Organic Coffee Scrub

I've been feeling crafty these days and finally and since one of my boards is called  "for when I'm feeling crafty", I decided to cross one on my list.

I have always wanted to try my hand at making my own bath stuff, and this one seemed simple enough. Only 3 ingredients! Plus all the benefits of coconut oil are well a benefit.   Plus coffee is supposed to be good for cellulite, or so the rumours say, this seemed like the best bet.

Use this scrub in your morning shower and you will feel invigorated.  You will be left with super moisturized skin thanks to the oil and super soft skin thanks to the exfoliant power of the sugar and coffee.

So how to make it:

- Coconut Oil (1/4 cup)
- Brown Sugar (1/4 cup)
- Coffee (1/2 cup) --->I used fresh ground French Vanilla because I'm classy like that... Actually no, its the only non K-cup type we had

You mix them all together.

Then you put them into a pretty mason jar. 

(yields about 8 ounces.)

Breastfeeding Must Haves

Breastfeeding Must Haves by justaddchampagne 

I wanted to share a few things that I have found to be the most helpful in breastfeeding the lil guy.  

First, and I didn't' find a pic to go with it, would be the support of other mothers. Know that breastfeeding is hard.  I can see and completely understand why some people choose not to ( I am all for FED is best). I wanted to give up right away, but I gave myself at least 2 months to try it and from that I learnt that there are some comforts to make it a bit easier.  I digressed. Sorry. Support from others. Know that we've all been there. We've all spent at least one night crying while your baby is crying because neither of you know how to latch properly. Know that every mother have questioned whether or not they have enough milk supply for their ever demanding child.

So yes, support is number one. And if you don't have any friends who are mothers try and get an appointment with a lactation consultant.  This was a godsend for us, as she told us our lil guy was tongue tied and that is why he couldn't latch properly. Problem solved.

Back to my beautiful picture.

Other must haves:

 - Water. You are supposed to drink at least 12-14 glasses of wter a day while breastfeeding. I have water bottles in every room. After every feeding session I try to down a glass, if not more. Its suprisingly how thirsty you get, which brings me to my next must have...

- Snacks.  You also get famished. I have bananas, granola bars, oatmeal cookies (which oatmeal helps boost supply), crakcers, etc everywhere.  The dogs love this I'm sure as they get to clean up the crumbs.

- Netflix and phone....aka entertainment. You sit on your ass a lot while feeding your babe. Might as well lose yourself in something mindless.  And the phone is handy to call in reinforcement, or to google something that  your 7 week old is doing that you aren't sure is 'normal' or not.

- Nursing Pillow. From my own opinion I'd suggest not getting the Jolly Jumper brand, as it slides away and really provides no pillow support whatsoever. But a pillow is definitely needed. The little babe gets heavy.

- Nursing bras/comfy sweater.  The first couple weeks I walked around topless (Sorry neighbours), so a nice comfy cardigan helped. Now that I got the hang of everything and H can last about 2.5-3 hours between feedings, I figured I should at least put a bra on. I'm not well endowed to begin with, so I find the soft bras comfier.

-Nursing covers. I like the ones that double as a scarf. While out in public, all the power to the women who can just bust out the boob, I am not that kind of girl. Sure, in my own home, but at the mall over some Chinese food, just can't do it.  Buy yourself a pretty one. You deserve it momma. Also, my tip to you is to get your baby used to feeding under it at  home, also it helps you practise maneuvering under it as well to avoid those flashing mistakes.

- A good Breast Pump. The one pictures here is Medela. I own an Avent one. I hear great things about the first one, and the later one is decent. Just very loud. I wish I had a hands free one as well, but it works well. I really wanted to pump, to give myself a break and let G in on the wonderful world of feeding. Do you research before hand to figure out what you like.

- Nipple Cream. Yup. They hurt. Especially in that first couple weeks of learning, so make sure you invest in a good brand. Your nipples will thank you.

Those are my must haves for breastfeeding.  By no means am I an expert, just passing along what I've found helpful.

:) 

Second Trimester Must Haves

K

Second Trimester Must Haves by kznov featuring a water bottle

Nearing the end of my Second Trimester, I figure I would also set up what I think were my prego must haves.

Comfy clothing. You start growing and are in that awkward phase of thinking "Am I fat or pregnant?". Leggings, bras for your growing boobs, loose tank tops, maxi dresses and sweatpants. 

Moisturizer: You will get dry. I usually have dry skin normally and with pregnancy, my dry skin has exacerbated so lotion is a must have.

Water Bottle: the thirst kicks in. Drink up.

Tums: The only really bad symptom I've had so far is heartburn. Zantac didn't work, but Tums seemed to be the magic pill.

