{{skinny}} maple chocolate milkshake

3 scoops low-fat vanilla ice cream

1 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

blend

straw

slurp

welcome!

RᐱW

Look at this array of rainbow foods~ ruby red tomatoes, perfect pink raspberries, vibrant green leafies and pop of yellow bananas. 
Food that shines and glows. 
Last week I finished a 7 day raw cleanse which left me shining and glowing from the inside out.
I loved every single bite, the abundance of energy and the feeling of lightness I was left with after the week was out and will definitely be cleansing like this once every few months ongoing.

Here is the cleanse template, a few snaps of my meals and a special smoothie recipe for any who are looking to detox, purge sluggish livers and revitalize their energy levels this summer:

7 Day Rejuvenation Cleanse

>>>>Your Daily Schedule<<<<

Every morning upon waking immediately drink 1 pint of water.

>>>Breakfast<<<

v 32 ounces Blended Green Smoothie AND

v Abundant raw fruits

>>>Lunch<<<

Your choice of:

v Fresh salad with seasonal vegetables OR

v Blended raw soup OR

v Raw entrée

>>>Snacks<<<

     vFruit v Herbal tea

   v Vegetable juice v Nuts + Raisins

    >>>Dinner<<< 

    Your choice of: 

v Life Cleanse Smoothie or veggie juice AND 

v Fresh seasonal salad AND/OR 

v Blended raw soup OR 

v Raw entrée

Raw entrée// Stuffed bell pepper

Seasonal salad// Grape + Mango 

Raw dessert// Almond Chia seed cup

Raw Green salad

<<<<< Coco Date Banana Shake >>>>>

{{Toss 8 pit-less dates, 1 ripe banana, 200 mls of light coconut milk, a handful of cacao nibs and a few ice cubes in to a blender and whiz into a sweet, frothy, coconut milky frenzy}}

The first 2~3 days of the cleanse were the toughest and I really was craving a hot meal or at least some grilled fish with my salads, I also hankered for my usual breakfast staples of oats or muesli.
However these cravings fell away surprisingly quickly and it was very interesting to realize how bloated I am by a lot of things I eat such as bread and pasta. I felt incredibly light and flat stomached by the end of the cleanse and I noticed a huge difference in the energy I brought to my work outs too.

None of this prevented me from rewarding myself with a huge bar of salted dark chocolate when the week was finished though ^.^

I signed up for the 30 day yoga challenge at Do You Yoga today. Can't wait to get started on it!

dark chocolate + avocado pudding

As promised here is a recipe that, I swear to you, you want to try!

Especially if you are one of those people (like myself) who love combining flavours...

I'm talking to the lovers of chocolate with sea salt and mixing peanut butter and banana in to your oatmeal. You need to try this pudding!

As usual, I discovered this dream blend of coconut milk, dark chocolate and avocados via Pinterest.

Do you pin? I'm semi-obsessed with it. Must be because I'm not working right now and have the time but these days I've been feeling a lot like this>>>

Can anyone relate to this? hehe!!

Anyway!

To the recipe ^.^

This recipe is not only delicious but also very good for you!

Dark chocolate is loaded with anti-oxidants and is good for your heart and brain while coconut milk is full of healthy fats that won't clog your arteries and avocados are a super-food with a wealth of health benefits, including being a great skin beautifier.

Bottom line is~ you can enjoy this smooth and creamy and deliciously chocolately pudding without having to feel 'the guilt' afterwards. AND, it's incredibly easy to make. All you need is 5 minutes and a blender.

Ingredients// 

~ 200 ml coconut milk

~ 4 ripe avocados {remove skins + stone}

~ 4 tbsp low fat cocoa powder

~ 4 tbsps honey, to sweeten

~ 1 large bar of good quality dark chocolate

~ 2 tsps vanilla extract

~ pinch of sea salt

Method//

Blend. Done.

See, I told you it was easy!

Please, enjoy!

x

a sponsored post: DIY cupid's arrows

The happiest of Valentine's Days to all of you gorgeous people ♥ 

The old lady who lives inside me who loves to stitch and sew and make things with little glass beads rocked a little faster back n forth in her rocking chair when the lovely people at online craft supply store Wholeport offered to send me a parcel of goodies to craft with ^^

Among other pretty little doo-dads they sent me this lovely packet of masking stickers~ this is basically the sticker version of the Japanese washi tape that has been taking the crafting world by storm.

I've been wanting to use washi tape in a DIY post for a while now and the love-heart decoration on these gave me the inspiration to make these sweet-as-can-be Valentine's cupid arrows to give to your sweetheart on Valentine's day.

