Last week sometime I got a notification that Kate and Kayla are now following me on twitter and their bio intrigued me:

the story of two Canadian girls who quit their jobs, sold everything and moved to Jamaica in pursuit of adventure, sunshine and happiness …..

Isn’t it something straight outta House Hunters International? LOL I started to read their blog and I was so fascinated! I read it all. They’re good story-tellers. Not to mention they introduced me to a couple spots here in Jamaica that I, the local who considers myself quite the adventurer, have never heard about. I need to make it out to Flavours Beach after reading that post. And after reading everything I decided I wanted to know even more and reached out to them to have a little chat. Here’s how that went: 

It seems something out of a movie, less than a year after your first visit to Jamaica you guys packed and moved here! Has it been everything you hoped?

It has been everything we’d hoped and more.  We didn’t really know what to expect, so many things came as a surprise …. we had no idea how impatient we were (coming from the hustle and bustle of our every day lives in Canada, compared to the laid back vibe of the island) and that was probably what was tested the most!!  And we also loved that in any given day we never really knew what was in store for us.  It was (and still is!) an adventure every time we leave our apartment.  As for being out of a movie, it was definitely a lot of hard work to do it, but was worth every sacrifice we’ve made … absolutely no regrets!!

What is a typical day like for you here in Jamaica?

We would love to answer with something crazy and adventurous but that wouldn’t be a “typical” day.  When we don’t have a specific adventure planned, a “typical” day for us in Jamaica begins like this:  Wake up whenever (usually around 10am to be honest because at that point the sun is beaming in so brightly it’s impossible to not be at least a bit awake) make breakfast and, more importantly, sit on the balcony of our apartment and sip coffee that usually involves rum cream… we love watching people walk by and goats roaming around looking for food.  After this we decide if it’s going to be a beach day (gotta work on our tans!) or more of a town day.  We have a few places we like to go around town in Runaway Bay and Ocho Rios so we will do any number of things, usually at a very slow pace!  People are always asking us what we do during the day but honestly, it’s not much different than what we would do on a “day off’ in Canada.  We are perfecting the art of juss chillin’ (which was actually harder to do than we thought it would be)!  In fear of sounding boring, let us tell you that there is always something exciting happening in a typical day, and that’s thanks to the people we meet along the way – could be walking down the road, at a store or bar, waiting for the bus, on the bus, after we get off the bus…on the beach…wherever!  There’s always a new story to hear and someone new to share our story with!  Never a dull moment, that’s for sure with all the people we meet and talk to.

 

You mention going back to Canada to work and support your stays in Jamaica on your blog, any plans of setting up shop here and making the move even more permanent?

We would love to be able to, but immigration and visa issues are a little tricky to sort out and obtain.  So, no immediate plans but we have definitely talked about it and maybe someday we will!  I think the dream would be to own a villa and be able to live in Jamaica half the year (at least … to escape the cold Canadian winters! LOL).  Or have a cute little bar, but who knows, maybe both!  People are always giving us ideas and trying to help us out on how to make our stay more permanent which is very encouraging and we greatly appreciate all of their help.

 What’s the strangest food you’ve tried/thing you’ve done/place you’ve visited since being here and what were your thoughts?

Probably the strangest food that I (Kate) have tried has to be cow foot.  I just had a taste and the texture totally freaked me out!  Not really sure if I’ll be trying that one again, but I’m pretty open when it comes to trying new things! (ID: You’re brave girl not even I eat cow foot! Ew! LOL)  

Strangest thing / place .. I would qualify this as strange, but awesome as well!  Firewater in St. Ann’s Bay was incredible!  There is a small pool of mineral water where they can light the water on fire .. you can even sit in it and touch it!!  It’s so crazy – goes against all the concepts you think of between fire and water LOL.  You can read all about our adventure here.

Now, this one isn’t strange for us, but it seems to be for others who see us .. you should see all the strange looks we get when we squeeze ourselves into a bus in Jamaica LOL … same thing if its just the two of us driving around in the car … people look at us with the most shocked and strange looks on their faces, it’s hilarious!

