"Well you'll just have to stop exercising"

I think you can tell by the title that today has not been an excellent day. I don't think any of us would be too happy if we were told this by anyone, and even more incensed to be told it by an OPTICIAN. 

Yes, me and Boots Opticians are not the best of friends right now. 

Granted, it's my fault that I haven't bought a pair of glasses for 7 years. And that for the past three years since I haven't been able to see properly through my glasses due to prescription and scratches, I have been heavily relying on my contact lenses. I perhaps shouldn't have told her that I wear them for 15 hours a day. But it is NOT my fault that I have rubbish eyes (-6.5), I blame this on my parents. 

Basically I went to the opticians to buy new glasses so that I could start wearing them daily as I knew my eyes needed a rest. The optician reiterated this x10000 times. By going to Boots, you can get half price glasses by signing up to their consult lense scheme, which is a great way to save £159 on your specs. 

10 minutes into my consultation I was told that I have a growth of white cells on my pupils caused by not enough oxygen getting to my eyes, and that if I didn't stop using contact lenses IMMEDIATELY then my eyes would get worse and they would refer me to the hospital fo treatment. I started to panic by this point. The optician said I am not allowed to use contact lenses any more and need to wear my glasses until a follow up appointment on 2 Nov. She didn't really listen to the fact that I can't see through my glasses any more. 

I told her that I do need some contact lenses for my running and swimming. This is where she chirped up:

"Well you will just have to stop exercising for a while"

Hmm, okay. 

So I am banned from wearing contact lenses (I am wearing some right now because the chance of me driving in the rain and dark in specs I can't see through = 0%) until my next appointment and if my eyes haven't improved then I will be banned from joining the contact lense scheme and therefore will have to pay full price for my glasses. I can assure you they had better give me some. 

The GOOD news is that I chose my new Rayban glasses and I love them. I can't wait to get them and wear them all of the time. But I may get to my next appointment have to pay the other £159 for them and promise to never wear contacts ever ever again (with my fingers crossed behind my back as I have a stash of fortnightlys at home).

Disclaimer: I do take the health of my eyes very seriously, I've just had a bad day. 

Dans x

The perfect run & other stories

I just ran the perfect run. I thought it would take me WEEKS to get back to a 30 minute 5km. I wasn't even feeling this run today. I have no idea what got into me but whatever it is I want to keep it! 

I can't believe I went below a 6min average km. I must have really gone for it! I was actually groaning out loud by the end. And praying for the last 3 minutes to go quickly. I was so surprised because my shin didn't give me any bother at all (it's hurting now though). I ran up to the next village and round the block, did another half block before coming back but I estimated it short so had to do 30 seconds on the trail too. I was tempted to follow my running idol and lay down on the floor afterwards but I wasn't quite brave enough; I limped home instead. 

I think this is what is called negative splits ;) FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. 

Week 3 - 30 minutes 

1/4 Monday: 4.66km, 6:27min/km av pace

2/4 Wednesday: 4.67km, 6:26min/km av pace

3/4 Friday: 5.09km, 5:54min/km av pace

I can't wait to see how tomorrow's run is going to go, as right now my legs do not want to move one single bit :)

In other news:

Grandad's doing much better after overloading on oxygen at the hospital, which has made him look and feel a million times better. The docs wanted to keep an eye on him today though and the hospital doesn't discharge at the weekend, which means he will be there until Monday at least. I was a bit concerned about nana being at home by herself (she has early onset dementia) but she says she is absolutely fine and says the best thing is wrapping herself in bedcovers and not having grandad steal them ;) 

I am clearly the favourite grandchild as I turn up to the hospital with cake ;) well my colleague and I demolished the coconut raspberry slices on the right but I took the lemon tarts along for nana and grandad and it made them very happy. Although my absolute favourite is lemon curd tarts so they were lucky to get their hands on them! The best thing about the cakes is that they are homemade from a stall from a farmers market that comes into town every month. My friend Luke & I try and get a lunch break together each month to go together, and I love our catch up as even though we don't see each other enough (and we are even in the same building every day) he is a very dear friend to me. 

