Category: Life and Living

5 simple pleasures

A more cheerful post, following yesterday’s gloom and doom fest!

It’s very easy to get caught up in the need to own things, do things, go places, eat out, see stuff and do stuff. I’m terrible for it. But I’m currently feeling the need to strip it all back and do simple (and cheap!) things that will make me happy.

Simple pleasures

Here’s what I have in mind:

Reading
I got through a couple of books on holiday and really enjoyed them. I want to devote more time to reading again. Curling up on the sofa for a couple of hours and burying my head in a book.

Clearing out old clothes, make up and nail varnishes
This probably won’t make me happy at the time, as I find tidying so dull! But I’ve probably been having some sort of clear out constantly now for about, ooh, 5 years! I need to finally nail it, get rid of all the crap and get my wardrobe/floordrobe in order. Plus I have so much out of date makeup. I was looking for a nail polish last night and found one in my box that I know has to be around 8 years old. Urgh. It’s taking up valuable space so I need to declutter and downsize.

Clearing out my car
I’ve always been one for keeping my car relatively tidy, but in the last couple of months it seems to have descended into a junk skip, with empty crisp packets, water bottles and even wallpaper samples just discarded on the backseat. The husband got in at the weekend and called me out on being a tramp! So this is something I can easily tick off the list and feel good about.

Going out for a walk
There are lots of nice parks and streets where I live, with woodland paths to follow and fancy houses to fantasise over. Just getting out and about, looking at the spring flowers and breathing in the fresh air is good for the soul, and I don’t do enough of it.

Watching films
I always say I haven’t got time to watch a film, or I’m not interested, but invariably I enjoy it. Last night we watched Practical Magic, which was on TV. I’d never have chosen to watch it but I really enjoyed it. Neither me or the husband have seen any of the Harry Potter films, so maybe that could be a plan.

What simple pleasures do you indulge in when you need to kick back and take it easy?

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Jaded…

…is the best word I can think of to describe my physical and mental state after Easter weekend.

As usual I threw myself wholeheartedly into the thought of time off work and no alarms by getting my drink on. Vodka has been the nectar of choice, although wine, shots and – randomly – amaretto also made an appearance.

Because I’m lucky enough not to suffer hangovers, I never feel so bad that I say “I’m never drinking again”. I may feel a little delicate, tired and headachey, but I don’t get sick or dizzy or any of the horrible hangover side effects that might limit one’s future imbibement.

This morning I have had a little wobble at myself for drinking too much. I don’t have an alcohol problem by any means, but I don’t have an off switch. And whilst I’m usually limited by a 2 day weekend, 4 days off at Easter meant more booze than usual. I overindulged more than once and the results weren’t pretty. I got emotional and became a handful and the poor husband had to deal with the results. Not fun, for either of us!

Still, Easter tends to mark a line drawn in the sand between winter and summer, and I become aware of the need to at least try and lose some weight as the weather improves and the layers of clothes decrease. There’ll be post work walks in the evening sunshine, early starts for days out and a real kicker to cut back on the bad stuff so I can strut my stuff in the summer sunshine (I really can’t pull that off! I’m so not a strutter!)

Aside from feeling a bit cross with myself and wishing I was at home in bed, Easter was good. The right balance of doing stuff and not doing stuff, seeing family and friends, a gig, some real life clothes shopping (which I hardly ever do anymore) and a pub lunch with my Mother in Law. A washing machine incident threatened to ruin play on Saturday, but I managed to sort it out (although I did use pretty much every towel we own in the process of draining the water from it!)

It was surprisingly light on pigging out as well, as I didn’t have any chocolate in the flat on Sunday (epic Easter fail), although I did eat my own body weight in roast lamb.

Here’s one of my favourite Aerosmith songs to finish. It was the gorgeous Steven Tyler’s 68th birthday at the weekend. He’s just so cool – you can read my thoughts about him here

How was your Easter?

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

My weekend in pictures

Hey, how was everyone’s weekend? I had quite a busy one, with two Mother’s Day celebrations, and a night out for a friend’s birthday. As a result I’m rather jaded and tired today – roll on hometime!

On Saturday afternoon we went to a pub about half an hour drive from us, called the Warwickshire Lad, with my Mother in Law for lunch. She’s not big on Mother’s Day, and doesn’t like doing anything on the day itself, so Saturday afternoon was ideal. It seemed a few people had the same idea.

The pub is both traditional and contemporary inside; lots of wooden beams and a big original fireplace mix well with sunny windows and big mirrors for a really spacious and bright feel. The menu is a mix of good solid pub grub and gastropub specials.

