Protect Yourself!

Everyone knows they should be wearing sunscreen right? Hmm. Did you know your skin receives damaging rays even on cloudy days? A daily moisturizer with an SPF of 15 should be applied to the face, neck and backs of hands daily. When summer rays hit, boost your SPF to 25 and reapply every half hour during full sun exposure. Choose a sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection. UVB protects from burns and UVA prevents aging skin damage. ;)

Spring Has Sprung!

Is everyone as happy as I am to see the thermometer rising and the days becoming longer? Our focus is shifting from wool coats and motorcycle boots to floral dresses, belted cardigans and peep-toe booties!

I am fortunate to live in a geographical area that experiences all four beautiful seasons every year. Yes, we receive more than our fair share of rain, but the lush green landscapes and budding blossoms are worth every drop. Get yourself a pair of cute wellies, a classic trench, a mini umbrella and a muzzle for complaints.

As with every Spring, colour begins to appear in abundance. Seems we have our four basic categories: feminine, sporty, boho and minimalist. Military is still making appearances and melds well with the minimal persona.

Feminine is floral, fun and flirty. Find yourself a full skirted dress that grazes just above the knee. I suggest finding a small print that will allow you to mix well with other prints and get more use out of one garment. To wear it right now, pull a fitted sweater over it, add tights and cowboy boots. Be sure your tights are a sheer fabric to balance the light feel of the floral. Belt the sweater or add a long necklace for a finished look. Once summer arrives, wear the dress on its own with strappy sandals and lotsa bangles. Beautifully simplistic.

Sporty is NOT your gym clothes. Colours are usually bright, particularly this year as the 80's remains a strong influence. Cuts of tops are belly button skimming and resemble a rectangle. Skirts are fitted but not necessarily mini's. The tops are worn with either tanks or a strapless tee underneath. I'm assuming as the trend strengthens, risk takers will abort this detail and push the 80's envelope. We'll see. Pants are pegged or tapered and in an array of colours.

I am loving this evolution. It has been many years of skin tight fitted tee's and personally I was impatiently waiting for the return of a more crowd pleasing style. The skinny jeans have been popular for almost a decade and yet the figure balancing tops were empire waisted numbers that only emphasized the slightest tummy fluff.

These tops are not meant to be tight by any means. The tank etc. underneath however IS and should be a length that helps to elongate your torso without cutting off your legs. Rule of thumb: Top underneath should not cover the crotch of your pants. Do wear these boxy t-shirts off one shoulder. Super sexy and yet the look is effortless.

Ship Shape?

I've recently begun an 8 week shape up plan to get my bod in tip top shape in time for my Birthday Bash! My husband is planning a fierce party and I can hardly wait! (ok actually I figure the more ppl I tell about the fierceness, the more likely it'll happen!) And yes in case you're wondering, it is a milestone birthday. But I'm not in the least bit anxious about it. Honest.

For those who know me, I'm consistently in pretty decent shape but I always like to "raise the barre". That being said, one way I found to kick it up a notch or two is Physique 57. The creators are Shelley and Tanya. Together they are yoga and pilates queens and they've devised workouts to lengthen and strengthen every muscle in your body. I used the 3 DVD's 2-3 times per week and over the course of 6 months, changed the shape of my body. Nothing feels better than gettin down and doin 15 REAL push-ups! I am a Thigh Warrior! Cellulite bye-bye!

Last spring, I researched endlessly for a superior and effective cleanse without the use of drugs. I found the Master Cleanse: fresh squeezed lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. All ingredients have to be specific types of the previous list so please don't just mix up what you just read and try to live on that for a couple weeks; its much more complex. After a 3 day intro to adjust my body to a liquid diet, I drank lemonade about every hour and a half every day for 10 days. At the end of the 3 day re-intro I was allowed to eat as usual. Of course the whole idea of a cleanse is to adopt an "eat clean" mentality and be mindful of what you put back in your body. I felt absolutely fantastic during and after the 16 day cleanse. I kicked caffeine and had no side effects. I lost about 7 lbs but that wasn't the point; I wanted to allow my body a break from processed foods and give it a chance to repair. Fast forward to today and you'll find I do drink black coffee but about half of what I used to, I don't eat beef or pork and overall avoid all processed foods. I'd do it again and recommend it to most. It does take inner strength and preparation to ensure success, but I even went to a house warming party with my husband and drank my lemonade while everyone else had liquor!

