By Aravind Sivaraj (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I've mentioned coconut oil on my blog countless times, so I'm obviously a huge advocate for it in all things beauty & health. I've included it in masks for skin & hair, but today I wanted to talk about how it can be used as a wonderful replacement for your cleanser and moisturizer.

You might be wondering how coconut oil actually cleans the skin because that's what cleansers are supposed to do, right? It contains natural substances that disinfect the skin, getting rid of bacteria & unclogging pores. This helps protect the skin from the harsh conditions of everyday life. Coconut oil also contains anti-aging ingredients that retain the skins elasticity.

I typically use unrefined coconut oil as a replacement for a nighttime cleanser/moisturizer. Put a few drops on your hands, rubbing them together to create warmth, so it absorbs better. Massage the face & neck just like a regular cleanser. Use a towel to wipe off the remaining coconut oil because it is tricky to rinse off. It won't completely wash off, so a thin layer of oil will remain, making moisturizing unnecessary. Using it in the morning is great too, but it may make the skin feel oily throughout the day, which is why I prefer it in my nighttime routine.

You're probably worried coconut oil will cause you to break out, which is initially what I thought. Fortunately, for me it has caused less breakouts & is helping eliminate my acne scars. Remember all skin is different, but it is totally worth trying.

Switch to coconut oil as a way of avoiding the harsh cancer-causing chemicals in normal cleansers or because you wanna save money & simplify your lifestyle. Either way, hope you all get a chance to try it out. That's all for now!

Mars ~~

Hello everyone! I hope you all are as stoked for summer as I am! I've already started a to-do list for these next few months, which includes many adventures that'll keep me from the laziness epidemic that is summer break.

For those relaxed nights when I feel like staying in & watching a flick, I put together a list of a few movies that are absolutely perfect for getting into the summer spirit. Nothing says summer like beaches, vacations, vacations on beaches & more! But seriously, if you haven't seen some of the movies on this list, I highly recommend that you set aside some time to do so.

Without further ado, here are some films that will get you into the summer groove!


(Via Tumblr)

1. Fun in Acapulco (1963)

So, imagine Elvis Presley wants to take you on a little vacay to the splendid Acapulco, Mexico. How could you possibly turn that down? This movie is perfect for a night of fun with The King himself. Watch him act as a lifeguard & chat up beautiful women in paradise. What more could you possibly want?


(Via film-cine.com)

2. Beach Party (1963)

This classic will have you laughing as well as singing & dancing. It stars the lovely Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello, who did such an amazing job, they had to make three more films just like it (which you should also check out.) It really makes me wanna take up surfing or at least invest in a beach house.


(Via Tumblr)

3. Adventureland (2009)

Another aspect of summer: theme parks! This movie encompasses a bunch of young adults trying to figure their life out whilst working a summer job at an amusement park. It reminds me a lot of Freaks & Geeks especially since it takes place in the eighties. Another huge reason to watch it is because it has Kristen Wiig & Bill Hader (oh, & Kristen Stewart).



(Via IMDb)

4. Almost Famous (2000)

I'm a huge fan of music from the seventies and this movie was set in 1973, which was a great year for rock 'n' roll. It kinda gives an idea of what it was like being on tour with a band back then. It also portrays all the struggles of being a teenager at that time, which are plenty.

(Screenshot // Eureka Pictures)

Hello everyone. Can't believe it's almost the end of May & soon summer will be here. I can't wait for this rainy season to be over. I'm officially sick of rain & ready for some sunshine.

The past few weeks have felt quite busy for me & for some reason I haven't been sleeping well for various reasons. It's times like these where my immune system weakens due to all these factors (no sleep/bad weather/stress) & I need a boost. That's when I turn to my trusty friend, the wellness shot.

Even if you're not worried about getting sick, wellness shots can be a great pick-me-up. Here in Austin you can find em at many juice places, but I decided to make my own to save money. This recipe is awesome & will get you feeling like a superhero in no time!

The ingredients you'll need are: ginger, turmeric powder & lemon. All of these ingredients are antibacterial & great for the immune system. The ginger & lemon can help with boosting the metabolism, as well as alleviating nausea or indigestion. The turmeric has many antioxidants and several medicinal properties. For sake of convenience, you can substitute the turmeric for cayenne powder instead. I purchased my turmeric at a health foods store where you can buy it in bulk.

