The Eve of 2014 | Resolutions

Setting the scene: It's Tuesday afternoon on New Years Eve and I write this post from my bedroom in Leeds. My parents are at work and I have plans to celebrate the New Year with friends in the evening. Scrolling through my news feed I can't help but notice the generic 'New Year, New Me' status' which have got me thinking about 2014.

New years resolutions are not my strongest points. I've committed myself to the gym - hated it; vowed never to eat a carb again - I effing love potatoes; this year I'm trying to think outside of the box. By definition, a Resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something, so I thought I'd share my realistic goals for 2014...

001. My first resolution is my favourite - you're reading it. I've had many false starts with blogging but this time I felt I had a purpose and so I got a head start on the new year by beginning as I mean to go on. It's a way that I can fit all of my favourite things in to life outside of my day job!

002. With twelve official months left of my apprenticeship I aim to make the most of every single city I live in and come across. Exploring and getting to know Manchester has been fun but I want to take it up a level by finding new events and experiences across the city. Groupon deals shall become my forte!

003. It's safe to say that moving away from home (Leeds), my family and friends in 2013 was insanely exciting and a little bit scary. So friends, family, if you're reading this I propose many more trips to London - or wherever I may be!

004. Tick more things off my bucket list (some of which are on my pinterest) and add a hell of a lot more to it! I at least want to go to Amsterdam or generally anywhere in Europe and bungee jump (we'll see about that one!) this year.

005. And finally, to continue a little of what I've already been doing. 2013 has been a long year, but also a really good one. I finally found a job I love which came with new friends for life, went to Istanbul, to live gigs and festivals, to a museum(!) finally made it to Chester Zoo after two years of waiting and actually look back on the year as time well spent - here's an extremely brief summary in photographs!

I love hearing about other peoples resolutions, what are yours?

Anyway, here's to the fabulous year to come. I hope 2013 was good to you all and that 2014 is going to be even better! Now go celebrate the new year with your favourite people!

Lx

Weekend wish list | 001

1. Fuck You necklace - Regal RoseDespite the fact that my mother would disapprove, I can't help but love this necklace! I keep eyeing it up but just haven't plucked up the courage to buy it. It would make many unwanted situations much simpler.

2. Silver trinket ring - Regal Rose

Having recently accumulated many rings (they all of a sudden seem to be an absolute necessity when piecing any outfit together) I've come to the conclusion that I love silver jewellery. I've always worn gold but think it's time for a change. If only this wasn't sold out - it could have been the beautiful beginning of my soon to be ginormous collection!

3. STrong ring - Super Trash

Another ring; I really like jewellery with statement words and already have several 'love' bangles and rings. I like the message of this ring though and think it sums Super Trash up very well!

4. Mink fur gillet - Rare London

Family members have inspired me this Christmas and I'm now lusting after the perfect gillet. I love the colour mink, it's simple yet classic (dare I say chic?!) and goes with everything. Teamed with leather trousers and some silver jewellery, maybe even the Regal Rose ring, it'd make a perfect date night outfit.

5. Ear piercings

Ok, so this is not technically an item to buy but I am dying for a new piercing. I keep stumbling upon this image on Pinterest and absolutely love the piercing placements and earrings. I think this is definitely a task for my return to Manchester in the new year. 

6. Lulu Guinness birdcage umbrella - House of Fraser

I've been putting off buying a new umbrella for way too long now. My existing umbrella is the butt of many jokes; it is rusty and requires various alterations just to get it into place, and then after all this hard work it folds back down anyway! In a dream world, I would snap this Lulu Guinness creation up in a heartbeat *dreams of a life full of wonderfulness*.

What are you lusting after? If anyone could recommend any piercing shops in Manchester then let me know!

L x

Run Forest, run!

Recently I've really been getting in to living a healthy lifestyle. In all honesty, I think I had a bit of 'staring at Lucy Mecklenburgh too much' syndrome and became a little envious. It sparked me to buy a clean eating book and to start attending an outdoor bootcamp class; surprisingly, it's nowhere near as scary as it sounds.

I've been going to a local bootcamp since around the end of May. After getting a new job, I wasn't able to easily go to my regular gym anymore and had to cancel my membership. I was looking for a new affordable gym when I realised how enormously boring it actually is. So I began looking for new ways to get in shape and there it was; local, affordable, sociable and most importantly, fun! I genuinely look forward to going on an evening and no matter what type of day I've had, everything is great as soon as I've hit bootcamp.

It's not easy and there are no excuses with the trainers, but it's so worth the results!

I orginally purchased the Clean and Lean Diet Cookbook by James Duigan on a whim when I had the slightest motivation. But when I actually started reading it made complete sense. The point of the book is to drop the diets and take on a complete lifestyle change. The basis of the idea is to only eat foods that are in their natural state, or extremely close to it. It's all about clearing your body of toxins and giving it only what it needs, not what it wants. Don't get me wrong, by no means at all do I stick to this idea 100% - sometimes Mum's spaghetti bolognaise literally calls my name! But I do try to switch to healthier alternatives such as whole wheat or even quinoa.

