my experience with fats

I've spent years reducing the fat in my diet. Everything with the words "low", "free", "diet", "less", and "zero" found itself into my shopping basket and into my kitchen cupboards.

That was up until recently.

I started digging and started reading up on animal fats and vegetable fats and all the types of chemical structures that make fats "good" and "bad"...

Bottom line, since adding raw, animal fats back into my diet (raw full cream milk,  real butter made only from cows milk & cream) and since using coconut oil freely when cooking and using olive oil over salads, I've not gained a single gram! In fact, besides feeling healthier, having more energy AND being pregnant (and making NO other lifestyle changes), I've lost a few kilo's!

This is my experience and I would not be me if I didn't share it.

leather clutches by InBloom

So proud to announce my new range of leather clutches!

The vintage Miya-Range is a 31cm x 19 cm envelope clutch and comes in all colours, custom made for every client.

The client has two leather option choices:

Nappa/ Napa leather and Buffalo leather.

As per Wikipedia descriptions:

Nappa/ Napa leather is a full-grain leather, typically dyed, made from unsplit kid-, lamb- or sheep-skin by tanning with salts of chromium or aluminium sulfate, and noted for softness and durability. It is often used in high-quality leather products such as high-end furniture and accessories.

Buffalo leather has a more raw look and feel.

domestic bliss continued...

After many hours online and a rather extensive search to find a "basic" cleaning schedule for a domestic worker, I found... nothing. Yes, you heard me. Not a single manual, schedule or spreadsheet. There seems to have been no one who wanted to share with the world, their well-thought-out schedule as a basis for cleaning and managing a household.

So this put me on a mission. I was going to write my own. I thought about and looked at my home. I thought about the hours in the day and the intensity of the different household chores. I thought about the way in which I want them done. And so, I came up with this VERY BASIC Cleaning Schedule. So far the training has been going well: Betty finds it easier to learn as the chores for each day are set in stone (ink on paper!).

Take note: This manual is used primarily for the training of the Domestic Worker during the probation/ trail period of employment.

After this time, the manual can be used as a guideline to measure the performance of your Domestic Worker.

Mondays:
1. Kitchen (unpack dishwasher, wash, dry & pack away other dishes, pots & pans, wipe counters)
2. Empty dust bins (household)
3. Make beds (clean linen)
4. Tidy bedrooms (pack away clothes, toys and books)
5. Washing (throughout the day: hang, fold & pack away)

Clean thoroughly: Front Stoep, Entrance, Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room and Patio

Tuesdays:
1. Kitchen
2. Make beds
3. Tidy bedrooms
4. Washing (throughout the day: hang, fold & pack away)

Clean thoroughly: Bedrooms & Bathrooms

Wednesdays:

1. Kitchen
2. Empty dust bins
3. Make beds
4. Tidy bedrooms
5. Washing (throughout the day: hang, fold & pack away)
6. Do ironing

Clean thoroughly: Front Stoep, Entrance, Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room and Patio

Thursdays:

1. Kitchen
2. Make beds
3. Tidy bedrooms
4. Washing (throughout the day: hang, fold & pack away)
5. Do ironing

Clean thoroughly: Bedrooms & Bathrooms


Fridays:

1. Kitchen
2. Dust bins
3. Make beds
4. Tidy bedrooms
5. Washing (throughout the day: hang, fold & pack away)

Clean thoroughly: Front Stoep, Entrance, Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room and Patio

domestic bliss (part 1)

I've been blessed to have had a great domestic worker work for me in my house for the past 3 years. For those who know me and have seen her would tell you that she has a massive figure - and a heart in matching size ;)
Unfortunately, due to the changing dynamics of my household, and my growing family (yes, baby nr 3 is on his/ her way!!!) I had to let Liesbet go... She just cannot work 5 days a week as she is older and looks after her son.

So upon waving her goodbye through rivers of tears, I had to embark on finding a replacement. It's almost been two weeks and what a journey. I'm currently "training" my new help, who goes by the name Betty. She works for me 5 days and once we move into a new and bigger place, she'll probably sleep in as well. Which will make life much easier  -  freeing up time to spend with my pretty kiddies and on InBloom's growth.

