My Healthy Journey- 35kg of weightloss but so much more weight off my shoulders

Sometimes it really is the journey and not the destination

 

Before at my deb- not even my highest weight and during- a few weeks ago

Looking back at myself over the past few years- heck basically my whole life- I was never happy with my body or myself, there was always something I wanted to change- my insecurities, my hair, my teeth, my skin tone, my eyes- and I think that is normal for a girl growing up in the society that we live in- but my biggest insecurity was always my weight.

 

I struggled with my weight from a young age- always being the chubbiest in my class, always comparing myself to the slim girls from an unhealthily young age. I don't think I was actually an overweight child for most of my childhood- it was only when it got to late primary school that I think it became an obvious problem.

 

I would always make friends with the pretty slim girls who would always take the time of day to draw attention to the fact that I wasn't as pretty as them or anywhere near as slim, and I think that from then on I had an unhealthy relationship with food.

 

My parents were away a lot when I was a child and I was never taught about healthy food, what I should and shouldn't eat- I only ever ate what I was given and that was it- and given that my mum isn't a big cook and my dad has limited cooking knowledge, for a long time that included mostly take out food or things I could manage to cook on my own.

 

All through highschool I found that I was self-conscious of my weight, and although I was never outright bullied- their was always that one guy with his snide comments about my weight.

Fast forward through highschool and into university- I moved out of home in my first year of uni, and due to issues with one of my housemates, I found I was eating takeaway more often and gaining more and more weight.

 

Around this time I met my now fiancé, and we became a couple- and as a new couple we ate out a lot and never ate all that well. at the end of our first year together I was well above my healthy weight range and miserable with my weight- so I decided I would make a change for the both of us and thus began my healthy journey. It has now been 3 years since I made that decision and although I spent a lot of time trialing and with many errors, I think I have now made myself a lifestyle I can comfortably live with and still lose the weight I want to come off.

 

This journey has also helped with my mind frame and confidence- yes I do still feel like a blob somedays and there isn't any chance I will be rocking a bikini anytime soon- but I feel more confident then I ever have- im 35kg down from my highest recorded weight and I am happily engaged to the love of my life.

 

Im writing this post to try and put my journey out there for those who may feel like they can't do it- who think you have to eat amazingly well ALL the time to get to where you want- you don't- you just have to make smart decisions about your food. its a lifestyle choice remember- a marathon not a sprint.

 

It really is about the journey- so when you get to your destination you can just keep running

Is Dr Bronners really magic?

Dr Bronner's is an organic brand that is pretty well know to those who like to use more natural products in everyday life. I have had very little experience with Dr Bronner's products previously, only using the almond scent magic liquid soap to wash my makeup brushes (which did a fantastic job, despite my distaste for the scent) and i once tried to use it to wash my hair, with results that left me less than impressed.

But despite my impartial history with the products, i thought i would give the brand another go and purchased the Dr Bronners magic liquid soap in - tea tree scent aswell as rose scent, and the conditioning rinse in citrus.

Now feeling a little skeptical of the products, i decided that i would need to do some research and managed to find some all important dilution methods, which have made the world of difference, I found them here; which is Dr Bronner's granddaughters blog- she goes through the dilutions that should be used in order to make these products useful in all aspects of the house.

So as previously stated, I thought i would give the brand another try- purchases the tea tree scent for my hair or if i am having a particularly bad skin day and the rose scent for skin care as I have a tendency to have particularly reddened skin and rose is known for its calming properties.

Using the dilution methods I have seen some pretty impressive results! For hair care, I found that using about 4 drops( yes tiny little drops) of the tea tree liquid soap, along with the conditioning rise, i found my hair was soft, tangle free and looked very shiny- although the texture of the rinse itself was a little off-putting at the time, being a particularly goopy product, and the dilution factor has to be payed around with, as i found two capfuls was far to concentrated for my short, medium thickness hair.

As for skincare, using about 3 drops of the rose liquid soap on my wet face and massaging it into my skin before rinsing it off, has ensured that my skin is soft, clear and my reddness has improved immensely already. I do recommend using an oil or a moisturiser afterwards as it can be a little drying for those of you ladies who have particularly dry skin.

