Life - Friday Favourites

Happy Valentines Day!

I can't believe Friday has rolled around again so quickly, not that I'm complaining!

Here's what made me smile this week.

1. My February Birchbox arrived (thanks JP!), and it looks like a good one. I can't wait to start trying everything!

2. I've missed baking since my recent health-kick but these Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies from SkinnyTaste look the business. I'm going to try and squeeze in some baking time this weekend.

Photo Source: www.skinnytaste.com

3. I painted my nails a bright, red colour in honour of Valentines Day. Love! Although by Saturday they will look like this. The shade is 325 Hot Gossip by Rimmel.

4. The Winter Olympics! These athletes literally blow my mind; they make everything look so easy when in fact, it's soooo freakin difficult. The BBC Sport Coverage has been fab....I can't get enough!

5. All week Fearne Cotton has had Brit Award Nominee's in the Radio Live Lounge which has been so good! On Wednesday one of my favourite bands London Grammar covered Pure Shores and it was ah-mazing! I can't get enough of Hannah's voice...... #girlcrush

What do you guys think?

What are guys up to for Valentines day? I'll leave you with this.....whether you're in a relationship or not, love starts with you x

Photo Source: www.pinterest.com

Home | For the love of Lamp Room Gray

So after sharing my Kitchen Candy with you last week I set about making that transformation happen this weekend.

I'm not going to lie, it did take me all weekend, but the end result is so worth it. It feels like a new kitchen!

Before we get to the after photo's I thought I'd run through how I got there.

1. Take all the cupboards and drawers off.
2. Remove existing handles.
3. Fill the holes left by handles with wood filler.
4. Sand back said holes, and repeat.
5. Time to prime! I used Zinsser 1-2-3 Primer and Sealer after reading lots of good things about it's staying power online. Give everything a good even coat of primer, let dry.
6. I used Farrow and Ball Estate Eggshell Paint in Lamp Room Gray. Now you might be thinking that doesn't sound very budget but I felt like splashing the extra cash on good quality paint was worth it, I only want to paint the kitchen once, and it's going to get a lot of use.
7. Apply two even coats of the F&B, leaving 2-4 hours drying time between each coat.
8. When you're sure your paint is absolutely cured you can start drilling the holes for your new hardware. I bought mine from Ikea as I liked the contrasting white handles with the grey paint.
9. Re-attach the cupboards and drawers to the units.
10. Do your happy dance!

Here's a Budget Breakdown for this part of the kitchen update:

£15.94 Primer
£20.99 F&B Paint
£25 New Handles and Knobs from Ikea

£61.93 Total

So here's what we started with....

And here's where we are now. With grey base cabinets, oak work tops and a new white ceramic sink (I put those up on Facebook last weekend so most of you will already have seen them). Oh and the flooring is new too.

There's still a crazy amount to do on this Kitchen Update on a Budget. It's very much a work-in-progress but I can't wait to share more photo's with you next week!

Life | Friday Favourites

It's been a long old while since I wrote one of these posts!

I still think it's a great way to celebrate Friday though, so here goes....

1. I miss this little guy and his brother so much! Move-in day for the house is getting closer and that means they can live with us again soon.....woop!

2. This cake for Dan's Mum's Birthday was off-the-scale delicious. And no, that is not icing you see, it's white chocolate. Drooling yet? Mmmm, cake.

3. By mid-week the constant rain was just too depressing so I painted my nails a happy shade of pink to brighten things up a bit. This Gelly Nail Paint by Barry M totally did the trick. The shade is Grapefruit in case your keen, and I think it's perfect for Spring/Summer.

Excuse my hideous cuticles, a casualty of house renovation.

4. I've long been a fan of Almond Milk as a dairy alternative but then I came across this in Sainsbury's and thought I'd give it a whirl.

It's Coconut Milk but not as we know it in the UK (usually in a can/carton that you use for making Curries etc.)

I have it instead of milk in tea, porridge and with granola.

It tastes delicious, has a good consistency (you know I'm weird about food textures) and is slightly cheaper than Almond Milk too, love!

5. Which leads us nicely on to these!

The holy grail of Chai Tea, they are so freaking good, I'm addicted! Which is why after my trial pack of fifteen I ordered fifty of the little beauties.