I went for honey glazed duck breast with rum and blackcherry sauce and new potatoes. The duck was cooked perfectly, not too pink, a bit of crispiness to the skin and succulent and juicy meat. The sauce was subtle; no over riding flavour of either rum or cherry, but it was sweet and not too thick.

Duck with rum and blackcherry sauce

The husband went for Fillet Steak Boston,. which he was incredibly excited about (steak, scallops and whisky sauce; all box tickers for him) but unfortunately it didn’t quite deliver – the steak was medium to well done, rather than medium as requested, and the sauce lacked flavour. A bit disappointing for a £20 main course.

What wasn’t disappointing was my new most bargainous dress – just £6 from the New Look sale! It has bell sleeves, which I love, and a pleasingly swishy skirt. I matched it with tan suede boots and a tan fringed bag.

Looking forward to the weather being warmer and being able to bust this out with bare legs and sandals.

On Saturday night we went to a rock bar in town. I debuted my new Collection Lasting Colour lipstick, which actually isn’t new at all – I bought it months and months ago after seeing it on Holly’s blog (Closing Winter) but haven’t got round to wearing it.

Collection Aubergine Kiss lipstick

Aubergine Kiss lipstick

It’s called Aubergine Kiss and is much darker in real life – a deep black cherry which is very vampy and gothic.

I also wore my new tassel jacket, which is frickin’ awesome, and received many compliments (as well as a description of a gothic Big Bird from Sesame Street!). It was, believe it or not, from Tesco, and reduced to just £20.

F&F tassel jacket

There’s no way I couldn’t keep it. It’s actually the same fabric as my feathery skirt from H&M, but don’t worry, I won’t be wearing them together!

Sunday morning loomed too quickly and I was feeling somewhat delicate, but had to pull myself together to celebrate Mothers Day with my own Mom. She and my sister came over, I cooked baked lamb and potatoes (so much yum) and we drank lots of wine, took lots of selfies and laughed a lot.

A most enjoyable Sunday afternoon and evening.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Why I think an EU referendum is a bad idea

I’m not a political person. I don’t know enough about it, nor do I have any desire to become more involved. That might seem like a terrible attitude about something that is so important to the future of our country and the people in it, but there you go. It’s too confusing. I also think that I’m too much of a little fish in a big pond to make a difference. I appreciate that if everyone thought that way we’d be screwed, but it is what it is. So shoot me.

The trouble with politics is that you’re never going to agree with everything a party stands for, and so you’re immediately setting yourself up for disappointment. They will always agree with/vote for/pass law upon something you don’t like. Don’t get me wrong, I do exercise my right to vote, but it’s probably fair to say that I don’t look into it enough to fully understand everything I’m voting for. Because then I would talk myself into and out of multiple political parties and go round in circles. Ain’t nobody got time for that when there’s holidays to be planned and sales to be shopped.

What I do have a strong opinion on is the upcoming referendum. Not the outcome. I haven’t looked into that enough (surprise!) But the actual handing over of a momentous decision to the great British public.

EU referendum

The public are generally pretty rubbish. We vote for dogs to win Britain’s Got Talent. We watch the Brits (which by all accounts was rubbish, I wouldn’t know as I went to the pub) purely to moan about it on social media. We allow the Daily Fail to exist as an actual news delivering vehicle. None of these things are the behaviour of sensible, well rounded, intelligent beings. How then are we expected to know whether staying in the EU is a good or bad idea?!

Removing my tongue from my cheek for a moment, my concern is that people will be voting for (or against) people because of their feelings towards those people, without understanding the consequences or the bigger picture. There’s a lot of hatred for David Cameron, so there will be people who vote to leave the EU purely because he wants us to stay. “I hate David Cameron therefore I will vote the opposite to what he thinks”. Boris Johnson has a following of people who think he’s a great chap, so perhaps they will vote to leave because that’s what he’s campaigning for. “Boris is fun and he was brilliant on Have I Got News For You, so let’s agree with him” There are those small minded people who think our borders are being overrun by illegal immigrants claiming benefits or stealing “British” jobs, and will therefore vote to leave as an act of British defiance. “It’s our country and we need to regain control before the terrorists take over”. I appreciate that not everyone will vote so frivolously, and some people will actually understand the implications of our involvement in Europe and make an informed decision, but the fact remains that a chunk of people have the power to influence Britain’s future in a huge way, without the knowledge that such power requires.

I understand that there needs to be a referendum, and that the only fair way to do it is hand over the decision to the people who will be affected. It’s not a decision that the Prime Minister or his political party can make – there would be uproar.

