This is me. A photo of me is that the same as being me or just what I would like you to see.
I scrolled through images, too fat, bad skin, massive hair, weird angle. They were all me I just chose to ignore them! Then I thought. Maybe I won’t put the perfect photos in. Maybe I will just put the photos of me when I look happy! So be prepared for frizzy hair, laughing and pulling faces!
When your food matches your hair
Funny face
Me and Gavin met online. His first image of me was I thought a nice photo. It was a hot summers day and I was out in the garden. Not a bit of makeup on, looking up into the sky.
Gav hates this photo. He said it looks nothing like me. Even though he disproves of the image he still asked me out on a date so it couldn’t have been that bad.
After a while we befriended each other on Facebook and he, like me scrolled through lots of pictures of each other! He soon came to realise that I look different in most pictures. Something to do with the angles of my face.
Christmas tree shopping
I thought I would show you a range of photos to help you understand that I am not one photo. I am not one face, one body but I am me. Multi layered. Mostly happy, often hungry, loves to laugh and doesn’t need much to make me happy.
me and Becky dressing up and pulling faces. We always have fun and don’t care what other people say.
I want to look nice but I care more about having fun then I do about posing for a perfect photo.
Don’t get me wrong I still pose! I just don’t care so much! Have you seen the photos of me me trying to jump with my niece? Ha ha ha
Day 15, where will you be in 5 years, 30 day blog challenge.
I hate this question where do you see yourself?
Really I am a dreamer so I see myself as ……..dreaming.
No idea.
Knowing what I want to achieve is completely different from where I see myself. Because I don’t..
Do you? Honestly? I don’t have a five year plan I just have some goals I want to achieve. I hope I have achieved them.
So what I hope to achieve in the next 5 years!
I hope I have ticked off more of my bucket travel list. At least 15 countries would be great! Japan is next year along with a surprise for Gav for his fortieth. But Italian city’s I would love to explore! Need to learn to drive first though!
Brmm brmm
Driving ironically isn’t a hope or a goal. I would like to do it but it’s not at the top of my agenda. I feel like I wouldn’t make a good driver because I am too nervous. But that would change plus I wouldn’t have a small car! I would have a tank so that would give me bigger balls. I love Ute trucks and old fashioned range rovers with the wooden panels. I would remove the engine and put something greener in it!
Health and fitness
I hope I am a happy size 10/12 (US 6/8). I hope I do yoga and my core is strong and healthy. I hope I can run 10K without too much struggle. I hope my relationship with food is healthier.
This is the most important part. I hope I am fit, mentally and physically fit. It is a lot less about weight loss and a lot more and being healthy which is the right attitude to have. It’s the right step in a healthy direction whilst still treating myself to a dominos and chocolate 🍫 every now and again.
Courage
I hope to have more courage on the mountain. To bomb it down with the rest of them as long as it feels comfortable. To surf the powder and explore more slopes in different countries outside of the french Alps.
Doing what I want to do.
I would like to be a blogger full time?! Travel and lifestyle ( too vague to be successful, I know). Could this happen, well today is day 15. Half way through the challenge and I have almost doubled my followers, so thank you. Maybe in five years my blog will be successful
Love
I hope my marriage to Gavin is strong loving and kind. I hope that we still talk about everything and anything. I hope he doesn’t mind if I ask him in the middle of the night random questions about apocalyptic films and that I agree with Thanos.
I hope our house is filled with the pitter patter of tiny paws ( yes more dogs and cats) that I have a new kitchen and my house is clean and tidy.
Investing
I hope my savings account is nice and healthy and that I can indulge in treats for me and Gavin when ever I feel like it. I would hope that my spending habits would be healthier too. Less disposable shopping and getting back to investment pieces.
Conclusion
Okay so this was a bit of a silly blog, sorry. Like I said I don’t have a 5 year plan.
I want to be happy and healthy. I want my life to be filled with Joy. I want to be kind to everyone. I want to try a lot of gin!
I am slightly over weight, a sugar addict and lazy! So writing about 3 healthy habits seems a bit hypocritical however. I am trying to tone up and loose weight so I have change 3 things which is definitely a healthy habit.
Farewell Diet Coke
Like most people when they start dieting you give up the heavenly full fat drinks and swap them with diet drinks.
I became addicted we are talking 8 cans a day of Diet Coke. If I was hungry I would have one, every meal including breakfast I would have one. I felt like the fact that it had no calories meant that I could have it all the time.
Wrong
I started cutting back after Christmas when I ordered 3 crates of coke and Gav said it wasn’t healthy. When you rely on something too much then it’s a bad habit. It need to be kicked so I stopped.
