Cute Kittens, DearNaptural85, Family Gathering, Filipe, Funny Cats, Lol, Naptural85, Relationships, Vlog, family in Life Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 08:25PM Hey Guys! I heard you loud and clear! Here's another option for all my vegetarian friends, or really anyone who loves vegetables! This easy, quick, and healthy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe is really delicious and quite filling! It can be whipped up in no time and your family will love it! Give it a try! Hope it helps!
xoxo Whit
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 07:16PM Hey Guys!
I'm asked, quite often, about my protective styling habits: If I do it, How often, and If I think it's necessary… So I figured, it's a good time for me to talk about it in a post!
First of all, what is "Protective Styling"?
Well, "Protective Styling" can mean a lot of things! But in general, it's any hairstyle that when created, shields the hair from a variety of elements and harmful situations! This includes extreme weather, both hot and cold, to prevent the hair from drying out, as well as stress caused to the hair follicles from daily styling and manipulation. In order to give your hair a "break," you can install a protective style so that you can go a certain amount of days, weeks, or months without having to pull, comb, brush, or tug on your hair! This reduces the amount of damage to your hair, and gives it the opportunity to grow out stress-free!
It's usually a style that can be worn for long periods of time without having to be taken out, such as braids or twists. But it can also be a style that focuses on strategically hiding, tucking, and protecting only the ends of your hair, made to last anywhere from a month to even just one day.
For example, braids and mini twists are protective styles that last for months at a time. They protect the hair from the stress of daily styling, tugging, combing, and brushing. On the other hand, a French twist, bun, hat or scarf style can also be considered protective styles, even though they are usually made to be worn for one day and removed at the end of the night. Although their wear is brief, it's considered "protective" because the ends of the hair have been completely covered or hidden!
Note: The ends of our hair are the oldest and therefore, the most fragile, so tucking or hiding it into younger, less-weathered hair closer to the scalp, such as in French twist styles and buns, or tucking it into a scarf/hat helps to shield and protect it from the elements! So, a "Protective Style" can be one or all of the above; the possibilities are endless!
So what do I think of Protective Styling?
Well, I think they're great! (Tony the Tiger!?) Although, I do enjoying wearing my hair out most, and will usually have it hanging free about 90% of the time. However, the other 10% of my time is spent wearing buns and other styles that allow me to tuck in the ends of my hair, which usually only last the day. In the time that I happen to be wearing a protective style, it's most often for the sake of style, and the "protection" factor is usually a second thought for me. But I have had occasions when my hair felt extremely dry, so I would purposefully wear a hat of scarf to protect it, but those times are few and far between (usually on extremely frigid winter days when I'm fearful of extreme weathering).
In terms of long-term protective styles, I really don't do many of those. It's just because I enjoy wearing my hair free and loose! But as you guys know, I LOVE my mini twists! They're my favorite protective style, although the hair can be pretty fragile when twisted in such small sections, they do protect the hair from daily stress caused from styling.
So in a nutshell, I am a fan of protective styling. I think that sometimes the hair needs a break from daily styling and that the ends need to be protected from time to time! Is it completely necessary? Mmm,… I guess I'd say yes! I don't like having to say that anything having to do with hair care is "required" or "necessary," but I do think that the hair will benefit immensely from a day, week, or month of protective styling. I've seen the benefits of protective styling and know for sure it works. I really should try and wear more long term protective styles for my own hair just to keep it healthy and strong, hmm… maybe!
Okay, so I hope it helps guys! Let me know what your favorite protective style is in the comments below!
Talk to you soon!
XoXo Whit
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 06:37PM I get requests to upload videos about my skin care routine a lot! I've been getting these requests for over a year now, and I've been putting it off because I was testing out different products and waiting to see long term results. I didn't want to recommend something to you guys and regret it later on. So here it is! The full list of everything I have been using to treat my adult acne! It's a short list, but the products are quite effective. My skin is finally clearing up, looking brighter, healthier, and more fresh, and I'm so happy about it!
p.s. Thanks for all the advice in the comments and to my inbox, on eating better and drinking more water, I definitely agree! I have been battling acne for a long time, and I consider myself to be quite healthy. I drink lots of water and am obsessed with veggies! I believe that there can be other factors besides what we are eating, including stress levels and life situations that can cause a breakdown in your immune system and health, causing breakouts. Not to mention genetics! My mom has always had acne and still battles adult acne to this day. But besides genetics, the past three years has been extemely stressful, I'm pretty sure that's where a lot of my breakouts came from. I've moved over 4 times in the past three years (including two different states), and have been self-employed for over 4 years. That kind of stress tends to have a big impact on your health and appearance.
