TRAVELING WITH 5VIE

Today we are heading off to start our exciting adventure! Stay tuned for travel tips and more. :)

MY SECRETS TO PACKING FOR A TRIP

Type of Trip: Touring Europe, Shopping and Partying

Duration: 2 weeks

Allowable Baggage: 1 carry-on baggage (10 lbs - that is like for two outfits including shoes - which is like NOTHING!) and 1 check-in (40 lbs)

Put your outfits into ziplock bags to organize them by day!

To generalize what I do, I always pack the exact outfit I will be wearing for everyday of my trip. If the day is not what I expected I just switch my outfits but eventually I will end up wearing whatever as planned since I do not want to waste time figuring out what to wear. I have taught many of my friends this and they are able to pack with ease and with good time. I hope that you find my tips useful and eventually enjoy packing in the future! Enjoy...

Rules of Packing: Pack 2 outfits per day. 

• 1 for touring or general activities (day-time) 
• 1 for dinners, parties, pub or clubbing (evening)
• (If I was going to the Cuba or anywhere south - I will pack 3 outfits per day).
• Pack only what you need but if you must add 1 or 2 items, they must match 50% of your outfits or else it is not worth losing the luggage space
• MUST pack 1 shoes for dark clothes and 1 for light. This is the hardest rule for me cause I have lots of colourful clothing - so I tend to bring an extra pair that has all the colours of the rainbow so I don't feel frustrated not having the right shoes
• Bring a jacket or blazer even if you are going to Cuba, the weather always gets colder at night
• Make a checklist
• After you are done packing, lock up the suitcase or else you will add more than you need!!

Make sure you wear comfortable warm clothes! It is always freezing in the airplane. 

What you will need: 

1. Zip-lock bags or any clear bags (to put clothes in or package outfits together)
2. Black sharpie (label the type of outfit ie. daywear, alternates, evening wear)
3. Labels - (if you do not have a sharpie, use labels to organize your bags if you do not have any ziplock bags)
4. Jewellery Box (I use one box to put all the jewellery I will wear for the trip)
5. Small Purse (for all important travel documents and for touring outfits)
6. Luggage (reasons for this are obvious)
7. Most Importantly: Big Purse (For your jewellery and expensive stuff. I do not feel comfortable checking in my jewellery so I always carry it my purse because the carry-on luggage is for my favourite dresses or shoes that I cannot afford to lose)
8. Tip: I put all the heavy stuff in my purse and then after it has been weighted by the travel agent, I put everything in my carry on!!

Here I am at the airport... Enjoy your travels everyone!!!

PROTECT YOUR SKIN: DRUGSTORE SUNSCREENS

Going to the beach? Working outdoors? Drinking on the patio?  Put on sunscreen!

Sunscreen is a vital skincare product that protects your skin from harmful sun rays!  It helps prevents your skin from aging and the damage that is caused by sun exposure.  Here I will be talking about what to look for when buying sunscreens and my drugstore finds!

Before buying a sunscreen product, you must check the ingredients!

Good Ingredients:  Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Mexoryl (Drometrizole Trisiloxane)

Bad Ingredients:  Oxybenzone, Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate)

The following are products I found with at least one of the "good ingredients".

ANN'S MOTHERS DAY SPECIAL

Mother's Day Fashion Tip:

Wear a babydoll dress and top it off with a belt to cinch your waist so it will hide the baby bump that is so hard to get rid of!

I wore this outfit while touring around France.  It was a chilly day, so I put on a nice pair of leggings for some coverage. 

What I Wore:  TKMaxx London pink babydoll dress, Versace for H&M leggings and belted bracelet, HD Mode France strappy heels, pink Mango belt, shell bracelet from Trinidad.

Post-Birth Weight Lost Tip

Here are some things I did in order to lose my baby bump.  I lost my baby bump within 7 months by doing the following:

1. Eating healthy, non-fattening foods.  Try Vietnamese cuisine! It consists of many dishes with boiled vegetables and, light and filling meals.  Also, when making salads try to be creative and change up the dressing or vegetables you use.  For example, try using pineapple juice as dressing instead.
2. Went on many walks with Baby Leo and took him to play at the park. 
3. Exercising with Baby Leo whenever I had a chance.  It’s a fun way to spend time with him while burning some calories and he surely enjoys it!.
4. A lot of breast feeding!  This is the one factor that I think helped the most.  Although my appetite was bigger than my husband's, I still lost the weight because my body needed a lot of energy in producing the milk for my baby.  

Tune in next week for tips on breast feeding!

I hope you enjoyed these tips! :)

FACE WASH FOR LESS THAN $10

Product: Aveeno Baby Essential Moisture Shampoo
Price: > $10

Skin Type: Dry, Sensitive Skin

As a new mom I have come across an amazing discovery.  I always wonder why my Baby Leo's skin is so soft, smells nice, and just plain beautiful.  When I ran out of my regular expensive face wash, I decided to use my baby's Aveeno shampoo. It is doing wonders for my skin.  It is very gentle but strong enough to take off all my makeup.  With the added lotion in the shampoo it gives me the moisture I need (for oily skin try the Aveeno body wash without lotion).  With no time to put on lotion or check if all my makeup is gone after the shower because Baby Leo is demanding to sleep, I am rest assured while I put him to sleep and usually fall asleep myself!

MUST HAVE BEAUTY PRODUCT: VASELINE

Vaseline is one of the most versatile products out there!  It is great product for ALL skin types.

Here are 10 different ways to use Vaseline:

1.  A great cure for dry lips. Pack it on before you sleep.

2.  Smother over cracked ankles and cover them with socks.

3.  Put on eyelids and cheekbones for a dewy effect.

4.  Thickens and conditions your eyelashes.

5.  Tames flyaways.

6.  No need for cuticle oil.  Use this product instead.

7.  Use as a brow gel.

8.  Removes makeup.

9.  Moisturizes dry skin on face and body.

10.  Mix with Kool-aid to make a tasty lip balm.

Have you found different ways of using Vaseline?

Cold Showers = Weight Loss?

A month ago, my bff told me that she lost 10 lbs. My first response was like “WHAT? You lost weight? You don’t need to lose weight!!” Nonetheless, she did and how? BY TAKING COLD SHOWERS! Of course I thought that she was crazy but I still had to look into it. Here is an article that shows you How to Lose Weight With Cold Showers. The author in the next article The James Bond Shower: A Shot of Cold Water for Health and Vitality explains how taking cold showers is beneficial by increasing your immune system, keeping you hair and skin healthy and more!  After some research, I decided to try this out.  It was VERY hard at the beginning, I dreaded the thought of ending in shivers. It gradually got better and now I cannot live without taking a cold shower. Its been a little less than a month -- I am more alert in the morning, I feel happier, my skin feels refreshed all day long, and I am loving it! As for losing my baby fat, stay tuned and I will let you know the results!