Behold the materials:
~ feathers (I searched high and low for craft feathers but they are apparently a rarity in Korea , so I made do with this feather printable)
~ washi tape/decorative sticker strips from Wholeport
~ bamboo sticks
~ craft wood chips (I sifted through untill I found some that resembled the shape of arrow heads)

Step 1:

Take a strip of decorative tape and carefully wrap it around one end of your bamboo stick. Repeat until you have an assortment of decorated sticks.

Step 2:

Gather together a sprig of  3 or 4 feathers.

Or in my case if you are using the feather printable, cut out a bunch of feathers.

Step 3:

Use invisible tape to attach your feathers to the decorated end of your bamboo stick.

Step 4:

Using a glue gun apply a small amount of hot glue to the bare end of your bamboo stick and attach your wood chip.

And you are DONE!

You can give your Valentine an arrow along with their card or, like me, use them as a wall decoration!

Lemon squeezy.

A special thank you to the wonderful folks at Wholeport craft suppliers for sponsoring this post. 

Check their site out for cute and extremely affordable crafting treats~ I have my eye on their beautiful selection of beads and feathers ^^

DIY// craft paper envelopes

Raise your hand if you are a stationary fiend.

I'm more than a little obsessed with pretty paper goods and rarely leave a craft/stationary store without a bag of loot in tow.

I found this darling how-to on Pinterest on how to make your own envelopes using wallpaper samples.

I happen to have a box of craft papers which have been sitting on the shelf all sad and lonely since Christmas.

Now they have been transformed into these beautiful envelopes just singing for a handwritten letter to be slipped inside and mailed across the seven seas.

This tutorial is so quick and easy these things practically make themselves.

Ready? Let's go...

The supplies: 

~ craft paper/wrapping paper/wallpaper samples or any pretty patterned paper you have to hand

~an ordinary envelope

~scissors

~pencil

First, open out your envelope, lay it on the back side of your craft paper and use it as a template to trace around with a pencil.

Cut out your template shape with scissors to get an envelope shape.

Fold each corner at the edges.

Use glue to stick together the bottom and each of the two side flaps.

That's it! You are done!

See I told you it was super easy ^^

Decorate with pretty stamps and labels and fill with love notes and pen pal letters and poems and cards and anything else that people love getting in the mail!

my daily cup.

Lately I'm loving these slow walks to the school bus in the mornings. Layered up snug against the first snaps of winter in the air, naked tree branches and naked fingers clutching my warm morning chai. Soon it will be time for gloves and hats, but I'm clinging tight to Fall's dying breathes for as long as I can.

Maybe it's the British in me but nothing revives me like being tucked or bundled up and sipping good, hot, strong tea. 

It's my go-to elixir for all my irks and ills: British tea perfect for waking up to with breakfast, spicy chai perfect for all occasions, green tea for my skin, chamomile for unwinding, Jasmine flower for digestion, sweet tea, bubble tea, oolong and darjeeling, tea tins and tea pots, mad hatters and owls in teacups. 

They don't call it a tea party for nothing!

Despite my love for observing the seasonal metamorphose, the changing temperatures have been playing havoc with my immune system and I'm up and down with colds and flus more this year than ever in my life.

Although it's miserable it is a perfect excuse to indulge in my tea addiction. Ginger Lemon Honey tea was a discovery I sampled first in India where the dust and pollution meant sore throats were often afoot. This cure all magic remedy was always the perfect antidote to head congestion and I've been reaching for the fresh ginger during my weekly grocery shop. 

Ginger roots are my absolute favorite. So dirty and misshapen, but truly delightful when peeled and used as an ingredient. 

To make:

Slice about an inch of peeled fresh ginger and leave to steep in a little boiled water for about 5 minutes.

Add a tablespoon of honey and a squeeze and a slice of lemon.

Fill cup with more hot water.

Stir and drink.

source

Being sick forces us to take solace in the smallest of comforts. Mine are drinking my revival cups of tea and the promise of a cosy weekend with my Dallas.

Are you in camp tea or camp coffee?

Share!

party pants

This weekend was the birthday celebration of my sweetest friend Whitney. She hit the big three-oh and so we got festive in Jungnang on Saturday night and did it up right for her. There was beer and cake and darts, hip-hop dance offs and arcade games. The night culminated in group photo booth silliness of which you can see the evidence above. 

Now that's my kinda birthday party!

Whit's a creative soul and she hand-made me a beautiful birthday card back in April with a matryoshka doll on the front. I decided to go ahead and kick-off a little tradition in nesting-doll cards and fashioned one of my own to give her. Inside it I tucked a string letter with birthday messages and some of my favorite inspirational quotes. Whitney posted a tutorial on how to make these lovely little alternatives to letters and notes a few weeks back and I had such a fun time creating this one so I thought I'd share the love!

                                                        Happy Monday to one and all!