Also, this video isn't really about "How To Maintain Clear Healthy Skin," if that was the case, I would definitely include how important it is to be healthy in your everyday lifestyle, like always! But my requests were to show what products I use to reduce the amount of acne that I currently have on my skin, which is why the video is so product focused. (The only time I will ever make a "How To Have Clear Healthy Skin" video is if I was able to maintain my clear healthy skin for more than a year, which I haven't been able to do since I was 13!) Of course, 100% natural products are what I want to use on my skin. I've tried many forms of 100% natural products on my skin and most haven't worked for me. Rather than damage my skin any more, and with much insistence from my worried mom (lol... you know how it is...), I decided to just go for the next best thing, Naturally "Derived".
That's why my New Year's Resolution this year was to "Have Fun!" I'm trying to find a healthy balance between work and play, (instead of all work and no play which has caused me a lot of stress). That way, once my skin clears up, I'll be able to give 100% natural face care products another go. I just don't want to create damage on top of damage that could be irreversible. Also, I need the time to get settled into a routine first before venturing out again. But my life goals are, of course, to live a balanced, happy, healthy, and natural lifestyle, so I will do what it takes to get there! Sometimes we just hit a little road block and need to hit rewind for a second to re-group.
So anyway, I hope the video helps guys!
xoxo Whit
Blog, DearNaptural85, Naptural85, Products, Treatments in Beauty Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 06:34PM Hey Guys! Here's an incredibly easy chocolate dessert that anyone can whip up! Just in time for Valentine's Day, surprise your significant other with some delicious chocolate covered strawberries! Enjoy!
xoxo Whit
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 06:27PM Here's one for all the professionals out there! The "High Society" Bun, perfect for the office, events, galas, or any place you need to look professionally sophisticated. It's a really easy and quick natural hairstyle! Hope it helps!
XoXo Whit
Blog, DearNaptural85, Filipe, Funny Cats, Lol, Love, Marriage, Naptural85, Skiing in the Mountains, SuperBowl Weekend, Vlog, family in Life Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:43PM Late Post!
I almost forgot to post this on my blog! Last weekend I tried uploading this to Youtube three times in two days while in the mountains; the connection was horrible! But at least we had a connection, lol. Anyway, I forgot to post it to my blog, so here goes!
Here's a quick and easy style done on stretched out hair! Perfect for natural hair, relaxed hair, or naturally curly hair! This style is similar to a side braid; I call it "The Infinity Twist" because the twist has the appearance of traveling around the entire head. I added a slight bohemian feel for a more laid-back style! Perfect for those days when you need your hair out of your face, or cute under a hat! Hope you enjoy!
XoXo Whit
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 12:39PM Hey Guys!
This weekend I went to New Hampshire with my sister and her husband's family on a snow boarding trip! It was a lot of fun, take a peek!
We were deep in the mountains. My sister and her husband know all the great hiking, boarding spots! Isn't it so beautiful?
My sister was in charge of the roaring fire; she's a pro. #ProudLittleSis
Unfortunately I didn't hit the slopes this time. I am TERRIFIED of down-hill skiing/boarding. Last time Filipe tried teaching me how to board, I got mad and ended up trading it in for skis, which I thought would be easier for me since I remember doing well as a kid. But I ended up sucking majorly, and getting stranded on top of the mountain, having to take off my skis and crawl down on hands and knees. All while countless young kids (and Filipe) went zipping by me. It was terrifying, lol... but really.
So I wanted to take some professional lessons before we went on this trip, but didn't have time, so I stayed in the lodge with my sister and her sister-in-law. It was so much fun anyway, people were ripping it down those steep hills! I'll definitely be making sure I get some lessons before the season's over. I'm ready for some hill action!
In the lodge there was a live band playing everything from Bob Marley to Carlos Santana! Samual Adams Brewery had their team there promoting the brand, giving out hats, t-shirts, and bottle openers with their logo. They were also holding a raffle to win a pair of skis and bindings, and my sister won!! It was so exciting! She had so many tickets on the table, and when they called the winning number I screamed "Oh my God, You Woooon!!!" and threw the ticket in her face! I don't know why I expected her to catch it, Lol! Anyway, they were a pair of really nice $600 skis!!
We left on Sunday to head back to Massachusetts to watch the Superbowl with my parents and cousin!
Mom, the party-planner extraordinare, made a whole slew of goodies for the game, including these pork carnita burritos!
She's super organized, so she insisted that we all put our names on our cups with a Sharpie marker so we don't waste cups (good thinking mom!) Can you tell whose cup this is: ???
Lol, thanks Dad!
Anyway, the Patriots lost #SadFace, but that's okay, you can't win them all! Hopefully we'll be back next year!
*SideNote: Brady, get it together man! If your Hollywood life with Giselle is getting in the way, get your butt back to the Bean so you can toughen up and regroup! In the thickest Bahstin accent I can drum up: "Toughen up, Yah Gettin' Wickid Sahft!" We need another Trophy in Title-Town!
Did you watch the Superbowl this weekend!? How did you celebrate? Let me know in the comments below!
XoXo
Whit
Blog, Boston, DearNaptural85, Filipe, Fun, Life, Naptural85, Patriots, Relationships, Superbowl, Vlog, family in Life 