I found a new favourite drink today. This elderflower and lime spring water is yum and only 7 calories. I love elderflower drinks lately, I need to get my hands on some for my friend's dinner party tomorrow as I'm going to drive instead of drink. 

I bought this jacket today with my birthday vouchers. I have had my eye on it for so long, I have no idea why I didn't buy it before as I love it. My friend Laura has it but I'm sure she won't mind as we along with DC's sister always seem to get our hands on the same Topshop clothes, even with all of the million items that are available. We must be both a) telepathic and b) obviously have excellent taste. 

I was going to buy it in store but the queue was too long so I bought it online, using a 10% off code, free delivery, and my gift cards which means this £58 jacket cost me £7. This made my day. Although I do have to wait for it to be delivered, as I've promised myself I will stop paying £7.50 for next day delivery. 

Today was apparently the end of summer (the rain proved it) and Autumn is my favourite time of year, mainly because of the weather (I think Autumn is romantic and DC laughs in my face) but mostly because of creating a new Autumn Topshop wardrobe of course!

I tried this on too and it looks great in the photo but less flattering in real life. I couldn't justify paying £48 (!!) for it so it went back on the rail. 

DC's jeans were a bit tight today when they came out of the wash so he did a lunge in them and this is what happened. I sooooo wish I was there to see this but I was running, he is really upset because they're his favourite jeans and jeans are sooo expensive these days, but the thought of lunge + rip made me laugh for ages. 

He has gone out with work tonight and I think I drew the short straw because his friend's gf has picked them all up to take them into town, but I am doing the pick up run.... At 1am. I've done this quite a few times but the last 2 times I picked DC up from town he really messed me around so I've told him in no uncertain terms that if he doesn't turn up where he says he will at 1am then we will fall out forever and ever. 

So I'm just about to cook some marinated chicken and roasted veg, then I'm going to put something on from Lovefilm and settle down with my favourite popcorn. A nice quiet night all to myself to end a busy week... Perfect. 

Dans x

Pick of the week #16

 

Following on from last week's beach holiday shop, here's my top pics for the best beach beauty buys.



 

1. Face sun protection - Rituals £14.00

I find that regular body sun tan lotion is too greasy for my face and I end up getting a breakout while I'm away. I've been using this SPF30 face cream for 3 years now and I love it, plus I get a 30% discount which always helps with the price.

 

2. Maybelline BB cream - Superdrug £7.99

I LOVE the Universal Glow version of this BB cream. It gives a really good glow and pre-holiday I was worried that it would be too orange for me but whilst I was out there and gradually getting a tan it was the perfect cream for a coverage that wasn't foundation-heavy. I also used it for months afterwards going back to work, so I can't wait to get a good use out of it again.

 

3. Mark Hill sea salt spray - Boots £5.99

My hair is neither here or there so I like to put a product in it whilst I'm on the beach to stop the frizz and keep the flyaways tame. I can't remember the spray I used last year so I'm going to try this one this year and hopefully it'll keep my hair in good shape.

 

4. Palmers Cocoa butter lip balm - Boots £1.89

This is another beach bag essential for me that I've used year on year. I'm a devoted Vaseline addict but it just doesn't do the job in the sun, my lips just burn straight away. This lip balm is cheap and cheerful, smells great and does the job.

 

5. Moisture Surge - Clinique £32.99

This moisturiser is the best thing since sliced bread. Fact. I use it all throughout winter when my face gets dried out by the cold and wind, but also use it on holiday when I get a heat rash on my cheeks / chin every year without fail. It keeps my skin moisturised and clears it up much faster than anything else.

 

Next week's Pick of the Week - Holiday Footwear

 

Dans x 

Pick of the week #9

 

1. Pastel cream leather barrel bag - £45 Zatchels
I'm so excited to receive my Zatchels barrel bag! I didn't think I was ever going to get my hands on it, but was pleased when my order finally went through and it should arrive on my office desk in the next couple of weeks!

2. Pirate chain necklace - £14.00 Miss Selfridge
I have a lot of jewellery but not a lot of costume jewellery, so this necklace would be perfect and versatile enough to go with everything.

3. Lip bullet in Rockability - £8.00 Topshop
I'm looking for a stand out lip colour for our friends' wedding on Saturday, and this one looks perfect so I'm off to Topshop tomorrow to try it out.

