Thinking Slimmer - Slim Pod - Week 21 - Part 2

Well after spending the last two weeks eating exactly what I wanted I guess it's no real surprise that I've gained a bit of weight 4 whole pounds in total. The only thing that's surprised me to be honest it that it's not more, but it's not, so I'm not as devastated as I could have been.

With a 20 pound weight loss before my holidays I have to say I felt a lot more confident than I probably would have done before, I still felt pretty self conscious to be honest, but I basked in the sun wearing my shorts, and swim things with the best of them. One thing that you realise above all when your on the beach or by the pool is that people really do come in all shapes and sizes, I felt positively skinny compared to some people and like a hippo compared to others, you are always going to see people that are thinner than you and heavier than you, it's all about feeling comfortable in your own skin.

Although I felt a lot more confident than what I would have done, I'm still not happy with my wobbly bits so today sees the start of Part 2 of my Thinking Slimmer journey. The download that I was originally sent "Create That Summer Beach Body", isn't really as relevant as it was so the lovely people at Thinking Slimmer were kind enough to send me another download "Drop Two Dress Sizes (Or More)" which is probably more relevant for the rest of my journey.

I've already listened to the download last night and I'll be listening to it every night for the foreseeable future, as well as watching what I eat and trying to do a little bit more exercise. I'm back to a 16lb total weight loss so my first goal is to lose the 4lbs that I've gained. As per usual I'll be keeping you updated with my progress every Monday, so keep checking back to see how I get on x

Oh I almost forgot if you remember at the start of my Thinking Slimmer experience I was sent a gorgeous swimsuit from Reger By Janet Reger swimwear line at Debenhams.

I promised you a picture if I felt brave enough, and to be honest I'm not sure I was lol, the cossie is gorgeous and I wore it on a couple of occasions but to be honest it was very plunging, and I don't particularly want to show off my babushkas on my blog (I'm brave enough to show them on a beach though such is my twisted logic lol) so here is a phone head and shoulders selfie - spot the tan lines ;)

Give it another 6 months and I might be brave enough, lol we'll see x Thanks again for your support on Part 1 of my journey, and I hope you'll stick with me for Part 2. x

(The Thinking Slimmer Slim Pods"Create That Summer Beach Body" And "Drop 2 Dress Sizes (Or More) And The Reger By Janet Reger At Debenhams Swimsuit Were Provided For Review / Promotional Purposes)

I'm Back x A Ramble,Life Lately And Looking Forward x

Hey Guys, Remember me ? Yeah of course you do, thanks to scheduled posting it probably seems like I've never been away :)

I had a fabulous time, the weather was by and large amazing, and I had loads of chill out time which was exactly what I needed. 

I don't know if it's been obvious over the last few months but I've kind of fell out of love with blogging, in fact so much so that I actually considered giving it up for good. Whilst I was away though I've had lots of time to think, and I've decided that I definitely want to continue. Mine may not be the most fashionable or popular blog out there, but blogging has never been about being popular for me, it's all about expressing myself, and talking about things that I love and enjoy, and the fact that I've met so many lovely people and had so many amazing opportunities means that it's definitely going to be a part of my life for the foreseeable future.

I've had some tough times over the last 12 months of so and you guys have been there for me through all of it, which is pretty amazing in my book, in fact some of you lovely people have been more supportive than people in my own family and in my own social circle and for that I'm truly grateful. Whilst I'm not obsessed with followers and statistics (What's with that, by the way?) they don't half lift your spirits at times, and over the last few weeks I've been sneaking towards a half a million all time page views. Typically the magical number of 500,000 was hit whilst I was up in the air probably somewhere over Europe, so this was closest screen shot that I managed to grab thanks to some free WiFi at Larnaca Airport.

