Silver tea

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh :) how are u?

I just made a cup of 'hopeatee', in English 'silver tea'. It's a warm drink often introduced to us as kids by our grandmothers. A drink which simply has hot water, honey and milk. It's not bad at all :) I am following a diet, and also want to reduce my caffeine intake, so this is a good alternative.

I have been a bit busy, doing regular things, nothing special. Household chores and grocery shopping.

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Generally the start of the week has been good, alhamdulillah. The anxiety is there, as always, but more at the back of my thoughts. I can do things and go to places, and it's so relieving. Today was clearly a colder day, autumn is here. So should we go to autumn favorites? :)

1. Shea butter

My go-to moisturizer. Starts to get extra handy now when the weather changes. Cold means dry skin, so I usually use shea butter to moisturize my skin, usually after shower. It's best to apply as soon as possible, to a slightly damp skin, so it will sink in well. I buy my organic shea butter from Limepop. They have a project for women in Ghana, which supports their own businesses, which then helps lifting the communities up. The same project also supports West African hippoes :) And the quality is great. Only minus is that they only ship in Finland. But surely there's other good shops available. 

2. Snuggly knitwear

I was gonna write cosy, but snuggly is what I really mean, hehe. I bought an oversized Cos knit wrap shirt a while ago from Vinted, and I love it so much. It's wool and mohair, extra fluffy, big and warm.. Too hot sometimes but I don't care. A wool cardigan/shirt/sweater, a must for colder weather and is an important add to the sofa corner (that's where I keep all my essentials, hehe).

3. The colours

It starts to look so beautiful outside. It's the whole thing: the leaves falling, crisp weather, it comes dark earlier.. it's midnight blue and bright yellow, oranges and reds, turning even almost purples on wild wine vines. What comes to clothing, it's the time I usually start to reach out more of all the black items in my wardrobe, paired with navy and brown. And then some pop of color too. I have my chartreuse bag waiting for an outing :) looks good with navy.

4. A new shopping trolley

The old one was too bulky and wasn't very convenient at the grocery store. We got a new one, works well, is foldable. I don't use it every time, but when making bigger shoppings, it's a must. 

5.  Comfort meals

Autumn is a great time to enjoy all kinds of hearty meals. Soups and casseroles. Finnish foods! I'm planning to make some brown gravy with ground beef and potatoes in the weekend. Yum! Probably my husband won't be a fan, but I crave boiled potatoes hehe :) I like all kinds of foods, spicy, well seasoned ones, but one has to come back to their roots once a while and eat something someone could call bland - but I claim the clean taste of potatoes, a creamy, savory sauce with black pepper, to pair with them.. some pickles on the side, like pickled beetroot.. that's all you need. 

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Yeah, I've been on a good mood, and I'll enjoy it as long as it lasts. I hope you too, dear reader, are doing great. Now it's time for the last cup of tea, and maybe some reading. Later then,

Aisha