New Year's Resolution 3: Lose Weight

Hello everyone!

I know it's almost the end of January (where has the month gone!) but I still have one more resolution to talk about. To lose weight. You've probably come across so many articles this month talking about losing weight. Personally, I find that many of them give the most obvious advice and that not everything works for everyone. You just have to find something that works for you. I'm going to tell you what works for me.

Swap your sweetener! I have an incredibly sweet tooth. Not only that but I drink a lot of tea and always have to have my two sugars in each mug. Three mugs later and it all adds up. Not only is sugar high in calories but it raises your blood sugar and feeds candida, to name a few. Since I've heard a lot of crazy things about synthetic sweeteners, I decided to try Xylitol by Total Sweet as a natural substitute. I'll be reviewing this very soon! An alternative is Stevia but I'm very suspicious of the ones I've come across in the supermarkets as I've heard that they're not pure and they're heavily processed. I'm not surprised considering these certain brands are owned by unhealthy carbonated drinks manufacturers.

Another thing I've been doing is taking a healthy snack like fruit or a Nakd bar and a bottle of water with me when I go out. That way, if I get hungry I don't resort to buying an unhealthy snack. It's a great way to avoid shopping when hungry too.

Fill up to eat less. It doesn't take long for me to fancy a snack after eating a meal so I'm trying to add more vegetables and salad to my meals to fill me up. Just as long as you avoid the starchy veggies and salad dressing, you'll be bringing more nutrition to your meals. I especially love to top a meal with lots of fresh spinach.

Images courtesy of gt_pann

Drink more. I love water so this is an easy one for me. It's a great way to fill up and keep hydrated.

Treat yourself! We all feel like a little treat now and then. As I don't like dark chocolate (It's more of a punishment than a treat for me), I go for rich milk chocolate that satisfies me in just a biteful. Hotel Chocolat have a great selection. More pricey than conventional brands but considering how satisfying they are compared to cheaper chocolates, plus they taste amazing and they're ethical, they are totally worth the money.

In terms of exercise, I'll be going to the gym but not for a few more weeks as I always have much more energy in the Spring. Until then, walking will do. I absolutely love to walk and it makes me feel great! I'm also hoping to take up yoga again as being stuck at home when it's cold and dark makes me feel sluggish. My Yoga Online have a huge selection and their subscription is very affordable.

So these are the rules I'm sticking to for now.

Got any easy tips for me?

xx

New Year's Resolution 2: Get organised

I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post so today's post is very relevant.

I'm usually very organised but winter has left me too sluggish to do anything. So it's very important for me to become much more organised.

To illustrate how disorganised I can be, I only recently finished my student finance application for uni this year. Just a couple of months late! I got a lovely invoice from university a few days ago but thankfully it has all been sorted out. And let's not forget room organisation! So let me tell you how I've started to become more organised and how I intend to be more organised. It's going to be a mix of both mental and physical organisation.

1) Spring clean in the winter! It's a new year so out with the old already! If there's something you haven't used in a long time and don't plan on using it any time soon, get rid of it. Fill up a bag with whatever you don't need and take it to a charity shop. Not only are you doing a good deed but you're decluttering your space which means decluttering your life too. If you need the money, sell them and see how much you can make.

2) Boxes. And lots of them! Once you've gotten rid of what you don't need, organise your belongings. Again, charity shops can come in handy. Look for good quality storage that will last you a long time rather than cheap and weak furniture that will fall apart. You'll be saving trees and getting organised!

3) Organise your time. For me, planners are pointless as I never look at them. They might work for you. I prefer to keep a list somewhere I can see it, listing everything I need to do that day. If I'm planning on going out, I make sure that I get as many things I need to do while I'm out. I take the list with me in case I forget anything. That really cuts down my mental to-do list.

4) Keep a poche in your handbag. I carry a lot of things in my handbag. Keys, purse, hand sanitiser, pens, moisturiser, perfume, mirror, tissues, lipgloss... and it was a nightmare finding anything! I sometimes forget something important in another handbag because it was difficult making sure I moved everything. So I started using a make up bag to store all these things. Now, whenever I need anything, I just pull out my 'poche'. And if I decide to carry a different handbag, I just transfer it to a different bag without forgetting anything.

5) Minimise distractions. Do you find that there isn't enough time in the day? Think about any distractions in your life that you can do without. For me, it was the Internet! I spend too much time on Facebook and Youtube so, at least for now, I'm not using Facebook. I've gone cold turkey. I've also unsubscribed to most newsletters as they weren't useful and they were only cluttering my inbox and wasting my time.

6) Make a timetable. As a student, I really should be more organised with my time instead of leaving everything till the last minute. Whether you're a student or not, you might want to make a timetable. This is especially useful if you're trying something new for your resolution such as going to the gym or a new hobby.

7) Routine. This is a big one for me as I don't have a daily routine. Well not a very healthy and organised one. I really need to fix up my sleep routine as I'm a night person and can't help but stay up till silly o'clock.

8) Set a few minutes a day for organisation. To check your diary, make goals, set meal plans, etc. Make sure it's during the time of day you can think most clearly. For me, this is before I go to bed.

9) Too much paper cluttering up your life? Tell me about it! I have a lot of paper whether they are lecture notes, letters, receipts or statements. It's an absolute pain finding an important document amidst the piles of paper. If there's anything you don't need, then give the paper another chance in life by recycling it. Everything else, keep in labelled folders or envelopes.

10) Clothes organisation. Thinking of what to wear takes up too much time in the morning for me. Make sure clothes are well organised. If there's a certain piece that you feel is missing in your wardrobe, write it down and hunt it down. Many times I think I've decided on an outfit only to realise that it's missing an important piece, such as a camisole or flat pumps.