But I do think there needs to be a helluva lot more education of Joe Public so that we’re all informed on what it means for us. Perhaps employers need to take some responsibility and explain how an in or out decision will affect their company and job roles, so people understand from a real lifescenario what it mayor may not mean for them.

Or perhaps we need to introduce IQ tests prior to issuing a ballot paper. Weed out the stupid ones so we have a chance of the right result (whatever that may be).

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Love is…fun!

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There’s a lot of things that encapsulate love. The hearts and flowers and mushiness is just a small part of it.

I think that one of the key factors for a long and happy relationship is fun. Being able to laugh with each other and at each other. If someone makes you laugh it’s impossible to stay mad with them for too long. Laughter makes you feel good, so it’s important to do it as much as possible.

With that in mind I found these funny Valentine’s images and cards. I’d be happy to receive any one of these on Valentine’s Day – more so than a fluffy puppy holding a heart saying “I wuff you” any day of the week.

Political and tyrannical (by Ben Kling, check out more here)

Cheesy!

Satirical (although who’d want Kanye’s face in their home?!)

Valentines card Kanye

Simple

The ones below are all from Moonpig, and some oft hem can be personalised, which is always a nice touch.

Observational!

Foodie

And, my personal favourites, punny!

 

What kind of Valentine’s card do you send, if any?

Thanks, as always, for reading!

A (pre) Valentine’s ode to my husband

Roses are red

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I’ve got herpes

So I can’t kiss you

Romantic huh?

(I actually have got herpes, but in the coldsore on my lip variety, not the downstairs region).

In truth, I think Valentine’s Day is a complete waste of time. It makes single people feel crap, it makes people in relationships who’s partner doesn’t shower them with gifts feel crap (if they’re that kind of person) and it’s just a ruddy great commercial load of balls which creates oodles of landfill waste in the shape of soppy cards, overpriced flowers, and scraggy stuffed toys.

You could conclude from that outburst that I don’t believe in romance. You’d be very wrong. Romance to me is the small things – when my husband watches a film he’s not keen on because he knows I like it, when he tells me I’m his favourite person in the world, or strokes my head when I’m feeling poorly. Those are the things that demonstrate love. Gifts are just stuff. It’s easy to buy stuff. I buy stuff for myself. I don’t need stuff from my husband to validate how he feels or what our marriage means to both of us.

There’s something brash and vulgar about certain elements of Valentine’s Day. Like sending flowers to someone at work – why? That’s blatantly to score brownie points and prove to everyone else how much you love that person. If I don’t receive flowers at work but someone else does, does that mean they’re more in love than I am? A better person? A happier couple? Of course it doesn’t.

Anyway, my husband has the best excuse for never sending me flowers – he has severe hayfever and we can’t have them in the house (a likely story, I know, but it’s true!)

Besides, the overpriced rip off of Valentine’s Day is ridiculous. Why would you spend money on a meal which is usually a “special menu” (translates to reduced choice) in a restaurant that has blatantly squeezed in more tables than usual to capitalise on our need to prove our love, surrounded by other suckers doing the same thing and wondering why their partner has only ordered white wine when the table next to them has champagne?

Not for me. We’ll exchange cards and might even be extra nice to each other for the day (I’m kidding. We won’t). But, as the saying goes, we don’t need one day to prove our love.

And, luckily, I don’t need flowers either!

What do you think of Valentine’s Day?

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

A “chemical” diet – my diary

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No, not taking drugs!

A couple of weeks ago I saw a couple of people on Twitter (@CarrieanneDrew from beautiesunlocked.com and @QueenBeady from queenbeady.com) talking about a diet where you can lose a stone in a week.

Now I know that’s ridiculous and unhealthy and all that jazz. But I’m not a patient person and I like immediate results so I thought it might kickstart me a little and give me the inspiration to get off my lazy ass and start doing stuff. I was under no illusion that I’d lose a stone (in fact I didn’t really want to, that’s scary stuff!) but half a stone would be nice and then I could transfer to healthy eating and exercise.

While the basis is very limited calories, the success comes from the composition of meals and food and how they react together to trigger weight loss. There can be no substitutes, even for items with the same calorific content, as that messes with the chemical side of things.

Here’s the diet.

Chemical diet

Now I love boiled eggs and I love grapefruit, so this seemed perfectly do-able to me. I’ve read a lot of forums of people who’ve done it and many people complain about grapefruit (it seems it’s an acquired taste). But the over-riding feedback is that it works.

Here’s how I got on:

Starting weight – 11 stone (eek!)