Juice from 1 lemon (1 oz)
Juice from 2-3 inches of Ginger Root (1 oz)
Pinch of Turmeric (or Cayenne)


I happened to pick the most inappropriate-looking ginger root (see above.) I had trouble juicing the ginger since I do not have an actual juicer. To get around this, I tried a few different methods & only one seemed to work. I put the entire root into a blender & added an ounce of water. I blended & then strained the ginger to get as much liquid as possible. This produced about 1 oz of ginger juice, which seemed sufficient.

After squeezing the lemon, I mixed the two together & sprinkled a dash of turmeric on top (which ended up sinking to the bottom.) Make sure you have a chaser of some sort, such as a glass of water & bottoms up! The shot feels a little funky going down mostly because of the ginger, so just make sure you have a chaser.

Hope you enjoy the wellness shot & good luck. If you have any questions don't hesitate to let me know. That's all for now.

Mars

I've been wanting to change my design for a long time but never got around to it. I wanted something that I wouldn't get tired of too quickly & just a complete update. The last few days I've been working on it for hours & hours trying to master the layout & find something I was satisfied with. The result is what you are seeing right now!

I'm by no means finished with my renovations, but definitely got a huge chunk out of the way. There's still a lot I gotta do to make it work to its greatest potential so thanks for being patient. I'm still making sure things run smooth for you guys so apologies if anything looks off.

Lastly, I hope you enjoy the new design! That's all for now!

Mars

Hello everyone! The past few weeks, I've been stuck inside most of the time due to the nonstop rain that has been effecting central Texas. Even as I write this, there is a major downpour accompanied by severe flooding. Hopefully this rain spell will stop sooner than later so I won't be stuck inside for the rest of summer.

I wanted to talk about a product that I've been using lately & have been loving; oatmeal! Most people have easy access to it & it's super affordable. For the past month or so, I've found dozens of uses for oatmeal & I wanted to share some with you.

This summer is all about saving money for future expenses, so make sure to add oatmeal to your grocery list, if you haven't done so already! I can't stress enough how much money can be saved by using this product in your daily routine.

Incorporate it into your morning routine.

Everyone knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day & sometimes it can be challenging trying to balance this particular meal, due to lack of time for preparation or downright pickiness (like me.) Either way, I highly recommend adding oatmeal to your breakfast because it'll give you loads of energy & it's super healthy. It's just an additional five minutes of your time to add it to your breakfast, which is quite reasonable. It's perfect for adding any kind of fruit, along with a dash of brown sugar. If you need more ideas, here's a few other recipes you can make using oatmeal. Ever thought of adding mango to oatmeal? Yum!

Add oatmeal to your smoothies.

Oatmeal is my favorite ingredient to add to smoothies. It gives the smoothie a perfect texture & adds a sweeter taste, which I love. I add about a half cup to a cup (64 to 128 grams) to attain the perfect blend. Adding this to your smoothie can make it go a long way. It fills your stomach, so you'll be less hungry throughout the day. You'll end up consuming less calories & more protein. (1 cup of oatmeal is around 10 grams of protein.)

Add oatmeal to facial & hair masks.

If you suffer from breakouts or noticeable pores, I highly suggest adding oatmeal to your skincare routine in some capacity. Every few days I like to make my own simple oatmeal scrub using honey, oatmeal & sometimes coconut oil. After applying it to my face, I wait about 10 minutes and scrub whatever is left on my skin. It removes dirt & oil, reducing pore size & preventing acne. Oatmeal also protects your skin from harsh chemicals & keeps it moisturized if you suffer from dry skin. Here's an amazing mask that incorporates oatmeal.

If you struggle with thinning hair or just need a boost, use oatmeal for deep conditioning. Oatmeal replaces many vitamins & nutrients in the scalp, giving life to your strands. If you want more information on deep conditioning using oil, you can find it here. All you have to do is add a few tablespoons of oatmeal to do the trick.

Hope you enjoyed all these wonderful uses for oatmeal. I'm eager to find more ways I can incorporate oatmeal in my life. That's all for now!

-Mars

Hello everyone! This past weekend I partook in one of my favorite events in Austin; Eeyore's Birthday! If you're curious as to what I'm talking about I'll give some background info on it & you can check out my post from last year's celebration here.


Around the last week of April, Austinites come together to celebrate the wonderful day of birth of our familiar pal, Eeyore (AKA Winnie the Pooh's best bud.) People take this opportunity to unleash as much colorfulness & eccentricity as possible in an outdoor festival. All the day's festivities take place around the afternoon, continuing throughout the evening. There's great food, beverages & music. It's also a kid-friendly occasion (my 1 year old niece attended & absolutely loved it!)


