A push in the right direction

My motivation towards exercise and diet had been pretty lacking recently so I thought I would give myself a bit of new inspiration in the form of a "thin" outfit!
After buying tickets for v festival I day dreamed about feeling confident enough to wear a pair of shorts and a crop top without looking like I've been washed up on the beach...que the hunt for the outfit! I decided to go shopping after work on Thursday and found a pair of shorts from topshop and a crop top from newlook that I decided I couldn't live without!
Now I just need to do some bloody exercise!
I've now lost 11lbs since I started my fitness journey and I'm hoping for a good few more before the weather starts getting really nice and it has to be shorts or sweating my ass off in a pair of jeans!
However I've decided to enlist a little help in the next part of my fitness journey...and it comes in 3 parts!
The first is a lovely new bike that I've bought, it's lovely and shiny and yet in ridden, but I WILL be out riding it soon! And I'll just be a blur in front of your eyes!
The second is a product called skinni minni...it's a protein powder and tablet that contains things like green tea and all that other gross tasting good stuff! It's also got amazing reviews so I'm keen to give it a go! (www.skinni-minni.co.uk)
And the third is enrolling on a 4 week fitness challenge ran by quest fitness. You get 3 45minute training classes a week for 4 weeks, along with great nutrition advise. (www.quest-fitness.co.uk)
I'm hoping that I've got the right recipe for a confident summer...here's hoping!
Anyway got to fly...I've got a doughnut to eat...ahh only joking, it's a cup if tea for me!

Something from the past

A few of you will know that when I was younger I used to write poems, some were serious and others were short and more light hearted.
When I went back to Scilly over Easter I found some of them in a draw and thought I would share some of the first ones I remember writing. I don't think I was any older than 10 so they're not very good. But they might just make you crack a smile...enjoy!


My Daddy John

My daddy John has a bottom like a bomb
And when it goes of I don't stand there very long.


My Mummy

My Mummy is funny,
She tells me I come from her tummy.
But I think she is telling me tales,
Because my friend Sarah says she comes from Wales.


My friend Maddy

My friend Maddy's idea of fun,
Is to make funny noises come out of her bum.
Now this is something she does very well,
But I really do wish that they didn't smell.

(She doesn't actually spent all her time farting...just incase you wondered!)


The world according to a 10 year old! Interesting hey!...I promise they did start to get better!

Long coat, brief case and a sharp elbow or two

At any other time of day the business professionals that don long black coats, leather brief cases and shiny shoes are the kind of people your parents always hope you'll end up with. Impeccable manors, well spoken and a large salary to go with it...so why from the period of 8:00-9:00 do these coat clad business men think it's okay to push in front of you as the train approaches the platform, okay to shove you out of the way when the train doors open and elbow you in the side in order to get the last seat in the carriage?
It seems rush hour for some is an excuse to leave manors on the platform and engage in some sort of wrestling match with the rest of the train.
I would just like it known that I have no idea why any parent would want their child to end up with such an aggressive elbow basher!
I also think it would be a thoroughly good idea if rush hour behaviour lessons were made mandatory within schools, to minimise the risk of anyone else having to suffer the rush hour man!

Smells like summer

This last week has really began to feel like summer is on the way! After finishing work on Wednesday I went to meet Sam and our house mates in the pub for a drink, it was a bit windy but the sun was out and I was determined to make the most of it! We had already arranged to have a BBQ so after our drinks we walked home and got everything ready. The boys managed to get the BBQ going really well and I was soon surrounded by the smell of the meat cooking. I love nothing more than a good BBQ in the summer, a perfect excuse to make the most of the summer sun, spend time with friends and eat good food.
We were slightly unconvential in our BBQ buying because we bought it last October when it really wasn't very warm anymore, we've since suffered -3 temperatures to eat our bbqed delights so this week felt like a real treat!

