Quote Unquote

It's a miserable rainy day and I was just sitting down to do my assignments (snore) and this was pointed out to me, it certainly brightened up my day :) It's an article on treating your skin problems in the winter months with a quote on dehydration from me! For more tips and tricks on treating dehydration in the skin check out my post  Hello Hydration!

To clarify: masks should be applied for about 15 minutes, as this mask is non-drying it can be left on overnight for an extreme hydrating treat! :)

Green Juice!

Trying out a juice cleanse this week to help boost my energy, detox and get ready for the rush of Christmas!I've been finding lately that I feel very low on energy in the mornings and it doesn't help having an energetic 1-year-old poking me in the eyes and pulling my hair in order to get me up in the mornings at 6:30am! My mum first started the juicing craze in our house when my two brothers were doing their Leaving Cert exams. Every morning still they have their glass of green juice and they swear by the energy it gives them. If you are feeling skeptical about this juicing voodoo that everyone is going crazy about check out the link below to the movie and you will be converted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mS0YA465ts

I have also spoken to many other juicing fanatics and some of the benefits that they have found are they gained heaps of energy, skin problems such as psoriasis have cleared up, skin looks clearer and healthier, hair, nails & skin are healthier, concentration levels sky-rocket ( perfect for exam times). Its an all out detox for the body and mind!

Ollie helping me pick spinach in the garden!

At the moment I am working, studying and a full time mummy so my life feels hectic and full-on at the best of times. I have decided to do a 7 day juice cleanse to help focus my mind and detox as well as boost my energy reserves for running around after my nutty little boy!

We first gave it to him as a joke, now he can't get enough!

For my green juice I use lots of spinach, green apples, wheatgrass, cucumber, small bit of parsley and mint. It tastes mostly like apple juice and Ollie surprisingly loves the stuff- no wonder his hair is so long! So far I've been drinking it for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a small snack at midday ( I couldn't go off food completely). I just started today and apparently the first 3 days are supposed to be the hardest so I'm hoping I can stick it out. Fingers crossed!

It tastes alot better than it looks! :)

Easy as 1,2,3...

When I was expecting Ollie between the morning sickness and crippling heartburn there was a time when I had an insatiable craving for chocolate (and oranges). To curb this craving and to stop me ballooning to the size of a house I stuck to dark chocolate as just a small piece can hit the spot. My granny recently shared this tip for a healthy, yummy and quick chocolate fix that is so simple to make at home. 

3 simple ingredients. Use a spoon for equal measures:

 3 x Cocoa powder (bournville has no added sugar/dairy)

 2 x Coconut oil (in its solid form)

 1 x Agave syrup (for vegan friendly chocolate) or Honey!

mix it all together, this takes a while as there are more dry ingredients and voila! there is your chocolate. It doesn't look the most appetizing but I promise it tastes better than it looks. Keep it in the fridge to nibble or if your feeling fancy, roll it into little balls and cover with desiccated coconut.

We're going on a bear hunt.

The morning started out a bit wet and windy so Ollie's little friend Eabha came over to play with him. By the afternoon the sun had come out and it had dried up. It was still chilly but a lovely fresh November evening so we decided to get out into the fresh air for a few hours. I love spending time with my little family and although I only work part time it still feel like I am apart from Ollie so much, so I really cherish the time we have together. Here's a few snaps from our walk today at Castletown House in Celbridge, Co. Kildare. 

     (Even baby bears get tired of walking sometimes)

                         Beautiful architecture...pity about the graffiti. Did we really need to know "Steo was ere"?