20 Essential Items for your hand bag

                       

Most females have the issue of cluttered handbags I use to be one of them and I know a lot of my friends still have cluttered handbags. 

When I decided that my hand bag needed to be less cluttered and more efficient I started researching, I visited the local  library and surfed the net till I came up with the perfect solution. 

These essential items for your handbag are considered must haves!! These items can be used invade of any emergency or for daily use. You'll never know when you'll need a pack of tissues or a Eno. 

1. Form of ID

Always carry some form of identification with you; you never know when you'll have to prove your identity. 

                             

2. Medicine

Maybe having a few pain killers, cough drops and heart burn medication in your bag will help you to be prepared for the sudden onset headache or heart burn. 

                       

3. Pack of Tissues

You never know when you or someone with you will get hit with a bloody or runny nose. Always have a travel sized pack of tissues in your bag. 

                                        

4. Hand Sanitizer

My favorite essential of the lot because I kind of have a phobia about germs. hand sanitizers come in handy. My favorite one at the moment is the Woolworths Waterless lemon hand foam. 

                         

5. Hand Lotion 

Similar to hand sanitizers, Woolworths has travel sized hand lotions which are perfect for your bag. It's the best to keep your hands hydrated and smelling fresh. 

                                      

6. A Nail Clipper

Always be prepared for the worse. Broken nail or split nails happen in a second, so be ready with your cute little nail kit to do some quick damage repair. 

                             

7. Emergency Mandela's (Cash) 

I always make sure I've got cash on me. You never know when that emergency call AA or you run out of airtime to call for help will happen. My mom always told me to have at least R50 in my purse. I'm not saying walk around with thousands. 

                          

8. Band Aids 

Stock up on band aids. You never know when you or someone around you will get that unexpected cut. 

                              

9. Pens

I'm always looking for pens. Having pens like 2 at most in your bag is always a life saver in case you have to sign something, deposit cash manually, or if you need to jot down someone's number or address and your phone is dead. I've been caught plenty times without a pen when I really needed one and it sucks.

                        

10. Keys

Be it house keys, office keys, car keys, make sure you've got them all in your bag before leaving the house. It's the worse thing having to come home and you forgot the house keys at home, everyone's sleeping and your phones dead. 

                           

11. Feminine Products

This is probably the most important, you monthly friend doesn't always seem to be convenient or on time. My friend likes to pop out of no where even though I'm on the pill to regulate it. So be prepared for the worse. 

                       

12. Post its 

You always need to jot down something, so having it in your purse will help save you the effort of looking for some form of paper in your bag.

                        

13. Stain Sticks or wipes

Stains are inevitable, so be prepared!! Woolworths has a nice pack of stain removers that are cute and small enough to fit in your hand bag.

                          

14. Lip Balm

Keep those lips hydrated especially in winter when they tend to get dry and cracky. Apply lip balm on the go to keep your lips looking fresh and hydrated. I found the perfect lip balm at Woolworths it keeps my lips soft and hydrated. P.s never share your lip balm, you don't want to be caught with a cold sore that you got from someone. 

                                  

15. Oil Blotting Paper

Oil blotting paper can be life savers. It's astounding how much dirt and oil your face accumulates. Be prepared on the go so your face will always look fresh.

                         

16. Deodorant

No one likes the stench of body odor! Put a mini deodorant into your bag I'm case you're in a rush in the morning and forget to apply deodorant or need to freshen up through the course of the day.

                                              

17. Fragrance Mist

This is similar to deodorant, but it only masks the smell; it doesn't get rid of it. Apply your signature scent in the early morning hours, then carry a mini fragrance bottle in your purse for a quick refresher in the late afternoon. 

                                      

18. Credit/Debit cards

Who doesn't have a credit or debit card?  Always have them with you especially if its your main method of payment.

                     

19. Mints or Gum

Fresh breath? Yes, please! Have a pack of gum or mints in your everyday bag so you won't be stuck with bad breath. 

                         

20. Your beautiful Cellphone

Never leave your house without it, it's really the most essential piece in your hand bag. In today's society you can't go anywhere without it. And the best thing about modern day cellphones you can use it as a camera, voice recorder, and even the calendar for checking your diary. 

                                  

So if you have any of these in your hand bag, you on the right track, and if there's anything else you think should be added to your hand bag that's essential add it, but remember less is more and your hand bag does not need to way you down. 

Till next time... 