Day 1 – feeling optimistic and excited. Also nervous! Toast with tinned tomatoes was good. I didn’t expect fruit for lunch to fill me up, but it did! I had strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and pineapple. Boiled eggs for dinner. Salad consisted of spinach, rocket, red pepper, grated carrot & fresh beetroot.

Boiled egg salad

I’m not sure if that’s within the salad guidelines, but I don’t like the traditional lettuce/tomato/cucumber combo. Grapefruit after dinner was good – the red variety are a lot sweeter.

Day 2 – Breakfast of egg and grapefruit was fine.

Grapefruit

Didn’t enjoy lunch much as I had to reheat the chicken. Used 4 cherry tomatoes and a splash of tinned chopped tomatoes so I had some juice to dip the toast in. I was looking forward to steak for dinner, but without seasoning it was slightly bland. The salad was iceberg lettuce, red onion and a chopped red chilli. Unfortunately I added too much chilli and onion and could taste it for the rest of the night. Craved chocolate/something sweet badly, but resisted.

Day 3 – I weighed myself and had lost 4lbs!

Breakfast of egg and grapefruit was enjoyable again, although I felt hungry by the time I even got to work. Fruit for lunch – I had strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, pineapple, mango and mixed grapes.

Fruit for lunch

By the time I finished work I was feeling a little bit wibbly and shaky, like I hadn’t eaten enough. I got stuck in motorway traffic which didn’t help, then had to stop for petrol. I simultaneously remembered some cheese doritos in the cupboard, which I began obsessing over! Had half of my grapefruit as soon as I got in, to stave off hunger pains and give me a sugar boost, then gave in and had two doritos. I was cooking chill for the husband, and I have to say that my chilli is really good, so I caved and had a couple of spoonfuls and some more doritos. Lamb was good (I had steaks instead of chops). For the salad I chopped up some red onion and tomato into tiny pieces and added some garlic pepper to make a salsa type dressing (I read this suggestion on a forum). Everything just feels a bit bland though due to the lack of seasoning. So I gave in and had some more chilli (only a couple more spoonfuls) and a couple of handfuls of doritos. So good! Then I finished off the Cadbury’s chocolate shoe from my birthday. Felt horribly guilty, but satiated to have had some actual flavour! I was probably still under the recommended 2000 calories a day because I hadn’t eaten much at breakfast or lunch, but had totally fucked up the chemical balance of the diet.

Day 4 – weighed myself expecting bad things, but no change; still 4lbs down

I wasn’t looking forward to a slice of dry toast, but it was surprisingly edible. Fruit for lunch – same combo as yesterday. Dinner of boiled eggs and salad, on a Friday night, jeez! An afternoon text to the husband bemoaning the state of my life (!!) was reciprocated with him also craving something nice, so we ended up going out for Moroccan food, oops. The food was pretty healthy (mussels to start, chicken tagine with cous cous, sautéed potatoes and tomato and onion salad) but the beer and wine weren’t. I’m so easily persuaded! But I was really missing flavour and spice and taste, so I didn’t even feel guilty!

Day 5 – I felt slightly hungover and the thought of dry toast didn’t appeal, so I switched it up and had grapefruit instead. Fruit for lunch – pineapple, mango and mixed grapes. Around lunchtime I started feeling poorly with a cold and was snotting and sneezing all afternoon (if sneezing was classed as exercise I did a work out and a half!) I had to cancel plans to see friends, which had also involved a much longed for takeaway, but felt so poorly and sorry for myself that I just had two slices of dry toast and some tinned tomatoes. I don’t like to think the illness was punishment for spectacularly falling off the diet wagon on Friday night, but who knows?!

Day 6 – by now I had realised that I’m a weak and pathetic person who deserves to be heavier than I want to be forever so I decided to not even pretend to stick to it any longer. I had a healthy breakfast of omelette (two eggs, mushrooms, peppers, one babybel and some chopped tomato & onion relish) then in the evening had a roast dinner with chicken, roast potatoes, parsnips, stuffing, sprouts, roast carrots and gravy. Lush.

So, what did I learn? Surprisingly, quite a lot. It actually wasn’t a complete waste of time!

I learnt that I don’t need to snack between meals when I’m at work – and I won’t die if I feel hungry.

I learnt that fruit is much more filling than I realised and I can eat it as a meal.

I learnt that I’d forgotten how much I love grapefruit! Definitely a weekly staple in my grocery shopping from now on.

I learnt that breaking the habit of alcohol in the week isn’t that difficult.

Obviously I also learnt that my willpower is even more pathetic than I thought.

And that I rely on flavour and spice to enjoy meals.