I cut it down to two cans a day. Which was still a lot but at least it was something. This year I decided to cut out plastic water bottles. So cans of coke are harder to find.
Cutting back
When I went on holiday to Bulgaria I failed with my plastic bottles and diet coke wasn’t as everywhere so I treated myself to full fat coke!
But when I returned from holiday I didn’t buy any coke. At work I swapped my coke for squash because for some reason I wasn’t drinking enough water. I know squash isn’t that great. But I am drinking 4 litres of water everyday.
Swapping coke for water and squash is definitely a step in the right direction.
As you saw from my fridge yesterday there is no coke for either me or Gav. We both have a can but I still haven’t drunk it yet! If will be my Sunday treat!
Aurevoir chocolate
I had a lot of twix o’clock at work. Basically I now understand that I am an emotional eater. If I am upset then or annoyed then I want chocolate. Twix O’clock became a 2pm habit. I like to reward myself for everything!!!
It had to end. I am not going to deny myself chocolate but I definitely do not need it everyday. But a few times a week is fine. My skin doesn’t appreciate too much sugar so it better to cut right down. Plus I love celery so I cut it up and pop it in Tupperware. When I want to eat I something I can tuck into my cut up veg.
How good does that twix look!
Getting my arse into gear
So my last healthy habit is walking home. I get the bus to and from work. Living and working in London means that public transport is super cheap.
We now have lighter evening so roads and pathways don’t look so scary. So far I have walked home 3-4 times every week for the past 2 weeks . The weather hasn’t been great but it hasn’t stopped me.
My body is grateful for the exercise and fresh air. Plus it’s spring, so all the blossoms are out and my Instagram and a few of my blogs have had spring themes and lots of blossoms on them.
When I get home Gav meets me at the door with Frank and we go and walk him in the park. I have a wee bit more energy and my skin looks better.
Even though I should not reward myself I don’t feel so bad for eating a piece ( a whole bar, I am a compulsive eater) of chocolate.
But walking isn’t just about physical health. My 45 minute walk home clears my head. I listen to music and zone out. Walking has left me in a meditative state. I come home happy. The weather hasn’t bothered me.
I have given myself a task of 70000 steps a week and so far I have smashed it. I just need to keep going!
In summary
When I was photographing this I wanted to hurry up so I could drink the Diet Coke, it’s 10am so I will make myself wait! I also ate the celery, yum and will eat the chocolate later.
I am trying to be healthy, getting fit for the wedding. I have saved money walking home. I am saving roughly ÂŁ24 a month so… I am going back to the gym. It’s only ÂŁ36 a month and I miss it. I can go before work, my work mates go every day.
It about changing your mindset and creating a habit that you stick too. I am drinking more water (squash) walking home and cutting out my chocolate snacks for fruit and veg!
Things are getting better and I am feeling better!
It may be the holiday blues. I may just be being hard on myself but at the moment when I come home from work I don’t want to do anything. We eat dinner and then the couch gives me a hug and then I hop into bed.
I have lost my mojo.
Low energy
I wake up at 5am every morning. I stretch, do yoga, shower, eat a nutritious breakfast and head to work!
Nope
I do wake up at 5am give or take 20minutes. Only because the dog gets lonely and starts barking. As we don’t want grumpy neighbours or a grumpy Gav! I go downstairs and bring Frank upstairs for morning cuddles and a lie in.
I am not a faffer. I like to get up ( for the second time) shower. Have a cup of tea.
Mmm tea
Then I take Frank for his morning walk to stretch his little legs. Give him his breakfast. Then me and Gav walk to the station together which is my favourite part of the day!
I hop on a bus, get to work and have my breakfast. I can’t eat first thing in the morning so I get to work early so I can have my last cup of tea and get ready for work. I have food at work so it’s easy to prepare.
Sorry for the boring bit!
No motivation
When I get home I don’t want to do anything. Cooking and cleaning are the last thing I want to do. I am not motivated at all. The couch is calling me, along with Netflix and YouTube.
It is hard to start exercising when you don’t want to get your arse off up the couch.
I know what I have to do. I need to change my eating habits, I need more healthy foods and to exercise. Which is easy to say but not execute when you have no motivation.
None
Action
My whinging is boring me. So today I walked home. The sky threatened to rain the whole way but didn’t. And I found the most beautiful Magnolia blossoms which I would not have seen or smelt this incredible tree if I had got the bus!
I stood under it in awe.
I am planning on walking again tomorrow and go for a run at the weekend.
This is the plan.
