made with or without alcohol – both versions are tasty and will make you feel like Christmas from the inside out! Personally, I prefer the non-alcoholic version which is suitable for children because I love the fruity sweetness and slight spiciness of it. Enjoy :)


MULLED "WINE"

Preparation time: 15 mins
Main ingredients: apple juice, grape juice, orange
difficulty level: easy
serves: 5-6
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, sugar-free

Ingredients:

2 cups red grape juice (or red wine for an adult version)
2 cups apple juice
1 fruit tea bag (I used cranberry tea)
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 orange
8 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick

Instructions:

Add everything to a large saucepan and heat until hot but NOT boiling. Allow to simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

If this isn't sweet enough for you, which it definitely is for me, feel free to add 1 or 2 teaspoons of maple syrup to the mixture!

Strain the hot punch, discarding solids. Serve hot, garnished with orange slices. Goes perfectly with speculoos cookies dipped into the beverage 😉





♥

Maisy

 reading time: 1 min


Happy 1st Advent, folks! 

Today's recipe is something for you chocolate lovers out there. Because on chilly nights like these, there is nothing quite as comforting as a mug of hot chocolate :) And I'm talking real deal hot chocolate that is creamy, rich, smooth as silk, and with the perfect amount of refreshing mint flavour.  

This peppermint hot chocolate is made with clean ingredients like almond milk, fresh mint, raw cacao powder – well, and melted mint chocolate, which isn't really clean and healthy, but it's the holiday season after all, right?!


MINT HOT CHOCOLATE

Preparation time: 10 mins
Main ingredients: almond milk, cocoa, mint
difficulty level: easy
serves: 2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

2 cups (500ml) unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup (40g) dairy-free mint chocolate, roughly chopped
3-4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
10 small mint leaves, finely chopped OR 2 or 3 drops peppermint essence (a little goes a long way!)
1-2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

Optional: whipped cream, shaved chocolate, marshmallows, etc.

Instructions:

If you have a blender or smoothie maker add all of the ingredients, except the chocolate, to the blender and blend for a few minutes on high until completely smooth and frothy. Add the blended mixture to a pot over medium heat and then add the chocolate chips. 

If you don't have a blender, just add everything straight to the pot and heat up on medium.

Once the mixture begins to bubble and rise, switch to low heat and allow to simmer for a few minutes, whisking continuously. Remove from heat and pour into two mugs. Add whipped cream, shaved chocolate, marshmallows, cinnamon, etc. Enjoy! 

TIP: Instead of fresh mint leaves or peppermint essence, add one bag Moroccan mint tea per mug and allow to steep for 2 or 3 minutes to flavour you hot chocolate!






I'm stoked to see this featured over at the Wonderful Wednesday linky party!! :)


https://www.marilynstreats.com/wonderful-wednesday-255/#.WjRIdzciGUk



♥

Maisy



Guys, I'm eating too much crap lately! Gingerbread, speculoos, cookies, chocolate, treats from our local Christmas market. Sigh! But oh well, I guess that's what we're all looking forward to during Christmas season right?! Haha. At least I try to make my main meals at home as healthy as possible, as you can see below :)



IT'S PARTY TIME!

Welcome! This week's Friday Favourites marks the beginning of Advent season. (BTW: Have you seen my first DIY Natural Advent Wreath I made??) Have you guys decorated your homes for Christmas yet? I'm gonna do that this weekend, I think :)

So. For this round of features I have chosen a festive recipe, two DIY Christmas gift ideas, and two decor ideas! Enjoy!

NOTE: Since our lovely hostess Jerri is currently pregnant, every hostess will post individually on their own during this time instead of compiling a post of everyone's favourite pick – meaning that my party posts will only feature my picks over the next couple of weeks. When you link up your post it will still be part of a linky party that will be shared on ALL of our blogs, so there's no change there!

LET'S PARTY!


Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin
Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!


You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!
And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

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THIS IS ME

Well, hello! My name is Maisy (pronounce: macy) and I’m the creative spirit behind this blog. You are welcome to join me on my journey to a more natural, slow-paced & healthier life!

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