And all this to say, Kate and Kayla are just getting started with our adventures around Jamaica.  Now that we’re getting more used to the way of life on the island, we’re becoming much braver and more adventurous with our travels … so stay tuned, because there’s no doubt we’ll have much more to add to the list in the very near future!

One thing that bothers me about my beautiful island is the amount of haggling I know tourists probably have to endure when they leave the resort areas, how do you handle this when you’re out and about?

Well, the way we see it is this:  if you think of it as haggling or harassing, that’s how you’re going to feel about it.  The way we look at it instead, is this: part of handling it is just accepting that it is a way of life for the people who are doing it.  Who’s to say we wouldn’t do the same thing if we were in their position?  It’s important to be honest with them and not say that you are coming back later just to be polite, say no and they will stop asking!  And if you do want to buy something, they will be incredibly helpful!  We have to accept the fact that this is going to happen everywhere we go because no matter what, we will be tourists in most people’s eyes forever!  So we smile, say a firm “no thank you”, and keep on walkin’!   (ID: what a great attitude to have! I love it!)

Do you think you’ll be here for the long haul or maybe just a couple years?

Well, like we mentioned before, we’d love to be able to stay more permanently, but it’s a bit too soon to tell at this point (we had no idea just a little over a year ago that we’d even be where we are now!).  I do think it’s safe to say that we will always be traveling to Jamaica.  Whether it be for vacations, extended vacations or actually putting some roots down, Kate and Kayla will always be in Jamaica at some point!

 Have you guys been to Kingston yet? What are your thoughts on our capital city? Do you think you would move “from country to town” here eventually?

2 comment(s) Thanks for reading BFFs @Kate_and_Kayla take Jamaica from http://iriediva.com/2012/05/17/kate-and-kayla-take-jamaica/

It’s fun to document my hair story month to month and see the changes, the growth, the colours and different weird things I keep throwing in it and so here I am with another update since my last one a month ago. Since I’ve become quite the mixtress, you know my regimen has since changed!

So what’s new? I’ve started using black soap! I’m such a waggonist, anything new and exciting I am all over it. So when I heard of this all natural soap made in Africa that does wonders for acne and skin marks and hair and rainbows and sprinkles and glitter I had to get my hand on a piece. Read Beautiful Earth’s article on black soap here, she’s who I bought my little piece from to experiment. Here’s an excerpt:

Properties:

• Helps deep clean and exfoliate the skin.
• Used to remove excess oils from the skin, which helps to treat and prevent acne.
• Used on most skin types including rough and dry.
• Helps with bumps and spots.
• Helps reveal radiant, fresh, and healthy skin.
• Soothes several types of skin irritations, such as razor burn, rashes and eczema.

INGREDIENTS: African black soap uses only natural ingredients and contains no preservatives, colour enhancers, or fragrances. Instead raw black soap generally contains: plantain skin, palm kernel oil, palm oil, cocoa pod ash, coconut oil, and honey. The leaves and bark from palm trees, shea trees, plantains and cocoa pods are turned to ashes. Water, coconut oil, and palm oil are added to the mixture as well. Black soap includes iron and vitamins A & E because of the plantains used in the soap-making process. African black soap creates a soft lather without the animal fat additives that are commonly used in soaps.

The bit about eczema is pure gold. I’ve always had to use sensitive soap on munchkin’s skin as she has eczema real bad but now I’ve switched to black soap which is cheaper and it works so well on her skin. I’ve read on different boards that black soap can be drying and when I first tried just the raw black soap on my face, it sure was squeaky clean, so of course I added stuff to mine using pretty much this method:

Using some of the warm green tea infused with thyme toner recipe, I crumbled the black soap in about a cup and left it to melt overnight. The next day I added honey, olive oil, coconut oil, wheat germ oil and whipped shea butter to my mixture. Lots of moisture, your skin couldn’t need anymore than that! And let me tell you, baby soft! Every time I wash my face with this stuff? Baby soft!!! Of course I use my green tea toner after. Munchkin’s skin loves it, my hair loves it, I’m going to put it in a mold and marry it! When I use this mix to wash my hair I rarely feel the need to condition it. Its so soft!

So there you have this month’s update. I’ve also started using Kinky Curly Knot Today as my leave-in conditioner and it truly is everything that all the bloggers rave about but I’ll skip the review. There are a million of them out there. I mix it with aloe vera to stretch it cus it ain’t cheap, but it’s worth it. I flat-twisted the back of my hair last night to get some stretch out of it, I can’t really tell the difference in curl pattern but I definitely like the shape, I’ll do this more often when my hair needs a wash as it tends to go shapeless ‘fro on me then. Here’s the result:

 I think my skin is definitely loving the black soap, don’t you agree? Have you ever used it before? Like it?

BTW, you may be tired of hearing about just my story by now and seeing my ol’ face so if you’re natural and up for sharing a few pics and your hair story please link up so I can feature you!

3 comment(s) Thanks for reading Hair update: 3 months post big chop, adding black soap to the regimen from http://iriediva.com/2012/05/16/hair-update-3-months-post-big-chop-adding-black-soap-to-the-regimen/

Earrings are getting bigger and bigger eh?!?!?! I wore a pair yesterday that touched my shoulders and I kept shoo-ing away some imaginary fly that I thought was buzzing around me! How silly  If you follow these women on Basketball Wives your ears will be touching your knees soon…aren’t these dangerous? I “skkaned” through a party album recently and saw that the bigger, longer trend in earrings is definitely what’s up…

-__-

Are you on the big earring trend? I’ve seen some that look very pretty, but I admit that I am scared to wear any out to a party where something could get snagged in it and rip off half my ear! Ow! Yes these are the things I think about. Some of them look so very heavy too…saggy ears? -__-

I like the idea of statement earrings, no need for a necklace. Marsha in the first pic looks so cute in a neutral outfit with pops of colour via earrings and nails. I like the very on-trend peplum top and skirt in the second girl’s pic….and I’m done.   I think with my short hair I could use some big earrings but when does big become overwhelming?

3 comment(s) Thanks for reading Crazy Ears – Basketball Wives Inspired from http://iriediva.com/2012/05/09/crazy-ears-basketball-wives-inspired/

Do you follow the three steps of facial care religiously? Cleanse, tone, moisturize? I’ll be the first to admit that I rarely tone and I skip moisturizing often too but I made a promise to myself that as I approached the golden age of thirty -__- I would begin taking better care of my skin. I had a grand plan that I would switch out all my beauty products for Oil of Olay and all would be solved but whaddaya know, this wonderful world of natural hair care has many great side-effects, one of which being the discovery of so many natural products that are beneficial for the hair and skin.

One thing that struck me when I was researching different oils was the price of thyme oil. I thought it had to be some exotic thyme, couldn’t be the regular old thyme that grows abundantly in Jamaica and used as a seasoning in every dish. apparently thyme boasts antibacterial, antiseptic and antioxidant benefits. Regular external application of this herb helps in fading the face spots, scars and blemishes. Moreover, it can be used to treat scars from surgical marks, accidental injuries, measles, pox and acne. This according to Squidoo. I have a few pox scars left over on my face so I’m about to test all this out as thyme is always in my fridge so….why not? It’s like free toner.

Once upon a time I didn’t even see the need for a toner. I thought it was to remove any residue left over from soap so especially now since I haven’t used any kind of chemical or store bought soap in over a month (more on that later) I really didn’t see the need. But I’ve been reading up and someone somewhere said something about balancing the pH of the skin. From this Livestrong article:

Detoxification

Many toxins that affect the health and appearance of your skin come from industrial-made chemicals. Facial toners work to remove environmental toxins such as smoke, smog and other chemical residues from your skin. This helps your skin to look brighter and healthier, and long-term benefits may include less acne, acne scarring and wrinkles.

Pore Shrinkage and Tightening

Large facial pores allow more dirt, oil and toxins to enter the skin and cause irritation and infections. Facial toners tighten your facial pores, allowing fewer oils and toxins to settle into the skin. This creates a fresher, cleaner and less oily appearance while preventing acne.

Acne Reduction

Acne can be painful and unsightly and can lead to facial scarring. It can also cause your skin to appear more oily, dull and and unbalanced. By removing oily build-up, residue and dead skin cells, facial toners assist in reducing the amount of facial blemishes and acne you may already have and work to prevent future breakouts.

Sold! In my reading I have come across many different natural toners. Some you don’t even have to make, like rosewater, though of course you can if you want to. I do like the idea and the benefits behind rosewater but organic rosewater is a bit expensive to come by. This toner uses green tea and apple cider vinegar and I just may include a teaspoon of ACV into my recipe below for the benefits I have read. Since posting this article on mf Facebook newsfeed, a couple of my friends have chimed in with the option of witch hazel. So many natural, inexpensive options! The recipe below is the one I’ve chosen for reasons I will share after:

~ Green Tea Thyme Toner ~

• 4 to 5 good quality green tea
  bags or several heaping teaspoons of green tea leaves
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of fresh thyme roughly chopped
• 2 cups of mineral or vitamin  water
• small pot

Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Bring the pot to a boil then turn down the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let the tea and thyme steep until cool. This will make a rich, highly concentrated green tea and thyme solution.

Squeeze out each tea bag thoroughly over the pot, press the thyme with the back of a spoon to release every bit of the herb, and then strain liquid into a container.

Read the rest of this post here. I am not using all of 5 tea bags. In fact, I’m only using two. Why would one need more than that in 2 cups of water? Anyway, I mentioned that I like this recipe for more than one reason, it is double duty! Who doesn’t love something that has more than one use? I’ll be using one cup of this as my toner and the other cup is going right over my raw black soap to melt it and make my natural shampoo! Thyme is good for hair loss and shedding and helps with dandruff and general scalp care. Green tea’s anti-oxidant properties coupled with the tsp of ACV I will be adding to the mix will make for a great clarifying cleanser. That’s my theory anyhoo, more on that once it’s been completed and tested.

When I just started this journey, you couldn’t tell me I would have become such a mixtress, I figured I would have instead gone the product junkie route! Who knew?!?!?! Do you tone? Thinking of trying any of these natural options? Your  skin and pocket will thank you! Here’s my 4oz bottle that’s currently sitting pretty in my fridge! (Remember these natural recipes have no preservatives so keep in fridge and try to use up in a couple weeks.)

2 comment(s) Thanks for reading Do you use a toner? Here’s a DIY with green tea and thyme! from http://iriediva.com/2012/05/07/do-you-use-a-toner-heres-a-diy-with-green-tea-and-thyme/

So after my last dilemma of having orange hair, I decided to slap some henna on my head and give it a break from all the colouring. That decision was prompted by seeing this picture in my tumblr dash:

I decided that I didn’t have to go much brighter than that, the brown-red colour was looking like a good option for me and I figured if I henna’d my hair then I’d get something similar. I even mixed some beetroot juice in my henna mix just to try and ensure a nice red.

Here’s what I got:

In the sunlight it’s a bright beautiful head of red-orange curls. They say you need to give henna a few days to “set” to see the true colour but I can’t imagine it being much different from this. If it is, I’ll post the pics on my Facebook page.

The issue I had last time of curl loosening from henna isn’t affecting me as much this time around so I may do another henna in a month’s time to tone down a bit and get something closer to the colour in the first image…who knows!

Are you feeling the red mop?

Side note: my hair is at a length where it can be cornrowed and twisted up now…I’m excited to try some new styles! I may go for something similar to that first pic.

0 comment(s) Thanks for reading Henna Head from http://iriediva.com/2012/05/03/henna-head/

The Magnum Kings and Queens competition is a DJ competition on local TV here in Jamaica searching for the next big dancehall artiste. Truth be told, I haven’t seen a single episode, but every time it comes on, my twitter timeline blows up with “a wah dat Yanique have on?!?!” I finally bit the bullet and looked up her page on Facebook to get to the very bottom of this question. I picked what I thought was one of the better ones for the first image…you like? I think it’s so cute! We must remember that it is a dancehall themed show and dancehall fashion is outrageous, loud and revealing. That’s what I expected and that’s pretty much what I got. They picked the right girl too, she has a body a la Nicki Minaj! 

Waaaay too short. This reminds me of dancehall queen Carlene, remember her?

There was way too much going on with this outfit. The two different blues did it in for me. But dang hips for daaaaaays.

This was nice and simple by way of the show…but check out what this contestant was wearing…

Do. Not. Like. Return to sender.

I loved this one. It was another simple one for this type of show and I’m a boots type of gal so yeah. The belt did wonders for her already out-of-this-world shape too.

This was…interesting…LOVE the shoe

This one was very dancehall. Just the type of thing you expect to see at a street dance with Stone Love or stage show headlining Vybz Kartel or Mumma Saw singing “mi man a gimmie bun but a two man mi have”

One of the judges “Ms. Kitty” Girl that makeup and them nails…

She’s serious with them nails y’all. I guess if your name is Miss Kitty you gotta have the claws…

Miss Kitty is a pretty lady, I wish they’d go easy on the makeup! That foundation looks about 5 layers deep.

Some male fashion if you’re interested. The pale blue -__-

Well there you have it. Jamaican dancehall fashion at it’s finest? All pictures are from Yanique’s Facebook page. It seems she’s styled by a different designer/store every week so if you want specific information on a particular outfit, head on over to her page.

Which look was your favourite?

2 comment(s) Thanks for reading Dancehall Fashion by way of Magnum Kings and Queens from http://iriediva.com/2012/05/02/dancehall-fashion-by-way-of-magnum-kings-and-queens/

I’ve been juicing, or rather blending, more often these days in an effort to increase the amount of vegetables in my diet and of course to assist me in my weight loss efforts. I don’t have a juicer so I use my blender, the trade-off is that I keep all of the fiber that a juicer filters out. Makes for an awful texture but keeps my tummy fuller longer and so works as a meal replacement! I’ve been trying to blend a batch every Sunday so I have no excuse not to have my green juice daily. Read Afrobella’s post on some benefits of juicing and her experience. While I haven’t done a full-on cleanse yet, I have been gearing up to do one and clean out my insides, especially my liver which can take a beating on the weekends. -__- I’m also trying to put on my big girl panties and throw some aloe in my juices but I’m not there yet! 

This recipe I am sharing with you has been in my arsenal long before I started this whole juicing thing though. It was my go-to Sunday dinner juice recipe. I love it SO much and it has so many benefits! The base of the drink is milk, papaya and beetroot. Once you have those ingredients, you have a killer drink, there’s really no need for anything else! But of course I like to add, subtract and multiply depending on what’s in my fridge.

I’ve been meaning to make this all week and had most of the ingredients laying around, I just needed some milk. But I had a craving for something sweet just now and instead of reaching for something unhealthy I decided to whip this up with some good old Lasco milk powder in the creamy malt flavour and a packet of coconut milk powder. Tek mi han’ tun fashion! 

So in my blender went some water, my milk powders, a little more than half of a medium pawpaw, a banana, a can of sliced beets from Green Giant (which I saved the red water to mix with my henna, LOL) a few dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg and half of a frozen east indian mango. Oh, and a squirt of agave nectar, which you may not need but I have a sweet tooth. I just threw everything in, I’m very bad at measurements so if you’re making it just threw together some stuff.

It is delicious! And so good for you too. I need to switch to raw beets when I find a source but these will do for now. The benefits of beets are plentiful and so are the benefits of papaya! I have also added carrot to this juice before and you barely taste it, talk about packing a healthy punch! I’ve been thinking about adding my aloe to this drink as I believe whatever taste the aloe has will be overpowered, I’ll let you know how that goes. I think you should try this one on for size, will ya? Do you juice? What’s your favourite recipe?

6 comment(s) Thanks for reading My Favourite Smoothie Recipe: Papaya and Beetroot from http://iriediva.com/2012/05/01/my-favourite-smoothie-recipe-papaya-and-beetroot/

I don’t even need the little feather tassle, that’s optional but these shoes are to. die. for. TO. DIE. FOR. Ok maybe not to die for. I saw them pop up in my FB timeline from Gojane.com recently and as soon as I clicked over my size was already sold out!!! I’m in love! I’m devastated! Aren’t they fab?

They come in coral too:

I can pass on these, they’re cute too but the teal is really calling my name and the shoe is such a steal at only $23.60!!! I know!!! Ok so that means it will probably only last me through the summer, maybe into Christmas, but with such bright and trendy colours that is exactly the type of price you want to pay because this won’t exactly be a staple piece in your closet.

These are cute too, maybe they will scratch my itch? You like?

Sigh. I NEEEEEED those teal shoes. Anyone have a link to anything similar? Help a girl in love out!

2 comment(s) Thanks for reading I need these shoes in my life! from http://iriediva.com/2012/04/30/i-need-these-shoes-in-my-life/

I love hair colour. Been addicted ever since I left high school and started processing my head. It’s mostly been some shade of blonde, I’ve never really liked red, wasn’t bright enough and trying to get it bright started to look clownish to me.

I decided to try red while my hair was short to see if I’d like it and you’ve seen the results if you’ve been following my hair story. Not enough impact so I decided to try and lighten my hair first and then henna over it again to get that bright red henna result. Hopefully.

The problem is that henna stays on your hair. It grows out, it doesn’t wash out or anything. I should have just gone to my stylist and allowed her to bleach my hair but nooooooooo miss DIY that I have become I’ve been applying box colour to my hair and I haven’t been getting the best results. Watch the video below…

So what direction do you think I should go? Sigh…

2 comment(s) Thanks for reading Video: Trying to lighten my henna’d hair from http://iriediva.com/2012/04/28/video-trying-to-lighten-my-hennad-hair/

Congratulations are in order for Miss Universe Runner-up 2010 Yendi Phillips who made an announcement last night on Facebook that she was 17 weeks pregnant and expecting “a little McGregor.”

The announcement was made close to midnight and almost instantly both her and Asafa Powell’s names were trending worldwide on twitter. I’ve never seen us trend something this quickly! This was big news! Yendi was previously linked to Asafa Powell and the jokes ran wild!

Jamaicans tout the former 100m world record holder as always being second ever since the rise of Usain Bolt. It made for some giggles though I’m sure both have long since moved on and he’s wishing her well.

Where things got ugly was when people started to pass judgement on Yendi for being unmarried. I get the emotion behind it. She’s Jamaica’s darling with an angelic image. Our little good girl. You kind of expected her to go that path, big lavish wedding then kids and the whole nine yards. But I didn’t expect this outrage! Kids outside of marriage is almost the norm these days. I’m an advocate for kids inside of a loving unity, whether wed or unwed. Marriage these days almost seems to make little difference. Cecile certainly never got this kind of attention when it was rumoured that she was pregnant for Chris Martin. I didn’t even check to see if it’s true, is it? Her bad gyal persona makes it ok I guess, but not our Yendi, right?

I say congrats to Yendi, you’re happy, your partner is thrilled and that’s all that counts. I can’t wait to see the fashion choices and the little bundle of joy when he or she arrives. Excitement! I hope your morning sickness is not as bad as mine was!

Yendi Phillipps just over a week ago in the Jamaica Carnival road march. Now we know why it wasn’t a bikini

2 comment(s) Thanks for reading Yendi Phillipps is Pregnant, Twitter goes Wild from http://iriediva.com/2012/04/23/yendi-phillipps-is-pregnant-twitter-goes-wild/