Baby Shower Gifts

My gorgeous friend is having a baby and I'm more than a little bit excited. She's my first close friend to be pregnant and I cannot wait to meet her little one. She hasn't found out if she's having a boy or a girl so the gifts I've bought are gender neutral but still exceptionally cute.

I was keen to get a mix of cute and practical things as babies are tiny but rather expensive for new mums and dads. The adorable newborn sheep outfit is from John Lewis. Apparently the baby will be born in the year of the sheep so I thought it would be perfect, plus who can say no to a little hat with ears?! The ABC book will have the baby saying everything from apple to zebra in no time. The Baby Wipes are probably the least exciting gift but I still managed to put lots of thought into picking the right wipes! They have brilliant reviews and are pure and natural, just right for delicate newborn skin.

The baby shower isn't until next week so I might pick up a couple more bits beforehand. Shopping for a baby is so much fun.

How to Make a Green Smoothie Taste Nice

I've been a huge fan of green smoothies for a few years now. I first got into making them after reading Kimberly Snyder's blog. I worked really close to Whole Foods in High Street Kensington at the time, and when I left that job my very generous colleagues bought me a Vitamix as my leaving gift. This meant that I could make super smooth, and nutrition packed drinks. My issue was that some of my creations along the way tasted less than fabulous. Note to self, you can't mask the taste of watercress in a green smoothie! I've made hundreds of green smoothies since then so here are three tips to make sure yours taste delicious...

1. Creamy Consistency 

By adding fruit and veg that has a creamy texture, you can create some thickness and texture to your smoothie. Either bananas or avocados work a treat.

2. Cancel out Bitterness

Some vegetables can create a bitter taste, which can make even the first sip of your freshly blended smoothie taste disgusting. Fresh Lemon or Lime juice can cut through that bitterness and mask any unsavoury flavours.

3. Sweeten it up

If you're really struggling with the flavour then why not add some sweetener. I'm a real fan of the Sweet Leaf Sweet Drops in Vanilla as it's natural and calorie free. The Vanilla flavour also makes smoothies taste a little like Ice cream. Marvelous! If you don't like the taste of Stevia, then why not try Honey or Maple Syrup. 

What do you add to your green smoothies? 

15 things I’ll do in 2015

I gave myself rather a simple New Year’s resolution but there are plenty of things I’d love to achieve in 2015. I was grinning from ear to ear whilst writing this post and felt really excited about my future adventures…

1)      Complete a 10k in less than 49 minutes

2)      Climb a mountain (any mountain- I’m not fussy)

3)      Do a mini photography course

4)      Run my socks off in a Colour Run

5)      Read more classics 

6)      Visit Amsterdam (I've always wanted to go, and The Fault in our Stars made it sound so magical)

7)      Learn even more about nutrition and prepare some new and creative meals

8)      Go on an adventure and see some wild animals in their natural habitat

9)      Teach more yoga

10)   Keep blogging

11)   Do some volunteering

12)   Make a dress (Any tips or pattern recommendations? I’d like to/need to start really simple)  

13)   Go canoeing on a beautiful Scottish Loch while visiting my lovely sister

14)   Go Zorbing (is it actually fun?!)

15)   Keep to my main New Year’s resolution!

I hope 2015 holds lots of special moments for you x

My 2015 Resolution

I've spent many a year coming up with a long list of resolutions, which normally involve cutting out something, and doing a little bit more of something else. I've decided that this year I'm going to give myself a lovely little all encompassing resolution....

Be kind to myself

It feels blooming fantastic to have a resolution, which isn't limiting, and should make for a happy 2015. 

With Love from London

I moved to London straight after university to get a job because that’s what many of my friends were doing. I moved to Clapham because that’s where everyone I knew lived, and it felt like a safe extension of university life. I no longer live in Clapham and have moved around different boroughs and experienced my fair share of interesting rental properties. The most memorable was the flat with mites in the sofa, and badger paintings on the walls. Lovely. Seven years later I’m still in here..

