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New Year resolutions, Get organised and put my writing cap on

January 19, 2016 Leave a Comment

I used to be a firm believer in New Year resolutions. January would come round and I would have a long list of New Year resolutions at the ready. By the end of February however, not only would that said list disappear but I would have either felt too overwhelmed or forgotten about writing anything down in the first place. So this year I am taking on a slightly different approach. I don’t want to abandon altogether the concept of making plans for the year because I still believe it is a good idea to set goals and have something to work towards. At the same time, I also don’t want to bury myself under a long list of ambitions I am unlikely to achieve.

For 2016, instead of just throwing everything that comes to mind onto the list, I thought the best way to do it is to set priorities, narrow things down and focus ONLY on what’s most important to me, what makes me happy (so it’s easier for me to stick to) and what’s going to improve me as a person one way or the other.

The first thing that immediately popped up in my mind is to Be More Organised. I think anyone who knows me will agree that I am probably one of the most unorganised and forgetful people you will ever meet. I also have a tendency to procrastinate and putting off tasks I have to do for as long as possible until I eventually forget about them. So this year I thought it’s time to tackle this problem. I bought myself a planner from KikkiK, which by the way is one of my all time favourite stationery brands and now has a store in Covent Garden. The planner has different tabs to help organise different aspects of your daily routine i.e. ToDo list, Meetings, Projects, Work, Expenses, Inspirations and you can also personalise your own tabs so e.g. I added a Blog tab to jot down ideas for my blog so I won’t forget them.

I have a personal tradition every year to buy myself a Moleskine Diary (this year I picked up a really cute one with Charlie Brown/Peanuts theme). It’s a one-day-one page journal for each day of the year so I can write some thoughts or snippets down every day. For the past 2-3 years, however, I have been neglecting writing anything down and my journals are looking rather sad and empty. So this year I am determined to Spend More Time Writing. Keeping a journal is such a lovely way to put your life in a special time capsule where you can revisit time and time again and reflect on how far you’ve come and read back on your thoughts and feelings on each particular moment in your life.

Another habit that I’ve been neglecting the past few years is reading. I used to consume books like drinking water. I love reading concurrently and tend to read several books at the same time. I’m not sure why I’ve gotten so lazy with reading the last couple of years but this year I am hoping to Pick Up Reading Again because it’s simply the best way to exercise your brain, expand your knowledge and a great way to wind down (there’s nothing better than sitting down with a good book and a cup of tea).

My next resolution is to try and Live A More Healthy Lifestyle, i.e. pay more attention to what I eat and also have a realistic exercise routine that I can stick to that keeps me motivated. I’ve been doing Pilates since last year but rather sporadically and couldn’t quite stick to a routine. This year I’m determined to establish a proper routine and set aside time each week so that hopefully I can see some positive results. I’m also hoping to eat more healthy or, at least, pay extra attention to what I eat. I believe wholeheartedly that you are what you eat and if I want to look good from the outside and feel good from the inside I need to ditch any junk foods that are not going to benefit my health.

Lastly and most importantly I want to commit to Being More Positive and Confident about myself. Most of us go through our lives tormented by one or more inner demons who constantly tell us that we’re not good enough, whether it has to do with how we look, our career, our personal life, the list can go on and on. I’m so guilty of always putting myself down, always nagging at myself for not doing good enough, always comparing myself to other people, and that is debilitating. Self-acceptance begins with intentions and this year I intend to shift paradigms from a world of negativity, doubt and blame to a world of allowance, tolerance, and acceptance.

Do you believe in New Year resolutions? Have you set any goals for the year?

Knitting my own winter warmers

December 1, 2015 Leave a Comment

Winter is well and truly upon us and although it was quite difficult to say goodbye to summer I am quite ready to embrace the onset of crisp cold air, kicking up piles of golden leaves, and enjoying hot chocolates and christmas drinks by the fire.

I’m also excited for winter because autumn/winter fashion is by far my favourite. I love picking up a new winter coat and a few winter warmers; scarves, gloves, hats, to go with it. But this year instead of just buying everything from the shops I thought I would put my knitting skills to good use and create a scarf for myself. I got my yarns from CosyWool, which arrived conveniently packaged in a vacumm sealed bag so it could easily be slipped through my postbox just like a regular post (what a clever idea!).