Overall I have seen the magic that Dr Bronners products boast about- aswell as being affordable ( at $7.95 for a 235ml bottle), accessible (the website ships worldwide), aswell as the products can be found at your local health store or health food online store.

Have you tried any Dr Bronners products? Have you got any reccomendations for other organic natural products for me to try?

Have a fantastic day!
Jess xx

The Natural Edit- Healthy hair and skincare

Over the past few weeks, I have been slowly incorporating more natural and organic products into my daily routine, now when I say that I should specify that over the past few years I have been using more natural haircare and skincare products, but not organic and completed unprocessed. But Over the past few weeks it has reached new levels of natural-ness ( yes its a word lets just roll with it).

The interest in the natural and organic skincare was sparked by Cloudy Apples on youtube A.K.A Kassie, who has the most beautiful skin and hair and literally just glows! After watching (Stalking) a lot of her videos I was inspired to start my own journey of organic and natural skincare.

One of the products that Kassie raves about is raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar, she uses it as a toner and I thought that with its multi use and great healing and toning properties, I would invest in my own bottle of it and chuck it into my daily routine, not just on my skin but in my hair also. Another product Kassie convinced me I needed in my life was Manuka Honey- for all those nasty little red spots on my skin aswell as an all other mask for my face and hair.

Along those lines I have decided to try using a completely organic and natural haircare routine, Im going to try the controversial "no Poo" method which involves giving shampoos and conditioners the flick and opting for baking soda or honey washes and apple cider vinegar rinses in order to keep your hairs natural oils in there un-affected state and overall promote healthy hair and scalp.

My hair before- looking dry and limp

Using this technique along with light mistings of the oils pictured above, im going to try and get my hair into the best condition it has ever been in ( for probably the cheapest price). Now before I can begin this method I have to cleanse and detoxify my hair of all silicones and nasties that commercial hair products normally contain, and I am going to use the mukti botaniques herbal shampoo to do this, pictured above, this shampoo is a very cleansing and clarifying shampoo that is made with all natural ingrediants, for those of you who do not want to brave the "no Poo" method, I highly recommend the mukti products for an all organic haircare range.

This is a picture of how my hair looks before I have done my clarifying and before I have started the "no poo" method, I will keep you all updated on the process and how I have found it. I have also filmed a video on my youtube channel about my more natural regimes here  if you were interested in checking it out.

On top of the more natural hair and skincare, I have also been trying to incorporate more natural products into my everyday makeup routine, Please stay tuned for The Natural Edit Part 2 for the makeup products I have been using and my thoughts on them.

Thankyou so much for stopping by, I hope your having a fantastic day and please don't follow me for regular updates on health and beauty- healthy style, also feel free to check out my youtube channel where I am trying to upload regularly also

Jess xxx

Loving your self at all lengths of life

As a girl I often long for full and luscious long lengths of hair, I look at girls on the street, on facebook and everywhere else on the web and I am ever so envious of their beautiful long hair. I havent had long hair since I was very young, probably early school aged, otherwise my mum kept me at the fuss-free shoulder length bob all my life (thanks mum haha). When I got to early highschool I grew out my hair and kept it at a middle of my back length until I was into my 1st year of uni when I decided to cut it off to just above my shoulders! I LOVED it, but as always seeing other people with their long hair made me miss mine and I decided to grow it out again, and thus the cycle began.

Every year I go through the same phase of growing my hair to a certain length and then cutting it all off and so on and so forth, until this time when I sat down and told my hairdresser i'm done growing it out for now and got it all cut off! I decided that my hair never looks like what i want it to, and maybe it just because i'm impatient, or maybe its because my hair just doesn't grow well, but nevertheless i'm going to try and embrace my short hair for as long as I have it and who knows, maybe I will keep it this length.

We all spend our lives wanting what others have and never appreciating what we've got, so for now i'm going to try and enjoy having short hair, and I think we all need to embrace our hair at all lengths no matter what others have.

Jessica xxx

The Breakfast Edit 2: Healthy, Easy and Yummy

Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. It can set the tone of your day, having a healthy breakfast can inspire you to continue to eat healthy for the rest of the day.

