Guess what ladies? It’s Not Not Wine is a podcast now! You can hear all my random stories on Anchor.fm. Everything from my personal experiences shopping around for Beyonce’s exclusive Adidas collaboration for IVY Park to my horrible dating experiences of getting sent off.
It’s Not Not Wine was inspired by my obsession with wine, while not trying to acknowledge that I’m obsessed with wine. One day while getting my Maxxinista on in TJ Maxx, I came across a cute pink mug that read “It’s Not Not WIne”, and that’s when it hit me. Why not make a podcast about about my life and name it after my obsession while being humorous about it?
I’ve always been inspired to be a late night talk show host where I interviewed celebrities and discussed about hot topics and had great music performances. But we gotta start somewhere right? It’s Not Not Wine is only the beginning.
I am a lover of wine and red wine to be more specific. It’s what I based my whole blog around. I am not an alcoholic though so don’t get confused with my love for the sweet drink.
Photo courtesy: Pinterest
There’s been research that has suggested that red wine is actually beneficial for you, especially females. So ladies listen to this…
Photo cred: Medlife.com
Medical experts on Healthline.com, have said that red wine provides antioxidants, may promote longevity, and can help protect against heart disease and harmful inflammation, among other benefits.
Now I’m not saying you should enjoy a glass of red wine with every meal or every day. You definitely need to watch the amount you drink especially if your diet is not the best. It’s only beneficial to your health if your dietary habits are healthy and if you don’t consume a glass every day.
Red wine is said to help with improve vision, dementia, high blood pressure, and even cancer,
Said MedicalNewsToday.com
Photo cred: Winedivaa.com
I will say that since I’m on keto , I can’t drink any sweet red wines because of the amount of sugar and carbs found in it. So dry reds are recommended because there’s less sugar and carbs. Am I a fan of that? No, so I have turned to Pinot Grigio, a white wine because it tastes sweet enough to drink although it’s a dry wine.
Skin benefits are also one of the great benefits of red wine.
I’m new to this blog lifestyle so of course I want my followers to interact and tell me what they think! Let me know what your thoughts are and opinions. Please keep negative comments to a minimum because no one wants to read that shit at least not me.
The positive side of commenting gives me an idea of who is actually paying attention to what I post. I can also get an idea of the age range of my followers as well as the ethnicity and even sex of the person. It will motivate me to write more and be more consistent with my material and hopefully will spur a pool of new ideas and topics to touch on.
But the negative side of all of this is if I get a haters or a competitor trolling on my page that try to make me look bad and then I’ll have to just delete or block them if the comments are too derogatory or hateful. Hopefully no one will do that though and luckily it’s been good so far.
I’d love to create a discussion in my comments because that way you can interact with the other followers. Maybe you guys share the same opinion or come up with a great twist to a new idea or something, I don’t know. Anything is possible with my comments and I’m allowing it all.
I also post my articles and blog posts to social media to expand my reach and see how many interactions I can obtain from posting on Instagram and Facebook.
Pinterest is one of my favorite places to explore especially when it comes to manifesting ideas and creating exciting boards so I can visually see what it is I’m trying to get out of that beautiful brain of mine. I came across this photo posted by the Curl Market, which reminded me of my best friend Alisabeth and myself when we get together.
Every woman needs a traveling companion and a drinking buddy ( if you drink ), and I definitely found one in my best friend. We are always having a glass of wine and discussing our dating problems or the latest fashion trend and even where we plan to travel next when the pandemic is over.
Sure you can travel by yourself, but who else can you try to talk to handsome men with in France or wine and dine with for brunch at the beach in Barbados.
The benefits from having a stylish travel companion –
Splitting Expenses / Money Management – Brunches, drinks, & shopping would all be so much cheaper and even booking flights together and Airbnbs. She will let you know when you don’t need something, “No girl, you don’t need another bag!”
Safety – No need to feel worried about your safety because your best friend will never let you out of her sight!
Photo Ops – Make sure to get you a friend that knows your angles and can capture great shots for you with the scenery wherever you travel.
Packing Essentials – Bestie will always make sure she has something you don’t in her bag or will remind you of something you always seem to forget.
Creating Memories – Those beautiful memories will go down in history because it’s going to be the fondest of times that you will have with one another.
