autumn colours

Finally…some autumn shades!

Finally we are wearing a bit of brown! Beige actually, but the important thing is that we are matching with our decor! Remember when I told you that I have some more over the knee boots on the way? Well this is one of the pairs! Yes, over the knee boots and Uggs are my current go-to uniform and I just love it! I mean there is nothing more comfortable than Uggs, as I mentioned in the previous post, and in my opinion nothing sexier than over the knee boots so I am and will abuse both of them! We are not really accustomed to wearing being and/or brown therefore there are not many pieces in our closet in that colour but after seeing these pics we are going to take some measures to fix that. Well D is, because I am still not comfortable buying lots of clothes but I do admit that from time to time I tend to go wild and buy stuff that I know I will wear post-pregnancy. We did feel the need to compliment our beige outfits with one of our favourite colours: blue and I honestly love this combo and will probably wear it quite a lot.

Does the dress seem familiar (yes, it is a dress)? Well that’s because it is one of my summer dresses that I also wore here and that surprisingly still fits and feels great over my bump. Having recently discovered that I can layer basically any sweater on top of a summer dress, this look will probably be repeated lots of times during this season as I do still have a lot of dresses that are summer appropriate that still fit nicely. The secret with the sweater is that, right now, I am mostly wearing the sweaters that I used to wear as dresses last year. Because of the growing bump, they do not cover as much as they used to so a bit of layering is necessary. Regarding the details, the dress is from H&M and the sweater is from last year’s ZARA winter collection but I did link an alternative.

On me:

Dress – H&M; Sweater – ZARA; Boots – Public Desire; Bag – Love Moschino; Hat – Mango; Sunglasses – Gucci; Bling – Swarovski (ring and bracelet), Tous, Tomorrowland, Pandora; Watch – Apple

The boots! Let’s talk a bit about the boots. They are from Public Desire which are having a hype-moment on the internet right now and are some of the most affordable boots I own (actually the most affordable). They do deliver great quality for the price and their delivery service is great – I got them within a weeks from ordering. Naturally, I got them in another colour as well – which you will see shortly – and I have to point this out: they are extremely comfortable especially given the fact that this model is 11 cm high and I am 7 months pregnant. The hat is from Mango and I bought it last summer while in Milan. I did link an alternative and you can find lots of beige wool hats at other brand as well. Since the outfit crossed the hippie border a bit I felt the need to add a soft leather boho bag from Love Moschino that I got a few years ago. Naturally my big Gucci glasses could not miss the opportunity to see the light of day especially since we did get a bit of sun the day we shot these pics.

On D:

Coat – ZARA; T-shirt – H&M; Jeans – Replay; Boots – ZARA; Bling – Fossil; Watch – Ingersoll

D is a bit more newly dressed than me because hey, if I can’t buy clothes for myself, he might as well do it and I seriously love the fact that he shows interest in the new collections more and more these days and I enjoy going shopping with him very mush – no, I do not point out to him what he should or should not buy as he has a pretty strong sense of style, I’m there to confirm and urge him to buy stuff! Like this trench coat over here! He just looks so amazing in trench coats but for some reason he never owned one before, so I made him buy this lovely and very comfortable one from ZARA. If only they did a similar model for women as well as I feel that women’s are so rigid and uncomfortable. The boots are also new and also from ZARA and I think they match perfectly with the trench coat. Lately he has been known to wear comfortable basic white t-shirts and the ones from H&M are just great: they feel and fit perfectly to his frame and are very cheap so there is no panic if he stains them with his new tattoo. The jeans are some of his most reliable jeans from Replay.

Accessories wise, while you can’t see D‘s I am letting you in on a little secret: he was wearing his beige Ingersoll watch and his brown Fossil bracelet. I, on the other hand, decided to go in full-rings mode and wore my new favourite Tous ring alongside two Swarovski rings, a Pandora ring and my Tomorrowland ring. I just love these little rings that you can stack and wear in multiple ways. I also wore my Apple watch and my Swarovski bracelet.

That about covers today’s post and I must confess that lately the weather has been horrible but I do hope that during the weekend we will be able to go out and shoot some of my picks from the Kenzo x H&M collaboration – yes, I could not help myself! And also some new pairs of over the knee boots…

November 10, 2016

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Autumn Carpet!

Yup, the belly is growing, the leaves are falling and soon our home will be filled with diapers and rash cream… but until then we are determined to enjoy every single moment we have with each other and concentrate on our life as a family of two. Remember how I recently told you that due to the hormonal storm happening inside me I actually enjoy this autumn and all the lovely colours it comes along with? Well, a few days ago I spotted this lovely trail in the woods near our home and desperately called D to let him know that we must take some pics there as there is a lovely brownish-yellow leaf carpet covering the path and that is something that cannot be missed!

