TAG: Happy 101

 

 

I wasn't tagged to do this, but I borrowed it from the lovely Sinead.

 

The idea is to list 10 things which make you happy (not qute as easy as it sounds!)

 

I'm sure that most of you have already done this, but here's my two penneth:

 

J Sheffield Wednesday - Now they may not be the most glamourous team on the planet, and they're certainly not the highest achieving but I love them nevertheless. Why else would I spend every Saturday afternoon bundled up like the Michelin Man screaming obscenities at our ineptitude up front??

 

J The Mighty Boosh - No matter how crap my day has been, Howard and Vince never fail to raise a smile

 

J Music - Anything, literally! From Britney to Brand New and Hole to Head Automatica, I'm not sure that I could function without my trusty ipod.

 

J A good brew - I drink far too much tea, especailly at work. I'm trying to wean myself off Tetley's finest by replacing it with green tea with lemon as part of my health kick.  Its going ok so far but I still don't think you can beat a proper cuppa.

 

J The Mr - He's not perfect (far from it in fact), and I'll never understand his love affair with his xbox but I love him to bits!

 

J My Cat - I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my cat given that she's a bit of a tearaway (I put it down to rescuing her from a chav riddled estate) but theres nothing better than sitting on the sofa watching cheesy TV with Millie curled up on my lap.

 

J Cooking/Baking - I secretly fancy myself as a bit of a Bree Van Der Kamp / Nigella Lawson hybrid and could spend absolutely hours cokking up a storm in my beautiful kitchen (very dull post on this to follow shortly). I absolutely love baking in particular, and my Chocolate Brownies and cupcakes are always a hit at work.

 

J A good pampering session - Who doesn't love being pampered?! Either at home or at a spa, I'm not fussy!

 

J Driving - I love driving, especially after a rubbish day at work. I find that it clears my head and gives me time to think. I'm desperate to have a go on the Nurburgring but my dad doesn't quite seem so keen…. wonder why?! I currently drive a 2009 Fiesta Zetec S (which I adore) but I'm getting a new Mini Cooper in March - can't wait!!

 

J Family/Friends - I know, I sort of cheated by putting them together but some of my friends I consider my family, and I count the majority of my family as my friends. They've been there for me through thick and thin and I love all of them unconditionally (yes, even my little brother).

 

If anyone else has yet to do this but wants to please feel free (and comment me with the link to your happy list!)

 

xxx

I spoke too soon.......

…..my broadband is still knackered.

 

At this rate normal service will resume at some point around March time.

 

xxx

Zumba-lievable!!

 

Hello Everyone

 

Sorry for the lack of beauty-related posts recently but I've been taking my spending ban VERY seriously - I think this is the longest I've been without spending money on make-up in about 2 years!

 

Instead of spending my evenings mooching round Meadowhall or online shopping  I've been hitting the gym and using the membership which I've been neglecting for the past few months! As a result I feel much healthier, I have tons more energy and actually look forward to going to the gym (which is an absolute miracle for me)!

 

Since Christmas the timetable at my gym has changed, which has given me the chance to try out some new classes. The same old Boxing, Spinning, Step routine was getting more than a bit old, so I was excited to see a new class called Zumba on my timetable. I've only been to two classes so far but I can safely say that I'm hooked!

 

The class is essentially a dance-based aerobic class built around segments of different types of dance (from merengue to rock and roll) which promises to tone and burn calories without you even realising that you're exercising.

 

I have to say that though I usually get a bit of a rush after exercising its very rare that you see me with a smile on my face during a class but somehow Zumba gives me a perma-grin as soon as I step into the studio! The description 'Prozac in disguise' hits the nail on the head!

 

I'm sure lots of you have already tried Zumba, but for those who haven't I would definitely recommend it!

 

You can read all about it here!

 

xxx

The Usual Suspects

Hello Lovelies

Hope you're all having a good week, and if not its not long til the weekend!

Thought I'd do a quick post on the products I tend to reach for on a daily basis. Unfortunately I'm in a job which requires my makeup to be minimal and professional so you won't see any outlandish eyeshadow shades in this post I'm afraid!

I try to avoid wearing too much foundation during the week and usually just use MAC's MSF Natural buffed in with a kabuki. If I feel that I need a bit more coverage, I'll generally use Bourjois 8 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation as its not too heavy and evens out my skintone without looking cakey or 'too much'.

As I'm a bit pale I tend to use bronzer more often than not, and usually go for a pink toned blusher, My current flavour of the month is Tippy from the MAC Hello Kitty collection.

I always use an eyebrow pencil or powder as my brows need a bit of help definition-wise and apart from a bit of mascara (currently L'Oreal Double Extension Renewal Serum Inside Mascara) and Eyeliner (the ubiquitous Urban Decay 24/7 in Bourbon) I'm good to go!

The only thing that I'm missing from the picture is my favourite product of the year so far - MAC TLC in Feelin' Good.

What are your make up staples?

xxx

It's love.....

Hello Everyone

Sorry its been a while since I last posted, but as some of you will know from my Twitter updates I've been having some broadband problems! thankfully they're all sorted now so hopefully normal service will resume.

