Life Lately - Illness, And Fatigue With A Couple Of Sparks Of Normality - St. James Stack, Sephora, Shopping And A Few Outfits*

When I published my last post on the 26th August  I was really hopeful that I'd turned the corner both illness and life wise and that I ready to get my blog on and return to regular posting but since this post is going live on 27th October, it's pretty obvious that things went belly up again, so to restart my blogging journey again, I thought I'd do a little life lately post to update you all on where I've been and what I've been up to.

I've got to say that the week following my last post was a good one, I'd been feeling drained and fatigued but I'd be a good girl and tried to conserve my spoons the best I could because I had something exciting to do that I just couldn't miss - a trip to Newcastle!

Now for the majority of people an hours bus journey to the nearest big city is probably a pretty regular occurrence and whilst it's something that I used to do at least every other week, my ailing body now says no, and my trips into town are a lot less frequent than I would like, so as I was doing something a bit more interesting than usual I decided to document my trip with some outfit pics.

What I Wore

Indigo Denim Jeggings - Pep & Co

Blue Blazer / Suit Jacket - SHEIN Curve 

Short Sleeve Navy Blue Striped T-Shirt - SHEIN Curve 

Chunky Labradorite Stone Necklace - SHEIN

Adidas Court 2.0 Trainers - Navy / White 

Michael Kors Mercer Pebbled Leather Accordion Tote Bag - Admiral

Yes, it's the usual jeans and a top look that I'm so well known for but with the addition of some fabulous navy and white stripes, and a lightweight blazer - it definitely gave out some continental vibes, teamed up with some all be it new retro style trainers (note to self break your trainers in a bit before you wear them for a long period of time!) and a coordinating tote bag for all my junk - I created an easy, practical and comfortable outfit that was ideal for a warm early September day.

So I went to Newcastle for a mooch around the shops and for something to eat, but the real purpose of my visit was to meet up with one of my oldest friends Helen - she's lived in Stoke on Trent for a long time now and I don't see her anywhere nearly enough, but she came up north for a few days, and come hell or high water I was going to spend some time with her.

After a little look around the shops we headed up towards the cathedral on the hill, St. James' Park of course, home of Newcastle United as Helen wanted to get a few bits from the club shop and the we went for some lunch.

There are so many great places to eat in Newcastle but one if the newest venues opening in mid August is St. James' Stack Presented By Sela, that stands right opposite St. James' Park, next to the Metro station.

If your unfamiliar with the concept of the Stack it's basically a whole load of shipping containers combined to create a haven for bars and street food stall - there are a couple throughout the north east with another couple to come including one in the new Pilgrims Place development in Newcastle city centre.

What makes St' James' Stack special though is that it's Newcastle United themed from the toilets, to the signage to the planters, everything is black white and the lasses haven't been forgotten either. Whilst it's exclusively for Newcastle United fans on a home match day, everyone and their dog is welcome at any other times. There are big screens for the football, quiz nights, karaoke, and live music (there was a fabulous guitarist and singer performing when we were there), so whether you're a football fan or not it's a great asset to the city.

Whilst the entertainment is a nice touch the big selling point for The Stack is obviously the food and drink, there are loads of street food stalls selling everything from burgers and pizzas, to Greek food and Korean corn dogs, to Mexican food, BBQ, bao buns, Indian food, and even duck fries, and theres even a coffee shop if you want a pastry fix. There really is something for everyone, and what I really like is that everyone you're with can have something different so you don't need to worry about finding one restaurant to please everyone.

There is loads of shared seating both upstairs and downstairs but we went upstairs where it was a little bit quieter (it was pretty busy for a Tuesday afternoon) and after having a little look around we decided to try some Indian street food at Ok Please! which is owned by the same people who own Dabbawal in Jesmond and in city centre. We both went for the lunch menu which was a main, a side and drink, so I went for the Indian Vegan Burger, with the Masala Fries, and the Mango Lassi which was £14. There was some proper spice to the burger which came with spicy chutney, but the real star was the Masala Fries, crispy french fries topped with crispy onions, and the most amazing spicy garlic sauce, my tongue was definitely tingling and the mango lassi hit the spot perfectly - fruity and super creamy.

After we'd eaten we were in no hurry to leave, it was a lovely afternoon, we were enjoying the music, the vibes, and dog spotting so we decided to get a drink from one of the numerous bars that the stack has to offer. There are 6 different bars in the Stack complex offering everything from draught beers, and spririts to specially created cocktails, we went to Crowd Cantina a Brazilian themed bar and got this fabulous cocktail which I believe was a limited edition which contained lots of citrus and fruit flavours and Absolut Hunni vodka, think amped up Lockets throat sweets - it was pricy but it was pretty strong and it was a decent serving.

I don't think it's the cheapest place to eat or drink in Newcastle but the vibes are good, and if you want food, drink and entertainment all under one roof, then I think it's a great place to go with friends or family, and if you're a Newcastle fan especially on a match day it's a must with guests and former players all adding to the pre match build up. All in all a good day, good food, a good look around the shops, and most importantly time spent with a good friend that I really don't see enough of.

By the time I got home though that's when everything predictably started to go wrong, my feet wore sore thanks to my new trainers, and I just felt as though my body was seizing up. The saying no pain, no gain certainly applies in my case and it's so frustrating that doing something that I enjoy leads to so much pain and discomfort, it was 100% worth it but  I literally suffered from exacerbated joint and muscle pain for about the next week, thankfully I rallied a bit for my mams birthday, before falling victim to a horrid, horrid flu like cold that literally lasted for about a fortnight. I even did a few covid tests to be sure but it was just a late summer cold / flu thing that again lead me to miss on things that I wanted to do.

September saw the opening of two brand spanking new Sephora stores in the north east, one in Newcastle and one in the Metro Centre - whilst I would have loved to have gone on opening weekend, there was no way that I could queue up overnight, or deal with huge crows, so I tried to go the week after and since the cold still wasn't budging I didn't end up going until the 7th October.