I am trying very hard make myself eat breakfast on a daily basis, and I do find that I snack less, I feel fuller and I am more likely to eat better for the rest of the day if i have a healthy breakfast.

It is super simple, super easy and really yummy!

It is 3 tablespoons of my favourite greek yoghurt, 4 diced strawberries and my favourite muesli of the moment! THATS IT!

Now you can change this however you like, I would normally add banana too it but I am out of bananas at the moment, or in summer you could make it with frozen berries to give it a colder feel for those hot days!

If you guys are interested in more healthy food ideas for breakfast, or for any other meals just let me know in the comments!

ALSO! I am now on youtube! if you guys are interested in checking out my health and beauty and sometimes fashion videos check me out on: https://www.youtube.com/user/Jessiikaarr2611895

Anyway I hope your having a wonderful day!

Jess xxx

The Wedding Dilemma

Growing up I was never one of those little girls that had their dream wedding planned out, never went and did fake weddings with teddybears or played weddings with my friends. In fact until I found my wonderful fiance I hadn't really given weddings a second thought for more than a second.

But then 9 months ago the man every girl wants got down on one knee and proposed to me and suddenly we were thrust into a spiral of dresses, venues, cakes and a never ending bill of rising costs. I don't know how many of you are married or engaged to be married, but it is bloody expensive!

A Wedding I have come to realise is one of the most expensive days of your entire life, only really following the cost of buying a house, the kind of money dropped on one days is extraordinary!

Is it so wrong to want simplicity?

Thankfully our parents our helping us pay for the wedding but it still is overwhelming how much it all costs. Over the last few weeks we have been planning and budgeting how much things are going to cost for our wedding and to be honest, it is ALOT of money. Like I'm talking over a year of our mortgage paid kind of expensive! AND thats before the honeymoon and hens/bucks nights!

Suddenly I have become very overwhelmed with the idea of the big white wedding! In fact i would be more than happy in a tea length white dress at the wedding registry office with my husband to be and our very close friends and family, having beautiful photos and a lovely honeymoon!

But is that too selfish of me? I mean arn't receptions and big white weddings more for the family and guests than the actual bride and groom?

Marriage is about love and being with that person for the rest of your life, is the day really a big deal? Should I cut my losses and spend the money on the big day? Or should I be content with my little wedding ideal and put the money towards something that invests in our future?

5 Things They Don't Teach You in Nursing School

Helping people is all i have ever wanted to do with my life, I always wanted to work with people (specifically children) and help them, i wanted to be a teacher or a doctor or a nurse...and when the time finally came at the young age of 16 to make my life career decision, i chose to become a nurse, along with a number of my friends, choosing the right subjects for my senior years of high school, electing nursing as a degree in university and low and behold at 18 years old i began my bachelors degree in nursing.

3 years later, countless assignments, hours of sleepness nights, placements, tutorials, exams, lectures and interviews, I arrived at my first full time nursing position in a large private hospital in melbourne. I am now 7 months into my nursing career, and i am not questioning not only my choices but my future in nursing, and i am not the only one, a number of my friends are feeling the same, and it made me wonder....what was so different now as to when i was a student, thus getting to the point of this post...5 things they didn't prepare you for in nursing school.

1. You will cop the grunt of any blame;
Now this may seem like a generalisation, and to an extent it is, but overall i have found that anything and everything that goes wrong is always the nurses fault. I have found that patients, families, doctors, cleaning staff, surgeons, ward clerks, other nurses etc will find a way to blame you. frustrations, anger, mistakes, anxiety, laziness, misunderstandings, impatience....all of these things will come out of people, aimed at you in verbally aggressive and sometimes traumatising ways that you have to stand there and take because its your job...right?

2. Shift work sucks;
Now this may be something we all assume right, we all think of shift work and know that it sounds sucky but it is necessary, but in all honesty, you dont know the exhaustion of shift work until you have lived it, working shifts that finish at 10pm and starting 7am the following day for a number of days in a row, sometimes no weekends off, sometimes days without seeing your loved ones, only communicating by notes left on kitchen benches and food left in fridges. It makes you feel very drained and exhausted...but its all part of the job right?

