♥

There’s not much better on a supermarket adventure than suddenly realising the fruits and fresh foods you adore have come into season and you can spend a ridiculously small amount to fill your trolley with a delicious, vitamin packed fruit feast.

In this case mangoes and avocados are our triumphant heroes.

I’ve previously written about the benefits and joys of eating lots of avocados, they are one of my favourite products for healthy skin.

They are also amazing for the body in times of stress due to being packed with B-Vitamins (known stress reducers!).

Most stores are selling them for under $2 so there is no excuse not to get these globes of green goodness onto your plate and I’ve included a recipe idea below!

Now to mangoes, beautiful yellow-orange tropical wonders. These guys have been delighting me at work for the past few weeks, making my keyboard all sticky (oops) and generally being very sweet and refreshing. A few days ago I came across some perfect HUGE PINKY SKINNED ones at Subiaco Farmer Jacks for only $1.99!!

You know it’s Summer when the mangoes are out in force, try reaching for one at 3pm instead of that Mars Bar, it’s probably cheaper right now too!

To celebrate the abundance of these two loves of mine, I’ve decided to share with you a delicious little recipe, behold:

Mango & Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

1 x large, ripe mango
1 x large, ripe avocado
1 x can of butter beans (organic if possible)
A few sprinklings of dried cranberries.

For optimum effect make this salad after just completing a fantastic yoga class and revel in the amazing feeling that both are giving you. That’s where I’m at right now!

Cut / slice up the avocado in your preferred method, slice n dice your mango to make it look pretty like the one pictured above (instructions on how to do so), rinse your butter beans thoroughly, mix all the ingredients together and then sprinkle a generous serving of dried cranberries.

Voila. Totally tasty and healthy Summer snack / light dinner.

What are your fave Summer fruits?

Please share below!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

Hiya! Monday morning calls for some extra assistance this week and we’re here to throw some (hopefully) inspirational little shiny morsels into your hands and let you run with them…

So, I once again present to you the weekly round-up of all the best beauty, health & wellbeing related links that have crossed my path this week, hope you enjoy! xo

♥ My Own Journey to Fitness & Wellbeing – a few people have been asking lately so I thought I’d re-post this one. I’m currently about to take up a personal trainer which was one of the things on the list… exciting times ahead for my fitness!!

♥ How to be Fabulous in Three Easy(ish) Steps – well worth a look, the three steps are not as hard to come by as you’d expect…

♥ How do you cope with the judgey judgey voice in your head? – Sarah Wilson lets us into her brain and also looks at a few ways we can combat our nasty inner voice.

♥ Did your breakfast sabotage your skin today?

♥ How to Eat Before and After a Workout – from Healthy Bitch Daily (!!)

♥ Why You Should Apply Sunscreen First – seriously you must watch this one, I learned heaps! A really interesting video that explains the science (in an easy to understand way) of why applying sunscreen first is vital. Must must must watch!

♥ http://www.meatalternatives.org provides a list of meat alternatives search-able by brand and state!

♥ Why Happiness is Something We All Need to Invest in from the ever-lovely Yasemin from PRIMPED. Loved this one.

♥ 10 Instant Mood Boosters – do some now!

♥ Self Care Tips for Busy People – and that’s most of us.

♥ Mummies Point to Man Made Cancer – thousands of years ago cancer was almost non-existent… food for thought.

Hope you enjoyed this weeks installment, I think there’s something for everyone!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥ First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

I’m a stylist who makes one half of All Of The Above Creative and one third of Two Bucks ‘Til Wednesday. I love inventing stories, characters and adventures to give depth, intrigue and innovation to fashion photography. I’ve worked for publications such as The West Australian, Frankie Magazine and X-press Fashion, as well as for the Perth Fashion Festival (as the Fremantle event coordinator and stylist), Scene and Viviens modelling agencies, Pigeonhole, Two Bucks ’til Wednesday, Awoke on a Whale Heart, Paper Skye, Little Gracie and Lonely as a Cloud, among others. Check out my blog at http://anadventure.wordpress.com

♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

I wash my face with QV wash and moisturise with Cetaphil. I used to use more harsh cleansers, as I used to get bad breakouts, and never believed something as simple as QV could be ok, but my skin is better now than it’s ever been (this also might be just because I’m not a teenager any more, though…)

♥ What’s the one beauty treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

I’ve never had any sort of beauty treatment at a salon or spa or anything, actually.

