Coffee - kicking fat to the curb! COFFEEKIX Review Pt 2

So it's been a couple of weeks now since I started drinking CoffeeKIX, the new slimming green coffee, which is now available in the UAE. Have I seen some results? The answer is a resounding YES. I'm probably down just over 2kgs now since I started drinking it - although some days I will have only one sachet instead of two. I've also started putting a splash of milk in it, just to sweeten up the slightly bitter flavour.

I've found that the coffee curbs my appetite quite a bit as well as having the detox effects - which I will say, if you weren't a regular loo user before, you will be now!!! (to put it politely). One major thing to note, is that you absolutely MUST drink lots of water, because of the afore  mentioned detox effects, you need to replenish the hydration that you could be losing. Also worth noting is that if you suffer from any gastric issues, the effects could be a bit worse for you.

Overall though, so far so good. I still have a few weeks supply to go through, so will update on the end results once I've finished my month. Happy coffee drinking :-)

For more information check out: https://www.facebook.com/coffeekix

Coffee - kicking fat to the curb! COFFEEKIX Review Pt 1

Anyone who's ever been told to lose a few pounds, will know that they start looking around for that miracle fat loss product. Well could coffee be it? I've recently been told to lose 10% of my body weight - around 6 kgs, to be healthier. So, I jumped at the chance when offered the opportunity to try out the latest product on the market in the Middle East.

COFFEEKIX slimming green coffee, promises to shed 10% of your body weight in a month, simply by drinking two sachets a day, one 20 mins before breakfast and lunch.

You might already be aware of this product, which has been featured on the Dr Oz Show, and he's all about the best ways to stay healthy and has hailed COFFEEKIX as the 'miracle bean'.

How does it work? Here comes the science bit :-)

Chlorogenic Acid commonly known as green coffee extract is completely natural and found in unroasted coffee beans. It works in 2 very simple ways, It burns glucose, sugar and fat. It also slows the release of sugar into the blood stream, preventing sugar build up in the blood. This combination Burns, Blocks and Stops Fat! 

Having my first cup, what is my first impression? Well many diet and weight loss products taste, quite frankly awful and I've been given the option of adding a splash of low fat milk and /or sweetner to taste, but actually COFFEEKIX tastes good on its own. I'd liken it to an Arabic coffee with a slight licorice flavour - both of which I happen to like, so no issues there. 

COFFEEKIX promises safe and healthy weight loss, with no side effects, so I have high hopes for this all natural product.

COFFEEKIX is available in the UAE from Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdales, Health Food Stores and 5* Hotel Spa. The recommended retail price is 220 Dhs.

For more information, check out the facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/coffeekix

Too hot to trot - take extra care of your dog in the summer months

Summer time in the UAE can be tough on all of us, but it's also tough on our furry friends. Year after year many people seem to forget, while blissfully walking their dogs, how hot the pavements, roads and sand can get. You won't walk around barefoot on it, so don't expect your dog too either. Walkies timings become super early mornings and late evenings, but sometimes they just have to go out in the day time and with many places lacking in greenery close by, concrete and sand are the only options.

Already vets have reported several cases of dogs being brought in with burnt paws. Animals that have been left out in the heat - a BIG no no or walked on surfaces too hot for them and this sadly is the result:

Horrific isn't it?! Imagine how painful that is?!

So, what can we do to help our dogs go for a walk and avoid this horrible outcome. Well a few people have suggested using baby socks with the non-slip bottoms, fastened with elastic bands. You could have lots of fun with different colours and patterns and I'm sure your fur baby would lvoe you for it or not as the case may be :-)

But there are specialised solutions. I got some Ruffwear dog boots for my boy Toby. They're hard wearing with grip pads on the bottom and fasten with a simple velcro strap. I was amazed that he didn't try to chew them off in about ten seconds, instead standing and staring at me as if to say 'What the hell are these things now?'. Watching Toby walk in them for the first time was pretty hysterical, as he over exaggerated the movements, but once outside all was forgotten in about thirty seconds and he went about his walk as usual.

I got these booties from City Vet on Al Wasl road, Dubai and they have some great advice for all dog owners.

So, please take care of your dog during the summer months. If it's too hot for you outside, it's too hot for them. If you need to wear shoes to walk on the ground, so do they.