3. People will expect you to catch them;
Now this may seem like a strange one, but it is very true, people will always assume that you will catch them if they fall, and the truth is, you shouldn't! People will also always want you to pul them up, or grab for you if they need something to anchor them, and will expect it of you...because its your job! but unfortunately they don't think of your back, only their own, or of your safety, only their comfort. Often this is not a intent-fully selfish act but remembers, its our back on the line.

4. Nursing work is hard to come by:
When i first started nursing I was told it was a job that will always be around, thats its in high demand, and that nursings will always be needed. what they don't tell you is that the government likes to cut nursing jobs in the budget, that 60% of my class wouldn't get a job straight out of uni, that the demand is high but the prevalences is low. no money, no jobs, no nurses.....

5. Emotional baggage:
I remember my first code, i remember it very clearly, i remember sitting in my car and needing to pull over because after i left the hospital i broke down into sobs, not knowing if my patient would survive and if it was my fault. i remember thinking about it for days, and chasing up the details of the patient who did eventually pass away a few days later to nobodies fault but the illness. However the drainage of having that life behind me caused me to be very traumatised for weeks afterwards and i may never forget the feeling. They don't prepare you for death, or the emotional instability of nursing at school, they don't explain how it feels to know you are responsible for the lives of these people, and how that affects your mind and conscience.....

Nursing school taught me how to save a life, how to keep someone living, how to shower, dress, feed, medicate and manage people, but it all sounds a lot easier on paper than in practice and although nursing is a worthwhile career, it may be one some people are not cut out for....your thrown in the deep end in nursing and its a daily effort to keep afloat.

100% pure foundation review

I have been on the hunt for more natural foundations lately, ones that will not upset my overly sensitive skin and that are gentle enough for daily use. I have seen the 100% pure foundations on youtube reviews from american and canadian youtubers ( im looking at you Kassie- CloudyApples), but found that buying them in australia is very difficult as most websites that stock 100% pure do not ship here. But while searching around the internet i managed to find this website http://www.nourishedlife.com.au   which not only was an australian stockist, but sold all natural products at a reasonable price. shipping was fast (4 days) and it came beautifully packaged, cant complain!

Now onto the review; this foundation is a light-medium coverage foundation with a satin type finish, its not overly dewy or overly matte, and fairly long lasting, it lasts me a while 12 hour day when im doing shift work. It has a very light texture, that is runny on your hand but blends out easily and makes you feel like your not wearing heavy makeup.

before

after

The foundation comes in a number of shades, and i wear the second lightest cream peach. As you can see this foundation blends very well into the skin, and matches me perfectly.

The packaging is practical and pretty, it has a pump so its very sanitary and you can see the foundation colour through the bottle so you know how much you have left, which i find very helpful.

Overall this foundation was a 10/10 and i cannot wait to try out some more 100% pure products.


What natural products would you recommend?


Thankyou for readings
Until next time xxx Jessica xxx

Birthday outfit & face of the night

 On Saturday night, my family, my fiance, his parents and myself went out for dinner to celebrate my mums birthday.

We only went to a small local restaurant but the food was beautiful and it was a nice change from my work uniform or my distressed jeans.

On my face I wore 100% pure foundation (review coming soon) nyx blush in taupe as a contour, Nars blush in douceur.
 On my eyes I wore light pink eyeshadows from my smashbox palette, Loreal million lashes mascara, macs fluid liner in blacktrack.
                                                            And finally on my lips I wore the OCC lip tar in black dahlia. This liptar was long wearing and is the perfect winter tone.
                                                      


My outfit is all from H&M, with the new melbourne store opening
drawing out shopping lovers like myself. my skirt was $12.99 and
printed button up was $19.99. I paired them with black tights and
knee high boots. I finished off the outfit with a black tie up
winter coat.

Healthy, Fit and on my way to Happy

Over the past few months I have been struggling with my life balances, not taking time for myself or my family, causing myself unnecessary distress, and overall putting my health and wellbeing in jeopardy because of a decision I made at 16. My career choice.

