my little Christmas box

OK, hand up, I admit it, this is the latest, wayest overduest of all posts, but man has it been a lazy month over here at the Peony house!
When this box came mid-December it truly was like Christmas. I opened it in front of a colleague in work and the reaction was just magical, what a top box to finish off 2016!

On the beauty side of things we had loads to be happy with: a new Courreges pefume (I loved the one I got earlier in the spring, I think it was May), a super cute lip balm and a lovely twin pack smoky eyes kits from My Little Beauty - always handy to have!

The lifestyle goodies had my heart melting: a gorgeous Christmas-themed candle(I got gingerbread) and a very stylish bracelet (Louyetu collaboration).

The real treats this month were the extras. First, a very yummy Kusmi Tea tin, and then a sample-sized salted caramel spread from Tiptree. The box itself was super cute, and they even put a little candy cane on the ribbon.
 It was perfect to get into the Chritmas spirit, I loved it! Once more the packaging is really impressive and just adds that nice touch to the whole parcel when you open it.

Berlin 2016 - part 2

Berlin never fails to surprise us. Through our past visits we've managed to see most of the museums and monuments around, so this time we had not made any plans whatsoever and just went with the flow. Sundays are always funny on "the continent" of course, because not much is open, and you can easily just end up spending a whole day walking around. Luckily we had some great guides for the day, and surprised we were indeed. 

We started off with a completely new thing for us, a Kleingartenkolonie, or the German version of a leisurely, super-well maintained allotment. I could have stayed hours spying on the manicured lawns and oh-so-kitch chalets, it was fantastic! 

The weather was not so clement, alas, so we headed to Museum fur Kommunication, which we'd never come across before. We spent a good couple of hours browsing the exhibits and trying to get our head round the Golden Ratio, which was the focus of their temporary exhibition. I am in love with those glass cloches, what a great way to display something special! 

Of course the day was once more punctuated with food, food, and more food. We should really have skipped lunch, but the thought of leaving Mr Peony without his currywurst was just too heartbreaking. It goes without saying we all felt obliged to accompany him and order a "snack". The next best thing was our gigantic dinner in Kreuzberg, a place specialising in schnizel which came highly recommended by our guides. Oh my, what a mistake this was - I think it's mandatory to put on three kilos with each visit there. Honestly, when they brought the first plate over, I was like "oh, ok, it's a platter to share between the four of us, cool". Then came three more of the same, one for each of us. Oh dear. The trouble is, it was so good you could barely stop yourself from eating it. I do feel a bit ashamed. Then we pushed the boat out and ordered dessert. More shame. And didn't even walk home or to the tube, got into a taxi just two steps outside. My, oh my. Good job we only see you twice a year, Concept Tours!

If you've not been to Berlin yet, don't even think about it, and go book your tickets now, it's a fabulous place for a weekend city break. I hope I've managed to convince you. 

We have, of course, some favourite places, and I'd be happy to write a post on our "coups de coeur" if some of you are interested - just let me know here or via my Instagram account.

Berlin 2016 - part 1

At last, half-term has come, which means I can catch up on my posting a bit!
One of the great things about living close to an international airport, is that you can quickly catch a flight after work on Friday, and spend a cheeky weekend away - just what we did last month.
This is far from our first visit to Berlin (2009, 2010, 2015) , but any excuse is good to come back again. The promise of a weekend with good friends, visiting trendy and edgy places, enjoying currywurst - need I say more?

 After a gargantuesque breakfast chez Concept Tours, we headed to Bikini. The place was really cool and relaxed, we caught up over cappucino, and the kids had a blast looking over the zoo monkeys on the viewing terrace.  Possibly the best buys of day was the loot of Christmas chocolates and biscuits from the little supermarket - we're so greedy I could almost be ashamed ;)
But honestly, resisting these treats would have been hard, don't you think?

We stopped over at Neni for cocktails and a bite (their trio of hummus was to die for). It was super crowded up there, but we managed to wriggle our way to the best seats of the house by their massive window overlooking Tiergarten (I won't mention my panic attack re fear of heights, that's just not cool when you're in the trendiest bar in town!)

 Our last stop for the day was at the photobooth, where everyone had a go at pulling their best pose. Man, I wish they had cool cheap photoboothes like that over here - at 2 euros for 4 poses, it was an absolute steal.
On the day I debuted my new autumn love, a wolly cape from Massimo Dutti. It's a really comfortable item, and can easily be worn with anything casual, perfect for a little weekend away in Berlin!
Part 2 of our little escapade coming soon, featuring the Golden Ratio AND Kleigartenkolonie, treat or what?

3 things to smile about #4

'Three things to smile about' is back today with an autumnal theme, one of my favourite times of the year! Despite catching a little cold, I love the crisp fresh evenings, the pink sunsets, cosying up at home with a warm meal, the return of good TV, golden leaves starting to fall, all of it.

The first thing that makes me smile endlessly at the moment, are my apples. We knew we'd have a lot, but we didn't realise quite how many. To be honest, most are bad or half rotten before they even fall on the ground. But my goodness, there are still so many to do things with.
So, we waited patiently until they were good enough to cook and bearable to taste, and here is one of the batches of compote I made this week. I hope they will freeze well. In the meantime anyway, it's apple-fest everyday chez nous!

Next up, some lovely bath bombs all wrapped up prettily from Miss Patisserie. Nothing says autumn like a big bath and a fizz, right? Super cosy.

And swiftly onto my last thing. I found those little slippers at Next recently. I love a good star pattern! They're the perfect accessory to welcome autumn in. Cosy nights, here I come!