Monday Weigh In Number 3: 18/01/10

Weight: 74.84kg

BMI (Using a height of 167cm): 26.8

Left to lose: 14.84

Start Weight: 77.11kg

Total weight loss: 2.27kg

Weight last week: 75.75kg

This week's loss: 0.91kg

I need one of these for this summer...(preferably in a size 10)

These are a few of my favourite things...

An eagerly anticipated parcel arrived today. After watching one of Snowdrop85's youtube videos I became obsessed with tracking down a pair of cameo studs for Topshop she showed in one of her hauls. I was unsuccessful, they were no where to be found and had gone off the website so I turned to my new favourite browsing fix, Etsy. Where I found a wonderful shop called Bella Chic Designs who had a wonderful selection of cameo studs. I got to choose my colour and including shipping came to less than a fiver. Excellent. I'd say they took about 2 weeks to get here (complicated by the rubbish post we've been having lately) but were definitely worth the wait. If only for the gorgeous box they came in. I'll certainly be letting Mr Bunny guard a few of my little trinkets. I just love little touches like this, and the hand written note on the invoice.

Here is Mr Bunny...

And here are my ears, modeling my lovely new cameo studs. (I apologise for the clashing turquoise earring next to it, no idea why I used this ear, there's a much classier silver number in the other one.)

Another of my favourites at the moment is this cookbook, from which I made (very undiety) 'Blondies' or white chocolate brownies, i replaced the pecans in the recipe with dried cranberries (because I forgot to buy pecans, but I'll pretend it's) to add a jammy sweet bit in the middle of each brownie. Yum yum.

Confessions of a Lush Virgin

So, I'm not a bath person. I like the idea of baths but find the actually thing something of an anti climax and so I get out again after about 5 minutes, hardly worth the bath water. Plus, showers are so much quicker, easier (where hair/face washing is concerned) and i've always thought there's something a bit gross about sitting there in your own dirt. But yesterday morning I suddenly decided that it was the day I broke my always shower habit. I had to go into the city anyway, so I went with all the hype and dropped in to my nearest Lush to make my new beginning of baths a memorable one. My personal experience of Lush extends only to Baby Face so the bath time stuff was all new territory.

I purchased two bubble bars, Ma Bar and the famed The Comforter. As you can see half of the Ma Bar joined me in my bath last night and I absolutely loved the smell of this one, but will admit I was slightly disappointed it wasn't stronger. Maybe that's just me, but it seemed pretty tame strength wise for Lush. I'm looking forward to the Comforter, it didn't smell anything like I expected. It smells of blackberries, really strongly so. Quite Ribena-esque. I love Ribena, so this is most certainly not a problem. I expected it to be more candy like (which I know sounds ludicrous since I just compared it to Ribena - not, I suspect, the most natural of drinks) but sniff it and you'll see what I mean.

Ooo! And I got a free sample! Always exciting. A little slither of Angel's Delight soap, which smells exactly like some orange flavoured something I had when I was little, quite what it was is driving me crackers. Any ideas? Please enlighten me.

And you know what, I think Lush may well have renewed my faith in baths...I see an expensive new habit forming.

Monday Weigh In Number 2: 11/01/10

Weight: 75.75kg

BMI: 27.1

Left to lose: 15.75kg

Start Weight: 77.11kg

Total weight loss: 1.36 kg

Weight last week: 77.11 kg

This week's loss: 1.36kg

New Year, New Look: The Skin

To be honest my skin care has always been a bit of an obsession of mine but in recent weeks I feel I have finally got the perfect combination of products that make my skin look how I want it to look. I'm a great believer in the thinking that good skin gives you more confidence than a face full of make up. I can't claim to have massively problematic skin I'd say my main problem is actually redness and large pores rather than any sort of acne. I have Dry-Combination skin, that goes right to either ends of Dry and Combination. In Winter it gets incredibly dry, the cold, central heating and all that are not best friends with my skin. Summer however is a completely different story. My T-Zone can get incredibly oily and shiny through the day. I suffer from the occasional spot, probably a maximum of 5 at a time at its worst. I'm not entirely sure if this is due to the luck of the draw or my commitment to taking care of my skin.

This is my winter routine, I add a couple of things in the summer which I will mention when it comes to it.

Morning:

Clinique Extra Mild Facial Soap

To cleanse and get rid of 'sleep face'

Clinique Clarifying Lotion in Number 2 (the purple one I believe)

To really freshen up my face. Sometimes if my skin is extremely dry or irritated I will skip this step as I find it can bring on more redness, but if not this is an essential. I really notice the difference in the texture of my skin because of this step.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion/Youth Surge Moisturiser

I adore Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion, of all of the Clinique products I use I would probably recommend this the most but at the moment I'm using the sample of Youth Surge that was in the free Clinique give set thing which I got along with my restocking of the rest of my stuff. It really is brilliant, even for me who doesn't really need an anti aging product at all. I love that it's got an SPF (I'm a pasty thing and my face burns like billio, unlike the rest of me) and that it's a slightly thicker cream which really makes a difference with the weather being so chilly at the moment. Would seriously consider repurchasing something similar to this for next winter, even at over £30 a pop, perhaps Super Defence or Moisture Surge.

