The shiny and brand new 2017. is just a few hours apart and all I can do is smile because, regardless of what you'll remember this year by - the celebration of New Year's Ever represents a clean new start. A new beginning for everything you intend it to be.
December 21st marked the winter solstice. Late dawn. Early sunset. Short day. Long night. I'm the first person to admit that the darkness around this time of year makes it hard for us to function. Have you noticed that we seem to wake up in the dark, go to work in the dark and go home in the dark? Despite nature telling us it's time to hibernate, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting through these dark days and nights.
As we're approaching the New Year's Eve fast, I feel as confident as ever to say that this is perhaps my favorite holiday collection of the year! L'Occitane NEW Arlesienne collection is nothing short of miraculous as it managed to top the previous Arlesienne, which was also amazing. Everything is likable from the packaging, the textures, colors to the beautiful scent. I think they've nailed rose this time and made it so enjoyable and wearable that I'm sure it'll find a way to everyone's heart.
I hope you're reading this whilst in your softest pajamas in bed, or bundled up on the sofa with your favorite beverage in hand and best Christmas movie on TV.
Holiday season definitely brings a rush of excitement and buzz, everyone's rushing to get presents, work is being round up for the year's end and traffic is horrific. But when all of that passes and the end of December becomes real, things become more chilled, relaxed and calm. It's actually the perfect time to reminisce and re-evaluate.

My adoration of this magical season goes well back but not every autumn was one to remember. Some years we feasted our eyes only on rain, sleet, bare branches and too many melancholic cloudy days a tender soul can bare. This year, however, I was rewarded with the autumn of my dreams. So I've decided to write an ode to my favorite season.

A few years back, pamper routines mostly consisted of browsing indulging products bloggers loved and slathering them all as much as I could (at the same time). Now, I might risk to sound like a bore but, relaxation is now something I don't associate with products as much as I used to and it's not strictly related to a certain day of the week. But an outlay of a routine is comforting. My "me" time now mostly happens at evening/night or really early in the morning and I do my best to have as many of those moments as possible. They are my selfish little treats but they're also what retains my sanity, my inner calm whenever I feel that the world outside has changed too much or became too crazy for my liking.

Waking up a bit early to get a sip of water or a scoop of my honey and ginger mixture always feels like I'm in a state of half-sleep. I check the clock on my phone and it tends to be around 6AM. That is, when my eyes can make of numbers while squinting. I need to turn down the brightness of the display. Turning from one side to another, I secretly enjoy the crinkling of clean cotton sheets. After taking a look of my bundle of love and noticing he's probably going to wake up to a tickled nose as a lock of his hair is touching it (it has grown long!) I finally muster up the energy to stand up. I must have my fluffy socks on - if they're not next to my bed I'll have to walk barefoot to the kitchen and those tiles are too cool at 6AM for my liking.

