Mayday, Mayday!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had an absolutely wonderful bank holiday weekend. The weather was just sublime - I am a massive sun-worshipper so a dose of the shiny hot yellow thing was certainly not unwelcome!!

Here are some photos of what I got up to.

Saturday was uneventful but productive - I got a lot done around the house and sorted out a LOT of paperwork. 

On Sunday afternoon we headed into Camden for our friend Eli's birthday.

We were greeted with plenty of delicious food and drink which we proceeded to devour before heading out to play bingo!!

Things got silly after a couple of Pimms....

Camden is one of my favourite places in London, it's so vibrant and cosmopolitan - I love the hippy vibe mixed with goth and street culture.

We arrived at MECCA bingo and got ready for 'eyes down'.

Despite there being 10 of us and all pretty competitive we didn't win a line between us!!

On Monday Mister 'Whatlisawrote' had asked his family over for a BBQ at our place so we spent the morning preparing for that.

I made a white chocolate cheesecake along with potato salad and pasta salad.

The weather was fantastic, hottest day of the year so far.

I was left to eat guard the biscuits for pudding.....

And served up the cheesecake which proved very popular.

We also completed a little DIY project over the weekend, my parents gave me an old pine chest of drawers and bedside tables when we moved into our flat. I'm not keen on pine, it's too plain for me. So we sanded down the chest of drawers over the weekend, gave it a couple of coats primer and a few licks of 'Dove Grey' emulsion and it looks totally different and much nicer now!!

I'm really pleased with it.

Today the weather is also surprisingly lovely, I had thought it was going to be miserable. Apparently the rest of the week isn't looking too promising.

I popped out at lunchtime to grab a sandwich, have a stroll and do some more basking in the sun.

The town I work in really is very pretty.

If any of you follow me on Instagram you'll know that I feel in love over lunch. With this delightful nautical themed dress from Joules.

So cute and perfect for the Summer I'm hoping we'll have this year.

Bye for now.

Lx

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Insta-update

Hi everyone,

 

Been so busy lately! And for once not because of work, things have quietened down a bit at my company which has afforded me a much needed work/life balance. I've been able to get to the gym a lot more and plan fun things with friends and family - and actually commit to them!!

 

Just a quick photo post to give you a sneak peek into what I've been up to....

 

Healthy eating - watercress, spinach & rocket salad with blue cheese, beetroot, cucumber and red pepper & chilli dressing.

 

Gymming it up in neon pink.

Glass of rose in the sunshine on the terrace.

Big headphones on the train to London.

I met up with a long lost friend Andrea, we went to Pick Me Up - a graphic arts festival at Somerset House. Separate post to follow on that! It was a great day.

My Aunt & Uncle bought me a pin up photo shoot for my birthday, I loved the hair and make up!!!

I was inspired by my photo shoot to try something new with my hair.

 

And last night 'Mr Whatlisawrote' and I had a movie night in - we made a fajita feast!!

 

Hope you're all having a super bank holiday weekend in the sunshine!

 

Lx

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Black & blue

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been a little while since my last post - I had a pretty busy weekend and work has been hectic too so haven't had much time to post.

Today's post has the title 'Black & blue' for two reasons. Firstly because as I mentioned in my previous posts I am making one hell of an effort to improve my fitness levels and overhaul my body. It is a sad fact that once you reach a certain age as a woman, you need to work harder at keeping fit if you still want to enjoy good food. I never used to be active when I was younger and was quite over-weight as a result (trust me, there are photos to prove it!)  but eventually I got fed up with feeling tired, lethargic and out of breath if I ever had to run for the bus and sad that my clothes didn't fit me the way I wanted them to. So I embarked on a 10 year period of yo-yo dieting which usually left me feeling miserable but helped get rid of the weight.

Then one day I decided enough was enough, I needed to learn to enjoy exercising then I could eat whatever I wanted (within moderation). Don't get me wrong, I work hard in the gym, in the pool, playing rugby and running and I do this at least 5 times a week so that I can afford myself a couple of treat days where I don't need to worry about what I eat/drink. I also eat as healthily as I can 80% of the time without compromising on quality or flavour.

This post isn't designed to be a propaganda piece on 'skinny', at a healthy size 12 I am not skinny and nor do I long to be. There are many women out there who aren't secure or confident in their own skin and take being thin for aesthetic reasons to extremes and that is sad and harmful. My motto is strength, my aim is to be toned, lean and muscular - all the better to perform to at my best in my chosen sports. But all this hard work can sometimes leave me feeling like I'm bruised black and blue!!

I go through periods of being obsessed (literally) with Pinterest then not looking at it for months. Lately I have found it useful for health and fitness inspiration - whether that be fashionable gym wear or mottos and quotes to help keep me focused.

All images above courtesy of Pinterest.

 

The weather over the weekend was b-e-a-utiful wasn't it?! I got up to quite a bit....

 

With the first signs of Spring I love to fill my house with flowers so I bought some daffodils.

 

The girls I used to live with came over for dinner on Friday night and bought me some beautiful roses.

I went to get my shellac re-done on my nails.

I opted for a really zingy watermelon hue.

I ran 4.2 miles in the lovely sunshine

I needed Lucozade and Grazia afterwards!

 

On Saturday night 'Mister Whatlisawrote' and I went for a date night at Wagmamas then the cinema to see Evil Dead.

 

Yasai Yaki Soba - my favourite.



On Sunday I went to my parent's house and took my bike out for a 12 miler, it was a fairly relaxed ride as I'm still recovering from a whiplash injury I suffered just over a week ago so I can't go too mad on the exercise front, booooo.

I spent some quality time with Bertie who was all tired out after playing all morning with the Labrador at the stables my Mum keeps her horses at.

 

And finally, the other reason for the title black & blue! Those were the colours in my outfit today.

 

Dress - H&M

Cardigan - Topshop

Belt - Primark

Jacket - H&M

Bag - Fiorelli

 

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the sunshine.

 

Lx

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