I didn’t really have anything complicated in mind in terms of the design for the scarf. I love the look of garter stitch using chunky wool, so all I did was casting on 20 or so stitches on an 8mm knitting needle and simply knit every rows. I knitted with two colours; a light grey and gorgeous baby blue (which is my favourit colour), and alternated 2 rows for each colour (so knit 2 rows with grey and knit 2 rows with blue).

Once the scarf is long enough to wrap once around my neck I casted off, sew the beginning and end rows together to create an infinity scarf or a cowl. I love wearing cowls because you can simply slip it over your neck and everything stays put and perfectly in place, unlike scarves that require continuous rewrapping and difficult to keep in place when it’s windy.

I’m really happy with the results and it was so nice to spend some time at the end of the day relaxing in front of TV with a cup of tea and my knitting; the perfect way to spend cold winter evenings if you ask me!

Fountain The Hyaluronic Molecule Review

November 22, 2015 2 Comments

There are two words that the beauty industry has been completely inundated with these past few years; “Hyaluronic Acid”. We’ve seen hyaluronic acid mentioned as an ingredient in almost all anti-aging ranges, but why? The short answer is it hydrates. Here’s the long answer; Hyaluronic Acid can retain over 1,000 times its weight in water within the cells of skin, making it not only an excellent moisturizer, but a firming, plumping, wrinkle erasing agent. In fact, no other biological substance can retain as much water as hyaluronic acid, and this effectively keeps your skin feeling soft, smooth and firm. Bad news is as we age, our level of hyaluronic acid, just like other manufacturers of protective agent within our body, also declines and it is estimated that by the time we reach our mid-40’s, the synthesis of hyaluronic acid is roughly half of the amount required by the body.

Enters the product I’ve been testing out; Fountain The Hyaluronic Molecule aka the Fountain of Youth. I’ve been using a lot of products containing Hyaluronic Acid but all of them are topical products (i.e they are applied to the skin), so the concept of Fountain Hyaluronic Molecule as a beauty supplement that you take orally everyday is very intriqueing. We all know that looking after ourselves on the inside can reflect how we look on the outside, so the concept of a liquid Hyaluronic Molecule supplement seems to make 100% perfect sense.

Fountain Hyaluronic Molecule is a concentrated beauty supplement that claims to keep your skin looking plump, glowing and happy from within. It contains 130mg of hyaluronic molecules per two teaspoon serving (which is the prescribed daily intake), allowing the ingredient to be absorbed more easily and able to work from the inside out. Not only does hyaluronic acid benefit your skin, it also helps keep your joints supple and lubricate the eyes to give them a brighter, youthful appearance.

In terms of how it tastes, Fountain Hyaluronic Molecule is flavoured with ginger (an absorbing aid) and has a jelly-like texture, both of which I don’t find unpleasant to stomach. Unlike any other liquid supplements or medicines, this is much easier to take than I expected and I’ve been taking it every single day without fail for almost a month now (and I’m just about to finish the bottle).

In terms of effectiveness I have to say it’s not one of those products where you see results overnight or within a couple of weeks. I do notice that my skin is definitely less dry and my makeup has been applying really well, whereas at this time of year my skin would normally be freaking out and dried up by now and this hasn’t happened. I have another full bottle ready so I will go through another one and see if I can notice any dramatic changes after 2 months. I will probably post an update on twitter or facebook or instagram so keep your eyes peeled for that (if you haven’t subscribed to my social medias you really should :)

Let me know if you think this is an interesting concept and whether you would give it a try?

andBeyond Ngala; An unforgettable African Safari Holiday

September 13, 2015 Leave a Comment

Going on an African Safari is something that has always been at the top of my dream holidays. Being an animal lover, I could not think of anything more exciting than an opportunity to see the beauty of wildlife in their unspoiled natural habitats. Last month I ‘finally’ got my wish granted when I traveled to my very first African Safari holiday.

We flew from Johannesburg in a six-seater charter aircraft to our destination; andBeyond Ngala Tented Safari Camp, a private game reserve situated by the banks of Timbavati River and bordering the Kruger National Park. The journey took us about one and a half hour (we also had to make two stops to pick up some passengers from other game reserves along the way). Once we arrived we were greeted by two game rangers from the camp; Lee-Anne (who would be our personal ranger for the entire trip) and her partner Dylan. We were immediately struck by the warm welcome and genuine friendliness of both Lee-Anne and Dylan, who chatted to us during the drive back to camp and showed such enthusiasm about our trip that we felt so at ease as if in company of good old friends.