They're not cheap but I don't drink coffee and rarely have time to sit in a cafe these days so they're my little at-home treat.

I have them with a splash of Almond/Coconut Milk and it's so yummy.

A little temple of Chai yummy-ness

What made you smile this week? Happy Friday everyone!

Home | Kitchen Candy

After a few days off from the Blogging Marathon that was the 21 Day Detox I'm excited to be back and talking about something completely different....our house!

Now if you guys have been reading along for a while you'll know that Dan and I bought a house back in September 2013. Aaaaannd, we still don't live there! I know, crazy.

It was previously rented out to students so was in a pretty bad state when we bought it. We knew there was some stuff that was out-of-date and needed to be done straightway like the plumbing, central heating and electrics but then there was one area I thought we could just live with.

I present to you la cucina, la cuisine.... the kitchen (and laundry/utility room).

We always knew we would tear out the laundry/utility but we thought that perhaps with just a little TLC (e.g. Damp Treatment) we could live with the kitchen for a couple of years and save up for "The One".

And then we realised the existing kitchen just wouldn't work for us. There is plenty of storage but no room for a Fridge/Freezer or Dishwasher (Princess Daniel doesn't wash up, but he does load and unload the Dishwasher very nicely, so for the sake of my sanity a Dishwasher is an Essential Appliance in our house).

So it was back to the drawing board. There was still no room in our budget to completely re-do the kitchen but we could scale down a couple of other areas and give the kitchen a £1500 allowance for a little face-lift.

And then the pinning/researching frenzy happened.

I love the look of a mix-match colour scheme, grey base cabinets and white uppers. I like open-shelving and clean, bright, white spaces. Our kitchen is North Facing and doesn't get a lot of natural light so some brightening treatment was a top priority.

Just so you can picture it all. This is my ultimate Kitchen Candy.

All Images Courtesy of Pinterest.

Got the gist?

So here's where we are with the big old kitchen re-vamp.

So far we have:

- Removed the upper cabinets and tall larder
- Steamed off the old lining paper
- Had the room re-skimmed
- Had new spotlights fitted
- Had new flooring fitted
- Bought and built an island
- Bought new worktops
- Bought new sink (we're using the existing tap)
- Had the plumbing adjusted to accommodate a dishwasher
- Primed the lower cabinets ready for their paint job
- Bought new handles for the cabinets
- Mist coated the new plaster work

There's still a big old to-do list to go. This weekend I'm painting those lower cabinets. The decision-making on the colour was extensive but we got there in the end!

I can't wait to come back with some before and after photo's.

In the meantime, a little house-tour will be going up on YouTube. I have lots of friends and family who don't live in Bristol so it's nice for them to see what's occupying all my free-time. It's a "warts and all" kind of tour, set your expectations low!

What are you guys up to this weekend? The sun is actually shining in Bristol today, it feels like it just rained for the whole of January, and I want to go out and hug those Vitamin D rays!

Life | Detox Diary - The Results

When I decided to commit to the 21 Day Detox I set myself a few of goals, I didn't share them with you guys but these are what they were:

1. To commit to the challenge, to the best of my ability.
2. To feel healthier and lighter.
3. To develop a stronger connection between what I was putting into my body and how it was making me feel.

So there were no ideal numbers, no goal weight. Just most of all I didn't want to give-up, I wanted to see it though to the end.

And you know what? I did just that.

For 21 days you guys have heard about every last morsel that has passed my lips! And it hasn't always been "perfect".  I didn't follow the Detox Plan to the letter because it wasn't appropriate for what I could do on that day. But every day, regardless of what had happened the day before, I consciously considered what I was eating and drinking, and in turn this helped me to achieve Goal 3.

And so on to the Biggie. Goal Number 2.

Of course I wanted to shift a few excess pounds, but I had no idea how many the Detox would help me lose. I've truly been amazed.

I weighed myself at the start, and took my waist measurement.

At Day 21, I have lost 10lbs and 2 and a half inches off my waist.

I promised you pictures, and here we are.....my flat tummy! I don't have a before because well, who would take a picture of their belly after Christmas?! But trust me, there was zero definition!