India's Beauty Secrets revealed

You are refreshing and vital as air, graceful and tender as sparkling water, lustrous and consuming as flames of fire, generous and enveloping as space and stable and deep as earth… You elemental woman are perfect beauty itself.”- Ancient essay on ‘Panchakanya’ or the five elemental of Indian women.


After a lot of research and a lot reading I have finally narrowed down my list of beauty secrets that originate from India. We see cosmetic companies trying to sell us all these different types of products that will take away blemishes, and reduce dark circles under the eyes, but what we don’t realize is that a lot of what we see on television commercials don’t really work for every type of women or skin tone. I use to be one of those girls who buys everything I see on television or something that a celebrity endorsed because if they endorsed it surely they believed that it works, but what most of us forget is that those celebrities and television commercials the cosmetic companies spent millions to produce and have their faces on the product. Have you ever wondered if these celebrities really wore what they were promoting or is it just to get ahead in life.


I remember going through every type of cosmetic product to get rid of marks, dark circles under my eyes and even pimples when I got that few. My mom and brother would always tell me to try the natural stuff, the things that doesn't cost thousands a month to keep your skin fresh and looking radiant.
The one thing that is common to the whole of India is that the beauty culture, which is essentially a female world, is based on age-old secrets and the wisdom of past experience.


Dark circlesWhich many just say is because of a lack of sleep but is also a result of illness, anaemia, excessive tiredness and heavy periods.
TIP: Slices of potato for 15-20 minutes every other day will help lift the skin and fade dark circles gradually. If your eye lids appear dry smear some almond or olive oil on the lids before going to sleep.





FaceThe best and natural skin toner is water, yes you hear it all the time drink lots of water but in this case I am not going to encourage you to drink water I am going to tell you to get the water as ice cold as you can and cleanse the face with it. Women in the Himalayan Mountains in the northernmost part of India cleanse their faces with water from the mountain streams that are fed by snowy glaciers throughout the year. It keeps your face glowing with health and vigor. 




There a lot of products for make up removal but what remains the safest and the healthiest choice is baby oil to remove any make-up. 
Of course there are more tricks and traits that come from India but I cant give you all my research at once. Slowly by surely I will reveal the secrets of research and some of the tips that I believe most women will jump at using. Remember that not everything has to be expensive or filled with chemicals to make you beautiful. Organic is the new best thing to happen to all of us.

Till next time…

Confessions of a Shopaholic Part 1

                                  

Many of you might have seen the movie Confessions of a shopaholic, and many must have seen a little of themselves in Isle Fisher who plays Rebecca Bloomwood. So its only natural for me to think a part of her is in me, which many of my friends and family can agree with.  I'm a true shopaholic, and a stylista in my own right. Because I don't follow trends to point I buy things from vintage thrift shops, to second hand markets, and shop at leading brand houses as well and even wear skate brands which is just as fashionable and fun loving. 

My fashion sense does not come from whose wearing what in Hollywood but what I think will suit my body shape and what I will be comfortable in. Just because an A-List celebrity or the model in fashion week is wearing it, big or small does not mean it will suit your body type or mine. That's why if I shop I buy simple yet timeless pieces. 

Take the skinny jeans for example, skinny jeans has been around for years, and its still in fashion, The style originated in the 19th century, being descended from the loose work trousers worn as a political statement during the French Revolution. These "pantaloons", were worn high on the waist and tailored to accentuate the leg like the breeches previously fashionable among the upper class. Pantaloons were tied (or buttoned) around the ankle and commonly put into boots. Pants, which had come to mean tight-fitting trousers, but now just a synonym, eventually loosened up at the end of the 19th century. A few of my skinny jeans go back to when I was 14 like my blue billabong skinny jeans (and yes it still fits me) I got it on sale as well spent R200 on the jeans that I bet many people back then thought would be out of fashion now but hey look the skinny jeans in colours are all back. 

             

                     My Billabong Jeans 7 years old

                            

   Models wearing skinny jeans in

         different colours

               

                  My favorite jeans from Guess

Then there's the pastel trend trend which I totally adore, I stuck to buying colours I thought would be in fashion in years to come, so I bought nudes, greens, pinks and whites, I mean you can never go wrong with white or nude. 

