This is quite a belated outfit post (the outfit in question is from the beginning of January, ops), I loved the outfit but I wasn’t in love with the photos. I labeled this dress unlucky for a reason (read the post here). Anyways, I’m pretty sure I wore this outfit to the cinema (not sure which movie, one of the Hobbit ones maybe?)
Monthly Archives: March 2015
Ootd: Structured floral
Just a quick outfit post today. Had a super busy weekend and looks like this week will be no different. On Saturday we went running in the morning (just 3km but it’s a start), then we went to my parents’ house for lunch and to celebrate Buddy’s 14th birthday (he loved his pressies), we went food shopping, then my sister came for a visit, we later cleaned up the flat and then we had friends over for dinner and drinks. Yeah, that all happened in one day. BUSY.
Seven Ways to Brighten Your Mood
I have been sick with a stomach flu since Monday so I haven’t been feeling my best, I basically couldn’t eat anything (or very little) for three days, had a bit of a fever too but luckily today has been the first day that I have genuinely felt better, health wise. Anyways, whenever I’m sick with a cold or the flu, I find it’s really hard for me to get my spirits up, even after I’ve gotten over the illness, my body feels really tired and my mood can be a bit down, which is quite bad. I thought I would share 7 things that help me brighten my mood and maybe they’ll help someone else too.
1. Pamper yourself
I think this one is both the easiest and the hardest, sometimes we feel that we don’t deserve to be taken care of, but I think that treating yourself to something nice is super important. And it can be in any form or shape that suits you – for instance I find taking a bath really relaxing and soothing. While I was sick I just took showers so to finally have a bath felt really good. But maybe your not a bath-fanatic like me, so it could be something different. Just putting some body lotion on can feel really nice, or painting your nails (I haven’t painted mine since the end of summer, if you don’t count clear nail polish, so applying some fun glitter nail polish today has made me very pleased. It makes it finally feel like spring.) If make-up is your thing, putting some on can really lift one’s mood, I haven’t put any on since last week, but I’m exited about tomorrow going back to work and having some fun with my make-up before hand. Pampering yourself means doing whatever it is, that makes you happy, by taking care of yourself (even if it’s a bit selfish). I’d say shopping can be a source of happiness but I’d definitely be careful with that one. Do pamper yourself, but don’t go overboard. (A little goes a long way.)
2. Go for a walk
Give it a try. It doesn’t have to be a long hike, even a short walk can really lift one’s mood. Getting any exercise in will help, but especially after an illness, you may want to go slow. So taking a walk is really ideal. I’m planning on going for a nice walk this evening and I’m really happy about it – the fresh air will be so nice, mainly cause I’ve been indoors four days straight and a change of scenery will also do a world of good.
Cruelty Free
I consider myself quite an animal lover – I donate to animal charities, I sign petitions, I’m a veggie foodie (I’m planning on going vegan but after my uni exams, it would be too much stress at this point in my life because I don’t have time to do proper research about what I should be eating and I don’t want to “burn out” and end up as some people I’ve heard of that actually went back to eating meat because it was too difficult to stay on a vegan diet.) I feel more compassion to animals than I do to people. My dog was from the dog pound, I got him when he was already three and a half years old (Buddy has just turned 14!) and in very bad shape (he had a bad skin condition, had hardly any fur, a broken tail, he had an eye infection, he had fleas and worms but I knew he was still the perfect dog for me and I honestly believe no one else would have taken him and given him a home). I had a pet pig that was difficult at times but I gave him all my love and I miss him so much. I currently have a pet rabbit (and my dog, but he lives with my parents as they have a garden and he’s such a spoiled happy dog because we love him so much) named Bananas, who is a little devil and I love her.
Besides paying attention to what I eat (I can’t eat meat. All I see behind meat is the animals that had to die for it and the suffering that was their life. No personal enjoyment can justify that. However, I do not judge other people if they do eat meat, my boyfriend does eat meat but at least because of me he eats a lot less meat than he otherwise would so that’s a small victory) I’m now also paying attention to other aspects of animals suffering. Namely animal testing. I’m making an effort of no longer purchasing products that have been tested on animals or from companies that support animal testing. I never realized that SO MANY companies do test on animals. Companies that I used to like too. The photo below is from Peta but there are more companies that test on animals, this of course is not a conclusive list.
