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Taking Care of Me

I’m one of those gals who believes that taking care of your own well-being should be a pretty high priority. I haven’t always been good at looking after myself but as I get older – and a little bit wiser  – I choose to be nice to myself as if I were my own best friend, and that includes learning to realize when I need a little help. Whether it’s help with something practical, or acknowledging that I need to take some medication when I’m feeling really bad with a headache, I’m getting much better at accepting help. I used to plough on and push through headaches in fear of letting anyone down, or, if I took a break to sleep it off I’d get wracked with guilt over taking time out. I get thunderous migraines, I always have. Ones which render me useless for work, dizzy and despairing. I get lots of milder tension headaches too, and often with those I can tune into my body and notice that I need to breathe deep, do some yoga and H Y D R AT E, which most often moves a tension headache on. But when I’m floored by a migraine, those horrible ones that leave you feeling sick and shying away from bright lights, oh man, those ones are so hard to ignore. It used to be that you had to summon the energy to get down to your doctors to get a prescription for something strong enough, but I’m really pleased that I found the perfect prescription strength migraine medication Sumatriptan, which I buy online at The Independent Pharmacy. It’s the only thing that packs a punch when it comes to my migraines and I make sure I have some in my medicine drawer for when one hits, and dang do they hit hard! It makes sense in its science; it effectively stimulates serotonin receptors in the brain, which cause the muscles surrounding the blood vessels in the brain to contract, and ta-daaah, I feel better in pretty much half an hour, which means I can carry on with work, or play, if it’s a day off! I like to use traditional remedies as often as I can and I have learnt that a lot of physical pains are due to me rushing around being stressed and not taking on enough water, but, migraines are in a different league and Sumatriptan means I don’t have to surrender to the symptoms. Looking after you is so important, and sometimes we all need a little help. Shiatsu, Yoga, a nice clean diet, and listening to my body are what helps me, as well as knowing what medicines can get me back to my best when I really need them. Keep a stash of your favourite relaxing bath salts on standby, keep your yoga mat within easy reach at home, and pay attention to when you need to tend to yourself; it’s not selfish, it’s self care.

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Be Happy With The Way You Look

There aren’t a lot of people out there who can confidently say they’re totally happy with their appearance. It’s kinda hard to look in the mirror without pointing out every single thing that you feel is wrong, or that you don’t like about yourself, it’s hard to get perspective when you look at yourself every damn day! It’s often the case that we’re just so full of insecurities, we feel we can’t get over them. We’ll always be able to point them out, although, truly, others would barely be able to notice them. But, if you’re going to spend your life not being happy with your appearance, then you’re going to spend your time being a pretty unhappy person. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and your appearance is something you can learn to love and feel proud of; whatever your size, shape, style, and so on. This little article is reaching out to all of you who feel a bit down about the way you look, to you to tell you you’re perfectly ace as you are. There’s loads of ways you can learn to help yourself find happiness in your appearance, here’s just a few I like…..

Pick Out Your Good Features – If you’re always looking in the mirror and picking out your bad points, as I know I ALWAYS do on a bad day, then you gotta try a little reverse psychology. Focus on the good aspects of your body and face, and use them to bring you up, up, UP. If you have good eyes, focus your makeup in that area to help make them stand out. If you know you have killer legs or boobs, wear things to show that bit off, your confidence will soar when you trust that you look great. People hide behind insecurities, and that gets in the way SO much. If you’re sitting there thinking you have no good features, then, lemme say, you, my friend, are most definitely wrong. Some people are so insecure, they struggle to even notice the best parts in themselves, but you have great things about you, we just gotta remember that on days when we feel crappy. If you can’t do that, just ask others around you who you know love and care for you to pick out the best parts for you! You’ll be surprised about what people say, and it’ll make you feel so good for people to actually be pointing out the good bits in you. If you do feel as though you have a ton of insecurities, find out if there are ways to reduce the appearance of them. Like, spots, acne or maybe marks from sun damage, do some research and see what things can be done to improve them, there’s often lovely natural remedies you can try at home, and they may just make you feel that little bit less self-conscious. 

Mix Up Your Look – Sometimes mixing up your look a bit is the best thing you can do to get happy with your appearance. It can be so boring looking in the mirror and seeing the same thing each time. So, let’s work from the top down. The first thing you could change, is your hair. Doing something completely different is exciting and scary, but it can be one of the best moves you’ve ever made. There’s so many different styles available, such as the shag haircut, that could suit you and give you a renewed look, mix a colour change with a cut, and you could end up really happy with your appearance! I’m feeling my hair is a bit too dark and saturated with dye so I’m looking at getting some subtle highlights to lift me a bit. But it’s not all about what you look like physically, it’s how you dress, which is easier to influence without having to worry about a drastic change. Your style should reflect who you are as a person, and you should never be wearing something you’re not happy with, on days where I wear my favourite items, I feel my most content. But, depending on what your style is, there’s plenty of trends for you to be following. All you gotta do is check out the internet, or take note of people you’re seeing on the street, there are new ideas all around, and sometimes just a small change can make a big change to how you feel.

