Ohh I really whish I could tavel back in time to experience the last week a second time... it was my very first time in Italy and I enjoyed it so so much:)
Have you ever been to Italy?

Me and my friend read quiet a lot of travel guides before we went to Milan and since they helped up a lot with finding amazing food spots and cute neighborhoods, I wanted to share the best places I found in Milan with you aswell!!
Where to stay?
Me and my friend stayed at an Airbnb near the city centre, so we were able to walk basically everywhere.The kitchen was veeery minimalistic, so it was quite hard to cook... but eating out a lot was a good alternative, since there are so so many great italien restaurants in Milan! I guess it depends on how much money you want to spend and how you want your vacation to be like, if you choose a Hotel or an Airbnb, but for us, the small apartement was definitely the right decision:)

What do do?
I personally love to simply stroll through the city and see what the place has to offer, instead of taking the metro and driving from one tourist attraction to another, however me and my friend really enjoyed the visit of the Duomo di Milano, especially the rooftop, and the museo del novecento, which offered a lot of modern art:)
What I can really recommend is to just explore the area around the Duomo di Milano and the navigli neighborhood, where you can find many cute stores and restaurants near the canals!

Where to eat?
If you choose the right places, you can enjoy great italien food for small prices! Many restaurants offer a buffet plus drinks for a small amout of money during the evening, but you can also just go to one of the pizzarias and get a really really good pizza for 6-9 euros.
During the first evening we went to Primitata Pizzaria, which is directly near the water in the navigli neighborhood! Diagonally opposite you can find the sofa bar, where my friend and me went seriously three times during our four day stay in Milan, because the coffee and the cocktails where amazing and the place in generally very cozy!!
Furthermore I can suggest grapping an icecream from Amorino or a smoothie bowl from Frankie´s!


That´s it! I really hope I could inspire you with this post:) If you´ve ever been to Milan, let me know what you enjoyed most about your travel in the comments!
Love, Alina

Have you ever baked your very own bananabread? If not, the time has come haha... because today I´ll finally share my favorite recipe with you guys!
I had to study quite a lot for my final exams during the last weeks, but nobody has the capacity to study all day, so for me one of the best things to do during my study breaks, was to bake bananabread. Ohh and the good thing is, that it contains a lot of healthy, nurturing ingredients, hence it provides your body with a lot of energy!

VEGAN BANANABREAD
one loaf

ingredients:

4 ripe bananas
75ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
250g wholegrain flour
2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of baking powder

1// preheat the oven to 180°C
2// mash 3 of the 4 ripe bananas in a bowl, add the oil and sugar and mix well
3// add the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and combine everything
4// fill the mixture into a cake tin (with baking paper)
5// slide the banana lenghsways and add the two pieces on your cake as a topping
6// bake the cake for about 45-60min
7// my personal tip to make your bananabread even more delicious is to put peanut butter and chocolate cream on top of your baked cake- soooo good:)


That´s it! Easypeasy, isn´t it? If you decide to recreate the banana bread recipe, let me know how you liked it and send me the result, I would love to see it!!

Love, Alina

VEGAN CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES
for 15 cupcakes

what you need:

cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup almond milk
1/2 melted coconut oil
1 cup brown sugar
3 carrots

frosting
1 cup vegan butter
300g icing sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons cinnamon

what to do:

1//preheat the oven to 180°C.
2//whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and vanilla  in a big bowl.
3//whisk together the applesauce, almond milk, oil and sugar in a seperate bowl, when the batter is well combined, mix the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ones.
4//rasp the carrots into small pieces and mix them into the batter.
5//fill the mixture into muffin cases and put them into the oven for 20-25min.
6//meanwhile, prepair the frosting: whisk together the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice and put the frosting into the freezer for at least 30min.
7//when the cupcakes are cold and the frosting is ready, fill the cupcake frosting into a decorating tube and add the frosting to the cupcakes
8//dust the cinnamon over the cupcakes

 1// find your own style

Go through magazines, pinterest, weheartit (or even IKEA haha) to find your own interior style! I personally like to keep the basics white or black because than I can change up the more colorful details (candles, blankets, photos...) whenever I feel like it! Right now the main colors in my room are rosé, dark green, silver, grey (and black and white of course), but if I need some change I can easily modify them!

2// focus on a few colors

If really colorful rooms are your thing, this tip might not be something for you, but otherwise focusing on a few matching colors will make it much more easy to continue your interior style in every part of your room and bring harmony into your own space!

3// plants are friends

I really need to work on my green thumb because right now only cacti survive in my room haha... but I do have a looot of them! Anyways, plants are so so important in any room, they do not only look cute but also refresh the air in your room (by absorbing CO2 and releasing oxygen) and some plants actually help you to have a good sleep!

4// Find the balance between coziness and clarity

Only having the stuff which really means something to you, or you use often in your room is so important! Minimalism in general changed my life (click here to read a full post regaring this topic) and I believe that a clean room is essential for a clear head!
However, that does not exclude making your room cozy by adding candles, fairy lights, pillows, blankets ect. and making it personal by hanging up your own visionboard or pictures! I definitely want to create a polaroid picture wall when I buy my first very own apartment!!

5// Small room? It´s all about few furniture and a mirror!

If you´re having a small room just like I do, I can highly recommend placing a big mirror in your room and only keeping the furniture you really need! Another chair or a coach may be nice, but it will only make your room look smaller:)

6// Make your room a place full of inspiration

What I like most about my room (besides my bed haha) is my vision board. A while ago I printed out pictures of what I want my life and myself to be like: pics of the places I want to see, the job I want to have, the relationships I desire... it was so much fun, but the best part is that put these pictures up and see them every day! This brings you closer to your goals and invites you to be motivated and inspired! If you´re interested, I would love to write a whole post about this topic, so please let me know in the comments!





I really hope that I was able to inspire and help you with my tips! Let me know what your tips regarding creating your own clean and cozy space are, I´m really curious!!
Love, Alina