I’ve bought products from L’Oreal, Pantene, Dove, Maybelline and Avon before (though not for a while, as I have been spending all of my money over at Lush), without realizing that they actually test on animals (or sell in China, where the Chinese government test their products on animals, which is just as bad – if you allow something to happen, you’re basically supporting it.) I’ve downloaded a helpful app called Bunny Free, which makes looking up companies so much easier and tells you which test on animals and which do not (although not all companies are listed, for instance I had to look up Nivea online and I’m so glad they are against animal testing.) Sadly Aussie does test on animals so I won’t be repurchasing their hair conditioner, although it had been my favorite. I’m trying to be more conscious of what my actions as a customer are and I have decided to really make an effort and from now on only buy products that are indeed cruelty free. When enough people make the same decision, the big companies will (have to) listen and they will stop testing on animals. I urge everyone to think this through and decide for themselves if they are for or against animal cruelty and animal testing. I think together we can make a difference and make the world a better place 🙂
You don’t need a tub!
One more post for you today because I was so inspired by my visit to the “other” Lush (I usually go to the store in Palladium but today I went to the place where you pick up online orders). I had such a good experience. Normally when I go to the Lush store there are loads of people there and it can be a bit overwhelming, this on the other hand is such a quite, peaceful place. Also, and here I have to say a little bit of critique on the Lush store, I have never EVER gotten any Lush samples from the Lush store, even though I purchase LOADS of items anytime I go there and have been a very good customer. Anyways, when you place an online order, you can choose two samples and I also wrote a note asking for two additional samples as I really wanted to try out two other items. The lady there was so nice and was genuinely surprised I had never gotten samples with my purchases before (this makes me want to boycott the store because they should be nicer to their returning customers). Now on to the good stuff.
If, like one of my friends who is currently visiting the States or my cousin who also doesn’t have a tub where she lives, you don’t have a tub, you can still enjoy (some) Lush products! I usually love (and write about) the bath products the most, but Lush has a big variety of soaps and shower gels and face masks and lotions and massage bars that you can still enjoy and pamper yourself with without having a tub. I’ve decided to share my experience with some of the products from my collection and today it will be soaps:
The sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day…
So it’s FINALLY spring! Mornings are still very chilly but the afternoons are almost perfect. As soon as the sun starts making its presence known, I’m automatically a bit more happy.
Better late than never
A very belated outfit post – I actually wore this outfit on Valentine’s day afternoon when we went food shopping and then stopped by the Sconto furniture store to pay for our new closet. Anyways, I wore a really comfy outfit that I quite liked, but it was more “wearable” than “fashionable”. I wore a super comfy pair of shoes (Kenneth Cole for Reaction “saltnpep” black pony flats) that I really love.
Friday the 13th
On Friday the 13th M and I went to a family dinner at the restaurant that we most frequently go to, as it is super close (two stops by public transport or a 15 minute walk) and we quite like what they serve there. This is the outfit that I was wearing.
I decided to risk the chill and wear some cute shoes as I am so sick of all of my ankle boots! These are my Asos “Leap of Faith” black and white Mary Jane flats. I think they are just the cutest. They are very comfortable to wear and go with basically everything in my wardrobe (or almost everything). Unfortunately it was still a bit too cold for them and my feet felt really cold on the way to and from the restaurant. Continue reading Friday the 13th
Like a Lady
This outfit is from Sunday lunch and it has to be one of my favorite outfits of this year. Basically the warmer it gets the more fun I have with my outfits and this Sunday, I went all out. Starting with heels (anytime I wear heels it means I’ve made an effort), these are the Melissa por Herchcovitch Alexandre wedges with brogue detailing in black. I can’t say these are my favorite wedges as they aren’t too comfy, but they’re okay. We went food shopping after lunch and I survived a whole afternoon in them, so they passed the test. That said, they’re definitely not my favorite Melissas.
Little Lushings
I’ve been Lushing most days in order to keep myself sane. I’ve mostly been going through my Christmas sale items (I personally think their holiday items are the best anyways and in the post Christmas sales they tend to be half off, which is just amazing, so yeah) but I’ve also tried out a few that are constantly in the Lush stock. So let’s review, shall we?
Very Veronique 