Post diet, I have been having half a grapefruit and a boiled egg for breakfast which has kept me going until lunch (previously I would have two boiled eggs and a mid morning snack of low fat crisps). I’ve been having vegetables and meat for lunch – probably around 250 calories – and not needing an afternoon snack (I would usually have a babybel).Yesterday and today I had only fruit for breakfast (half a grapefruit followed by raspberries and blackberries) and my world didn’t end. I didn’t faint or eat my own arm.

So that’s progress!

I might try the diet again in a couple of weeks, but with a few tweaks so I can stick to it. Perhaps some flavouring on the meat or a spray of balsamic vinegar on the salad.

In the meantime I’m going to stick with my breakfast and lunchtime patterns, try and get to the gym (famous last words) and cut out alcohol for alcohol’s sake (sob, I do love having an evening drink after work).

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

World Cancer Day

World Cancer Day

I understand the sentiment behind World Cancer Day. I think it’s important to acknowledge people who have fought it, beaten it, been affected by it, continue to struggle with it.

I don’t take anything away from anyone who posts on social media lighting a candle for those people, or a meme, or inspiring quotes that “we will fight it and we will win”.

But when your Dad was diagnosed with inoperable cancer at the age of 57, and you know he’s not going to be “one of the lucky ones”, and you know how, if not when, it’s all going to end…

Well then it’s hard to have any level of optimism or belief in research, treatment or the future.

Fuck you cancer.

5 things to consider when leaving a Tripadvisor review

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I rely heavily on reviews when it comes to booking hotels, restaurants, or even visiting attractions so I think it’s important for me to contribute honestly to review sites as a “thank you”; putting something back in for other travellers. Plus good reviews are just as important as bad – people are often vocal when they have something to criticise or complain about, but credit where credit’s due is important for both the business and the customer.

I had an email from TripAdvisor telling me that I finished 2015 in the top 1% off Birmingham reviewers, with 56,093 readers (go me!) so I must be doing something right!

TripAdvisor top 1%

Here are my top 5 tips for leaving a review.

1) Use correct spelling and grammar. If you can’t articulate yourself well, who’s going to take your opinion seriously? (clue, not me)

2) Only review things that are within control of the establishment. Marking a hotel down because it rained for your whole trip is just dumb. They can’t control the weather!

3) Be reasonable about expectation vs. reality. Going to a restaurant in Spain and then complaining they don’t serve chips shows a lack of culture and brains.

4) Be honest but tactful. Not happy? Explain what the problem was with facts, not just by saying “everything was shit”. If the food was cold or your order was wrong then say so, without getting personally rude about the chef or waiting staff.

5) Be sensible. Visiting castle ruins and complaining there isn’t a lot there is just a waste of your time typing and a visitor’s time reading.

Are you a review writer or reader? Let me know any daft ones you’ve seen!

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

New Year’s Resolutions

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I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions. I think January is a difficult enough time without depriving yourself of something you enjoy (which is generally what resolutions amount to).

New Year's Resolutions

I mean, I’ve just enjoyed 10 days off work eating and drinking and making merry and now it’s January, it’s cold and dark, all the fun bits have gone and there’s nothing to look forward to until Spring. Why would I make that worse by not having a biscuit or a glass of wine? (I’ve had neither today, yet).

I also don’t see the point in setting goals that you know you might fail at, which will then just make you feel crap for being rubbish. Again, why?

Cutting things out can’t lead to anything good. I did dry January once and the first time I had a drink at the end of it I was pissed and asleep on my friend’s sofa within about an hour.

And just the word – resolution – it sounds so harsh and severe!

Having said that, after all the indulgence of the festive period, I am usually pretty ready to start eating more healthily and generally not being as much of a glutton. And I certainly need to lose a few pounds which steadily crept on last year, because I threw caution to the wind from about October onwards!

I do have some “good intentions” which are more around personal experience and comfort than changing myself, but they’re evolutionary processes rather than new starts. Such as cutting down the amount of clothes I own (which I’ve been doing for about, oh I dunno, 5 years now). Wasting less time on mindless stuff on my phone when I could be reading a book (I had some corkers for Christmas). Things that are achievable and can be done bit by bit instead of being a major life change.

And if I do need to do something huge, or cut something out, or do something new, then I’ll do it quietly and in my own way and time, rather than making a big public declaration and then falling on my ass when I fail (notice I say when, not if!)

Today’s achievement – getting out of bed, getting to work on time and surviving the day. That’s harder than eating less than 1500 calories, not having a glass of wine or avoiding the biscuit tin for sure!

Have you made any NewYear’s resolutions?

Thanks, as always, for reading!