So I hope this list has been useful for you. This is a personal list for me so you might find that it doesn't work for you. If you have any tips then please leave a comment and let me know :)

xx

New Year's Resolution 1: Save

Hi everyone!

As you may know from my last post, I'm trying to save money as part of my new years resolution. This is gonna be a hard one as I love to shop. Here are a few ways I'm going to do this. I hope they'll be helpful.

Budget

This is a difficult one for me as I like to make budgets but I never follow them. Write up a budget of all your necessities but give yourself a little pocket money to treat yourself. If there's something on your budget you feel you don't really need like a beauty box subscription, cable or your daily cappuccino, consider giving it up. Add up your savings goal to really motivate you to follow this through. If there something you're saving for? Draw or paste a picture of it to really get you going. Like a beautiful beach or simply lots more money in the bank.

Find a new hobby

Try a new hobby that is either cheap or free and a great money-saving alternative to eating out or shopping. Got a camera gathering dust? Take it out and experiment with all the functions. Edit them on free software like Paint.net and just have fun with it! There are lots of hobbies so try a new or even old hobby and enjoy it!

Unsubscribe

We can't get away from companies trying to sell us something. It's everywhere we go. On billboards, magazines, TV, email... But we can minimise the amount of advertising we get. I get so many emails from companies daily, tempting me with their offers and latest lines. So I decided to go through my email and click on the unsubscribe link on each newsletter. Do the same on social network sites by unliking/ unfollowing them. You'll save lots of time too.

Find cheaper alternatives

There's a cheaper alternative to almost everything and if you spend less on everything you buy, the savings add up. Try price comparison sites. I like to use mysupermarket.com before I go shopping for groceries.

Carry a list

When going shopping, carry a list and stick to it. If you see something you like, leave it and see how you feel about it once you're home. You may find that you've changed your mind about it, realise that it's too pricey or unnecessary or you may have forgotten all about it.

Borrow/ swap with friends

If you're looking to buy something you'll only use once like a book or dvd, ask friends if they have one lying around. Just remember to be a good sport and give it back as soon as you're done with it.

Be creative

If there's something you want, can you use what you have instead? I've been wanting to get a matte nude eyeshadow palette for a little while. I then realised that I have a blush that is too dark for me but looks so beautiful on the crease.

So these are my tips for saving a little money. Got any other tips for me?

xx

(A Belated) Happy New Year!

Hello everyone!

Sorry I have been absent for a while. But I'm back blogging now :)

Firstly, I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.

I'm not big on new year resolutions but making a resolution to make a positive change in your life can't be a bad thing. For me personally, I would like to lose a little weight as I have spent the autumn and winter eating lots of high fat and sugary foods and sitting down writing my reports. Not a healthy combination at all. So once it gets lighter, I want to go back to the gym. I also want to save money. My third resolution is to be more organised in my life. So to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day and plan my time to get things done.

So I will be writing three separate blog posts very soon with tips on how to meet these resolutions.

Do you have any new year resolutions? Any tips on how I can meet mine?

xx

How to make chocolate truffles

Mmmmmmmm.... what do you think of the truffles I made? They taste delicious!

I would normally pay a lot of money for a box of truffles that look and taste as good as these. But why buy them when you can make them yourself for a fraction of the price and have fun with it too! Plus you'd know exactly what goes in them. These would make a lovely handmade gift or simply to enjoy for dessert.

To make 10 pieces all you need is:

• 100 grams of chocolate
• 100ml double cream
• a teeny weeny bit of butter.

1. If you're not using chocolate chips, grate the chocolate yourself. It might take a while but you'll be toning your arms while you're at it ;)
2. Heat the double cream over medium heat.
3. Once bubbles appear, add the butter. You only need a small amount - about a quarter of a teaspoon.
4. Stir in the butter really quick so that it completely melts before the cream starts to boil then remove from the stove immediately.
5. Stir this mixture bit by bit into the chocolate until it is nice and creamy. Leave it in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

6. Take the chocolate mixture out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for half an hour.
7. After half an hour, take out any ingredients you want to use to coat your truffles. I used the Caramel Kiss Mix hot chocolate from Hotel Chocolat (it's grated chocolate with little white chocolate hearts), cocoa, icing sugar and ground almonds. You can also use chocolate chips, desiccated coconut, melted chocolate or whatever you like.
8. Roll the truffles into small balls and roll into the toppings.
9. If the rolling melts the chocolate, return to the fridge for a few minutes to set.

Now they're ready to eat!

Enjoy!

xx

Winter warming Coconut Custard

I'm not a big fan of winter but it is a good excuse to indulge in warm desserts and cover up in baggy clothes, whilst watching Desperate Housewives. A perfect night in.

I recently made a beautiful coconut custard, using Thai Taste Coconut Milk, which you can find the recipe for here.

It's very simple but I way overcooked it :( It still tasted lovely though and I will definitely be getting some more Thai Taste Coconut Milk to try it again.

Overcooked custard, siiigh :(

I'd have to try some of the other recipes on their website too like the Chicken and Coconut Soup and the Thai Green Chicken Curry. They sound like delicious and warming dishes!

Will you be trying the coconut custard recipe soon? You can find Thai Taste Coconut Milk, as well as the rest of their range, at major UK supermarkets.

xx

Winter Wonderland

(Clockwise from top-left)

Ski Hat by Liv

Kington top by Liv

Lily Lolo natural lipgloss in Whisper

Brass Sheet ring by Made

Moto Vintage Blue Organic Baxter Jeans (Topshop)

Priti NYC nail polish in Ginger Snap Orchid (Cult Beauty)

Angelic eyeshadow by Lily Lolo

Keep warm! xx