Sacred Self Peace Alchemical Oil

Yesterday had me running all over the place. Appointments dotted around, acupuncture to be had, doctors to be seen, coffee catch ups with Ben, dress up with an amazing new friend, dinner dates with old friends, drinks with the girls after that. It was fun, but it was crazy... 

If I had a day like that a year ago I would have been frazzled by it all; it would have been too much and I would have been plunged right into anxiety mode from the moment I woke up. 

But not this year, this year I was prepared. 

My recipe for peace:

A good night's sleep. 

No Friday morning hangovers. 

Yoga practise. 

Acupuncture. 

Lots of herbal tea. 

My Chinese herbs. 

A good nutritious breakfast. 

Meditation. 

Journaling. 

My Peace Oil. 

This oil is a game changer. 

Self Sacred. Peace. Self-love. Just looking at it makes me calm.

I was lucky enough to win a bottle of this gorgeousness over on Carly's blog, Pockets of Peace, a few weeks ago and ever since then it has become part of my daily routine; every time I get my yoga mat out, I put a few drops of this oil on my wrists and my neck too.

I believe the power of these oils lies within them being hand-made with love during a specific meditation ceremony. Because "each item is energetically infused with sound, light, colour, sacred symbols, crystals and a pure intention" they become a perfect tool to focus your mind and body.

During my yoga practice, the smell of the oil helps me relax, focus, smile and connect me with the present moment, it is a smell that my mind links me to feeling calm, powerful and peaceful. When I am off my mat and I need a little peace, I simply pop some oil on (just like you would a perfume), deeply inhale a few times and walk away feeling calm, powerful and peaceful again. A clever little trick of mine!!

What's really great about these fantastic oils though is their versatility. You can add some oil to your bath for a deeply relaxing treatment, mix a little with an unscented body lotion, add a few drops to your homemade body scrub, put a few drops on your pillow before bed, use them as a daily perfume, as a luxurious massage oil... the list goes on! Hop over here and have a look at the tonnes of different oils that Sacred Self have to offer, there is something for everyone...

"Peace begins with me."

A rainy June...

Him: Let's get off at Wandsworth Common and walk the rest of the way home.

Her: Okay, that's cool.

We get off the train and I realise what I have agreed to is a massive mistake. It's raining. I hate the rain. 

Him: It'll be fine, we have trees to cover us most of the way. 

Her: Hmmm...not one of your best ideas, and we won't be covered all the way, so thank you for this imminent soaking. No really...thank you Ben.

I sulked for the first few minutes (I can be quite highly strung when it comes to rain) and in no time at all we were soaked through. 

Him: I have made a terrible mistake. 

Ice broken. We giggled. We took selfies. 

 And we really did look like silly when we finally got home. 

But it's the little things that make us the happiest. It always is. 

Raw chocolate and goji berry brownies recipe!

I had a craving for brownies on Sunday and I was determined to fill it.
(I blame the hormones) 
But there wasn't a chance in hell that I was going to get dressed (pfft) and trek down to Sainsbury's to stock up on over processed and unhealthy treats. No Sir. I decided to make my own.
I grabbed lots of stuff out of the cupboards and got started.

You will need:

• 7 pitted organic medjool dates
• 50g extra virgin coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons almond butter (I made my own using the Nutri-bullet but you can buy this in jars - which I wish I never learnt as it is damn delicious!)
• 50g cacao powder
• 40g desiccated coconut
• 80g walnuts
• 1 big handful of goji berries
• 1 tsp pink himalayan rock salt

First up, let me just say that this recipe is really versatile. All the above measurements are  approximates because as I was going along with this recipe I found that I would keep tasting (you will find it hard to resist) and adding a little bit more of this and a little bit more of that to make it how I wanted. Trust your taste buds and have some fun eh?!

The big "How To":

• In a bowl, mash up your dates until they become paste like. I added a little water to get things going and soften them up, it shouldn't take too long but keep at it!
• Blend your walnuts in a blender until they are in small pieces. I kept a few of the walnut pieces big though as I love having that chunky aspect to the brownies.
• Next up, combine the walnuts, goji berries, salt, coconut and cacao powder in a mixing bowl.
• In a double-boiler, melt the coconut oil and the almond butter down to a liquid. Stir frequently.
• Once it is a liquid, pour over the dry ingredients, add the date paste and stir till it is all combined.
• Taste. Smile. Taste a little more...
• Adjust the brownies to taste, you can add a few big walnuts, a shake more coconut,a spoonful more of almond butter... you get the idea!!
• Press into a baking dish & chill in the fridge.
• Once chilled, chop up or eat straight from the tray with a fork!!