Yaaaasssss, we are LIVING for everything Fenty. Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, Fenty clothing brand, SavagexFenty, Rihanna Robyn Fenty, just everything. What makes this so special though is the fact that Rihanna has created a whole new platform of skin and beauty products and included those skin types and colors that were always left out of it all.
Introducing the new Body Sauce by Fenty Beauty, a body luminizing tint. The body blur comes in 7 skin-enhancing shades, is lightweight and gives you an all-over glow. Every Black woman is so excited right now because not only did Rihanna give us all these options of makeup for our face but now you’re creating goodies for the skin on the rest of our body….what?!
Samira Belle, Beauty and Lifestyle influencer, picked up her Body Sauce from Sephora, and since you can’t try on anything at the store for sanitary reasons, Bell had to get three shades – Sinamon Sizzle, Fly Mamacita, and Chocolate Reign. Testing out the tints on her hand first and then blended on her chest, you can see the match (Sinamon Sizzle) is damn near perfect.
Photo Credit: Fentybeauty.com
Belle gives her insight on the transfer test to see if the tint rubs off onto her clothing and fortunately there was no transfer. Can’t say much for the Body Lava though due to the fact that it’s sticky and it definitely rubs off because it does not set in or dry completely. Make sure when applying the Body Sauce that your skin is clean and moisturized. The tint does not fully cover your scars but rather blurs them.
I’m so excited to try out the Body Sauce for myself because I am going to Miami next week and I don’t have the clearest skin but I would love to touch up and cover the places where I have some dark spots and scars. I always thought it was ridiculous to see women put makeup on their body and actually used to believe it was a myth or something. But now that I am a grown woman with blemished skin, I know now that sometimes it’s necessary!
You can buy both Fenty Beauty Body Sauce (retail price: $48) and Body Lava (retail price: $59), at any Sephora location and sephora.com, and on fentybeauty.com as well. But hurry before it sells out because it will.
So I’m pretty sure you are familiar with the Keto diet trend that has been taking over these past couple years – if not well ladies, it’s time to get on board. Keto is basically a low-carb or no carb diet. That means it’s time to get rid of those burger buns, the sides of red potatoes, and sugary drinks (say good bye to the wine).
I have recently started my Keto diet journey again for the second time, but this time I plan on being more consistent throughout my everyday diet and exercise routine. A lot of my friends who are pretty active and are fitness trainers don’t recommend keto because it’s a very fat and protein- based diet and sometimes that doesn’t react well with everyone’s body. Thankfully the first time I tried it, my body reacted well, I actually lost eight pounds in a month.
Rapid weight loss is one of the main benefits from this diet, and that’s what caught my attention. But doctors have proven that it could benefit kid’s health such as epilepsy and type 2 diabetes. It can also help people who have syndromes, seizures, and heart disease. WebMD helps further explain the process of the keto diet, it’s benefits and what happens when you reach ketosis.
A lot of weight loss plans don’t work as quickly as this one because you have to put in more work than take out. With the Keto diet, just by cutting out sugar and carbs, you could lose weight without even exercising.
When I first began my journey, I wasn’t too sure about if it was going to work for my body. Now that I am back at it, I have more knowledge on what to eat, where to buy my keto grocery items and how often I should exercise. YouTubers and Instagram influencers I follow ( such as the Ketodashians ), have helped me out a lot because they always post what they buy, how to cook it, and where to find the products.
Currently, I have lost 3 pounds in five days. It is definitely harder the second time around because you have to train your body all over again to not eating carbs.
I’m not proud to say it but I’ve been on the online dating scene for a while. While on it, I’ve experienced the Do’s and Don’ts to online dating and I have a few things that I’ve noticed along the way. On my podcast, I’ve discussed situations I’ve had with different guys and even some bad experiences because of course I have the worst luck ever when it comes to dating.
Oh sure, I’ve been single for a couple years but that doesn’t make me a master at being single. I’ve barely gotten the grasp of dating let alone online dating.
So I’m here to let you in on a little secret, especially if you are one of those people who go home alone, warm up some Ramen in the microwave and binge watch Emily in Paris. No worries, you are not alone. According to Statista.com, 2019 statistics read that 2 percent of Americans have signed up to a dating site as of May 31, 2020. I can only imagine what the number has gone up to now during this long stretch of a constant lockdown due to Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines.
