Hi, Hello, Hey....

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...life has got in the way, not in a terrible way but one that means I can't find the time to complete the simplest of tasks. Added to that, I kinda feel like blogging the way people blog now is not really for me, I want it to be fun and random rather then the gorgeous, magazine-like blogs that are hitting the big-time at the moment. That's not to say that I don't adore those blogs, I just don't want to be one of those blogs. But I want to blog, just write down what's going on in my life as a journal, tracking the wedding, fitness, food with a bit of makeup thrown in for good measure.

So what's been going on:

- We're in the process of decorating again, we're onto the kitchen but it's not a big job so it's nice to be able to take our time and get the room as I want it.

- Wedding planning is slowly picking up pace. We're 14 months away and we've got the venue, church, cars and cake booked. I'm trying to get together a few designs of what I want for wedding stationary and sort out invites. We've also started collecting bits and pieces for the reception, bits and bobs for the tables, nice to try and collect as much of it ourselves.

- Wedding dress hunting - in 8 weeks time I will be heading up to my parents to start the hunt for The Dress. I'm really nervous as I've already tried one dress on and hated it and how I looked in it so this really puts me off but hopefully this time it will be better - I need to buy myself some new underwear!

- Fitness gains are slow and steady, I started off so well and made loads of progress quickly but things have slowed and I've taken my eye off the ball a bit. I'm still having a personal training session a week and trying to train myself 2/3 more times a week but I need to up it a bit if I want to see more changes. I'm thinking of starting a weekly fitness thing on here to track my progress, not sure what format this will take but I will work something out! I also want to branch out more into fitness, with some food, fitness wear, class reviews and anything else I can add to get the blog back up and running.

- Life with Ted pug is as fun as always, we go out on adventures to different places and explore - Ted Travels may become a thing on here soon.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the swing of things over the coming weeks, time to get some posts scheduled before life takes over again. 

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Life: January Roundup

I'm going to put it out there, I quite like January. Not only is it the month of my birth but I love that it seems like a fresh start, a time to make plans, set goals and have lots of things to look forward to throughout the year.

January has been filled with lots of happy moments, yummy food and lovely things. At the start of the month we spent a lot of time cooking and tidying the house, this is the year where I try to declutter a bit, our house isn't big enough for all my crap! My birthday mid-month saw me very spoilt with loads of lovely gifts, some bits from Charlotte Tilbury, a FittyLdn box and tickets to see Ellie Goulding in March!

In the gym, I've been working on building my strength and working on my pull ups - training was going really well, but I've been knocked out a little with an ear infection that has put my balance way out of whack - hello dizzy spells. A few weeks later and I'm feeling much better and can't wait to get back training!

Ted's been on lots of adventures this month, the biggest being when we headed to Richmond on the train. He wasn't too sure about the train at first but he soon settled, trying to say hello to everyone! We had a wander around Richmond park before stopping by Richmond Bridge to give our paws a rest.

This weekend, I headed to the Fresh & Fit Fest at The Hoxton in London. There were different workouts to try, talks by many influencial fitness people and lots of yummy food to sample & buy. I went to a Silent Disco, hosted by Misfit and run by Tally & Zanna from the #GirlGains, I knew it wasn't going to be just dancing with Tally writing the HIIT routine, it was hard but I loved it. Later on, I also tried out a Rave class by Gymbox- a dance routine, with glow sticks, on a mini trampoline. I loved it! Today, my arms and legs ache so much but I loved and am so tempted to try another class.

January was an awesome month and a great way to start off my year! I can't wait for the rest of 2016 now!

How was your January? xx

Life - A Weekend in Northern Ireland

Way back at the end of October, my family and I flew out to Northern Ireland to suprise my Grandma for her 80th birthday. I took it as an opportunity to practice some of my photography skills as well as documenting a fun weekend. I've been lucky enough to grow up spending time over there, exploring lots of different places and building happy memories. This trip was even more special as I got to share it with Andy and show him around all of my favourite places.

Mum & Dad hired a Ford Galaxy, we all bundled in and headed off. The first stop on our trip was to visit some of the filming locations for Game of Thrones. We stopped at Downhill Beach which is Dragonstone and walked along the beach.

From there we headed on to Portrush. I've not been here for years but it's exactly as I remember it. We parked up and walked along the East strand before heading back into town and down to the main harbour where we took lots of family selfies. From there we walked round to a pub to have a family dinner. After that it was back to the car to head over to Portstewart for ice cream at Morellis - this was always tradition on our last night over there in the summer.

The next day we all pilled back in the car and went to the Giant's Cause Way. We had several stops on the way, stopping at Portballintrae as well as view point to see Dunluce Castle. Finally we arrived at the Causeway and we wandered about, we headed out as far as we could on the stones before wandering back to the main site and popping into a little pub for some more food.