                                  

                         

                                                             

                                                          Sticking to the Pastel trend wearing 

     wearing white to the JnB Met 

The crop top is another one of my closet must haves, if its cute or pretty it's in my cupboard. During the mid-1980s, pop star Madonna caused a controversy when she appeared in a mesh crop top in her video for the song "Lucky Star". Also during this decade, cutoff crop tops became a popular fashion item thanks to the aerobic craze and popularity of the movie Flashdance. It became common for girls to crop off sections of their workout wear, such as sleeves, collars, and the hem of the shirt to create a loose-fitting top which was often worn over a body suit or tank top. Crop tops were also often paired with low-slung belts in the 1980s, angled at the side of the hip. As mesh fabrics and oversized aerobics gear went out of fashion by the 1990s, the crop top reappeared in the form of the bustier, a lingerie-styled shirt which revealed the midriff and was typically worn under a blazer or shirt. By the mid-1990s, the crop top took on the form of the baby doll shirt, a cropped, tight-fitting t-shirt which often featured graphic logos. Long-sleeved crop tops and even crop top turtlenecks also became fashionable for the first time, popularized by such public figures as country singer Shania Twain. 

Currently, the crop tops are back in fashion with celebrities like Lindsey Lohan etc., sporting it in public and models sporting it in ads. 

        Model wearing stripe crop top

         Wearing a pastel crop top to Edm

                   concert in December 

Then there's the infamous Coats. I make it my mission to buy one coat a year, that is different to the rest in my cupboard. I started my coat fetish in high school starting with a black coat from Woolworths. I remember clearly the day I saw the coat on Aunty Julie and I said to my mom that's the coat I want, we went to woolworths and the coat was still there in my size and the last one of its kind. 

I don't have that coat anymore as I borrowed it to a friend and she never returned it (note to self never lend out your clothes to friends if they have sentimental value to you) 

After I got that coat I made it my mission to get a different colour and style coat every year, I cheated twice before buying two coats instead of one but I guess that was the inner shopaholic inside of me. 

          Model wearing black coat

         Kate Middleton in Red Coat 

        My white trigger coat from yde 

                     8 years old 

The bohemian style is also huge not only for troopers but for the average person just looking to spice up their wardrobe. I'm not big on the Aztec trend but I have two items in my cupboard that I can tolerate. 

   Model wearing Aztec fashion

      Model wearing Bohemian fashion

       Celebs love bohemian as well

  My RVCA from Sports Unlimted         

  Cavendish paid R750 on sale

So enough with the clothes, lets talk shoes, I have the hugest fetish for stylish shoes, I don't care what the price is if I like it ill buy it and like I said before I buy timeless pieces. I love shopping at the busby groups shops namely Aldo and Nine West. The shoes are kind of pricey but if you go at the right time like when its sales you can walk out with three- four pairs of shoes. I've got about roughly 100 pairs of shoes ranging from high heels to active sports sneakers in my cupboard, but I only probably wear about  5 of them. I guess we all have our favorite shoes that we live in. 

I've got a lot more to share with you but I guess that this is enough for today, after all this is only part 1 of Confessions of a shopaholic. The next post will show you a range of accessories, bags and make-up which is a must have. 

Remember that you are an individual and that yes following celebrity's fashion keeps you up to date, but wear what suits your body type and what makes you comfortable. You don't have to follow everything that is in Fashion week(those girls are size zero and the average girl is not) Just buy items that you think will make you shine as an individual. 

Some text adapted from Wikipedia and images from google. 

Till next time... 

Finding and Keeping a Life Partner

When I was a kid my mom came home with pages that titled "finding and keeping a life partner" at the time I never understood why she had given it to me as i was just a child and had no interest in finding a life partner let alone keeping one.

As I grew older these pages became my bible, helping me when it came to making decisions in my personal life and today I'm going to share my bible because it is selfish of me to keep it to myself, if it can at least help one person will be more than enough for me. 

Golden Rules for finding and keeping your life partner by Dov Heller, M.A 

When it comes to making a decision about choosing a life partner no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50%(maybe more now, this is a old statistic), it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Miss. Right! 

If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll say:" we're in love". I believe this is the #1 Mistake people make when they date. Choosing a life partner should never be based on love.

Though this may sound "not politically correct", there's a profound truth here. Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: 

"You can't build a lifetime relationship on love alone". You need a lot more!! 

Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner. 

QUESTION 1: Do we share a common life purpose? 

Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or 30 years, that's a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You needs common life purpose. 

Two things can happen in a marriage:

1) You can grow together, or

2) You can grow apart.

50% of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work, you need to know what want you want out of life! Bottom line; and marry someone who wants the same thing. 

QUESTION 2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person? 

This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of having good communication is trust- i.e. trust that I won't get "punished"; or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings. A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry. 

QUESTION 3: Is he/she a mensch? 