A response blog - we go to the cinema to WATCH THE MOVIE!

Now, it's not very often that I feel the need to write a response to something, but in this case I think I will. It is a response to a recent blog article in a local newspaper about going to the cinema.

http://blogs.thenational.ae/others/hey-habibti/hate-people-chatting-at-the-movies-then-watch-at-home-alone

Now let me start with this comment from Haneen 'The whole point of a public cinema is to have fun with your friends while watching the movie of your choice.' er no Haneen, the whole point of going to the cinema, is to watch the movie!!! I haven't just paid my hard earned cash, to listen to you have a conversation with your friends or chatter away on your phone - bring back mobile blockers in cinemas I say. You should absolutely, 100% treat going to the movies, like being in a library and KEEP QUIET.

Sadly, it would seem that people like Haneen, do not know what is and what is not socially acceptable. If you want to socialise with your friends, then you go to a coffee shop, or a bar, or a shisha cafe, where it is acceptable to talk and have a conversation - arrange to go to one of your friends houses, stick on a DVD and have your fun there.

Now, for many people going to watch a film on the big screen is a personal experience, it's a couple of hours of escapism, a chance to get away from the grind of daily life and have a flight of fantasy for a while - which is why, where I come from, people have no issues with going to the movies alone, because everyone is there for the same reason, again TO WATCH THE FILM.

Whether this article is indeed tongue in cheek, it certainly doesn't come across like that to me, or to many other people. Sadly what it has done, has backfire rather spectacularly. What Haneen also fails to realise, is that her 'freedom of speech' ends when her actions affect other people. It also rather tragically, reflects certain nationalities in a bad light and only goes to reinforce the stereotype that some people live in a fantasy world of false self importance and superiority over others, where making others lives miserable is of great enjoyment to them. All this before stating the obvious, in that if you are writing in a publication, then you have a social responsibility of someone in the media to not cause upset, antagonize or cause division.

Haneen also fails to grasp that her and her friends attitudes and behaviour has an impact on the local economy - bet she never thought of that did she? Why might this be? Well it's rather obvious, certain peoples behaviour and failure to behave in a socially acceptable manner is a deterrent to many actually going to the movies to start with, because they know it's going to be an event filled with grief and aggravation, rather than an enjoyable experience. So, therefore lower audience figures = higher prices for those who attempt to go and watch a film.

If people acted this way where I come from, you'd be booted out the cinema in an instant and have a whole lot of public humiliation to go with it!

So, here is my suggestion to Haneen and her friends. Cinemas have mums and toddlers showings, why don't you pop along to those, where you can behave like the children you are, be as disruptive and as noisy as you like, and leave the rest of us, who actually go to the cinema to watch a film, do so in peace.

To those of you who actually do know how to behave at the movies, carry on and enjoy :-)

Wedding planning - nightmare? Or piece of cake?

Planning your big day can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. Having basically planned my wedding myself, I discovered very quickly that one of the most useful and helpful things, is getting recommendations from friends and other couples on where to go for various things.

Wedding planning is both exciting and stressful at the same time. Without going into huge details, I will give a basic run down of everyone I used, in the hope others might find the information useful.

The Church - We got married at Christ Church, Jebel Ali in Dubai. The entire staff are extremely helpful and gave us untold contacts and assistance and generally made life very easy. It really is worth paying the extra, to get them to have your marriage certificate attested and legalised. The Chaplain, Steven Wright was brilliant and really personalised the ceremony to us.

http://christchurchjebelali.com/

My dress. Trying bridal dresses on, has to be one of the most exciting and hilarious experiences for any bride (just a shame we couldn't have Champers at the same time!). I had an idea of the sort of dress I wanted, but ideas and the reality can be very different. What you think might suit you, might not and vice versa. It's definitely better to go with an open mind. I think you know when you have the right dress, when you virtually burst into tears and it's so beautiful. When you're standing there on the podium, in dress, heels, veil and it all just looks perfect.

I'd thought about ordering a dress online, or having one made from scratch, but I really didn't want to take the risk, so when I found my perfect dress, I ordered the correct size then had it altered. I tried dresses and bought mine from The Wedding Shop in Dubai. The staff were more than attentive and the alterations were made free of charge.