At first I was (very) tempted to go for fall-hues on our outfits but quickly realised that we will get lost in the scenery, hence yet again, we have opted for black and grey – we are starting to be really boring colour-wise, unlike spring and summer when we usually can’t get enough of different vibrant colours. But bear with us, as I can’t comfortably shop for clothes right now as you never know how I will transform during these last weeks of pregnancy and therefore we have to work with what I already have and still covers my expanding belly. Yes, the expanding belly is an issue due to the fact that most of the tops I own stop right under my belly button hence leaving me exposed, so long stuff I already own is a must!

On me:

Sweater – H&M; Jeans – H&M; Boots – UGG; Bag – ZARA; Hat – ZARA; Bling – Swarovski (bracelet and ring); Watch – Apple

Another aspect about November that I love is the fact that officially one can wear UGGs. Yes, I know, I’ve heard it all – they’re ugly, they’re out of style, they’re not age appropriate, etc – and honestly, I do not give a f*#k! I just love them and think that they are the most comfortable late autumn/winter boots out there. Like seriously, nothing compares to the feeling you have when you wear UGGs! On that note, prepare for an entire UGG-feast this winter as throughout the years I did invest quite a lot of money in a wide variety of UGGs and they do tend to stand the test of time, plus, it’s not like o-t-k boots are ok when there is either ice or snow or both on the pavements.

On D:

T-shirt – Review; Jeans – ZARA; Vest – Bershka; Shoes – Converse x John Varvatos; Bling – Fossil; Watch – Ingersoll

Finally getting to today’s outfit, I decided on wearing the very comfortable H&M maternity black jeans and honestly I think I will get quite a few wears out of this pair even after I give birth as they are extremely comfortable and look quite nice as well. As stated earlier, since we did not want to get lost in the scenery, I opted for an old H&M grey sweater that at some point I used to wear as a long tunic but right now it just about covers all my belly. I love the way this sweater feels as I love angora wool but I hate, hate, hate the rampage it leaves behind (read: my jeans looked like I just cuddled a cat). To balance the whole thing out I wore my most loved grey Cardy boots which I think were actually my first UGGs and a black classic hat from ZARA. The bag is also from ZARA and I think it is 10-12 years old and at some point I am going to have to part with it but I just couldn’t do it – I get extremely attached to most of my clothes/accessories and do not even get me started on my shoes!

D is aways happy to wear grey and black so the choice was quite easy for him. We were lucky enough thus far to not have freezing temps and actually have a lovely warm day when we shot these photos so all he really needed was a t-shirt from Review and a vest from Bershka to keep him warm. The black ZARA jeans are actually a new and unlikely addition to his closet as they are very slim on the lower leg, but I love the way he styled them with his hi-top black Converse x John Varvatos sneaks. When it came to accessorising our outfits, D went for his Fossil bracelet and his brown Ingersoll watch, while I opted for my Swarovski bracelet and ring and my never-absent Apple Watch.

Since shopping for clothes is futile for me right now, I am concentrating on boots and actually have a few on the way that I can not wait to shoot so more and more pics of us are coming, naturally taking into consideration the fact that the weather and the little bundle of joy will allow us to move freely and take many snaps.

November 8, 2016

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It’s getting chillier and chillier!

As you can see, D is not in a t-shirt, so the items must be going down! As a a matter of fact, the sweater he is wearing is brand new and he bought it on the day of the photoshoot the moment he realised that he forgot his jacket at home. Yes, it’s starting to feel more and more like winter is coming – no pun intended as the show I am quoting from is months away, while we are left here to endure a cool October. I was really going for a badass motor theme with this photoshoot, but D here simply forgot (or did not get the memo) his leather jacket – maybe next time.

You know what I’ve noticed when we got home and I took a quick look at these pics? The fact that aside from black coloured items and a very low camera angle, another really curve-forgiving strategy is to just find a bench and sit down! That way, none of the extra kilograms will show and I’ll end up with some really nice pics. That said, I will not pose without a bench nearby ever again – or at least until I loose all the baby-weight. Other than that, we obviously had a great time shooting (hence the large amount of photos) and we are going to keep on taking pictures at dawn, because hay, the day is getting shorter and it seems like we have loads of stuff to do every single day – will this be the way parenthood is going to go?