As for me, I went with some friends & family. We kicked back on picnic blankets under a live oak tree and listened to drum circles all around us, which there was no shortage of.


No shortage of didgeridoos either!




This fantastic dancer made an appearance in last year's post on Eeyore's Birthday, which shows major dedication. Maybe we'll see him next year too & give him an exclusive interview!



Eeyore's b-day is not complete without some crazy cool accessories & a sunflower dress worn by my soul sister, Tesla.



This should be the unofficial motto of Eeyore's Birthday. Just a bunch of amazing people coming together to celebrate a historical figure that filled our childhoods with love.


And here's me attempting to bust a move with clouds of smoke swirling around. Needless to say, this year's event was super fun & it makes me so bummed I have to wait a whole year for another Eeyore's birthday. You can check out my Instagram [ @marswho ] for more pics of the chaos. That's all for now!

-Mars

Hello everyone! Today happens to be one of my favorite holidays of the year: Earth Day! In order to kick off the celebration, I wanted to share some tips on how I maintain an eco-friendly life.

One of the biggest lessons I'm learning as an adult is that less is more. I've always knew I wanted to maintain a "greener" existence & have found it easy to do so. In other words, I look for ways that I can reduce my carbon footprint & urge others to do the same. It's a work in progress, but it's exciting to start living a greener lifestyle & appreciating the world around you.

1. Drive less.

Or if you're like me, don't drive at all! My laziness of learning how to drive is actually helping save the world. I never bothered to get my license & I have no desire to at the moment. Besides, cars are expensive & gross for the environment. I'm beyond fortunate to live in a city where driving isn't necessary. If you find yourself in a city where a car is a requirement, try to do some walking/biking as much as possible. Find out about your local public transportation because sometimes it can be interesting to find some other way to get to your destination without having to drive. You can even carpool if you must.

2. Use natural light.

Did you know there's this gigantic light bulb in the sky called the sun? Natural light makes for so much better ambiance than artificial light & it's totally free. Unfortunately, my apartment doesn't get much natural light inside, but I'm working on fixing that. Open the windows, let the light in & Mother Earth will thank you.

3. Ditch your electronics.

Read books, go outside, have a conversation etc. Basically anything that doesn't require technology. I know nobody wants to hear it, but the electricity you're burning adds up when you constantly have to charge your devices. I'm guilty of this, too. (As I sit here, I'm using a computer that's taking up energy.) It's often a livelihood for people to be on the internet constantly, but do you really need that extra hour of netflix/instagram/tumblr? Think about it.

4. Start reading labels.

You can tell a lot about a product's sustainability by its label. You can also use your own reasoning to figure out if an item used a lot of chemicals for its production. Try to give local businesses a chance because usually they don't require as much transportation (gas) to reach the shelves of a store. This goes for food, cosmetics & other items. Another important thing to consider is which items produce the most waste. Look for any options that are biodegradable or just plain natural (fruits & veggies).

5. Grow anything & everything yourself.

If you're one of those lucky people that can have a garden, I urge you to take advantage of it immediately. Especially now in the warmer months, make an attempt at growing your own stuff. If you feel like sprucing up your place, add some cheap & easy-to-maintain plants. Having indoor plants improves the air quality in your home & can also alleviate stress levels. It's amazing the difference it makes in your life & on Mother Earth.

Hope you enjoyed a few eco-friendly tips on this wonderful day! If you have any tips, definitely share them. I adore anyone who can see the importance in this issue, not just today, but everyday. Happy Earth Day to you!

-Mars

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. I didn't do much shopping on Black Friday this year, but on Saturday I went with my boyfriend to our local Asian supermarket here in Austin.

We've all heard of the brand of shoes called TOMS that are known for giving a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair bought. Perhaps not many are aware that they roast coffee, as well. I had no idea up until recently, when I spotted TOMS Roasting Co. in the Austin, Texas area.

I've been wanting to check this place out ever since I spotted it on South Congress. Finally my boyfriend & I gave into our curiosity & checked it out. We were pleasantly surprised by the ambience of the place. They had an area where you could buy TOMS sunglasses & shoes. They also had plenty of awesome spots (inside & outside) to relax & enjoy a beverage.




We both got the chai latte, recommended by the barista. I'm not much of a coffee fan, but they have a lot of other options like tea & beer. For every bag of coffee bought, TOMS will give clean water for a whole week to someone in need. I thought that was pretty honorable.



There's a marvelous view of the hustle & bustle happening on South Congress. We took this opportunity to sit on their swing seats out front & people-watch. Lots happening on Saturday night, especially since it's the summer solstice. We listened in on a nice Mexican band playing up the street & enjoyed our chai lattes.