Plan
Swap unhealthy for healthier snacks
Meal plan
Meal prep for lunches
Walk home 2-4 times a week
Run 2-3 times a week
That’s the plan. I needed to be held accountable for my actions and my weight. After a week of exercise my body isn’t in bad shape, my stomach got a bit of a toning but now is not the time to back track.
I have to push myself. I don’t want regrets, I want to be proud of myself.
My body has been good to me so far. My health is good and it has got me through a lot!
So I will still be having my nightly hug with my gorgeous couch!
I want to look good for the wedding and then keep up the fitness up afterwards. My walk was unplanned so I didn’t have headphones but I enjoyed it, it’s a solid 50minute walk through nice streets.
I just have to push myself and stop making excuses!
Hello reader! Hope you are well this last year I have been obsessed with my skin. Nothing wrong with a bit of self improvements but I have been fairly experimental.
I wanted to invest in the B hydra and the framboise but I wasn’t sure about splurging on these as they are not cheap.
My SpaceNK delivery arrived!
Good skin care is worth it if it works
So I bought the littles. I didn’t want to spend the full hefty price tag so I shopped around and got ÂŁ15 off SpaceNK.
I read a few reviews where people have had bad or no results. The information was always similar, try using our products exclusively at first to see how they react with your skin. So I thought I would give it a solid two weeks before I start introducing my other bits of skincare.
Drunk Elephant Littles
Night 1
So excited my sister Skyped from New Zealand so I washed my face with her. (Never done that before) I started with the cleanser,even though I new it had a funny cap I still tried to unscrew it like a normal one. The cleanser was nice, light with no smell.
First impressions was that it could not replace my Elemis Rose cleanser for luxury but it did do the job. Then I used the Framboise serum on my skin then left my skin feeling tacky but no other feeling. I added the B hydra to help it out. I added eye serum And that was it.
No 8 step double cleanse nonsense.
I was impressed with how quick and efficient it was. Ten minutes later my skin was soft and lovely!
Morning day 2
So I popped in the shower and didn’t cleanse my face. DE tell you, you don’t have too! Bonus my skin routine is not taking as long!
I applied the C Firma then the B hydra to my skin. I keep finding it tacky to the touch so I left it on whilst I cleaned my teeth. Then I put on the eye serum and manual a bit of whip to add moister. Then used my La Roche Posay SPF because you have to look after your skin.
My skin felt soft all day.
I can’t see any visible changes but my skin feels good and hydrated. So super happy.
Drunk Elephant Night Time Skincare
Night 2
Same as before, I like how nothing smells even though my favourite usual products all have amazing smells. I tried the whip tonight, it’s rich and lovely and good.
Morning 3
Same as yesterday…. except I mixed my B hydra with the C serum and bingo! OMG this was heaven. I made a noise when I but it on. I think I need this in my life!
Night 3
Same as before…..
I am going to skip a head a bit!
Night 4
I wanted to change today up a little and give my skin a break so cleansed which was lovely and then I added the virgin Marula oil to my skin. I have eaten chocolate today ( a lot of chocolate) so if I get a flair up in the next few days I have only myself to blame.
Drunk Elephant & La Roche Pose Day Care routine
Day 5
Same routine as before just no sunscreen but I did use the Whip cream. I am finding that my skin isn’t as dry as normal but as I don’t wear makeup on a day to day basis.
Two Weeks Later
I haven’t had a great week emotionally. I am a comfort eater so I have indulged in a lot of Chocolate which is terrible and my skin has hated me for it. I have had break out on my chin so I need to stop with the chocolate fix.
It fixes nothing… but a brief happiness. Damn you mint Areo and Galaxy!
So I have kept it up. My day and night routine is so simple now. The rest of my face looks okay. The texture is lovely and soft. Generally it takes 12 weeks to show actual effects.
I am going on holiday soon so I will take this skin care set with me. There is a surprising about of product in these tiny bottles. Overall I am happy with them. I do understand that I need to give them more time but there are some products I will definitely buy again and others that are just Meh!
I am going to do a breakdown of the products to let you know what I thought of them and will I be buying any bigger bottles when I run out! But as this blog is already long enough I thought that may be I can break this into two blogs.
My overall results are simple. My break outs are my own self induced fault. The weather in the UK is forever changing. Hot and sunny one day, freezing cold and Icy the next. IE not great weather conditions for your skin. I normally suffer from dry skin or get those weird patches of dry skin that come from nowhere.
My skin had been nicely hydrated. I haven’t had to layer on lots of moisturiser some nights and days I have added a bit of Whip for an added layer but most times I haven’t needed to. I don’t wear makeup so my skin has been allowed to breath.
