Feel the burn.

So, I've completely had enough of looking in the mirror and seeing me in a fat suit. I've always yoyo-ed with my weight. It doesn't help that I'm a big fan of cheese, carbs and chocolate. I used to go to them gym, but I lost focus and because I wasn't going anymore I thought 'why am I paying for this?' so I quit. Worst mistake ever! After a few months of deliberation, watching money and thinking about why I need to do this I plucked up the courage and went down to the gym and joined up again. I was given a push of motivation when we were given flyers in work for a corporate discount and no joining fee at the gym less than a mile away from my apartment. You can certainly expect to see a few updates on my progress. I do have a target to work towards, I am aiming for size 14 by my 24th birthday in July. I wouldn't usually bother with monitoring my weight as I am going for size, but I'll keep track of it. I am lost with pounds and stone (metric all the way, baby!) and at the moment I am 94 kilos and size 16/18. My first session last night was a small dose of hell but I am so glad it went so well! Going to start with a few days on the cross trainer, treadmill and rowing machines and then start booking spin classes. Wish me luck! xoxo

Lunch in the Bay.

After a rather blurry night on the tiles, we needed replenishing. So we headed over to bay for lunch. It was a beautiful day which meant one thing - sunglasses! Hurray! I swear I'm in love with wearing my shades and mine hadn't seen the light of day for a few months. It had also been a couple of months since I'd been to Nando's so I made a beeline. 

¡Revolución de Cuba!

Thank you to Revolution bar for having us. We had an area reserved in their newest section, Revolución de Cuba bar. As you can guess from the name, it's like a Cuban cantina. I absolutely love it. They remix usual songs with samba beats and play cheesy latin tunes, it's bloody marvellous. My favourite bit is the great drinks. Mostly all are rum based, of course. Sadly didn't have the chance to sample their mojitos as they'd run out mint - but I guess it's a sign that they're great and everyone is buying them if they have used up all of their ingredients. I reckon I'll have to get in quite quickly next time. I had a stroke of madness and decided to go all experimental at one point and just began ordering anything off the cocktail menu so I could start to try them. I tried the Cuban Cosmo, the Shaken Margaritas and my absolute favourite, the Cuban Tea Party (I chose the Raspberry Colada). It's ideally situated in the Revolution premises right next to the Club Room, so if you get a bit tired of the funky disco style music then you can hop into the next room for more modern dance music. A less impressive recollection of last night is that the bathrooms in Cuba always have toilet tissue. Ladies, you are all LYING if you say this isn't good. Anyway, enough toilet humour. It's a great bar and I'll be seen there more often. Can't wait for our next visit! 

xoxo

Honey! I'm home!

Aww! Boyfriend went away for a night and a day on business and he's not long come home. He brought me some lovely chocolates :) What a cutie. I love Godiva choccies. They remind me of Dubai. When they do turn down service in Jumeirah they leave Godiva treats on your pillow. I have no idea why, but I was always happy to see them. We used to play fight like kids, squeezing through the hotel room door in the evening, trying to race each other to the bed to pinch each others chocolate off the other. They're that good, okay. You're in 5 star luxury in Dubai and your fighting over these chocolates like you're never going to eat again. So yeah, I'm chuffed to bits. Thanks Boyfriend! xoxo

Vaseline Lip Therapy - Cocoa Butter.

I have to scream praise for this little tin of moisture. I had tried the classic Blue Vaseline, which was in all fairness a good lip balm, it worked great as a moisturiser and looked fab as a lip gloss. I've used the Pink 'Rosy' one for about a year as I liked the nice pink hue it gave but it hasn't done any good for my lips. I feel like I've just got a weird addiction to the Rosy one, as if I ever go a day without it I have withdrawal symptoms. My lips would be so dry it was unbelievable, despite drinking plenty of water. It's only after changing to the Cocoa one that I've noticed it. This one is so good it has even soothed the scorching sting of dry and chapped lips from the Rosy version in less than a day. I've never liked the smell of the Green 'Aloe' version. Turns out I'm a sucker for cocoa butter. I should have clicked after I devoured that tub of Body Shop Body Butter... which was cocoa butter. Great stuff. I think this is the beginning of a MUST HAVE list. xoxo

Pancake Day!

