Embracing My Marvelous Monday

Thanks to Katie for hosting. Can't wait to find out the gender of her baby :D

Today's post is going to be a random mixture of things. So here goes.

I keep pinning things on Pinterest to get inspiration for Clothing, Footwear, Jewellery, Beauty and Hair Ideas. There's so much I want and want to do.

First off Beauty. There's so much I want to try and experiment with.

1. Lately I've been trying out different styles of eye-liner on my top lid, and I got really inspired by this pic I pinned.

So many different styles to try.

     2. I really love experimenting when it comes to nails. And I really want to try this matte top coat.

Need this!

     3. Last year I finally got into wearing bright red lips and I loved it. Usually I am a gloss girl (since my pre-teens), but I really wanted to try it, so Halloween I tried it and I NEED more.

I'd love to try them all.

Second we have Jewellery. I LOVE jewellery, especially bracelets and rings.

1. Not normally a big necklace fan, but these look cute.

Need and Want.

    2. I love this. A Ring and Bracelet all in one.

      3. I love the idea of these. Fingerprint rings and necklaces sounds so original and unique, and looks so simple and classy. Definitely need these, but how do they make them. Obviously, I know how they are made but if these things are made on sites like Etsy. Anyways it's both a want and a need.

     4. Branch Bracelet. Another great idea.

Thirdly it is Hair. Usually when it comes to my hair I am very lazy indeed. But I have kinda been making an effort lately. But here are some styles I would like to try.

1. This one is like a half up-do half down-do.

     2.This one is a low, full bodied up-do. Very summery I be thinking.

     3. My mom who is very youthful for her age, as short spiky hair and she does this all the time. Need to try this this summer.

Next we are moving on to footwear. Now as I mentioned in a previous post I am a flats girl all the way. I LOVE my flats. But I love the look of high heels, but like every girl I hate the pain of high heels, especially the morning after the night before.

1. Now I love converse. I own many pairs, as they are both comfy, affordable and go with everything. But these I need and want to add to the collection.

     2. Dr. Martens. I need these in my life. But they are pricey.

I need these in every style and colour.

   

      3. Love these heels but loving and walking are entirely different things.

Pastels and Florals.

       4. These I'm tempted to find. One, wedges are always easier to walk in but two, I'd prefer them in black.

Better in Brown or Black?

      5. Wedges I love and want!

  

     6. I like the idea of loafers in the spring/summertime. What do you think?

Maybe not these exact ones. Once again I'm not sold on the brown.

Finally for the clothes!

1. So those of you who have watched Pitch Perfect will get this first one.

     2. I've been trying to not Pin gimmicky stuff, but here's another. I'm a huge Batman Fan so this ranks highly.

        3. I saw this outfit of Pinterest and fell in love.

         4. Here's a bunch of dresses I've pinned.

These are the items I am loving on Pinterest lately. Damn that black hole of a website, but you gotta love it all at the same time. I get some really great ideas from it. As you have noticed there are more of the Shoe pins than any other. I'm definitely a shoe girl. Bout you?

I am hoping to have a happy day and begin my Monday with a smile. Hopefully this will start my week of with an explosion of happiness or whatever. 

Today is one of my days off from actual classes. So what will I be doing I here you ask? Well I will be working and getting as much reading done as I can and set up my week with productivity, hoping to keep it up throughout the rest of the week. Boring but safer for my brain, especially when the end of semester approaches and I freak a little.

I hope this week beats last week in many ways. Last week was an ok sort-of-a week, but I want this week to smash it in all the ways it possibly can.

So have a happy Monday and enjoy your week :D

 

A Weighty Subject

So, this week I am down 4.25 lbs. Granted most of it was probably water weight from that time of the month, but this week I feel as though I have hit a turning point. Though this point is small it opens up doors I thought had been closed off. I haven't been this weight since the beginning of last summer. Since then I've hovered in the early 150's, which I wasn't always happy with to say the least.

I feel like I am getting my life back which is sad but true, and my weight's a big part of that. If I'm happy or maybe a better word would be content (with life). I'm lighter both mentally and physically and it's just part of a much bigger package.

This week as you can see from my posts I'm beginning to get back into the swing of things when it comes to working out. Day 1 was definitely the hardest, but as I get that mental strength back the physical strength is just there regardless. I want to keep it going and I am just 1.5 lbs away from this months goal, so hopefully I can make that and then surpass it.

One of my goals for this month was to start tracking again on LiveStrong.Last year it was my most valuable tool, but after a while it also became boring and monotonous and so I ended up giving it up. But as soon as I tracked the first couple of days I realised where I was going wrong and it so I was able to resolve these little issues without much of a problem.