Drunk Elephant little pouch and Sparkly French Bull dog
ÂŁ70 odd pounds is not cheap for tiny bottles. But there is a lot in them. This will be great for my holiday as they don’t take up any room. My biggest gripe is the fact that in the American set you get an SPF but because of one of the products they can sell it over here. This is reflected in the price but an SPF is vital if you are selling Retinals and acids. I feel like Drunk Elephant should still put it in or make one with less harmful products.
So was it worth it…. for now yes. My skin routine is great and I am going to add the Drunk Elephants Babyfacial. I have also missed my The Ordinary Matrixyl which is amazing for shrinking pours and fine lines. So I am going to keep going till after my holiday. Then I am going to start introducing other brands back into my skin care routine. I feel like i should give the DE time to work on its own first!
I do miss my Elemis Rose Balm cleanser. I miss the smell and the feel of it on my skin! Drunk Elephant is a luxury brand but without the smells and decadence of other Brands. My skin for the first time in a long time is hydrated without piling on the moisturiser.
I will review each product in another blog.. I am sorry I missed Wednesdays blog. Like I said it hasn’t been a great week. I will bring the Product review out shortly to make up for it.!
January always feels like a clean slate. Maybe its that everything looks dead but there is lots of promise growing beneath the surface. We just need to patient and soon we will have spring, blossom and all its glory.
It has come around so quickly.
After The chaos of Christmas we naturally have a clean out, put all the decs away, fill the house with more candles and look sadly at the corner where the tree used to live.
January is full of plans and promises.
New years resolutions are generally held for the month, even if they disappear into the either after that. I like to sit down and start my new planner. Although I didn’t need any new pens I couldn’t resist my new Staedtler fine liners.
Is anything better than crossing off a list.
If you have completed a bullet journal and are onto the next then this is the most exciting part
So I thought I would share with you my pages I use and love and the ones I started but never looked back at.
Love:
Year at a glance, it’s a yearly calendar so you can see the dates, circle any birthdays or holiday you have booked. It easy
Bill tracker. Yes I could do this all on my phone looking at my accounts but when the bills get mixed up with payments I like to tick them off. It makes me happy and feels like I am doing something. Also it makes me aware of my budget for the month.
Order tracker. I use this at work. I have my orders I have to put through every month. This makes sure that I don’t order things twice. I have to go through different systems so this little tick method reminds me of all my suppliers as well as all
Blog tracker
Again this one is for work. It helps me know what I am writing, when what images we need. Although we love other peoples work and always credit it in our blogs we know how important it is to create our own images but it takes time. Lots of planning and then follow ups on our social media.
Monthly spread
Again this is me seeing my month at a glance. This is especially good for planning my weekends, birthdays and other event. I always write when I have a workshop planned, parties just everything. When my friends meet up for a meal every so often, I can tell them when I am free. I am more likely to put in in my Bullet journal then in my phone.
Savings
We all know ( I bore you enough) that I am saving for my wedding. This fills me with Joy, I am already halfway through my target and still have 8 months of savings to go- so I am going to do it.
14 day meal plan
Okay so Gav loved this one. After every evening meal I would ask him what he wanted and he would always say I don’t mind. I love to cook and Gav loves to order takeout. We are trying to be healthier so I tried something knew. I wrote 14 meals which are generally our favorites. I wrote out what I needed in each meal and then combined it to make a super grocery list. There were enough ingredients to make 14 meals but we weren’t a slave to it. Take out was also an option on it! So after dinner I would ask Gav to choose and if he couldn’t decide I asked him for a number and we chose it based on that.
No wasted food, no extra food to buy for.
Not used
I tried a reading tracker. I am a big reader I generally read a book a week (the benefits of commuting) So I wrote a list of books I wanted to read and ended up ignoring them all and just buying books on my phone whenever the next one ran out. I also tend to read more than one book at one. At the moment I have a thriller on my phone for commuting, an organizing one in my bag in case I get bored of the phone one. A book about the army, which I bought because I had to wait two hours for my phone battery to be replace and then a murder mystery which I forgot I started reading.
Netflix tracker
Hmmm really don’t need this. Lots of people love it I guess its just the pure joy of ticking something off. Again I have a bout 4 series on the go at once. Me and Gavin live different things so Lemony Snicket, Diablo and The Protector we will watch together but You, The Sinner and The Staircase he is not interested in. But Netflix stores all the info for me so I don’t worry about loosing my place.