Clinique All About Eyes

This came in the sample set I got when I first wanted to try Clinique about 2 years ago (I know, I know I probably should have binned it by now) but I can't bear to get rid of this stuff. I am nearly at the end of the pot. I think the fact that the sample size has lasted me two years shows how little of this stuff you actually need. It makes your under eye area feel like silk, which makes your concealer glide on wonderfully. I'm not sure about it's claims of reducing puffiness and dark circles but i say it's well worth it purely for the moisturising effect around my rather irritable and sensitive eye area. I will be very sad to see this go.

Evening:

Take The Day Off Make Up Remover/Any oil based eye make up remover

I'm a big fan of waterproof eye liners and mascaras which make a good oil based make up remover an essential. I love Take the Day Off, it was another product in my Clinique sample set and I thought it was wonderful then, so I was very pleased to see a mini bottle in my clinique Christmas goody bag. I do have a wonderful drug store dupe in the form of Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover by Boots, at less than £3 a bottle it's much kinder on the pocket than £14 - the cost of a full size of Take the Day Off.

Soap and Glory Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths

I was dubious about the pore shrinking claims of these but after using them for about a month I can say I honestly think they do work. These are the best cleansing wipes I've ever used. They don't make my skin feel stingy at all, just very very clean. They are marginally more expensive than your average packet of wipes (still no where near as ridiculously priced as MAC wipes though) but Soap and Glory skin care is regularly on 3 for 2 in Boots and I take the opportunity then to stock up - they then work out about the same as some of Boot's own brand wipes. And I adore the packaging. Not only for its kitsch designs but also these wipes have a plastic lid thing instead of the usual bit of flimsy bit of plastic with adhesive on the back. This stops your wipes drying out and also stops bits of rubbish getting in if your throw them in a bag. Genius. I do love you Soap and Glory.

Clinique Extra Mild Facial Soap

I'm a double cleanse fan. Do it and I guarantee you'll notice a difference.

Clinique Clarifying Lotion - Number 2

Because I can't stand going to bed without squeaky clean skin.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion

For some reason I'm not a massive fan of sleeping with a really rich moisturiser on, even when my skin is at it's driest and feels like it could drink any drop of moisture up I hate the greasy feeling of some thick night creams. Perhaps I haven't found the perfect one yet, but my trusty moisturising lotion is doing it for me at the moment.

Clinique All About Eyes

Soothes the skin around tired eyes, especially when bed time isn't as early as I'd like.

Once or Twice a Week

St Ives Apricot Scrub

I prefer the one of these which is more like a cream cleanser with grains in that the normal one which is very gritty. I think the one I like is invigorating or something, it really cleans you skin and scrubs away the nasties but is gentle enough that I have been known to use this as my every morning wake up cleanser, especially in summer when I always wake up feeling a bit more yucky.

Soap and Glory The Fab Pore 15 Minute Facial Peel

Another absolute wonder in the Soap and Glory skincare department, if these two products are anything to go by I'd love to try the whole range at some stage. This really refreshes my skin when it's feeling a bit blah. I've only ever used it as a 15 minute mask, but it can also be used as a 5 minute pick me up type affair. It has tiny blue beads which you massage into the face which release what I can only describe as some magical potion. It leaves my pores squeaky clean and my skin looking glowy. Who wouldn't want that?

Some form of wash/cleanser for oily (and spot prone) skin

This is strictly a summer addition only. For times when my skin gets shiny in the summer I will use a wash aimed at oily skin about every other day to curb it. I find this has to be used with caution on my skin, as there is often a fine line between using it often enough to have an effect on oiliness but using it as little as possible so not to over dry my skin. I have found this is the only way to control it, lotions and potions purely for combination skin doesn't quite cut it at the hottest time of the year so I find this the easiest way. And over drying is quite easy to remedy, especially when the weather is at its hottest.

Girl Crush: Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams (Guess which film I saw on Sunday...)

Potentially going to end up looking like a massive stalker in this post, but do you ever stumble across an actress/model/general celebrity/human who you think is ridiculously gorgeous and that the world is massively unjust because that's not how you look?

