Thursday 8 May 2014

08/05/2014 - almost spring





(shirt, river island menswear, £15; crop top, asos, £10; jeans, primark, £10; Docs, secondhand)

Not a great photo (since when were my shoulders that big), but I wanted to post an OOTD since I haven't in so long. I won't be posting regularly again yet because of exams coming up!

I'll post this on Lookbook later and add the hype link :)





Saturday 11 January 2014

12/01/2014 - films/books

Last week I got around to watching The Great Gatsby, and as with Baz Lurhmann's other films, I love it! My partner has was reading the book at the time we watched it and said he was impressed with how closely to the book it followed, and we both felt like the film was well-cast and the party scenes exactly how we imagined them!


We also used our 2 for 1 ticket to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. We originally planned to see The Hobbit, but after deciding that neither of us actually cared we opted for the only other decent-looking film our tiny cinema was playing at that time. I didn't expect to like it all that much and based on the trailer I thought it was going to be a family film, but I was pleasantly surprised! I really liked this film, it was a real feel good film and made me want to go do things. I'm not sure what things, I was just motivated...I was excited when I realised Adam Scott was in it! And he plays assholes so well. But I'm not sure what was going on with that beard. Was that a fake joke beard or was that serious? I can't even tell.
 

At the moment I'm reading The Dreamers, apparently you can't get the original title anymore...unless you want to pay £22 on Amazon. It was a perfect Christmas present from my aunt and it's a lovely edition, I almost feel bad for creasing the spine. So far I like it, Isabelle's character seems to be portrayed a lot differently than to how she was in the film and I can't believe the characters are supposedly only 17! But then I guess it would be more a lot more difficult/controversial (well, more controversial than it already was) to cast actors that looked 17 to portray some of those sex scenes...The reason I dislike watching films before reading the book is that it takes away my ability to imagine those characters for myself - before Isabelle's character was even described I already had Eva Green in my mind. But then again it's not all bad, if it weren't for the film I wouldn't be able to read their lines in Louis Garrel and Eva Green's beautiful French accents! I'll review the book when I'm finished reading it - which shouldn't be too long, I didn't realise how short a novel it was!

Thursday 9 January 2014

09/01/2014 - new year

I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year! I meant to write a blog post at Christmas and then another on New Year's Day but I never got around to it! I've been way too busy with going back to college and moving around...
This is a post I've been working on for a while and deciding what to write but I think I've finally got enough time and energy to actually finish it!

Fitness and general wellbeing has been a huge part of my life since around April last year, after discovering 'fitblrs' on tumblr and doing lots of research about nutrition. I'd been unhappy with my body since I started college. I suffer with anxiety and a mixture of my medication for that and also my birth control pill had made me gain weight and go from a size 8 to a size 12. The change wasn't too noticeable on my face but I wore baggy clothes as I just wasn't used to having a slightly bigger body and I didn't feel comfortable. None of my friends at college knew me before so I looked no different to them, and the same goes for my partner. We got together the month I started college, so although he knew me before, he'd probably never noticed my body size beforehand. I'd just like to point out here that I'm aware that a size 12 is in no way overweight, or even remotely large! I'd always eaten pretty badly but I'd had a fast metabolism - once I was on the medication my metabolism slowed right down and I realised the effect that this food was having on my body, and fast!

I started by doing just general exercises and cardio, working a certain area each day. I began cooking for myself more often and cutting out 90% of the processed food I was eating. I bought myself a smoothie maker and began having fruit and veg smoothies everyday, to get all those extra nutrients in! I didn't notice any difference in my appearance, but I felt so much healthier and had a lot more energy. It was only one day when I was getting changed in front of my partner that he commented on how good I looked. I looked in the mirror and realised how much different I looked. I had actual visible abs for the first time in my life haha! Around May/June, I discovered blogilates and from then til now, I've been following her workouts everyday. She also posts lots of clean recipes that are delicious! I definitely recommend her beginner's calender if you are not familiar with pilates or if you're new to working out.