Water Tracker
I am trying to be heathy and drink more water. Now putting on its own page doesn’t make me look at it but I do put a mini tracker at the bottom of each day I find a lot more useful.
Weight tracker
Oh shoot me. No I am only kidding. I have a weight loss app on my phone and as I have to log my food I didn’t end up redoing it. Also seeing a list I am not great at completing makes me reach for a donut and fold over the page. I didn’t like filling out this page at all but I don’t mind the clinical aspects of the app.
Mood tracker
Ha ha ha ha not going to even try. I am a Scorpio, enough said.
Conclusion
I think a clean slate is great. I think a simple bullet journal is better. This year is going to be jam packed enough without fancy pages and more trackers but I am generally happy with it.
I am not a fan on overpriced New Year’s Eve parties. I feel they are a waste of money and energy! You can enjoy the same evening on a normal Saturday night out!But I don’t mind a house party or a nice meal with friends. I have had some great New Years.
Two Hogmanay’s in Edinburgh
A pie fight at a Bugsy Malone party
A meal with friends and cocktails
And then one New Year’s Eve where we had a bottle of champagne and played computer games all night.
Other than that, can’t say I have had many great ones. Like Christmas I think that it is all about family. About sharing a kiss with your loved one, Jools Holland on the tv and a big smile on your face.
Also I love my bed! If I can spend New Year in my bed with food and booze and fur babies then I am a happy girl. Sadly, my other half is very outgoing so we take it in turns.
One new year my choice, one his.
Generally, it’s like most things, a big pressure to do something to talk about. I have never been a fan of any of that. I hope I have never been or never will be, a show off. Although rooftop parties in New York look amazing I would love to experience that, I am not someone who feels left out if I choose not to go.
New Years is just a big rip off
Tickets to your local pub! Drinks doubled in price, Leery men hoping to scoop up the single girls at the end of the night. (This was my late teens clubbing in Camberley and Fleet).
This year I get 4 glorious days off.
Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday…. Pure heaven.
I can’t wait. We have some tidying to do which Mrs Hinch and her Minky have prepared me for. Some wedding planning (although that may be on hold till after the break.
But a break nether the less!
Exploring and Travel
I also am not the biggest fan of setting New year’s resolutions. except this year we actually have a goal to work towards… the wedding. Planning this year is key and we are so excited. My brother called me asking me to join him and dad on a road trip to our house in France. We are taking a van and picking up some bits before Mum sells the house. This also means that we can buy some French bits for the wedding which I am so excited about. Gav may kill me.
Travel Plans this year:
Bulgaria
Road trip to Jarnac
Madrid
Munich
My Goals
Well I have been good at maintaining my weight but I haven’t lost any more so I still have a stone to lose and when my ankle heals, I am going to start running again. Get my whole body toned and back into shape.
Skin care
Well I have already started this journey so it is time to get back into the habits and truly look after my skin. This means from the inside out so I will be drinking plenty of water and eating lots of fruit and its bye, bye to chocolate as this makes me break out. I just need a new serum (praying Elizabeth Arden goes in the sale)
I still need to find a beautician and book my bridesmaids there’s. I am leaving up to them if they want it done. Hair and makeup.
Hair
Well I got all my grey hairs coloured and covered and Gav wasn’t impressed with my blond skunk streaks as they are fairly bold. Now I am thinking of going a bit warmer and red. Not Bright Aerial red just a dark Auburn which is closer to my natural colour. I am growing it as long as it wants to grow and thinking of having it half up and down.
Still need to book a hairdresser for the wedding which is super stressful as I have never ever found someone who is good with curls. I get hairdressers who cut my hair really well but I leave with my hair frizzy and fly away.
Saving
No one likes to talk about money but weddings are expensive and we all know that. I am saving money on flowers, ceremony and booze but our venue is ridiculously expensive.And its our dream to get married there. It will be totally worth it. I have less then half my time and less then half the budget to save for. I have been working really hard to scrimp and save. Turning down nights out because of fares and expenses without neglecting my friends too much. Working overtime and extra Saturdays are making a difference to my saving now.
Makes: Getting Crafty
I have a lot of things to make. Napkins to dye, table clothes to hem. Photobooths to build and paint, and invites to cut up. The list is pretty impressive. We have a lot of details to finalise. And in a few months’ time I have to book the civil wedding.
I am hoping to make the majority of items before June so that I can fix any issues if any arrive. And not get too bogged down by it all.
Writing that list makes me a wee bit sick.
We are getting married in 8 months
8
Ocho
Cannot believe it and I cannot wait.
I almost wish I had another year to plan and make.
