How I Use Lemon In my Morning Routine

I was juicing lemons this morning when I realized just how much use I get out of them. They are anionic, anti-ageing, anti-cancer, antibacterial, antiseptic, and what's more, they're affordable. Winning!
 

 

  

First of all, I must say I never use processed lemon juice.

I buy fresh (organic) lemons, juice them, pour into a handy bottle, and store in the refrigerator.

 

My Morning Modus Operandi

• The first thing I do in the morning, is drink a liter of lemon water. If I'm going for a run, I'll do a 1/2 liter before and a 1/2 after. This concoction balances the body's pH, boosts the immune system, helps with weight loss, aids in the digestive process, acts as a (gentle) diuretic, and clears the skin. Go for warm water rather than cold (if you can stomach it, I can't) and reap greater results. 

• The next thing I do is apply some lemon juice to my entire face, let it sit for about 20 minutes and then rinse. This diminishes scars, heals acne, exfoliates, and tones the skin.

• Next up is my natural teeth whitening step. I combine baking soda (singing: baking soda I got baking soda lol) and lemon in a tiny container and brush my choppers with the mixture for a few minutes for a whiter smile.

• Finally, I take some coconut oil with a squeeze of lemon and apply it to my nails for longer, stronger more beautiful nails. I recently got tired of my acrylics and decided to go the natural route for a while so this will really help.

These are the steps I executed today. The last 3 are not done every day, but rather once or twice per week.
 

There are a myriad more ways to incorporate lemon into your days, ranging from conditioning your hair to cleaning your microwave.

What beauty uses do you have for lemon? Let a girl know.

Ciao!
 

My First 5k Race.

 

 

 

I ran my first 5K race on Sunday, January 25.

It was a lovely experience.

A friend of mine who does these races all the time, ran with me and acted as my pacer (Thanks Kamau!).

 

My goal for the race was to do it in less than 30 minutes, and my actual time was 29:22.

 

 

look how close us 3 were!

 

The fastest time was 16mins:07secs and the slowest was 1hr:13mins:14secs.



post-race - soaking wet but satisfied

 

I started training 4 weeks prior to the race.

My training included:

• an open-air 5k run 2 times per week + abs directly after
• an open-air hill sprint session once a week + abs
• a treadmill 5k run twice per week
• resistance training at the gym 2-3 times each week
• 1st day - legs
• 2nd day - upper body
• 3rd day - full body (giant sets)
• 1-2 rest days

 

On the morning of the race, I was a little ill and I almost didn't make it, but I didn't want to not run, so I armed myself with pain meds and was on my way.

 

Since the run was at 2pm, breakfast on the day was 6 bananas, a handful of grapes and some strawberries with a 1/2 litre of water. Had it been an early morning race, I would have gone on an empty stomach (as is recommended).

 

My hairstyle for the run (this is a hair blog right?! lol) was a simple top knot bun, which was great for keeping hair out of my face, nothing fancy.

 

 

All in all, It was a pleasant experience and as per my list of things to be accomplished in 2015, I have at least 2 more to participate in.


This post is just in time to be linked to other "Fit Friday" posts, so check them out if you haven't yet had your fill.

 

 

See you on the trails.

Ciao!

 

 

The 10 Commandments: Relaxed Hair

As relaxed girls, there are some things we just should. not. do.

These practices cause so many problems and stunt our progress on our quest for long and healthy relaxed hair.

I've put together a list of the 10 most forbidden habits (IMO) and made them into...

 

 

Guilty? I hope not!

 

Ciao!

Monday Morning Motivation: Length!

Happy Monday!
I am a sucker for everything Pinterest, but especially of course, black hair.
This morning I am bringing you some hairspiration (comprising of pictures stolen taken from Pinterest) of long straight hair, you know, to keep you on the straight and narrow. If these pics don't influence you to take better care of your hair, I don't know hat will lol.
Enjoy the view. And remember, this could be you!