Again in celebration of me properly leaving the house I decided to take a couple of outfit pictures, again similar vibes to the previous look, but with some different jeans (I do love skinnys but I'm trying something new), a splash of animal print, a smaller more lightweight bag, and the same now broken in trainers

What I Wore

Navy Blue Blazer / Suit Jacket - SHEIN Curve 

Navy Blue Animal Print Raglan Sleeve Top - SHEIN Curve 

 YOURS Curve Ruby Indigo Blue Straight Leg Jeans - YOURS Clothing

Labradorite Heart Necklace - SHEIN

Adidas Court 2.0 Trainers - Navy / White

Kate Spade New York Cameron Street Lucie Crossbody Bag - Blazer Blue 

So after my earlier trip I decided to go to the Metro Centre store, partially for convenience (I could get a lift and my mam could wait in the car) but mainly because the new Metro Centre Sephora is apparently a bit bigger and stocks more brands than the Newcastle one.

There were a couple of things that I wanted but to be honest the shop had already been well ravaged some of tester eyeshadows etc. were wrecked and there were quite a few bits out of stock. So I ended up just getting a few lip bits. I've wanted to try the Laneige Lip Sleeping mask for a while now so I grabbed one of those and the matching lip balm, and I also got another one of the Glossier Balm Dotcom salves this time in Mango, which tastes incredible. I also had a little look at the well ravaged Sephora Collection eyeshadows and picked up Silverstorm which a gorgeous sparkly silver / grey perfect for the party season

What I Bought 

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask - Sweet Candy - 20g - £19

Laneige Lip Glowy Balm - Sweet Candy - 10g - £16

Glossier Mango Balm Dotcom Universal Salve- 15ml - £14

Sephora Collection Colorful Eyeshadow - Shimmer - 601 Silverstorm - 1g - £7.99

I really wanted one of the Rare Beauty Melting Blushers but shade I wanted was out of stock - so I may have ordered it online from the My Sephora Sale alongside my free reward product - every cloud as they say. There was a lot of stuff in store that I fancied trying but I'm finding it really hard to justify spending money on make up and skincare especially at the moment when I have so much. I'm going to have a bit of a clear out and get rid of a few bits that I don't use anymore then maybe a can justify another purchase or two. We really are spoilt for choice in the north east now when it comes to beauty what with two Sephoras, Flannels Beauty, H Beauty, and the new look Fenwick Beauty Haul, it's a great time to be a beauty junkie.

After my Sephora visit  I popped into Primark for but again I didn't really get too much, a top for Mummy Lou and some winter boots, I just can't find my size in anything I like lately, it's so frustrating - I managed to get a Hello Kitty & Friends sweatshirt when I was in Newcastle, but the same jumper in the Metro Centre, wasn't available in anything above a medium, it so frustrating going in there at the moment as a curvier girl. Even though I was only in the Metro Centre for about an hour and a half my body rebelled again and I spent another few days in pain and hobbling around but again I'll still say it was worth it for allowing me to feel like a 'normal' person for even a small amount of time.

Although I didn't buy much in Primark I have been doing a little bit of online shopping lately, including some Christmas shopping - where on earth has this year gone? I have bought a few bits from SHEIN, in some peoples eyes not ideal I know but they have my size and its really affordable - yes some items can be hitty missy but I've certainly had more better quality items (including some bits in my OOTD's) than rubbish ones, the Yours jeans that you can see above, and I've bought a few beauty bits including this recent package from Lush.

I don't honestly buy that much from Lush now I just can't really justify the prices most of the time now but I couldn't resist ordering these two blast from the past items. I would say IYKYK but if not I'll explain anyway. First up the white tub, Lush Cocoa Butter Hand & Body, a nod to time the Lush founders, spent with The Body Shop founder, the late Anita Roddick, and a almost exact interpretation of The Body Shop's original Cocoa Butter Hand & Body Lotion - one sniff of this and I was taken back to the 80's, Kiwi Lip Balm, Japanese Washing Grains, Dewberry, Fuzzy Peach, Green Apple and Cocoa Butter. The smell is nothing like anything else cocoa butter scented that you've ever tried and that's why it's so nostalgic.

Talking of nostalgia if you remember the very early days of Lush and even as far back as the Cosmetics To Go days then you'll be familiar with Skinny Dip Shower Gel. Originally released in 1995 was originally marketed as a white chocolate shower gel but it's actually so much more than that. The scent is perfect for the colder months, with a slight white chocolate undertone, it contains spicy cloves, cedarwood and exotic ylang ylang, it creamy warming, and again it takes my back to a different place - At £16 for the shower gel and £20 for the body lotion, this wasn't a cheap haul but it was well worth it for the memories.

So I've done a bit of online shopping, I've picked up the odd thing, mainly beauty dupes in Home Bargains, B&M and Aldi, and I've spent a lot of time indoors again. My flu jab knocked me for 6 and it's fair to say that I'm not looking forward to my covid booster next month but when you're clinically vulnerable it has to be done. My mam has had flu too and thankfully it didn't bother her at all which is just as well as to be honest she's had enough going on. She had a slight fall, nothing major at the start of September, the odd bruise here and there but nothing to worry about, then earlier this month she started having some pain in back and hip, so she went to see her GP who sent her for an X-Ray, she ended up having to go the main hospital in Durham which was obviously a bit of a faff, but she's been told that she has a tiny fracture in her hip / femur, it's just where a ligament has pulled off a little bit of bone. So now we wait - she's going to have to see someone in orthopaedics at the fracture clinic when they decided what to do. Since she has a hip replacement if it's minor enough they may decide to just leave it as is, and maybe give her a brace, and painkillers, or worse case scenario they may need to go in and operate. So we are really playing the waiting game, it's awful seeing her in pain, but I know she doesn't want surgery so what will be, will be.