That night we were back on the plane heading home, shattered but it was well worth it to spend time with my family. Having just popped over for a weekend, I now really want to plan lots more adventures for 2016.

Any suggestions for weekends away would be great!

Hello November - October Round up & November To Do

 

Pictures from my instagram - _sarah.mc

October has been & gone faster then I realised, it's been a very busy time, especially as I've now been in my new job for 7 weeks now! I've not blogged because I just haven't wanted to, I've needed time for me to take in all the changes in my life and get my head around it.

So October was a fairly calm month until the very end - it included:

- Visits from friends

- Really getting into my routine with my PT

- A weekend visit to N.Ireland

- Making soup (it wasn't good!)

- Stocked up on candles at IKEA

- Fell in love with my foam roller

- Cooked lots of batches for lunch!

- Saw Hamlet

- Enjoyed lots of pug cuddles

- Taking lots of photos

November To Do:

- Cook something new

- Take fitness progress pictures

- Try a new recipe for lunch

- Try Zoats for breakfast

- Edit some photos

So just a quick round up of my month and looking forward to the coming months, once December is here life really gets a tad crazy with school (work) and family life!

How was your month?

X X

An Update! What I've been up to!

Hello! Remember me?!

I've had a bit/a lot of time off from the blog, not for any one reason but life kinda took over, you know how it is! So I thought I would do a little update post, just to ease myself back into blogging and also get you up to speed on the goings on recently!

Since I last posted a few things have changed;

- I've got a new job! I've been thinking about moving schools for a while, not because I hate my school but I'm kinda stuck there with no where to move to be able to progress so my new school is a step up the ladder, a lot more responsibility, a move back into year 6 which I can't wait for! I applied for the job but didn't think I would get it as I don't have the experience yet but happily I'm going to get the chance to show what I can do!

- New Bathroom! Project Bathroom has been in the pipeline for about 6months now, we've been buying odds and soda, pinteresting lots of ideas and just generally dreaming of it being finished. Over the Easter Weekend, the boy and my dad set about doing the big jobs while me and mum 'helped' by staying out the way and going shopping! A few weeks on and we are nearly there, it's so nice having a completed bathroom, just finishing touches to add!

- Settibg a wedding date and booking a venue! So since getting engaged, the boy & I haven't really done much other then discuss a few ideas but now we've set a date and got a venue booked! We've opted to get married in my home town of Lincoln with the wedding party in the village I grew up in and the party bit at the top of town. The date is 2yrs away at the moment so I'm not thinking about it too much but there is one thing I'm constantly thinking of and that's getting into a dress!!

- Getting fit...again! Been at the gym, eaten less crappy food - the usual although I'm about to start Kayla Itsines 12 week bikini body plan - just need to work up the courage as its scary!!!

- Social Media!! I'm loving being on Twitter & Instagram at the moment, I'm contemplating starting an account for Ted to post pug pictures! Also loving Snapchat as well, slowly getting into it!

And that's about it.  Toying with the idea of doing less beauty and more lifestyle posts, I'm loving reading general posts at the moment so we will see - I just want to write a bit more and not be limited to just beauty as there are a lot of people who write much better then me!

Any who - i hope you're enjoying your long weekend, I need to get a crack on with writing reports!!

What have you been up to?! 

I'm Engaged!!!!!!

So this is kinda old news now, infact its been 3 weeks since it happened but it has taken me this long to actually process it and not feel silly when I tell people.

On Friday 6th February my wonderful boy got down on one knee in our little home and asked me to marry him. To me it was the most perfect and surreal moment I've ever been in, not the great, over the top proposal that some people love but the kind that shows he knows me and knows I wouldn't have wanted that.

To me, the most romantic part was that the week before he had managed to visit my parents to ask their permission - no mean feat considering we live over 100miles apart! 

Now the exciting part can start, actually planning the wedding! I don't quite know what to do or how to go about all of this, so I'm looking for wedding blogs or wedding posts, please leave links in the comments below.

Sarah xx

January To-do List

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I love a good to-do list, there's something about ticking things off that makes you feel like your achiving something, even if its just something small! I've sat and thought about all the things I want and need to do this month and picked out the ones that I want to do before that days of January whizz by too fast and February is upon us.

- Bake a Birthday cake ( It's my birthday on the 14th so countdown is on to that day!)

- Wear lipstick at least twice a week all month (check this out on Instagram)

- Visit a historical place 

- Complete a week of a photo challenge

- Fill in a couple of pages of my scrap book

- Cook a new recipe 

- Read at least 2 books

- Try a new resturant somewhere! 

- Take Ted out somewhere new!