A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions. 

Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis? 

Are they serious about improving themselves? 

A teacher of mine defines a good person as "someone who is always striving to be good and do the right". So ask your significant other what do they do with their time? Is this person materialistic? Usually a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement. 

There are essentially two types of people in the world: 

1) People who are dedicated to personal growth, and

2) People who are dedicated to seeking comfort. 

Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know that before walking down the aisle. 

QUESTION 4: How does he/she treat other people? 

The most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure. 

Ask: Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self-absorbed? To this, think about following: 

How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as the waiters, bus boys, taxi drivers, etc. 

How do they treat their parents or siblings? 

Do they have gratitude and appreciation? If they don't have gratitude for the people who have given them everything; can you do nearly as much for them? You can be sure that someone who treats others poorly will eventually treat you poorly as we'll. 

QUESTION 5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person after we're married? 

Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve" them after they're married. As a colleague of mine puts it, " You can probably expect someone to change after marriage for the worse". If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them. 

In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating; so be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues. 

Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on you finger, you don't want to find yourself in trouble because you didn't do your homework. 

Another perspective... 

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance.... 

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going anywhere relationships. Observe the relationships around you. 

Pay attention...

Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill? When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know, or appreciate you? 

The more you quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you...the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved York the balcony of your life. 

An African proverb states, "Before you get married, keep both eyes open, and after you marry, close one eye". Before you get involved and make a commitment to someone, don't let lust, pity, desperation, immaturity, ignorance, pressure from others or low self-esteem make you blind to the warning signs. Keep your eyes open, and don't fool yourself that you can change someone or that what you see as faults aren't really that important. 

Do you bring out the best in each other? Do you compliment and compromise with each other, or do you compete, compare and control? What do you bring to the relationship? Do you bring past relationships, past hurt, past mistrust, pat pain? 

You can't take someone to the altar to alter then. You can't make someone live you or make them stay. 

If you develop self-esteem, spiritual discernment, and "a life"; you won't find yourself making someone else responsible for your happiness or responsible for your pain. Seeking status, sex, and security are the wrong reasons to be in a relationship.  

 WHAT KEEPS A RELATIONSHIP STRONG ARE: 

1. TRUST

2. COMMUNICATION

3. INTIMACY

4. A SENSE OF HUMOR 

5. SHARING TASKS

6. SOME GETAWAY TIME WITHOUt BUSINESS OR CHILDREN 

7. DAILY EXCHANGES (meal, shared activity, hug, call, touch, notes) 

8. SHARING COMMON GOALS AND INTERESTS

9. GIVING EACH OTHER SPACE TO GROW WITHOUT FEELING INSECURE

10. GIVING EACH OTHER A SENSE OF BELONGING AND ASSURANCE OF COMMITMENT 

If these qualities are missing, the relationship will erode as resentment withdrawal, abuse, neglect, and dishonesty; and pain will replace it. 

            Something from the bible!! 

I truly hope that my bible of relationships has helped at least one person. I know that I no longer need it because I have found someone whose worth all of what the bible has mentioned. I am in a happy place and it is not only based on love. 

Till next time...

Montessori Education

                                                                  Maria Montessori 

Montessori education is on of three types of education systems, mainstream (the most common), Warldof and Montessori. The first Montessori classroom was opened in 1907 just 10 years after Maria Montessori started developing the Montessori Method. Montessori Education is 106 years old this year. Maria Montessori based her work on her observations of children and experimentation with the environment, materials and lessons available to them. Maria Montessori referred to her work as "Scientific Pedagogy". Montessori education spread to the United States in 1911 and became widely known in education and popular publications. There's an estimated 7000 Montessori schools in the world serving children from birth to eighteen years old. 

Montessori Education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits and respect for a child's natural psychological developement. 

• There are vertical grouping also known as mixed classrooms e.g. 0-3 or 3-6 where 3-6 is the most common.

• Uninterrupted work time

• Specialized educational materials developed by Maria Montessori and her collaborators.

Where can you study Montessori Education and become a Montessori Teacher: 

www.montessorisa.co.za

Top 5 reasons why you should choose a Montessori school for your children: 

1. Freedom of choice in work

2. Educational manipulative materials

3. Vertical classrooms

4. Cosmic Curriculum

5. Practical life also know as Activities of everyday living

For more information visit: 

www.parentingtree.org

I truly hope that this little bit of information shared will allow you to want to do some of your own research and that Wikipedia is not a reliable source. 

Till next time...