As a blogger and a freelance marketing person, I work pretty much every single day. I've spoken before about working from home and managing your schedule so you can separate your work-life from your home-life (even if they're in the same space), but today I wanna talk about the good part: the treats. So, you've came to the end of your working day, the to-do list is ticked off and you can shut your laptop off for the night and forget about everything. But, what do you do to chill out? In today's post, that's what I'm going to be chatting about...
I think my number one treat has to be food. There's nothing I like more than planning what I'm going to make for the week, buying all of the ingredients and looking forward to rustling up something delicious every night.
If you've followed this blog for a while, you'll know that I adore baking too and, when I'm not whipping together a chocolate chip banana bread or a very autumnal berry crumble, I'll raid the sweets and biscuit aisles of the supermarkets. If you go in my cupboard, there's a basket on the top shelf (you gotta reach for it and earn it) stuffed with the best snacks ever.
Recently, however, my sweet tooth has been cookie obsessed. There's some new ranges of cookies on the market right now and I just wanna chat about them because they're delicious. I've ate one in the space of writing this post and I'm only three paragraphs in...
Starting with the left, the Bounty Soft Baked Cookies are a yummy combination of flaked coconut and chocolate chunks which is one of my favourite combinations. The soft bake makes them feel like a more luxurious treat - so perfect for a tea break!
If you need a crunchy chocolatey fix, then try the M&M's Double Chocolate Cookies as they're so rich and decadent. I think these were my favourite of the three as they're just so chocolatey!
And finally, if you want a bit of chocolate but with that classic Galaxy taste, then the Galaxy Chocolate Chunk Cookies are perfect for you. These are the best for dunking in tea - I've become obsessed!
So, keep an eye out in Tesco and Sainsbury's - they're only £1.99!
My next favourite - after eating because food is life - is treating myself to a little pampering session.
I'm one of those people who always has their nails painted, so if they're even slightly chipped, I'll crack out the varnish and get them done. There's something so calming about painting my nails and the result afterwards always makes me feel a million times more put together, so I really love taking the time to do it. Some day I'll get gels done, but for now I am totally happy doing my own manicure.
If I'm feeling in an extremely pampering mood, then I'll have one of my 'therapy' showers which is a blissful 20 minutes of toning and conditioning my hair, scrubbing my skin, shaving my legs etc etc. I am obsessed with using the Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin Exfoliating Shower Gel, as it has natural exfoliating particles in it (jojoba beads, finely crushed orange peel and bamboo stem) so your skin feels amazing afterwards. Plus, it smells like a dream! I'm a big fan of nice scents in the shower, so this is perfect.
I'll often put on a face mask after my shower - the Glossier Moisturising Moon Mask gets my vote at the moment - while I moisturise all over and then dry my hair (multi-tasking at its best).
Sometimes, if I don't want to properly pamper but I want a treat, I'll simply spray on a perfume. The Jo Malone English Oak and Redcurrant has been my favourite since getting it in August and it's the most uplifting yet decadent scent I own!
If there's one thing I get from my mother, it's my love of a new book. There's nothing like opening the pages for the first time, the smell of them and being fully absorbed into a new story or recipe.
People keep asking me if I want a kindle, but I refuse as I look at screens all day - why would I want to continue that into my relaxation time? Reading is one of my favourite ways to chill as it forces my mind to be present, not to be distracted by other tabs being open on my laptop or what's going on around me. I can read and disappear.
I've picked up some newbies recently, as well as re-read some favourites, so I wanted to quickly share them incase you're in the market for some new reads.
First is the The Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer which has 75 recipes to try. The premise is being able to throw pretty much everything in one roasting tin and it'll all be done with minimal effort - the dream. I'm a big fan of my slow cooker for this as, despite how much I love cooking, I don't like standing there for an hour faffing on. I can't wait to get stuck into this book! No doubt I'll be posting my results on my Instastories or Twitter as usual.
Next in the fiction department is What The Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong. I've read John Dies At The End and This Book Is Full Of Spiders, so this is the next in the series and I am excited to start this one. The last book was absolutely amazing! I would also heartily recommend Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits too, as it's genuinely one of the best books I have ever read.
Helen x
