Vicki burning candles

This week I am writing on some of the things that myself and the team at V For Hair and Beauty and Vj Barbers have been doing to make the most of this lockdown period. Read to the end of this blog to hear from our entire team on the interesting things they have been up to. This may give you some ideas on activities to do as well.

Feeling fine can be difficult in times of uncertainty. But if we focus on having a POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE (see last weeks blog) then anything is achievable.

One thing I have been doing daily is lighting candles and having music on. Candles give off the feel of such an inviting atmosphere and rooms a luxury feel with a lovely fragrance. Candles are calming and restful as well. We don’t need a special occasion to use them. Just light them and enjoy, make any day special.

Vicki walking

Exercise is always important to me, yes, I’m one of those people who track my daily steps. So, with this compulsory time off there are no excuses to not get out walking. It makes us feel so good when we have had fresh air and some exercise to get the heart rate up and pumping. Where I live, we have a couple of reserves nearby, so they have been my go-to walking tracks.

Vicki breakfast

I like to start the day with a good breakfast. I have some lovely cups and teapots that on workday mornings I don’t always use, but this week I have been. I’ve been taking time to enjoy my breakfast and maybe a second cupper as well. You will notice in the picture Jeuneora Renew Collagen powder and capsules; these are amazing for hair skin and nails…watch this space as when we reopen, we will be stocking these collagen products in store, I have been trailing these products for 4 months now and achieving very good results.

Vicki's home plants
Vicki garden

Before everything closed and went into lockdown, I made a quick early morning trip to Mitre10, purchased some Viola plants for my outdoor pots for winter to give a splash of colour, I have enjoyed having extra time out in the garden. The weeds will be too scared to appear after four weeks!

I also got some paint at Mitre10 and have given these candle holders a new lease of life which a bit of a gold jazz up.

Candle holder before
Candle holder after
Candle holder before
Candle older after coloured

For those of you who have been following my blogs for a while now, you will know that I am a great believer in positive forward-thinking and have always been into having vision boards to help me set and achieve goals. During the last week in lockdown while cleaning out our home office I found I had a heap of old self-help/motivational books (From the 80’s and 90’s) and that the contents of these books were getting a bit outdated. Most of these books I have now bought the updated audio version and listened to the new content.

With the old books I have turned them into vision boards, they have phrases and motivational actions that inspire me… and we all need a bit of extra inspiration/motivation at the moment!  You can also make these boards with cut-outs from magazines and newspapers. I know that its popular to do these sort of things on Pinterest or online platforms etc, but I still like something I can hang on my office wall and reflect on daily.

Vision board by Vicki
Vision books

Enough fromme, here is an update from our team. What they have been up to over thelockdown period so far. We have all been keeping in regular contact throughposts and videos on our work chat page. Which is important to help keep spiritsup.

Georgie, Salon Manager

Georgie homemade bread
Georgie out the gate
Georgie home pedicure

Georgie has been busy as ever. She is a domesticated goddess. Cooking, gardening, painting you name it she does it. Pictured above is her homemade bread, Georgie out for a walk, then she has given herself a DIY pedicure. Nothing like a bit of pampering to make us feel good.

Daniel, Executive Stylist

Daniel and family out walking
Daniel paua home made dish

At work, we call Daniel “MacGyver” for he is MR Fix It. He is always pottering away at home fixing and repurposing things. While he has been off, Daniel has been out enjoying walks with his wife Oksana and wee boy Mark. He also has been putting his culinary skills to work and cooked this Paua dish… “Bon appetite”.

Kumar, Stylist Director

Kumar working out
Kumar's Indian cooking

There is never a dull moment when Mr Kumar is around… he is our “Class Clown” always happy and having a joke or two. He has taken a fancy to some of our Kiwi sayings like "Jolly Good", "RIGHT" and many others. Having just joint the gym Kumar was disappointed when the lockdown happened but is now making the most of his time with his home workouts. Kumar also likes to cook; he is a whizz at whipping up some very nice Indian dishes as pictured above.

Fiko, Specialist Barber/Stylist Director

Fiko brighton peer
Fiko giving isolation buddy a haircut
Fiko out walking
Fiko

Fiko has a love for the outdoors. He has been spending his time doing some big walks and exploring around Christchurch, while still practising social distancing. One of his photos is of the Brighton Pier at night, with a lovely view out over the sea and houses lite up on the hills. He is also pictured here out in the fresh air giving a friend who is in his “Bubble” a haircut.

Sara, Executive Stylist

Sara
Sara's garden
Sara scones with recipe book
Sara's teddy bear
Sara giving blood

Sara has been busy as ever. Still having her ongoing studies via the internet. But she has made time to get out in her vegetable garden, planting some winter veggies. She has turned into a bit of a “Nigella” with her home baking. Sara has also joined in on the bear hunt lockdown trail, not to forget donating blood to the NZ blood service! Busy Busy!

Pam, Senior Beauty Therapist

Pam in Indian attire
Pam watching tv with favorite dishes
Pam's garden

Pam has been at home with her husband Sammy. She has been enjoying spending some time relaxing and chilling in her garden. On rainy days Pam has been catching up on some of her favourite tv series and cooking delicious meals. Pam is such a hard worker and with baby on board she deserves a chance to have a rest, recharge and relax.

Gokul, Specialist Barber & Ankita, Beauty Therapist/Salon Assistant

Ankita cooking
Gokul
Ankita prayer time

Many of you may not know that we are a bit of a family business. Not only do we refer to our team at work as our work family. We have Gokul and Ankita that are part of our team, and also husband and wife. They are such a lovely happy couple. Ankita is a good cook serving up delicious meals. The photo above is from their morning prayer time. This is more important than ever during this time. Their faith is very important to both Gokul and Ankita.

Tyler, Salon Assistant and our Instagram Social Media Expert.

Tyler
Tyler studying

Many of you will know Tyler, she is our salon assistant and works part-time after school with us. She also happens to be my niece! Tyler is Year 13 at Marion College and is head of academic for 2020 (Proud Aunty moment, lol) Tyler has been running our Instagram accounts for the last few years and doing a great job. During the lockdown, she has been spending her time studying.

Sophia, Front Desk Receptionist

Sophia
Sophia's gaden

Sophia is on our front desk Mondays and Tuesdays. She has three lovely boys and a wee one on the way. Day 1 of lockdown they decided to plant their veggie garden. Instead of focusing on the negatives, they found themselves in, they decided to look at the many positives about being isolated within their own backyard. Sophia said “I can’t wait to watch the kids faces each morning when they wake to new growth. Learning to grow food in such a valuable life lesson and we are so excited to learn, love and grow as a family during this time we have been given. Much love everyone”

Ashmi, Beauty Therapist

Ashmi and partner
Ashmi wardrobe
Ashmi wardrobe
Ashmi cooking
Ashmi nails

Ashmi has been having some very productive time off. She has been de-cluttering her wardrobe. Utilising the time off work in self-isolation to organise her wardrobe into colour palettes and formal/casual sections. As Ashmi also love to cook she has been making fresh food everyday which she enjoys doing to relax. She is enjoying spending some quality time with her partner Sam. Ashmi says “This isolation has added more time and love in their relationship.” Her nails are also looking fabulous…looks like a new nail colour most days…impressive glamour in lockdown.

There seems to be quite a theme happening here and with others too, food seems to feature a lot. It does make you feel good to cook a nice meal and enjoy it with the people in your bubble.

V for hair staff collage

Feeling fine is all about supporting those near and dear to us. As a team we thank you for your support and look forward to giving you our best service again soon. Stay Safe.