Nine nice things: August

Long time, no blog. Again. Sorry, anyone who is still out there!

And this time I don't even have Pretty Little Liars as an excuse, because series 6 has finished and OMGweknowwhoAis.

Even though I have been tres absent from this blog, I have however been thinking about a new series of post I would like to do, which although doesn't easily fit under my "loner", "lover" and "friend" categories I am going to nonchalantly file under "loner".

We all know the benefits of being grateful, the internet is crammed with advice to keep gratitude diaries, to change your passwords to words or mnemoics which make you feel happy every time you logon your emails, to count to ten and think of 10 things you're grateful for next time you feel like you have to go cry in the work loos; basically we know it is a very powerful thing for our minds, practising gratitude...

So I want to start my own little gratitude list or grateful flow, each month, I call it "9 nice things", cos I really don't think there is anything else like this out there in blogosphere.

Ok, I am being a sarcastic. I know there are zillions of "Happy Mondays" and "Five things" and "Ten things" and "Friday Favourites", but those are some of my favourite posts. I love seeing those little snippets of other people's life, especially the good bits that make them cheery, and all the nice stationery and mugs on show.

So I am throwing my own monthly post in to the "favourite things" mix.

Why 9 you say? Well mainly because 9 pictures look best in a grid and I enjoy the alliteration, but also because "9 nice things" will be made up of 3 groups of 3, as follows:

My 3 favourite blog posts from other people's blogs from the month.

3 nice things under £20 that I've bought because I have a penchant for capitalist materialism.

3 things which money can't buy to show there is more to me, and indeed more to life than capitalist materialism, however much fun it is to own a whole dresser top full of expensive scented candles.

So without much adieu I give you "9 nice things August". Wahoo.

Nb. normally these will be lovely short little bite sized posts, sorry for all the introductory waffling this time.

3 Lovely Things you can buy for £20 or under

• Isle of Skye Candle Company Bog Myrtle and Mint candle - £20

So one of the things I was off doing when I was not blog writing, was galavanting around Edinburgh at the annual fringe festival. It was the nicest of nice times, and as a little souvenir for my flat, I picked up this little wonder from the Isle of Skye Candle Company Edinburgh store on Victoria Street (just off Grassmarket). It smells like a dream and my grown up homeowner side is satisfied I have another good quality scented candle in my life, whilst my immature side sort of loves that is has the word bog in it.

• The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes by Justina Blakeney - RRP £21.99 (but on sale in plenty of places like here and here)

LA interior designer Justina Blakeney has long time been a gal crash of mine, I bloomin love her instgram feeds: @thejungalow and @justinablakeney, and all her fabulous hashtags #plantsonpink, #facethefoiliage, #jungalowbytheriver. Her book does not disappoint, lots of big glossy pictures of fabulous homes filled with amazing plants and textiles, and clutter-less bohemian style. There also some pretty nifty how tos in there, all in all it has been plentiful inspiration for decorating my new flat this August.

• Ban.do August 15 - December 16 planner - err $20 (+infinite postage, package and customs charges)

So I came across this planner on Liverpudlian blogger Jemma's Dorkface blog back at the beginning of August and realised I needed it in my life. It is an organiser (and I have loved those ever since I was 8 and bought a purple filofax), it has little notes already written on telling you you are pretty and encouraging you in your daily pursuits, it has stickers which are cartoons of girls taking selfies in kitten ears, it is just an all around a dream planner.

Mine is the "Florabunda", which is now sold out in this size (though they do a bigger one too) but I enjoy the other two designs too, and they are still available (and the insides are the same, which is the best bit).

The less dreamy bit is that even though it basically only costs a tenner in pounds sterling, actually to ship it to the UK is $25 and the fun doesn't stop there as if you read the small print HM Revenue and Customs wack on a lovely customs charge (£17) which ban.do tell you they are not responsible for. So basically, it shouldn't really be in my under £20 list, as it cost me ridonculous amounts to actually get my hands on it. I justified it to myself by purchasing a couple more bits from ban.do at the same time, but to be honest (and even though anyone reading this, particularly my mother might point out that this contently paying more than something is worth just because I want one is the root of my money problems...) I don't regret it. It really does make me feel more organised, it is the perfect size to make lists and plan your days but still fit cosily in your handbag, it just makes me so happy and like a super organised yet cool chick every time I look at it. And if that lasts til December 16 then £10 + £12.50 postage + £17 customs charges isn't that much to pay for that much happiness- is it (mum)?

3 Lovely blog posts I've loved this August

• Madeline Shaw's Halloumi and Strawberry salad

August has really been a month that I have overwhelmed my instagram feed with health bloggers and nutrionists and I am really loving it. I think it is giving me a welcome brainwashing into wanting to eat just lots of fresh vegetables and healthy breakfasts and the occasional raw cacao chocolate brownie.

Although I love them all, quite a few of them are vegan, which is a problem for me because I love cheese and meat. Which is why Madeline Shaw is probably my favourite, as she eats both cheese and meat and is just so inspirational and lovely that when I am at work and it all is so stressful and overwhelming I've started taking 2 minutes to go to the disabled loos just to look at her instagram feed and I think it immediately calms me and makes me thing damn it I can be as together as her, I can. Please don't tell my manager.

This recipe, which is also in her book "Get the Glow" (which again, I love so much, because I really do love her to an extent it is bordering on creepy) is cheese and strawberries. Basically my two favourite things combined in one delicious dish. There are not enough fruit and cheese dishes out there I think, props to Madeline for I hope starting a wonderful fruit and cheese revolution.

• A Beautiful Mess' Copper Table DIY

So this is a little belated, as this post initially went up at the end of June but I have been taking an accidental blogcation haven't I. Plus, I actually did this DIY in August so it sorta counts. I am over the moon about it. I actually used some Maths and changed the dimensions so it was more of a console table and fit in this pesky alcove behind part of my sofa. I also used pine and stained it walnut to go with the rest of my furniture a bit more nicely, and I just love it. I cannot believe I made it with my own fair hands, nor can my guests who come round when I point it out to them (and I do point it out to all of them because I am so damn proud).

A little picture of mine, below!

• Your Inspired Action's "57 reasons to love being alive"

Again, a slightly older post (sorry, I'll get better) but it was the main inspiration behind the next section of this little August gratitude list, and actually I just found it a generally quite inspirational and cheerying post. Go have a read and feel lovely.

3 Lovely Things money can't buy

• Weddings (ok so in some ways you could argue this is something a lot of money can buy but just go with it please)

I went to my third and final wedding of the summer at the beginning of August, and I just love them. And not just because of all the pretty dresses and free booze and humongous cheese platters that seem to be all the rage at weddings at the moment and appear around 10pm when your dancing feet are getting tired and your cheese loving belly is getting hungry. Though I do love all those things. But more to the point they are just wonderful days filled with so much happiness, such a feeling that your part of something important - I love that wave of emotion when you turn round and see your friend in her wedding dress walking down the aisle to greet the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, who looks as pleased as punch. I am so glad I am coming up to the "wedding age", and I am super grateful that friends want to include me in their special day.

• Birthdays

It was my birthday in August and I loved it! Never regret turning a year older I say, it is better than the alternative. (And when I say "I say" I mean, I say that copying the clever person who said that in the first place, I obvs didn't coin that phrase.) I just love birthdays, and as I've got older (and the ratio of the value of my presents to the amount in my bank account is no longer as favourable as it was when I was 9 and got £2 pocket money per week) although I still love presents and being spoilt, I gotta say actually my favourite thing about birthdays is just getting to celebrate with my favourite people. And demand they watch musicals and romantic comedies with me, and they don't get to argue back. (Looking at you William).

• Dr. Oliver Sacks

I feel like if I am starting a series of post about gratitude, then it is all too fitting to mention Dr. Oliver Sacks, the famous English neurologist who passed away aged 82 at the end of August. Revealing he had terminal cancer in the New York Times in February, he said something that has whirred around in my head ever since first reading it "I cannot pretend I am without fear" he said, "but my predominant feeling has been one of gratitude. Above all I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that is in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure." So there you go, a whole list of things money can't buy to remember to be grateful for today, articulated so beautifully by a man who left the world better for him being there.


Here is to a lovely rest of September!

PS. About me.

Copyrights:
top row - me (though the top left is a picture of the new bohemians, I didn't take the original picture obvs)
middle row (left to right) - Carolyn Hope, abeautifulmess.com, madeleineshaw.com
bottom row - geniusquotes.org, me, Jurgen Frank/Corbis via theguardian.com

Love is...cartoons

Do you remember these comic strips? The first one was published in 1970, the work of a New Zealand cartoonist, Kim Casali, but I remember them having a bit of a surge in popularity when I was just starting secondary school, definitely in my class anyway, lots of us would print them out and put them on our weekly planners!

I must have been young enough to look at them with a certain amount of childish innocence, I've never noticed they were naked before and actually some of them are quite riske!

A lot of the lover part of this blog is dedicated to exciting dates, interesting spots to visit with your other half, places to impress, but on Friday I had one of my most lovely date nights in ages, sitting in, eating chicken stir fry already in the fridge (not even ordering a Papa Johns as is my Friday night in standard...), drinking red wine, and attempting to watch 50 shades of Grey with Will, though he fell asleep about 4 minutes in. And that is counting the credits as 2 minutes of his watching time.

I turned it off, binge watched Nashville whilst Will slept on my lap, and cosily drank red wine whilst the lightening from the thunderstorm flashed across my living room. It was one of the first times I felt properly at home in my new flat, and it was a time when I was really aware of how content I felt, and how lovely a night I had had so far.

It made me think that for all the well thought out date nights, and all the money thrown at quality time, sometimes actually the moments we might look back at and remember in several years time, might be the ones which seemed everyday whilst they were happening. The nights when your boyfriend suggests to watch a film he knows is more up your street than his, when he does all the washing up and keeps your wine glass full to the brim, and tells you the "ready to cook" chicken you put in the oven with no effort is delicious and thanks you for it. The nights when your boyfriend snores lightly on your knee, and you can watch your new favourite TV programme without him complaining about all the country music, and err you can finish off his glass of wine, because he is literally snoozing and losing. Kidding! Sort of...but you get the gist, it reminded me not to forget to see the loveliness in the quieter, less exciting, less instagrammable times too!

 So maybe love can be just feeling as happy and content in your living room, as you would do at Beyonce's birthday party. Ok nearly as happy as content in your living room, as at Beyonce's birthday party, I mean I bet that girl can put on a good spread.

PS. An amazing date night up St. Pancras clocktower if you are in the mood to throw money at it...

Copyrights: Kim Casali, Tribune Media Services

12 rules to abide by in July for a happier and fitter August

So I was actually going to call this post "11 rules to abide by in July for a skinnier and fitter August" but in the aftermath of that "get your beach body" ad, and all the focus on "fit not thin", I re-thought it and skinny isn't the right word to use.

Because I don't want to be skinny in a "skinny is just an abbreviation of skin and bones" way. But, having said that, I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds in a few places... Obviously on the list of happy, fit, slim I would prioritise them in that order - I'd prefer to be happy or fit than slim - but if I could have all 3? Hmm.

I know slim isn't the most important thing, and despite that wave of dread when I go to try on embellished cigarette pants in my size and realise I can't get them past my upper thigh, I don't spend too much time worrying about my body, and I certainly don't hate it. It moves me from a to b without discomfort, fights off bugs, would let me dance all night in a hip hop club in Dalston if I wanted to (I rarely want to, I really like sleeping).

But the truth is, my BMI is a little bit over where it should be, and that can't be good can it? (nb I am not a bodybuilder with all the muscle and that is why I weigh too much, I just have a little too much wobble). And I do have a double chin if you catch me at the wrong angle in a photo - an unkind shot of me in a strapless dress and my upper arm smushed against my side looks like it may be big enough to feed a family of 6 for a week. I don't fit into all my summer clothes I bought last year, and I probably should start buying a dress size up, and I just don't want to do that, so although I know it isn't the be all and end all I sorta do want to be a bit skinnier.

So here is my little list - I am by no means a nutritionist or a personal trainer, or really have any idea about losing weight and getting fitter. If anything I am quite bad at these things, I mean I somehow managed to train for and eventually run a marathon without losing any weight, and I definitely exercise more regularly and eat more greens than many of my thinner friends, so I am definitely doing something wrong. (Probably binge eating baked goods and chocolate and going out for dinner too much). Really selling my plan here! But this is a mix of what has worked for me before, and what the internet says is good, and I figure by announcing to the world wide web I am going to do this, I am more likely to stick to it. So here it goes:

1. Weigh myself - oh my I am so bad at this. In my head, I think I'll just get myself to a body size I am completely comfortable with and feel is really healthy and then I'll weigh myself...a bit counter productive. Rule number 1 is to get on the scales every week of July starting with tomorrow morning (Obvs not going to start weighing myself in the evening, I am not completely cray).

