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Things You Can On Valentine's Day When You're Single


This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer for more information.


It's almost that time of the year. Can you guess what it is? You got that right - Valentine's Day! For years and years, Valentine's Day has been romantisised. When we speak about Valentine's Day, we think red roses, champagne, wine, dinner for two and so much more!

In my experience, couples have been making the most of this day going all out. The red and white attire is undeniably popular and somewhat weird (to me anyway), but believe me I have absolutely nothing against Valentine's Day.

I have decided that Valentine's Day isn't just for couples; it is also about inviduals loving and appreciating themselves. I love watching partners love each other loudly and even quietly and I shall await my turn. Until then, I will be showing love to me and those I care about on this day. Here are seven things you can do if you're single this Valentine's Day:

Offer to Babysit
Quite a handful of partners could have their plans laid out and looking for someone to look after the kids. This could be an opportunity for you to make some extra income.

Go Out With Some Friends
Are your friends single? Check if they'd like to grab a bite with you or go to a concert nearby! If you guys are into sports and there's a game, you can go to the game.

Diner Date
I make it my mission to treat myself to dinner or lunch at least once a month.

Try this: put on your favourite outfit (or comfortable outfit) and go to one of your favourite restaurant spots for a solo date. You can take your book with you to catch up on some reading while you dine. Use this time to catch up on blog related work alone or journaling. An hour or two will be great!

Take a Nap
If you've been needing to take a nap for a while now, why not when you've got no plans for this incredibly busy day? Rest is necessary for the human body and mind to keep going and to keep healthy.




Visit Your Parents
Do Your parents live far from you? Perhaps they haven't seen you in a while. This could be the best time to pay them a visit. They probably miss you and would rather spend the day with you. Call them and ask if they have any plans and if they'd be happy to include you I'm their day.

Offer to cook their favourite meal or bring something from your house. Make their day memorable.

Go For a Walk
Some minutes of fresh air outside while you listen to the birds can do you well. In my experience, going for a walk can improve your mood and contribute to fitness.

Spoil Yourself With Gifts
I love shopping! Do you? Check out these cute and stylish Valentine's Day accessories on SALE! There's so many options on site, simply click on 'accessories' to start shopping.



I have also picked out my favourite fashion pieces under the SALE category on site. You'll find two-pieces, sweatshirts, denim and more. If you need to shop more for a little less, use code 'Jeannie' at checkout for extra 19% OFF! I hope you love your pieces.



How will you be spending your Valentine's Day this year? Let me know in the comments! Happy Valentine's Day and thanks for your support!

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Supporting a Friend or Family Member Struggling With Mental Illness



Happy New Year, everyone! Is it okay to say that now? I mean, we’re 17 days into the new year and I keep asking myself just how far along the month is it too far to wish someone a happy new year?! I know I’ve been off-ish (I'm aware that that’s an understatement). I have been off for quite a long time here. I wasn't hit by a writer's block or anything, I just took some time off. I talk a lot about taking a break and practice it myself.

I took some time off for me, practicing more self-care, awareness, taking it a little slow and I also had to focus on my new career in radio hosting. I spent time prepping, researching my topics and making the most of my journey as a radio personality and I'm loving the journey. I am, however, excited to be back to this chapter of my life once again and I'll be picking up where I've left off. Is everyone well? Please let me know in the comments how the new year is going so far.

Today is International We Are Not Broken Day! Thanks to The Wellbeing Blogger's social media event calendar for Bloggers that I've come to know about this important day! The calendar has over one hundred and eighty (180) special dates to help creatives come up with amazing content and spread awareness. Don't forget to subscribe to her newsletter, you will not regret it!

The International We Are Not Broken Day is one of my new favourite days and I'll be sure to keep celebrating it going forward. Society can be a little unfair and/or unkind to people living with mental health illness or trauma. The world has took it so far that we had to have dates like these and campaigns in order to teach and create awareness around these topics. The International We Are Not Broken Day was made to bring awareness the fact that despite living or struggling with mental illness or trauma, you're still human and

It is no secret that those who struggle with things like depression, anxiety and/or more are often labelled as unstable or 'not so normal'. The stigma created around mental illness has got to change. Is someone you know, a friend or family member struggling with mental illness? These are a few ways or things you may use to support and be there for them:

Understanding
First of all, every person struggling or living with mental illness or trauma is different. They are different people with different experiences, triggers and pasts. When talking to a person living with one of these, do not generalise or assume you know them, get to know them personally so you may find a way to live with them as individuals and not add to their pain or struggle. The illness may have the same name but what each person carries is known to them and just because one carries it well, doesn't mean the other person will too.

