What I did Saturday 18/04/2015

Spring has sprung here in the UK and yesterday we went on a small day trip to the seaside. 

We went to Paignton and its was a mega blustery day and freezing however, even though the weather was freezing we still dipped our toes into the sea. We took two trains to get there and spent a lot of time on the pier arcades winning tickets. Here are just a few of the pics taken.

We want to start taking a lot more day trips in the spring and summer and hope to see a lot more sights in 2015!!! 

Thanks for reading. 

The girl with the constant excuse!!!

It's the 3rd day of disturbed sleep thinking about how fat I feel!! All I have done for the past 3 days is make excuses in my head as to why I have been eating so badly recently. 

It's easter!! I think I'm due on! It's a weekend! No food in the house! I'm too tired!! I'm depressed?? Work is too busy to take a healthy snack!! 

When in truth I can't be bothered with the hard work or mustering the willpower I need to start again. I want to be one of those people who doesn't treat themselves with food but, I love food too much I love cooking it I love sitting at the table to eat it. I love being sat on the sofa in the evening with my hubby with a cup of tea and a packet of biscuits watching Netflix. 

So after this pretty turbulent night sleep worrying   about dying before my parents I weighed myself and after the initial gasp that I had broken the scales I had only but on 1lb and in a way this dosn't help the thoughts going through my head I think I was willing it to be more so I could give myself a kick up the bum to get started again. 

So I think what I need is a special revamp button that can give me back the get up and go I had in February!! Any ideas?? 

12 grumps of Christmas

I love Christmas it is the happiest time of year and my favorite time of year however, here is 12 things that turn me into Scrooge through the most festive time of year!! 

1) Secret Santas at work. You work with these people all year you talk and may even socailise however, why do I always the get fussy person. I dread it I put my hand in the bucket to pull out a name (my work do this in august mad huh?) the dread of getting that one person who only likes obscure things the hope of getting Sandra, who only ever wants her subscription of woman's own renewed and bam you get obscure employee that you only talk to onces a year to move out of the way of the photocopier. You search the internet and find a vintage something that everyone tells you he/she will love, you wrap it and give it over urging them to love it and those 5 words come out of there mouth "did you keep the receipt".

2) tropical shops. It's cold outside (or slightly chillier mild weather I live in the U.K) you have your hat, coat, scarf and gloves on and it's busy so why do shops insist on putting the heating on so high your wishing you brought your swimming costume!!! Your arms are full of gifts your in a long cue that seems to go on forever and all you can think of is the beads of sweat travelling down your back. Or if your were clever enough to take your coat off before you got in the cue it's so awkward with the purchases when you get to the check out all you can do is chuck it at the desk at a great force that you knock all the chocolate bars off the sides. 

3) the "it's to early" moaners. Yes October is probably too early to be putting your decs up and listening to Christmas songs and seeing the festive jumpers in primark but, please do not constantly complain about it!! I agree and I agree every year however can you stop telling me cause I am not going to magically stop it from happening earlier and earlier each year!! 

4) Christmas countdown apps. This is just plain and simple this countdown is the single most gut wrenching countdown it put fear into me arrrghhhhh it's only 36 days till I have to atempt to not kill my family by under cooking the turkey!!! 

5) Glitter. It's on everything! It finds it's way everywhere! And yet I can't not buy Christmas cards without it on!! 

6) Christmas cards. I love getting them I love it when I have sent them. I do not like sitting down and writing them! Trying to remember every one and always forgetting someone. I think every year I will keep this list so I don't have to do it from memory again nect year and bam I have lost it. 

7) hoards of Christmas cards. Every year I have too many and every year I tell my husband oh "I'll put these away for next year" and do I use them no! I just buy more to add to my ever growing collection!! 

8)  evelope tongue. We all get the film of a soap tasting glue on your tongue it's gross and has a lasting effect. Why don't they flavour it maybe mint or chocolate flavour?? 

9) Sellotape. I am a pretty laid back person but, I hate Sellotape. It only sticks in the wrong place other than where you want it. It bunches up and you try to straighten it and it rips the paper and sticks to you. And then you can't find the end cause it's stuck to it's self and you have to be some kind of Sellotape wizard to find it again!! 

10) being made to eat sprouts. It might just be my family but Christmas is the only time of year where these nasty little nucular gas producing beasts find there way onto my plate. Does anyone actually like them?? They taste as bad as the gas they produce and being an adult hiding them in my discarded crackers just isn't fooling anybody!  

11) do not eat!! We have a rule in our house no Christmas food before Christmas Eve and the house is full of goodies and your watching Christmas films and all you want is a mince pie and nooooo it's not Christmas yet!! 