If anybody would like Liesbet to help you out twice a week, please contact me. She's a VERY hard worker and any household would be lucky to have her. 

season swatches 1 & 2

for the Fall/ Winter 2012 season, these are the colours I'll be wearing & adding to my wardrobe.

Flamboyage your HAIR

Ok, so two things:

Firstly, I am head over heels with this hair trend. And so far, in South Africa, I only know of Carlton Hair salons that offer this very unique and beautiful hair colouring service.

And secondly, I love LOVE love Davines-products (professional hair care products to use at home). But more on Davines products later, here's the story behind Flamboyage Meche...

Innovation never arises out of chance, but from a repetition of reality that is carefully observed from a different perspective.  This is the origin of Flamboyage, the innovative colour service that enhances natural reflects by spontaneously blending bright and saturated tones with natural bases, to create super-rich reflect patterns all along the hair length, whilst offering unprecedented creative freedom to hairdressers and colourists.

Personally designed by Angelo Seminara, this innovative colour service is offered exclusively to Davines salons thanks to Flamboyage Meche, an unprecedented tool for a new and revolutionary approach to colour.

This is a practical adhesive strip that provides precise and creative colouring, selecting and isolating with a simple and fast gesture a small random amount of hair that firmly adheres to the strip, to become a new working surface.

Unlike other colour accessories currently on the market (aluminium foils, strips in various materials, etc.), Flamboyage Meche enables not only isolation, but also and especially the selection of a small and random amount of hair to be coloured.

With the help of this new colour tool, the colourist can achieve and easily repeat chromatic results that are unattainable when working free-hand along the hair length.

Furthermore, thanks to its transparency, it is easy to check the development of colour during the processing time.

Flamboyage Meche is a versatile, practical and simple tool used to achieve extremely natural-looking results both with bright and creative bleaching and toning works performed with the L’Art Decolor products, as well as with soft colour works carried out using the wide range of Mask nuances.

The new Flamboyage colour service guarantees a diffused and harmonious chromatic result all along the hair length and minimises the regrowth effect.

Exclusively for Davines Salons

Ready for Winter? Get your Minnetonkas from InBloom

Turn up the heat this Winter with sexy your legs in Minnetonka boots. Keep your eye on the InBloom blog and Facebook page for more info about these boots' arrival and launch!

info@inbloom.co.za

pretty key rings

Just received these VERY pretty Lou Harvey Key rings: they are too chic.

R 80 each info@inbloom.co.za

Wallpaper Collections

I have fallen in love with wallpapers.
All kinds, colours and textures.
Thank goodness my husband has a "firm" personality or he might come home one of theses days to find I have wallpapered every square cm in our entire house.
The collections are just too gorgeous not too share, and the prices are not too bad either ;)

19729  R 700 for a 10m x 0.52m roll

19980 R 480 for a 10m x 0.52m roll

For more information with regard to wallpapers, wallpaper hangers in your area or how to self-hang your wallpaper, send an email to info@inbloom.co.za

it's a Beautiful Earth

"Wow" is all I'm going to say.

I've been trying samples of the Beautiful Earth range (Shampoo, Conditioner, Hand Cream, Body Scrub, Body Butter etc etc etc) for the last few days and my skin and hair looks & feels amazing.

I've loved this product so much and believe in it so much too, that I'm now stocking it at InBloom.

The biggest part of my job is to educate my clients on how to present themselves to the outside world - looking after their hair, skin and nails, eating healthily, getting regular exercise, choosing the right colours and styles of clothes to suit them and their lifestyles best...and everything has to start with feeling good about what you put in and onto yourself.

I love the fact that Beautiful Earth is organic, pure and natural. After all, your skin is your biggest organ. So why would you want to put products containing sulphates, parabens, mineral oils, chemical fragrances and colourants onto it? Is that not what we're trying to avoid?