On me:

Pants – H&M; T-shirt – Atmosphere; Jacket – ZARA; Boots – ZARA; Bag – Chloe; Bling – Swarovski; Watch – Apple

Moving along to the black-badass-themed photoshoot… This is another pair of pregnancy pants also from H&M and I can not believe they make such comfy but badass clothes for pregnant women, I mean, moto-inspired black pants for the baby-bump? Yes please! I felt like pairing them with this badass silver t-shirt that has a huge butterfly skull on it and is one of those blouses that keeps surviving all the wardrobe hauls from the last four years and still sees the light of day regularly. I got it from Atmosphere (so, no, it is not a designer piece) while in London ages ago and I will try and find an appropriate alternative online.

On D:

Jeans – Replay; Sweater – Bershka; Shoes – Converse x John Varvatos; Bling – Fossil; Watch – Tissot

Also, the big skull demanded some black leather chunky boots that I’ve also had from ages from ZARA. The thing with these boots is, that I have a love-hate relationship with them. One year I love them and another I absolutely hate them and they do not see the light of day. This year it would appear they are on my good side and despite having them for quite a large number of years, you can still find similar ones at Mihaela Glavan or ZARA. The bag is meat again my black Chloe as I still can’t seem to find a good alternative currently – hoping for some pointers from you guys! The jacket is yet again an old staple piece and I feel like everyone should own a moto-jacket and right now you can find loads of options.

D really wanted to be badass himself and carefully chose his clothes specifically for that, but then he realised he forgot his leather jacket at home and was forced to buy this lovely, lovely Bershka sweater. Naturally this plum hue is one of my favourite for fall and I will try and match it for a future photoshoot. For the badass part of the outfit he wore his lovely Replay Hyperflex jeans and his Converse x John Varvatos hi-tops. As for accessorising, he kept things simple with his Tissot watch and Fossil bracelet while I wore my Apple Watch and a Swarovski bracelet. For some reason we are becoming slackers in the bling department as soon as the temps drop.

You will see more and more photos of me on a bench and from impossibly low angles as well as during the evening as that’s how things are going to stay from now on, but we will try and keep things fun in the clothes department as much as we can.

October 25, 2016

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At dawn…

These are among my favourite photos so far that we took for this blog, and these are the first photos we took at dawn or shall I say after dawn hence they are a bit foggy. The reason we did not take as many photos of the two of us (or at least usable photos) is because it was kinda difficult to get the camera to focus where we wanted it to because it was so dark already when we actually got to taking pics of us. But I was way beyond excited when I saw the photos and could not wait to start editing them a bit to make them blog worthy. I think D enjoyed this photoshoot the most as he got to experiment with different settings and lights and the end result is just amazing.

What I am wearing is probably going to be my autumn uniform as I feel that this combo is the winner for me right now. I just love a chunky big sweater, especially when it is paired with thigh-high boots. For some reason it just screams autumn perfection. I also love the ‘forest green’ colour but unfortunately I found out that I do not have as many pieces in that lovely regal colour as I’d like so measures must be taken, but with caution as I have no idea how things are going to fit post baby. On the other hand, chunky sweaters and thigh high boots are always going to be in style and are always going to fit the same way so I am stocking up on stuff that I will probably wear over and over again.

On me:

Sweater – ZARA; Jeans – H&M; Boots – Steve Madden; Bag – Chloe; Hat – ZARA; Bling – Swarovski; Watch – Apple

A bit more details on the outfit… As I bragged in the last fashion post, I found two new pairs of pregnancy pants in my size (34) at H&M and I will proudly wear them all autumn and winter long. The ones you get a sneak-peak of in these photos are one of them and I have to tell you that maternity jeans are the most comfortable pants I’ve ever worn but still manage to make you feel good. I paired them with this big chunky sweater from ZARA in this lovely rich green hue that just goes perfectly with my muddy-green Steve Madden boots. At first I was quite skeptical about jeans and thigh high boots as I was more accustomed to pairing these boots with thighs but after seeing these pics I am sold on this warm combo.

On D:

T-shirt – Mango; Jacket – SuperDry; Jeans – Review; Shoes – Nike; Bling – Fossil; Watch – Tissot

To keep things in the ‘exciting’ department I decided on wearing hats this season therefore I expanded my (small) collection with this lovely fun black one from ZARA that I will probably also wear over and over again. I realised that I should at some point invest in a new black bag as I only have this Chloe piece to play with and I do not want you to get bored by our posts. Also jewellery wise I did not wear much aside from the Swarovski bracelet and my new Apple Watch that I’ve grown to love more and more these days.

D really tried to go with the green theme and wore his army green Mango t-shirt as he realised that this is the only dark green piece of clothing in his closet – we really need to take measures where our greens are concerned. Since it is getting chillier and chillier he wore his badass leather jacket from SuperDry that is never going to go out of style and that he got few years ago. Since he also lacks in the green-shoes department, he went with the safe option of black Nikes that go just right with these perfectly tailored jeans from Review – yes, I know I rave about theses jeans all the time. Since he doesn’t own and Apple Watch (just yet!) he wore his lovely Tissot T-Race alongside his Fossil bracelet that is becoming as popular as his wedding band among his accessories.