Thursday was then spent nursing hangovers and lounging in bed...fine by me! In the afternoon Sam and I decided to be adventurous and get the train to Wimbledon to go to Chipotle- a Mexican burrito restaurant we wanted to try. We showered, dressed and set off, but you see we're not very good at sticking with our original plans! On the way to the train station nerves kicked in about how spicy the burritos would be (I'm a lemon and herb nandos girl!) so we decided we would just go to Twickenham and get something to eat there. By this time it was 5:00 and we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast so we were pretty hungry! (Aka I was ready to start eating Sam!) we walked through twickenham, even taking a little detour down to the river, a lovely sight but still no food...then we spied a sign for an all day breakfast, hangover tummy kicking in we decided to pop in. We got our drinks and asked for the menu...to be told the kitchens closed...FANTASTIC we thought!...I love not eating! ...hungover, hungry and getting grumpy we paid and continued our walk...in fact we walked right through Twickenham, back into Whitton and home...with no food...tummys rumbling Sam started cooking as soon as we got through the door, and I got a take away nandos with my housemate...only 3 hours later than expected, but that chicken was bloody good!

Today was an equally lovely day and I was lucky enough to spend it in my room, in front of the computer doing uni work :( The thought of sitting in the garden doing work was so appealing, but instantly ruined when the realisation hit me that we don't have a table or chairs in the garden, and I don't have a laptop...
Summer days wasted- 1
Words written for assignment 2050
Sorry summer, you can't win them all!

Some things you need to know about boys

I've been with my lovely boyfriend for 5 years now and I'm currently living with him and 3 other guy friends so I thought I would share a few things I've learnt!

1) They fart...a lot...and they smell...really bad
2) They're incapable of putting clean dishes away
3) They're really messy...like REALLY messy
4) Most of them don't know how to use a washing machine
5) They like to leave boxers on the floor because it adds "character" to the room
6) There idea of a healthy meal is a kebab with salad
7) They play far too much Xbox and should definitely have square eyes by now!
8) Football talk can last for hours
9) They're very good at taking the bins out
10) They use the phrase YOLO to justify the mistakes they make
11) They don't know how to put a new toilet roll on the holder
12) They will always like your side of the bed better than there's and will always try to kick you out!

There you go, just a few little things I thought you should know :)

Fit by summer

Operation fit by summer is increasing in importance! It's my birthday in less than a month and I've just bought tickets to go to V festival with my friend...unfortunately operation fit by summer has also never looked less likely!
Don't get me wrong I'm giving it a go, but the universe keeps telling me to eat cake. And really who am I to disobey the universe!
I've used up all my personal training sessions so I'm going to go and see my trainer this evening and sign up for something else, possibly some classes, and I've been asked if I want to go swimming...honestly that idea is pretty scary! Especially after being on scilly and consuming double my body weight in food...oops! :)
If anyone reading this has the ability to magic weight away then please let me know...you'll be my new best friend!
I've also been thinking about signing up for a bikeathon type thing but I haven't been brave enough yet!

Just a little post...

So today a big old yellow thing came out to play...that's right the sun came out and for today at least, it has felt like summer!
I was working today and as I walked to the bus stop to get my bus I felt smug in the fact that I was I was only wearing a jumper, this smugness then turned to dread when I realised it would probably start raining by the time I finished work...but something truly magical happened...it stayed...that big yellow blob stayed in the sky and warmed up my walk home, in fact it warmed it up so much I walked straight to the pub and had a drink...I really hope this weather is here to stay because for a few lovely hours I forgot about the rain, wind and cold...instead my day was filled with cake decorating (my job is seriously the best!) and looking forward to catching the last of the sun after work :) I could really get used to spring!

Today was made even better when I realised its now a month till my birthday :) yay! I've been wondering what will happen about a cake, as a trainee baker I'm usually the one baking the cakes...so does this mean I don't get one? Or will I have to bake one myself? Hmm...if any lovely person would like to bake me a birthday cake please feel free!

Tomorrow I'm back to uni, I can't say I'm looking forward to it as it means I've got to finally face the mountain of work I've been ignoring over the Easter holiday! I've done a pretty good job of ignoring it actually, but now it's time to face it and crack on...yawn!

Not much else to day to today...i think I'm suffering slightly with bloggers block. Don't worry it's not as painful as it sounds! Until next time...

