I feel like the festive season is my time, I love how cheery and sparkly everything in, cosy nights in by the fire, and of course all of the festivities surrounding Christmas. So today I thought I'd share with you some of my favourites for this time of year. There's no real theme here, just a few things that I've been loving lately and a few cosy treats for this time of year!


First up in the new White Moss & Snowdrop Cologne from Jo Malone. I smelt this at a preview event with work months ago and it's been on my wishlist ever since. I went back and forth a bit with the decision to pick up this fragrance as they are only selling it in the larger bottle size, and as it's quite a festive scent, I didn't think it would be something I'd get enough use out of to wear all year round. In the end I couldn't resist and picked this up from work one Friday as a little treat to myself, and I'm so glad I did. This smells just like Christmas in a bottle to me, so it is quite a festive scent and perfect for this time of year, and the golden holographic bottle is just stunning! I'm so glad I took the plunge with this scent as it's quickly become a new favourite of mine, and I've never had as many compliments on my perfume as I've had since wearing this!



Another favourite this year is this mug. It sounds silly to include a mug, but this is honestly the perfect tea drinking size {if you like a big mug} and it's festive without being too tacky and over the top like a lot of Christmas homeware can be. This was my only Black Friday purchase that I made for myself, as I used the sales to do most of my Christmas shopping, and I'm so glad I did because it's SO cute! I picked this up from Anthropologie {one of my favourite stores!} with their 20% off Black Friday deal so it came to around £9, but I think it's gone back up to around £12 now! It also comes in two other festive designs that I'm trying to resist adding to my basket..



Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without a Christmas tree! One of my favourite parts about this time of year is going shopping for new tree decorations. I try to buy a few each year, with the aim of having a really eclectic tree when I'm old, full of memories from each year! This year, I decorated my tree with these beautiful decorations from M&S. I tend to stick to a more traditional style of decoration, as they will never go out of style and it means all of the decorations I collect over the years match each other in some kind of way, and nobody does traditional quite like M&S. I wanted to buy their entire Christmas shop, and I definitely came away with way more wrapping paper, ribbon and cute little table place cards for the big day, than I'd originally intended on buying!


Anyone who knows me {or follows me on Instagram} will know that I'm obsessed with scented candles. I always have one burning when I'm in the house, I think they make the house feel super homely, which is so important to me living in a houseshare in London. I've tried all kinds of scented candles, but the brands I always go back to are Diptyque, Jo Malone or Yankee Candle. This year, I treated myself to Feu de Bois from Diptyque, something I wouldn't normally go for but I'm so glad I did! Feu de Bois is a very smokey and wintery scent, and it kind of reminds me of being sat in a country pub while the fire roars and the snow falls outside...a bit like being at home, sitting with my dogs infront of the fire. It's become a firm favourite, and I love it for this time of year!

As promised, I'm back with another one of my skinny bakes, this time with a festive twist. If you're like me and hate Christmas cake, but love all things festive then this pound cake/loaf cake will be perfect for you! With cranberries, white chocolate and ginger, it's the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, and every slice reminds me of Christmas evenings with all of the lights twinkling and my festive scented candles burning ✨. 

What you'll need:

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180° and lightly spray a standard loaf tin with low calorie cooking spray (I use the FryLight Butter Spray). 

2. Combine your flour, ginger, salt, baking powder and baking soda in one bowl. 

3. In another bowl, whisk your eggs, butter, granulated sweetener, vanilla extract and greek yogurt until the mixture is smooth. 

4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, slowly adding the milk to the mixture, and fold until smooth. 

5. Slowly fold in the cranberries and white chocolate until they are evenly spread throughout the mixture. 

6. Add the mixture into your loaf tin and ensure it is even across the top. 

7. Bake for 50 mins and leave to cool - then enjoy! 

I hope you liked this recipe, and hopefully it's given you some inspiration for some festive baking! Please do let me know if you try this out, or if there are any other skinny bakes you'd like me to create. 

xo Becky 

Whilst I love London year-round, around Christmas is when it really comes alive for me. I love all of the store front decorations, the abundance of fairy lights, the festive café decorations and of course, the festive food! So to make the most of it, me and some of the girls headed down to South Kensington for a catch up, ice skating, a hearty meal and of course, drinks!

Following a leisurely start to the day {and nursing a wine hangover from Saturday night}, we headed down to the Natural History Museum for an afternoon of ice skating - one of my favourite yearly traditions! The Natural History Museum is my favourite ice rink in town {closely followed by Somerset House}, the view is SO pretty, with the decadent buildings and of course, the giant tree in the middle of the rink.

I'm not the worlds best ice skater, I can just about manage to stay upright and go around in a circle...but Torvill and Dean, I am not. Still, it was such a fun afternoon and it really got me in the festive mood! However, my friend {who I'd basically dragged onto the ice} could barely stand up and was petrified the entire time 😂, but we had our who 'dance moms' {my two friends who point blank refused to skate} cheering us on so it all turned out okay in the end and neither of us ended up flailing around on the floor for the second year running!


We'd worked up quite an appetite after the skating {this is completely an excuse, we always have an appetite} so we headed over to the Ivy Chelsea Garden - one of my favourite spots in town. This year The Ivy has been completely transformed into a gingerbread house by the team at Early Hours and it really is one of the most stunning Christmas transformations I've seen. The Ivy always do brilliant decorations for special days and events, but this one really is their best yet - it's so creative and different to all of the other floral installations across London. Definitely go take a look, even if you don't manage to go in to eat, it's something to be seen in itself! Just beware that the front of the restaurant is now quite crowded with a lot of people trying to get 'the shot' for Instagram, so be prepared for a little wait.

Cosy autumn nights in are my thing at the moment - I mean, who wants to go out and freeze in the rain, cold and dark?! I think it's fair to say my student clubbing days are well behind me...But it really wouldn't be a cosy night in without snacks. Today I thought I'd share with you a recent favourite creation of mine, perfect for watching Christmas films next to a roaring fire {yes, I've started on the Christmas films already!}. These Mint Chocolate and Peanut Butter S'mores are my take on Tom Cenci's Bonfire Barbecue S'mores, to give it a little twist. I decided to use mint chocolate biscuits to give this indulgent treat a fresher taste, and to offset the richness of the peanut butter and the sweetness of the marshmallows - let me know what you think!

What you'll need:

1 pack of Bahlsen Mint Choco Leibniz
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 pack of medium - big marshmallows
Wooden or metal skewers

Method:

1. Take two of the Mint Choco Leibniz and lay them chocolate-side up
2. Spread an even layer of peanut butter over the chocolate side of the biscuit and put to one side
3. Place one of your marshmallows on a skewer (If you're using smaller marshmallows you'll want to put a few on each skewer because it will take more to cover the biscuit - I use 3 medium marshmallows per s'more).
4. Hold the marshmallow over an open flame (I just use the hob but if you have a log burner...even better!), turning as you toast to avoid burning.
5. Once the marshmallow is toasted to satisfaction, slide it off the skewer and onto the peanut butter coated biscuit, and sandwich together.
6. Give it a few moments to cool and you're ready to indulge!

...and voila! I hope you liked this recipe and do let me know if you try it out at home! And for all of you who have messaged to ask when the skinny bakes will be making a reappearance...I'm actually working on a Salted Caramel Banana Bread recipe for you so the answer is - soon! I just thought it might be time for something a little more indulgent 😉.