I can't describe what this figure means to me, it's crazy, that my blog has been clicked on over half a million times, and I am so honoured that you lovely people have bothered to read my blog and to keep reading it over the years x Thank You x 

So where now, well a bit more of the same I guess, my blog is still my place to talk about what I want so nothing is really going to change, more reviews, maybe a little less hauling, some more recipes, the continuation of my diet posts, maybe a few more fashion posts, and some smatterings of favourites, homes posts, and maybe be some pet posts :)

I've had a super busy week since I got home in the early hours of Monday morning, and that's part of the reason why it's taken me so long to get a post up. The familiar in flight cold has arrived with a vengeance, I've had several appointments, and on Thursday it was my beloved godparents Diamond Wedding Anniversary!Yes, they have been married for 60 years, which is an amazing achievement especially in this day and age. They've been through so much together in that time, my godfather had open heart surgery in the 1980's and of course over the last 12 months or so they've had to deal with my godmothers cancer, their relationship is as strong as ever, an their marriage is the true definition of the word partnership. 

On Thursday night 20 of us went out for a meal to celebrate their wonderful achievement. Here are a few pictures of their many, many cards and bouquets x 

And of course, this special anniversary is honoured by the Queen herself, hence this special card from Buckingham Palace - I wish she looked as bit happier though ;)

So that was my week, cold and chesty cough permitting I have a couple of holiday themed posts to go up next week, including some outfit posts, and a holiday haul, and Part 2 of my Thinking Slimmer journey, and then we'll be back to normal with the usual mix of nails, food, make up, hair care and skincare x Thanks for following and don't forget about my giveaway which ends on Monday xxx

Budget Beauty Series - Autumnal Eyes With LA Colors

Okay I might be behaving like it's summer and sunning myself on the shores of the Mediterranean this week but there is no doubt that we're heading slap bang into Autumn. I know what your going to say Autumn means shorter days and longer nights, and yes your right but it means so much more: Halloween, Bonfire Night, and fresh clean air are all things worth looking forward to. I have to say though my favourite thing about Autumn or The Fall as some of you guys would describe it as, are the colours of the plants and leaves.

Whilst my little section of Co Durham could never be compared to Boston or New England the colours of the leaves and foliage at this time of year is a feast on the eye. Bronzes, coppers, golds and reds are all colours that make you think of Autumn, and cold frosty days kicking you way through the fallen leaves.

I'm a huge fan of bronzes, coppers and golds on the eyes so I decided to do a little post for you on one more recent eyeshadow palette acquisitions American brand LA Colors 5 Colour Metallic Eyeshadow Palette in
 EP107 Desert Dune.

The name doesn't scream Autumn to me but the colours certainly do. This palette contains 5 small round eyeshadows each about the size of a penny piece and the usual pointless double ended sponge applicator. The shades range from a bright orange copper, to a red toned brown a pale peachy yellow gold, and some neutral bronze tones.

Each of the shades appears to have some form of shimmery over spray on the surface, which pretty much disappears after the first use or swatch in my case. (You can just about see the difference in the 3rd shadow which has been touched before photographing) The shadows underneath still contain a bit of shimmer but they are nowhere near as glittery as they first appear, and they are a tiny bit darker.

With Flash

Pigmentation as you can see is pretty amazing. The shadows are very soft and smooth, if a little powdery, and the blend and apply with ease, and wear time is actually pretty impressive

Without Flash

Obviously you can use all of the shades individually but I've had a little play with this palette and here are a few easy (so easy my cats could probably do them) looks that I created with it. First up a sort of sunset look where I used shade 1 all over the lid and under the brow and shade 2 a deep orange, copper, which I applied into the crease x

Next just a pretty average every day look using shades 3 and 4. I used shade 3 all over the lid and this time I used shade 4 in the crease to add a bit of definition - That was the plan and what I did lol but it just looks like I've blended the two shades together here - damn you crepey eye lids !

The following look was created with shades 3 and 5 to create a darker more smokey brown look, with just a hint of yellow gold

I've really enjoyed using this palette over the last few and I think perfect for autumn, all the colours contain a bit of shimmer so if you aren't a fan then this palette probably isn't for you x Understandably because of the shimmer yet there is a bit of fall out but I can live with that especially for the price. Whoops sorry I didn't mention the price did I :) This palette was just £1, yes a quid! I got mine from a northern based discount called Boyes, but I've seen other LA Colors bits in various other discount stores and market stores so it's worth looking in unexpected places for bargain products. It's also worth having a look online x Having used this palette I would easily have paid more money for it, and next time I'm in Boyes I'll definitely consider picking up another variant. Have you tried any LA Colors make up? let me know xx

Foodie Friday - Super Simple Celery Soup

I'm going to be straight up with you guys, I know that celery is one of those things like coriander and, Marmite, that you either love or hate, so for some of you this recipe will be a total non starter. I think celery is fabulous, and I add it to loads of things curries, spaghetti bolognese, and salad, and we always have some in the fridge for healthy snacking. It has a really distinctive savoury flavour, that makes such an impact even if you just use a tiny bit. This recipe isn't about using a tiny bit though this recipe is for celery lovers only. The flavour of the celery isn't as intense as what you'd think though as it mellows with cooking, leaving a lovely warming, savoury soup.