When we arrived at the camp we were completely blown away by the amazing facility, the beautiful surroundings, as well as the friendliness and warm welcome from all the staff. Not having been to any safari camps before, I hardly knew what to expect but I was very glad to find that andBeyond Ngala camp had more than exceeded my expectations.

{images from http://www.andbeyond.com/ngala-tented-camp/)

The main area of the camp has a living and dining areas, where guests can enjoy their meals, drinks and snacks and sit down to relax and soak in the tranquil atmosphere and sheer beauty of nature in its truest form. The large decking area provides a magical safari ambiance with sights and sounds of animals wandering around the river banks. At night you can sometimes hear the sound of lion roar, calling for each other, which to me is truly a once in a lifetime experience.

{images from http://www.andbeyond.com/ngala-tented-camp/}

Our tent is a short walk away from the main camp, along the riverine forest and by the sandy bed of the Timbavati river (which is completely dried up during the winter). I love how the accommodation blends in with the surrounding environment right down to a tee but inside you have the same comfort and luxury expected from a five star hotel. Our tent is a double-glazed canvas tent mounted on a raised platform with gauze screen all around so you can still feel the breeze from the bushvelt but with an option of air-conditioning should the weather gets too cold or too warm. Inside there is a sleeping area with a comfortable king-size bed, a study/dressing corner, a mini-bar corner where all drinks are inclusive, two wash basins (which I ‘love’ because I hate fighting for space to get ready in the morning!), a massive bath tub indoor and an outdoor shower for those who enjoy an alfresco bathing experience.

{images from http://www.andbeyond.com/ngala-tented-camp/)

Our days started at exactly 5.30am every morning, when a friendly staff came to our tent with a tray of tea and coffee to wake us up. We then had about half an hour to get ready for our morning game drive at 6am. Lee-Anne, our ranger, normally discussed with us what game animals we would like to see that day before we set off, which is great because that revved up our sense of adventure and got us excited to be on the lookout for the animals during the whole drive. After our morning drive we usually stop somewhere on the way back for a morning coffee, before heading back to camp for a scrumptious breakfast. After breakfast we spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon relaxing at camp or in our room and then at 3.30pm we meet back again at the main camp for some refreshments, snacks, tea/coffee, before heading out for an afternoon game drive, which usually finished at around 6.30-7pm, just in time for dinner.

Each and every drives were truly magical. I learned and witnessed so much about nature and wildlife thanks to Lee-Anne who constantly filled us with little trivia, amazing stories and valuable information about the animals, plants and natural environments surrounding us. It was also very touching to witness the sheer passion and dedication that Lee-Anne and her team of rangers have towards wild animals and their conservation and how much they love their jobs, interacting with us and teaching us the importance of preserving and caring for the future of these magnificent creatures.

One of my favourite moments from the trip was seeing a whole pride of lions (2 male brothers; one is the leader of the pride, 3 lionesses, and 7 cubs), stretching out and relaxing together on the river bed, with their tummies full to the brim after devouring a whole zebra.

Our jeep parked quite close to the lions and the cubs and it was so amazing and rather surreal, to be able to witness something so beautiful and so personal upclose. I realised how the lions are just like us, they are completely dedicated and work incredibly hard to care for their family and the babies, and they have such a strong family bond and sense of responsibility towards each other.

On our last morning we were treated to a very scrumptious breakfast in the bushvelt after our drive. The staff at the camp drove out to a beautiful location and set out tables and breakfast buffet for us with plenty of delicious foods, tea/coffee and morning cocktails.

On our last day, as we waited to be taken from camp to the airfield to catch our flight back to the city, we were pleasantly surprised to see two elephants walking up to our swimming pool to drink some water and had a bit of a splash to cool down.

These majestic animals are massive and were so close to us that they could have easily crushed us to pieces if they wanted to but as we sat watching them quietly I didn’t feel scared or intimidated. Instead I felt peaceful by their calm and gentle presence despite their intimidating persona. This last moment was a perfect end to one of the most incredible, amazing experiences of my life.

This trip has also made me realised even more that our world belongs as much to the animals as it does to us. What a real shame that human race has come to the point where we don’t even think twice about exploiting and threatening the lives of animals and their habitats. After witnessing how incredibly tough nature can be and how hard the animals struggle to survive, I feel so humble and almost ashamed at our own easy existence in comparison. If everybody can one day wake up and realise that animals and wild life are as entitled to this world as we are and that we should feel privileged to have the ability to nurture and protect them, the world will be a much better and more beautiful place to live.