Hello!

This post is yet again not a recipe or a life advice. This one is my story of sugar and me in a nutshell.


I have an open window and I am getting really cold but I am too lazy to get up and close it.

Since I was a kid I always used too much sugar when I could. And my parents stopped me most of the time, but when they could not see me, I was able to put 6 teaspoons of sugar into my cup of tea. And it was honestly the best thing ever when I was a kid.

As I grew older I used slightly less sugar, but still an alarming amount, so that when anyone saw me adding sugar into tea, they were horrified. That was 3 teaspoons up until I was about 23? Since then, I have gotten ashamed by the amount of sugar and tried my best to lower it down. Until few months ago I was at 2 teaspoons and 2 and a half when no one was watching. And I wanted to change that.

Closed that window, now it's better.

Don't get me as a freak, when I cook I use half the amount of sugar that is prescribed, because that is how we did it at home and I honestly think that the cookies taste better with half the amount of sugar than prescribed. Also if there is more sugar than flour I know something is wrong with that recipe. But I always had a sweet tooth, and since high school I basically lived on sweet sodas and I loved my tea sweet.

What I started with was drinking more water less sodas. That started a few years ago, when I was in uni and I was broke and really tired from taking all those sodas home with me over and over again. They were heavy as hell! But I can say I mastered the water drinking about a half a year ago and now I am happy with the amount of water I drink (I had an app reminding me to drink every day and that helped a lot!). I now got to the point when I can't drink too many sweet sodas because I get a headache - and a massive one.

I did not need to worry about the pre-made foods or anything like that because I love cooking, so I do know what I eat when I eat. That counts for most of the food, of course I do buy chocolates or stuff like that but that is not too often or too much so I can live with that.

The last thing that concerned me was my tea. My sweet sweet tea. And I thought oh, I will just start by using 2 teaspoons instead of 2.5 and then slowly get it down. Did not work for me. Slowly never does for me, I am not a patient person. But, about two months ago a colleague had a story about that he cut his sugary drinks and how much better he felt. And I was like - I drink water all the time, I don't drink sweet drinks. And he was like "Well, but I always hear you stirring something. Some coffee or a tea." And I was like, okay I will try to stop that and see how it goes. And I did. And the last few weeks I realised I made my tea, added lemon and got back to work. No sugar needed.

Also, with my husband we moved locations recently and moved to a hotel until my parents house is renovated (or ours is built, but that is a longer time coming), and when we bought sugar we made a deal that we would not open that pack of sugar until we need it and see how much sugar we eat. That deal was to see how much sugar we use, because if it was only a small amount we could substitute it with more healthy but more pricey sugar substitution. And we actually did not need sugar until the other day when I was baking the cacao-chocolate-nutella cookies. That is for about three months. So I will certainly be switching white sugar to some other substitution.

Also it got to the point when my dearest was making us a pudding and he did not used sugar, because he didn't want to open the pack. I think it is ridiculous, and we both laughed, but I discovered I love chocolate pudding with no added sugar. It gets the really intense chocolate flavour. Yum!

Don't think binary.
Whitelilit

Hello there darlings and loved ones.

I have been fairly sick last three days, that is the karma back for that boy that tried to cut in line for popcorn at cinema last Saturday that I kind of made fun of, but than the guy in front of me took too seriously and stated his opinion loud and clear. You probably don't know what I'm talking about but I am still sorry I started that mess right out then.



This post is for all of you who have long hair and are sick of that hair and are thinking about that pixie cut, or a cute bob for winter. It is also for me in future when I have those kinds of thoughts. And I feel this would be a long post so I will make it really simple and state the reasons right away, without rambling on any longer:

Don't cut your hair. Just don't. I know that feeling when you are sick of long hair because I have been there. And the urges of cutting my hair got me and I went and did it. I went from long and amazing hair that I loved and cherished and took great care to get into the state it was and cut that into a short around the ears bob. I was lucky enough that the hair stylist knew what she was doing and it looked kind of good. I considered it all right and was happy with my newly found freedom for exactly a week. And after that came 10 long months of suffering and waiting for this to grow out. It is now November and I can barely braid this thing on my head that calls itself hair.

