|Events| New Circles Prom Boutique 2015

Well it’s that time of year again.  Excited teens all over the city are getting ready to celebrate the end of an era and the end of high school.  What better way to do that than with prom!  And with prom comes all the planning and dreaming of the perfect outfit.

Enter New Circles, an non-profit organization that helps low-income families.  One important mission of New Circles is to aid the youth of these families put together a dream prom look, at no charge to them.  They unfortunately are low on plus sizes and accessory donations and I offered to help by getting the word out there about what they do.  

New Circles will be taking donations (everything from shoes, dresses, accessories, makeup, suits, tuxedos and more) up until April 17th.  Personal shopper volunteers will then spend an hour with each student to give them a full shopping experience and deck them out from head to toe.  Knowing how pricey prom can be, I think this is such an amazing cause!  

If you are interested in helping out in anyway, please check out New Circles for more information.  Please donate if you can, either with items or financially.  Prom is something everyone should be able to experience and everyone deserves to look fabulous for their special night.

|Health| Cedar Juice Cleanse

Over the last few days (Monday to Wednesday) I was doing a juice cleanse.  I had been hesitant to do a cleanse in the past.  It seemed like a lot of effort and I was skeptical of the benefits.  But the more I looked into it the more I became interested.  Also a few of my good friends have introduced juicing into their lives and have never looked better!  As I mentioned in my last post, lately I’ve been feeling sluggish.  I’ve been getting sick more intensely than ever before.  I felt that I needed to reset and reassess.  I decided it was the perfect time for a spring clean, but of my body.  

I was really excited when I came across Cedar Juice.  They are based in Toronto, all of their juices use organic ingredients and are cold pressed.  I liked the fact that they were local and the free shipping (within Ontario) was also very appealing!  I decided on the 3 Day Cleanse.  The description said was a great one for first time cleansers and a great way to detox and start fresh - perfect!  

I ordered on Thursday evening and the cleanse was at my door after work on Friday night.  As they suggested I prepped over the weekend by eating clean, cutting out meats and sticking to a whole food, raw diet.  Since I had already changed some of my eating habits the week before, this wasn’t that difficult.  

On Monday morning I started by having some warm water with lemon juice.  This is suggested to get your system ready to really absorb the juices.  The are six juices total that you drink over the course of the day, in replace of meals and snacks.  They are numbered and meant to be consumed in that order throughout the day every 2-3 hours.   

The first one (which is also the third) is Kale Made Good (kale, swiss chard, romaine, cucumber, lemon, parsley, ginger, pear).  Admittedly these were not my favourite.  I just found it a little bitter, but the bf had a sip and loved it.  The second juice, Pineapple Head (pineapple, pear, mint) is deliciously fresh, with a great minty note.  Four, Lemon’s Your Lucky Day (lemon, mint, coconut nectar) is like drinking a really tart lemonade, but not overly sour.  It’s actually really refreshing.  The fifth juice is Skip To The Beet (beet, carrot, apple, lemon, ginger).  It’s a bit spicy from the ginger, but the main taste is beets, which I’m actually into. The last juice is my absolute favourite!  Cracked It (cashew, hemp, coconut nectar, vanilla bean) tastes like a sweetened milk, but not heavy.  So good.  

All in all I found the cleanse to be quite easy.  I wasn’t ravenous, but there were periods of hunger.  I found this happened mainly on day one and three. Admittedly I did snack, which the instructions said I could do, rather than give up on the juice.  I followed the suggestion of raw, green veggies and had some celery and cucumber to kill the hunger.  I noticed my skin was brighter.  I had more energy in the morning and I just felt good through the day.  I also noticed that I slept more soundly and that I didn’t feel as dehydrated.  

I would definitely recommend doing a juice cleanse.  I don’t think I’ll ever get to a 5 day cleanse, but I would do a 3 day again.  I like the ease and connivence of Cedar Juice and think that the company is very easy to deal with.  Their customer service is excellent and I felt supported the whole time.  If you’re interested in trying it out for yourself Cedar Juice has given me a code to share with my readers.  When placing any order from now until the end of Easter, enter code AF - JustBiffi10% to receive 10% off your entire purchase! 

|Health| Health At Every Size - The Start of The Journey

Admittedly I haven’t been the most health focused individual.  I didn’t seek out the low-fat option, white vs. whole wheat was never a second thought and nothing was ever “on the side”.  But ever since I turned 30, I’ve noticed major changes in my body and health.  Over the last year I’ve been sick more times than usual and my recovery time has been longer than ever before.  Also considering some new developments with both my mother and grandmother’s health, I’ve decided that I make some changes in my life, for my health.

Health is a hard word to deal with as a plus size woman.  Fat politics and fat policing are always connected back to the concept that a “fat” person couldn’t possibly be healthy or health conscious.  There’s so much negativity surrounding the idea of a person not necessarily wanting to be thin, but healthy.  You can be healthy at any size!  

Health At Every Size is something that is very important to me and I am excited to bring it to the blog!  As of last week, I started a cleaner eating regime. I’m trying to cut out some things that I know are not the best for me and become a little more active in my daily life.  

Today I’ve started a three day juice cleanse.  I’ve partnered with the good people at Cedar Juice to kick start my journey, as I change up some things.  After the rough winter I’ve had immune system wise, it’s the perfect way to reset my body and start fresh.  On Thursday I’ll have a post up about my thoughts on the cleanse.  So far so good!  Please check out Cedar Juice and if you’re interested they have given me a discount code.  At checkout enter AF - JustBiffi10% for 10% off any order (and there’s free shipping in Ontario!).

|Style| Welcoming Spring

blazer and t-shirt - Forever 21+ | jeans - torrid | shoes - mblm (Penningtons) | watch - Guess | necklace - Topshop

Okay, so I will admit that I’ve been super MIA lately.  This winter season has not been great to me.  I’ve battled many colds and even a few injuries.  I’m happy to say that with the start of March I’m feeling hopeful for Spring’s arrival.  I’m ready to shed off the winter blues and inject some freshness back into my life and on the blog.

When I saw this loose open blazer a few weeks ago I just knew that it would be a perfect topper.  I paired it over a super casual jeans and tee look.  What I love about it, is the fitted shape in the shoulders and the looser sleeves.  I’m also very into the monochromatic print and the black contrast. 

Last month I was looking for a change to get me out of the winter rut I was starting to feel stuck in.  I went to The Loft Toronto with the plan to cut off all the hair I had been growing out and change up the colour.  Sylvie did an amazing job and this cut and bright new colour has given me new life!

Keep an eye on the blog for regular posts coming soon.