Spotted some horses trotting down the road. This is quite common on Soco lately. They've even got the cowboy/cowgirl getup!



A girl walking around balancing a pot of flowers on her head. There's no limit to what your eyes will see here on South Congress.

We determined that this will be our new hangout & where we'll bring friends & family. South Congress is our favorite part of Austin & TOMS Roasting Co. is right up the street from all of our favorite food/stores.

 It has such a quaint vibe, even though the company itself is quite large. Definitely a great alternative to Starbucks. I'll have to try more of their beverages, but the chai latte was pretty great.

And the best part?

They have hammocks to just relax in! That immediately stole my heart. Every coffee shop should have hammocks for its patrons. Why is that not a thing? Moral of the story, I love this place. I could definitely get a ton of work done & have relaxation time all at once. Such a great vibe overall!

Hope everyone else had a wonderful summer solstice!

-Mars

Hello everyone! I wanted to let you all in on one of my not-so-secret, multipurpose weapons; castor oil! I know, right? When I first heard through the grapevine about this amazing substance, my first thought was "isn't that a laxative?"

Needless to say, I was unaware of all its magical powers. So, here are a few ways I use castor oil & why it's one of my necessities. One of the main reasons for castor oil's effectiveness is it's ability to penetrate deeper than other natural oils. The benefits seep deep into the skin, which is why it's been used for many centuries to cure dozens of ailments.


For Hair:: Castor oil is one of the most important natural oils that I use to deep condition my hair. Here's my post about how I use natural oils, including castor oil. Basically, castor oil helps stimulate hair growth & contains tons of goodness that contributes to the strengthening of strands.

Makeup Remover:: Waterproof eye makeup can be a total pain to remove. & it almost never comes completely off (at least in my experience). Castor oil works miracles at removing even the toughest of waterproof eyeliners/mascaras.

Moisturizer:: Sometimes I use castor oil on my face & lips because it is extremely beneficial for the skin. It improves the elasticity, which delays the occurrence of wrinkles. It doesn't make me breakout at all, which is awesome because everything tends to make me breakout. It's actually supposed to prevent acne, as well. Since it is rather thick, I rinse it off after I've rubbed it into my skin.
Tip: Warm it up in between your fingers before application. The skin always absorbs better through warmth.

Longer lashes:: Part of my nightly routine is rubbing a bit of castor oil on my lashes. Not only does this remove all my eye makeup, leaving the castor oil on overnight will stimulate lash growth. It also helps with getting rid of dark circles!

Thicker Brows:: Add a little to the brows overnight & overtime they'll end up growing thicker. The castor oil penetrates deep into the follicles, allowing them to grow faster. This is perfect since bushy brows are a huge thing on the runway lately.

Nail growth:: It's always important to make sure the nail beds are hydrated. I like to add a bit of castor oil to help each nail grow faster (even the toenails). It's extremely moisturizing & able to penetrate deep within the nail bed to be extra effective. Just a tiny bit around the cuticle & you're good to go!

I hope I'm not leaving anything out. Make sure the castor oil is cold-pressed, otherwise it won't have the same benefits. I purchase mine at the grocery store or health food store. Get It Here


-Mars

Hope everyone is having a lovely beginning of June! It still hasn't hit me that May is long gone & we're headed for mid-summer. It feels like Independence Day is right around the corner.

Lately, my mom & I have been discussing how we both need to get our lives in order. She wants to add more structure to her life & I'd like the same in mine. She & I aren't the most organized of people & we live for "comfortable chaos". I coined that term once when I was observing the mess in my apartment. Sure, my apartment was unkempt by most people's standards, but to me, it felt comfortable that way. It was my mess.

We came to an agreement that we have until my visit at the end of the month to achieve our goals. Before I visit my mom in Cincinnati, I'd like to have done yoga everyday for the month of June. She's a yoga instructor, so I want to be prepared to do plenty of yoga with her, as well as visit her studio.

In the upcoming three weeks, I hope to fill the time with tons of yoga & making my comfortable chaos a little less chaotic. It can be done! In the meantime, my yogi mom hopes to adopt more of an organized schedule, as well as maintain good eating habits. It's our duty to remind each other everyday. I'm hoping that writing a blog post on it will help make it happen.

June is a major month for commitment & health. We all want that beach body & now's not the time to make empty promises. I also hope to utilize the pool in my apartment complex for doing laps or just daily swimming. What's everyone else commiting to this month?

-Mars