Here are the top reasons why not to cut it:

• It will take a century to get back to the way it was before if you change your mind. 
• It is not easier to take care about short hair. It needs a lot of styling and tools to get to the point when it is presentable
• All the hair in eyes always. None of it will fit into elastic or a pony.
• No ponytail in summer means sweaty neck.
• No braids.
• Lots of styling products.
• Lots of heat you have to put on your hair since all the non-heat ways include braiding.
• The hair will live its own life. Does not care what you think it's just suddenly wild and free.
• You will need to cut it again when it grows out because that cute pixie you had looks disgusting when it's growing out. Do not trust pinterest, it's just not presentable.
• Think about a hairstyle you would like to wear with short hair? Are you sure it will suit you?
• Also there is less to do with short hair. I personally found myself going for the same hairstyle every day. 

Find a good and trusted hairstylist. Be sure he knows what he's doing. Or she, that does not matter. Bring multiple pictures and make sure you're on the same page with the style and the length. I can not stress this enough since I did not listen to this advice in February and instead showing a picture I just said I want it to be just to the shoulders. Well after a good three months I finally had the hairstyle I was going for in the first place.

Take it slow. If you just want a change and have really long hair, saying goodbye to it can be hard. Try chopping up few centimeters first and see how you feel about it and if you want to cut more cut more. Just don't do drastic changes without a proper thought because that is what makes those awkward pictures from our young years so awkward.

I hope this article helped anyone. Also again, do not trust pinterest. Think about it this way. On this one picture it looks great, but am I that lucky that this is how it's going to look like every day? Even on bad hair days? And when I don't want to wash my hair? Does this girl look like this every day? Is that good or bad?

Don't think binary. I hope my hair grows out back to long one day. Soon. Love ya all. Good night.
Whitelilit

Hello friends and newcomers!

I have a crazy howling dog under my windows and I just want to hug him, but it's not my dog. Take care of your dogs. They are really anxious when you're gone.



This post is not going to be a recipe or a life advice one, but more like my own opinion on healthy people and how they are perceived and how they may be completely different person. Just from my personal opinion.

So I have been doing my kind of 'healthy' or as I call it anti-inflammatory diet for about a year and a half now. And I am truly, genuinely happy with the results. I feel better, I get way less sick (almost none sickness in the last year. Once I had a bladder infection, but that was from stress and bad eating during state exams.), I have more energy in the morning and get way more done throughout the day. And I am happy with the way it is, even though I am looking forward to the time when I can exercise again. I still have ways to improve and I am working on it, because I like this lifestyle and I enjoy doing what I do. With that being said, I am not constraining myself from eating sweets, chocolates or even junk food. I do enjoy a tiny little chocolate bear with hazelnut filling, they sell in LIDL after lunch. And few more when I have the craving for them.Yesterday I went out with a friend, did some shopping and ended up in McDonalds. And I don't care, I am happy, I am not saying to myself I should not have eaten this or that, done this or that.

Still, I am perceived as the healthy one in my office. My colleagues, meaning people who mostly don't know me because I am a freak and when I code I code and I stop listening - hence why I don't have any friends, take me as a type of person that is always healthy. And today as I was making my lunch, I had two people come to me and say I wish I was more like you - always healthy. I always feel regrets when I see you because I always eat chocolate. And I didn't say anything, just smiled because I get these a lot. And I got tired of explaining that they should not compare themselves to me. That I had serious reasons why I started this lifestyle and fell in love with it in the process. That I have way more path to go to be truly healthy, but I am happy with the way it is as it is in the moment. And that I love chocolate as much as the other person.

And I believe that the healthy life is not just about eating healthy. It is about much more. It is about sleeping enough, about exercising, about feeling at home in your body and about feeling happy with the life you live. And I don't get people telling me they are miserable with their life and they would love to change it. Life change does not ask for something drastic. Just changing the way you think about yourself, your body and your life into positive thinking is the way to go. Because with a positive mindset you can achieve tremendous things. But with telling yourself that the way you live is wrong and that you have to punish yourself by not eating things you love - that is not the way to go.