Take Care Of Yourself – Sometimes you’re just too busy to take good and proper care of yourself. I feel a bit pale and tired at the moment so I’ve just added an iron supplement to help restore me. Sometimes it’s hard to even do the most simplest of tasks, such as making sure you get the right amount of sleep each night. Sleep itself will massively affect your appearance. If you spend your time rushing around, and then leave yourself with around 5-6 hours sleep each night, you’ll begin to notice fatigued looking skin, and those pesky bags will appear beneath your eyes. Try and focus on getting a full 8 hours of sleep a night, no matter what that means you’re having to sacrifice, cut back on the late night Netflix for a bit maybe? *that’s more of a note to myself there!* You should also try looking after yourself in terms of your diet and what you eat on a daily basis. Again, it can massively influence your appearance. If you’re eating the right food, you’ll look so much more radiant.

Daily Remedies – If you’re looking for a daily remedy to better your appearance, I have a few. The first is to make sure that you’re following some sort of routine in the morning, so that you can actually prepare and maintain your appearance. Wake up earlier to make sure you can calmly shower, eat, put a bit of makeup on, and make sure your hair is the way which makes you happy. So many people hate their appearances because they wake up with just 10 minutes to spare, just because they aren’t getting enough sleep! So my best daily remedy is allowing yourself to get enough sleep, and to wake up early enough to manage your appearance so you can feel confident through the day.

Trust me, on days when you feel frustrated and unhappy with how you look, you really do look so much better than you think, we just gotta stop being so harsh on ourselves, and that takes practice. Look at yourself as you look at your bestie, you wouldn’t pick out their worst bits would ya? So try not to be hard on yourself, be your own best friend and tell yourself you’re lookin’ GOOOOD!

 

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Going North West To One Of Mexico’s Most Livable Cities

Travel and adventure are what makes my heart happy, so I’m always looking to learn of new places to explore, especially ones that aren’t on the radar of regular tourists. I’ve been a lucky girl who has seen lots of places but Mexico is so far, still unexplored by me. It’s now being nudged to the top of my travel list though, for it’s history and sights which I really wanna see. In the northwestern state of Sonora, Mexico is having a little industrial revolution. The city of Hermosillo was voted to be the one of the nation’s most livable cities in 2013, it’s up and coming, and you can see why. A recent spur of automobile production, improvements to local education, office buildings being born and artistic cultural revivals, the city is now getting kinda competitive as a cool and cultural place to visit. With a population set to be around 850,000 by the end of 2018, the city is fast becoming the powerhouse of not just the state but the region too; I wanna see it before it becomes busier. It’s the capital of Sonora and like all capital cities, the history of Hermosillo is fascinating and goes far, far back. There’s archaeological evidence of the most earliest residence of settlers coming there 3,000 years ago, ooof, that’s a lot of lovely stuff to learn about! 

Religious roots  – Mexico is mostly, a really religious nation, with Catholicism as the dominant choice. It was brought to the country by the Spanish and has stayed as the chief church. The La Catedral de la Asunción (also known as the Cathedral of Assumption) is a place where locals living in the city come to worship and it looks like something you’d wanna put on your list of things to see in this city. The architecture is very early European style Baroque with an elegant emphasis on detail and grandeur. Painted in pale sandy yellow, the entire cathedral has a classic Mexican charm. Either side of the building are the two towering pillars that both have large iron bells which ring almost every day. I adore seeing places and forms of worship in the world. With no religious leanings of my own I’m intrigued by the variations of peoples devotion, it fascinates me, and places like this cathedral, well, the grandeur just makes me gasp.

Desert landscape – The largest desert biosphere reserve El Gran Desierto del Pinacate is right there in Sonora. The amaaaazing volcanic landscapes (El Pinacate) and sand dunes (Gran Desierto de Altar) have meant it has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the architecture of Sonoran Stadium is actually inspired by this one-of-a-kind natural monument.
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In the courtyard – Contemporary and very cool, the Courtyard Hermosillo looks like an ace place to stay. When I’m dreaming of travel I always check out hotels to see which one I’d wanna book, this one looks like a pure paradise. Verging on the near perfect score of 5 out of 5, the service seems superb, and the cleanliness too. The hotel stands conveniently next the large Plaza Sendero mall that is just 350 meters away, so Mexican shopping can be on my list too. All good hotels in hot places have a pool, and the pool here looks like perfection. If you don’t have time to pop out to the nearby local eateries, the hotel restaurant Centro will feed your energy stores with classic Mexican cuisine or room service. The rooms have hip modern decor that mixes Mexican and Western styles, it is always nice to have a bit of home comforts while away. With wi-fi and big televisions too, you’ll be able to upload your Instagram pics from the day and watch a movie before bed, a holiday haven indeed. 

Tribal history – Sonora is a happy home to 8 indigenous groups and seven of them live in their own autonomous regions, which I think is wonderful. The Yaquis are the indigenous group with most inhabitants, said to be around 35,000. Sonora’s state symbol is their Danza del Venado (Deer Dance) which represents a battle between the hunter and deer.

