So what can you buy in your every day groceries that will make a difference?

Here’s just a small list you might want to look at over the weekend;

All Good Bananas – the growing Kiwi company that sells Fairtrade Bananas and organic banana chunks from Samoa.

Kokako Coffee – delicious fair-trade goodies are available to purchase at both of Kokako’s cafes – find out more at www.kokako.co.nz
Scarborough Fair – their entire range is Faitrade certified and where possible, organic. You can buy Scarborough Fair from supermarkets, specialty stores, and organic stores.

Caffe L’affare – stock three fair-trade brands nationwide in selected cafes and supermarkets,

And of course – Trade Aid stores nationwide – visit www.tradeaid.co.nz for more information.
www.oxfam.org.nz/what-you-can-do/events/fair-trade-fortnight

But …what to read?

At our work dinner recently we were talking about good books, honestly we were, … and it was here that Rebecca told us of this amazing website; www.swapclub.co.nz

If you haven’t got time to go to the library, the desire to buy new at a store, or the funds to buy an Ipad so you can read an e book – THIS is the answer.

A pre loved book that arrives directly at your door, at no cost to you!
Perfect right?

Even better … this is recycling at its absolute best, your pre-loved book finds a new welcoming home, while you clear out the clutter and make space.
And it’s not just books you can swap either! You can swap CDs, LPs, and gaming software too if that’s your thing.

There’s no membership fees, no transaction fees – just passing on the goods so that someone else can enjoy them.

This is the kind of recycling we like!

Here she shares her experiences on how what you put onyour skin really does affect how you look AND feel…

I eat well, I take my vitamins, I’m religious about my skincare regime (this not the experiment part). However some days I think my skin has a mind of its own, a rather rebellious one at that….
Recently I was looking dull and dehydrated – where had my spark gone? Blame it on stress, the change of season or whatever but ya can’t stop life because of your skin! I really needed to up the anti on my skin’s health and start fighting back the signs of aging that had suddenly quadrupled overnight.
I was on an urgent mission for a quick fix. I expressed this vanity concern to Bianca (another bare chick) who with a knee jerk reaction thrusts an oily product at me. This was to be the start of my new affair with oils on the face.
I’m a big believer in encouraging your body to heal itself. Night time is generally recovery time for the body. Some philosophies believe you should leave your skin bare at night to allow your natural oils to ‘get into action’. I thought I’d give my skin a ‘head start on the action’…that evening I smeared a healthy layer of this oil all over my face and like Cleopatra, I lay all night in the goodness of oil. Seriously! Overnight = new skin.
Initially I stayed with the same oil for a bit then I began to mix it up, a little like breakfast, or choosing an outfit for the day, you have to take into account how you feel, or in this case how your skin feels. Some are multi-vitamin like, some are soothing for sensitive skin, some are so similar to your actual skin’s natural oil that it absorbs and penetrates at a deep cellular level, plumping up your skin promoting the youthful appearance that so many of us aspire to. However, the ‘healing’ properties of natural oils are probably the key benefits I now believe in.
One myth I would like to bust is that if you have oily or acne prone skin you should stare clear of oils – wrong. If you starve your body of oils it will go into over drive and produce an excess of oil, fueling the problem. Use oil to feed, nourish and heal the skin!

Oils are the new black – watch this space! They are everything on your beauty checklist: Natural, anti-aging, anti-oxident, hydrating, soothing, nourishing and even in most cases, cost effective.

By the way, these oils are not the beautiful smelling aromatherapy style these are the oils like your olive oil (Mediterranean’s have known about this for years), some have subtle scents while others, in all honesty are disgusting! From my ‘experience’ the oils with the stronger, not so flash fragrance are actually the most miraculous healers.
Here’s some of the facial oils I tried – have you tried any … if so what are your favourites?
• M&R’s Certified Organic Camellia Oil
• Pure Fiji Dilo Oil
• Linden Leaves Miraculous Facial Oil
• Q Silica’s Restore Intensive Facial Oil
• Trilogy’s Rosehip Oil
• Trilogy’s CoQ10 Booster Serum
• Pacific Health Almond Oil
• Absolute Essential Jojoba Oil

Lee had just started back after having had her baby, but finding the time between juggling baby care duties, husband requirements and of course finding time to sleep …meant there was no time for the gym.

Luckily our great leader Bianca had the answer.

“I just went for a walk up Cornwall Park, it was amazing!”

And so the challenge was set!

Find your local and enjoy it.

No more sweaty gyms taking our money without giving us stunning bodies in return.
No more trying to find car parks.
No more associated guilt about not making the gym AGAIN.

Instead the bare chicks took things outside and found our locals.

Bianca swears by Cornwall Park, such beautiful scenery and of course no shortage of inspiration with others running and cycling past. For a gentle stroll or for the more strenuous, Cornwall Park offers you the challenge you’re up to while enjoying the fresh air and gorgeous views back to the city.

Lee is a big fan of the Auckland Domain. The Winter gardens are always worth a stroll through and there’s amazing history to learn of with the Formal Gardens evolving from an 1860′s Auckland Acclimatisation Society site to test and propagate exotic trees, birds, and trout. Today, if you choose to picnic by the Duck Pond, you’ll be in the very space that Auckland first got its water supply.

Stephanka adores Western Springs, loving to run around the lake …and says the kids playground at the end always brings a smile after her workout.

Fiona is now a regular enjoying the stroll up Mount Eden, (*she admits to missing the cows in the crater), while Sarah adores Long Bay regional park, walking all the way over the hills, and the paddocks with the Pukeko’s.

Rebecca however beats us all, by taking our gentle outside exercise to a whole new level, doing bootcamp in Cowell Park! (show off!)

So … as we continue our challenge of finding more beautiful places to exercise, we’re open to inspiration – where’s your local?

The bare chicks have found the answer!

Paperlesspost.com

An online service where you can create, personalise and send any assortment of cards to your chosen recepients, no paper necessary.

Just go online, choose your event … choose your recipient and then personalise.

Save yourself some cash too, choose from the ‘free’ selection, or upgrade to the most delightful e cards with just a few cents. When you register on this site, you receive a number of cards free.

We love it.
Eco friendly … yet still something you’d be really happy to receive in the post (beats those electronic bills any day of the week)

So next time you want to send a card – think green … think paperless and make your card online, we know we will!

Visit www.paperlesspost.co.nz to make your own card (and feel free to send us one!)

www.paperlesspost.co.nz