My life in pictures #11

I am sat here with a stinking cold looking out of the window at the rain thinking, where did the lovely Bank Holiday go? It just whizzed by so fast! We had such a great weekend with friends and family.

 

 

First up was our friends' wedding that we had been looking forward to for soooo long. DC tried his shirt on in Topman and then bought it online, and he made the mistake of leaving it to try on until 10pm Friday night - and it didn't fit! I don't understand how that happens to often when they're supposed to be exactly the same size! So we had a panic trip into town at 8:30am Saturday to swap his shirt.

Here's me with some of the bride's closest friends, two of who were bridesmaids and one did a reading. It was raining in the morning before we left but after the ceremony the sun came out and it was beautiful.

 

The wedding breakfast was amazing - we had caramelised onion tart for starter, chicken for main course and a mix of three desserts - meringue, chocolate brownie and a passionfruit cheesecake - I obviously took no photos because it would have been a bit rude.

 

How much of a genius idea was the wedding favour? A mini bottle of Baileys from Mr & Mrs Bayley - genius!

 

The wedding breakfast didn't finish until 6.30pm so it went straight into the evening 'do. They had hired a band who were AMAZING, and they had a photobooth which was equally brilliant! There were props to wear and each session printed a set of four photos, and two copies - one for you to keep, and another to stick in a wedding book for the bride and groom. We had so much fun!

 

Sunday was a bit of a write off but Monday we went to our national park with some of DC's family, it was such a sunny and lovely day. We had an ice cream as soon as we got there and then walked up Old John (look it up) and back down, before madly going back up again to meet with DC's auntie who had just arrived.

 

 

Look at that sky! After our long walk we drove to DC's Mum's house for tea and her famous homemade cake - her cake is so amazing you can't ever say no!

 

Dans

Pick of the week #10

 

1. Button through pocket dress - £26.00 Topshop
This dress just screams 'sunny Sunday in the park' and I love it. The perfect casual dress for relaxing in the summer, and not too expensive either for when I'm sure Topshop bring out further colours in the range.

2. Sterling silver circles bracelet with 18ct gold vermeil - £135.00 Azendi
I've always been in love with Azendi and was gutted to walk in one lunch time to be told that they were closing down in 20 minutes. So since then I've been buying from their website although I could easily go crazy on there and spend a million pounds. I'm completely in love with this bracelet.

3. Glimmerstick brow definer - £6.00 Avon
I've been looking for a brow definer for a while but was too scared to go to a counter and ask for advice on what to buy. I was really happy to get a sample of this in the latest Marie Claire, so I can start trying to define my brows myself, trial and error style!

4. Bedford North South large tote - £330.00 Michael Kors
I absolutely adore this tangerine tote. I know that I'll never be able to afford it but I think it'll be on my wishlist forever!

5. Vanilla Cupcake car air freshener - £2.99 Yankee Candle
I LOVE the Yankee Candle vanilla cupcake candle but DC hates the smell so I'd never be able to get it as a candle to smell the house out. So I thought what a perfect idea to get it as an air freshener in my car, which DC has no say over. Genius idea!

Dans

Week 12 training roundup...

Week 12

Activities: 2

Distance covered: 13.0 km

Average pace: 6.23 min/km

Calories burned: 825

Time spent 1:23:10

Eeeek.
 

Sunday: rest day

Monday: rest day

Tuesday: 5.00km run

Wednesday: rest day

Thursday: rest day

Friday: 8.00km run

Saturday: rest day

 

Oops. Not a good week this week with running. I have been soooo busy, I had planned runs but just didn't get the chance. I was feeling pretty low on energy all week, and had a really bad run on Tuesday where I don't think I ate the right food at work beforehand, and I changed my route which was really flat, so I completely burned out on the very first km and had to try really hard to not be sick, and ended up jog / walking the last 4km out and home. It was the first bad run I've had for my whole training period and I felt ill for the whole night so it really shook me up.

