Mini A/W Godsends!

Now that we're fast-approaching that pesky time of year between Guy Fawkes and Christmas, when you've no longer got the nice colours of Autumn, not to mention the last of the good driving conditions but it's not yet Christmassy enough to be cozy...well these are the little saviours that are going to carry me through to that winter wonderland!

Bobbi Brown Extra Balm Rinse: don't let the slight Simpson shade of this heavingly cleanser put you off. I'd been coverting this balm-style cleanser/make-up remover since my Uni days and finally bit the bullet, swallowed back the tears of a rather hefty price tag (£43.00) and ordered it. If anyone's wondering if it's worth buying, let's just say it's magic for the face like peanut butter is for the soul! I actually can't stop using it and given the size of the tub and tiny amount you need, I can safely say, even for the most enthusiastic skincare junkies, this sunny stuff will a long way!

Yankee Candle Be Thankful- the excess of jar and lack of actual candle in this photo shows how much I burn this. It just smells sooooo good: warning-May cause hunger cravings for a substantial amount of hearty homemade pies. Try not to look at the photo. Consider yourself warned!

Tone it Up: Beach Babe DVD- thanks to these damn dark nights, a lack of fluorescent gear and a general dose of "oh it's too late now", my running routine seems to have ran out on me entirely. However Karena and Katrina's original DVD (they've brought out a new one now which I'm eyeing up) is my current choice of workout that makes you feel like you're working out outside (on a Hawaiian beach no less) without the actual stepping outside (and subsequent freezing to death). The workouts are short, very effective (see my personal fave: HIIT the beach) and if just looking at these girls' figures doesn't make you want to work out-nothing will. Def worth checking out their videos on YouTube!

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Littlebluewall gets Pumpkinfied!

I'm not quite sure when or how my obsession with pumpkins began but October starts and suddenly my room is full of them! In my defense ask yourself one thing- what's not to love about these little magical orange things? Anyone?

 

I know it's a problem but who knows when you'll be late for a ball/ Halloween party and your lift falls through and it's almost midnight and you've bought some brand new slippers especially for the occasion....

 

On a completely unrelated note, it's that time of year again folks! The countdown to my fabulously festive but eye wateringly-price tagged ruby red party dress (lovingly nicknamed the Xmas dress) begins and so with it the frenzy that is a a Jillian Michaels DVD. Love or hate The Biggest Loser one thing has to be said for this mean lady: She gets it done!

It's a wee bit bizarre, you'd think Summer would be the month to make you feel the most motivated (to err....jump around the room like a loon with some occasional aerobic moves thrown in). For some reason I get this boost around September with the thought of Christmas ahead. I think it's because it's a bearable amount of time: 4 months, you can follow any crazy cardio regime for 4 months (and then bathe in your success in all the Christmassy glitter).

On that note as we're now on the 21st October I should probably get going with that"I'm coming Jillian"

Anybody have any good fitness DVDs/YouTube videos they'd care to share-god knows I need it!

Happy Halloween Lovelies! (witness my feeble little Halloween/October-themed display-really it was just another excuse to stash another pumpkin in a shot)

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A fairly subdued day

Hi everyone!

Hope people are enjoying a nice weekend. I woke up today with that annoying 'can't quite put your finger on why but definitely a little less than 100%' feeling. I feel I may resemble a lounge suit-wearing mole who's just surfaced above ground. I've come to the conclusion it's either my hay fever achieving its irritating personal best or I'm getting a cold (watery eyes, sniffles, sore throat & all that symptom jazz). Anyways I've spent my day padding around at an extreme Sunday-style pace. These are my "feel better" tactics:

 

Gotta love a dose of New York & green tea!

 

Luckily Nigella's chocolate/orange cake just happened to be lying around

Painting the nails soothes the soul (or stops you from eating too much cake anyway)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a great weekend! :)

 

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And then there were two...

"There's no harm in just looking" :s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So as I'm approaching week 6 of my Couch to 5K programme, still loving it and still intending to do the Race for Life this summer I decided the time had come to invest in some real running power. A choice made infinitely easier on discovering that Sketchers,the trainer-wizards behind my full-time home for feet-Go Walk shoes, had introduced a running counter-part called, wait for it...yep you've guessed it Go Run. One really useful blog highlighted the benefit for trying these on and (strange looks aside) to give them a go in running action due to the unusual shape of the sole. So off I toddled to Debenhams to make use of this informative tip, fully expecting to lust over them online for a good few more weeks, "ooooing and aahing" over the different colours &reviews, only to find them in the half-price sale (well..it would just be rude not to).

