The Versatile Blogger Award =D

Now, a bit excited!  I have been honoured the Versatile Blogger Award from Dana of Organic Lassie =).  I have sussed it out a bit further as I had no idea what it is (as truth be told, I am new to blogging!) & think it's such a fantastic & motivating idea for us bloggers to keep doing what we are here for.  Not only that, but for everyone to get know each other better!  So I'll get on to it, the rules are as follow:

Rules of Honour ~
1. Thank the person that nominated you with a link back.
2. Tell 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this on to newly discovered blogs & let them know they received the award.

So, onto number 2.  7 things about myself... =)
1. (Funny how food was my number one thought...=P)  I hate instant mash in a sachet.  TOTALLY disgusting.  Mum & Dad used to make it when I was a wee lass & force us to eat it.  I cried over it.  But naturally, I still love them (& haven't eaten instant mash since I moved out!  Don't even mention KFC mash & gravy... *gag*)
2. I have a gorgeous 3 month old son (=  I'll tell you a bit about that actually haha ~ my husband & I met 3 months prior to conceiving him, got engaged 2 months after that then got married after 4 months of engagement!  I have now been happily married for 6 months.  Bless my boys!
3. I don't have a favourite colour.  Really, I just can't choose!  They're all pretty (=  Red, blue (ooo, especially royal blue, teal & baby blue/green?), green (olive, moss & light...  moss?), brown, orange...
4. Which leads on that I love to paint.  I don't have a particular genre though, just anything.  I love paintings that you can hang in a room & it is the centre point.  It makes it look goooood (=.
5. I have been thinking about studying Interior Design.  But I don't know if I should, because I have also been thinking about Naturopath or Nutrition.  But I also wouldn't mind doing Makeup (which I have actually had the chance to...  but being correspondence, & me being a procrastinator with no motivation, I paid for the course but didn't submit ONE assessment back...  Oh naughty!).  So we'll leave it as none of them for the moment because I just have NO IDEA what I really want to do.  =S
6. Back to food.  I'm a healthy eater 70ish% of the time, don't worry...!  But my weakness is peanut butter...  Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (especially because I know where to look to get them here in Australia ;-) ), Peanut Butter M&M's (another American lolly...) or just plain straight out of the jar with a spoon.  Totally not healthy, which is WHY I never really see them much in the house haha!
7. What else is there to know about me?  Well...  I have a hot husband ;-)  I think that pretty much sums it up hehe!

So as to the rules, I have forwarded the Baton of Blog Love to the following bloggers ~
1. PureRawLove
2. FreeToBeNatural
3. Figwittage
4. SugarPuffish
5. TheFlaxenOwl
6. Pure-Makeup
7. Mademoisellenature

Thank you to everyone who is currently following my blog!  I really appreciate it & I hope you are all enjoying it (=.  xo

iHerb Haul #1!

I can't tell you how excited I was when Ben said my parcel arrived!  I was quite impressed with how quick delivery was despite coming from the US ~ anyway, I have provided a photo of what I received (=  Sorry about the poor quality of the photo, it was hard to fit everything in...

 

Items are from left to right, back to front:  Aubrey Organics Silken Earth Powder Blush Honey Bronze, Giovanni Natural Mousse Air Turbo Charged Hair-Styling Foam, Giovanni D-tox System Purifying Body Wash Step 1, Giovanni D-tox System Purifying Facial Cleanser Step 1, Blum Naturals Daily Cleansing Makeup Remover Towelettes For Normal Skin 30 Towelettes, Giovanni D-tox System Purifying Facial Scrub Step 2, Eco Tools Bamboo 6-Piece Brush Set, Eco Tools Bamboo Foundation Brush

I can't wait to do my reviews on these products!  I have already used most of these straight away (=  At the time of the order, I also wanted to purchase the Giovanni D-tox System Replenishing Facial Moisturizer Step 3 but they were out of stock at the time ~ definitely will try & catch it in my next haul! 

Toxic Bathroom Guide

Are your personal care products toxic free?  Many personal care products contain ingredients that are toxic or less than safe for your health.  Of the 2,983 Chemicals analysed by the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health, 884 of the ingredients were found to be toxic.  Of these:

*314 can cause biological mutation (change in cells)
*218 can cause reproductive complications
*778 can cause acute toxicity
*146 can cause tumours, and
*376 can cause skin & eye irritations
(Ref: 'Why are you poisoning your family' by Kare Possick, A Consumer Alert Publication 1994)

The following information I use for a guideline ~ For those who are curious what to look for when going natural, I have listed below the affects that are linked/caused by the chemicals that are put in the products you may use (& what you can avoid!).  Some of the ingredients are in more than one category:

Linked to CANCER in animals and/or humans:  Alcohol, Aluminium, BHA-Butylated Hydroxyansole, BHT-Butylated Hydroxytoluene, Coal Tar Dyes, DEA (Diethanolamine), Fluoride, Formaldehyde-or (Formalin), Hydroxyanisole (Isopropyl Alcohol), Methylene Chloride, Mineral Oil, PABA (Para Amino Benzoic Acid), PEG, Phenol, Phenylenediamine, Propylene Glycol, Quaternium Pthalates, Saccharin, Talc, Toluene.
Often contaminated with carcinogens or readily forms carcinogenic nitrosmines when mixed with other ingredients:  Lanolin, Mea-Monoethanolamine, SLS/SLES (Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate), Triclosan, TEA-(Triethanolamine).
Skin/eye irritant, may cause allergic reaction:  Acetone, Alcohol, Alpha-Hydroxy Acids, Benzophenones, BHA-Butylated Hydroxyansole, BHT-Butylated Hydroxytoluene, Collagen, Coal Tar Dyes, DEA (Diethanolamine), Dibenzoylmethanes, Ethylene Oxide, Formaldehyde-or (Formalin), Hydroxyanisole (Isopropyl Alcohol), Lanolin, Mea-Monoethanolamine, Methylene Chloride, Mineral Oil, PABA (Para Amino Benzoic Acid), PEG, Phenol, Phenylenediamine, Propylene Gycol, Quaternium Pthalates, SLS/SLES (Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate), Toluene, Triclosan, TEA-(Triethanolamine).
Chemical Toxins accumulating in organs:  Aluminium, BHA-Butylated Hydroxyansole, BHT-Butylated Hydroxytoluene, DEA (Diethanolamine), Fluoride, Methylene Chloride, Propylene Gycol, SLS/SLES (Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate), Triclosan.
Known to cause respiratory problems:  Aluminium, BHT-Butylated Hydroxytoluene, Formaldehyde-or (Formalin), Phenylenediamine, Toluene.
Neurotoxin - Damages the central nervous system, Teratogen - Affecting the embryo, Mutagen - Induces genetic mutation:  Acetone, BHT-Butylated Hydroxytoluene, Dibenzoylmethanes, Ethylene Oxide, Formaldehyde-or (Formalin), Hydroxyanisole (Isopropyl Alcohol), Lanolin, Methylene Chloride, PEG, Phenol, Phenylenediamine, Propylene Glycol, SLS/SLES (Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate), Toluene, Triclosan.

I hope this has helps you all just as much as it has for me!  I got this information from a couple brochures a friend gave me, but you can check out this information plus more at:

www.dig4truth.com
www.beinformed.com.au