It always seem to be the way in this house if it's not one thing it's another, my mam is convinced we or the house is curserd! So that's where I am and that's where I've been I've probably left loads out but this post is already way too wordy as it is. I'm back and I'm online for now at least I've got a couple of posts planned over the next week including a little nails of the day and the next instalment of my empties catch up, so if you're still here thanks for sticking around and don't forget to follow me elsewhere on social media via the links in my sidebar x 

*This Post Contains Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

HUDA Beauty Winner And A Life Update*

Hey Everyone x I know it's been a little while since I last posted so I thought I'd post a quick update for you x I've had a few rough weeks health wise culminating in an unexpected morning in A&E on Halloween of all days and a barrage of tests since. Thankfully there doesn't appear to be anything too sinister going on just a few new fibromyalgia symptoms, and the exacerbation of a few others - ho hum. Through in another family illness and things have been a bit rough so it goes without saying that my mind has been elsewhere. 

This year really seems to have flown by I can hardly believe we're in December already - I'm so all over the place at the moment I didn't even manage to get my hands on a chocolate advent calendar this year, but thanks to Mummy Lou I did get manage to get my hands on this years Glossybox offering, which if you're interested I'm unboxing everyday on my Instagram Stories, so don't forget to follow me on there.  Everything just seems to be upside down at the moment I've done some Christmas shopping online, and most of the decorations are up but my room needs serious deep clean, and I haven't even thought about wrapping or cards - argh!

Anyways deep breaths, no need to panic, things will work out they always do (fingers crossed anyways) and whilst I won't be posting any huge gift guides or anything like that but providing the creeks don't rise, etc. etc, I do have a few little gift ideas to share with you, as well as a few empties posts to share with you before Santa comes so don't forget to keep following my blog, or checking out my other social media channels for a heads up when new posts go live!

Now though is the moment you've all been waiting for - it's time to announce the winner of my HUDA Beauty giveaway!

I didn't have too many entries so everyone that did enter had a great chance to win, alas there can only be one winner and that winner picked randomly via Rafflecopter is...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOPHIE

Congratulations my love and thanks for following my on Tik Tok - I will be sending you an email asap x Thanks to everyone that entered and a big thank you to all of my new followers both on the blog and elsewhere x Thanks you all for following and reading and I will see you soon with another post x 

*This Post Contains An Added Affiliate Link

PR / UNPAID AD - Finding That Perfect Pillow With The Fine Bedding Company*

If you're a regular reader of my blog then you'll know just how important sleep is to me. Amongst other things I have ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Fibromyalgia, and sleep issues are a major part of my chronic illness experience.

As well as pain and muscle cramps and spasms that can affect the quality of my sleep, I suffer from bouts of severe insomnia, and then periods of extreme tiredness when I can literally sleep for 18 hours straight, and then still feel exhausted and like something the cat dragged in! I never feel truly rested and I always feel tired even when I'm struggling to sleep!

Whilst not everyone experiences the sleep issues that I do, I can pretty much guarantee that most of you that are reading this post either don't get enough sleep, or you have the occasional sleepless night - that's modern life for you I guess, If you do struggle with your sleep though , I've posted about a lot of things in the past that help me, such as adopting a proper night time routine, avoiding screen time before bed, and partaking in more restful activities before bed such drinking herbal teas, and meditation, but there is something else that you can do, and whilst it seems like such as an obvious, more often than not it's probably a bit of an afterthought. 

Due to the old chronic illness thing I spend quite a lot of time in bed, and it really is my sanctuary and safe space. It sounds obvious but it is so important that your bed itself is welcoming and conducive to sleep, and as well as the bed itself, that starts with your bedding, your comforter or duvet, and your pillows!

If you're having trouble sleeping, or you're waking up and feel headachy, stiff or tired, one of the things that could be affecting your sleep are your pillows! Whether you choose feather or down, fibre fill or memory foam, if it isn't the right type of pillow for you build and your sleeping position, you're opening yourself up to sleepless nights and a world of pain.

For as long as I can remember I've used proper feather and down pillows, (not the same ones obviously, unlike a lot of people, I do try and replace mine every few years or so :), and whilst the constant plumping, and loose feathers can be a pain, up until recently I'd always been fairly happy with them.

Within the last 12 -18 months or so though all of that changed. I bought new allegedly firm, feather and down pillows in that period, and for some reason I felt as though these ones weren't giving enough support, I was waking up with an even stiffer neck than usual, and no matter how much I thumped and plumped them, they kept ending up floppy and flat, and they just didn't feel firm enough.

One day though after a not so great nights sleep, I received an email on behalf of The Fine Bedding Company that was potentially the answer to my prayers.

If you an unfamiliar with them, The Fine Bedding Company are a 4th generation owned, UK based bedding company, that have been producing and retailing, down, feather and innovative fibre bedding for over 100 years. Their top company priorities are sustainability and comfort, and their UK factory works on an eco friendly, zero waste philosophy using only ethically sourced materials. They do a whole range of different bedding products including duvets, pillow and mattress protectors, toppers and enhancers, linens and pillow cases, and of course pillows.

I kindly given the chance to try out a pillow of my choice from the extensive range on their website, but with more than 20 pillows in their range, how earth do you choose one? Well The Fine Bedding Company  make everything simple, and their website features amongst other things a handy guide to help you choose your perfect pillow!

I'm predominantly a side sleeper. so according to their guide I needed a firmer, more high profile pillow, that offered extra support to my head and my neck, and that would help to align my spine. I also wanted to try a firmer pillow so the pillow that was recommended to me was the Dual Support Memory Foam Pillow.

With their first class heritage and quality, a 14 day return policy, and free delivery on all orders over £50, it's no surprise that The Fine Bedding Company supply a whole host of 4 and 5 start hotels, everything about my experience was first class! 

My pillow came via courier service and it came wrapped and then packaged in a good quality reusable storage bag with rubber logo zip fastening and rope handles - great for storing bedding, or even clothes or soft toys. Alongside my lovely pillow the bag also contained a care and a information leaflet to help you to get the best out of your pillow.

Thanks to the winter light these pictures don't really show this pillow off in it's best light but with this particular pillow you really do get the best of both worlds, it's basically two pillows in one, with one side being  made from "ultra fresh microbial treated" temperature controlled memory foam for ultimate support

That piece of memory foam then slips inside a zipped cotton pillowcase, which features an attached, fixed section of sustainable smart fill, soft breathable, light as down microfibres, which is machine washable at 40℃, so you have one side for support or structure, and one side for cloud like snuggly comfort.

Now I like height and support so I normally sleep on two pillows, but to give this pillow a good work out I started off by trying it on it's own, so I cleared all of the rest of the pillows off my bed to ensure that I was just sleeping on this one!

Given the lack of height I was expecting to struggle a little bit, but by lying with my head directly on the foam side I found that it offered more than enough support for both my head and my neck, that being said though I did miss my usual height, so after that little week long experiment I switched out and I've been using this particular pillow on top on one of my usual feather and down pillows, and I all I can say is wow!

I didn't really expect to much of a difference but by using predominantly the memory side (my favourite side by far) up over, I felt supported, and I seemed to less better,  I didn't seem to toss and turn so much, there was no middle of the night pillow plumping, and although I still experience a bit of stiffness in the morning I've definitely been waking up with less neck pain and fewer headaches.

I'm a fairly hot sleeper, and I was a little bit worried, even though that it was designed to be temperature controlled, that the memory foam would retain heat, and I would be too hot, but I needn't have worried, I still experienced that fabulous cool side of the pillow feeling, and I didn't experience any strange rubber or plastic smells, even when the pillow was fresh out of the bag! 

I've been using this pillow since just before Christmas (as you can see from the picture above ;) and I have to say that I'm a total convert to the world of memory foam, and even though I'm still to manage it, I'm definitely going to be picking up a least one more matching pillow for the other side of my bed.

The Fine Bedding Company Dual Support Memory Foam Pillow retails at £47 and it available directly from The Fine Bedding Company as well as from selected retails.

If memory foam isn't for you though don't worry, The Fine Bedding Company stock a while variety of different pillows including traditional feather and down, vegan friendly fill, as well as duvets, mattress toppers, sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers, in other words pretty much everything that you would need for the perfect nights sleep, bar the bed that is ;)

Please let me know if you have any questions and I hope that your dreams are as sweet as all the chocolate that I've consumed over the last week and a bit was ;) Thanks for reading xx 

*Press Sample / Unpaid Advertisement / Non Affiliate Links

A Late Happy New Year And A Little Blogging And Life Update*

Hi Guys x I know it's a little bit late but since this is my first post of 2021, I guess I can still say an albeit snowy,  Happy New Year x Like most people I couldn't wait to see the back of 2020 but with another lockdown in place here in the 2021 hasn't started out the way that most people wanted, but without putting a jinx on it, surely it can only get better from here on in!?

2020 was a fail on so many counts but on a personal level I don't think I've had such an unproductive year. After a viral infection at the start of the year that didn't seem to want to go away, I struggled with my physical health for most of the year, which is bad enough, but the combination of illness, and lockdowns meant that my mental health reached rock bottom. My personal relationships suffered, I felt my self worth diminishing, and my enthusiasm for life pretty much disappeared. I spent a lot of 2020 trying to put on a happy face and pretending that I was coping, after all being at home for the majority of the time wasn't that strange to me, but in truth like so many people I was struggling.

It's no surprise therefore that yet again my blog suffered, my 2020 content when I did manage to post anything was pretty samey. I'm fighting the urge to apologise for that but at least I tried to keep posting and keep a sense of normality, which was a huge plus point, when you consider that deleting the whole thing crossed my mind more than once.

As I've said before my blog has always been my safe place, but at times last year, it made me feel anxious as though I could and should have done more, I became hypercritical of everything that I did manage to write, and I felt as though the whole thing was just a massive disaster, and a complete waste of time.

Looking back with clearer eyes, I don't think anything that I wrote or product was that bad, it was just symptomatic of the negative mindset that seemed to overtake so many of us in 2020.

Despite hitting over 1,500,000 all time page views last year, I still think 2021 is going to be a make or break year for me when it comes to the blog, even before Covid, I've struggled to maintain my niche and fell out of love with blogging, so hopefully this will be the year when I get my mojo back.

So what are my plans for LouLouLand in 2021, will first up I'm going to catch up, I have loads of  backdated Glossybox unboxings, and Glossybox advent calendar reviews for you, that I'm still planning on writing, as well as lots of new beauty reviews, hopefully some more fashion and lifestyle posts, as well as the return of some old favourites like empties posts and maybe the odd foodie Friday post.

I can't promise that I won't disappear again, after all my physical and mental health, and the health and wellbeing of those I love comes first but no matter what 2021 throws at us, I'm still going to be here x So thank you for sticking with me, I hope you're all doing as well as can be expected (don't forget about the helpline numbers in my previous post if you need someone to talk to), and I hope that 2021 is a better year for all of us xx 

*This Post Contains An Added Affiliate Link

Press Samples / Unpaid AD - Sleep With Ease With Pukka Herbs*

It's really hard, especially at the moment to overestimate the importance of sleep. We're all feeling a little bit frazzled, stressed out, and a little bit under the weather at the moment, and more often than not life's upsets are reflected in our quality of sleep.

Good sleep plays a huge role in both our physical and mental wellbeing, it's essential for cell regeneration, to recharge our cardiovascular system, and to support our immune system, as well as improving mental clarity, helping with decision making and helping us to cope with stress.

I probably struggle more than most with my sleep. Thanks to my struggles with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / CFS / ME and Fibromyalgia, I alternate between utter exhaustion, I can go without sleep for more than 24 hours, or I can sleep for 18 hours solid and still feel exhausted, there really isn't a lot of middle ground. 

Alongside medical advice and intervention, I'm always looking for new ways to improve my sleep health. I've tried a lot of things from acupuncture, to cognitive behavioural therapy, and various other little things that I'll mention later in this post, but I am always on the look out for new ways to help me sleep.

I was recently contacted by the lovely people at Pukka, and I was invited to take part in their "Sleep With Ease" campaign. If you haven't heard of Pukka, they are a substantial, ethical and organic herbal company that produce a wide range of herbal infusions that aim to benefit the health of people, plants and the planet and they very kindly sent three boxes of caffeine free, herbal blends from their range to help me on my quest for better sleep.

Pukka recognise the importance of sleep for our mental and physical health, and in an attempt to help us improve both our sleep health and our wider health, they have introduced their 7 day Sleep With Ease programme, which is specifically designed to help us create a space, pattern and routine to help us sleep better.

Designed to be used alongside their herbal blends, their website contains a whole load of information and downloads to help you eliminate bad sleeping habits, establish routine, and train both your body and brain to help you sleep better.As I say, I'm up for anything that can send me into the land of nod, so I decided to give the 7 day Sleep With Ease programme a try.  

The website features a downloadable sleep diary that you can fill in, as well as a list of changes that you can can make across the course of a the week to help you improve your sleep.

Source

The idea is that you introduce one new element everyday until all of the tips become a part of your daily sleep routine. Some of the tips as you can see are actually quite simple, and in theory they are, it's just about putting them into practise. 

My biggest issue sleep wise has always been with routine, going to bed late, sleeping late, and then wondering why I can't sleep at night. It makes total sense, go to sleep at roughly the same time of night, and wake up at similar team each morning. It takes a little bit of effort and I'm not going to lie dragging myself out of bed when I'm exhausted is difficult but after a few days it begins to feel normal, and now I can pretty much wake up without having to set an alarm.

Another thing that I have an issue with is technology, I have a tv and a dvd player in my bedroom and whilst I don't usually have my MacBook in my bedroom at night, I do have my phone, and my iPad plugged in, in my room, but the key is to have cut off times, plug things into charge by all means but don't check your phone, or start flicking through Instagram when you're trying to get ready for sleep.

We are all guilty of it, if it's not watching one more episode of a tv show, flicking through Facebook, or getting annoyed with someone on twitter, it's watching the late night news and depressing yourself. Sleep is all about de-stressing, and concentrating on something, or getting stressed and upset just sends your brain into overdrive when you really should be preparing for sleep, so switch off the tv, your computer, and phone for an hour or so before you go to bed and you really will notice a difference in your sleep health.

One of the other tips, that the team from Pukka recommend is to cut down on your caffeine consumption. I'm not a huge tea and coffee drinker compared to lot of people, but my nightly cuppa is definitely a thing, and even though tea usually contains less caffeine than coffee, it is still a stimulant and it could be disrupting your sleep without you realising.

The Pukka Sleep With Ease programme advises that you should try to avoid caffeine after 12pm, so instead of caffeine filled soft drinks, the odd latte, and iced coffees, I've switched to some of Pukka's caffeine free herbal blends including their Elderberry & Echinacea, which has lovely some fresh hedgerow berry, ginger, and liquorice flavours, their Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey blend, and their chamomile, fennel, and ginger flavoured Relax blend.

As part of their sleep programme Pukka recommend that you drink a mug of their 'Night Time' tea every night. So instead of my caffeine laden cuppa, at around 8pm, I've been drinking this blend of lime flower, chamomile and lavender flowers, oat flower tops, liquorice root and valerian root instead

Designed to help you unwind before bed, this particular tea is caffeine free and contains 28% fair wild ingredients, and 33% fair trade ingredients, the bags themselves are plastic free, are fully recyclable and compostable, and they also feature organic cotton strings.

All you do is pop your bag into a mug of boiling water, and then let it infuse for around 15 minutes before drinking. Given then floral ingredients such as lavender and chamomile I was expecting the Night Time blend to have more of a floral taste but instead it had a surprisingly sweet, pleasant, herbal liquorice / aniseed type flavour.

Drinking the tea at night immediately sent me into wind down mode. After drinking it I switched off my blue screen electronics, and usually had a warm (but not too hot) shower with a calming lavender based shower gel before settling into bed, and reading a non stressful book for an hour before using some pillow spray, and settling down with either a guided meditation (there is a nice short one on the Pukka website) or some nature sounds on a timer until I fall asleep.

These are things that work for me but you could also add other things to help you sleep including ear plugs, eye masks, a fan, a white noise machine, or a story app. Everyone is different, there are basic things that should help most people fall asleep but you just need to find out what works for you. 

I've now actually been doing the Pukka Sleep With Ease campaign for more than 7 days now and I can safely say that following some of the suggestions in the plan, keeping a sleep diary, and drinking in particular the Night Time tea has made a difference.

I've managed to establish a proper sleep / wake routine and I've tried to eradicate some of my bad sleep habits. As I say drinking the Night Time tea became a real signal to me that the day was coming to an end and that I should start winding down and preparing myself for rest and sleep.

Unfortunately due to medical reasons I potentially am always going to have issues with my sleep but thanks to Pukka I've been reminded that making small differences and creating a workable routine can really help me to get a better and more restful nights sleep.

If you're struggling with your sleep at the moment I would thoroughly recommend that you try Pukka's 7 day Sleep With Ease programme. You can find out more on their website and of course I would really recommend that you try some of Pukka's herbal blends to help you improve your own sleep, mental, and physical health at this stressful time. Pukka Relax, Pukka Night Time, and the Pukka Herbal Collection retail at around £2.79 - £3 for a box of 20 teabags from various retailers including Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose and Holland & Barrett.

 *Press Samples / Unpaid Advertisement / Promotion / Non Affiliate Links 

Life Lately, Social Media And Trimming My Stash - June 2017 Edition

Hey Guys? Remember Me? It's safe to say that when it comes to blogging, June was a little bit of a fail. I managed to upload quite a few videos to my You Tube channel but the words on the screen thing just didn't really happen for me last month.

I seemed to spend most of June in a weary, Fibro and ME induced foggy haze, I had the best of intentions to get out there and get things done but for most of the month neither my mind nor my my body would play ball.  As I say I managed to upload a few videos to my channel, and I was pretty active on Instagram, but the thanks to a lot of brain fog the words just wouldn't come, so I took a bit of time out, had lot of me time, and as a result I feel a little bit more refreshed.

I firmly believe that sometimes you do need to take a bit of time out, and spend some time concentrating on yourself and your own well being. Like a lot of bloggers I do feel guilty when I can't and don't post as frequently but I'm really trying to teach myself not to. I love my blog, my followers and the little space that I've created for myself online, but my blog is only part of me and my life, and sometimes as much as I love it, I just need to focus on the bits away from the camera and the screen. I've seen a few people saying that they'll stop following a blogger or a You Tuber if they don't post every single week, and I guess what I'm trying to say is for those people, no matter how "big" (I hate that term!) or small a blogger is they deserve to take time out and have some time away from it, we're are all but mere mortals and sometimes you need to say enough is enough, I need some R & R.

So I've had a mini blogging break, and whilst I can't guarantee that I won't be having another one in the near future, I'm back for now and I'm ready to get my blog on again, and since it's the 1st day of a new month, there is no better place to start than with a empties post x

Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes
Philosophy The Gingerbread Man Exfoliating Shower Gel - 473.1ml
Beauty Bible Face And Body Oil - 60ml
Dove Pure Care Dry Oil Non Greasy Conditioner - 50ml
Dove Pure Care Dry Oil Non Greasy Shampoo - 50ml

Total - 5 Items 

Hmm maybe it wasn't just my blogging mojo that disappeared in June! Again I had the best of intentions when it came to trimming my stash last month but it just didn't really happen. For the second month in a row I only managed to finish 5 items, and 5 very uninteresting items at that. 

1. Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes

Yes, another packet of these, and believe me they only slipped into June's total by the skin of their teeth! There is pretty much nothing else that i can say about these that I haven't already said! They're cheap, they do what they say they do, and they are one of my holy grail products even if I don't really use them for their intended purpose, like most of these wipes that I've used up this packet were used mainly for swatch clean up and freshening up x 

2. Philosophy The Gingerbread Man Exfoliating Shower Gel - 473.1ml

Instead of swapping my Christmas shower products for more Spring and Summer themed ones, this year I've decided just to leave them in the shower and try and use them up. I love Philosophy's Gingerbread Man range, it doesn't smell particularly gingery to me, instead I get sugar, and warm spices from it, and even a little bit of cheap cola but I've used it for years and the scent just makes me think about Christmas. That said this isn't my favourite product in the range, I like a gritty, grainy scrubs, and this one is basically just a whole bunch of fine particles surrounded by a runny, brown shower gel. I love the scent but it doesn't look particular pleasant and it's just not scrubby enough for me.

3. Beauty Bible Face And Body Oil - 60ml

Next up a mystery product, and it's a product that I was sent last year from the team at The Beauty Bible. If you don't know what The Beauty Bible is then where have you been? Basically it's a series of books that are crammed full of beauty product reviews that are written by real women. All you need to do to take part is sign up to be a tester on their website, and if you're selected, you pay a small fee to cover postage, and administration (and to prove that you're committed to taking part), and then you'll receive a huge package of goodies to try out and review. I've done it a couple of times now, and I've discovered some really nice products because of it, the only thing is that you aren''t supposed to share the products that you tried on social media so all I can say is that this was a body and face oil, I loved it on the body, but it was a big thumbs down from me as a facial oil.

4. Dove Pure Care Dry Oil Non Greasy Conditioner - 50ml

5. Dove Pure Care Dry Oil Non Greasy Shampoo - 50ml

Finally two products that came in successive Pink Parcel's and they are hair products from Dove. After a period of relative stability my hair problems returned with a vengeance and the only thing that seems to have helped has been to load it up with as much moisture as possible - I've been layering on the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, and the hair oils, and I've been trying out a few different moisturising shampoos and conditioners. If you look at the Boots website these two Dove products for dull and dry hair have some amazing reviews, and even though these were just travel sizes I can see why. Not only do they smell great, with a fresh and clean scent, but both of these products left my hair feeling smoother, and more manageable, and thanks to the dry oil ingredients, unlike some other oil rich products that I've tried they didn't leave my hair feeling greasy, heavy or lank. I literally have a drawer full of shampoos, conditioners and hair products to use up, but if I was on the lookout for a new shampoo and conditioner I would definitely consider repurchasing both of these products, and if you have hair that needs a little bit of love then this range is definitely worth a try.

So bar a couple of shopping trips, my ongoing weight loss journey, and an afternoon tea, this post has pretty much summed up June in LouLouLand, My aims for July? lots of self care, lots of blogging, a bit of You Tube (check out my channel if you haven't already), a bit of Instagram and hopefully lots more empties x Whatever I do and whatever you do, I hope that July is a good month for all of us x Thanks for reading x 

"I'm At A Place Called Vertigo" And It Hasn't Been Fun!

Well this little ditty from U2, pretty much says it all. Although I've still been uploading fairly regularly to my You Tube channel (thanks to an en block recording day!), I've been AWOL from the blog for a couple of weeks now, thanks to, at least in part, you've guessed it vertigo!