I'm dying to test out the mid-strike appeal of these little grey speedsters (although the weather had other ideas today- booooo)! Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough but I couldn't actually find a review on the women's versions of Sketchers Go Run shoes on youtube, although there was a cracking review on the men's (which I guess would be almost exactly the same). Anyway I might actually do a video review on these after testing them out for a good 3-weeks, just in case anyone was teetering on the edge about these just like I was & happens to be blessed with slightly more sales-restraint, just like I wasn't. Any interest let me know & I can post on here or youtube.

P.s. I should probably point out here, despite the Sketcher-gushing/crushing above, I am in no way connected to Sketchers, nor have they asked me to review any of their magical shoes (if only). My reviews are 100% my own derived purely as a result of my love-affair with my trusty cobalt blue Go-Walk gems.

Happy Running/Walking!

 

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5 things god I wished I'd invented!

Just a warning here folks: I'm truly embracing my materialistic side in this post (penicillin, blood donations,Operation Christmas Child & peanut butter would also be on my list of beyond brilliant moments of enlightenment) but for now I'm listing my most reached for-"oh-god-don't-tell-me-I've-lost-it-I'll -have-to-buy-a-new-one" everyday items.

First up...

Posted-Notes all the way!

I am 100% behind Romy & Michele's attempt to pass off these little gems as the secret to their High School Reunion success (how much do you want to watch that film now!). Granted they do encourage a certain amount of ridiculous reasons to use them-I'm pretty sure I would have remembered to "buy chocolate milk" even if it was just written directly on the diary but really...who knows what would have happened if it wasn't written in an owl shaped memo!

No 2:

I'm not going to lie-I'm fairly certain the last belt-bag I sported featured Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin. So if you told me then that my 26 year-old self would still be powering on with this hysterical craze, my 10 year-old thoughts would go something like: "wow I've actually peaked, style and maturity-wise" . However this little Ski-trip find has actually become my precious for AM jogs. It's soooo tiny and light (not to mention cute+matches my running top) that you don't notice it's weight (what weight!) even on your last gasping mile. Gone are the days of searching frantically for the one bloody long-sleeved sports top you own that has pockets! These fit my phone, keys, iPod and tissues in: Simples!

No 3:

The Holiest of Grails for flame-wimps like me! Given my love of Yankee candles, whoever you are Mr/Mrs Inventor-you are loved!

 

 

 

No 4: Yes I know this invention goes as far back as the 16th Century (when some were glass :s. Thank god for Mr Eduard Penkala, master of "Ok let's switch to rubber, they can take the heat") in my defence, if you had the circulation of a mummy like me, you would rejoice in the miraculous 'thawing of the feet' ritual too!

No 5: (stay with me, I swear I'm almost done rattling away!)

 

Turbie Towels, Hair Wraps, Towel Turbans (my fave term). Whatever you want to call them, these are the type of item you see all the time while looking for something else. Generally you laugh at the serious pout of the poor soul modelling said 'sexy' hair accessory before moving swiftly moving on. I was exactly the same until I happened upon this little number in my Xmas stocking last year (yes I am 26 and equally yes, this is a Xmas tradition I am not letting go of anytime soon, they have the BEST things in there, those stockings)! Anyways, on testing them out, anyone bestowed with a ridiculously close to lion's like-mane will probs experience the same "But where have you been all my life" epiphanies like yours truly (look at the model, that's how it feels). If this is missing from your life or you just love the names they come up with, this one comes from Amazon but TK Maxx seem to be equally breeding them in their beauty section.

Now if they can just get a move on with that 0 calorie 0 fat Peanut Butter I've been dreaming about, my life will be complete! Thanks for reading lovelies!