Super Simple Celery Soup

A Drizzle Of Olive Oil

A Couple Of Cloves Of Garlic - Roughly Chopped 

1 Onion 

One Head Of Celery 

About 1 Litre Of Vegetable Stock 

A Dash Of Milk Or Cream (Optional)

Salt and Pepper To Taste

1. Into a large pan add a large drizzle of olive oil

Add your garlic and turn the ring onto a medium heat.

2. Roughly chop your onion - I'm using a red one here but a white one would be fine too .

Add it to your pan

3. Right celery time, cut of the base of the root and any brown bits.

Pop the celery root, stalks and leaves into a large colander and rinse. You can get a lot of sandy bits and soil in them so you need to make sure you wash them thoroughly 

4. Then roughly chop the celery, leaves and all

and add to your pan, and cook the onions, garlic and celery over a medium heat 

5.In the meantime make up your vegetable stock.

6. After about 15 minutes or so your onions and garlic should be softened, your celery will still be a little hard but don't worry.

Add your vegetable stock to the pan and simmer for another 20 minutes or so till all the vegetables are soft

7. Then it's time to blend as per usual I'm using my free standing blender. Because the celery can be a bit stringy you really want to give it a good blend to leave a nice consistency

8. Return the soup to the pan, swirling out your blender with a dash of milk or single cream or water (I used skimmed milk here). If your not using a free standing blender at the point you could add a little cream or milk at this point to add a bit of richness but it's not essential. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed and warm back through for another 5-10 minutes.

9. Serve :) with some crusty bread or with some crusty bread rolls like Mummy Lou or in my case gluten free white sliced :) The recipe makes around 4 large bowls.

Like all my recipes this is so, so easy to make. Soup is one of those fabulous things that you can just add what you like and what you have. The timings are just a guide line really you could easily leave this to bubble along for half an hour or more. It also freezes really well, so it often worth picking up fresh vegetables when they're are reduced and making up some soup for the freezer - me and Mummy Lou always check out the reduced sections in the supermarket and it's well worth doing, especially for batch cooking. Are you a celery fan? let me know in the comments x 

Get Your Tan On In An Instant With St Moriz

Greetings from sunny Cyprus :) By the miracle of scheduled posting I'm (hopefully!) back with another blog post for you x

I thought long and hard about what posts to do for you and this one made perfect sense. I'm currently soaking up the sun and doing my best to get a bit of a tan. I'm doing at safely though and I have an assortment of sun tan lotions, tan accelerators, straw hats and cover ups on standby. What if you can't jet off for some sun though, do you stay pale and pasty ? or do you reach for a bit of faux glow?I have to say I'm not a great fan of wearing self tan in the depth of winter, it can look well, a bit odd. For a special occasion though I guess it's okay, especially when there are so many wash on, wash off products on the market.

I was recently sent a couple of bottles of St Moriz Instant Tan to try out, one for the face and one for the body. I'm a huge fan of the other products in the St Moriz range so I couldn't wait to give these a try.

The Instant Tan range as the name would suggest is designed to give you a pretty much instantaneous colour. There is no need to wait hours for your colour to develop, pop it on and your bronzed and ready to go, and when you've had enough of being a bronzed goddess, just wash it off with soap and water.

St Moriz Instant Face Tan Wash Off - Medium Matte - 100ml

I don't know about you, but I always use SPF on my face, and I try to keep it out of the sun as much as possible. As well as the health and ageing aspect I'm prone to pigmentation due to medication so I can never get that beautiful even colour on my face that the holiday adverts and magazines promote. This product sounded like the answer to my prayers, something that would be ideal for touching up and evening out the colour on my face.