And the BEST news: The COST. They will suit your budget. Easily. It's definitely worth a try. I'd say...

my collages part 1

I've always loved mixed media art and have labelled myself "wannabe artist" since I can remember. I've now decided to share some of my collage-art pages from my scrap books, for those interested and for me - for new inspiration before getting back to work in 2012.

Madeline

Happy Happy * New Year *

Happy New Year to all followers and those stumbling upon this blog by accident ;)

I know 2012 is going to be one of the best, most blessed years for me, my family and friends, InBloom and my clients.

All my love,

My Top 5 Women's Fragrances for Christmas

There is only one thing I want for Christmas... EVERY year... FRAGRANCE! PERFUME! A New Fashionable Scent!

This year, I've picked these 5 women's fragrances as my favorites: 

Gucci Guilty Intense

Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola!

Prada Candy

Burberry Body

Elie Saab Le Parfum

The Ectomorph Male Body Type

As promised, some dress tips for the Ectomorph male body type.

To recap: The Ectomorph is naturally very thin, has little shape & muscle, has quite a linear body & have seemingly longer limbs, aka your typical "skinny guy".

It's important to remember that a slim frame is much easier to dress than a large frame for two main reasons: 1. Clothes generally hang better on you and 2. designers design with you in mind, therefor high fashion and trendy garments seem to look extra good on you.

For your build, smaller retail stores like Hilton Weiner, Vertigo, Aca Joe, YDE, Country Road, Trenery, etc are better shopping options than the larger retailers like Edgars and Woolworths as they seem to have graded their sizes up (sizes going up to 3XL) to accommodate our overweight population in South Africa. (You might recall the results of a recent study putting SA right up there in spot nr 3 regarding countries with the most obese residents.)

Never wear over sized clothes in an effort to bulk up - this will have the opposite effect and place emphasis on your narrow frame.

When out shopping, look for "slim fit" as opposed to "regular fit" styles, especially in dress shirts (aka button shirts).

Avoid skinny jeans; unless the look you are going for is skater/ rocker. Straight leg or slim-fit, boot cut jeans are the better options. The taller you are, the more of a boot cut you may wear. Being short and wearing a wide boot cut will make you appear even shorter. If you want to wear jeans to work, for a business casual look, opt for darker shades in denims as they tend to look neater.

Vertical lines on dress shirts do not have a "slimming" effect, as previously believed. Choose shirts with a pinstripe rather than plain.

Avoid wearing dark colours from head to toe as this WILL have a slimming effect. Break up your outfit by wearing lighter coloured shirts like white, shades of light grey and shades of light blue. By wearing a lighter colour up top, your upper torso will appear larger and that will create the illusion of the ideal "Mesomorph" male body type.

Wear jackets with 1 or 2 buttons only. The more buttons you try and "cram" into a shorter space, the more of your length will be lost.

Also choose crew necks over V-necks for the same reasons as mentioned above.

Happy dressing or happy dressing your Ectomorph man! x

Skin Talk - Update #3, 3.5 and 4!

I've skipped update #3 - and then I missed to update you on that update, so I've decided to skip right to my final update (#4), aka the conclusion to my skin make-over:

+ I've managed to up my daily water intake - which seems to be a healthy habit now.
- On most days I couldn't cut down on my coffee intake to JUST 2 cups.
+ My overall eating habits have improved!
+++ I've managed to re-introduce exercise to my daily routine and am enjoying my new source of energy as well as better skin.
- I've discovered that the Age Loc gels that I use with my NuSkin Galvanic Spa makes my skin break out. -1
+ I've discovered that all facial products have either a negative or positive current, and by identifying which of my skincare products has + and - currents, I can now use the products that I know work with my skin with my Galvanic Spa for optimum results in anti-aging and skincare.
+++ I've discovered the wonders of coconut oil for my skin. It has anti-bacterial properties and is an excellent source of the perfect moisture balance to be used on my face and entire body. PLUS it's organic and natural, no bad stuff, scoring extra points!

With that being said, my skin is almost back to how I like it. Another month like the last, and I might just sport supermodel skin! ;) Might. Will keep you posted.