In March I've Loved...

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.

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And that's a wrap! These are my favourite from March! I'm excited for the new month to come as for spring to completely flourish and to discover new places and things this springtime! So do let me know what you've loved this month! x

How I stay motivated!

My working out motivation comes and goes: last summer I was all about it, I took half an hour or a little bit more for myself and some cardio almost everyday and I truly enjoyed it, I even wrote an entire post about it back in August last year, and yet it only lasted three months, then life got in the way and it was either impossible to workout for a month or so, and I also lost my motivation along the way (thank you emotions, health, bad news and all that jazz!). Until at the beginning of February I started be serious about fitness again - I wanted to start all over and find the motivation I lost. It could go away again, yes, but this time it's quite different: we have a commitment or two, I've started truly enjoying working out and in these two months there hasn't been one single time I felt overwhelmed by the thought it was time to repeat it all over again day after day, instead I'm always looking forward to my workout time!

I've never been a gym person, nor a sport person in the slightest! I've always hated gym class at school and I've never joined the gym. I hate to run, I hate to get sweaty, I much more prefer avoiding all of this if possible. A pair of years ago I'd never thought I would have ever enjoyed working out - even at home, even alone, even without anyone forcing me or suggesting me what to do! It's strange to see how people can change growing up, right?! And yet if I started enjoying it and finding the motivation to keep going day after day, I have to thank the little things that have made my working out route much more interesting that I would have ever thought it could have been! If you haven't guessed yet, I have some tips to keep the motivation alive for you today!

1 :: Find the motivation in yourself.
At the end of the day, it's all about you and your health. Until I actually felt like I needed and wanted to do something about, I wasn't really able to stick to any class or at home workout routine. So I know this is not exactly what someone who is trying to find the motivation somewhere wants to hear, but it you don't really want to give it a go, just forget about it. Find a reason why for you it is important to commit to some form of sport, whether it's weight loss, strength or achieving a healthier version of yourself, and stick with it. Especially remind yourself why you started when you feel disheartened or tired.


2 :: Practice what you truly like.
I thought I liked cardio last summer and yet I've always hated it, in fact it didn't last too long! I quitted at the first difficulty. A few months after, I'm pretty sure it was because cardio wasn't the right thing for me! This year I've decided to go back to the pool, because swimming has always been the only sport I quite liked since I was a kid, and I'm not looking back! Not being able to afford going to the pool almost everyday, I've also started practicing yoga as I've always been a fan the rare times I tried it, and in fact I'm looking forward to daily my time on the mat every day! It wasn't easy though, to understand what was right for me - as I said I spent the whole summer adoring cardio, when I now can't really stand it, I tried pilates, HIIT, only to realize I didn't truly like them and I wasn't going anywhere by sticking with something I wasn't passionate about only to quit a few months after.

3 :: Find someone to workout with!
Best way to start? Finding someone to workout with you! Me and my boyfriend committed to going to the pool together once a week, and yes, before this I wanted to start swimming again and I knew it was the right thing for me, but it took me months and a "we could go to the pool together" to actually do it!


4 :: Set small goals.
Don't be too hard on yourself or you'll make it a nightmare. The trick is to try and actually enjoy the journey without wanting to go straight to the point and pretend there's nothing you need to work on to. Start setting small goals instead of big ones - having goals is good because increases positivity about your fitness journey, but if they're too big they can be overwhelming and it's easy to get tired of everything that way. I'm trying to just avoid setting goals if not the being on my mat at least four days a week and at the pool at least one.

5 :: Define when you're most motivated.
I thought the right moment for me to workout was in the afternoon, yet sometimes I found myself temporizing and preferring doing something else. I realized the afternoon wasn't the time I feel most motivated during the day, instead I tried working out in the middle of the morning and it worked great! I feel like I have more strength in the morning and taking time to practice yoga before the start of a new working day really improves my positivity and creativity and definitely relax me if I'm feeling a bit too stressed about nothing. Obviously it's good to set a time according to your schedule too, but try to stick with it, it works magic!

6 :: Treat yourself to some new workout gear. If you feel like your workout routine is something you're really working hard on, then consider investing in some new good quality workout gear. New sport clothes are always fun and a good simple way to stay motivated. I had this gross old shattered yoga mat and I hated working out on it, so when I saw I was quite engaged with my workout routine, I decided to buy a new one, and it was a game changer! Not only new workout gear is fun and makes me want to practice something just for the sake of wearing it, but it also improves the way I workout. No one likes uncomfortable clothes or regular bra when working out, nor too tight tops or difficult to move in leggings that just hinder your moves!