Shrove Tuesday! Brilliant idea church peeps. I can admit I haven't been baptised as a babe, so I don't actually have to play along with these festivities. But I do love pancakes, so thanks Jesus! Thank you for dying for someone's sins and reminding us that we all have something we can live without. I have heard people explaining that they are giving up something for the next 40 days, chocolate, shopping... Jesus gave up being alive I think. For me, it's just fun to have pancakes for breakfast. They were super yummy. I swear, in 40 days time I will eat an egg of pure chocolate. I'm sure eggs rolling down a hill are supposed to represent the stone rolling away from the front of Jesus' tomb? Mate, I'll eat some choccie to that. Woo, he's alive! What a dude! Yeah man, Jesus, awesome. Clearly I need a few lessons in religion. I respect it... just with all general brain washing that comes with religious practises... I've never been inclined to trust the storytellers. Anyway, Boyfriend and I had a really lovely breakfast together. I think that's what Jesus would have wanted. Here's some photos of Boyfriend's breakfast chef debut! xoxo

Come to mama.

So, it's my birthday in 19 weeks. That means all of my lovely friends and family have enough time to organise getting me a pair of these bad boys. Classic patent leather Christian Louboutin heels. (I'm not seriously expecting these, but I wouldn't turn my nose up). I'm not usually fussed about high heels. I mean seriously, they were invented to make a woman look more appealing to men, puppet on a string? No thanks. But it's true, we do look nice and slinky in a wicked pair of platform heels. Also, they kind of torture your feet. I can't wear heels for more than a few hours, I am such a wimp. Remember those 90's flat sole massive platform shoes/trainers, that was my era, I owned a few pairs. Height and comfort, someone in retail was thinking of me. (I know, the shame!). But alas, their popularity dwindled, and the regurgitated WAG look begun it's repetitive reign. I don't agree with fake tan, I mean I live in the UK, who seriously believes that over night I have been to Turks and Caicos? Geez. I like false eyelashes once in a blue moon, they're fun. But just a flick of eyeliner is enough, an easy going smart/casual outfit and a wicked pair of shoes seems the right tone for dressing up these days. I don't want to be orange, with panda make up, with gel pads in my bra in a nasty nylon satin replica violet dress showing off my lady garden.
But good shoes, are good shoes. We shouldn't lose sight of that. I'd throw out all of my budget fashion shoes in return for a pair of quality high fashion classics. xoxo

Happy Valentine's!

Hey Lovers! I hope you all had the mushiest loveliest valentine's day yesterday. To all of you single people, I hope you had great promiscuous sex with strangers/ate loads of chocolate and cried. When I was a little girl I used to think Valentine's Day was a load of rubbish. That's the polite version anyway. I wrote this massive three page poem about how phony it is, why it's a waste of money and why there's no point in it. A part of me still thinks like this. So I can't buy into the hype too much and buy cards and presents with hearts on them. But I love Boyfriend to death and I simply adore his attention. So how can I say no? I can't miss an opportunity to use my glue and scissors and get all crafty. So I only had a memory of what the place looked like where we first ever met. I kind of remembered that it was in Cheltenham, near a garden of flower beds. I think there was a hotel next to me with 'Queen' in the name. Armed with this bucket load of information and google, I actually managed to find the spot. Yeah, I really did. I felt like a bloody god. Printed the map off of the exact spot where we met and made a card for Boyfriend. Ta daa xoxo

Lazy Sunday afternoon.

Where did the week go? Serious, that one completely flew by. Before I knew it, it was Thursday and I'm sure Friday and Saturday snook off without telling us. After a marvellous lie in, I wake up to a big pot of coffee, my scrap book clippings from the night before and nothing to do until 5pm. I think we all know where this is going. I might even go shopping (must clarify I am not breaking the new years resolution - I have a gift card! Win!). 

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday xoxo

Breakfast Time.

It's literally the best part of the day. Morning. Dawn. Sunrise. Breakfast. It's amazing. The air is crisp, the day is yours to do with it as you please. You can have anything you want for breakfast. If I'm ever in a hotel it always has to be eggs and a fruit smoothie. No question. It really is the best time of day. As soon as it hits 10 o'clock the magic is over and it's nearly mid day. Morning is nearly over. It'll be back tomorrow. 