Dating isn’t even the same anymore, so that brings me to the first thing to watch for – dating apps that put woman in charge. Bumble, a nice, sophisticated dating app, has the concept of the beehive. Women play the role of the Queen bee and in charge of swiping right on who they like and if they match, she must message the guy first. Now I personally didn’t mind this at first, but after a while I started running out of ways to say ‘Hey handsome, how’s your night going?’. I’ve noticed on most dating apps men don’t like to speak up or message first. Ladies, beware of this but also be confident because some men like a woman that knows what she wants.
So once you create an account on the dating app of your choice, (yes, there are options), another thing to look out for are the fake accounts or the lazy accounts. Don’t even think about swiping right on a guy that has one photo or less. He’s most likely fake – trust me, I know. Either he’s using one picture that isn’t even his, or he might just be lazy and doesn’t want to take the time out to upload a few pictures of himself. Those type of men want to remain a mystery; they don’t upload photos or fill out their bio information, so you’re left wondering who the heck is this guy? No hun, we want to look for someone who is verified, meaning they had to verify their image before creating their profile which helps let the matches know he’s really who he says he is. I try to verify my account on any app that allows it if possible. That way it’s a lower risk of getting catfished.
Now you’ve began to match with a few guys, and have exchanged messages. Watch out for men who ask for your number right after you match. Don’t waste your time giving your number out so quickly. Try to get to know the guy first through the app and make sure there’s a connection of some kind; make sure you are comfortable giving out that type of information. I’ve given out my number a few times and the conversation starts out well, but then after a week or two, it starts to fade or the guys go ghost. I rather get to know the guy and have him unmatch me on the app versus having my personal information and waste my time. But that’s just me.
You also have to watch out for guys who ask for your Snapchat information. 90 percent of guys that have asked for my Snapchat information have asked for nudes or sexy pictures. Be careful. Guys that ask for pictures might save your images or screenshot them or just want them for their own entertainment and pleasure. Don’t embarrass yourself by exposing yourself. Let that be a mystery.
And don’t fall for the hype. Dating online isn’t for everyone. Sure sites like Tinder use celebrities to endorse them like Megan tha Stallion, have cute commercials and use fun scenarios that make you feel like you’re a swipe away from meeting Prince Charming. But follow your heart….and your instincts. At the end of the day, you’ll meet someone regardless if it’s online or not.
One of my favorite things about being a woman is being able to go home, light some candles, run a nice bubble bath, and pour me a glass of wine after a long day.
Personally I love Moscato, so my wine of the week is a reasonable bottle of Stella Rosa Moscato.
“…..we could all use some help in the self-love department.”
Huffpost.com
Between the weight gain and the loss of connection from the real world because you are isolated to just your comfy couch and that third glass of mimosa, you’ve been beginning to wonder what’s wrong with this picture? It’s time to stop stressing eating, talking negatively about your love life, and maybe let’s finally begin making that vision board you’ve been talking about.
Huffpost.com gives us 7 tips on how to start our journey of self-love and do it the right way.
First, let’s start with taking mindfulness into consideration. It should be practiced everyday, one step at a time. Take a break and get more intune with your body.
Speaking of your body, the second thing we should practice is nourishing our bodies by being cautious with what we put in our mouth. Don’t eat foods that make you feel bad but do eat ones that make you feel great and energized. Even consider the amount of alcohol you drink, they have wines that are not as sugary.
Third, be active girl! Let’s get up, stretch and dance like nobody’s watching. Go for a nice walk outside; you need a break from that computer and a breath of fresh air, hold the COVID.
Knowledge is power and it’s also good for the soul. The fourth thing you should do is to feed your soul with new activities. Try to learn something new, read a book you’ve been holding off for a while, or just find something you’re really passionate about and take some time out to actually do it. Your soul will thank you later.
You love yourself right? Well what exactly is it that you love? Whatever it is write it down because you guessed it, that’s our fifth tip. Make sure you hang it up around your house too so you can see it everyday. You go girl.
Don’t ignore your body. The sixth tip is to make sure you respond to the voice of your body; it’s telling you she’s hungry or needs some sleep. Don’t starve yourself or overwork yourself, your body needs its nutrients and beauty rest in order to remain functioning. Be the master of or your own domain. Meditate and love thyself.
Lastly, be grateful for the things you’ve accomplished yourself. There’s no better feeling that knowing that you did it and all by yourself at that.
I, Gabrielle London 