A couple of things I wanted to highlight about my Detox Experience.

1. The experience I have blogged about is my experience alone, everyone else's would be different.

2. I would not recommend taking on a Detox on your own. It was so important for me to have the support of a Nutritionist. You need to ensure that you are doing the right thing for your body and those needs are very individual.

3. You need to make time in your life for a Detox! I know this sounds obvious but this was the bit I struggled with most. The Detox will provide you with lots of different tools to help you organise what you need to consume but there's a whole other side dedicated to sleep and relaxation.

4. It takes 21 days to form habits, and the Detox helps you form good ones! What you learn on the Detox will stay with you long after you finish. I will continue to make many of the recipes and love the idea of having a Smoothie for lunch on some days.

I hope you found the Detox Diary interesting. I wanted to show the "real" side of detox, and show that it CAN be done! Detox is for everyone that wants to feel better about their bodies, inside and out.

As always, all information relating to the Detox can be found on Fiona's Facebook Page and Blog.

Life | Detox Diary Day 21

"On the last day of Detox my true love gave to me, a yummy breakfast for my tummy......"

Did I mention I'm annoyingly chipper most mornings?! This is the exact tune I was humming as I managed to persuade Dan to get out of bed and make me some breakfast. I know, so lovely, and not at all irritating.....!

For the last time.... Here's Day 21 (whoop!).

06.30 am - Hot Water with Lemon.

07.00 am - Scrambled Egg with Avocado (Thanks Danny B!)

11.00 am - Coconut and Macademia Bounce Ball and an Apple, Pink Lady, of course!

14.30 am - Now that my official Detox Powder for Smoothies is used up I'm onto a new one! It's still got all the Vitamins and Minerals you need and I've found that having a smoothie on-the-go is a really effective way for me to fit a healthy lunch into a busy day.

17.00 pm - I was craving something sweet so had a Flax 9 Bar. Have you guys heard of them? They have Carob on top (not chocolate) and taste yummy. A perfect little pick-me-up. I was heading out the door for a couple of hours and knew I would be having dinner a bit later.

On a normal day I would probably just have a Chai Tea or a Vanilla Tea and that would be enough to satisfy those sweet cravings.

20.00 pm - My last Detox Meal was a lovely portion of Butternut Squash Dahl, as always it was so tasty and filling, just like giving your tummy a little hug on the inside!

And that my friends, was that!

Thank you so, so much for following along, and for all your support.

Tomorrow I will put up a full round-up of the results with photo's, and my overall Detox Experience so stay tuned for that!

As always, all information relating to the detox can be found on Fiona's Facebook Page and Blog.

Life | Detox Diary Day 20

Today was just one of those days that went by in a blur. If I'm honest I don't really remember eating during the day it was that busy!

I only stopped for lunch at 5pm, which is terrible and not detox-friendly. Buy hey, somedays it just goes that way and you do what you can, like having Breakfast for dinner, my standard default if there's no one watching! Luckily I tend to eat healthy Breakfasts....

Oh and I didn't photograph a single thing it was that busy.....borrrring!

06.15 am -  Hot Water with Lemon.

07.00 am -  Granola with Almond Milk and Blueberries.

10.30 am - Almond Bounce Ball.

13.00 pm - Apple with a Chai Tea.

17.00 pm - Chicken Soup for the Soul. Most of the Detox Recipes make four portions which is great for two reasons.

1. You get to feel like you're an Italian Nonna in the kitchen stirring up big pots of deliciousness. My friends Annie-Girl and J.P. do this on the regular and I'm always a little jealous!

2. There's always leftovers!

Need I say more? And the recipe is available online here!

20.00 pm - Granola with Natural Yogurt. Holy Batman! Double Granola in one day?! It happened, not ideal but still delicious.

Random Thought - Did anyone else have cereal as a bedtime snack when you were a child?

And just because I find it really difficult to blog without any kind of graphics/images. I'll leave you with this one.

Image Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/340584790541309072/

Dan and I are going on a Road Trip in April! When we booked it, it seemed so far away and now that February is around the corner I am soooo freakin' excited!!!

As always, all information relating to the detox can be found on Fiona's Facebook Page and Blog.