12) Christmas Eve adverts. You have battled the shops, written hoards of cards, wrapped all your gifts, food shopping and food prep. Your sat down at 5/6pm and start eating your mince pies settled to watch a Christmas films and the adverts are all magazine subscriptions and January sales!! The last thing on my mind is more shopping. Yes I understand how advertising work however, can you just have some Christmas adverts or no adverts at all so I can keep this festive mood just a little longer before I'm made to forget it all!! 

September Plans and Autumn cleaning

With September being well under way now I just want to write about some of our plans for the next month as its going to be a busy one!!!

The first that’s happening is my husband is turning 33 (he might be turning 33 but he’s a 10 year old at heart) and this weekend we had a small Dr Who themed party with decorations, blow up Darlek and a tardis coloured cake. Me and my brother have also been researching Doctor who foods mentioned in the show and we want to see how much of a geek he is and how many he can say from which Dr these are going to include marshmallow adipose, jelly babies, fish fingers and custard, jammie dodgers and celery.

His birthday isn’t until the 11^th however all he wants to is relax for the day so the day I have planned breakfast in bed, calming bath, foot rub, movies and his favourite meal Lasagne. He also wants to go out for a meal so I think we will do that on the 12^th a nice excuse to dress up and be fancy.

We also have a wedding this month Riches mum is getting remarried on the 13^th of this month so we are currently in search for an outfit mode. The last time I saw riches family was our wedding and I looked a lot thinner so am slightly worried about being the fattest person there.  I have two choices of dresses a lacy coral dress and a blue and white 1950’s style a line dress both from Asos.  I brought the coral dress last spring and love it but never worn it because I feel too lumpy in it and I like the other dress but I’m not sure if it’s smart enough for a wedding.  I also have no shoes or accessories I’m thinking of wearing nude flats and a pashmina or smart jacket with some simple gold jewellery.

This month we welcome Autumn and I can’t wait spicy apple candles, colder weather and a chance to give my wardrobe and house a sort.  Although I am not a cleaner I do love a good sort and I have planned the last two weekends dedicated to having a sort through our bedroom, living room and kitchen. 

In the bedroom I like to pack away all the summer clothes and crack out the cute hats and woollen cardigans/jumpers and riches hoodies. I always buy myself new Pj’s and put on a more autumnal duvet set and really get the bedroom ready for cosiness all the while doing a general declutter of unwanted clothes and general odd and ends to take to a charity shop.

The living room is going to have a bit of a small makeover.  We are inheriting some new sofas and a new T.V when my dad moves house, so we want to clear a lot of the clutter and repaint a wall between getting rid of the old and collecting the new.   We decorated this room last year so all it needs is a small freshen up.

Then there’s the kitchen (await the rambley rant)I hate our kitchen and when I say I hate my kitchen I don’t mean just a little of the kitchen I mean the whole of the kitchen from the horrible green walls and tiles to the lino that never looks clean to the cupboards that everything falls out of.  If we owned the flat I would rip it all out and re-plaster the walls and completely start again however, we only rent and don’t plan on living here forever so we are stuck with the cupboards and lino.  I can do something I can paint it but I am conflicted do we want to pay out to paint it when were only planning on living there a little longer?  We have decided that it needs a clear out we have so much junk in our kitchen that the plan is to condense it to make it a little more manageable while we decide if we’re going to paint it or not.

So after the parties and cleaning and work we also want to have a couple of walks catch the last early evenings of summer ready for it getting cooler. 

End of summer ramblings

As it’s now September we are hitting the very end of summer and into busy September I wanted to write down a few things I have enjoyed this year.

 I am usually not a fan of summer I don’t normally like the light evenings as I love nothing better that being cosy with a hot chocolate, candles and my duvet on the sofa to snuggle into while watching soaps and Downton Abbey however, this year it’s different I have loved the light evenings sitting in our garden with a glass of wine chatting and taking in the lovely weather I have also been learning to drive so the early evening drives around the city have opened up some beautiful sights that I want to explore next year.

This summer has been extra good for us as my husband found a full-time job (I am so proud of him) he had been frantically searching for a year and in June he got a job that suits him perfectly.  He also passed with flying colours a book keeping and computerized accounts course and is well on the way of getting his AAT accounting qualification.

Although it is fantastic him working and being so busy it does have one big problem I am now a part-time housewife and have lost my much better at cleaning house-husband!! I only work 16 hours a week and we both decided when he was full time I would take over the housework and cooking.  I am the 1^st to say I am very untidy I am clean but cluttered how Rich kept our house clean with me living in it is beyond me I don’t pick anything up after I use it, I have found cups, pens, books, blankets and more just in the strangest places. So me being the sole cleaner has come a bit of a shock and after 2 weeks of living in a flat that looked like it had been burgled I had to change so I had a brilliant idea of making a cleaning rota.

