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1. Cheaper Strawberries & Oranges

There’s been an influx of these bright, summer reminiscent fruits in the shops lately and I for one am LOVING IT! I think strawberries were up around the $8-$9 mark for a while and I prefer to buy local oranges as opposed to ones that come from the USA, due to them being gassed prior to undertaking their travel!

Refreshing orange wedges, fresh strawberry smoothies & chopped fruit with natural yoghurt have been keeping me healthy & happy lately. HOORAY FOR SEASONAL EATING!!!

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2. Invisible Zinc.

Although I’ve long heard the hype about Invisible Zinc, it’s taken me until now to jump on board the ‘physical sunscreen’ band wagon. With total babes such as Elle Macpherson and Georgia May Jagger (Jerry Hall’s daughter) as spokesmodels, it’s no wonder that this brand is turning heads. Being a freckled lass means that I should have been sunscreening up on a daily basis. Emphasis on the should have. I’ve only recently been really making an effort to make sure I pop on some sunscreen before putting on my make-up.

Tales of my naughtiness aside, I am really enjoying the Invisible Zinc Environmental Skin Protector SPF30+. It feels great during and after application, lives up to it’s name of being invisible and has THREE (count em) ways in which it does our skin some serious favours:

♥ UVA + UVB protection. Physical sunscreen reflects these danger-rays, unlike chemical sunscreen (the regular stuff) which absorbs only UVB rays and then turns them into free radicals, which is less than ideal. So physical wins here!
♥ Pollution barrier! Stops city smog from interacting with your face, ESP forms a film over your face to protect you from these baddies which can contribute to aging.
♥ Packed full of antioxidants, which help to protect your skin cells pre & post sun exposure.

International model, Simone Kerr, also enjoys it – check out our interview with her here!

3. More Yoga!!!

The benefits I’ve experienced from yoga include: increased mental clarity and calm, less moodiness, increased flexibility, better sleep, clearer skin and a more toned tum. Despite all of these wonderful perks, I’ve been slack with making time to fit in into my schedule. UNTIL NOW! The past two weeks have seen yoga appearing twice in my 7 day routine and I’ve been loving it!

I would love to take part in a ‘yoga revolution’ which is one entire month of doing a yoga class, once a day. I think the benefits would be incredible, but I might have to start off with just a weeks worth first! 😉

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4. Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash

I am adoring this, hard. I’ve previously talked about it in my birthday wellness weekend article, but wanted to declare my love once more. LOVE YOU BB, DON’T EVA LET ME GO <3. Ahem.

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5. Mukha Natural Yoga Mats – $80

I’ve had one of these for quite some time now, but kept forgetting to take it to class with me! Very silly, I know. The mats were dreamed up when Perth based yoga teacher, Lisa Gawned, was in the well loved downward dog position.

She realised that she was ‘grounding’ herself upon a PVC mat, a man-made material which is toxic to our health and the environment. And so Mukha Mats were born, made from 100% sustainably farmed natural rubber (the smell is very strong in the mat when you first get it, but soon dissipates), healthy for you and the environment. The mat is also completely biodegradable at the end of it’s life, which is pretty awesome.

I found the mat heavier than expected when I first started using it, but quickly got used to it and am now enjoying having my own personal eco-friendly mat in which to stretch and de-stress on. No fear of sharing sweat and bacteria with other people and the knowledge that it’s non-toxic and good for the earth? Double win.

27! Flowers c/o my lovely boyfriend and the wrapped gift on the left is actually from Kikki K and called “Be Happy: 170 Ways to Transform Your Day”!

Alright so there is a photo of me on my birthday, I don’t post heaps of them up here because I am a bit shy about doing so.

It’s been a bit quiet here the past few days due to birthday preparation, so I wanted to share with you just what I’d been upto this past weekend of celebration – yep I dragged it out the whole three days to make the most of it! So come join me on a vaguely stalkerish account of my weekend … 😉

Friday

I kicked off the weekend wellness style with an incredibly relaxing bath which seriously felt like any worries were dissolved as soon as I sunk in. I have found the most incredible shower/bath wash which makes me feel like I’m at the day spa every morning and night. It is that good and a teeny tiny bit goes a long way, you’ll get tonnes of bubbles in the bath, and if you use a loofah a tiny pump gets you sudsy in seconds.

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The name of my new love is Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash and its concoction of essential oils including sandalwood, lavender, lemon and eucalyptus manages to both soothe a weary mind and pep you up in the mornings too. It’s a pricey little peanut at $71.50 for a 473ml pump bottle, but if you have the bucks to spare this is incredible for giving you an easy peasy day spa experience whenever you hop in the shower!

After the dream bath, my boy took me to The Curry Tree in Nedlands for an indian feast, the food took a long time, but was yummy when it finally arrived. There was also a fireplace which was a dreamy addition on a chilly night.

Saturday

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Subiaco Farmers Markets ahoy! We did the usual rounds, saw a heap of pups (my favourite part!) and ate some treats.

Breakfast was an innnnncredible combo of muesli, warm stewed apple & natural yoghurt from Food Well Thought, for $5 this is an absolute must in my farmers market experience. TRY IT! You will be amazed.

My other favourite is the 100% organic and preservative free dried apple crisps from the Spring Valley Orchard in Donnybrook!! The crisps are $4 for a generous bag and are absolutely delicious, if you’re looking for a healthy, crunchy snack then seriously look no further. I hadn’t had these before and I’m definitely going back next week to stock up. They also sell a variety of non-dried apples which are equally delicious.

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Next on the b’day agenda was some time with a girlfriend and fellow Wellness WA writer. We hit up Boubar and they kindly let me have an item from the breakfast menu even though it was way past brekky (avocado, tomato, rocket and fetta on sourdough – YUMM) – WINNERS! This, along with a freshly squeezed OJ, a few choice pressies from my friend and some great chats made for the perfect afternoon.

For dinner I rounded up some more friends and headed to Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant in Northbridge, the satay “chicken” sticks (mock meat) with rice have been my long time favourite and it’s all I ever order. If you’re a vegetarian and haven’t been here try it out! The service can be bizarre at times, but it’s cheap and delicious!

Prior to the feast we all headed to the EP launch of local band Mezzanine, which one of my besties plays in, and it was a great night!

Sunday

One of my fav places for brekky lately has been The Pearfect Pantry in Wembley, who have been making some waves recently with promoting their oddly situated little cafe via social media. It’s worth a look, as they have MANY vegan options for brekky and lunch, as well as vegan biscuits & cupcakes at times too! Meat and cheese lovers are not to fear though, as there is a wide selection of other goodies to choose from too.

I had the vegan black bean, avocado and cashew-nut cheese with fired whole wheat tortilla (SO SO SO SO SO GOOD)!

To round off the weekend I had a picnic and invited a bunch of good friends, the food was delicious, the sun shone for a bit and there were two adorable doggies present. Dreamy.

So that’s my weekend 🙂 I hope you had a fabulous one too, and I would love to hear about any wellness activities you got up to if you’d like to share!!!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo