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I see the rain today and get frustrated by its inconvenience. My hair frizzes up and I never have the right shoes!

And then I find my perspective. This water that we have in abundance and take for granted could provide life to hundreds of thousands every day.

The average journey to water for families in dry communities around the world every day is 5 miles. Many children cannot attend school due to needing to make this trip to help them and their families survive.

How we at Aveda and Gina Conway try to make a difference is create awareness through fundraising. This year, for our Precious Time for Precious Water events our staff are donating their time every Sunday in April to cut hair or provide facials and massages at a reduced rate for charity.  Pay £50 for a hair cut & blow dry or for a 1 hour facial or massage. 

Aveda stylists around the world will also be going for a Global record for the most haircuts around the world in 24 hours.  Join us from noon to 6pm on April 22 for this event where you can get a fabulous haircut and blow dry for £50, all proceeds go to clean water charities.  Let us work together to reach our goals and help end this tragedy.  See you there!!

Love Gina

Spring hair colour this season is a reaction to the dark, drab days we have had this winter. Look out for brighter, vivid colours and creamy all over blondes.

Top tips for a brighter life!

1. Caramelizing is a great way to gently warm up and lighten your natural hair colour. It looks amazing between highlights to soften harsh contrast after lightening several levels.

2. Enlighten your dull roots by getting an all over blonde shade. Our expert colourists can match your skin tone to the perfect shade of blonde. Think beige, honey, peach or vanilla.

3. Pastel Peek A Boo? Or all over cotton candy colour? Try the trendy pastels this season seen on the catwalk and the celeb set. Aveda now makes hair colour more versatile with their new Pure Pigments. Get a wash for the week, or a colour that has more staying power than ever.

4. Colour Burst! If a vibrant violet or electrifying orange is more your speed, book for a consultation at one of our four salons in Wimbledon, Chelsea, Westbourne Grove or Fulham to determine what you’re best suited to and see the mood boards for inspiration.

5. Brunettes are racing to get a conditioning colour gloss that will enhance their natural shade. Infuse some auburn or cool brown to enliven dull brown hair.

Love Gina

We are thrilled to announce that Lorraine H is the winner of our Valentine’s Send a Wish competition.  She will soon be visiting one of our salons to enjoy a luxurious 3 hour Motivation Spa Package which includes a full body polish and massage, a facial and a manicure or pedicure. 

A big thank you to everyone that took the time to send a wish, hopefully a loved one or friend granted your request and you too are booked in for some pampering.  If not, then think about trying one of our exquisite facials or body treatments or spoil yourself with a stylish new haircut or vibrant hair colour from one of our creative colour team professionals.

I feel that I am an expert on giving advice as I have been living with a man who has had a Romantic Bypass. The most romantic thing he has done is offer me the last prawn.

But surely in this day and age it can’t be that hard. We no longer expect poems written or for them to duel for our honour. We just want some TLC and appreciation and once a year doesn’t seem too hard – does it? Like many, I’m not interested in the over the top commercial offerings, in fact cheesy gifts and garage bought flowers are a sin! Some say ‘It’s the thought that counts’ – well not a lot of thought went into that!

Maybe we’ve become too negative about the Big V day and by rejecting this one day, we are teaching our partners we are not interested in any form of romance. So let’s give our other halves a few hints…

• THE CARD – A card with a few words that they have thought about. One year my dearest gave me a card that had no words written in it… he bought recycling to a new level and this wasn’t done to be green, it was pure ‘I was out drinking and forgot’. My son however made a card and wrote that he loved me because I look after him and give him the best cuddles.  An eight year old had surpassed a 40yr old!

• FLOWERS – Red Roses are obviously the ultimate in romantic gestures. There are flowers galore this time of year, you’d have to be blind to miss them, but guys – give it a little thought! If you begrudge the money (tight), buy a living flower like an orchid or a single red rose!

• THE GIFT – Some men can buy a thoughtful gift. I’ve heard of them, they aren’t an urban myth, they do exist…it’s just that this man is not married to me! To help the men that have so many other important things on their minds like work, football, lunch, football, work, dinner, let’s not over tax them – buy a Gift Voucher – Simples!

To make it even easier you can ‘Send a Wish’ (or a big hint)! Your romantically challenged other half will receive your ‘wish’ (Daniel Craig or Denziel are not on our menu, sorry) and all he has to do to is buy it for you. Genius! What is even better is when you ‘send a wish’ you will be entered into a prize draw to win a three hour spa treatment so even if your partner does not fulfil your dream request there is a chance that Gina Conway will.

THE MEAL – To eat in or out… There are so many options. Maybe just take control of this one and arrange a dinner on an alternative night…maybe after your spa treatment and getting your hair done, you’d like to be wined and dined…

So after YEARS…AND YEARS of neglect I’m hoping for a card, a wish come true and a meal of sorts, I’m not fussy, but to steal the words from a well known brand ‘Because I’m worth it’!  Written by Melissa Harris, Forever Living

2013.  I came into 2013 a pessimist.  I am never a pessimist.  I knew 13 was an unlucky number for some but it never occurred to me that there might be an actual phobia against the number 13? Triskaidekaphobia- Fear of the Number 13. Who knew?

I always look at a New Year as a new opportunity. Last January I declared it to be my year and I had so many great things happen. Attracted talented people to my team, amazing health, was runner up for 5 awards and on the cover of two magazine covers. Wow! What a year.  I am convinced it was down to my positive attitude. I did some visualization about that and poof!  But I have had a hard time shaking 13 into a shape I feel great about.

I searched the Internet for some good news. Something to sink my teeth into and get happy about. ‘Happiness fuels success, not the other way around’. When we are positive; our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive at work. This isn’t just an empty mantra. ‘This discovery has been repeatedly borne out by rigorous research in Psychology and neuroscience, management studies and the bottom lines of organisations around the globe’. (a quote by Shawn Achor on the Power of Positive Thinking). Check out his TED talk, amazing! I met him recently in New Orleans at a conference. He suggested we practice these exercises everyday to create lasting positive change.

http://youtu.be/fLJsdqxnZb0

• 3 Gratitudes – List 3 new things everyday you are grateful for.  By the end of a 21 day period the brain retains a pattern of scanning for the positive before the negative.
• Journaling – Journal everyday about one positive experience in the last 24 hours. This allows you to relive it.
• Exercise – Teaches the brain that behaviour matters.
• Meditation – Allows the brain to get over the cultural norm of doing too many things at once.
• Random Acts of Kindness – Praising or thanking someone in their social support network.

The deeper I went the more optimistic I became. I also discovered that in Chinese numerology 13 means ‘vibrant or assured growth’.  I am smiling now! And in the course of doing my gratitude’s, I realized that as I am alive and well and the world did not end on 12/21/12 as Mayan calendar predicted, we all now have a new lease. We get a second chance to do great things.

So make the most of your opportunities and consider yourself lucky and watch your true happiness and luck grow.

Love Gina

Valentine’s Pomegranate Fridge Chocolates

Once again it’s time for romance!

You might hate this time of year or love it. Maybe you feel it’s acutely over-commercialised or perhaps you love to have yet another excuse to spoil your partner. Whatever your feelings, it’s always a good time for chocolate and to spoil yourself or someone close, wouldn’t you agree?

Chocolate is a wonderful substance.

It’s extremely high in antioxidants (they help reduce premature aging) and other goodies such as magnesium (very important for good energy and lacking in the modern diet) and tryptophan (the precursor to serotonin which makes you feel happy) so it’s no wonder we love the stuff so much!

Oh, you thought it was bad for you?  Some of the health benefits of raw chocolate include:

• Improved heart health
• Lower risk of stroke
• Lower blood pressure
• Lower cholesterol
• Reduced coughing
• It has been shown to help weight loss

The main problem with most chocolates we buy in the shops is the sugar:

• Sugar causes acidity in the body
• Sugar makes you put on weight
• Sugar messes with you blood sugar, which increases the chances of diabetes
• Sugar raises triglycerides, which in turn raises the risk of heart attacks
• Sugar depletes your body of essential nutrients, reducing the effectiveness of your immune system

And so on.

Personally, I don’t like the refined weird dairy that goes into chocolate either, which can also inhibit nutrient absorption, but I’ll save that rant for another time.

There is another way!  The great news is that you can really easily make your own chocolate that is both delicious and extremely good for you!

Naughty but nutritious

Valentine’s pomegranate fridge chocolates

Equipment needed:

• A small saucepan
• A metal or glass bowl that sits on top of the saucepan without touching the bottom.
• A spatula or spoon
• Weighing scales (or you can taste as you go along!)
• Chocolate moulds or silicon muffin cups
• Coffee grinder (not essential but helpful)

Ingredients:

Some of these ingredients you’ll have to get from a specialist whole food store or online. I’ve included online shopping links on my website.

• 1 pomegranate
• 100-200g almonds, chopped roughly
• 200g raw cacao paste or liquor
• 50g raw cacao butter or coconut butter
• 50g coconut palm sugar or rapadura (evaporated sugar cane juice)
• 2 vanilla pods
• 1 tbs lecithin (this is a natural fat emulsifier which helps you to break down fat) – optional

Method:

Prepare a bain-marie. Pour just enough water into the bottom of the saucepan so that it doesn’t touch the bowl when you place it on top. Allow the water to come to the boil and turn down the heat to a light simmer. The steam will heat the bowl to melt the chocolate.

Break the cacao paste into smallish chunks. Place all of the cacao and additional fat into the bowl of the bain-marie. Allow the chocolate to melt slowly; you don’t want it to get very hot.

Meanwhile, prepare the pomegranate. To get the seeds out of the pomegranate without breaking them, this is the best method I’ve found: cut the pomegranate in half horizontally through the belly. You’ll notice thin membranes in between the sections of fruit. Cut through just the skin along those membrane lines. It doesn’t have to be accurate. Gently break open the halves along those lines. The fruit should stay together in clumps. Delicately brush out the fruit into a bowl. Pick out any pith as this is bitter. Drain out the juice (drink it, it’s delicious!) and place the seeds on a paper towel.

Next, grind the sugar with the lecithin in the coffee grinder until its fine powder. If you don’t have a coffee grinder you’ll have bigger chunks of sugar which changes the texture but is also tasty.

Score the vanilla pods length ways with a sharp knife to open them and scrape out the seeds with the flat of your knife. Add these to the sugar.

Back to the melting chocolate: when there is just a small chunk (about a tablespoon) of chocolate left, remove the bowl from the saucepan and mix the chocolate until it has all melted. Now you’ll have to work quickly to make sure the chocolate doesn’t stiffen before you’re ready.

Mix in all of the remaining ingredients apart from the pomegranate seeds. When all ingredients are well mixed, add enough pomegranate so that it’s about 50% chocolate mixture and 50% fruit. Stir very gently to combine. Spoon this mixture into your moulds and set in the fridge. It will take about 30 minutes to set. This will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Serve with fresh pomegranate seeds on top and a whole lot of love!

Written by Ania Nowicki, CHHC, Vitality & Food

Cheat sheet:

If you really can’t get hold of raw cacao liquor, this will still work with dark cooking chocolate or “eating” chocolate such as Green & Blacks. Look for 70% cacao content or above.

If you can’t get hold of the nutritious sugars, replace with finely chopped dates.

For useful online shopping sources please see Ania’s links on www.vitalityandfood.com

Ania Nowicki is a Certified Holistic Health & Well-being Coach, working with men and women who are struggling to feel and look their physical and mental best. She works with them to identify and work through barriers, as well as helping them to develop an outstanding diet for a life of well-being, fulfilment and success. To contact Ania please go to www.vitalityandfood.com or email her ania@vitalityandfood.com

What is going on at the elf factory these days? They must be under a lot of pressure by their stakeholders (santa) to increase profits and as a result produce pretty pathetic toys with a shelf life of less than a week.

I made my first pilgrimage to the North Pole (Hamleys), hoping to get kiddies all sewn up in a day. I over -purchased, had buyers remorse and felt so guilty for supporting the mother of all rip-offs. The staff there were amazing. I had a ball, felt like a child, and watched in awe of a 16 year old making a fairy appear to do flying tricks with only a wand (and a thin whisper of Kevlar thinner than a strand of hair). Yes, I bought that too.