Just a few things, lots of which I can blog about so look out for some different posts over the month, including a new series for and about Ted!

So that's my to-do list for January - which ones would you like to do? What should I add to February? xx

2015 - Hopes, Dreams & Goals

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Happy New Year!!!!

I know we're a couple of days into the new year now but we've been very chilled out at my parents that I just haven't wanted to pick up the laptop to blog. I sat down and wrote out a list of all the things I want to do with the blog this year as well as a few personal goals as well.

Personal:

- Lose weight - I've set myself the target of getting down into the 12stone area by July, but this is not the main target, I'm working on size as well - I would love to fit into a pair of Topshop jeans as their 16's are really uncomfortable and tight, regardless how little I weigh!

- Travel around the UK - Now we have Ted, we're limited in how much we can travel but I'm determined to get out and about with him, I'm hunting for places to visit around the UK, including weekends away and days out - thinking of starting a travel series for him.

- 

Blogging

- Hit 400 followers on Bloglovin - only 55 people to go!

- Have a blog overhaul - its time to just have a bit of a freshen up and a re-design, if you have any blog design recommendations then please let me know

- Comment more on other blogs - I love getting comments so to share that feeling is important, aiming for 5+ a day really, I read so many so it makes sense.

- Engage more on social media - time to get the Facebook up and running again as well as chatting more on Twitter and Instagram

- Branch out more with posts - I love writing different posts so excpect to see lots of different bits on here, outfits, food and film reviews.

I have loads of other things to achieve this year, plus a few other posts along this topic but it's exciting to see what 2015 has to hold for all of us! 

What are your goals for 2015? xx

Goodbye 2014

I love New Year, it's nice to look back on the achievements of the year and reflect on what went well and what not so well.

This year we...

- Bought a house

- Bought a pug

- Learnt to wall paper, lay a wooden floor, garden

- Visited Paris & Sephora 

- Reached 300 Followers on the blog

- Saw Tim Minchin at BST in Hyde Park

This year I didn't...

- Lose the weight I wanted to

- Read enough books

- Drink enough water

- Do a photography course

- Print any pictures

- Travel enough 

Overall 2014 has been a good year, I've got lots of plans for 2015, but that's another post for another day.

How was your 2014?! Xx

Summer Bucket List 2014 - A Day in Paris

Last Wednesday, my mum, sister and I dragged ourselves out of bed incredibly early and headed into London to grab the 7:01 Eurostar to Paris.That time of the morning was incredibly early and it was a little fuzzy but we jumped on the train and 2hrs later we arrived!!!

We started off the day by getting the Metro over to the Louvre, it was incredibly busy so we didn't bother heading in but walking around was great.  We wandered down towards the Musée de l'Orangerie where we saw Water lilies by Monet, this was a phenomenal 

experience to see an amazing piece, it was so peaceful and calm to just sit and contemplate. It

was an incredibly hot day so it was also so nice to sit in the cool for a bit.

After the Musee de L'Orangerie we walked back through the gardens to head for our tour bus. 

Mum has booked the tickets so we could just hop on and off as much as we wanted, but we

decided to stay on for a full lap around the city. We saw the Pont des Arts (Love Lock Bridge), 

Notre Dam, Musee d'Orsay, Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower among 

other things. We sat upstairs in the sun and listened to the guided tour, mum chose the kid 

version!

One thing I really wanted to do was check out Sephora, so we hopped off the bus at Champs-Elysees 

and headed to the store there. I don't know what I expected but I was in beauty heaven. 

We all wandered around picking up bits and trying out the Sephora brand. 

With full baskets we headed to checkout and left clutching our little bags. It was nearly time to head

back to the train station so we hopped back on a different bus and went past

the Moulin Rouge before arriving at Gard de Nor. After a little wait we were back on the Eurostar

and heading back to England. 

Visiting Paris was one thing I've always wanted to do, so to see the main sights in a day was great however

I want to head back for longer next time.

What places should I visit next time? xx

Lifestyle - 27 before 27

Via Weheartit

So last year I set myself the challenge of completing 26 different things before I turned 26, if you read this post then you know how I did!

I enjoyed pushing myself to do it so thought I would set myself a new target for this year, but 27 things this time! I know I'm a couple of months late with starting this one, Its been 2 months since I turned 26 but life has been a bit busy! 