Wednesday I collected my new car and Thursday is my usual day off for weightwatchers. Friday I knocked out an 8km run, my longest so far, and it was tough but I'm really pleased I achieved it. Saturday morning I was supposed to run 5km but we had our friend's wedding that day and DC's new shirt didn't fit so we had to run into town that morning to go and get it changed.

These are my excuses this week... I need to try harder! My laziest training week so far since I started running.

Dans x

Quote of the week #9

 

"Promise me you'll always remember
you're braver than you believe,
and stronger than you seem, and
smarter than you think."

- Christopher Robin

Thursday night weigh in...

Well well well... a successful week!

I was really surprised to lose so much this week. I was always hoping that last week's 1.5lb would come back off, but I didn't anticipate another pound off as well.

There's a few factors that I think have been behind such a great week:

Water

I have been drinking soo much water at work this week, and it made me feel really healthy. I keep a tall glass on my desk and make sure I keep it topped up.

Breakfast
I bought some mini shredded wheat at the start of the week, ready for my plan to do a filling and healthy week next week. But I cracked them open early and helped myself to a couple of bowls - one as soon as I got into work around 8.30am and another one around 9.15am. This kept me full until lunch, which is new for me!

Snacking
I finally found a snack that I'm totally in love with - Boots sweet & salted popcorn. Only 2pts for the bag and I look forward to them every afternoon, meaning I hold off on my snacking because I know they're on my food list and I will enjoy them.

Exercise
I haven't obsessed about running this week and I think that really works for me. I think 3/4 runs per week is better than 5/6 runs per week, so I'm going to stick to this and not put too much pressure on myself.

Stress!
I have been a bit stressy nervous this week about buying / driving my new car and this usually has an effect on my weight.

Next week - filling & healthy!

Dans x

Make up splurge

I am Dani and I am a Clinique addict. 99% of my make up is made up of their products - mascara, foundation, concealer, blusher, eyeliner, eyeshadow... all of it except my trusted Rimmel matt powder.

But I am not a millionaire and even with my lack of control I just couldn't face a mega Clinique bill when I suddenly ran out of everything. And anyway, why is it that you always run out of everything at the same time?? What's with that??

I was desperately in need of some makeup ready for our friends' wedding on Saturday, so off I popped to Boots on my lunch break to see what I could see.

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation in nude
I have plenty of my Clinique even better foundation, but my colleague at work the other day (also a bridesmaid at the wedding at the weekend) mentioned that she needed some SPF-free foundation ready for the evening 'do. Why? I asked. Oh, the camera flash bounces off of my SPF foundation and makes my face look white, she answered. OH! Everything suddenly made sense. All of those photos where I have a ghoulish white face compared to my naturally coloured neck and body.

So I bought my old trusted Dream Satin Liquid foundation - I used to love this as it gave me a lovely dewy complex. The only mistake I made was that even though it doesn't say in the tube that it contains SPF, I forgot to double check online, so I'm just hoping that it'll be OK.

Maybelline Dream Terra Sun bronzer
I fell in love with Benefit's Hoola bronzer when I bought it in a miniature 3 pack from Boots along with a mascara and powder foundation for £9. But as I was running out I knew I wouldn't be able to afford the real deal, as I know it's over £20. So I purchased this Maybelline bronzer today, not knowing how it would turn out and I have to admit that I love the results. It's quite subtle so you can build it up without it looking streaky.

Maxfactor Masterpiece mascara
This has been my go-to mascara ever since I started using it. I think I originally found it in my mum's makeup bag, used it and fell in love. I always alternate between this and Clinique's High Impact mascara (when I have more £ in the bank) but I feel as though this mascara frames my eyes so much better and it never lets me down. I can really build it up without it becoming clunky.