 


Angela Simmons

 

 



_immathug (instagram)



 

 

 

BeautyByGabbie

 

 

 

 

 

 Itching to deep condition yet? I am!

Ciao!

 

 

 

My Meatlessness.

Going vegan is pretty high up on the priority list for 2015.

Now, this may come as a shock for those who know me, but I stopped eating meat mid November of last year.

 

 

 

I remember when Ebony of L4L went meatless for a month and I told her I couldn't do that because meat was my favorite food lol. But I suppose I knew deep down that it wasn't that good for me because I started a 'Meatless Mondays' shortly thereafter. Then one day my boyfriend's nephew and I were talking, and I was admiring him so much because not only was he an 18 yr old vegan, but he had been a vegan for most of his life. I was saying that it's very interesting and that if I had the willpower I'd do it too.

 

Holdup, wait, WHAT?

If I had the willpower?? Of course I do. And a few days later I gave up meat for a month.

It was only supposed to be until my birthday (Dec 19) or until Christmas, but when that time came, I just didn't crave it and I haven't had any meat since the first day I gave it up and I plan to keep it that way.

I still have fish about 2/3 times per week, but I intend to cut that down dramatically in the near future, and entirely by the end of the year.

 

 

What do I eat, you ask?

 

 

 

Well, I have been eating as per the RAW TILL 4 plan, created by Freelee the Banana girl on Youtube.

It sees me eating mostly fruit, with some vegetable until 4:00pm and a cooked meal thereafter. She has a vegan cooked meal, while I do a pesco-vegetarian (sometimes vegan) meal.

 

I feel so much better being meatless, oh yeah I don't have and dairy either, so my sinuses are so much better for it. I am still going through what they call a detox phase so all is not perfect, but I feel great and I'm not fiending for meat sooo, no need to reintroduce it into my diet.

 

I have been getting info from various sources, but mainly from Youtube. I'll leave you with a few videos to enlighten you about the dangers of animal products and the benefits of going vegan.

 

 

Annie Jaffrey

 

Fully Raw Kristina

 

Simply Raw Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days

 

Super Size Me

 

 

 

Of course the above will lead you to a plethora of other insightful videos. Enjoy.

 

 

 

Have you considered this route? Let me know your thoughts.

 

Ciao!

 

 

DIY in the Blink of an EYE - Jewelry Hang.

Hey guys!
 

So you know how in my 15 things in 2015 post I said I wanted to do more DIYs?

Well, I started on that and I'm here to share it with you.

 

 

 

As you can tell by the title, this is super quick and easy and takes you from a cup rack to a jewelry hang in 2.5 seconds.

 

I bought a cup rack in the store that looks like this:

 

foldable cup rack as found in store

 

 

Then I measured the nail prongs against my door (you can choose a wall or other structure if you like), drove the nails and hung the rack onto the door.

After hanging it up on the door

 

 

Then I proceeded to hang and organize my jewelry. It ended up looking like the above (very first pic).

 

Not bad for a beginner huh? lol.

 
 

 

 

Have you done and DIYs lately? Share them with me below.

 

Ciao!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ettenio Hair Goodies Update.

Hey precious ones.

It's been over a month since I was given the opportunity to try out some Ettenio products, so I feel like I've been sufficiently acquainted with them to give my opinion. Overall I had a pleasant experience with the products but I'll give my detailed, individual analysis of each.

 

 

The five products I received for trial

 

 

Moisture Infusion (deep conditioner) - Very light, pleasant fragrance, not overpowering at all. The consistency too, is light and reminds me of when I whip up a DIY, it really is like whipped frosting or something. It is indeed quite moisturizing, but if you are looking for slip this bad boy is not the one. I suppose you could add some oil to it, but it really didn't pose an issue for me. I actually enjoyed this deep conditioner as is. I used it as a moisturizer a couple times and that worked out well too.