It’s really rare to find a city that thrives in a subtropical and desert environment, and with it’s traditions and history, Sonora looks like a place I really wanna visit soon.   

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Adventure Accomplished

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Close your eyes and jump! I said to myself as I hit the *Book Now* button on a 10-day solo trip to Bali. I wanted my very own adventure, just for me. I wanted to become my own best friend and learn to rely on myself, but I was also kinda terrified. New territory, new terrain, somewhere as far away as possible where all I recognised was the skin on the back of my hands. A self-proposed challenge, I faced it fuelled by a whole heap of anxiety and anticipation. I wanted to do this to grow. I had to.

Bali, well, it bloomin’ embraced me. New sights, sounds and smells surrounded me so densely that I didn’t have a chance to feel alone. Engulfed by new experiences, my eagerness to explore replaced the doubts which had dominated, my senses were too preoccupied with pleasure. I based myself in Ubud, a haven of Hindu traditions. Green, green rice fields, temples and streets strewn with the prettiest Canang Sari; twice daily handmade flowery offerings to the gods, thanking them for peace. Such a calm pace of life I could hardly even contemplate for life back home, their dedication to devotion defied my usually busy life. This calmness was the coolest feeling I have ever had.
image-5Walking the patchy pavements avoiding holes and uneven surfaces, I felt I was forever stepping carefully over these sweet scattered offerings, so many that the streets looked like they’d been littered with Party Poppers, explosions of cute colour at my feet. Scooters swarmed like mosquitoes, injecting a rush of activity, Mothers straddling bikes, no helmets, with children held on laps, trusting their own way of life. Markets had a super stench in the heat. Leather, spice and sweat coupled with constant calls to buy, all stimulating my senses to the point where, I could not stop smiling.

I visited a Hindu healer, with no idea what it would hold. After him repeatedly banging hard on my head and pushing his thumbs so forcefully into my closed eyes that I wondered if it was a joke, he told me, I had to be my own hero.

As I spent my last evening watching the sunset at Tanah Lot, I took it all in, every single bit of it. I’d had monkeys on my head, eaten fruits I’d never heard of, shared a bedroom with lizards and lingered with locals. I had done this, I had navigated my own adventure. Faraway from anyone I knew, I felt an intrepid confidence blooming. Teaming tour groups around me, selfie sticks obstructing the view, and with a somewhat hands-on tour guide trying to sit too close, I caught on to just how far I’d come. I realised right there, I already was my own hero.

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I’ve Got A Blank Space, Baby (And It Needs Decorating)

The blank wall. Every home has one. You promised yourself you’d put something ace up when you first moved in, but it’s fallen down that to-do list over and over again, you’ve walked past that blank space of yours so many darn times you don’t even realize it’s there anymore. So, the obvious answer to all this is to create a photo-gallery wall. There’s nothing wrong with this obvs; it’s just a little bit, kinda cliche. It’s been done so many times that it hardly makes an impact anymore. I’ve pulled together a list of creative ways you can add a lil’ bit of color and creativity to this gaping canvas of yours. You’re welcome.

A Gaggle Of Baskets… Baskets come in all shapes and sizes, colors and patterns, yet they seemed to always get stuffed within each other and then left below the coat rack in the utility room. Well, hows about hanging a bunch of decorative baskets on your wall to make a statement. It could be that you collect baskets from each of your holidays from now on, or just start painting the ones you spy in thrift shops – so long as there is a mix of sizes, styles, shapes, and colors you will be smiley by the results.

Letter Of The Law… I adore any look that takes the worlds of rustic and contemporary and slams them together to create art, and that’s exactly what you’ll get from hanging giant metallic letters on your blank wall. Having a couple of letters is gonna make a cool creation no matter where you put them. It could be your initials, a combo of yours and your spouse’s, or your kid’s names; slightly overlapping a pair of letters is a neat idea too, ya know.

Embrace The Wall Brackets… Everyone seems to think you have to hang your art on the wall, with the bravest of this bunch a) hanging their art at different heights or b) not hanging it and choosing to lean it instead. Well, a great way to make your favorite bird art standout in a whole new way is to put up some decorative wall brackets and then stand your framed bits on these. It’ll just add another dimension. You could even paint the wall brackets with accent colors to make ’em pop even more. Or, I love to hang my vintage shoes, bags and dresses on the walls, either with antique coat hooks or creating a cool way to both store and display your wares! 

Use The Wall Itself… Your wall is blank and bare, but that doesn’t mean your only option is to hang something on it. Hells no. A great way to make a wall standout is to turn it into something special in its own right. You could do this by creating a taped-off graphic statement, painting a wall in a lovely base color, waiting for it to dry, applying tape across it at angles and then painting over it to create a lovely statement. Or you could add some subtle wood paneling if you fancied. Perhaps, just framing some wallpaper would be enough. The options are almost infinite. Happy home making, y’all!

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