2. Start using My Fitness Pal. Again - I lost 10 pounds last year in about 3 months without really trying but I guess just thinking more about what I ate. I sort of hoped I'd picked up the life calorie counting skills and that when I stopped using it, and therefore keep the weight off, but I am worried tomorrow morning's weigh in might tell me differently...

3. 4 minute fat burning HIIT 6 mornings out of 7. Sundays off, but only Sundays because if I start writing off the whole weekend and starting it on a Friday, well I am basically doing only half the week. I've heard good things about Lucy Wyndham-Read so I'll be doing this after a quick sun salute (for a little warm up) before work each day. The only days - apart from Sundays- I am allowed off, are days when I am doing a more hardcore work out as part of...

4. 3 times per week proper exercise - I got into a really good habit at the start of 2015 at making sure I exercised 3 times per week every week, and Will and I would mark it on a calendar. That is somewhere in my boxes left to be unpacked, and it seems without it I won't exercise! That is getting unpacked or replaced - either way - hung back up again.

5. 20 squats each morning whilst brushing my teeth - easy win!

6. Planning breakfasts - I definitely agree that having a good breakfast does seem to make me less likely to snack on sweet things throughout the day, but too often I skip it or just have a piece of fruit. No more! Gonna start that metabolism kicking first thing with hot water and lemon and a more thought out breakfast: soy milk and chia seed pudding, avocado on toast, peanut butter and banana bagels. Mmmm.

7. Take a green juice to work - I've got a £20 blender which does the trick and a green juice stops me snacking in the mornings (as I have that to slurp at my desk instead instead of needing biscuits to nibble on) and makes me choose better lunches (as I am not so hungry all I can think about is all the carbs and all the cheese). I juice my veg and eat my fruit as the man of the juice diet recommended, as juiced fruits can become a bit sugary and lose all their good fruity fibre, but it is amazing how much good for you spinach you can easily eat when you blend it and mix it with a glug of apple juice. My go to juice recipe is just a couple of handfuls of spinach and/or kale, a big chunk of cucumber, a few slices of root ginger and a small glass of apple juice.

8. No snacking! I gave up unhealthy snacking for lent -no visiting the table full of biscuits and cakes at work, no 3pm frappucinos on Saturdays or sweets on car journeys - and it was surprisingly easy. I definitely think snacking can be a place where I eat a lot of calories and find it easier to binge compared to having a small pudding after a balanced dinner. So I am not saying no chocolate, no sweets, no cakes for the whole time, just err only as pudding!

9. Dinner as soon as I get in - it is better for your metabolism if you eat at least 2-3 hours before bed, but also, lessens the chance of what happened yesterday repeating itself. I stuffed my face with the better half of a packet of Rolo cookies, because I got too hungry waiting for Will to finish work so we could drive to Sainsbos and get dinner. So that was my tea yesterday. Woops.

10. No carbs after 7 -for the point above, tough to metabolise so close to bed means carbs after 7 find their way as fat more easily. So if I am eating late it will be courgetti not spaghetti.

11. Packed lunch 2 days per week - ok so this is hardly a game changer, taking a packed lunch 2 out of 5 days but it is a lot better than I am at the moment. I tend to use my o2 priority moments to get a cheap deal for 2 of the week days, and I don't want to be the girl that says she can't come to your leaving lunch as you only brings packed lunches so I guess 2 out of 5 days is the best I can do realistically. But a little kinder on my purse strings and my waistline!

12. Reward myself - so many of the big slimming companies use naughty food as rewards, but I don't know if that will work for me. I mean if the question is you could stick to your diet, eat that plate of salad and then you will be allowed half a biscuit as a reward or throw your diet out the window (you can always go back on it tomorrow riiiiight?) and eat that whole packet of biscuits, well I am worried I would choose the latter all too often. So instead of rewarding myself with food, I am going to reward myself with clothes. Imaginative... I am going to pick out some bits, put the money for them in Will's bank account, then if he is happy I've done everything on this list, then hello new clothes! Or new shoes! I think starting with these turquoise snakeskin sandals as my first reward and ending with this bright yellow embroidered kaftan. 

I am going to use Sunday as a break day from a lot of the everyday rules, but still try to avoid carbs after 7 and use my fitness pal and all of it on Fridays and Saturdays too. Although this is a plan for one month, all the rules are quite moderate, and ones I hope will just become habit after a month and will pave the way for a happier, fitter and err thinner me long term!

PS. Exercise inspiration.

Photo credit: Hannah Gale