Over the past few weeks, I have been particularly overwhelmed with the amount of tasks I need to complete in a day and how little time I have to complete them, I feel as though the saying "not enough hours in the day" describes my life wholly. However I have made the decision to start looking at transitioning myself into a happier and healthier lifestyle, including my work environment, finding myself work that offers more life balance and equilibrium into the equation.

On that note I though it was time to post some updated fitness pictures, I feel as though my workouts had slumped as of the last few months and I have really been making an effort to eat better and workout more and I think that little by little the results are showing. I am almost 2 years into my health lifestyle journey and although I don't weight myself, I am 4 dress sizes down, have a lot more stamina and endurance and overall a lot more confidence. It hasn't been easy, but it has definatly been worth it.

Please come back again for more health, beauty and fitness related posts and leave any request in the comments for posts you would like to see.

Thankyou again for reading 

Jessica xxxx

waffling on about healthy breakfasts

I love waffles....there I said it, I love them, but they can be unhealthy if you buy them out at a cafe, full of sugar and covered in chocolate. 

My solution to this was to buy myself a waffle maker...and I love it! 

This is been my go to breakfast when I have some time in the morning.

Waffle recipe:

1 cup wholemeal SR flour

1 cup skim milk

3 teaspoons raw sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

mix all together, pour into waffle maker in serves (this easily makes 3)

and your ready to roll:)

I like to put any spare waffles into snap lock bags and refrigerate them

and keep them for days when I don't have as much time to cook a full breakfast, so I can grab them with some fruit and go.

I like to serve my waffles with sliced banana, sliced strawberry and a side of lightly roasted coffee.

I also like to put other fruit on the side, whatever is in season, todays choice is mandarin.

Please excuse the football mug, the fiance is a big AFL fan

P.S You could use this recipe to make pancakes in a frypan just as easily, same taste, different texture:)

Thankyou again for reading:)

hopefully you enjoy this yummy healthy breakfast idea

Jessica xxx

5 promises to motivation....

The past year has been a year of change for me. I got engaged, I went on holiday, I got my first REAL job, I bought a house and moved out with my fiance and I graduated university..... but inside those UPs I've had a my fair share of downs too, my workout routine has slipped, my healthy eating became harder, my job is challenging and at times too overwhelming while also being unfortunately an hour away from home, shift work is difficult, I have a never ending supply of housework with minimal time and wedding plans I haven't looked at in months.

I have found that the last 5 months of my life in particular have really drained me of motivation, for work and particularly for my healthy lifestyle, and although I haven't resorted to fast food, I have been getting slacker and slacker with my exercise routine and my portion sizes, snacking more and eating unnecessarily large amounts (not to mention my ridiculous amount of coffee intake). So i thought today would be a good day for a slightly more wordy post, about how Im getting back into the swing of things.

1. Finding more time for myself; Over the last few months I have been very work and family focused, always working and cooking for someone else. I have made it my first goal to spend some time at least once a week on myself, whether it be reading a book, or a blog, or just laying in bed for an extra 30minutes on my day off, it is important to find time for yourself. Along with this I think it is super important to find time for my relationship too, have a least 1 date night a week and just ask each other how the others day was everynight, tell the other how much you love them, otherwise they tend to get neglected in everyday life.

2. Finding time to workout; I am a nurse, so i do a lot of shift work, I'm also only a graduate nurse so i find myself with sometimes the worst shifts and weekend work and rotating around hospitals. It makes it difficult to find time to workout some days, as even when Im at home I am often exhausted, or have endless house work to do. I have made it my second goal to do at least 30-60mins of working out 4-5days per week if i can, as working out gives me such a good feeling that is disappointing to lose. If you want an updated workout routine, leave a comment below:)

3. Dont punish myself if I have a bad day; We all have bad days, whether it be my eating, or my not working out or even a really crappy shift at work, I need to learn to give myself a break, because Im human and we all have bad days.

4. Ask for help; Another work and life related one, I am a very independent person, and I really don't like asking for help because I feel like I should be able to do it all by myself, but sometimes I need to just ask my fiance to cook dinner, or ask a colleague to shower a patient because like I said before...only human.