So, this year I plan to

1. - Take more pictures with a film camera
2. - Print 10 pictures each month for a photo album
3. - Read & review 2 books a month
4. - Save £1500
5. - Have a proper manicure & pedicure
6. - Have a spa day
7. - Own a small digital camera
8. - Visit another city
9. - Do a walking photography course in London
10. - Own a dog
11. - Pay off the sofa (£350 to go!)
12. - Visit Paris
13. - Hold a blog sale
14. - Guest Post on someone else's blog
15. - Have a facial
16. - Fit into a pair of Topshop Jeans
17. - Dye my hair another colour
18. - Try the 5:2 diet
19. - Whiten my teeth
20. - Redecorate the bedroom
21. - Try more nail art
22. - Start a photography blog
23. - Learn how to create water marks
24. - Get out & about with my camera at least once a month
25. - Attend an event (wedding, christening, birthday)
26. - Wear lipstick once a week 
27. - Take a ballet class

So there we have it – my list to try and tick off this year! Only 10 months to go!

What’s on your list? xx

A day out in St Albans

Jeans - New Look

Shirt - River Island

Jacket - Topshop

26 Before 26 - A final Update

So last year, just before my birthday, I set myself the challenge of completing a list of 26 things before I turned 26, and I enjoyed working my way through them, however I didn't complete all of them but I gave them my best shot!

• Save £1000  Yay! Saved more than this!
• Go to the beach Went to Brighton & Spain
• Walk in the countryside every week
• Be a tourist in London Loved wandering around London, need to again
• See a musical - Saw Matilda (27/07/13)
• Complete a project 10 pan
• Complete a project bathroom
• Take a photo daily
• Read and review two books a month
• Pay off my store cards - its about £500 now that I don't need as we want to buy a house One card paid off, one more to go!
• Visit Scotland
• Save £10 a month for a treat
• Cook one new meal a week from a cook book Loved cooking, I've cooked so much!
• Take lunch to school every day  I have done this, so much better!
• Buy fruit and veg from a market regularly
• Visit Harry Potter World ( I live opposite so I should really!)
• Blog regularly (3x a week)
• Bake something new on a Sunday every week - any suggestions welcome!
• Visit the major cities in England (Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, any others ?)
• Learn to make Dim Sum!
• Be a better blogger - commenting on others and replying to my own comments. 
• Make home made ravioli
• Find a location to take OOTD 
• Post OOTD posts
• Write a hand written letter to someone
• Shop my stash weekly

11 out of 26, not bad but not great, however I really enjoyed trying to. I might ever try and do this again before next birthday!

Have you set yourself any targets for this year? xx

Life - What I got for Xmas '13

Before we start, this is not a post bragging, nor am I comparing my gifts to anyone else, I like these types of posts as it's an excuse to be nosey.

So this Xmas was spent at my parents; then new year at the boys mums. I hadn't asked for anything big so I wasn't expecting anything big, however I got lots of brilliant surprises.

From the boy I got a camera rucksack, Bobbi Brown Palette, the pug/bulldog candle, some Lush treats, a jumper from Topshop and some other bits!

My parents gave me lots of little treats, a Yankee candle, some more Lush, a jumper from River Island, new slipper boots and a massive tin of biscuits. My Nan's also gave us a red letter day voucher, which we've spent on a tastecard!

My sister & brother got me some benefit make up, a pug wash bag, new IPad case and some other bits & bobs.

I also got a couple more tops from Topshop from the mother in law, as well as a Pandora charm and some hair care.

Although there was nothing huge, I did get lots of lovely presents, I think I'm at an age now where if I want something big, I simply save for it myself rather than asking for it!

I did pick up some bits in the sales, I will do a separate post on those bits though as I'm still waiting on my Lush order!

Link me up if you have done a post like this. What did you get for Xmas? Xx

A Belated Birthday post!

Last Monday (14th) was my second favourite day of the year - My BIRTHDAY!!! I turned the grand old age of 25, and was thoroughly spoilt all day :)

I thought I would show you some pictures from the day as well as the gifts I got - I don't want this to seem like bragging, I just want to share with you,

Spent my Birthday Pennies :)

Birthday Dinner

Birthday Outfit - Red Sequin dress :)

Card made by one of my children 

After Opening Presents

Birthday Breakfast

I was very lucky to recieve lots of presents, the boy did really well picking me out a jumper and tshirt from Topshop, as well as my much needed heart rate monitor and Ice Age 4 on DVD. From my parents I got a new Pandora Charm - would anyone like to see my full collection? - as well as tickets to see Shrek the musical in a few weeks.

Most people sent me money to spend on my camera lens and I'm so grateful to them as I could get my lens and have some left over for a shopping trip next month with my mum!

So, that was my birthday, not very eventful but its nice to just chill out. I was spoilt with 'Happy Birthdays' from friends and other bloggers, it meant a lot to me. Also, in case you didn't see it, I wrote a post last week about 26 things I want to achieve before my next birthday - I can't wait to keep you all updated with that!

Anywhoo, off to enjoy the snow, hope your enjoying it as well!