As you may have noticed from my recent posts I've been on a bit of a health/gym kick (like he rest of the UK) since the beginning of January. I've been doing really well with going to the gym etc but my massive weakness for sweet things has been letting me down. When I was in Sainsburys at the weekend I spotted some new Mullerlight Yogurts with chocolate sprinkles and thought "why not??" so I picked a multipack up and haven't been able to put them down since!

My personal favourite is the orange and chocolate ones - make no mistake, its no Terry's Chocolate Orange but its a pretty yummy compromise!!

xxx

100th Post!

 

Well here it is….my 100th post!! Its not interesting (why break the habit of a lifetime?!) but it’s a milestone nonetheless. Hopefully once I get some internet access at home I'll get my mojo back and there will be many more to come!

 

xxx

I love, I want, I need.....

….the gorgeous Particuliere nail polish by Chanel.

 

 

The only problem is that its sold out EVERYWHERE :( Looks like I'll have to stick with  OPI's You Don't Know Jaques *sob*

 

xxx

That Friday Feeling.........

Having had what seems like the longest week on record I didn't think Friday would ever come, but finally its here!!!

 

Between snow and the back to work blues this week has been far from a barrel of laughs but lo and behold, this morning there was a moment of brightness (unfortunately not accompanied by angels playing harps and the clouds parting, but you can't have it all I guess) - I've lost 3 pounds. And no, not 3 pounds stirling!!  

 

I'm quite surprised about this in all honesty as the first week of "operation lose some timber" hasn't quite gone as smoothly as I would like. In fact that's a massive understatement - its been about as smooth as a white-water rafting trip. I started off so well, with back to back boxing and body pump classes on Monday night at the gym, but it turns out that my over-enthusiastic start was the beginning of the end.  I've been eating much better (apart from the odd sneaky champagne truffle - well I can hardly WASTE them now can I?!), and I've even laid off the fizzy pop (Diet Cherry Coke is my ultimate downfall), but unfortunately I've only made it to the gym twice due to the lethal combination of snow and DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness to the uninitiated).  I've now learnt that I'm  far from being capable of doing back to back gym classes so body pump is being put on the back burner for a while.  

 

I haven't disclosed my starting weight on here because a) I'm ashamed, and b) I can't quite bring myself to type it, but suffice to say I'm the wrong side of 12 stones. I don't have a target weight as such, but I'm hoping to lose somewhere in the region of 2 stone by next Christmas. I considered joining Slimming World or Weight Watchers but I'm not sure I could face the humiliation (and I just can't get the thought of Marjorie Dawes and 'Fat Fighters' out of my head), so I've decided to go it alone, armed only with a food diary and a Virgin Active membership card!

 

Anyway, just thought I'd share my  little bit of good news with you!

 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend, and the snow doesn't scupper your plans too much :)

 

xxx

 

Rating and Slating 04/01/10

Rating

·         MAC's Warm and Cozy collection - I've only bought two items from the collection, btu the more I've seen of it the more I want! This is not good for my spending ban.

·         Getting my gym mojo back - 4 days into January and I've realised I actually quite like going to the gym…its just the getting there that is the hard part!

·         Nights in as opposed to nights out - Cheap, cheerful and who says you can't get dressed up??

 

Slating

·         Being back at work - I've realised that I'm not cut out for this working lark, I should be a lady of leisure!

·         Snow/Ice/Crap Weather - All this snow has resulted in my car beong stuck on the drive, and means I have to use the dreaded peasant wagon. I don't get on well with public transport.

·         Taking the Christmas decorations down - the house always looks so bare in January :( Maybe its time to redecorate??

 

 

xxx

Oops I did it again…..

Seriously, that song could have been written for me! As some of you will be aware, I’m currently on a self-imposed spending ban. This is meant to mean no purchases at all, however I got a couple of Debenhams gift cards for Christmas, so what did I do?? I went to the MAC concession of course!

As soon as I spotted posts about the Warm and Cozy collection springing up I knew I had to investigate further, and investigate I did. Though I slightly overspent the value of the gift cards, I’m not feeling any buyers remorse whatsoever as I’m completely hooked on the two bits I picked up….so much so that I may have to got back to pick up the other TLC (I know, I know!)

I came away with Feelin’ Good Tinted Lip Conditioner and By Candlelight Mineralize Skin Finish. I tried to take some swatches but the lighting is terrible so I gave up, instead, here’s a pic of Feelin’ Good on my smackers. First impressions are that I love both products, Feelin’ Good is probably going to be my new staple lip product for during the day, and I might just have to go and pick up a backup. By Candlelight is a gorgeous peachy/pinky tone with gold reflects which has re-ignited (no pun intended) my love for MSFs!

Did anyone else pick up something from the new collections? If so link me to your posts!

xxx

In 2010 I resolve to……

• Go to the gym more than twice a week (4 times is my target)
• Cut out the Diet Coke and drink water instead
• Stop buying things (cosmetics, clothes, accessories) that I don’t need and won’t use/wear
• Overhaul my makeup storage
• Learn to budget!

I’m as bad at keeping New Year’s resolutions as the rest of the world, but I though in an attempt to guilt myself into keeping at least a few of them I’d make them public. At least this way they’re out there for the world to see! If anyone sees me breaking them, either through a blog post or on Twitter, please feel free to give me a virtual slap on the wrist!!

xxx

A bit late...

...But I want to wish all of my followers a happy new year, and say a massive thank you for reading!

Stay tuned for my new year's resolutions post :)

xxx