Exciting News!

Hi Guys!

I can finally share what has been (lovingly) taking up so much of my time of late! I am super passionate about eating well and making healthy food accessible for everyone, so it's an absolute pleasure to be able to share The Prospect Project with you.

I will still continue to blog, however to keep things simple I have combined the blog to The Prospect Project site, so make sure you like the new FB page to keep updated with what's going on. Head over to www.theprospectproject.com to check it out, shop online, see my beautiful make up clients and follow the adventures of Iggy, our frenchie!

A massive thanks to everyone who has joined me on this journey, namely my beautiful girlfriends (the Clams) and my wonderful and patient man, Linken (The Pres), I am so incredibly excited for this next chapter.


xx

Meet Our Newest Addition

Oh hey there.

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I do apologise for disappearing off the face of the earth for a few weeks, there have been a few things that have been going on in my world, starting with a flu, a nasty case of gastro, house renovations, an exciting project in the works that I am so excited to share with you all soon, and most importantly, a new addition to our little family.....meet Iggy, our beautiful little pup who loves snuggles, mealtimes and urinating everywhere. 

She has the most beautiful nature and I literally haven't wanted to leave the house to do anything. We are so excited to see her grow and are loving all the joy she is bringing to our lives.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter break, stay tuned for more on the secret project I am working on....

Shannon xx

Links I love

This story from the Daily Mail of Romeo the boxer was diagnosed with inoperable bone cancer, his owner Riina dreamed up a bucket list and documented Romeo doing each of them before he passed away. 

My beautiful friend Taryn shared this list from Life Buzz on "30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself". Wiser words have never been spoken

This video of Chocolate Drop aka Kevin Hart freestyle battling T-Pain is all kinds of hilariousness

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas with Swiss Chard Pesto Recipe. Kind of.

Confession time: If you ask my friends and family, they would probably all say that I love cooking and do a pretty good job of it. Truth is, I am a terrible cook. I tend to forgo measurements and sometimes just eyeball it. I substitute random ingredients to make things healthier or to use up what I’ve got it the fridge.  Nigella Lawson, I am not.

Growing up in my house we ate pretty healthily. While most kids got a small pack of chips or a fun size mars bar in their lunchbox, for us a muesli bar was considered a treat. Takeaway food was out of the question, maybe once a month, if that. It’s no secret my parents are super fit, but everyday after school for my brother and I it meant athletics, basketball, soccer, you name it, we played it. Neither of us really excelled academically at school, but we sure had lots of trophies for sport. You get the drift.

Weekend Snapshot

Being woken up to a flower + coffee from the Pres

While the Pres got to work exposing some bricks in the front room...

I was the good apprentice who made protein smoothies and a sandwich

Vinyasa yoga with a view and my wonderful cousin

Saturday morning coasty and brekky with my bestie Eli

Lashes for another bestie Lisa. BEFORE...

And AFTER

The Pres was disgusted that at the first sign of rain I declared it onesie weather

Happiness in a bowl = vegetarian bimibap - brown rice, ginger tofu, enoki mushrooms, wilted chard, kimchi, pickled cucumber + nori

Hope your weekend was delightful xx

Pampering SOS: The Pres to the Rescue

Having been a beauty therapist in a past life, I vary rarely find myself in a day spa having treatments done. The same goes for most therapists, usually because:

1. Their time is filled with pampering other people
2. They have access to the products so find it hard to justify spending the money when they can do it themselves
3. It’s hard to switch off during a massage when you are critiquing someone’s technique
4. All of the above

I definitely fall under “4”, and being a naturally anxious person, find it hard to switch off at the best of times and usually find myself thinking about my to-do list and what’s coming up in my diary during a massage.

Scarface: Natural Treatments To Fade Scars (contains pictures some may find squeamish)

Say hello to my little friend....

A few weeks back I had some work done to my face. Unintentionally. by the hardwood floor of the OBH. From doing the worm.

Needless to say, when the Pres picked me up that night, he wasn't thrilled to see my chin open, nor the three hour wait in the emergency department. The next morning I went straight into damage control mode, starting with a big sorry to the Pres, and then working out a game plan for my wound.

Makeup Trend: Ox Blood

Get your inner vamp on and try this bold look. It is quite dramatic, but is balanced out by the minimal eye. These pics were my inspiration for my outfit for my dear friend, Hayley's wedding recently. The lippy I used is from  MAC and is called "Studded"

Power Plate - Worth The Hype?

So there I was, standing on a black platform, covered in sweat, everything jiggling at a million miles per hour. And when I say jiggling, I mean JIGGLING. I don’t think there is a girl out there who would welcome their thighs and ass moving like Miley Cyrus twerking in fast forward, let along in public. Did I mention that even my face was wobbling at full speed?

Why would I subject myself to such embarrassment, you ask? Turns out I was trying Power Plate – a machine that you stand on while performing strength and Pilates-style exercises whilst the machine transmits waves of energy throughout the body, activating muscle contractions between 25 and 50 times per second, enhancing overall performance.

Links I Love

Pets, then & now - an adorable, sometimes hilarious look at how quickly time flies 

Soooo cute - check out this baby girl do a "workout" with her dad 

Awkward or Hot? - a LA filmmaker asks 20 complete strangers to lock lips

Moving in Together? Make Sure You Read This First!

I recently had breakfast with an old work friend, who is about to move to the other side of the world (literally) to give love a chance. Talk about brave! I really admire people who have the balls to throw caution into the wind and put themselves out there. She asked me if I had some advice about moving in with a guy for the first time, and as a self-proclaimed girl who falls head over heels in love hard and fast, I have lived with my fair share of serious boyfriends and would consider myself “well practiced” on the topic.

In my gorgeous group of girlfriends, aka “the Clams” there are a few who are married, a handful who are engaged, some who like me are loved up and some who are single (but have lived with past boyfriends), so it was a no-brainer  to ask the clams for their advice. To protect their identities, I won’t reveal who said what, but if you know the clams, some of these will be glaringly obvious. Just a word of warning, this advice is raw and uncensored….

Making Me Happy

* Devouring a massive plate of vegan awesomeness for dinner outside while the sun goes down * deciding what treatments to get after The Pres surprised me with a voucher for Endota Day Spa * Dressing like a ninja in all black and giving Power Plate class a go for the first time * Making a batch of my spirulina incrediballs * Listening to Paloma Faith's "Can't Rely on You" on repeat - ladies, I challenge you to listen to this without wagging your finger about all sassy/Sascha Fierce-like * reminiscing about New York - take me back!!! * So much reality TV awesomeness I can't even deal - there needs to be more hours in the day * Counting down the sleeps until two beautiful souls tie the knot.9 sleeps to be exact.

Hair Bow Tutorial

I think we can all agree that it was Gaga that brought hair bows into the mainstream years ago. Whilst hers was made entirely from extensions, doing one in your real hair is super easy and I think makes a nice change from a doughnut bun.

To pull this off you will need:

• long hair, at least past shoulder length
• Hair that hasn't been washed recently
• Hair without a curl in it. Don't straighten it either. dried naturally is best

This is one of those hair enigmas that the more you play with it and try to style it, the worse it tends to look, so just have a go!

Step One: brush your hair into a high ponytail. Frizzy hair and split ends, as seen here, are optional  

Step Two: As you tie the pony with an elastic, just before you pull the final loop through, stop halfway with the rest of the hair facing towards your forehead. Or fivehead.

Step Three: separate the looped part into 2 sections. Wow, I really need a hair cut.

Step Four: Fold the ponytail end that is at the front 180 degrees through the middle of the parted loop and thread it through the elastic to secure. If your hair is long enough you can then wrap whatever is left around your hair elastic to conceal. 

Step Five: Use bobby pins to secure, use a brush and some hairspray to hold down any flyaways and there you have it! Time to let your inner Japanese girl shine!

Sayonara bitches x

Weekend Snapshot

                          

 * Friday work function with a view * Brekky catch up with a beautiful friend * The Pres' folks came up from Albany and taking them to see the City Farm in East Perth * Squealing with delight at the incredible boxes of organic fruit and veg they brought for us * Turning the worlds best tomatoes into a salad with basil from our garden, danish feta, olives and garlic olive oil * Using the apples to make apple pie from scratch * Watching the Pres knock out some built in shelves (I was the Foreman) and discovered an old hospital prescription book from 1948 * Got my OCD on and cleaned the bathroom head to toe and then got my zen on with some plants, a candle, hair treatment and facial