My favourite workout clothes? Try H&M sportswear and you won't regret it! I didn't believe it either, and yet their Jersey Leggings are the comfiest to practice yoga in! I'm also a fan of their Seamless Sport Bra and would buy each and everyone of their colourful tops! Also I've recently invested in this nice slouchy J. D. Y. Tank Top but especially these ASOS Leggings - I'm in love: they're super comfortable, and super duper high waisted (which is always good!) and very elasticated too, in a word perfect-yoga-leggings!

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That's it for now! I always feel like motivation can grow and be improved everyday, so I'll might find a few other helpful tips to guide me in the next months, but if you have some tips to share, please talk to me in the comments! One's never really prepared enough when the motivation wants to escape! x

Spring Wishlist!

I've been craving the nice weather so badly and it has been lovely the last few days, but today is the most grey, soggy and saddest of the days after such a lovely sunny weekend - so it might be the best of the moments to gather together bright and colourful objects I've spotted recently and that have immediately made on top of my wishlist! Springtime is for bring colours, floral patterns, homeware renewal, new motivational workout gear, pretty stationery and thin blouses, and these are exactly the things I've been craving lately! As always I'm rather excited for the new season to come - winter is probably the longest period of the year to go through especially after the Holidays and the fun part of it are over, so I'm completely ready to hop to the no-more-that-rare splashes of sunshine, light dresses, colourful homeware and flower-scented candles! You? x

{ Links! }

1. ASOS Mini Daisy Hair Clips ;

2. ASOS JOB ON Lace Up Leather Shoes ;

3. H&M Home Storage Basket + Metal Plant Pot ;

4. Lululemon Flow Y Bra ;

5. Sheinside Blue Strap Buttons Denim Skirt ;

6. Anthropologie Half-dozen Egg Crate ;

7. Sugarhill Boutique Botanical Blouse ;

8. Animal Paper Clips + Kikki.K Everyday Gel Pens ;

9. P.F. Candle Co. Hill Country Candle + Paddywax Librery Jane Austen Candle ;

My Morning Routine

I'm a creature of habits and I live by routines. Everything I have to do, I need to plan it ahead and the only things I feel at ease at doing are ones I do everyday on repeat. There's something so nice and comforting in knowing exactly how your day will go, that you'll go out and come home at pre-established hours and do the usual things - that is a true comfort zone and why I don't like to step and explore too much out of it! I do not enjoy the unknown. Especially in the morning I feel the urge of doing my usual things day after day, just changing maybe the amount of sugar in my coffee or the type of breakfast, but not too much really, and that's the way I like to start my days! Am I the only one that feels comforted by a simple routine?!

And to me a good morning routine is made of...

{ a good old healthy homemade breakfast and coffee }

Coffee is a bad habit, I know, but it's the only bad habit I stick to (excluding unhealthy fish burgers once every two weeks, ops!) and it's something I totally love to indulge in especially in the morning. But since it's a bad habit and I'm trying to cut coffee out of my diet as much as I can, it is also a pleasure I indulge in only in the morning. 

If you were asking, those delicious healthy brownies were made following this recipe from Lindsey, and even if I'd add one more egg and maybe a bit almond milk next time, I highly suggest giving it a go if you're into healthy eating recently!

{ morning yoga }

This is something i'm trying to implement into my morning routine more but that when I do find time to have a little sun salutation or, even better, a complete and long yoga session in the morning, I always feel a lot better and ready to start the day with a positive mood! If you find you stress about nothing a bit too often, I'd highly suggest to find 10/15 minutes in the morning to practice some yoga before starting a day... it's a game changer!

{ beauty ritual }

Finding time for myself is a rare thing lately, and I surely can't afford the amount of time I took an year ago to complete my morning beauty routine, but if it's only one product that I have to use, that's fine, I can actually find some time for that! It's a fortune I've decided to cut all the chemicals out of my beauty ritual and instead cleanse, moisturise and take care of my skin only with coconut oil lately, so now I have only one product to use, and usually it happens under the shower, so it only takes a few seconds of my time and yet it feels very nice to think I am taking care of my skin too!

{ plans for the day ahead }

As I told you, I love to plan my days before they start, I like to know exactly what I have to do and what can be done later before starting the work, so first thing I do when sitting at my desk is write a to-do list or check the one I've created the day before for the day ahead and set everything I have to do and when on paper. This way I feel a lot more organized and productive and, if my plans are realistic, I've found I'm able to do a lot more than when I don't plan anything (because procrastination always finds a way to exist!).