 

Purity (shampoo) - preface: I am not a shampoo girl, I have very few that I love and this one did not convert me, sorry. The smell is a tad bit strong, smells like fever grass or so. The good thing though is that it doesn't linger. The consistency is rather thick which makes it difficult to escape from the bottle while pumping. I had to unscrew the pump and shake the contents out. I also had to use a whole lot to cover my entire hair. Performance-wise though, it does the job.

 

Moisture Milk (daily moisturizing spray) - I like this one quite a bit. As the name suggests, it is held in a spray bottle, which made me expect a more water-like product. However, it actually sits in the middle between water and a creamy moisturizer, so don't go spraying this directly into your hair as it doesn't mist very well. Instead I spray it into my hands and them apply it to my hair. It sinks into my hair nicely and my hair drinks it up.

 

Twenty Four 7 (balancing leave-in) - My favorite scent of the products I tried, very mellow and mild. This too, is light and appears to be of that whipped consistency. It works really well. No complaints or drawbacks here.

 

Seal & Shine Serum - Does it's job very well. It's is super light and doesn't weigh the hair down. My straight hair loved it!! The citrus-esque smell is a little strong, but it's not too overpowering.

 

 

After approximately 6 weeks of use, the shampoo and deep conditioner are almost done, but the other three products still have a lot of use left in them.

 

Overall, the Ettenio brand has some really good products. However, while the packaging is aesthetically appealing, I don't know if some of them are very practical or are a good fit for the contents. Nonetheless, I will continue to use those which are not finished and I would go out and purchase them again and also try out some others which I have yet to try.

Thanks again to the proprietor for allowing me to test out her merchandise.

 

 

Ciao.

 

 

You Got A 'Hold' On me.

Remember in the summer (I use that word loosely while living in Ja.) when my sets, be they rollers or flexirods, just would not last? Well, I found a great product that "holds" me down in that department. My curly sets last until I say when, and I have been enjoying them so much more now.

 

The product I speak of is the Lottabody Wrap Me Foaming Mousse from their new styling line.

 

 

 

I use it on both wet and dry hair, and it gives me great results either way.

All I do is section the hair and apply one pump of the mousse to the section and proceed to apply the tool which I will be using to set the hair.

 

I have used it with wet roller sets, wet flexi rod sets and also on dry hair with my hot rollers and I get superior hold every time.

 

 

Thanks again Lottabody for the goodies, this is a great product that I'm glad to have in my stash!

 

For more info on this product, visit their website for the 411.

 

 

Tried the Wrap Me Foaming Mousse Yet?

 

 

 

Top 5 - Music (Afro beats).

Hola!

 

Today I'm sharing a few of my current favorite African songs.

I love African music.

It's so full of life and makes you wanna get up and move.

Even though I don't know what they are saying half of the time lol, they still make me want to shake my groove thang.

 

Top 5:

 

 

• Watch My Ting Go - Lola Rae (above)
• Johnny - Yemi Alade
• Mr. Oreo - Iyanya
• Stupid Love - Olamide
• Slow Down - R2bees ft. Wiz Kid (below)

 

 

 

What have you been listening to lately? Share below.

Ciao!

 

 

15 Things in 2015

Hey y'all!

 

 

 

It's been far too long, but I'm back with a post about my new year's to-do list. Here are 15 things I want to accomplish in 2015:

 

 

1. Run: 3 5Ks
2. Go: fully vegan
3. Read: 2 interesting books
4. Blog: more frequently and with more varied content
5. Visit: a Caribbean island
6. Explore: my own country
7. Learn: a new language (Spanish perhaps?)
8. Be: more sociable & get out more
9. Experiment: with my hair (blonde highlights anyone?)
10. Make: more money
11. Get: more facials, massages and pedicures
12. Become: fit & healthy
13. Do: some charity work
14. Execute: more DIYs
15. Meditate!

 

 

These are they and you'll get to hear all about it on the blog! Lucky you! LOL

 

 

Share some of your resolutions with me below. Ciao.