When I've been out for dinner in London and I've got the time to walk to the station instead of getting the tube, that’s when I love London. Walking over any London bridge when it’s late and the lights are twinkling makes my little heart sing. London has an incredible buzz and there really is always something going on. It’s awesome that I can go to the theatre on a week night (The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night was epic), and go to museums for free, and eat an amazing array of food. We managed to get tickets for the Olympics in 2012 and the atmosphere was incredible, and my love for London came to an all time high. I remember watching the Hockey while the rain beat down. I had soggy feet all day (I still haven’t learnt to always prepare for rain), but when I got home I said ‘that was one of the best days of my life’, and I meant it.

The London parks are stunning and I’ve enjoyed many a run through them with one of my best friends. I’ve run the Royal Parks Half Marathon and tried to take in the beauty, while attempting to keep my heavy legs going. Richmond Park is the largest of the Royal parks and it’s amazing for marathon training (11km circumference), and there are even deer wandering around just minding their own business. We took our Kindle’s and a picnic blanket last summer and read for hours with no awareness we were even in London.

Part of why I love London is because it can feel like everyone is here, and that’s also part of the reason I struggle to love it. It’s just so blinking busy. I’ve become acquainted with so many armpits on the daily commute, and sometimes it’s tiring battling through another crowd. It’s also silly expensive to buy a house/flat/studio/shed. I would love to own a real home someday and paint the walls, and have, dare I say it, some outside space. Ever the optimist I went to see a few flats, which looked amazing in the estate agents pictures. When I arrived the first one was above a Chicken Shop and the extractor fans pumped out the smell of their ‘secret blend of herbs and spices’. All that being said I’m aware of just how lucky I am to live in this wonderful city, so for now we’re staying put.

With love from London…

Natural Sun Care

OK, I know it's January and it's absolutely freezing in England so this post is probably not best placed. But I do know that some lucky people might head off to get some winter sun, and as SPF is important all year round here we go...

I did some Yoga training in the beautiful Bali last November. As Bali is close to the equator it was absolutely boiling and the sun was much stronger than I was used to. I've started to gravitate towards more natural and organic skincare and bodycare products of late. As the skin is the largest organ I didn't fancy slathering it with too many chemicals. Where possible I try to avoid products with SLS, and Parabens.

SPF

In Bali I used the Green People sun lotion with tan accelerator. I have been known to get heat rash on holidays. My teen holidays didn't tend to end with a holiday romance as I would progressively turn into an itchy, red mess! This SPF was so kind to my sensitive skin and I didn't break out once. I also used their amazing Hydrating After Sun. It had a fresh minty smell and the Aloe Vera certainly soothed my skin. I kept using this once I returned and since I've been back a few people have commented on how my tan has lasted.

Self-Tanning

I didn't go on a summer holiday last year so before I flew over to Bali I was decidedly pale. I fancied a bit of colour but wanted to stick with natural bodycare. After a bit of searching on the web I found that the Lavera Self-Tanning Lotion had some great reviews. I bought it. I love it. This lotion gives you a lovely light, natural glow, which can be built up with further applications. The only think I wasn't so enamoured with was the scent, but thankfully that didn't linger. I used this on both my face and body and was really pleased with the results. Happy travels.

Namaste...

The background for the product image is from Paperchase 

Face for New Year

Happy New Year! 

I hope 2015 is an awesome year and brings with it much love and happiness for you all. Last night we celebrated New Year at a friends house in London. We drank peach Bellini's, sung Auld Lang Syne, and ate far too many delicious canapes. Nom nom nom. I wore a black sparkly dress and went for a simple red lip.

Face 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in Vanilla
Bare Minerals, Mineral Veil Original 
Blusher from Urban Decay Shattered Palette 
Soap and Glory Solar Powder Bronzer

Eyes 

Urban Decay Primer Potion Original 

Urban Decay Naked Palette 1  Colours used: Eyelids: Buck, Half Baked and Smog. Eyebrows: Naked

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in black

Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in Black 

MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge Waterline only

MaxFactor MasterpieceMax Mascara in Black 

Lips 

Eve Lom Kiss Mix

Barry M Lip Liner in Red I used this over my whole lips 

Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch  Adds sheen 

We had to get a move on so I kept my hair very simple. I curled a few strands at the front with my straighteners. I then sprayed in some COLAB dry shampoo at the roots to add a bit of oomph to my freshly washed hair.  

Whatever you're up to, have a super day...