Learn
Never stop learning. Admit first that you need an education on this and keep an open mind. Compassion may help you learn better, too. You may learn about mental illness or trauma through experts who teach and share information about mental illness. You can find them online and maybe go to their seminar. You can also learn by choosing to be actively involved in campaigns that shed light on mental illness and trauma and open your eyes and ears through the course of the campaigns. You may even learn something from tracking your own mental health journey.

Offer Emotional Support
It can be a bit upsetting or triggering for a person living with mental illness to be reminded that they are living or struggling with one. A few of the things that push or trigger them may include but not limited to passive aggressive comments and being labelled - it depends on the person. A few other ways you may offer emotional support is by listening actively, showing up for your loved ones and being clear about the things you can or cannot do. Try to give clear answers and do not make promises you can't keep. You may also offer to hangout with them at one of their favourite spots and ask questions only when you deem necessary regarding their health. Reassure them when they need it, but do not lie to them.





Do Not Take It Personally
Having had my fair share of trauma in the past, I know just how much one can go off on you even when you've not done or said anything wrong. It's a complicated journey that takes patience. It's important to remember that just because you give to a person who lives with mental illness or trauma doesn't mean you'll get back what you give. The best thing you may get is their sincere appreciation for your effort. Don't forget to take good care of yourself too because you can't pour from an empty cup.

Make Sure They Get Help
Last but not least, it's hard seeing a loved one struggle. The situation may be a lot better when the person recognises that they are struggling and ask for help, while others may not admit it to themselves or do but ask for any help. It helps to have an honest conversation with them and express how much you care about their wellbeing. Do your own research and suggest the nearest place they can get help from. 

Always remember to take care of your own mental health so you can a loved one better. Here are a few mental health institutions you may call for help:

1. South Africa SADAG (depression and anxiety) - 0800 456 789 a 24-hour mental health helpline
2. UK giveusashout org - 85258 (first free, confidential, 24/7 text support service)

For those whose country's contact number I didn't share here, please search online for the nearest free or paid mental health services near you.

People living with mental illness or trauma may be a little wounded or shaken but they are not broken.
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5 Easy Rules Of Beauty


Welcome to another blog post from me. I thought October was moving slow until I looked at the date today. Halloween is coming by fast! I mentioned that we don't celebrate Halloween where I'm from, but I can imagine how exciting it must be for everyone who does. On that note, I look forward to seeing your outfits! Today I want to talk about some of the easiest and effective rules of beauty.

I've had my fair share of 'Oops' moments when it comes to the the beauty rules. I've done so many things wrong before in that category. After some observation, learning and putting some of these rules to the test, I think it's time to share 5 of the easy rules I apply when it comes to beauty:

1. Read Product Instructions
To avoid regret and making avoidable and possible costly mistakes, I read the instructions I find on all products I get. You need to know what to apply first and why. There's a reason why a primer is applied before the foundation, and why we tone before putting on cream.

2. Wash Your Face Before Bed
Like a person breathes, our skin needs to breathe. Even when a makeup product (mostly foundation) states that it is lightweight, it still carries some weight and can clog the pores. Clogged pores prevent the face from breathing well on its own and can end up causing your skin to break out. For me makeup can feel so heavy on my face after a few hours even when it's lightweight, is it just me?

Whether I go out at night and come back in the morning, tired or not, I rid of the makeup. I feel like this is the most spoken about rule.

3. Put On Some Sunscreen
Growing up I didnt know much about sunscreen honestly. I knew it existed and it was to protect the skin from the UV rays but I never took it as a serious thing to own. For years I didn't bother to buy myself one. I've know for a long time what the sun can do so I tried to keep away from it when I could but I know it wasn't good enough. The sun can cause some problems to the skin including some rash.

Now I know not to look down on the importance of sunscreen, especially the SP50 sunscreen. Anything less is okay but I prefer SP50. I like the sunscreen I can apply anywhere on my body. As costly as sunscreen is, I feel like it's worth having.

4. Do Not Pick At Pimples
In the past my skin broke out a lot, I hated it, but I loved myself with all the imperfections. I think I hated the scars more but I couldn't stop myself from picking at the pimples. My skin still breaks out, but a lot less now and I barely take a pick - it helps!

In my opinion, taking care of the pimples is way less stressful than taking care of the scars. Scars may take their time to disappear, especially old ones. I still have some scars that haven't went away yet. It's work in progress.

I should also add that it helps to avoid touching your skin even if it's not to pick at pimples. I feel like we're constantly doing things with your hands that don't need to get to our faces, those things may bring unnecessary skin problems. Being mindful about what you're doing to your face is good.





5. Eat Well
I can't bring myself to follow any type of diet. If you're doing it for health reasons, please keep at it and take good care of yourself. If you are a person who goes on a diet for other reasons I don't mean to take that away from you and if it works for you then great. I believe I should be able eat pizza, chips (fries), banana, cucumber, burger, tomato an other things I like.