At the moment I have exam revision everyday until next Wednesday, and then it's my birthday on Friday! I'm still trying to do a small workout each day, around all the hard work I'm (supposed to be) doing - but as soon as my exams are over, I'm joining the gym with a friend from college (I'm far too anxious to go on my own). I'm looking forward to getting healthier and fitter each day, and also trying out new foods! Comment or message me on my tumblr if you have any tips or would like to ask me about anything! And if you're trying to get fit for 2014, good luck!!


October 2013 - back to a size 8 now!
January 2014


Wednesday 18 December 2013

18/12/2013

incredibly awkward pouty photo that illustrates how much i need a haircut soon


It's getting close to Christmas Day and I still have no exact plans. Oh well. It's my last day of term tomorrow and I could not be more pleased. So far college has been awful in terms of the workload and preparing for my mock exams in January. My birthday is in exam week so it's unlikely anyone's going to want to go out for the night haha!

I haven't posted much in the way of photo posts or outfits so I'm going to make an effort to over the next few weeks because I've got so many outfits I love that I haven't posted yet. Also I'm selling a load of my clothes to help fund my trip (however minute that contribution is) so I'll post that on here too.

I don't really have many ideas of what to write about on here except my personal day-to-day stuff so if you have any suggestions message me on tumblr. I know I want to do a fitness post at some point because that's a pretty major part of my life that I haven't even really mentioned much on here. I finally got around to working out today - the first time since I started moving - and it was the best feeling ever. There's less space here so I'm having to modify my normal routine but that's good! My diet has definitely suffered as I don't have things such as my smoothie maker here for my breakfast and we haven't really done a proper shop since moving in. I'll do some food posts once we do though! I get a lot of asks on my 'fitblr' about Christmas dinner and seriously, it's a holiday, eat what you want. I'm definitely going to haha.

Okay I really don't know what else to write but I felt like writing something...good night!

Monday 16 December 2013

15/12/2013 - not at home and venting

So until I figure something permanent out, I'm essentially homeless. Due to family issues, I left home a couple of nights ago. My partner's family have been kind enough to let me stay and since his sister is at university we have a larger room to stay in. This last few nights have made me realise how dependent I am on my partner, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Today while shopping, my partner had to lend me money for bus fare, and then bought me a hot chocolate when I didn't have enough to pay for it myself. I have an 'allowance' off my dad until I manage to find a job (if I ever get past the telephone interview stage) but it's really not a lot. It didn't matter how many times he said he was fine with lending me money (his student loan means he has more money than he really needs), I still felt guilty - and I feel like this feeling will stick around for a while, as my financial situation really doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon. The problem is in my area there are a lot of job openings for full-time jobs, but I can't apply for those until I finish college. Another drawback is that I don't have a car.

This means that my trip to China is also on hold and looking very unlikely. Which sucks, as that was my goal for working through my anxiety. I'm still determined to go. Again, I need a job. However today with the remaining money that I do have, I bought my own plate and cutlery (I have an issue with using cutlery at other people's houses...). It's such a small thing, but it felt so nice to actually own something. If I move out and get my own place at some point, I can take those things with me. Oddly enough, that made me feel good.

I hadn't thought about it before, but this will be my first Christmas without my family. If I can't go away with my partner's family, he's offered to stay at home and have the day with just the two of us. He suggested we volunteer at a soup kitchen since we won't have much to do after the dinner, an idea that I love.

I hope I can start to sort my situation out soon, and I hope I become more independent as a result of this.

Saturday 14 December 2013

14/12/2013 - collection post #1

I've been seeing photos with this sort of lighting/location for ages on tumblr so I've saved them to put into one blog post. If anyone knows what this lighting is called, let me know in the comments please!!









Saturday 30 November 2013

30/11/2013 - outfit of the day and christmas market

Goodbye November!

I went into Birmingham today to look around the German Christmas market (although it's the same every year...) but after finding it was far too busy to do anything, we ended up in China Town for lunch and the rag market looking for vintage clothes!










ring, part of a set from new look, £3.99
Coat (early Christmas present off my partner), H&M; chiffon top, £5 in sale, H&M; jeans, Primark; secondhand Docs; chain, 99p, ebay.