4. Orla Kiely tortoise shell glasses - £189.00 Boots
I have been in major need of some new glasses for so long now - my current ones are about 7 years old and I can no longer see properly through them! I'm saving up for a super cool pair of Orla Kiely's, available at Boots.

5. Mini dot iPhone case - £24.99 Cath Kidston
I invest to much money in clothes, shoes, bags, purses and makeup that I realised the other day how much I have been abandoning my iPhone - it looks so scruffy these days that I definitely need to throw away my boring plain (and cracking) white case and buy something a bit more stylish.

Dans

It's bonus time!

There's nothing I like better than a Clinique bonus time!

I've been holding out for one to launch at Boots since Christmas when I got a giftcard from my family - I've even resisted the bonus times at Debenhams and John Lewis (still ongoing) because I just knew the Boots one would be fab and it is.

It's strange that we have two huge Boots in our city centre and yet neither of them do Clinique. So my sister and I went on a shopping trip today so I could get my hands on one, and I was not disappointed!

To qualify for bonus time, one item has to be skin care and so I bought my regular foundation (Even Better, shade #1 Alabaster) and the Anti Blemish Solutions cleansing foam - this is excellent if you have combination skin like me with the monthly pimples that just seem to flare and not go anywhere. It is quite drying but makes blemishes disappear sometimes as quickly as the next morning if I apply it before bed.

1. Moisture surge - I love this moisture surge and always use it as well as my regular moisturiser. It's perfect during the winter and I always make sure I stock up in time for summer holidays too, because as soon as I seem to step down off of the aeroplane steps into a hot sunny climate I come out in a heat rash that covers half of my face, and this really helps to make it disappear after a couple of weeks.

2. All about eyes - I've been hooked on this ever since the first time I tried it, and put it on nightly before bed after my three step, along with my moisturiser and moisture surge. It does really well to make my eyes look more awake and if you use it in the morning after a three step it can also help to keep eyeshadow / liner in place throughout the day.

3. Rinse off foaming cleanser - I've had this before in a giveaway and wasn't very keen on it. I find the texture very strange and I don't like the way it doesn't glide over my face as easily as the regular Clinique wash off face cleanser.

4. Chubby stick - I love love LOVE Clinique chubby sticks and can't rate them highly enough. DC bought me a pack of five a couple of Christmasses ago and I was automatically hooked. They give a good coverage of colour and I was surprised that they actually last a reasonable amount of time before they run out. The only downfall is that I find them quite drying on my lips, just the same as the regular Clinique lipsticks, although applying a little bit of vaseline just before application usually sorts that problem out.

5. Quickliner for eyes - this is the only product in this Bonus Time that I have never tried before, but my fellow Clinique-obsessed friend J swears by them, and goes through them like I don't know what. This is something that I've going to have to try out, and blog about later. I usually apply one of the Clinique dark eyeshadows under my eyes with a tiny brush for definition, but I'll try this eyeliner this week instead and see how I get on.

6. High impact mascara - I have been loyal to Maxfactor's Masterpiece for many years now and never thought I would find another mascara that I would love as much. When I got my first high impact mascara, I didn't even bother to try it because I was that convinced that it wouldn't help my lashes as much as the Masterpiece does. I only happened to use it when I had ran out of the Masterpiece and didn't have anything to use - and then I was changed woman! It's an excellent mascara even for fine lashes like mine. It adds definition and length and can help with both a day and night look - one coat for work, or for a night out build it up and it can look really striking. I now alternate between buying and using the Maxfactor mascara, and switching to Clinique whenever I get a bonus time.

As you can see this bonus time is great for me as I've used most of the products before and absolutely love them. It's annoying when you look forward to a Bonus Time and when it arrives it doesn't include anything that you would really use, and then you get a build up of products in your beauty cupboard that you don't use but don't want to throw away. But Boots always put on a really good deal and I always find myself pleased with what I get. Plus, the Clinique beauty assistants in my Boots are a hundred times more helpful and pleasant compared to our Debenhams and John Lewis. They always have a smile on their face and are more than willing to help. Bonus Time + excellent customer service = happy beauty shopping.

Dans