The factories in North Pole (China and Korea), are worthless. Although I exchanged several hundred GBP (I have three kids!), for some eye popping fodder,  a day later did I get to enjoy them playing with toys I so happily (not so much) schlepped to my family’s home in America? NO! I did not! The first incident of a broken wheel was shorn off by being dropped on carpet by my 3.5  year old not yet one meter tall. Written off. The flying fairy debacle had me in tears trying to untangle the thread and glue (one hour later), a completely useless toy, now at the top of the shelf till my 6 year old is 10 so she can figure it out herself if she really wants it that bad.  

I got a toy mermaid for Izzy my 2 year old to have fun in the tubby. The display in the shop swam and spun the whole time. It never got that far with us. I have pushed, pulled and twisted every conceivable concealed on switch to no avail. I think I must need some Magic hair for that too. I am desperate now.

It seems everything from books to toys to many clothes are outsourced to cheap labour as our hunger for cheap consumer goods rage on, we are losing our £s investing in other countries and not even realizing it. I am committed now to finding ‘green’ toys and clothes that are of a higher quality and promote our country’s growth.

I have managed to source a great website called www.ilovetoys.co.uk and they promote Eco, Ethical, Fair Trade, and European made products. I love I Love Toys!! I am dreaming of a Green Christmas this year.

Love Gina

Well I made it!

 

I wasn’t the only one doing this – here is another – I’m not the only goody two shoes around!

“So the detox is over and I feel amazing! First of all I`m proud of myself sticking to the program! My skin cleared up and I lost 4kg, which mean less space for fat but more for muscle  Haven`t got my super ripped six-pack but I`m toned as hell which is amazing! I feel energized and tell everyone to try it out.

I would defo do it again . thank you for recommending!”

So on such lovely words, I end my Detox Blog.

Written by Melissa Harris
If you are interested in finding out more about this detox, please email melissa@melissaharris.co.uk.

www.melissaharris.myforever.biz/nutrilean

Monday, 14^th Jan 2013 – Day 9 – The Detox

YES!!! The last day.  I woke up with a spring in my step. I got up early, did Pilates and enjoyed my Aloe drink. Strangely I normally yearn for my latte, however today without thinking I was yearning for my milkshake. I’m even thinking of staying on the Clean 9 till I run out of Aloe and Shake… it looks like I have enough for quite a few more days… well maybe not, just until Thursday.

I won’t give my final weight and measurements till Day 10 – but I really feel like I’ve lost a lot of weight. Instead of the big flabby set of spare tires, I now have a little tire left and what we so eloquently call in Australia – ‘Love handles’ on my hips… I walked today with more confidence. I think the thin person inside of me was peeking through.

So I have a decision to make – what next. Do I go back to snacking, picking, daily treats, bad cooking practises, or continue on my winning streak. Well as I feel so great, I do believe I will take the second option. I’ll do the Nutri-Lean program where you combine the Clean9 Program with more food and a fab product – Forever-Lean. You take it just before you eat and it helps reduce the body’s absorption of calories from fat and carbohydrates. A bit like the product from a well known chemist, without the nasty side effects… I won’t discuss the side effects, you could be eating!

I did bounce through my day, feeling Tiggeriffic. Was I basking in my glory, so light now my feet hardly touched the floor? Yes. What’s not to love, I’ve lost a lot of unwanted fat, I feel really healthy, my skin is glowing, I really feel I have been put onto the right path now and left a lot of bad habits behind…..well, me being the person I am, I know that I can be tempted, but I will really try harder at making sure they are the exception rather than the rule.

My halo was almost knocked off at the last hurdle – kids dinner and I must say, it was sooo yummy I sneaked some of the meat… bad! I balanced it by taking the calories that I had eaten off my dinner for tonight, so a last minute save, so that I can still cross the winning line with halo in tact!

No dinner photo tonight, I couldn’t do it to you. I had left over Chicken Sag curry from previous night, with salad and a tinny baked potato. It was ugly food, but it tasted lovely.

Tomorrow I think a bit of a treat – the non calorific kind. I’m getting my hair done, maybe my nails too. I am really looking forward to it, the pampering! It’s a tough job, but someones got to do it!

Written by Melissa Harris
If you are interested in finding out more about this detox, please email melissa@melissaharris.co.uk.

www.melissaharris.myforever.biz/nutrilean