8 Favorite Things

house doctor chopping board /  Mango cable knit sweater (similar here) /  REN hair conditioner /  REN rose centifolia exfoliator (use code XMAS12 to get 12% off) / Royal Albert tea cup set /  Chanel Blue Boy nail polish / Repetto ballet flats / Hermes Ulysee PM

I've been hunting around for a large wooden chopping board when I found this one from a Danish company, House Doctor. My rationale is that it'll serve multiple purposes. Other than what it's designed for, it's great as a serving plate for charcuterie and a prop for food photography.

This 100% cotton cable knit from Mango has served me well for the past year. Frankly speaking, I'm incredibly impressed by the quality of this £29.99 sweater.

I know that many of you are fans of the pretty pink but it's a vile color on a tomboy like me. Blech. I searched high and low for the perfect blue shade (you know.....I'm afflicted with the Goldilocks syndrome) - not too dark, not too bright. And something I can wear all year round. I really like this "magic" shade from Chanel which is a muted dark blue (sorry, the color appeared too dark in the photo).

 I've mentioned about my hair growing back so there are lots of frizzy bits sticking out everywhere. An untrimmed Asian poodle comes to mind. I thought I'd check out REN pro-vitamin conditioner. The price tag made me slightly hesitant but thankfully, it was well worth the extra expenditure.  The conditioner made my hair easy to hand comb while I'm showering. It has a creamy texture which glides on  easily during application. You don't need to much to make your hair feel soft. Unfortunately, I'm not all too happy with the shampoo which left a greasy residue after a week.

I wanted a natural and gentler exfoliator that will flush out the dirt in the craters (I mean pores) without turning my skin into parchment paper. My skin certainly felt smooth and hydrated after I've used the REN rosa centifolia exfoliating cleanser (whew! What a mouthful. How did they come up with this name?!).

I've decided that coffee and tea taste way better in pretty cups. It's a psychological thing that's a bit hard to explain. My tea cup and saucer sets from Royal Albert aren't as earth shatteringly expensive as some of the others but they sure are easy on the eyes.

I know there are a million brands that churn out ballet flats but my first and only love is still Repetto. My blue jean Hermes Ulysee leather journal is nearly a decade old. I've set it aside when I switched to a smartphone. After a series of battles with my smartphone, I've decided that a notebook and a pen still work better and far more efficiently. And you can't accidentally press delete.