My most recent endeavor will include a 4 week boot-camp through www.bodycircuitforher.ca of 3 sessions per week. A good friend just went through the program and lost 3% body fat in 4 weeks. That's fantastic!

All in all I'm looking forward to the future and though some may see this milestone as the end of an era, I'm reminded of the late Dr. Kinsey who said, "Women don't get started until they're thirty." Ms. Monroe thought the sex researcher was speaking the truth so I think I'm safe to assume the best is yet to come. ;)

Skin to Envy

Rough, dry patches on your face driving you crazy? Heed this advice:

Face- Purchase a face scrub that uses micro beads as its scrubbing power. The beads can be round or spherical in shape. PLEASE DO NOT use anything crushed: apricot, walnut, glass. Ok the last one is an exaggeration but if you've ever looked at the skin under a microscope after using either of the others it looks like you smashed a dinner plate and rubbed it on your face. No joke. Wash and tone your face first (alcohol free) and then using a nickel sized dollop, spread the exfoliant (face scrub) over forhead nose and chin first (most people are the least sensitive here). After spending about a minute and a half on these areas using small, LIGHT circular motions with fingertips (concentrating on the areas between eyebrows, sides of nose and front of chin where blackheads form) continue circular motions over the cheeks and neck with light pressure for the remaining 30 seconds. That's 2-3 minutes for the whole face. Rinse thoroughly, pat dry with a towel, apply your eye and night cream. Voila!

What did you say?

To change things up a little, this time I'd like to talk less and read more. Topic: Anything. More specifically, how is 2011 shaping up so far? Any topic. I love to learn about new things. This doesn't work unless you participate and I'm not sure how easy that is unless you have a web log. I am fairly new to all this.

Cheers!

Oh btw, highlight of my January......Black military dress, floral sheer tights, grey knee highs, black combat boots, brown arm cuff, gold stud earrings and brown cross-body bag. Urban Warrior!

New Year New You? Please darling......

A touch of seriousness for you. All this New Year garb being thrust at us from all directions inspired me to share some thoughts. Some inner beauty so to speak.

A new year brings that old familiar feeling to the forefront.....time for a new you! Nicotine patches fly off the shelves, AA meetings are at full capacity and one must beg, borrow or steal their way onto a public treadmill. All these optimistic "resolutioners" nic-ing out, cramping up and white-knuckling their way through January. Truth be told 90% will be back boozing, smoking and stagnant by months end. These high hopes and lofty goals slowly seem unattainable and will soon be a discouragement rather than the inspiration originally intended. It's a damn shame. But we do it to ourselves. Did we spend December finding moral support, researching new-age nutrition or visiting a health professional? Probably not. Instead we drank rum and egg nogg, ate pounds of garlic mash potatoes and gravy and smoked a pack a day till midnight New Year's Eve. (most of us I'm sure continued our vices well into the wee hours of New Years Day if we're truly being honest right?)

For these reasons I despise new year resolutions. But don't fret. Even if you've already fallen off the wagon there's still hope. And here's the secret............never make another resolution. What?!! you say! But if I can't set goals for myself how can I make changes? You still can. In fact, the N Y R wasn't your goal, it was a deadline created by society to pad someone else's pocket and empty yours. How much IS a gym membership these days?

Change must start with you. Are you ready? Not should I or will I, but are you? Education is the key. Learn all you can before you start. Any resolution pertaining to health should always begin with a visit to your doctor. They are a wealth of information and can help you access support that will streamline you for success. Whatever you thought you knew, do know or currently practice can be thrown out with the wrapping paper your city can't recycle. Why you ask? Well to put it quite simply, how's it working so far? That's what I thought. If you are truly ready and admit you're a complete idiot when it comes to kicking your old habits, you're already much farther ahead than you were at the stroke of twelve. (or 2am in most cases)

There's no greater style insult than a beautiful coat that reeks of cigarettes, a broken heel caused by 3 too many crantini's or such injustice to a garment it's about to burst at the seams. Not to mention all of the above and the ghastly effects on your complexion. Yikes.

Let's get ourselves together ladies. And remember, we aren't looking for a "New Year, New You". Instead, we're uncovering the awe-inspiring knock-out of a "you" that was there all along. Not new but certainly improved.