Jess In Retrospect: March 2016

My March in Retrospect

It's time for my monthly recap again! March wasn't all I was hoping for. In my head I was riding my bike along long winding country roads surrounded by blossoming trees, my braided hair playing in the wind and - well I'm gonna stop right there cause it didn't happen. There's no such thing as blossoming trees, the winding country roads are ruined by winter and full of puddles and well to tell you the truth I don't even have a bike or any talent when it comes to braiding hair.. but one can dream right? But let's focus on what actually happened last month shall we :-)

Thursday, March 31, 2016
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March Favourites | 2016

Favourites

Wow, so that's March over and done with already! It's crazy how this year literally seems to fly past! To be honest with you I was hoping to share some pretty photos of blossoms and a sunny Easter egg hunt or something but March hasn't been treating us all that well. One day the sun as well as the temperatures promised spring the next morning I woke up to find everything covered in a thick layer of snow. Exhausting! Nevertheless, spring is what you make of it right? So a lot of my favourites are still rather spring-inspired and colourful. Let's get started :-)

Tuesday, March 29, 2016
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Easter Carrot Cake

food

So Easter is almost upon us and so is the time of chocolate eggs and Easter treats. Last year I shared with you guys this super easy chocolate nest recipe, this year it'll be a delicious carrot cake. I just love a good carrot cake, I mean it's basically like eating vegetables right?! ;-) It's easy to make (though I suggest you get a blender for the carrots unless you really fancy an arm workout.. then by all means, go ahead and grate the hell out of those veggies), pretty to look at and sooooo delicious. Here's how I made mine:

Thursday, March 24, 2016
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Coffee & Sugar Body Scrub | Beauty DIY

DIY

We're slowly but steadily going into spring now. The weather is getting warmer and after what felt like an eternal winter to me, we can finally put away our big coats and dress a little lighter, show a little more skin and enjoy all the vitamin D. To get my skin spring-ready and looking fresh I've been using this homemade body scrub, made from everyday ingredients we probably all have lying around the house. It's also cheaper than most store bought body scrubs and you know 100% what's in it! Well, here's what you'll need:

Tuesday, March 22, 2016
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The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k | Book Review

Books

I already mentioned this book in last month's favourites and promised I'd tell you guys a bit more about it so here I am today doing just that. It's basically a 'practical parody' of international bestseller 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up ' by Marie Kondo. Sarah Knight, author of this book, gives practical tips on 'how to stop spending time you don't have doing things you don't want to do with people you don't like' in order to be able to live your best life - or as Knight puts it: gaining time, energy and money by giving fewer f*cks.

Sunday, March 20, 2016
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Coconut Rice Pudding | Vegan Recipe

food

I'm coming at you with another recipe today! Rice pudding just reminds me of my childhood so much, so much nostalgia! So when I came across this recipe in one of my favourite cook books 'La Veganista', which is a German book full of amazing and super easy to make vegan recipes, I knew I had to share it with you guys! You can whip it up in no time, don't need many ingredients for it and leftovers will still taste amazing in tomorrow's lunch break. The coconut gives the whole thing the perfect exotic twist, which is exactly what I want now that the sun is coming out more often, the days are getting longer and the weather is starting to warm up. So let's get started shall we, here's what you'll need:

Thursday, March 17, 2016
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2016 Travel Wishlist

Travel

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page"

I love travelling! I love going to see new places, meet new people, make new friends and explore different cultures all at the same time. To use yet another quote, travel truly is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. I have done my fair share of moving abroads and getting on planes in the last couple of years but there's still so much out there that I haven't seen but am dying to get to know! For example have I only ever been overseas once, when I went to Chicago in 2013 to visit my friend. Clearly there's room for more haha. While I would love to go to New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, South Africa and so on I want to keep this list a bit more real. It's places I always wanted to see and am considering to visit THIS YEAR (sadly the state of my bank account is very anti-overseas holiday...). So here's a list of places that I'm potentially gonna visit this year :-)

Tuesday, March 15, 2016
5 Comments

Body Positivity + Being Yourself

Lifestyle

This is a bit of a different post for me but something I still feel very passionate about. In today's society where it's easier than ever to compare yourself to others - that perfectly fit and seamlessly tanned model in that bikini ad, pretty girls all over Instagram, well dressed and perfectly make-upped stars, you name it - it's so so easy to feel bad about yourself, wish for a smaller nose, a bigger bum, a skinnier physique and so on. What's important to remember is, that everybody (you too!) will only ever post the most flattering pictures of themselves on Instagram. We all like a good filter making us look more glowing, a bit skinnier, maybe even giving us some cheekbones! But it's all too easy for us to forget that when looking at other people's perfect 'Instagram bodies'.

Sunday, March 13, 2016
6 Comments

Matcha Chai Latte | The Healthy Life

food

Today I thought I'd let you guys in on my new favourite part of my lazy morning routine, which is sipping a matcha chai latte while making my way through my Bloglovin' news feed and my YouTube subscriptions. I always loved green tea and have been a matcha fan for quite a while now - you can check out my green tea ice cream recipe right here - so naturally when I came across this recipe in a local paper (!) I had to give it a go. Believe it or not but I never had one of Starbucks' infamous green tea lattes, nor have I ever been a fan of chai lattes, so really I wasn't at all sure if I was gonna like this, turns out: I don't just like it, I LOVE it! It's super easy to make and you probably already have all the ingredients at home, so there's no excuse, you gotta try it! :-)

Thursday, March 10, 2016
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Dr. Hauschka Goodies | Bath & Body

Beauty

I've been given these Dr. Hauschka goodies by a friend last year and it took me until now to write about them! Truth be told it also took me quite a while to start testing them as I'm quite the hoarder when it comes to bath and body products and so I had approximately 7 other bubble baths to get through before opening this one. However, now that they've all been tried and tested thoroughly I'd like to tell you guys about them!

Tuesday, March 08, 2016
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Blogs to Check Out | #1

Lifestyle

After having taken quite a bit of time off blogging myself in recent months I haven't been great with catching up on my favourite blogs either. Which is a shame because just as much as I love writing this little blog here I also love reading blogs! There's so many good ones out there, many of which you might well be subscribed to yourself but today I wanted to share with you guys a couple of my favourites who, if you ask me, should get a lot more exposure!

Sunday, March 06, 2016
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Hammered Gold Disc Necklace | Etsy Love

Fashion

I've really been into gold jewellery for a while now and am slowly but steadily expanding my collection. I wanted to get a pretty gold necklace for months, something delicate and not too in your face. I've been looking all over the place for the perfect one until I finally came across this gorgeous number on Etsy! Etsy is also fast becoming one of my favourite online stores! I love how you can find something for everybody on there while you support independent jewellers and creative people all over the world!

Friday, March 04, 2016
4 Comments

My February in Retrospect

Lifestyle

Oh boy where to start?! February was a crazy month! A lot happened, good and bad.. and let's just say I kind of wasn't expecting any of it! Must have been the leap year haha :-) Anyway.. here's what happened last month: