A view from the afternoon

So got lots of work from college on Wednesday, I study part-time for Adult Social Care. Got another assignment to finish for next week.

 Also got to sort this mess out:

Half of this stuff I don't even use

Also took some photo's.

This is view from the window of the garden at the back and the fields, looks so beautiful in autumn and winter.

This was Thursday afternoon:

I love the landscapes at this time of year with all the colours in the tree and the frost like glitter :3

 Sometimes deer come in the fields and rabbits come out in the fields or gardens.

In the evening I went to the cinema with my boyfriend to see 'End of Watch' it was an action cop film with Jake Gyllenhaal (Mmmm!)

It was quite good, I recommend worth watching once if you like a bit of action and don't mind a little bit of gore.

I took these this morning, it was so frosty and misty and got worse throughout the day.

I wore about 5 layers to go out today, the temperature dropped so much. I went to do the last bits of Christmas shopping then met my friend Sean for a coffee, I forgot my camera though :(

Also my lovely boyfriend bought me these, I'm not sure why but he's so sweet anyway :3

Maybe he thinks it Valentines day ha! <3

He's working away for this weekend so it's really quiet. I only need to get his present for Christmas so I'm going to go shopping in Manchester tomorrow with my mum and stepdad, can't wait. I don't get much time with my mum lately so it will be a nice day out. Maybe spend a little on myself since it's payday weekend :)

I will update tomorrow hopefully.

That's all for now ta-rah girlies! xx

I'm always on time

I love watches!!!

I never really wore them until this year. Don't know why I put them all on pillow to photograph them haha!
As you can probably tell I love the jelly type strap.

Make nice gifts for Christmas

 Ice - Love £90

 Ice - Limited Edition. I think this was around £90

 I got this from second hand shop £3 was previously £20 in Argos

 Got this for £5 when I bought Rihanna's Rebelle Fleur fragrance

 Guess - Was a gift

This was a present but not sure where from

I think I need somewhere to keep them all like a case, they're just lying about at the moment. heh :)

Foooood.

Made a big portion of tuna pasta today for some meals this week :)

Making a mess on the cooker here  

The ingredients are pasta, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, vinegar, tuna chunks, onion, garlic and light mayonnaise.

I stupidly forgot to take the after picture when it was done. but basically all I did was boil the pasta.
While the pasta was cooking I finely chopped up 1 clove of garlic, then chopped up 2 slices of onion into small pieces. I drained the juices from the tin of tuna then placed then placed it in a bowl. I mashed up the tuna with a fork to break up the chunks, then added the onion and garlic. I poured about a teaspoon of vinegar in before adding 4 desert spoons of the light mayonnaise. I mixed them all up with the fork then added cayenne pepper, paprika and black pepper. It's up to you if you add these and how much you add, you only need a little bit to add a bit of spice to it. After this you just need to drain the water from the pasta then add to the bowl and mix together I got about 3-4 portions from this. just leave to cool before putting in the fridge. If you want you can also add chopped pepper or sweetcorn. I didn't have any in.

Made this chocolate log with my mum :)

 Well we actually bought 2 chocolate swiss rolls then cut them into shape to form the log. Then made the chocolate butter coating and used a fork to create the bark effect. Added some cute decorations and gold edible balls then sieved the icing sugar on top. What the hell, I don't know what I'm talking about here basically I just stuck the decorations on haha :)

 I made tomato pasta with chick peas - this was on last Friday

For the sauce - onion, garlic, tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, basil, cayenne pepper then blend.

Add red pepper, yellow pepper and chick peas, along with the sauce the pan with the pasta then heat up until hot.

King prawns in home-made hot sauce with rice

Last weekend

OK really should have posted this earlier. Spent the weekend with my boyfriend. Was a nice chilled weekend. Friday we just stayed in watching movies, also getting snappy sid involved who absolutely hates me! 

Also saw a shooting star that night, i'd never seen one before was pretty :D  The sky was really clear that night which isn't common here could see like every star in the sky. So I thought I would take pics of the stars  took about 10 photo's on different settings before I realised it's not possible to photograph stars without a special camera :(

Anyway on Saturday we went into town into a little cafe and had a full English breki, or in my case half an English. Jack had chips cheese and gravy which is slightly odd for breakfast but it was more brunch. Still weird though. Kind of put me off my meal when he started adding ketchup on top!

So after eating I went with him to do a bit of Christmas shopping. Then later I had my nails done. I haven't a clue when it comes to nails 'cause all I do is paint mine. It is quite curious though and I did end up having acrylics, definitely wont be having them done at the same place again the woman attacked my nails  :(

I can honestly say I've never been in the situation where my nails are throbbing 'cause they're that sore.

Beauty is pain, i guess though. They are rather beautiful even though they are a bit too long I will have them shorter next time.

So later on we booked a room at cosy inn went out for a walk  until it started raining so pretty much was stuck in watching TV again. We then went out to eat at Bella Italia, I had a calzone with chicken, mozzarella and spinach was yumm - By this point I can feel the pounds piling on.

Having a bad face and hair day here :c but here's OOTD (took this on Saturday before going to Bella Italia). Will do a proper one soon this one was a bit rushed, did it like a minute, I don't even match but just wanted to show a few pieces I wear.

I bought this jumper a few years ago from Primark but never really worn it 'til now. Its all sparkly but the camera doesn't pick that up unfortunately. Really this pic doesn't do justice how nice this jumper is.

I tried to find a few alternatives to it, could not find a grey one for the life of me,

 these are the best I could find:

Hearts & Bows Fluffy Jumper with Stud Shoulders

Oasis Fluffy Sparkle Jumper

Kelly Brook Cream Fluffy Cropped Jumper

Influence Apricot Fluffy Sequin Jumper (Also in cream)

Tokyo Doll Dark Red Fluffy Oversize Jumper (Also in cream)

Was pulling stupid face here, it's the only pic I got with my snood on though. It's from Forever 21 and I think it was £8. It's a cute baby blue, with white bits and also has glittery bits in it but you can't see from the pic. It comes to just below the hip unless you double the loop round the neck.

It's so cosy has that real winter feel along with the jumper.

My boyfriend bought me these a couple of weeks ago they are soo cuteee and sososo comfy! They are from deichmann and they cost 25 pound. They are good quality and have that vintage and used look. Not got a bad word to say about them

On Sunday we went to watch my boyfriends niece do her ballet show with his family, she is so cute only 6. I wasn't able get any pics of the stage before or after the show because photography wasn't allowed inside the building. Afterwards they had a little party for all the kids in the show so we stayed there, there was food available but it wasn't the most appetising, I couldn't eat it at all. Safe to say I was so hungry by this time it was about 9pm. The following day I started my diet.
Anyways its not been a really eventful weekend but just wanted to share, bai :)

My morning shenanigans :)

OK did this on the weekend so I had time to take all the pictures. Just wanna show you my skin and makeup routine. I have combination skin ( dry and oily ), but when it gets dry its very dry especially during winter season.

Well anyway I will tell you my skin routine :)

First I use Simple triple action face wash. Its really good doesn't irritate my skin, it has little exfoliating beads things in it and my skin feels nice and smooth afterwards. Sometimes I use apricot exfoliator and kojic acid soap which makes my skin feel super soft and brighter ( not everyday maybe once or twice a week ). After using these I make sure I rinse all the products off then it doesn't block my pores and cause spots eww.

When I've dried my face I use a small amount of Palmer's cocoa butter which is designed for dry skin keeps my skin look healthy, moisturised and that dewy glow intact :) I also use this as a body lotion.

As for my crazy hair I wash it every 3 days and I straighten it a lot, I know that's not good. By the way I have thick wavy/curly/bushiesh hair, I don't have Afro Caribbean hair so I don't know what product to recommend for that hair type or for people with fine hair. Here's the products I use to wash and condition my hair though.

Cannot put into words how good Aussie is! If you're hair is begging for moisture or you want that extra shine USE THIS! The smell is absolutely beautiful and stays in your hair even after drying and straightening/curling. It also repairs lot of heat damage to my hair. They do have a wide range of other products, and for people with thinner hair that needs that boost of volume they have Aussie Aussome volume shampoo and also a conditoner to match.

As an alternative to Aussie I use Mane n' Tail which is almost equally as good and has a good reputation for hair growth. I know what you're probably thinking, it's bloodey horse shampoo haha!! but it can be used on humans too. Completely safe, smells gorgeous, makes my hair feel soft and so healthy. I got these from Amazon it had great reviews, Google it if you wanna find more info.

OK so here's the makeup routine..

So for my face I first apply concealer as I think applying it before is better for major flaws like the dark circles I get under my eyes :( The concealer I use is by E.L.F it is really good makeup especially if you're on a budget, I think you can only get it online but it is cheap and definitely a good investment, it's lasted me ages.

For foundation I prefer to use liquid ones then set with a powder. I am currently using (from left to right) Maybelline fit me foundation and Maybelline superstay 24hr foundation. These are great for keeping that dewy glow, they both give medium coverage. I find I don't need to use primer and it stays put all day.

For eyes here's what i use:

This is an eye shadow by Bourjois. My eyes are notorious for smudging eye makeup off so I usually use primer (Urban Decay eye shadow potion) I don't always use primer with this eye shadow though. It fits on really nice and you don't need much, I've used it a few times before I took the pic and you can see looks like I haven't used any. On the application it comes out as an elegant, shimmery, ivory/creme colour. I can also say it suits the pale skintone as well, my cousin who has a white skintone has the same eye shadow. It cost I think around £6, I bought it at superdrug which is doing 3 for 2 on all cosmetics right now. The shade I think is 08, I'm not sure if it has a name but it has 08 on the back of the pot.

This is another eye shadow I use a lot. It's by Smashbox, I got it as a present. They are very shimmery eye shadows, the missing pot was black. I don't really like the applicator it comes with, it's awful for blending I prefer to use a medium sized eye shadow brush (sorry no pics). It's a good eye shadow though makes my eyes really bright, my friend bought it me cause I was always borrowing hers when we were getting ready for nights out.

For eyeliner I forgot to take a pic, I am always changing eyeliners but I use now is from Avon it is a pencil, which is not great for creating precise dramatic looks but good for dark eyes with smudgey effects. When I use eye liner i only apply to the outer half of my eye I find that it makes my eyes look bigger.

I am luckily blessed with curly lashes and this mascara really helps accentuate them. Also really good for adding length and thickness. Another mascara I also use which does this is Benefit They're Real Mascara, it's a bit more expensive but worth the investment.

Use one of these before applying any colour to my lips. The tube is from The Body Shop, and the Vaseline is sold in most beauty shops, and it says it's limited edition. This Vaseline is probably the best I've used its got a little pink tint to it as well not like the rose Vaseline which is more of a gloss.

Here's the lippy. From left to right: Barry M lip paint, Elf, Maybelline Superstay 14hr, Rimmel Kate Moss 

BarryM: This dries my lips out so much I also apply vaseline underneath and mix it with the elf lipstick, makes a nice colour that suits my skintone better

Elf: Great for an evening look, its a really daring colour, it comes out pretty similar to the colour on the pic

Maybelline: Very moisturising lip colour. It really does stay on your lips, I only got this the other week it's definitely something I will buy again 

Kate Moss: Again really moisturising it not as opaque as the other lipsticks but it is a very vibrant colour and I really like it.

Getting fit!

Hai girlies :)
Its a new week and start of a new me I hope. I am re-starting my diet today, I previously lost a stone and a half (21lb) in around 6 weeks, with diet and exercise, but it's slowly creeping back up since I've been stuffing my face 3 weeks straight haha! The reason I stopped dieting was because there was a stomach bug going round and I caught it, then I got the flu on top of that and I couldn't eat for 7 days every time I tried I would be sick and I could hardly drink either so it took me ages to get better. Anyway when I did I had the realisation how much I loved food and I made up for my lack of food a bit too much. Since then I haven't really got back on track with my diet so today IS the day I will begin to lose the fat again! >:o
-Wish me luck

Anyway, below is what I ate on previously during my diet. My boyfriend's dad used to do bodybuilding (don't worry i'm not doing body building) but it is a very low fat diet and I got tips from him what will help keep weight off. I will explain throughout. Also it's quite strict diet so if you usually end up binging or falling off on these stricter diets I would probably go into it slowly. Right I'll get to it now!

OK so firstly rule number one NO alcohol!
and NO bread ( this was the hardest for me, I love bread but it is very hard for your body to digest bread so it will store any bits it can't digest and turn it into fat )
Don't eat for about 2-3 hours before you go to bed for obvious reasons.
Also remember try not choose the same meals every day of the week or you will get bored.
Below you can choose any of the meals for your breki, dinner and tea each day ( sorry I call lunch dinner and dinner is tea )   :)

Breakfast
★ Cereal - Porridge, Cornflakes, Weebtabix, Special K, muesli  (Have half of what you normally have - I tend to have half a bowl with skimmed milk)
★ Fruit - I usually have an apple, or banana or half a grapefruit you can sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top if' it's too sour
★ Yogurt - if you like the fat free Greek stuff that's fine you can add a bit of fruit in too. I just have a pot of activia yogurt fat free and creamy yum, there's lots of flavours too.
★ Scrambled, boiled or poached egg - you can have 1 or 2 eggs, I would just have one, also if you have scrambled egg use margarine not butter (I have never had this for breki but if you're a bigger eater at breakfast time then it's ok to have this for the first week or so 'til you get into the diet)

Dinner
★ Small jacket potatoe - Have a small portion of ham, chicken, tuna or turkey with this. Or you can have cottage cheese or Philadelphia cheese spread. Cottage cheese is better, it is low fat and very tasty leave the potatoe less dry. Chicken is obviously very lean too and little fat.
★ Riveta crackers or rice crackers - with toppings like above.
★ Tuna pasta, pasta with tomato sauce - you can include chicken in it.
Try to half or make your portions smaller than usual.
★ Salad with topping like above
★ Cup of soup
★ Boiled, poached or scrambled egg


Tea
So again you need to try make your portions smaller, you can do this gradually if you prefer.
★ Tuna pasta, pasta with tomato sauce
★ Small salmon fillet with veg like asparagus, broccoli, carrots, sweetcorn any healthy of your choice
★ Salad with topping like in the dinner meals
★ Prawns with boiled rice/noodles
★ Steak,chicken, turkey or ham with veg like above in dinner meals - Only lean steak like sirloin


Snacks
★ Most fruits - some ideas are dates, grapes, banana, melon, apple, pineapple (1 ring, or 2 if you really want) or pomegranate. If you have pomegranate it's probably best to buy it in a tub ready to eat, then you have a nice portion and you wont be sat there for an hour trying to eat the seeds. Oh and no watermelon I think it is high in sugar.
★ Veg - Chick peas, strips of cucumber, carrots, broccoli, zucchini/courgette, anything like this. By the way broccoli and zucchini is quite yum eaten raw with a nice glass of lemon water :)
★Low Fat yogurt

You can have up to 3 snacks a day, I usually have 1 or 2.


Drinks
Almost forgot about this, here's what you can have:
★ Water, goes without saying haha! but have about 5-8 glasses a day
★Coffee if you're a caffeine lover like me then if will be hard to cut coffee out but it is possible. I used to drink sugar in my coffee but I forced myself to drink it without then I got used to it now I can't stand to drink it with sugar. I used to drink a lot of coffee its difficult to stop I got headaches sometimes if I didn't have coffee. So it's best to gradually cut it out of your diet. I now drink 1 cup every other day.
★ For tea lovers, green is better than black. You can drink as much green tea as you like. It's so good for metabolism and fat burning. Green tea extract is in loads of diet pills today so instead of that just have a cup of it.
★ If you don't like hot drinks you can have fruit juice.  Like the proper stuff not the stuff full of sugar. Orange, apple, pineapple, cranberry, grapefruit pomegranate juice is fine with natural good sugar.