Back on the wagon.

I was moaning and reminiscing about my scrap books the other day and I thought it's better to get up and do it instead of wishing for it to happen. Armed with my March issue of Elle, a handbag sized high street catalogue and my trusty scissors and prit-stick I dived into my little note book. Sundays might be book marked for scrap booking in future. It serves no purpose other than to feed my week long battered ego. Everyone has a silly hobby that has little importance to others, but WHO CARES as long as it makes you happy. I used to draw collages and now I assemble them. Lucky me, to have found a self powered activity to cheer myself up when I need it. A big cup of tea and an hour to myself, flicking through magazines as if I were shopping, collecting clippings in my plastic wallet, saving them for a rainy day. Harmless, inexpensive, me time. xoxo

Happy Birthday Mam xoxo

I would like to shout out to my wonderful Mam, as it was her birthday yesterday. I hope she has a fantastic party tonight! Love you, Mam! xoxo

Yes this photo is super old, I was 19! But it's my favourite picture of me and Mam as we drove from the south coast of Spain, up past Madrid, into France and up the west coast, then a ferry to England in Dover and drove all the way up to Hexham in Northumbria. 

Sucker for Starbucks.

Well, I am such a sucker for Starbucks. I swear if you can point me in the direction of any other amazing carrot cake then please do. I can cope without the warm, cosy atmosphere, without the cute mismatched furniture, without the charming music. But I have yet to find an alternative coffee shop that offers a better experience. I love their coffee, their snacks, their smoothies. Aren't they practising responsible trading now too? Here's our delicious carrot cake and hot drinks. What a cosy end to a weird week. 

xoxo

Sceptics and Mystery.

My whole life I have been surrounded by people who have very different beliefs. A community of women taught me that your fundamental truth as a being in this universe is found within your own expression of self (deep shit, I know). Sometimes I feel this to be true. Yet I have always respected the argument that there is little evidence or many documented learned facts on this subject, why is it always weirdos in tie-dye and billowing skirts that profess these opinions? Despite feeling a certain mental pull leading me to believe all of this (I just get a gut feeling, it feels like something I've known all along), I feel a bit sceptical. Crystal healing, or just coloured rocks? Meditation, or just an excuse to lie down? Believing what you feel deep in your soul, or being realistic and sticking to the status quo? Please, do not think me ignorant, I respect both sides of the debate. This mysterious truth many of us feel is quite undeniable. Scientist have infact begun to document practises to prove (and theories to describe other possibilities about the universe) that matter and particles are all one*. But how many oddballs have interpreted this as the right to fail to commit to society and act in the name of  'peace and love, dude'. I agree that major business leaders in our world have lead to the destruction, bullying, extortion and ruin of most of our planet and it's mostly dormant and accepting population. But we, 'The People', have let them get away with it, so we are all to blame. I usually see two types of people. One will live in a eco-home, brandish slogans such as 'Cameron is a C*nt', steam roll conversations of global warming, of food companies poisoning the world, burn a whole lot of incense and eat organic food. Nothing wrong with that. The others will happily install electric in their homes, brandish opinions of don't bite the hand that feeds you, become best friends with consumerism, fall in love with the false hoods of the cosmetic industry, see nothing wrong with eating foods that are killing our bodies faster than they should. Nothing wrong with that. I would be a fool to say I was whole heartedly involved in either party. Strangely enough, I feel I belong in both worlds. I think both parties would be able to find a world wide resolve if they both became allies, both respected each other, both listened and took action together. They both have the right answer. But by hating each other they will forever be at war. Perhaps we all need to go back to our roots to move forward.
Suppose I'm a mysterious sceptic.

*Search quantum physic theories on entanglement.

Scrapbook Life.

It's been a long time since I added to my scrapbook. My last one (pictures shown below) was full and finished within weeks. My second one however is still mostly empty. I have loads of clippings in an envelope but I haven't actually sat down and assembled them yet. I love the finished result and get a bit excited when I find anything I've been focusing on in the high street. Time to get stuck in again.