Massages: Another 'symptom' you will experience is soreness. Massages and warm baths have helped immensely. 

Smoothies: I really haven't had any cravings but the ease of getting your fruit and veggies in makes it well, easier in a smoothie form. 

Those are my must haves thus far, what have you found to be useful/needed? 

beauty must haves

These are the things that I use every single day as soon as I have to get my face put together to look semi-decent.

beauty must haves by kznov featuring Maybelline

Gosh!

I was lucky enough to be able to review a few GOSH products, that they kindly sent me for free! Gotta love that! Not only loving that, but I actually loved the fact that I am kinda digging the products.

First up, The Lip Lacquer.

I usually am not a lipstick wearer, and when I do I usually go for muted, nude colours. So this red was definitely out of my comfort zone, BUT I LOVED it! It went on super easy, had a decent non-lipsticky smell to it, and the thing that I loved the most about it... it lasted for quite along time. I will definitely consider adding GOSH Lip Laquer to my make-up collection.

Prime n' Set:

For someone who rarely wears anything on her face other than some blush and moisturizers, this product was foreign to me. That being said, it went on super light and kept my make-up in place all day, even after training for that dreadful (cancelled) 5km run.


Forever Eyeshadow:

I loved how easily this eyeshadow stick glides on, And also love how long in lasted. The colour was great too, something you could wear from day to night without looking like a whore. 

Crazy Volume Mascara:

I loved this mascara! Usually when I buy mascara, I buy whatever is on sale. This mascara worked wonderfully. My lashes were long and luxurious looking, and it lasted all night (even into the mornings when I forgot to wash my face).Which resulted in major racoon eyes! While I will buy it in the future, I may consider the waterproof version. 

The prices of all these items are reasonable as well, won't break the bank for some pretty make-up!

Waxing and Catching Fire

As I'm getting ready for Cuba, there are many things that lead me to ask, why is getting ready for vacation  so painful? As in waxing. 

 WTF?  Whoever made it so that hairless is popular needs to rethink why their sadistic ways. 

But I guess I'm not one to make things better, by actually going and getting my hair waxed off. 

G, the lovely husband that he is, won me a Brazilian. This isn't the problem. I've had a few Brazilians done in my past and I was planning on it before Cuba, because if there is one thing I hate less than shaving is waxing. The problem was now I actually had to commit to it. 

And to make it a fun day, I decided to get my full legs waxed too.  This was not a pretty sight for the weeks of re-growth. Disgusting actually. Lazer hair removal anyone?

As I was laying there in my towel, becoming more intimate with a stranger than I ever really want to (especially cuz she didn't buy me a drink first), I was thinking about how weird this is. I will go to a stranger and spread my legs open only to get every last hair waxed, then tweezed off; but I'm freaking self conscious when it comes to picking out a bikini to bring. 

And then they tell you to relax, just breathe through it. Fuck you lady, is what I was actually thinking. (on a side note, the lady was absolutely amazing and worked fast and made it comfortable)

 But all in all, after an hour of hell  I am a smooth hair free women and ready to party on the beach!

And its really not bad, almost like getting a tattoo- you know it sucks, you know it hurts, but you keep going back for more. damn society expectations on beauty.

So after, waxing. The hubs and I went to see Catching Fire! OMG guys, its so good. Of course being a lover of the books I noticed a few things were missing, but they definitely got the main parts covered.   AS expensive as movie's are, go watch this one in  the theater! 

GIF Credit: tumblr.com

BEAUTY- Charcoal face! LUSH!

Confession: I don't wash my face every day. I fall asleep with make-up on all the time even though I know how bad it is.  I just don't listen to those PSAs.

Confession #2: I'm going to be 30 in two years. I feel that because of that I should start taking better care of my skin. Wrinkles. Yuck!

Anyways, I used to use this LUSH product, Dark Angels way back in the day when they first opened up in Calgary. I remembered loving it, so when I was walking through the mall on one of my shopping sprees I decided to stop into LUSH and buy it again.

My skin isn't sensitive, its not oily, its just average, sometimes a little dry if anything. Hence why I don't wash my face all that often.This probably isn't the most recommend for my skin, but whatev.

So when bedtime started creeping up, I was excited to try it out.  Right off the bat, I forgot how bad it smelt and how much it looked like I dipped my face in ash. BUT, wow! did my face every feel smooooooth and sooooooooooooo clean. Like 3 days of dirt and grime just washed away.

I am so glad I decided to go into LUSH and try it out again! And in no way am I getting paid by LUSH to write this. I just was so thrilled that my face feels clean and I wanted to spread to the world of the internet that I Kendra, wash her face!

I also treated myself to a couple five bathbombs too!