Let me know if you try them...you really won't be disappointed.

Side note: I tend to keep my brownies in the fridge as our kitchen can get quite warm in the day and I prefer them to be a little cold. But once again, your preference!

My favourite weekend quotes and a handful of pictures to go with...

The past four or five days have been lovely. Really relaxing, full of laughs and full of naps (isn't that not the best combo!?!).

Thursday night me and Ben had an impromptu sushi picnic in Green Park in order to soak up the gorgeous weather! This was followed by a lovely catch up with Rik and Holly in Balham.

Thursday night's quote: "I was in a private hospital when I had my wisdom teeth out so they didn't use a tampon, they used cotton wool."

Friday night, I went for an acupuncture and cupping session at the local Chinese medicine Shop to help with my recurring cystitis and kidney deficiency. It was amazing and not painful at all (despite the marks on my back looking rather painful). Will keep you updated how the treatment goes!!

Ben's gorgeous Mum came up to London on Friday night too so we all went to watch After Earth and grab some dinner in Westfield. Despite the film getting not so brilliant reviews, we all loved it!

 

Friday night's quote: "Now Joebeff's we have spoken about you using words like energy flow, qi, meridians and science in the same sentence!"

Saturday was slow and lazy. We drank super green smoothies, ate yummy mackerel salads, had a few naps, caught up on House and had a lovely long bath together.

All of our friends had been at the Polo during the day (damn you budgets) but we met up with them for a few drinks at the London Cocktail Club in the evening.

I treated myself to one Porn Star Martini and a little bit of the rum boat cocktail, but the best drink of the night by far though was the fancy pants water! Every pint I had seemed to get more and more extravagant, it was as if the bar staff were getting just as excited about it as I was.

Me and Ben then slipped off to spend a little time just us two at Bar Zedel as he had an itch for an "Old Fashioned" which just had to be scratched.

Saturday night's quote: When referring to three guys spotted at the Polo during the day (each wearing brightly coloured 'rah' trousers; red, green and blue, whilst making rude gestures with champagne bottles) "it was like watching a bag of skittles have a posh orgy".

 

Sunday was much like Saturday; slow,lazy and relaxed. We made pulled pork for dinner, cleaned the flat, watched some more House, and I had sore boobs and hormones to deal with all day. While Ben played his games all evening I sat and started work on The Fire Starter Sessions and watched some awesome documentaries on nutrition and well being.

Sunday night's quote: "Ben, I think it's time for bed, I am tired and my hormones are all over the shop". It was 6:30pm.

 

My kinda weekend. How was yours??

Morning ritual.

Mornings will go one of two ways for me. I will either jump straight out of bed (usually at the weekends) or I will feel like I am super glued to the mattress and no amount of willpower will see me get up on time.

This morning was definitely a case of the latter. There were a few reasons why: the non-stop & super loud rain that started at about 4am, a dream involving one of Ben's ex girlfriends, another dream involving a giant jelly fish (I blame our group conversation last night about Rik's irrational jelly fish fears for this one), the fact that Ben couldn't sleep for ages so decided to tap away on his phone till past midnight, my insistent teeth grinding*.

When I woke up at 6:30, as you can imagine I was not a happy bunny.

But I dragged my ass out of bed, put on some more autumny clothes (to match the not so great weather) and made myself a green smoothie** to inject a little bit of joy into the morning.

I then take my green smoothie into the bathroom with me while I am doing my make-up.

Most days I have a little helper:

Isn't he just the sweetest?

One of his favourite things to do is to investigate the bath. God knows why, but he really does.

He will then take a perch on the side nearest where I stand and wait for me to give him random kisses on the head.
When I am all done, hair tamed, face on, I will head back to bed and finish off the last of my smoothie and give Ben a cuddle before I leave.

Even when I have had a terrible night's sleep, this morning routine puts me right back on track!

*Guys, I need your help. I have been grinding my teeth crazy amounts recently - i've always done it, but recently it has started to happen every night. Has anyone tried hypnotherapy for this, or any other alternative therapies to help??

**I was thinking about writing up a few posts about the green smoothies I have been having  daily and wandered if this is something you would all be interested in? Let me know!!