Goodbyes are not fun

My trip home is quickly coming to an end...I thought 10 days would be enough but when it comes to seeing family and friends there will never be enough time.

It's been so lovely seeing every and catching up on the last 7 months. The diet has definitely taken a back seat and dinners out, lunch out, baking and cocktails have been at the forefront. But it's been bloody lovely!

Talking to everyone about how much I'm enjoying being in London has made me realise just how far I've come, I was amongst the people who thought I would get home sick, have panic attacks all the time and be back within a month but I think I've surprised myself and everyone else by just how happy I am there.

But tonight the goodbyes started again (do they ever get easier?) I spent the afternoon with my sister and nephews, had tea with my brother, and drinks with the girls. Tomorrow is my last day and I'm planning on spending it with my parents before leaving for London on Friday morning :)

But never fear, I'm hoping to come over during the summer :) ...don't miss me too much!

Swapping the city for the sea

Since Wednesday I've been back on Scilly, spending time with my family and catching up with friends. I've still got until Friday so hopefully the weather will be nice. 

It's been so nice catching up with everyone, I can't believe how much my nephews have grown up! I reckon next time I'm over they'll both be as tall as me! Saturday night was spent having dinner with the girls and going to the disco...is it bad I've missed the disco? Hmm don't answer that!...the only bad thing is the battering my diet has taken! Catching up over a plate of spinach is not the same as a nice meal out. Oops! Back on the diet on Friday :( 

Today is going to be spent making bread, scones, jam tarts and other baked loveliness with my parents...yeah the diet is definitely suffering! I'll post some pictures if it all looks nice :) for now though, you can enjoy these pictures of the sea :) 

Happy Baking- Oreo Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Time for some weekend baking! This time I'm going to treat you to my FAVOURITE cupcake recipe- Oreo Cookies and Cream...YUM!
Don't be out off by the big list of ingredients, they're actually really simple and will be so worth it at the end!

Makes 12-18 cupcakes (depends greatly on the size of your case- I use muffin cases from Lakeland and usually get 12-15 per batch)

Ingredients-

For the cupcakes-
340g Plain Flour
110g Cocoa Powder
280g Caster Sugar
3/4 Teaspoom Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 Teaspoom Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
120ml Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
180ml Milk
180ml Hot Water
24 Oreos (for 12 cupcakes, if you get slightly more out of your mix then you'll need some more biscuits!)
For the icing-
500g Icing Sugar
160g Unsalted Butter
50ml Milk
2 Oreo Biscuits (blitzed in a food processor so they are fine crumbs)

Method-
1) Pre heat the oven to 180C and line a muffin tin with paper cases.
2) For the cupcakes- Mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
2) Mix the eggs, oil, vanilla and milk together in a smaller bowl and then add to the dry ingredients and mix through.
3) Add the hot water to the mixture and mix through.
4) Break 12 Oreo cookies into approximate quarters and add to the mixture and stir to evenly distribute.
5) Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are about 3/4 full. If you have extra mixture left without cookies in then just break up a couple more Oreos and add them in.
6) Bake the cupcakes for approximately 20 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
7) When the cupcakes are baked transfer to a wire rack to cool and start on the icing.
8) For the icing- put the butter, icing sugar and milk into a bowl and mix using a hand or stand mixer for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. (Start mixing slowly so it doesn't go everywhere!)
9) Add the Oreo crumbs and mix through until the icing is the colour you want.
10) Pipe or smooth the icing on top of the cooled cupcakes and finish with a whole Oreo cookie.
11) Eat!!

Recipe based on a recipe from bakerella

Reality V Imagination

Since moving to London I like to think to think of myself as a "Londoner" working in the outskirts and commuting into central for University. I regularly drink tea in take away cups, have a slip for my Oyster card and order my shopping online (this is only because I don't have a car)
However I sometimes get carried away and see myself as a London goddess who breezes through the streets wearing Jimmy Choos, food shopping in Marks and Spencer and Health Foods, clothes shopping in Harrods and Selfridges, getting lunch delivered to me by some fancy "gourmet" sandwich makers, going to Pilates classes and generally being fabulous at everything...the reality, well that's a little different...