My husband also hired his tuxedo from the Wedding Shop, which was very cost effective. 250 Dhs and you pick it up the day before and drop it back the day after.

http://www.theweddingshop.ae/

I'm a big fan of personalised engagement and wedding rings and that's something that jewelers do very well in Dubai. My go to jewellery experts are in Duba's Gold & Diamond Park - Cara's. Their staff are always very professional and really spend the time, to help people get exactly what they want. The bonus is, if you want something made, they do it very well and very quickly. A friend who bought an engagement ring there, actually went to the workshop to see it being made.

www.carajewellers.com

Flowers can really be a headache and extremely pricey to boot! Many flourists/hotels will want to charge 500/600 Dhs upwards just for the bridal bouquet! Luckily for me, this is where a fantastic friend recommendation came in. I knew what colours I had in mind and I couldn't originally decide whether to go for fresh or artificial flowers, but in the end I decided on fresh.

I was recommended a little flourist in Dubai, Garden Gate Flowers, which I went and visited and they were so helpful, they had exactly the colours and flowers I was looking for - even if they didn't, they could probably get them ones you wanted. In the end my bouquet, a bridesmaids bouquet and 4 button holes came to just shy of 500 Dhs. The flowers were beautiful and exactly what I was looking for.

www.ggflora.com

There's definitely something to be said for shopping around and even looking online! My mother pointed me in the direction of a fantastic online store - Light in the Box -  from which I ended up buying my wedding invitations, veil, shoes and garter from. It's worth noting that because these items mostly come from China, with things like shoe sizing, it's worth ordering a size up, otherwise they can be a bit of the small size - luckily I did this and they fitted perfectly. I loved my wedding shoes so much, I bought the same ones in various other colours - a girl has to shop (sometimes).

www.lightinthebox.com

When it comes to your wedding photography, you really want someone who is experienced and knows exactly what they're doing. I spoke to and researched many photographers in Dubai, but I didn't really feel comfortable, until I came across Helen Shippey. I'd researched her work, she came highly recommended and was just a lovely person, who understood what I wanted and put me completely at ease. She also went out of her way to get permission for us to take photographs at the Madinat as well - we photo-bombed the Dubai International Film Festival red carpet :-) Everyone has commented on how wonderful our wedding photos are and I can't wait to have some of them made into canvases.

http://shippeyphotography.com/

https://www.facebook.com/shippeyphotography

Deciding where to have your wedding reception is such a personal thing, but I think we really did come across one of the most lovely venues in Dubai - The Empire Room at the H Hotel. It's a good sized space, not too big, not too small with very elegant and classy decor. The staff at the H organised our reception for us aswell. I couldn't fault Nina, who listened to exactly what we wanted and she and her staff came through in spectacular style. We had a personalised buffet dinner, British vs German courses, wonderful wines, personalised welcome drinks and the biggest red velvet cake as a wedding cake that I've ever seen! Not to leave out the gorgeous flower arrangements. They truly made our evening special. What's more, included in their wedding package was a suite for the night for us - which was outstanding! It was so wonderful after a manic, exciting and special day to head to your room and find the giant bath filled with hot bubbly water and scattered rose petals, truly a personal touch. Definitely a venue worth considering.

www.h-hotel.com

I have a go-to company for Limo hire in Dubai.  Dubai Exotic Limo. I've used them on many occasions now and they've never let me down. They're good on price, have a great range of vehicles and their drivers are simply fantastic.

www.dubaiexoticlimo.com

For the entertainment factor of the night, I made the guests do some work with karaoke - always goes down well after people have had a bevvy or six. I roped in work mate Nick Robinson (Radio 1 UAE), to do the honours in hosting the karaoke and to do some DJing, which he did brilliantly as always. There were a few extra bits of equipment that I needed to hire, so I turned to Media Kraft for those.

www.mekraft.com

Annnnnd I think that's just about it! I thoroughly enjoyed planning our big day, but of course there are many good wedding planners out there who can assist and do pretty much everything for you. But whatever you decide to do, enjoy it, as it all goes by so fast on the actual day :-)

Kite surfing in Dubai

It's not normally a sport that you'd associate with the UAE, as the winds can be unpredictable and not as strong as other spots around the globe, yet kite surfing has taken off in a big way. When the winds are good, if you head over to Kite Beach or NessNass Beach you'll see kites of every colour of the rainbow taking to the air and people eagerly taking to the water for a riding session.