♥ Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

I cut and dye my own hair as I’ve been a penniless student for the past four years! (this also might have something to do with my answer to the previous question!) Head Studio did mine for me a few years ago for a hair show and they are super brilliant, so if I was going to go anywhere I would go to Marie.

♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

Ha, everything! Ok, this is probably terrible, but it works: putting a little dab of toothpaste on pimples over night! It totally works.

♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

Batiste Dry Shampoo is my favourite thing ever. I have a fringe and fine hair and it keeps it fresh and voluminous… Plus, it smells pretty. Also, Papaw ointment and white eyeliner.

♥ Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

Drink lots of water! I drink a whole lot (maybe too much? Can you drink too much water?), but am bad because I buy bottled water. My next purchase will be one of those big re-usable bottles. I also usually go to be and wake up pretty early, and nearly always get 8-10 hours sleep a night.

♥ What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t yet? (Due to time, money, scared etc!)

I wouldn’t mind having a pedicure, but feet in general are pretty ugly things so I’d feel bad for the person doing it…

♥ Describe a typical day of eating for you.

I’ve always been a grazer, so I kind of eat constantly. For breakfast I normally have porridge, muesli or eggs on toast, and a banana, and always a large coffee (the real thing, never instant).

I then generally snack on things like biscuits and fruit and almonds throughout the morning, then maybe have something like sushi (if I’m on the road) or elaborate toasted sandwiches (if I’m at home) for lunch. And of course, the occasional McDonalds, because I’m not even going to lie; it’s frigging delicious.

Then again I generally snack all afternoon on perhaps strawberries, snow peas, chocolate and various other unhealthy things. I normally cook dinner for my family, things like delicious creamy pasta and veggie curries are my favourites and therefore the things I mostly make.

And I can’t live without dessert! Custard, cake or Tim Tams.

And actually, I just planted a veggie garden so am hoping to eat my own produce soon!

♥ Describe your fitness routine.

Um… incidental exercise?! Haha. My job involves lots and lots of running around all over the place and climbing stairs with loads of heavy bags of clothes and shoes and such, so that’s all I really do. I catch public transport wherever possible, which means I walk a fair bit I suppose.

♥ Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

Not really. I find one of the best things to do to clear my head when I’m stressed is to go op shopping. It calms me down, the music is ever too loud or shout-y and the little old ladies are generally the sweetest, most welcoming people around. Op shopping’s my therapy! But honestly, more than anything else; hanging out with my wonderful boyfriend and my three amazing best friends who make me immeasurably happy in every way.

Thanks Hannah, if anyone has any questions please leave a comment!

Be well,

xoxo

Jess

♥ First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

Perth born and bred, I am a freelance fashion writer and stylist. I fell into the industry quite accidentally, not really knowing what a stylist did, but I seem to get a continuous stream of work, so I must be doing something right! I’ve been doing this for just over five years and really love my job.

♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

I use my holy grail of a cleanser, Neostrata Facial Cleanser every morning in the shower (this is really bad, right?) Then I moisturise with whatever free sample I found in a magazine or goody bag. As I get older, I’ve noticed my skin is much drier so not a day goes by where I don’t moisturise my legs and arms. Sunscreen is also a must, I’m really paranoid about wrinkles and getting older.

♥ What’s the one beauty treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

Without a doubt, I love facials, extra-super-long massage ones. I was pretty fortunate to have the best one ever done at the Bellagio Day Spa in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. Locally, I think Lotus Beauty in Kardinya is consistently the best. The girls don’t babble on when you’re trying to relax, they do a great job and use products that work well on my skin.