I traipse across the underground in my Office boots, do my food shopping in Tesco and if I'm pushing the boat out then Sainsburys. I go clothes shopping in Newlook, H and M, Topshop and other high street favourites, I take a packed lunch into uni and work to save money, I have personal training classes at a large expense to my bank account (still tying to convince myself I can afford them!)...

But actually I'm not sure I could be happier. I'm heading for exactly where I want to go, I've made some lovely friends and I'm enjoying doing things I at one point didn't think I would be able to do...but I'm still saving a space in my woredrobe for a pair Jimmy Choos! And I'll get there...I'll take over the world, one little cupcake at a time! :)

Primark, Camden, dippy eggs and BBQ's

This last week has been lovely, one of my best friends made the long old journey up to London to stay with me for a week.
After planning it in November I was pretty sure it was never going to come around, but it did!...yay! :)
The week started with being rudely woken by my alarm clock at 4:30 so I could go and meet her at Paddington. (Don't worry it was worth it!) I hadn't actually seen her since September because of the distance and cost of getting to/from London to Scilly. But after massive hugs at the train station everything clicked back into place perfectly. I think that's when you know you have a true friend, someone that you don't need to speak to every day, week or even month but that when you see each other again it's like that time apart never happened!...that's what we have, and I'm incredibly lucky!
For our first full day in London we decided to hit Kingston to do some shopping and catch up over tea. However it all went a bit wrong when we went to Primark, we both tried clothes on and unfortunately my friend left her bag in the changing room for about 2 minutes and some disgusting scum riffled through and stole her phone, camera and money! The security guards in Primark were less than helpful and I was left with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach for the rest of the day, while feeling completely responsible. Primark you are crap! Vodafone stuff, police lady and lovely boyfriend and housemates you are all amazing and the day would of been impossible without you!
Primark and scummy girls- 0
Vodafone staff, police lady, boyfriend, and housemates- 1
After the rather eventful first day I'm pleased to say it did get much better! We decided we wanted to go Camden market for the afternoon, and after a couple of hours freezing our t**s off we left with some good purchases, and even managed to get the price down.
The next couple of days were nice and chilled out, lots of chatting, gossiping, catching up and laughing. (I sure miss female company living with 4 guys!)
Easter Sunday was spent napping after going out the night before and not sleeping, eating dippy eggs with homemade bread soldiers (cooked to perfection, even if I do say so myself!- I'm such a good housemate!!) and watching films in our pjs! Our planned BBQ went a little wrong when we all piled into the car, took the drive to tesco and realised that it was closed, along with every other food shop we could think of. But fear not...we did not starve! Nando's take away well and truly saved the day! :)
Yesterday was our last full day in London together so we booked into Jamie's Italian for lunch as a treat...and a treat it was! I've just been given a gold card so when we arrived we were given free Parma ham to nibble on while we browsed the menu...the food was lovely! My friend had the salmon which smelled and looked amazing and I had ricotta and mushroom stuffed ravioli...yum! We also wondered around Camden before we ate, watching street performers, meeting pepper pig (highlight of my day!) and taking photos of the giant eggs that were part of an Easter egg hunt around the whole of Covent garden.
We then hopped on a train (the wrong one...oops! Maybe I'm not so "London" after all!) and came home to a BBQ cooked by my Lovely Boyfriend and friends. Who cares that it was only 3 degrees outside! It was perfect, and a lovely end to a week with my friend...actually I lie, that's not it...we then decided to play some drinking games, being a person who doesn't usually drink it didn't go too well for me! I was far too drunk and had everyone laughing at just how much of a light weight I am (it really has to be seen to be believed!) everyone else was pretty sober and doing well at the being awake thing. I however found it a struggle and took a little nap on the sofa, only to be woken up by a different friend breaking a chair...we're a lovely bunch aren't we!?
So now after about 4 hours sleep I'm making the lovely 6 hour train journey down to Penzance ready to go to Scilly tomorrow. Pretty sure if I fall asleep I'll never wake up...but maybe...just...a...little...nap...ZZZzzzz