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That's it, what I like to do first thing in the mornings! I've also found a perfect blogging routine lately that fits just right with my schedules and mania to plan everything ahead and be organized, so expect to see that one too!

What about your morning routines? I'm curious to know and please tell me I'm not the only one that lives by routines! x

4 Steps to The January Detox.

I get so envious when I hear people saying "I've already lost 5lbs since New Year!" so maybe it's finally time to put all the Christmas chocolate away and roll up those sleeves getting healthier with a January detox! It's no secret I've been particularly lazy the past pair of months, and it's one of my new year resolutions to get back to a healthier lifestyle, so lately I've been trying to get back into the swing of things! Want to hear about my 4 steps detox guide? Read below!

Get fit
One of a bigger goal for me and my boyfriend is being able to spend an hour or more swimming together once a week, with which we could encounter some difficulties since we live a LDR, but that's for another time! For more of a daily dose of fitness, there's really no need to go anywhere if you can find the motivation and the time to do something at home! I already feel like Fitstar Yoga will be my new best friend for the next months - a phone app with yoga classes that, based on your preferences, proposes different classes with different difficulty levels to create a personal yoga path and hopefully make the whole journey even more enjoyable!

Last summer I wrote up an entire post about getting fit at home where I suggested lot of resources to help you with your fitness journey - I should really give it a re-read as I seem to have lost all my motivation! Find it here.

Natural Organic Lavender Deodorant ℅ Earth Conscious

Go natural
Anyone else feels like their skins has been overloaded with too much makeup, fragrances and glitters during the Holidays? And my skin is also feeling very gross just thanks to all the chocolate I ate during the Holidays (and after those), so I feel it's time for a skin detox too! I have rounded up a few of my favourite natural skincare products and feel like my new Earth Conscious Natural Organic Deodorant* really deserves a mention: containing only natural ingredients, it feels so gentle and good for your skin and yourself, definitely one of those healthier choices I'm planning to do a bit more often in the new year! I really feel like nourishing my skin from the outside with natural organic products can do a lot of good to your inner self too, and it's definitely a healthy good way to start 2015 at best! Other natural products I like are from Lush and Antipodes.

Drink green
I'm not a huge fan of how green tea tastes by itself, but no doubts it is good for you, for your skin and for your body, not to mention the best way to detox, and definitely a healthy habit I should incorporate into my days. I'll try the Clipper Tea Green Tea with Echinacea that was hidden in my kitchen shelf - I'll make sure to give it a try as I should have had a lot of time ago, and if it doesn't go well, I can always go back to my antiox green-tea-based smoothie!

The instant pick me up
Bath time will not beat the January blues, but it will definitely help and making the grayest month of the year a bit more relaxed and peaceful, I'll tell you this! One of my favourite time of the week is my weekend's bath time, with all the bubbles, deliciously scented bath salts, and the well-deserved post-bath pampering night, with cozy candles around the rooms and face masks that can make a world of good to my skin and mood!

How are you planning/are proceeding with your January detox? I'd love to know! x

Bring the gym at home

I'm not even close to be the most fit person out there, and I started to be consistent with my workouts only recently, but I do have a good motivation but am not heading to the gym at the moment. I'm trying to stick to a strict routine of working out everyday at home on my own, and if one thing is for sure is that I'm no expert at all, but since I believe a lot of people might struggle with going to the gym whether it's about money, time or anything else, and since I've found a few interesting ways to work out at home, I thought to write down a little list of useful thing if you were thinking of starting working out at home by your own...

ONLINE RESOURCES

You can find a lot of resources online for free to be uses to help you working out at home and by your own and build a solid routine that works fine with your body, whether you're a beginner or not. I personally love Fitness Blender on YouTube, they have the best fitness videos, easy to follow but very complete and you can literally find everything you need there to build an effective routine based on your own goals. I do love some yoga and even though you can find some yoga workouts on Fitness Blender, I especially love how every Yoga With Adriene's video is structured - she is so good in explaining and following every move with a brief description of how every single part of your body should be placed like, and she really makes it very relaxing, which is what yoga should be!

Choosing your own routine must be very personal and build on your own body needs and goals, but I have a little YouTube Playlist that includes a few of my favourite workouts that I tried a few times and really enjoyed, and you should also really check out the recent Free 5 Days Challenge from Fitness Blender which is pretty tough but made me feel pretty good when I finished it last week! Will definitely give it a few others whirls in the upcoming future!