I'd long been fascinated by this particular sport but wake boarding had been my staple adrenaline sport of choice for a good few years now, but then when the wind is up and the water is too choppy to ride, what's the alternative?


Last year I had a few lessons and then got stuck back into my wake boarding. This year however, I was determined to get the hang of it. I booked some lessons with Duco and Toma from Duco Maritime and found them both very professional, patient and extremely helpful and encouraging. In the initial stages, you learn to fly the training kite on the beach, which even with stronger winds can give you a good old pull about. Once a student has mastered the training kite, then it's time to learn how to fly the big kite. Safety is key in this sport as the last thing you want is to be dragged along, so it's important to know how to get yourself out of trouble and get rid of the rig to avoid any issues.

Learning to fly a kite anywhere from 13 - 17+ metres can be quite a daunting prospect, but a lot of fun and an exhilarating experience at the same time. Once you learn how to control the big kite, it's time to get into the water for some body dragging and learning how to control everything actually in the sea. The instructors go with you for the first few goes, to make sure you've got everything under control, then you're ready to try it on your own. Being the newbie out on the water can be quite scary, as you might not have as much control as other people. Certainly crashing the kite into the water - which is inevitable - and trying to relaunch it again can be pretty tough, but obviously a necessary skill.


Once you've learned all this, and practiced how to rescue your board, then it's time to try and get up on the board - this I've not quite mastered yet, as I have to shake off my wake boarding know-how first - when you first try it, it's like a coordination nightmare. Controlling the kite, whilst trying to put your board on your feet and if you're not the most flexible person in the world, it can be a bit of a challenge. At this point I'm learning it's all about the 'feel', getting up quickly, controlling the kite, keeping momentum, picking up speed etc. I have so far managed to get up twice, which was a great feeling, especially as I had several people cheering me on from the beach, before I fell back into the water.


So the challenge continues to crack this and hopefully very soon I'll be joining the masses gliding along the water with my bit multi-coloured kite. The thing I like about this sport is that it's something you can do on your own :-)


If you'd like to take up the sport, or have an introduction, why not get in touch with Duco and the team.


https://www.facebook.com/DucoMaritime

http://www.ducomaritime.com/

Put some Glamour in your life :-)

Always on the look out to put a little more girly glamour in my life, I stumbled across GlamBox. This is a neat idea where for a small subscription fee, each month you get sent a gorgeous pink  box with five sample size beauty products - genuis! So you get the chance to try the products then decide if you'd like to purchase the full sized item.

Items in the May box can be seen here: http://www.glambox.me/month-623.aspx

My favourites are definitely the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant - after using this my skin looked brighter, cleaner, clearer and felt a lot smoother, this is definitely one product that will become a staple part of my skin care routine.

The Xen-Tan Scent Secure Gold is a nice product. I'm not one for using fake tans, of which the majority smell awful, so this moisturiser will be fantastic. However, being used just as a tinted moisturiser it instantly gives your skin a nice healthy glow and being oil free it sinks in instantly locking in moisture - fabulous!

Always a big fan of Lancome products, I was really pleased to see the Hypnose Doll Lashes mascara in my GlamBox (my old mascara is way past its bin by date). The cone shaped brush means the mascara goes on evenly, giving volume and an extended look to your lashes. I also found this particular mascara very light and easy to wear.

As someone who has wild, wavy, fizzy hair the next product really caught my interest, Davines OI/OIL Absolute Beautifying Potion. It's a treatment oil that can lock in moisture, untangle, anti-frizz and protect your hair leaving it soft and shiny. After washing my hair and working through a few drops of the oil, then styling as usual, my hair seemed a bit more manageable and less likely to instantly frizz in the humid UAE weather. It'll take a little time to see how this product really works on my hair though.

The final goodie in my May GlamBox was a voucher for a blow dry at N Style, which I'll keep for a special occasion.

Take a look at www.GlamBox.me for more information :-)