It's all about learning what works for me again and retraining my mind and body to remember these good/healthy habits I'm acquiring again.

These are the things keeping me going this week:

Love this film, but it's also a great saying.

Need this top! And it is always a good reminder why I'm doing what I'm doing.

We all have those bad days but it's a nice reminder that although you're having a bad day, it doesn't mean it's a bad  life.

So true! Sometimes I forget that and get caught up in society's thoughts and images etc.

Need to remember this when I'm lifting weights. To push through because I want to be a BEAST.

I need to remember this. It's life to eat and indulge in both good and bad things. But you need to let the good outweigh the bad. Though the bad doesn't ruin all the good, as long as the bad is consumed in moderation.

I need to remember this when certain peoples comments or actions get to me.

What am I currently eating?

That is a good question. Lately I'm just going with what I fancy. I fancy it I eat it. There's a mixture of snacks and meals I've remembered to take photos of this week.

Over the last couple of months I have had trouble with my stomach, and so I'm now on medication again. So instead of big meals I've tried to have loads of small meals instead.

Thanks to Jenn for hosting.

Now I know this month is Veggie Month for WIAW, so that's something I'm going to try and squeeze in to my meals this month - as I can be guilty of not eating my veggies. Fruit and salad I do fine with, but veggies not so much. So this is going to be a great challenge for me personally.

Flumps (Marshmallows) and Blueberry Liquorice. To eat when I'm studying.

Blueberry Liquorice.

I had a voucher for a £1.00 off in Holland and Barretts that I needed to use. So I decided on flavoured liquorice. Raspberry and Blueberry are my favourite flavours in liquorice. And sooo Addictive.

Wheat and  White wraps w/ Tikka Chicken and mayo and mint with Salad.

This wrap was so yummy. Unfortunately I'm now out of chicken. I used to make my own spicy chicken, adding my own herbs and spices etc onto plain chicken. But lately I'm really busy and so grabbing this out of the freezer is ideal.

Sea Salted Rice Crackers w/ Crunchy PB.

I've been enjoying these as an evening snack, as I have been wanting something sweet but nothing too heavy on the stomach.

 
Me and my best friend made pancakes for breakfast on our day off last week. I made small wholewheat pancakes again.

Check out the tiny pancakes.

I had mine with more PB.

Cheesy Mash and baked beans with loads of black pepper.

Last week was my week of that time of the month and so I ate this for comfort. Unfortunately I had no bacon or sausage in the fridge to put with it :-(

Sugar Puffs with Soya milk and Almonds. 

I been trying to get protein in with my breakfast some way. Friday I added almonds to my cereal.

Carry Cup.

This carry cup is so handed. I've been making sure I'm hydrated lately, and so I put all kinds of tea in this to take to class, especially in the mornings where it's tough to stay alert. I've been particularly loving Green Tea.

Now ever since my unfortunate incident last year where I couldn't eat cheese much, if at all, I haven't really eaten Pizza. I know it used to be a favourite of mine. Well for some crazy reason last Friday whilst shopping I had a craving for Pizza. So I brought a Margherita Pizza and added my own peppers and Salad.

Another evening snack. Rice Cracker w/ PB and Pears. I've been adoring pears lately again.

I brought these Mcvities Breakfast Biscuits to try on Saturday, to have as my breakfast on the go or as a snack. They are proving very handy and I'm enjoying them in all kinds of ways. Dipped in tea, Greek yoghurt topping and broken up on banana and yoghurt.

Oats w/ Soya milk, Almonds and Sultanas.

Like I've said I'm trying to change up my breakfasts lately as I've been getting bored quick. I really enjoyed them, but I'm sadly now out of oats, as I use them in my pancakes also.

Homemade Chilli. 

On Saturday I made a big batch of Chilli using a number of ingredients. I made enough for 4/5 servings depending on the size. I also remembered that when I was little my mom used to add baked beans into her chilli. Does anyone else do this? Well I tried it and it was yummy, it added to the texture and the creaminess on the dish.

I froze most of it to eat when I'm out of fresh food.

Weight Watchers Bagels w/ 2 Boiled eggs.

Another breakfast option I ate this week. So tasty. Definitely can see more bagels in my future.

Mixed Seeded Ciabatta, Lettuce, Red Onion, Light Mature Cheese w/ Ketchup and E.Light Mayo. 

This was last nights evening meal.I was so hungry when I got in from having lectures, seminars and workshops all day I was ready to crash and more importantly eat. So I made this, it was so quick and so delicious. Just what I needed.

Well that's it for this week. Have a happy Wednesday, and I'll enjoy ready everybody else's posts!

:D