So in conclusion, if you are one of those people who are always thinking I wish I was like that person, think why you would like to be like that, and then slowly try to find your own ways for that to work. Slowly on step at a time, for example if you want to be more healthy start by eating more fruits and vegetables, or by making a smoothie from time to time, and gradually add more things into your meals that are healthy and maybe find some substitution for those sweets you love or maybe try eating sweet potato fries instead of classic ones. Just take slow steps and find what you like and what you don't and move on from there.

Because if you don't know the person and are looking at him/her as the way to go, you are missing the full picture. Maybe you are regretting that chocolate you had before whilst they had a burger with fries and coke for dinner the last two days. But since they are happy with their lifestyle, and don't care if they eat something unhealthy once in a while they will not remember that as a valid point and will not tell you that - just because they forgot they had that food.

Don't think binary.
Whitelilit

P.S. I have way longer opinion but I had to keep it to one point, so if you'd like a part two of this blabering let me know.

P.S.2. What is your opinion on this topic? Do you agree?

P.S.3. I found a new love for cacao - chocolate - nutella cookies and now I'm trying to think a healthier way to get those delicious pieces of heaven. If you have a good healthy cookie recipe let me know! And if I come up with recipe I will let you know here.

Hello there darlings and loved ones,

I have been working since morning until now, so I am pretty much tired, but I still have a quick post for you. This one is about a brand and a new love of mine, that I recently discovered.



That brand is called L'OCCITANE and I bet you have heard about it before. I certainly knew the brand before, since I was always walking around their shops when I was out and about thinking to myself: 'One day, I will be rich enough to buy this kind of stuff.' And the day come, that I am not rich enough but I was willing to pay a bit more for a good cosmetics and to lighten up my day.

So I went into the shop wanting a face mask, that kind of muddy one, that you apply on your face, look like a ghost for certain amount of time and then feel beautiful and awesome. That was the aim, so I came home with a Aromachologie Rebalancing face mask. As I found out that is a new range of theirs, so I am happy to try out something a little bit unknown and new.

It contains essential oils from cypress, juniper, lemon, thyme and eucalyptus and is supposed to clean the skin,  get rid of impurities and tighten the pores. I must say I adore this mask. I look like a ghost for certain amount of time, which is in my opinion the best part of every face mask, and afterwards my skin feels really nice, soft and glowing. The softness is absolutely amazing.

As for the pore tightening, this I must say works, and is the only downside of this mask for my skin type especially, since my skin does not handle the pore tightening products too well. Luckily, this does not result in any big inflamations or spots as far as I have tested it, the only thing is that I get those little stuck pores, that are a bit itchy and are not a spot at all they just sit there doing nothing, not really visible, but once I find them, they drive me crazy. But as I said, this is just a minor thing and I did not stop using this mask, because the upside is just way bigger in comparison to this little detail.


Since it was around the month of my birthday as I got to buy the mask, and I must say every store that does this gets a massive thumbs up from me, I got a Shea butter hand cream for free. I am satisfied with this hand cream, I am used to Neutrogena hand creams and those are awesome and this is just about in the same line as the Neutrogena ones. I should add that I am in love with the packaging of this hand cream, as well as the face mask, since it feels just completely different and a bit retro to me, don't really know why.


Lastly, since I am a complete shopaholic and I knew that once I get out of that store I will not get spare money or my darling's approval to get back any time soon, I bought a volumizing hair mask. This one smells like herbs and I am not really sure if I love it too much for that. I am using it for about a month now, once a week I rub it into my scalp after washing my hair, leave it and rinse. I thing that this mask is pretty much all right, even though I am not too sure that I will repurchase it. I honestly think, that for example Aussie conditioners - or shampoos - have about the same effect, and they are way more cheaper than this one. Also after getting it on my hair, the hair get that kind of weirdly glossy but not like silky but rough to touch. Is that understandable? I just am not too sure about this mask, even though it does it's job and my hair are more full - maybe my hair is not fine enough and that's why it does not really work.

That's it for this light review, if you tried anything from the brand or any of these product let me know what is your opinion, since I will be going back again some time, to try and test out some more goodness.

Don't think binary.
Whitelilit