You know how they say you should reward yourself on a diet, well the absolute best part of this diet is that you work hard all week and you can have a binge day. Yes a binge day. Eat whatever you like. I know it sound stupid I thought the same at first. You will gain a little bit of weight after the binge day however the next day you will carry on the diet and the next day and the weight will drop off easily and more. Don't forget you wont be able to eat as much as you think you can because your stomach will have shrunk. Return to the diet around 8-9pm. If you are out having a meal after this time it's ok as it wont be every week or if you are out at a bar then have drinks with less sugar. Swap vodka and coke for diet coke, have a glass of wine with soda water instead of lemonade.
Having the binge day will stop your body going into starvation mode, where your body stores all the fat it can, and will shock your body as there will be a huge increase in your calorie intake, this will confuse your body and it wont store it as fat. Hope that makes some sense I am terrible at explaining things.

So that's most of it I think these are only a few examples of meals you can have, you can mix and match different ingredients. I'm sure you can think of more. I really hope this is helpful for anyone who struggles with their weight like me. If you want to know how I made any of these meals and what I put in them or any exercise I did, or give me some tips then message me❤

K is for Kardashian

Evening girlies, got so much I want to post but really not had the time :( 
I've had such a stressful week been for 2 job interviews one at River Island and one at Bank Fashion. I'm sososo shy so it was quite difficult to go and make an impression. The recruitment interview at River Island was quite ..different to the average job interview but it really was so fun as far as interviews go. It was a group interview, there were around 10 of us and we were split into 2 groups and had to do presentations and also find outfits for certain celebrities. We chose Kim Kardashian, who is absolutely gorgeous and she also has quite a distinctive style. I think her style is more suitable for nights out, birthdays, parties.. any occasion like that, well they are the only times I would wear this look.

Here's the actual outfit we put together during the interview :) - baring in mind we had about 5 minutes to pick it.

This body is more golder than in the picture
I am aware it's in the nightwear category on the website but you honestly can't tell the difference. I definitely wouldn't sleep in this anyway :S
But it's great if you're out partying and don't want anything to pop out haha!

This peplum skirt is really on trend and I think its quite flattering on any body type. It's so versatile and can be worn for a night out or at work.

These are the original shoes our group picked but I really didn't like them mainly because I don't think the peep-toe goes well with the style of the shoe and I generally don't often wear peep-toe shoes.

What do you reckon?

Finally we added a clutch bag and a pair of earrings to make the outfit more glamorous. I would also recommend wearing a jacket as it is almost winter haha! But didn't get time to choose one.

Anyways I thought since the Kardashian's recently released their Kollection with Dorothy Perkins I would post some links to clothes which reflect Kim's style.

This cut-out dress is from Urban Outfitters its on sale really cheap so get it quick! It's a beautiful turquoisey colour and bodycon like most of the dresses Kim wears. Also if you buy before 10am tomorrow they're doing 20% off everything, yep everything. Not sure this will apply to sale items but I do find UO can be a bit pricey sometimes so if you enter 20URBS on the checkout you can get a few quid off :)

Great dress here from Topshop that accentuates and gives the illusion of curves I've never worn one of these dresses but I have seen other girls in them and they always look gorgeous and curvy so this is definitely on my to buy list :)

Again a dress from Topshop, I love this colour it's one of my favourites and think this dress is a great wardrobe staple, really versitile






Completely unrelated but I came across this cute dress here I know its not very Kim Kardashian but had to post it as well as this one which is dead cheap!


Also found a couple other cheapies too ;)

This Coral Dress is only £8 from River Island but there's only size 12 left. Even though its more of a summery colour I thought  teamed up with a leather jacket, some tights, boots and statement jewelry like this ring and this necklace you can create a more edgy evening/going out look :)

Sexy sequin dress from MissGuided it's also sold in black if that's more your style. This one's just under 25 quid :)











That's all I got for now, I'm now going to watch I'm a celebrity get me out of here! :)
I hope to do a few posts in the near future which are more personal, like outfit of the day and things going on in my life, there will definitely be some more interesting stuff anyway. Thankies for taking the time to read :D