Going on a diet can be a little stressful thinking about all the things you'll be missing out on and stress isn't good for the skin anyway. I believe in eating anything I like as long as I eat well because I understand that too much of anything is bad.

If you want to eat less sugar or less oily food, you can; but I think it's unnecessary to put yourself under the pressure of a diet when you can simply eat well.

Thank you for reading up to this far. Was this post helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments about any of your beauty rules.
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Cute Swimwear To Rock This Summer (September Round-Up)




*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer for more information.



I can't believe it's October already! I'd say I'm happy about Halloween but I'm South African and we don't celebrate Halloween. There's been a few people who have tried to take on the tradition but it just won't go through. I won't lie it seems fun.

September was very exciting! We celebrated one of the most important days of the year in the country - Heritage Day. Heritage Day is about embracing all the cultures and South Africa is rich in culture. With nine official languages, it means nine different cultures - cool, right?!

I did a few things in September which include taking some time away from social media every other day, redecorated my bedroom and I'm loving it! I've been redecorating for three months, I'd be disappointed if the decorations weren't impressive, haha. Another exciting thing I did in September was record some music. I haven't put out new music in a while and I miss radio interviews. Music makes me so happy. I can go on all day about my love for music so I'll leave it there.

I've mentioned before that my favourite season is Summer. Winter is great but I can't find any clothes I like for Winter so I root for Summer - I understand the importance of both seasons though. Summer is almost here and you know what that means: pool party, BBQ and being outside.

Whether you're currently in Spring or Winter, Summer's coming and there's no harm in being prepared. I'd like to share these four amazing (hand-picked by me) swimwear from Zaful. To make this whole post better, here's 19% off for swimwear valid for a limited time; use code: AFFSWIM. Here we go:


1. At the top of my list of favourite swimwear is this Women Tankinis Push Up Underwire High Rest Swimwear. What I love about this one is the high rest feature. It's almost like you're in the mood for a good swim but also looks like you are just out there being a model in your own world. It is so classy.



2. I love sunscreen, but sometimes I love to cover my arms from the sun completely. I want to do so and still look like I want to be out there and not at home. This mazing Three-Pieces Tie Dye Mesh Three Piece Loincloth Swimwear does the the job well. It is also very beautiful. I love the colours!



3  Wearing calm colours is one of my favourite things. This calm Ribbed Tie Slide Metallic Glitter String Bikini Swimwear looks very soothing! Besides, I like when a bikini looks like coffee.



4. Remember this? The good old one-piece swimming costume? They are still my favourite. Just because something is old doesn't mean it's boring. Ribbed Cinched Frilled One-Piece Swimwear is really cute! 



Go on and enjoy your summer. Put your feet in the pool, get an ice popsicle, lay in the shade, read a book and relax. What season are you currently in? Do you like any of these swimsuits?





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Bad Morning Habits You Should Avoid


Mornings kind of set the tone for the rest of the day; and I say kind of because how your morning starts shouldn't ruin how the rest of the day goes. A peaceful morning is good and necessary.

Every now and then we try to add some healthy habits to our routine and whether or not we see them through, we do it anyway. Truth be told we try our best to see good habits through, don't feel bad if every now and then you drop the ball. Here are 5 bad habits you should break and avoid:

1. Waking Up On Coffee
I can't stress it enough - caffeine is unhealthy. It may help you get off sleep a bit quicker, shake off some stiffness maybe or even give you some energy to get to work, but it's still not okay to wake up on a cup of coffee daily - at all.

If your body can barely wake and get going without caffeine, that may be a sign that the habit of coffee needs to change. You can replace coffee with a glass of water in the mornings.

2. Scrolling Through Social Media
We have come to see how negative social media has gotten in the past few years. We try to keep positive and follow positive accounts, but our timeliness still end up filled with ads and posts from things we don't want to see. Social media is a negative space and unfortunately we still need it to work and I can't tell you to give it up.

Scrolling through Social media first thing in the morning exposes you to negativity and potential stress you could potentially throughout your day. Try to replace scrolling through social media with something that makes you happy like journaling, meditation or opening up your windows for some fresh air.

3. Watching The News
I know for a fact that negative news and controversy make news first. I can't think of five good things that happened lately that was shared by the news channels. I don't like that that's the way things are going but it's how they are going and one can only hope to keep away every now and then, especially in the mornings.

Instead of watching the news in the mornings, you can listen to an empowering podcast episode. I like podcasts because they have a niche and you know that the one that focuses on empowerment will leave you feeling better not anxious. News cover both hard and soft topics and in my opinion, mornings aren't for hard news.