I started by writing a list on a piece of paper and putting it on the fridge this didn't work as I didn't look at it enough! Next I typed a rota and made it pretty with stickers and encouraging amusing quotes and put it on my dressing table where I sat every morning to do my make-up. The plan was to read what jobs I had set out while slapping on foundation however, after 2 days of being late rushing around looking for things I had failed to put in its correct place and my life not being like a fairy-tale princesses it was covered by the mass of make-up I had put over it never to be read again. Although the writing a rota had gone dramatically bad and Rich getting a bit fed up of cleaning on his days off the light at the end of a very mess tunnel came when I won an Erin Condren life planner. This little beauty has been a life saver.  It’s bright and colourful and laid out in a way I like.

Every evening I write my jobs and goals for the following day and not only has this begun to work I am also sleeping better as the satisfaction of ticking off what I have done in my day is helping me sleep.  My husband is happier as he is no longer tripping over baskets of clean washing that I haven’t put away. I mean I haven’t changed my whole way of being because of a planner but it has worked.  I would love to be one of those people who can be tidy but, I am not we are always going to have a slightly chaotic flat and find peculiar objects in the wrong place (I found a pen in the freezer I beginning to think we have a fairy who hides things).

I know I always say this but I love writing and want to write more often maybe with rich being at work I can now get around to writing more as I have loads of ideas just never the motivation to write them.

That’s enough rambling for one day I think. Byeeee!!

Our Summer!!

I was going through my pictures on my phone and thought I would share a few from my summer.  Me and my husband have had a few date days, seen a band live and had some random days out with my hubby and brother also the weather has been pretty good for English summers.

The nice weather started in May so my birthday we had a BBQ at my dad’s it was hot and the food was yummy and my husband and brother made an awesome cheese cake. 

 May bank holiday was dedicated to music we went to a pub called kittys and watched an Irish band called Mad Dog and they were awesome singing Irish punky folk music.

 We had a few dates went to the cinema, explored Plymouth city centre and the waterfront,  ate ice-cream’s, tried new restaurants and we visited Plymouths flavour fest which is a food festival in Plymouth where we tried loads of new food  alcoholic drinks which are all locally made.

 This past weekend was the Last summer bank holiday of this year and after a summer of beautiful weather this weekend was raining and nasty however we still had a fab weekend seeing Mad Dog again and getting the train to visit family.

 We have some cool times coming up for autumn winter we have my mother in laws wedding in September (and still have no idea what to wear might have to post the options to get some opinions) and my husband’s birthday and I really want to try and get some more blog posts as I am rubbish sorry!!

What's in my bathtub! Summer edition

I haven't blogged in a long time and seeing as I'm going to have a bath I would post a what's in my bathtub blog sorta thing.

The shampoos I am currently using are Aussie colour mate and the body shop rainforest radiance for coloured hair and I alternate between the two. I prefer the Aussie shampoo because I feel it lavers better and my hair feels more clean afterwards the body shop one dosn't contain silicones which I no is better for coloured hair (my hair is currently dark red) but, you have to use more of an effort to get a good laver. Conditioners I'm using is the Olia aftercare conditioner as I only dyed my hair a week ago although I am going to stop using this soon as it makes my hair a little too greasy I will then go back to my staple conditioner the miracle moist from Aussie this mourturises my hair enough yet is lighter so it dosn't bog my hair down. 

My husband got me the lush happy bathday set and I am savouring everything in it by cutting and spitting them in half my favorite so far has been the avobath bath bomb I currently have a slight obsession with the smell of lemongrass (mmmmm lemongrass) however, tonight I am going to use the melting marshmallow moment. I also have a boots cheap plain bubble bath that is scent less I add it to my bath bombs as I'm not a huge fan of bath with no bubbles. 

Shower gel and scrub are both from soap and glory. I have the orangeasm body wash which smells amazing so amazing my husband has taken a liking to it and has started using it. For scrub which I use once a week in the shower after my Wednesday swim is the smoothie star oat, sugar and Shea breakfast scrub and I only use this once because it smells so darn nice I would probably end up eating it hehe. 

 Errm what else oh yeah hand soap I am using the goddess from lush also a gift from hubby and also one I might have to hide from him!! And razor I am using the Venus White tea one and I have used it twice and it smells nice and it does the job. 

For mouturisers after a bath and showering I am alternating between the soap and glory orangeasm body butter and the body shop mountain rose body butter and I have no preference as they both smell amazing. 

I have no candles in the bathroom currently but am on the look out for a nice scent so if anyone has any favorites feel free to pop your suggestions in the comments. 

I suppose this is my summer what's in my bathroom as I will be using the same sort of things for a while. 

Thanks for getting this far I can't seem to stop rambling :D