No not the U2 song, or even the Hitchcock's film noir,  but a horrible illness that makes you feel sick and dizzy. My mum was poorly first but I didn't think too much of it, she has a history of vertigo, but then I started feeling dizzy and that was that, a trip to the doctors, the diagnosis of a possible virus, and a box of prescription pills later, I thought I was feeling better, so on Tuesday I went on a long planned shopping trip with my Godmother and her friend, and then it came back with a vengeance.

Couple that with a fibro and CFS flare, and I've spent the last three days in bed, in a slighty blurry, not quite there haze,  believe me feeling like you've got a hangover when you haven't even had a drink is not fun! At last though I'm starting to see the light at the end of yet another long, dark tunnel and I'm starting feel less drowsy, and less woozy.

So from Monday I will be back posting regularly again with plenty more hauls, beauty reviews and who knows what else, and I'll also be announcing the winner of my Illamasqua giveaway, so make sure you keep checking back to see if you're a winner.

Until then though thank you for reading and following and I hope that you all have a lovely weekend, and I will see you next week with some new posts x

Life Lately - Weight Loss, Chronic Fatigue, Illness And Family

When I first started my blog nearly 9 years ago now I talked a lot about myself, my family and my illness - I used to write regular goods and bads posts and I often used my blog as a bit of a place to whinge. Over the years though my blog has changed and maybe I've changed!  For various reasons I haven't felt comfortable sharing certain aspects of my life and my blog has become my happy place, a place where I can escape and take time out of my daily life. I always wanted my blog to be a part of me though, so every once and a while maybe it's good to share.

To say my posting has been flaky lately is probably an understatement, I seem to have a really consistent spell and then I seem to disappear for a few days or a week. There shouldn't be any pressure to blog but I do feel a bit guilty every now and then when I can't get as many posts up as I would like. Life over the last 3 or 4 months or so hasn't been kind to me in a lot of ways and that's reflected in my blog so event hough there probably isn't a need I thought I should at least give you some sort of an explanation. 

I don't want to go into too much detail but as you know I'm quite close to my family, and unfortunately my illness curse seems to have struck them too. I'm not going to go into too much detail to protect them and their privacy but two of my closest family members are having a very rough time of it at the moment. It's awful seeing people you love struggling on a day to day basis, and facing their own mortality and it's probably affected me more than I've realised, both physically and mentally, something that I could probably have done without.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a funny thing, I don't mean funny haha, I mean strange, one minute you can feel relatively "normal" and the next minute you can feel as though your on deaths door, yet you'll still look okay. You can have good days and you can have bad days and this year for whatever reason I've definitely had more bad days than good days.Throw in a long awaited, and presumed Fibromyalgia diagnosis and it's now pretty clear why I've been in so much pain and felt so wiped out.

If that wasn't all after a routine dental check up I was told that one of my wisdom teeth needs to be removed! Fury didn't quite cover it, I brush, I floss, I use mouthwash, I visit the dentist every 6 months - why!!! and why wasn't this picked up sooner! I know some of my medications can affect my teeth and my saliva (yuck, sorry!) but still!

A visit to an oral surgeon confirmed that the tooth needed to come out, and I was put on the waiting list to get it removed. Oh and in the meantime I was told to eat a relatively soft diet as the damaged tooth would potentially start to break off - hmm I wondered what that small creamy, white hard thing was in my risotto!! 

Yeah - not good but unfortunately the worst was yet to come" before any form of surgery you have to undergo certain tests to rule out any complications and after some simple tests low and behold they found a couple of issues. I'm not going to bore you with the details but I have a pile of new medication to take and I have to see a health care professional every fortnight for monitoring!

So here I am, waiting and waiting for that appointment letter to get this godforsaken tooth removed, I swear it caused me no pain or irritation until that bloody dental check up. Thankfully avoiding anything to hard or chewy, painkillers, Corsodyl mouth wash, and Anbesol liquid are making it a bit more bearable but I'm still having the occasional swollen hamster cheek moment!

At the moment finding something to eat and eating without discomfort is hard enough, without watching what I'm eating so I've made to decision to at least postpone my weight loss journey, till I get both my teeth and my heart sorted. I'm annoyed, ashamed and more than a little disappointed to give in like this, but I need to focus on improving my short term health before I start thinking about more long term concerns. It's a shame because I really think I was starting to make progress with the XLS Medical Max Strength system* - I'd lost around 12lbs and I was feeling really positive about the whole thing but it can't be helped. I'd already bought some more capsules when they were on offer so I'm ready to get back on it hopefully in the new year when I get myself pulled together.

I really hope this hasn't come across as an oh woe is me post, although I suspect it probably has, but I just wanted to let you know what's been going on and why posting has been a bit erratic and why I haven't been posting as many recipes or weight loss updates.  Knowing that you guys are there on the interweb really keeps my going at times and it gives me something to focus on when real life is getting in the way. If you're a new reader I don't write posts like this that often so I hope I haven't scared you off! I'm making no promises as to the regularity of posts at the moment but all I'll say is I'll post when I can. I have quite a few post ideas floating around that will hopefully come to fruition before Christmas including some long overdue press sample reviews, some festive gift idea reviews, some hauls, a recipe that I might not be able to eat but I can assure you is amazing, and my usual big festive giveaway.so I hope that you'll stick around and be patient with me. Thanks for reading and of course thanks for being there x

*Samples

Happy Birthday LouLouLand - Reflecting On 8 Years Of Blogging

On the 12th February 2007, I clicked publish and uploaded my very first post on this blog. It was just an introduction to my blog but if you'd asked me then if I'd still be here 8 years later and I'd have experienced so much because of blogging, I'd never have believed you.

Less than an a year earlier I'd been diagnosed with ME / CFS and my life had turned upside down, I had to give up my job, and although I didn't know it at the time my social life was pretty much over. In the years before I got ill I'd posted on the handbag.com forums and over the years I'd got to know some of my fellow posters quite well, changes to the chat boards and the site meant that a few of us started to look for different outlets and as a result my blog was born.