APPS

There are a lot of apps out there that are really helping me through this whole working out at home experience, and my number one favourite must be the MyFitnessPal app which is really helping me keeping all the calories I eat and burn written down in one place and all under control so that I never eat too much calories or that I actually eat enough too. This is great for losing weigh but being such a perfectionist I really do need to see all the calories listed down and this app makes it such an easy task. Another super useful app is Runtastic: I'm not really the kind of person that likes to go out for a run, but I do have some bicycle and walk moments now and again especially when the weather is nice and I don't feel like working out inside. It tracks your route, the distance you run and how many calories you are burning and it pairs amazingly with the MyFitnessPal app! Another one I like is a good  workout timer app like this one which is coming pretty handy when I want to build my own routine and need someone to say the time it's over, when I have to rest and when to re-start again.

Also if you find difficult to drink enough water, I really love the Waterlogged app which keeps your water intake on track all the day everyday. I always need to drink more water than I actually do, but this is a really helpful and motivating app, it makes it a lot easier, that's all!

FIND DETERMINATION

One thing I always struggled with was finding some determination to work out with consistency, and if you have such an issue, this post explains why I work out in details and how I keep my motivation alive. Something I find it's pretty helpful when it comes to push my body to its limits, is to be distracted: music or TV series are my workout best friends, but this is also the reason why I much more prefer following a pre-build and live explained routine - I have someone to follow and really rarely get bored because I try to pick not too mechanical workouts.

Something else I find really helpful is to work out everyday at the same pre-established hour; this way I can't really forget about it. Working out in the latest hours of the morning is my best bet as my body is more active and I'm always a lot more motivated - and it's nice to think I'll have a healthy delicious meal right afterwards. However I know a lot of people can't actually find the time to workout in the morning, but it's all up to you and to find your own routine that fits with your work or schedules.

Sometimes determination can be found in a beautiful landscape to admire during your run/walk/bike ride. If I can have a beautiful surrounding to see, I always much more prefer going out for a walk than stay stuck at home. Beautiful views make the best workouts in my opinion!

Sometimes motivation can't be found so easily and those times it's really difficult to go out or get up from the couch and do something fitness related, especially when you're in a bad mood, but what I try to do is to do something easier but always do something and never stay still there which is not good for my body at all. I also allow myself to have a day off if I really need it, but not more than one or two per week!


These were a few little tricks I'm finding pretty handy when it comes to workout at home...
Do you have other tips to share?

Working out and feeling motivated: Why I do it

If you read this blog since a long while ago, you'll probably know I've/am dealing with some health issue in this last period of my life. Without going deep down in details with it, finding myself in first aid two times in three weeks was no fun and it's something I rather prefer not to redo anytime soon. It felt very bad both times and those were the moments when I start seeing own weak my body is. I needed to take supplements twice a day for a while (and I still do sometimes) before my body re-established to its normality, but yet I wasn't feeling strong at all and it really sucks when you don't have complete control over your body.

I've never been a workout/gym/sport type of person. The only sport I do actually really enjoy is swimming which is something I'll go ahead and do as soon as my trusted pool will be re-open in September, but one thing I wanted to do was to start working out regularly and dedicate at least an hour a day on five out of seven days a week to my body and nothing else. To one that has never ever exerciced in her life it is pretty tough at the beginning and there are days when I can't be bothered and am not really in the mood, but I still try and get up from that chair and dedicate some time to a few simple exercices if I don't really feel to push too hard that day. It can be annoying sometimes to realize I need to take a step back because my body is not used to it and it's very weak and it can let itself go anytime really, but this is also an exercise to me to understand my body and when it's time to do or not to do something.

To somebody working out can be all about weight loss and it is to me as well but not completely, because the main thing that comes with it to me is that my body really feels healthier day after day. I'm still working on building an effective routine that works fine to me and my body, but I can see me coming at that point day after day. I think if you can find a very important reason to workout like being and feeling healthier, it really makes the whole thing a lot easier and to me it really is the number one goal to achieve.

I want my body to feel stronger day after day and if that means I need to work hard every day in order to achieve my body's health, well I'm totally on it. If you don't feel motivated at all about working out or going to the gym, just simply try to deeply understand why your body need it and use it as major goal to achieve when you don't really want to get up from that couch.

What is your motivational goal when it comes to working out?