Behind closed doors

I always try to shoot what happens behind closed doors when I’m working. It lets you know a little more about who I am and how things work without editing. That’s where the magic happens and funny moments take place.

I usually love to have a fun environment and that occurs when you work with fantastic people.

This video is the behind the scenes of my official website’s photo shoot. The team was really easy to work with and we laughed most of the time without forgetting our professionalism.

Here is it:

All copyright belongs to Natascia Da Prato

Go pretty: organize your makeup

Yes, I love to organize. When I see someone has a mess somewhere in their house or their office I secretly fantasize I organize it. (Yes I know its kinda creepy). I try to keep my home organized because lets face it; it’s easier to find things that way and you feel good about it.

I noticed that even though I tried to keep my makeup pretty tidy, I found myself with a mess after I used it. So when I saw this on Flickr I got inspired to do the same.

I used a pretty green divider, a small rectangular box and a plastic divider. Then the fun began organizing everything so it looked pretty.

My brushes have a new home on top of my vanity table.

This is NOT all my makeup. I have more colored goodies wich I keep in my bathroom… but that is another story.

How do you keep your makeup organized?

Let me suit you

The famous blazer and the chic tuxedo. As Yves Saint Laurent called it «Le Smoking». I’ve been in love with this trend since I first saw it. It whispers elegance and sophistication. I honestly think this is a key accent to every woman’s wardrobe. It’s also very versatile.

This week’s inspiration got influenced by Diane Keaton (who rocked her suit at the Golden Globes this year) and by Madonna at the Grammy’s.

1) Fit me in

2) Tux-I-do

3) Feeling blue

4) The classic white blazer

5) Boy inspired

6) Tutu beige 

Do you have any favorites?

Lets go bananas!

Lately my breakfast routine was something like this: two scrambled eggs, a cup of tea, half a smile. Not very exciting right?

Some days I would incorporate some fruit and some days I would change tea for coffee. This was getting very boring and since I was cutting out gluten and dairy, I was ready for other breakfast options.

I have always loved banana bread. It reminds me of home. I started reading around and found lots of recipes for this classic treat. I replaced some ingredients and found myself with a gluten and dairy-free recipe.

So for this week I present you this easy banana bread recipe that I eat for breakfast from time to time. Even my boyfriend had a piece and thought was really good!

Gluten and Dairy free Banana Bread:

Ingredients:

-3 1/2 Bananas

– 3/4 Cup Stevia

-1 tbsp vanilla extract

-1/4 cup water

-1 cup almond flour

-1 tbsp almond butter

-1/4 cup cocoa powder

-1 tbsp baking soda

-1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions: 

Pre heat oven at 350°.

In a mixer blend the bananas, stevia, vanilla and water.

In another bowl mix the almond flour, almond butter, cocoa, baking soda and cinnamon.

Add dry ingredients to the banana mix and blend.

Take out your prettiest pan. (Cooking doesn’t have to be boring!) I used this two silicone flowers. You can also use a medium bread pan or make some mini cupcake banana breads.

Cook for 30 min.

If you wish you can add some fun with color sprinkles! Enjoy!

Avoiding the silent monster

Since a small girl I’ve always had migraines.Usually the pounding pain came from my eyes, then my neck and lastly nausea followed by a very irritable me.

So to make this 15-year-story short, I jumped from doctor to doctor trying different medication and had no success at all. After gaining almost 12 pounds, I talked to my doctor and stopped my medication altogether. 

After that I went to a nutritionist to help me get back in shape and drop those 12 pounds that were not mine to begin with. So I was in terrible pain, no desire to work out and with a lot of extra weight. Fun right?

My nutritionist basically told me I could eat lean protein, vegetables, some fruits and nuts from time to time. After two weeks with no gluten and also avoiding dairy products, I started to feel different. I noticed my pain was decreasing.

Then after 2 months of eating healthy my monster migraines started to retrieve into their cave. I felt energized and happy. After so long of enduring pain I finally had days were I was pain-free.

I am no doctor, but having had this long experience myself, this are my 5 tips to prevent a migraine.

1) Start writing a migraine diary.

At least for a while. Your doctor will find this very helpful for his diagnosis and you will know what triggers your migraine pattern.

2) Get some exercise.

I’m not telling you to lift weights and run 12 miles everyday because that my friend, sometimes leads to migraines itself. Go for a 20 min walk. Take a yoga class. Have sex. Anything that makes your body create some endorphins.

3) Avoid trigger foods.

Foods containing tyramine and/or nitrites can trigger a migraine. Personally what affects me the most is bacon, red wine, chocolate, tomato juice, canned foods and obviously junk food.

4) Sleep well.

Try to have a good sleeping pattern.The idea is to get your 7-8 hours of sleep a night.

PS: don’t pretend you can go all night dancing and drinking and wake up the next day feeling fresh like a lettuce. Drinking in excess is a no-no.

5) Relax a little.

You have only this life to live so you better stop stressing and obsessing over stupid little things. Enjoy life and smile more. That my dear is a combo for a migraine free life.

Only you and me tonight

I have written my own songs since I started singing long time ago. I love the idea of people hearing my music but also knowing I wrote every single word. It also gives more meaning to the melody.