4. Skipping Breakfast
How many times have you heard the say "breakfast is the most important meal of the day"? I have lost count. The character James in To All The Boys I've Loved Before said it best: "just because something is popular doesn't mean it's lame. Some things are popular because they're cool." That's how I'd describe the importance of never skipping on breakfast.

If you're fortunate enough to have food for breakfast at home, try not to miss it. If you can donate to those who don't have any, please do. Being kind will never not be good.




5. Having No Plan
Planning your day is like having a routine. Waking up to go to work is part of a routine, whether we see it that way or not. If you work from home your routine may be a little more complicated even. You may be tempted to do some house chores or focus on other things that aren't work.

Plan your day, make time for your work, chores and your to-do list. Don't let one make the other suffer. Write down your plans for the day every morning, but don't put too much on your list.

Share with me some of the bad morning habits you do and how they have affected your morning life. Don't forget to pin this post.
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How To Make Time For Workouts When You Don't Have Any Time



Sometimes we're so busy living our lives and handling responsibilities that we can barely make time for important things like exercise. It has been said a thousand times before that workout is vital and I'd like to add onto that and say that it is very necessary.

Exercise doesn't mean getting a gym membership or joining a fitness group. You can workout at home with absolutely no equipment and still manage to reach reasonable goals. Before I go on, I'd like to share a few benefits of exercise:

Managing Weight
The reason I workout is to manage and maintain my weight - to keep healthy. If you workout solely to lose weight, you have to be careful not to mentally hurt yourself. No matter your weight, the goal should be keeping healthy first. There's nothing wrong with wanting to lose a few or several kilograms, but you have to be kind to your current self as you go through the process.

Mood Improvement
Sometimes during an exercise session I feel like I'm going to shout - it can be frustrating; however, the aftermath is always good. I'm always in a better mood after exercising. I don't know how exactly but I like it. I think it's because the blood flow improves and my brain is well oxygenated.




Improves Health
I think it is better to eat well than force a diet onto self which could potentially stress you out. If your health requires a specific diet for your specific reasons, please follow it. My tip for the ones who aren't on any diet for health reasons or any reason, work out and eat well.

How To Make Time For Workout When You Don't Have Any Time?
It's actually quite easy and I do this. I take 15-20 minutes before bathtime in the evenings to workout. To actually get into the mood of exercising, first I unplug and start randomly doing things that aren't work. I move around in the room or cleanup the workspace. You have to be careful not to get carried away and end up spending too much time cleaning. Working out at night helps get better sleep, too.

You can also do your exercises in the morning before you open your computer or take a shower. You can take the same amount of time - 15-20 minutes or more to break a sweat before you start your day.




Exercises To Do
I like to do some squats, sit-ups, lunges and plank. I also like adding running to nowhere. Haha. I pretend to be running, but I remain in the same place. I do this while taking deep breaths.

Did this help you Let? Let me know in the comments how you squeeze in exercise daily with a busy schedule.
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5 Beauty Gift Ideas For Ladies



*This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy something through one of my links I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Please see my disclaimer for more information.



I am so happy to write this post, I'm screaming on the inside. I love gift idea posts because sometimes I run out of ideas myself and need some help. In this post, I'm sharing gift ideas of products I wouldn't mind receiving myself (some I already own). I handpicked these out specially for this post, so let's get right into them.

1. I like to have some order when it comes to my make up. Sponges get dirty really quickly and knowing that they touch on your face when you blend in your foundation or contour really makes me want to be careful even more! I'm suggesting this 4PCS Droplet Sponge Make Up Beauty Tool.



2. Owning a deep cleansing facial brush myself, I can honestly say that it definitely does the job! It leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean. I think about it making it into the skin pores where my fingers can't reach. It cleanses my skin from the inside out. I think this will make a great gift even to self.



3. I'm an undeniable fan of Vitamin C going onto my skin. Having suffered from acne from a young age during puberty and trying many products which didn't work out for me, I ended up getting myself Vitamin C products just to check out how they would treat my skin - it was love at first sight. My skin has significantly improved. Vitamin C products are my favourite and that is why I'm sharing this next product - Vitamin C and Niacinamide Brightening SILK Face Mask - Set of 4.



4. Being an owner of a face massage roller myself, I'm happy to share this Simple Jade Face Massage Roller. These improve blood flow and reduce puffiness. I also like that they help the skin absorb products easily.



5. I love a good sale, so I had to share this: A MelodySusie 13th anniversary, up to 50% off now! This sale is valid for a limited time and I think you'll love what they have to offer. I'd like to leave this gift idea open so everyone can get anything they love from this sale. You'll find nail drills, nail accessories, lamp, bits and more.




Please let me know in the comments if any of these are something you can get for yourself, your sister or friend. If you'd like to make a purchase, click on any of the pictures. Thanks for your support!
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