The weekend before Christmas we decided to have a last minute mini getaway. It was absolutely perfect! My husband and I joined some friends and headed down to a beach shack at Myponga Beach.

If you haven't heard of this place before, it is incredible. I absolutely loved it. Myponga Beach was only about 45 minute drive from my house BUT it felt like I was miles and miles away. It is such a secluded little spot and the shack we had was right on the beach. It was so cute and tranquil.


Because I am doing my 365 vegan smoothie challenge I of course packed a smoothie for the road and I threw my blender in the car for the weekend. It was SO good. I thought it would be annoying to lug around but it actually wasnt that bad and I just threw my weekends worth of smoothie ingredients into a cooler bag. Easy Peasy! No excuses for this challenge.



I really enjoyed the drive and even managed to stop and pat some cows :) they were so adorabubble!


Hubby and I stopped to pick up some vegan foods to go with the barbeque our friends were cooking up. People are always suprised with the foods we bring along to parties etc. They always end up loving them. I found this yummy Moroccan couscous salad in the Yankalilla Foodland. It was perfect for a barbeque side dish. I also grabbed some vegan schnitzels and cooked them on the barbeque. We used the schnitzels to make tropical burgers with grilled pineapple, tomato and lettuce.


On the Saturday the boys headed out for their usual big Saturday morning ride. While us girls headed out for a look at the Yankalila secondhand book store and the Yankalilla bakery.......

Okay let's have a real serious conversation about the Yankalilla Bakery guys.....I have never been so excited after setting foot in a bakery. Basically my girlfriend suggested the bakery because she has been there before and said not only was it amazing but she was pretty sure they had vegan pie options. I am always happy to try something new so we headed there for lunch.

Once I set foot in there I was in heaven. Vegan pies, pasties and sausage rolls were not the only options! They also had vegan cakes AND vegan DONUTS!!! Of course I had to try one of them.........

December has been a very interesting month so far. I was recently given a vegan smoothie book that my daughter thought I might like as she no longer needed it. The book is by Kathy Patalsky and is called '365 Vegan Smoothies'.

It has been quite a while since I have posted on here. I really love blogging and it always makes me happy when I actually get it done but lately I just haven't been able to find the time. I am going to make it my new goal to try and blog at least twice a week.

Now that I have finally managed to get a general routine back into my lif, I think I am ready to dedicate some of my week to just writing. I am super excited and I hope to be able to organise set days for you guys for my meal prep posts and monthly favourites. 

Speaking of favourites, this month I have been super excited to find some vegan beauty products that I have absolutely loved and I am so keen to show them off to you guys.

All of these items were just found in my local Coles. I always try hard to keep up with my vegan eating but recently I have been trying to make the conscious effort to change my daily beauty products to vegan options as my old products run out. I am really trying hard to cause as least damage to the environment and animals as I can by making better choices and researching.

This month I started to run out of some of my products and I replaced them with these options:


Original Source Mango Shower Gel:
Seriously guys! I can't get enough of this stuff, it smells absolutely amazing. I spend most of my sower time just sniffing the bottle. It is devine. The first time I swapped my shower gel I chose the mint scented one in the Original Source brand but it was such a strong smell of mint and tea tree that it really annoyed my nostrils in the morning. When I found this Mango one I was in heaven. I love my morning showers now. Not only is the smell amazing but it is also super soft on the skin. I love it.




Australis Oh 2 Glow Liquid Foundation: 
I have always had a love hate relationship with liquid foundations. I I can never find the right colour or when I do find the right colour it doesn't feel nice on my skin or it fades during the day etc etc. A friend recommended this foundation to me and when I found out that it was also vegan friendly I knew I had to give it a try.
I am hooked. This foundation is da bomb! It is so nice and silky to put on your skin and it really gives a lovely natural finish. It is also a good colour match for my skin. I have the shade 'natural tan' and I just haven't found any other foundation that I have used so much and not tired of. I am hoping to try out a few more australis products as I believe quite a few of their products are vegan friendly.




Australian Pure Beauty - Pores Be Clean 
Everyone needs a good exfoliating face scrub! I have been through so many different exfoliating scrubs in my life it's not funny. The Australian Pure Beauty one I chose has Lilli Pilli and Wattleseed in it and although i'm not a huge fan of the scent, I do really like the scrub. It does the job well and my face feels really clean and smooth after I use it. I also love that it is an australian made and owned product. I only use this face scrub twice a week and I am currently looking to replace my daily face wash soon with a vegan product so I will let you know how that goes when I find one.

Australian Pure Beauty - Skin Be Clean Wipes 
From the same company I found these cleansing face wipes. This brand was on special in coles so when I found the face scrub I also grabbed the wipes. Again I am not a fan of the scent of these wipes. They are enriched with cucumber and vitamin E and are super soft on my skin. I wouldn't say they are the best wipes i have ever had but they are definitely in my top 5 and being a vegan product really hits the right spot for me. They remove make up really well but I must admit that I have had better wipes for removing mascara. These ones just take a little extra to get the eye makeup off.