Maxfactor Colour X-Pert waterproof eyeliner in deep black
I always feel so plain Jane without my eyeliner. I always feel as though my eyes need to be framed else they just look boring and non-existent, especially with my fair eyebrows and eyelashes. I switched to Maybelline / Clinique gel eyeliner when everyone raved about it, but even though I've been using it for over a year I still can't get the hang of a perfect flick with a brush and always end up with smudged, dodgy eyeliner. I stuck with it but I feel much more comfortable with an eyeliner pen, and this one completely does the trick.

Boujois Rouge Edition lipstick in rose tweed
I love a subtle lip colour (I always want to try red but am not brave enough) and it has to be matte - I really dislike sheen on my lips. My favourite lipstick is Clinique's Long Last in Creamy Nude but as I've been rocking this for so long I thought I needed a change. This Boujois lipstick is AMAZING. It's such a gorgeous colour and seems to be pretty long lasting too (I'm sipping on a hot cuppa at the moment and it's staying put).

And here is the end product of my makeup haul:

The only products I added were my Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush (I don't need to buy any blusher for a zillion years as I have so many Clinique samples it's unreal) and Even Better Eyes concealer (the most reliable product in the history of makeup). At the weekend I will most probably add some eyeshadow and my Benefit high beam, and a couple more lashings of mascara to make my eyes stand out and ensure it lasts throughout the day.

Total: £32 - Boots are doing a good few buy one get one half price offers at the moment.

What's in your make up essentials bag?

Dans x

My life in pictures #10

I have exciting news that I've been keeping for you... I bought a Fiat 500 on Saturday!!!

And I picked it up today!!!

Ahhh I am IN LOVE.

I passed my driving test on 19 February 2010. I was sooo nervous because I wasn't getting on with my original driving instructor, so I switched instructors only four weeks before my test, also switching from a diesel car to a petrol, which was probably the biggest change.

My little brother, who was 17 at the time (early driving starter) had his original test in January but because of the snow it was postponed... to the same day as mine! He pulled up outside home (with my old driving instructor - cringe) just as I was setting off for my hour lesson before my test. He told me smugly that he had passed with 4 minors, so it put the pressure on a bit!

So I beat him by passing with no minors, of course.

I got my first car the week after, and at the time it was the most expensive thing I had ever bought! It was a lilac T reg KA and cost me about £1200. I LOVED IT. I loved my car and I loved my sudden freedom! But it must have been a bad choice because I did nothing but throw money at it, and in October 2011 just as DC and I decided we were going to start saving for a house, my car failed its MOT and the garage predicted it would cost £700 to fix, but because it was the welding underneath the car that was the problem, the bottom of the car was literally falling apart and I was warned that it wouldn't last another year.

So I tearfully said goodbye to my first beloved car and it was driven off by Dad to the tip. I was so upset, it seemed like the end of the world, but I knew that my money would be better put towards the saving of the house deposit instead of chucking it at a piece of metal.

So I couldn't afford another car until I started to save this January. And it feels like I haven't had one for forever! I was looking forward to going to look for a car on Saturday for so long, but I'm an anxious person so I lost a lot of sleep over the fact I'd probably have to test drive a car, and I was also worried that they would somehow say no I wasn't allowed one - I knew there was no chance I'd fail a credit check but then it kept playing in the back of my mind.

Anyway, come Saturday morning and the sales guy was really nice, they had my chosen colour in stock, the offer that I was after was still on, and I sailed through the test drive (after stalling at the petrol station before I even started). And he told me I could collect it on Wednesday!

So I walked from work to the showroom today and picked up my brand spanking new car and drove it to my parents house. They loved it too and DC met me there. It was such a lovely drive from the showroom to their house; I was so apprehensive about the drive but it was a dream.

I've taken it to the shopping centre to get some mats and then drove it round a few times to get used to it. I also let DC drive it, how lucky was he!

I have been driving DC's car since the end of January, so I have been used to driving again but I was always worried about driving his Astra because it seemed so big compared to my little KA. But this car is lovely and I'm so glad I've got one again to call my own!

Dans