I've recently started trying out some great recipes that I found online; my next mission is desserts (I'm a sucker for anything sweet). I really love cooking so I'm sure that I'll be sharing all my favourite foodie blogs soon!

The neglected blog

So my last post was published over a month ago... oops! I feel like I should have an excellent excuse for this but all I can say is that July is always the busiest month of my year. I thought I'd fill you in as to what I've been up to over my month of blogging neglect.

When I arrived back from Turkey, all of my friends had come home from uni (yay!) so we've been doing the usual going out and generally catching up on each others gossip. I also went to see two films at the cinema this month and neither say much about my mental age (Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University - I don't care how old you are, go see them)!

There have been several birthdays this month too, including my own twenTEENTH on 21st July! I'm still grasping on to my teenage years. Something about turning twenty hit a nerve amongst me and all my friends, but so far I can't complain. I spent the weekend celebrating my own birthday with family as well as one of my best friends birthday in Headingley! I got some amazing gifts including some Ted Baker earrings, a cute new purse and a gorgeous hair bun decoration thing - I have no idea what they're called - oh and a bottle of Gordans Gin. My nearest and dearest certainly know me well.

I've been down to London three times this month for job interviews (I'm keeping hush for the time being, I don't want to jinx anything) and also for the Yahoo! Wirless Festival. Wireless was amazing; I went with a friend on Saturday when Jay-Z was headlining. It was such a gorgeous day and the atmosphere was second to none - if it's your kind of music too, then I would definitely recommend it! We arrived on Friday and so had a great evening in Canary Wharf. I love London, it never ceases to amaze me.

To sum up my month, it has been pretty hectic and filled with birthday celebrations, job interviews, a festival and slight bit of lazing. I will post later in the week with some new content to come soon.

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It's gonna be everything you ever dreamed

I am back! Back to work and normality but still in the blissful state of being on holiday.

Istanbul was amazing, beautiful and 'Bazaar' (ha ha excuse my terrible pun - I couldn't help myself!). It was filled with interesting people and things and had that lovely Turkish culture mixed in with a vibrant, busy city. Of course the gorgeous weather kind of helped too. It is an extremely huge place and by no means did I see it all, but what I did see has persuaded me to go back and explore the rest in the future.

I still haven't got through all of my photos but here are a few from the first part of my trip in Istanbul and also of the beautiful Altinkum which is on the Aegean Coast and is where I spent the remainder of my holiday.

#1 The Blue Mosque

#2 The Grand Bazaar

#3 Istinye Park

#4 Didim Marina

#5 Altinkum

#6 Instagram

During my stay in Istanbul we ended up at the most amazing shopping centre by accident (#3). It was genuinely the best mistake I have ever made! Istinye Park was filled with a range of high street stores, including Zara, Mango, Bershka and Pull and Bear, but it also had some great Turkish high street fashion and high-end designer. By far my favourite store was Yargici where I purchased some pumps and a gorgeous white slogan t-shirt. I love going to other countries and checking out their high-street fashion chains. It's great to get those sneaky buys that you can't easily get hold of at home.

Have you ever been to Turkey or Istanbul? Let me know your thoughts and experiences...

Preparing for Istanbul

There are only three words that can sum up the past few days.

Last. Minute. Shopping.

I hate it! Over the weekend (which seems to have extended to today) I have been on the hunt for those last few items on my holiday shopping list. They're the things that I always put off and often resent buying because they seem pointless as I only wear them for the holiday season. Anyway, moaning aside I think that I have actually got everything that I need without over packing which is always a bonus as the less baggage weight I have going out, the more I can bring back - and I intend to bring a lot!

I am so excited to visit Istanbul and feel like it is completely underrated. Although, I probably shouldn't say that until I have been and can give a valid verdict which I will be doing on my return.

I digress - the original purpose of this post was to show you my favourite holiday purchases.

 

 

 

 

Jacket - Dorothy Perkins

This is my favourite purchase by far. When I first saw this jacket I had to double check which store I was in and I'm sure you had to do a double take too. I love the woven pattern and had been eyeing up similar versions from Monsoon but could never justify the hefty price tag.

Straw Floppy Hat - Dorothy Perkins

This was an absolute steal as it came to just £8.40! I definitely need to invest in more hats soon.

Necklace - Topshop

I finally bought this necklace after lusting after it every time I went in to Topshop. It's a little bit tribal and goes great with this jacket. Decorative necklaces are a something I'm starting to collect, along with my ever growing jackets collection.

Tan Chunky Heels - Topshop

Ok, so these aren't exactly brand new but I love them! I tried to save them for my trip but couldn't resist taking them on a night out last bank holiday - they served me well though as they were unbelievably comfy! I've got so many holiday outfits planned around these.

I had better get ready and finish my packing!

Let me know your thoughts and see you in two weeks...

New beginnings

Just a quick post to say "bare with me"! I'm a slight perfectionist and am currently in the process of figuring out html (well, rediscovering it from my piczo days!) and trying to get the layout of my blog right before I get in to the full swing of posting.

I hope to start within the next month and will have lots to share by then, including a trip to Istanbul, Turkey. So if you just so happened to stumble upon my blog then thank you and come back soon - hopefully I won't disappoint!

L xoxo