Though Meghan Markle seems to be settling well into life back in the UK, visiting Soho Farmhouse and lunching with fellow American abroad Ellen DeGeneres, it seems that she might secretly be missing Montecito.
To honour her previous home in California, the Duchess of Sussex has teamed up with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés on a limited-edition holiday advent calendar inspired by Meghan's Montecito home and garden.
Available exclusively available on Meghan's lifestyle site, As Ever, the keepsake calendar features 24 handcrafted chocolates, one for each day leading up to the holiday, with flavours inspired by As Ever favourites, including Meghan's infamous jams flavours - Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry and Orange Marmalade.
© Getty ImagesNothing As Ever would be complete without the brand's notorious Flower Sprinkles, so one chocolate in the calendar is adorned with these.
© InstagramMeghan is woven into every detail on the advent countdown, with the numbers hand-painted in the Duchess' own handwriting using gold luster.
The As Ever x Compartés Advent Calendar costs a rather pricey $148 and will be available for preorder from October 1 at 9 am PST, with quantities said to be "limited."
© InstagramMeghan's love of the holidays
While it seems out of character compared with the rest of As Ever's offerings (spreads, jams, wines…) when you consider how much Meghan loves the holidays, it makes sense that she decided to launch an advent calendar to count down the days.
Back in 2015, way before Prince Harry, but when the Duchess was into lifestyle blogging on her former site, The Tig, Meghan shared her tips for hosting the perfect Christmas with Grazia.
Her tips ranged from tablescaping – "When creating a tablescape, keep it simple and crisp with an all-white tablecloth, runner and napkins. Accent with gilded plates and napkin rings and use a stylish set of cutlery. All-white flowers placed in the low vases are the perfect centrepiece," to keeping the price down – "Purchase silver serving trays, platters, nut bowls from flea markets or Etsy to add formality to hors d'ouevres passing," Meghan was all about the details back then as she is now.
© NetflixIn fact, she seems to be launching a new arm of her lifestyle brand, named Meghan’s Hosting Notes, where she shares more wisdom on making the most of life's simple pleasures.
Her first tip? "Have as much prepped as possible before guests arrive, then save one simple task for the end. Something you can finish in the kitchen while everyone settles in. A little preparation goes a long way toward making hosting feel effortless."
With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, we have a feeling Meghan's friends, family and followers will be turning to her for advice!