And lastly...
5. Stop comparing myself to others: This is something I think we all struggle with a little, we all look at other people and say I wish I had their life, or their body or hair or could cook they way they do. I need to stop doing this because I can only be me, and I should be happy with being the best me I can be.

So these are my 5 goals to try stay motivated in life at the moment, but just remember, YOU deserve to be happy and have every right to happyness and a fulfilled life, never settle for less and always strive to be the best YOU, not a second rate somebody else.


Thankyou so much for reading and I hope this inspired you to stay motivated

Jessica xxx

Snipping off the ends for new beginings

As a girl who is trying desperately to grow out her hair, it is a little heartbreaking to realise its time for a chop. My hair was looking a little worse for wear, as I have been neglecting it lately due to lack of time, stress and other pressures. My normal routine consists of at least 2 oil masques a week, left in overnight, and those days being the only days I wash my hair. But recently my routine has been; wash my hair whenever convenient and who cares how many days are in between....great routine right?

My hair has been feeling very dry and brittle lately, with a lot more fallout then I'm necessarily used to and baby flyaways that were never their before. So I decided last friday I would whip into the hairdressers for 30mins and get a trim.

My hairdressers, who knows me reasonably well, was horrified at the state my hair was on, normally soft, non-frizzy and easily managed, it was tangling, frizzy and just not manageable. After chatting with her for a few minutes I knew more than the 1/4 inch I was hoping for was going to have to come off, and a wash and a snip later, My hair is now about an inch and a half shorter than pre-hairdresser but feeling a lot better. My hairdressers also mentioned that my lifestyle factors such as lack of sleep and stress (oh the woes of shift work) could be contributing to my hair misfortunes and she warned that I needed to start taking better care of my body and my hair.

My hair is now feeling a lot better, although quite a bit shorter, and I have since done a oil treatment and reverted back to my old faithful mukti shampoo and conditioners, which are a lifesaver for my hair, available here. Hopefully now my hair can grow healthy and strong.



What measures have you taken to get your hair back into good health?
Any recommendations for good treatments or hair growth tips?



Thankyou for reading
have a fantastic day
Jessica xxx

poppies in pretty dresses

 On Saturday this past week I had the day off with my fiance for the first time in a little while(oh the life of a nurse), and we decided to have a date evening and this is what I wore.

I saw this dress in the shop and i was literally drawn to it, I showed my fiance and he stated that this is totally a "Jess dress" and i couldn't agree more.

This dress is made out of a scuba material and has elbow length sleeves, it sits just above the knee in a Aline flare, which is the perfect length for autumn winter. It also has this beautiful poppy print all over it that just stand out so brightly against the black and give a beautiful pop of colour to an otherwise bland look.

I wore the dress with knee high boots and a chunky black cardigan and natural hair. I really loved this dress for date evening and can't wait to wear it again.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend

thankyou for reading

Jess xoxo

healthy haircare

So as a girl who values and babies her hair, I can be very picky with my haircare.

Up until recently I would only use the most natural products on my hair, and while it did seem beneficial to some extent, my hair was often limp and lifeless, even after just being washed.

Now I have quite normal to dry hair and alot of it, and it is about midlength at the moment.

About three weeks ago I decided to try and take a leap of faith into some new hair products that i found alot of good reviews on.

Kevin Murphy is a BIG brand here in australia, and while not a cheap option, it is fairly natural alternative to higher end haircare.

The first thing you notice is that the shampoo and conditioner are both very thick and nourishing, the shampoo lathers well and leaves my hair feeling clean but not stripped dry while the conditioner moisturises without causing my hair to be weighed down.

The second thing you notice is the lovely smell, it is fresh and clean with a slight fruity undertone. The scent lingers only while the hair is wet and goes when your hair dries, so it will not interfere with your perfume for the day.

So far I am very happy with my choice in shampoo and conditioner and will continue to use them for the immediate future. I bought mine from adorebeauty.com.au with free shipping.

Whats your favourite shampoo and conditioner?

Thankyou for reading
Jessica xxx

Healthy pancakes?