Packaged in a squeezy tube in the familiar St Moriz colours, this product is designed to provide a streak free, water resistant, temporary natural looking tan.

When I first squeezed a little bit out I have to admit I was terrified, it has the colour but thankfully not the texture of Marmite! It actually feels like a very light lotion all be it in a very scary colour.

The best way to show you if this works or not is with some pictures x Apologies for the shockingly bad lighting, autumn really did arrived with a bang last week.

Before

During 

After 

Okay you probably can't see too much of a difference thanks to the lousy lighting, but if you compare my face and neck in the last picture maybe it will give you a bit more of an idea x 

This fresh smelling  lotion was really easy to apply and it blended out really nicely, I used my fingers but you could always use a facial mitt or a sponge. I've probably used a bit too much here it's probably best to start with a little bit and build it up till you get the colour that your looking for. My skin is quite oily and this felt quite comfortable on my skin. It took a minute or two to dry, and then it pretty much stayed put. I wore a dark top just in case it ran but it didn't move even when I had a few mini tropical moments. A few hours later it was still intact, a little bit came off with a damp tissue but it took my full cleansing routine to remove it all.

I think that this is a pretty good product, despite the terrifying colour, I managed to make this work on my pale pink toned skin. For me though this product is probably more for topping up a pre existing tan, or for evening out an uneven one rather than starting from scratch, and that is certainly how I will continue to use, and enjoy using this tube and the one that I got from the Newcastle FABB Event x

St Moriz Instant Face Tan - Wash Off - Medium Matte retails at around £4.99 for a 100ml tube from various retailers including Tesco x

St Moriz Instant Body Tan - Wash Off - Medium Matte - 150ml

We've all been there, you get a last minute invite to go out, your find something to wear, and then you look at your legs, day glo white. There is nothing wrong with being pale and I have to admit I'm not a consistent fake tanner, I'll only fake tan in the summer or when I'm getting my legs out but sometimes whether it because of a certain coloured outfit or occasion, you just need a bit of colour.

Alongside their wash off face product, St Moriz also produce a wash off body product, promising the same no streak, transfer resistant instant natural tan.

Again the colour is terrifying Marmite really is the best way of describing it, and in fact I would even say that it's a bit darker than the facial version, but it has the same lotion / cream texture, and the same fresh smell. That is a major plus point of these products, being wash off, temporary tans you don't get that familiar biscuit type smell.

You could of course use your hands to apply this, providing you washed them thoroughly afterwards, but I used one of the velvet tanning mitts for a more even coverage

As per usual I was brave and did the one leg challenge for you, I just used the product on one leg so you can see the difference.

Yeah that's a pretty big difference isn't it? The colour looks pretty impressive especially when you look at opposite leg - white with blue veining compared to a sun kissed bronze , which would you rather have. This product took about 10 minutes to dry completely, and during that time I did manage to get a bit of transfer onto a towel and on my bed sheets which thankfully came in the wash. After those 10 minutes or so and despite sweating a lot, the colour pretty much stayed put. It did come off in the shower but it did take a little bit more of an effort to remove than the facial version did.

This product pretty much did what it promised, it produced a natural looking tan within minutes, and once it was dry, it stayed for the 8 or so hours till I washed it off. Again I think that this product would be great for topping up a natural tan, and I can certainly see myself using it to disguise any strap marks, or tanning lines. I also think that this is a great emergency tanner, if your caught on the hop or your in a rush and you want a bit of colour.

St Moriz Instant Body Tan - Wash Off - Medium Matte - 150ml retails at around £4.99 from Tesco and various other retailers x

Whilst I don't think that these instant, wash off products will ever replace a proper false tan for most people, I think they do have their place. Their good for evening up a natural tan, and I think their really good for people in a rush, or when you want a bit of colour in a hurry. The fact that you can wash them off if you make a mistake also means that they're ideal for self tanning novices, and the price also means that you can afford to experiment x If you have any questions please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you when I return for holiday x 

(St Moriz Instant Face Tan Wash Off - Medium Matte - 100ml And  St Moriz Instant Body Tan - Wash Off - Medium Matte - 150ml Were Both Provided For Review / Promotional Purposes)