Well, even if I'm alone in this I'll share with you my current girl crushes. Both featured in Sherlock Holmes which me and A went to see on Sunday (he goes back to Uni on Friday, but in my head it's not happening) and I did my usual 'where do I recognise that person from with basically everyone on the screen (and heads up for anyone trying to figure out where they know Constable Clark from he was in Casualty 1909 - surely his proudest moment) which drives both myself and A mad as I feel the need to shout out when I figure it out. Never go to the cinema with me, seriously you'll regret it. But anyway, Kelly Reilly was someone who proved unidentifiable. I got home and looked her up and even more irritatingly still couldn't figure it out. The best I could come up with was a Poirot she was in a few years back. But anyway, I digress, I spent much of the film absolutely gobsmacked by how gorgeous she is, then on Monday night a three part mini series detective thing started on TV (it concludes tonight, I need to catch up on last nights before hand, thank god for ITV player) so I've been bombarded by her and wish my freckles looked like hers and that I could have her hair (think Florence Welch but a bit toned down.)

And then there was Rachel McAdams who still had her hair dark as she did in The Time Traveller's Wife, I have to say I never was a fan of her blonde, I just think her colouring is far too washed out then. And she definitely had the best clothes of the film, I loved every one of her outfits from the pink satin bustle dress (which you can see the amazing button and corset detail on in the first photo) to the masculine suits. And her hair looked awesome too.

Oh! And by the way, I really, really liked the film and highly recommend you go see it!

What I Hope Becomes My Work Wardrobe...

Monday Weigh In Number 1: 04/01/10

Ok...so I just freaked out writing the date, very weird. Anyway here goes...

Weight: 77.11kg

BMI: 27.6

Left to lose: 17.11 kg

Bust: 101cm

Waist:80cm

Hips:104cm

Thighs: 62cm

New Year, New Look: The Resolutions

So here goes, the obligatory resolutions. Let's hope I can stick to them! I've deliberately not made hundreds as one of them is a massive change and I don't want to overwhelm myself and not achieve any of them. These are all pretty superficial I know...

1. The obvious weight loss one, already discussed on here.

My aim is to lose 17 kg by the beginning June. That works out at a little 3kg a month. I plan on doing this by following a calorie controlled diet (1600 calories a day) and cutting down my portion sizes. I've always believed this is part of the cause of my excess weight; it's not that I eat particularly badly I just eat too much. Plus I need to post my food diary on here every day (I realise my lack of these posts so far isn't boding well...but they start tomorrow after my first Monday Weigh In.)

2. Drink more water. This is for a number of reasons. Partly because it ties in with my losing weight, I tend to find I eat less when I drink more water - it probably fills me up. There is that theory that often when you think you're hungry it's in fact your body telling you it's thirsty. I also get a lot of head aches and I think these are due to dehydration, making sure I get enough water (and stop drinking my usual buckets of coffee) should put a stop to these. Which I definitely like the idea of! Also I gave up all drinks but water and herbal tea for lent the past few years and my skin has always looked amazing during this time. So on a purely cosmetic level - I want my pretty skin back!

3. Moisturise daily. I suffer from horrible patches of eczema on different parts of my body and I know this is partly down to my own laziness at looking after it. I need to moisturise my whole body and then spot treat the patches of eczema with my special creams. DAILY! And gently scrub once or twice a week to get rid of any skin build up.

I do have some none beauty related resolutions, but i thought I'd just share these as my others are harder to judge any improvement for!

So I wish you all luck with your resolutions and will let you all know how I get on! And yes please to those who offered to do this with me, i'd absolutely love the support and to hear how other people are doing.

Speak to you all soon!

P. x

2010 I welcome you! (And true to form, I'm a little bit late with it...)

I'm now going to sound like one of those people who seemed massively old when you were 7; but where the hell has this year gone? It seems like 5 seconds ago I was watching my friend launch a paper lantern into the air to mark the beginning of 2009. And quite the year it has been. (Be prepared for a slightly uncharacteristic bit of gushing...)

I can definitely say that 2009 has been both the best and worst year of my life, in that moments of both have definitely occurred.

I had the time of my life with the most wonderful friends. Fell even deeper in love with the most wonderful guy I know (some may know him as A.) Said good bye to A, my favourite person in the world. Saw the sites of Dublin, watched some of my favourite live musicians and spent many a lazy day under a duvet with my aforementioned favourite person. Discovered a love for tents and learned the true value of a can of spaghetti. Found out that a weekend spent with A, limbs tangled in a tiny bed is well worth the train fare. Failed to achieve what was expected of me and hit rock bottom. Recovered from the end of the world and realised no matter how much I moan about getting out of bed, I love hard work as long as it gets me out of the house. Was faced with the prospect of my beloved N not making it to 91. Got to tread the boards one last time. Visited a new continent. I began and ended the year with some of those I treasure the most. And wouldn't change a second of it.

Here's to another year with enough good times to make the bad ones seem worth it.