This song is called «Tonight» and I wrote it thinking about the person I love the most. It’s a dance song but when I sing the acoustic version I can get very emotional.

Here is the original dance version.

I hope you like it. 

Lyrics: Tonight

Lyrics by: Natascia Da Prato

Music Production: Jimmy Selecta

All rights reserved to Natascia Da Prato and registered by SACVEN.

Let me carry it all

I love the «What’s inside my bag» posts. So why not show you guys?

I must confess I did leave out many things, but I can say in my defense that they didn’t fit nicely in the picture!

1) I love Ipads. I really do. But there is something magical about the good old engagement book. This one I got as a lovely gift and I’m loving it’s leather smell every time I use it.

2) My wallet. I bought this as a personal gift to myself since I love the hot pink color.

3) This little treasure is a makeup palette from YSL. It has 4 eye shadows, 2 lip colors, a highlighter and a very big mirror.

4) Post-its. I can’t live without them!

5) A pen, Colorblast Mascara from Covergirl and a Kiko lipgloss.

6) My phone or as I call it; my little technological wonder.

7) Portable charger. Word of advice dear iPhone manufacturers: we do love technology but what we don’t love is remaining battery-dead at 1pm in the afternoon.

8) My sunglasses. This was a gift from aunt Agni. I love them madly.

9) My little ball of softness: Eos lip balm. Also my pink Channel lipstick, Essie nail polish in «Baby’s Breath» and Advil Migraine Reliever.

10) My keys.

What do you guys carry in your bag?

The Dutchess of Windsor

At first I refused to see Madonna`s W.E movie when it premiered. Then I saw her concert on Tv and loved her original song called “Masterpiece” which is also part of the soundtrack.

I know not everybody loved the movie and some even found it boring.

Let me just say I saw the movie…and I really liked it. 

What I loved the most was the soundtrack (which I immediately bought on iTunes and highly recommend it if you like classical music).I also adored the costumes used in the movie.

So for this Fashion Wednesday my inspiration is Wallis Simpson in this particular movie.

1) This dress is lovely for a late lunch.

2) As classy as it can get.

3) Can I make this dress my new uniform?

4) My favorite for a date.

5) This one is breezy and cute.

What is your favorite one?

Fresh and simple: Greek Salad

Life often gets too complicated and thats why I like to keep it simple from time to time.

This recipe is one of my simplest, top favorite salads of all time. When I go to Greece to visit my family this dish is a must in every meal. Those mediterraneans do know how to bring colorful plates to the table!

So next time you are feeling like not cooking or have some unexpected guests coming, here is a fresh salad that can accompany almost any meal and will cheer up your day.

Greek salad:

(Serves 2, but feel free to multiply ingredients for more servings)

Ingredients:

-Two tomatoes

-1 medium cucumber

-1/2 onion

-1/2 red pepper

-6-8 kalamata olives (feel free to use plain black olives but the taste will change)

-Feta cheese (the quantity depends on you, I used a piece as the palm of my hands)

-Oregano (1 Tbsp)

-Salt

-Olive oil (2 tbsp)

Instructions:

1) Rinse the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and red pepper.

2) Cut the tomatoes into wedges. peel and cut the cucumber into slices, cut the red pepper and the onions into strips and lastly cut the feta cheese into cubes as shown in the picture below:

3) In a pretty bowl toss the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, onion, black olives and feta. Mix a little with your hands.

4) Add a pinch of salt and the olive oil. Sprinkle with the oregano. (Add a small touch of parsley is you wish to add a little glamour to you salad)

Enjoy!

The fabulous new beginning

Ah… the glittery feeling of the New Year. A clean slate to start all over again. How stressful can it be to write down your new years resolutions? Are we forced by society to do so since it’s a New Year? Should we start writing all our promises to ourselves that sometimes we end up hating at the end of the year?

Ironically, I have a fabulous notebook where I write down my New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of December. Then I force myself to add some more resolutions at the beginning of January. Only to look at them at the end of the year and see what my expectations for that year were and how many of them I did or didn’t accomplish. Pheeeew! just got tired only explaining it, imagine when it gets real.

So no more meticulous resolutions. This year as I start my blog I promise myself to come down to 5 attainable resolutions.

1) Take control over my migraines.

Say what? As confusing this can sound, I recently found out after years and years of suffering, that gluten and lactose products trigger my migraine to the sky. So if I eat a clean, gluten-free, lactose-free diet most of the time, I will take control over the excruciating pain migraines can cause.

2) Learn or try something new every month.

Anything. From Pinterest DIY fun to cooking a new recipe. This year’s motto is learning, so I’m really looking forward to it.

3) Exercise minimum 3 times a week.  

Come on, an hour of exercise is just 4% of a day and health is a priority. Plus I love the feeling after a work out. So this is a must and obviously a cherry on the top of my health improvement plan.

4) Take a small vacation. 

I already know where I’m going…you’ll just have to stick around for the surprise.

5) Smile more. 

Last year was definitely fun and I did smile a lot. But this year I have to double that and smile even more. It’s fun and it’s good for the soul!

We’ll talk again about this post at the end of this year and hopefully I would have checked marked all of them.

What are your top 5 resolutions for this year?