So as I have previously posted, I am trying to make new and healthier decisions when it comes to my lifestyle, this particularly includes eating. Now I'm not saying that is has been easy, it hasn't, it has definatly been difficult, and one of the difficulties is trying to find treat foods that aren't going to make you feel the guilt that comes associated with eating unhealthy foods. So I have been experimenting with healthy alternatives to treat foods. Now I am not the biggest pancake fan, but these pancakes are just AMAZING, and just to prove they were amazing i got a girl from work to try them without telling her how healthy they were, and she LOVED them and asked for the recipe, and like most people was shocked to hear they only needed 2 ingredients......eggs and banana.

Thats right, you heard me, 2 eggs and 1 mashed banana, to make the most amazing and healthy pancakes that your mouth has ever come across.

I found that to make a decent supply of pancakes I used 4 eggs and 2 bananas.








I mashed them all together until a liquidy texture with not to many lumps and poured small circles of the batter into a nonstick pan on a low heat setting with a little bit of EVOO.

Once they has set on one side I flipped them over for about 30 seconds and voila! a healthy breakfast, or even great healthy treat.

I found that they served up best with strawberries and sliced banana, and tasted just as good cold as they did warm.

So what are you waiting for? GET ON IT:)

I must also give credit to Cassey from blogilates, who not only inspires me with her workouts when im too lazy to leave the house but inspired me with her recipe linked here : http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2012/08/19/the-banana-pancakes-recipe-video/ 


Hope your all having a fantastic time and enjoy these delicious pancakes.

Until next time

Jessica xoxo

Two shades of definition

Im not the first person to admit that I have a round face, although I have pretty average facial structure, my skin can be quite dull and lackluster without a little bit of definition.

I find the most natural way to give me definition without contour and bronzing powder is by using two foundation colours, one slightly lighter than my skin, and one that matches my neck, to contour and give my face shape and definition without the extra bronzer.

My foundations of choice at the RCMA foundations in gena beige for the darker shade, and ivory for the slightly lighter shade.

By putting the lighter shade in areas you want to highlight, such as under the eyes, in the middle of the forehead, on my cupids bow, chin and on my brow bone, you give the centre of your face some light and highlight the part of the face that gets the most attention to those around you.

Then following up by putting the darker shade around the nose, outside of the face, on any scars or blemishes and underneath where your cheekbone ends down to your jawline. By doing this you are slimming the outside of your face, accentuating your cheekbones and hiding any imperfections.

The final step in this process is to take the time to blend the foundations out, making sure to get rid of any harsh lines but also allowing the colours to still accentuate the parts of the face that you want them too, i recommend blending the lighter shades in first and then moving out to the darker shades. And your base is complete! Your face is now more defined, showing off all your highpoints and hopefully slimming any areas that may not be
as flattering.


I hope you all had a safe and happy easter.
Dont forget to follow to regular posts and leave any request in the comments.

Thankyou for reading

Jessica xxx

Dreary and grey with a face of the day

 Happy Easter everyone!

Today is good friday here in Australia, and what a dreary good Friday it has been, this morning it was pouring down rain, although as i type these words the sky has cleared up and the sun is shining through my kitchen window.

Todays post is a face of the day with a little snapshot of my outfit. Because its good friday myself and my fiance went over to visit my mum and took fish and chips for lunch, and took our little puppy over to play with my parents dogs, we had a lovely casual morning over there and now were just sitting at home, while I wait for the scones I made to finish baking:)

I also straightened my hair today and put my fringe in a bump on top of my head for some extra umph to an otherwise pretty boring look.

 The makeup that im sporting today is a Napoleon
 perdes anti redness primer, my loreal lumi true match foundation mixed with my covergirl 3 in 1 foundation to get my perfect shade. My blush is tarte exposed and my contour is nyx taupe, also using those same colours on my eyes for a wash of colour and definition. Anastasia brow powder in dark brown on my freshly threaded eyebrows and loreal false lash effect on my eye lashes.
I finished off todays casual look with a pop of red on my lips in the form of a Calvin Klein lip pencil in peaches, which is a beautiful neutral red colour.

 For my outfit I kept it super simple, with just dark wash skinny jeans, a grey satin singlet and a grey poncho (OBSESSED). For my shoes just some old knee high black moto boots.