I really can’t wait to take some more photos in the dark and I am so glad D enjoys them so much as we get to take so many lovely photos and thus making memories and successfully following my pregnancy belly with lots of pics each week.

October 23, 2016

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The best dish you’ll have all autumn long!

Yes, I know this is the second recipe in a row, but I just couldn’t let autumn come for good and not share what is in my opinion the best thing you’ll eat all autumn long. Did I just repeat the post title? Well, yes I did and that’s because this recipe is just that good. This has to be my favourite dish for autumn dinners ever! First of all, I have nothing to do with the recipe in itself, as opposed to the other recipes presented here that all have some sort of twist from yours truly that strays away from the original inspiration, this one is presented to you exactly the way my mother taught it to me.

Yes, this is a family recipe. Well, to be honest, I am the second generation in our family that knows it, so I can say that my mother invented it. A bit about mom… She is what I call an ‘intelligent cook’. Why? Because never ever have I seen that women actually follow a recipe or spend more than 2 hours in the kitchen to cook an entire dinner. She just adapts and uses whatever tricks she can to come up with the best easy recipes ever, that can make you think that she spent an entire day in the kitchen. True, she has been known from time to time to screw things up, but she always jumps right back at it and perfects the recipe so that it is easy and very tasty.

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Today’s recipe is one of those easy, hearty and amazing recipes. First of all, this stew is usually made with meat and using the traditional ways, it can take up to half a day to make. My mom intelligently removed the meat (which is great for me) and used some newly acquired tricks to have this done in less that 1 hour – it took us more because we has to take photos of every step. If you are a meat lover you can always add whatever type of meat you like next to it, but I cooked this one yesterday without it. First of all, there’s nothing that says autumn better than mushrooms in white sauce so this is best for those chilly autumn evenings, especially, as you’ll find out at the end, this is not really a heavy meal but it is quit filling.

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What you’ll need:

800 gr of white large mushrooms (you can easily go for 1 kg and not mess things up – like I said, mum is not really one for measuring the ingredients)
3 large white onions
300 gr of full fat sour cream (if you use a lighter version you’ll need a bit more flour)
2 tablespoons of white flour
1 cup of fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of ground pepper
1 teaspoon of vegetable base
1 teaspoon of hot chilly powder
2 tablespoons of pomace olive oil

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What you need to do (keep in mind that although there are quite a lot of steps to follow, the stew is really easy to make and basically foul-proof):

Cut the onion as finely as you can, but do not stress over that, slice the mushrooms in big chunky pieces if you want to feel their texture and chop the parsley.
In a bowl mix the salt and the pepper and in another one mix the vegetable base with the chilly powder.
After taking lots of pics of your ingredients (for some reason I find it extremely satisfying to take photos and edit food pics), put the oil in a saucepan and let it heat up before adding the onion.
After about 5 minutes add a teaspoon of the chilly mix and half of the parsley and stir well for another 5 minutes.
Add half of the mushrooms to the mix, a teaspoon of the salt and pepper mix and stir well.
After abut 5 minutes add the remaining mushrooms and another teaspoon of salt and pepper mix, give it a good stir and put a lid on.
When the mushrooms have left a considerable amount of water, pour the remaining chilly mix, give it a good stir and place the lid back on. Keep in mind that the entire recipe will need a moderate-low stove flame.
Now for the tricky part… take the flour bowl and carefully incorporate water while stirring continuously until it reaches the consistency of sour milk (not too watery).
Pour a glass of cold water to stop the boiling in the saucepan and carefully add the flour mix while stirring continuously. The cold water you just added will keep granulations at bay.
Leave the stew to boil for a few minutes and then add the sour cream, the remaining parsley and what is left of the salt and pepper mix and stir well.
Bring it to boil for another couple of minutes and that’s it!

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Keep in mind that, if you do not like your food too spicy, you should cut in half the quantity of both the pepper and the chilly powder – my entire family enjoys spicy food, hence the spiciness of this one. I really hope you’ll love this recipe as much as I love it. As you can see from the nutritional info, this stew doesn’t go overboard on any unhealthy stuff and, as usual, the info is for the entire quantity. If you followed the recipe to a letter, you’ll end up with about 5-6 servings, depending on how hungry you are, and after dividing the numbers I’d actually say that this can be considered a light (about 170 kcal), warm dinner. If you like it, than pass it on to your friends and family!