♥ Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

Julie Dowding at Wisp Salon in North Perth. I like that she is the only one that works in the salon, so I’m never passed onto five different apprentices (I can avoid answering what I’m doing on the weekend five times, excellent). Also, she has a delectable selection of herbal teas and occasionally opens on a Sunday for busy people, like me.

♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

A dance in my bedroom also gets my skin glowing.

♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

Neostrata Facial Cleanser. Pelactiv Deep Cleanse. Vaseline.

♥ Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

When I exercise, cut out meat from my diet and am generally happy with how life’s going, I seem to get the most compliments. Funny, I spend so much money on products and I probably don’t really need them!

♥ What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t yet? (Due to time, money, scared etc!)

Bikram yoga. Oh no, wait, that sounds like torture! I guess I’ve always wanted to go on one of those weekend detox yoga retreats where you aren’t allowed to speak to anyone or carry a phone. That sounds like a dream to me.

♥ Describe a typical day of eating for you.

I always start off with a healthy breakfast, but kind of go downhill from there.

During Summer, I’ll typically eat greek yoghurt with strawberries, blueberries and bircher muesli for brekkie.

With my job I’m often on the road, so I usually have to pick up lunch on the go. I’ll try to go for a salad or healthy wrap, but if I’m ravenous I won’t hesitate to grab a burger and icecream.

Dinner totally varies. Some days I’ll eat a huge Spanish dish that is force-fed by my mother, other days I’ll just have some grilled fish and vegies.

Throughout the day I’ll eat pretty much anything I crave, and at 3pm it’s usually Cherry Ripe or Spearmint Aero.

♥ Describe your fitness routine.

Recently, I’ve joined a ladies netball team with people that are much more skilled and competitive that I am. They yell at me to tell me I’ve gone the wrong way or am about to step over the line, but I’m grateful that at least I’m working up a sweat.

I also go for an hour walk/job at least twice a week just to clear my brain. Motown is my soundtrack.

I love Reformer Pilates and used to do it twice a week, but have got a bit slack (and poor) lately. I want to start up again really soon!

♥ Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

My chiropractor and good friend, Dr Li Chia Cheong, at Nervana is my saviour. She cracks my neck and back every week and I’ve noticed that I’ve been feeling much happier and less lethargic since seeing her.

Thanks Jess!

If you have any questions, please leave them below!

Be well,

xoxo

This glorious sunny Saturday just past marked the first of hopefully many Cruelty Free Festivals’ held at the Earthwise centre in Subiaco.

As you can see from the photo above, vegan cakes & sweets were out in full force, as were helpful advocates giving out informative flyers & pamphlets about cruelty free living.

The main focus though was the food, proving what most already knew – it is possible to eat delicious food without the use of animal products.

Lunch in the form of mock meats, vegetable curries, spring rolls and rice dishes (I also spied mango flavoured sweets just out of this picture!)

Peach muffins & custard fruit tarts (these were both GREAT!), chocolate + green tea cheesecake, melting moments plus a couple other things I wasn’t sure of… keep in mind there are no animal products in any of these, which is pretty amazing / awesome!

Here’s a photo of the wood-fired pizza magic happening, I didn’t get a chance to test these out but there were some winning combinations happening and I’m kicking myself for filling up on chocolate cupcakes before I saw this.

There were many wares to be found including heaps of books, stickers, shoes, tees & hoodies, vegan dog treats (!!!), snacks and so much more.

One well known healthy living company that made the trip up from down South was Samudra.

Here are some of the goodies that they had on display:

As you can see, these snacks look great and they are all amazingly good for you! Aside from selling these treats, Samudra also run yoga and surfing getaways in Dunsborough, well worth a look.

The bands playing kept the spirit lively outside and if you ventured into the back corner there were vegan cooking demonstrations being held inside if you could tear yourself away from the cakes for long enough.

All in all it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon, a fantastic new event and one I will be wholeheartedly supporting next year!

Many thanks to Animal Rights Advocates for organising it!

Did you go to the Cruelty Free Festival?

Ever tried a vegan cupcake?

Be well,

xoxo