Hope you guys all have a happy and safe easter.
thankyou for reading.
Dont forget to follow for more posts and leave any comments for future post requests.
And tell me in the comments what autumn/winter trends you are loving this year.

Best wishes
Jessica xoxo

The pants that never used to fit

Once upon a time their was a girl who lived in the land of delusion......

okay okay i wasn't that bad. but i did live in a place of  denial about my size and my weight, and i really just didn't want to face the truth about just how big i allowed myself to get.

While living in this delusional place, I used to buy jeans and other clothing in a size that i thought i was, when really i wasn't even close to that size. But every time i found something that didn't fit, I would just shove it into the back of my drawer, telling myself that one day it would fit.

That day finally came, recently i was packing up my room to move houses and i came across a drawer full of jeans that  have never fitted from the day i bought them. I decided to try them on before throwing them out ( or donating them), conceding that these pants were never going to fit. But as i tried them on, pair by pair, i was pleasantly surprised.

Not only did they fit for the first time ever, but some of them were even too loose for me to wear. It was an amazing moment of pride and a very proud healthy moment for me. I am writing this post to inspire all of you who maybe feel like the things you want are impossible, they arnt! Don't just reach for the stars, reach even higher, because the only limits we have are the ones we set for ourselves.


Dont forget to follow for regular posts.
have an amazing day.

Jessica xxxxx

A poncho, a LBD and some thigh highs..

Autumn has finally hit us here in Melbourne, although it definatly feels like we've gone into winter without warning. With chilly temperatures about, I decided to bring out my winter wardrobe and pack away my summer dresses for this outfit of the day.








Today myself and my fiance went out to celebrate our 3 year anniversary which was last wednesday, we went out shopping and to see divergent, I am a big fan of the books and was very pleased with how well they transferred into the movie.

So I took the chance to do my hair, makeup and dress up nicely.

For my makeup I wore loreal lumi true match foundation, physicians formula concealer, tartes blush in exposed, nyx blush in taupe, anastasia brown kit in dark brown and loreals million lashes mascara.

For my hair I put it in a messy bun with some bobbypins on the top of my head.

And for my outfit I wore a black skater dress and knitted poncho from boohoo, plain black tights and thigh high boots from duoboots.

I am completely obsessed with ponchos this season, I think they look so chic and classy and really add something to an otherwise boring outfit and I am on the lookout for some more to add into my wardrobe.

Let me know what your favourite trend is this season and dont forget to follow for more fashion, makeup and health posts.

                                                                Jess xxx

Bare faced, but for what

Truth be told, I don't wear makeup everyday, there...I said it. It is not a requirement for my everyday life to wear makeup on a daily basis, particularly in my line of work, with early mornings, sweaty showers and running around feeling a little headless at times, the least of my worries is if I am wearing makeup. That being said, it is something I enjoy to wear and will indulge in whenever I get the chance.

However I feel that it is important to allow women to feel the freedom and confidence of being able to rock their bare skin, without having to fall into the self-conscious state that I know comes with the taboo of going naked faced. I believe it is important to embrace your natural beauty, without makeup, because its the skin your going to have for the rest of your life, why not love it?

This post comes at a time when the barefaced selfies, or nomakeup selfies, are doing the rounds on the internet, particularly twitter and facebook, to raise cancer awareness. I looked into how the nomakeup selfies started, and found that it was originally to raise money for a UK cancer charity organisation, but has blown up into a global phenomenon of beautiful women of all ages posting bare faced photos of themselves to raise cancer awareness.

Although a controversial topic of late, as many argue that posting these photos isn't really benefitting those who are fighting cancer, who have lost loved ones to cancer or those who have passed on as a result of cancer, I believe that the old saying of all publicity is good publicity and that the more awareness their is, in promoting cancer awareness, the better the outcome for those trying to raise money for cancer.

So whether its jumping on the bandwagon, trying to feel empowered or trying to empower others, I think the nomakeup selfes, or barefaced selfies are a trend that could benefit more than just those affected by cancer in the long run, I think it could affect the perception of beauty in women, and I think we should all strive for that.



                                    Thankyou for reading, please leave any thought you have on barefaced or            
                                    nomakeup selfies or the trending pictures.

                                               XOXO Jess