It became a place where I could escape, rant and explore some of my passions and some of my irritations. For the first two years I posted sporadically but in 2009  I started to take my blog more seriously and made it a bigger part of my life.

Over the years it's became more and more important to me, long term illness can be a very lonely existence, and I've lost a lot of real life friends over the years but through my blog I have made so many online and "real friends" Bloggers have come and gone over the years but I'm lucky that so many of those handbag.com ladies are still around too, including Yinka from Vex In The City, Frankie from Love Audrey, Emma from They Grow So Quick and Sadie from Butterfly Wings and many others.

It isn't just cyber friends though, I've also been lucky enough to meet quite a number of my fellow North East bloggers some of whom I now consider as friends. It's pretty scary walking into a room when you don't know anyone but when you can leave that room with your self confidence sky high, that yes I did it feeling! and with the knowledge that you've met some lovely people, you've come a long way.

It hasn't always been a bed of roses though, personal issues have often got in the way, haters gonna hate, and with some of the ways that blogging has changed over the years. I would be lying if I said I hadn't felt like giving it up at times.

When I first started blogging people blogged for themselves, if people read your blog it was a bonus, There was no GFC, there was no Bloglovin, there was the favourite or the bookmark button and that was it! Followers didn't matter then but if you want to push your blog on in 2015 followers no matter what anyone says ARE important. Over the years I've gotten frustrated that my blog doesn't have as many followers as some, it's hard not to when you've been around this long, but it's something I'm learning to live with and I'm grateful to all of my followers though and it still surprises me at times that anyone reads what I write. My blog is my baby though and I want it to be successful. Success takes time though and that's something that's important to remember when you first start blogging, the majority of blogs need to time to grow and maybe mine is a just a slow burner :)

I really cant complain though, over the years my blog has grown steadily and I've been lucky enough to work with some fantastic brands and some lovely people. Sometimes I've had to pinch myself  in disbelief at how lucky I've been but I don't think it's down to luck it's down to hard work! I wouldn't like to think how many hours I've spent working on this blog over the years, from writing, to photography, editing and research, it all takes time, and when your permanently exhausted and woolly headed even putting up the simplest post can make you feel like you've climbed Everest.

So given my 8 years of experience what advice would I give new bloggers? Well, do it for the right reasons - there is so much talk now about people starting blogs purely to get freebies! If you going to do that, erm here's some advice. Don't! Admittedly times have changed but it probably took 3 or 4 years at least before I was sent anything. It doesn't, and shouldn't happen over night, it's very easy to blog without getting freebies blog about a product you own and like, or talk about something that your passionate about -  you need to build your blog, post consistantly, and build an audience and then fingers crossed brands will start to notice you - it takes time and effort on your part, and you need to work hard and be patient.

Another thing I would say is please, please try and blog for yourself. It's tempting to write what other people want you, and design your blog based on what people say in a bloggers chat but please try not too. There is nothing wrong with being an individual and going your own way. It your blog and it's your rules, and that's something I've always tried to stick to, yes you want people to read what you write so there is always a bit of compromise but be yourself and enjoy what you do x

So where now? Well a bit more of the same I think and maybe something a bit different, I'm feeling re-energised after a couple of meh years and I'm ready to take LouLouLand on the next leg of it's journey. I love and appreciate every single one of you and especially those of you who've been with me since the early days x Thanks for being there and here's to 8 more years x

Weight Loss Update - 1 Month In - 16 lbs Down

The photos probably mean that I could make this pretty much a world less first weight loss update post but that really wouldn't be the whole story.

In my first month back using my Slim Pod and being super careful, watching what I'm eating I've lost a huge 16 lbs, yes 1 stone and 2 lbs. I can't quite believe I've lost that much in such a short period of time but it only goes to show that I was probably eating way than I should be and way more naughty things than I should be.

I haven't denied myself anything I've just made a serious effort to limit the naughty things. Apart from that the only real changes I've made are making sure that I always eat breakfast - a big one it really sets you up for the day, eating at least 5 different portions of fruit and vegetables a day - very important especially if your a vegetarian and drinking at least two litres of water a day - which keeps you hydrated and keeps you feeling full.

It's amazing how being a bit more careful can yield such great results. It's even more surprising when you consider that I haven't done any real exercise yet instead all I've tried to is up my physical activity a bit. Every movement we make is exercise and can help us to burn calories, so when the body has been willing I've done a bit more housework, a bit more physical work when I've been cooking and of course don't forget that a little look round the shops counts as exercise too, and I've done that a couple of times over the last 4 or so weeks too.

I've also being using the Thinking Slimmer Slim, Chill and Fit Pods again as part of my nightly routine. They've really helped to keep my motivation up and keep my thinking positive when I've felt as though I'm wobbling a bit. As I said once before they've also helped me to establish a better, and more relaxed nighttime routine.

So after a successful January I'm feeling more motivated than ever that I can achieve the results that I want. If I was doing Slimming World this week would be classed as my Star week, I'm sure all you ladies have an idea of what means, so I'm trying to deal with cravings and bloating but trying to cut down my salt intake and by keeping up my water intake - hopefully it shouldn't effect this week to much but even if I gain on Monday I can deal with that.

Looking forward to the rest of February, I'm just planning exactly what I've been doing, watching, what I eat, and listening to my Slim Pod. I'm feeling a bit rubbish at the moment but when I start feeling a bit better I'm hoping to do a little bit of gentle yoga and stretching exercises using an fabulous DVD which is especially for people with CFS.

Thanks to all of you for your support both on Twitter and on Instagram I really do appreciate it. If you want to find out more about my weight loss journey before next months updates please follow me on either of these platforms or check out my Weight Tracker page xx

(Various Thinking Slimmer Slim Pods Have Been Provided For Review / Promotional Purposes)