P.s. anyone with their own "god that's clever" creations, feel free to let me know :)

 

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Sunday Rituals (she says while publishing on a Tuesday shssss)

Can anyone remember hating Sundays with a passion as a child? The dreaded day of doing homework cast aside when "It's only Friday" and waiting for school. Fast-forward a few years (and then a few more) and it is without a doubt my favourite day of the week. Why is it the best of the bunch in my book? It just feels relaxed from the minute you wake-up (who doesn't love a universally accepted excuse for a lie-in where quoting the day is reason enough)? It wasn't until this week that I realised what a creature of habit I've become, when I set about my usual little Sunday routine:

 

Sunday AM is devoted to making pancakes with an occasional speed-eating competition thrown (I'm reigning champion)!

 

The Yoga mat finally get's unrolled from its judgemental "What happened to that NY resolution to use me everyday"-pose.

Finally....

A bit of table re-arranging/general decorative change-arounds. This when I add any new beachy pieces that I can't seem to stop picking up for my room. The newest addition that I fell for was the little mini glass bottle &shells hanging fixture. Phase 1: positioning=check Phase 2: Insert mini messages scrolled up inside (that can be my next rock 'n' roll Sunday decoration activity).

What's everyone else do for their Sunday routines? Or do people prefer to change it up?

 

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Back in one piece (complete with body weight in Kinder chocolate)

Hi guys!

Just returned from Austria and the very last of the ski season fun (sob). Judging by the snow towards the end of the week I'd say we've just done it (think skiing over multiple moguls of sugar instead). I wouldn't fancy my chances of taking on some of those reds any later (not even for the Bridget Jones comedy gold). Anyway hope everyone's having a nice week & looking forward to those Easter eggs- I was getting myself in a state trying to decide between a cream egg one (a sure oldie but goodie), a malteser bunny (living dangerously as won't actually be able to give them up, even long past Easter) or finally a good old Whisper. Quelle dilemma does it not present? (Yes that was me trying to speak like Yoda-and yes failed miserably).

Just a few Austrian souvenirs.

I picked these up for running buddies (since the snow looks like it's setting in for good). Plus I was getting sick of using the same long-sleeved running top, purely because it had pockets for my iPod, phone & keys. Then on our final day, as if by fate, stumbled upon this impressively slim, seemingly mini belt bag and thought it was perfect, especially to use in any marathons, which I'm aiming for this year (she says while still completing week 3 of Couch to 5K programme).

 

I know these tend to part the waves opinion-wise but I've always loved moon boots and spent many a weekend, while working in Canada, lusting after a pair, trying them on, checking them out in the mirror, doing the moonwalk (well you just HAVE to). Anyway love them, hate them- they're mine=Happy Girl!

 

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Mid-Week Smile Alert!

Hi guys!

You know those kind of awkward weeks which combine things that you're sooooooo (and then some) not looking forward to and then something that can't come soon enough! You find yourself stuck in this semi "Hurry Up/but No Not Yet-I'm not READY"scenarios. This week was one of those weeks for me. Monday and Tuesday morning were implying all kinds of hell with a consecutive job interview and dum dum dum....the almighty driving test showdown! Driving and I have been engaged in a Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vadar relationship for sometime now and it feels strange that through all the heartfelt tantrums involved, this was to be my first driving test. In my mind this made the prospect slightly more holy grail-ish. Anyways my test was originally booked for January smack down in the middle of all the snow-caused chaos. I fretted, studied practised questions, panicked that I should have booked an eye test and convinced myself I wouldn't actually get to the car part of the test, having failed to read the designated license plate, fretted some more. Got to the test centre in just a tiny amount of frazzled frenzy to find that it was cancelled, so not test for me.

Anyways the thing I've been dying to fast-forward to is this weekend: My family and I are off Skiing (SHOOP SHOOP-sorry couldn't help myself) in Austria for a week. Ever since learning to ski while working in Canada after graduation, from a catastrophe-loving/very brave friend of mine, it has been one of my all-time favourite things in the whole wide world! We try to go around Feb/March every year and I'm so glad it's finally here this week. The thought of the 'almost-flying' feeling you get with that pristine snow (not to mention the après-ski) has been getting me through the first half.

Results so far: Now that it's Wednesday, I can type this knowing that both of the big worriers of the week are over. I didn't get the job (hey, you can't win them all)  but.....I did pass my driving test-VICTORY (well for someone who cut that "moment when everything just clicks" mighty fine, as in the last week or so). So thrilled and out for a mexican themed dinner with my amigos tonight. P.s. Anyone out there thinking of giving up: please don't, please instead take comfort in the fact that if I can ANYONE can! Don't worry be happy!