CROP Pure Rosehip Oil 
Holy crap, I certainly saved the best for last. This rosehip oil is a lifesaver. I use this oil every time I clean my face and it is PERFECT!! My face has never felt so good in my whole 30 years on this earth. This stuff is like a dream and I just can't get enough. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend. It is so soft on my skin and helps keep my skin smooth all day. I am not going to be able to survive without it ever again. It is a little on the pricey side but I think it is worth the price.

So there you have it guys. My favourite vegan beauty products so far. Do you have any favourite products you think I should try?? I would love to hear about them so please let me know in the comments.

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx
 

As I write this it is 1am on Saturday morning and I am rugged up on the couch watching Come Dine With Me with cough syrup, honey and lemon tea, tissues and a thermometer.

Okay folks! Things got serious this week when a new shop opened at my local shopping complex right next to my house. I do all of my shopping there every few days and now they have opened up a tiny Vietnamese Place. Which means that I can now go and get tofu Banh Mi's (vietnamese rolls) so much more frequently!! Excitement overload!

Here is the first one I purchased the other day. It was YUM! and my husband and I were the very first customers and we will be regulars for sure. 


I also work at the complex so I now have access to glorious food ALL the time! Double excitement. Basically my life is made. I find it hard to find vegetarian options locally (there is a lot closer to the the city) unless it is just a salad so you can understand how happy this makes me. I now how variety at work with Sushi, Vietnamese rolls and salads :D Yay!

Breakfast the last couple of days has just been oatmeal or toast. Nothing too exciting but more exciting things will come up again soon. I am trying out some recipes.

Dinner has been pretty basic as well. We haven't been major food shopping for a few days so we have just been having whatever is in the house. Using the pasta's etc. I will be shopping again soon which will mean more fancier foods again.

Not every day has to be full of fancy foods. I have been snacking on plenty of fruits. Yesterday I ate almost half a watermelon. I just love watermelon.

Apart from food, my wellness adventure has been  going well. Part of my wellness plan is to spend more time with friends and family which has been going really well now that I am planning my time more wisely and realising what is important to me.

The girls and I had a fun night out with a a cinema date to go and see 'Don't Breathe'. I was pretty keen to watch this movie because I love horror movies. But this movie wasn't really scary it was more sick and twisted. Picking it wasn't the best decision I have ever made but it was worth it for the giggles that us girls had and the horror on our faces at some of the twisted storyline.

I definitely wouldn't say that it was a masterpiece or anything. But it is good for a squirm or if you really like watching how twisted people can be. I don't know who comes up with these storylines that's for sure.


Next on our list of movies to watch is definitely the new Blair Witch movie. I'll let you know how that one goes too :P

I'm starting to go to bed every night and think of 5 things to be grateful for in my day. It is really helping me to relive my day especially when it seems like it has been stressful or not the best experiences. Being able to look back through and find those 5 things of gratitude that totally outweigh the negative is so good! Especially at night time because you can sleep knowing that it wasn't that bad and that tomorrow is a new start. I find that it makes me wake up so much more refreshed.

I thought I might start sharing my 5 daily gratitudes with you all as part of my blog posts. So here goes...........

Today I am grateful for: 

1. My girlfriends who provided so many giggles
2. The new Vietnamese place 
3. The memories that music can hold and create
4.  Having clothes to keep me warm
5. My husband for keeping me sane and happy

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx

Life is turning some more corners yet again. The last couple of days I have been looking at different pathways to take for my future. I still haven't decided on anything concrete but I am definitely looking at a whole bunch of alternatives.

The fact that there are so many options that I would love to explore gives me so much excitement. My bucket list is forever growing and I am always on the look out for more of life's experiences. There are so many things I would love to learn like nutrition, psychology, history and minimalism and I would also love to get involved in volunteer work and lots of travelling.

I want to live life to the fullest and also give to others whether that is through teaching, helping or caring for others. I don't want to be tied down to one thing. It has taken me a long time to reach this level of confidence and satisfaction in myself. Admitting to myself that I am not somebody that wants to be tied down to one thing has been a huge step for me. I have always been under the belief that I had to be brilliant at one thing. That I had to choose one career to be succesful. Now I believe that the person I am is always going to be learning and growing. I seek everything that the wide world has to offer and i'm happy and excited to get out there and venture into the unknown. This is my life now and i'm finally happy with where it may go.

The last week has really been one of many thoughts, ideas and revelations. You will all see many changes in me over the coming months, I am sure. I am so excited to be able to have this platform to share all my adventures and what I learn from life. My blog makes me incredibly happy.

Okay now that I have shared some of my deep dark thoughts from the week, let's get back onto the whole food topic. Today was a pretty good day food wise.



Breakfast: Turmeric Tropical Smoothie
Snack: Dried Mango
Lunch: Minestrone Soup
Snack: Peanut Butter Toast
Dinner: Salmon Capsicum Pesto Spaghetti

Ohhh another exciting moment from this week......I discovered the fun world of op shopping!! I spent a whole day this week just browsing several secondhand shops at Darlington and I am a total fan. Completely hooked. Check out these amazing bargains I picked up. Just $30 in total!!


There is a Forever New dress in there folks! I'm certainly going to make this a regular thing.

I would love to do some blogs on minimalism soon as I venture into that. Stay tuned.

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx