Things I wish I knew as a teen…

1. Spots don’t magically disappear on your 20th birthday.
2. You’re not fat.
3. You’ll actually grow to enjoy and crave exercise.
4. You haven’t met all your friends, or even best friends, yet.
5. Buying every book on Marilyn Monroe isn’t the best use of your bookshelf space.
6. The ‘cool’ girls at school won’t be ‘cool’ forever. Neither will the ‘nerds’ remain forever ‘nerds’.
7. There’s still bitchiness and cliques. School just trains you on how to handle it better.
8. Don’t drink at work functions.
9. You’ll still like The Magic Numbers.
10. Having a hobby will make you well rounded and help you make friends later in life.

Image found here.

Resolutions catch up three months in

A favourite moment of 2014 so far.

As we enter the second quarter of the year I though it would be a good opportunity to check in with how I’m doing with my resolutions.

1. Complete London duathlon with a good time. Hmmm, I haven’t got back on my bike yet, so my cycling isn’t going as well as it could, the running is going great though. Plenty of time to work on this though!

2. Continue racing. Yep, at the beginning of the year I spent a small fortune entering races. I’ve completed three so far in 2014, I’ve got one more this weekend, then a few more lined up. Autumn is looking a little empty though!

3. Sub 30 mins 5K, and sub 60 mins 10K. I haven’t run either of these two distances properly to get an accurate time, but I’ve been doing so much speed work I would hope I’m putting in the leg work (get it??!!) to hit these goals later this year.

4. Continue to juice regularly. Yep, at the moment I’m having at least one juice a day and I’m feeling so much better for it. I’m planning another full juice cleanse later this month.

5. Cut back on processed sugar. I knew this one would be the toughest for me, and it hasn’t been going too well. As I write this tomorrow will be 1st April, so, as I love starting fresh at the beginning of the month, I’m intending to give this a really good go.

6. Complete my quilt. A little every week, it’s slowly getting there, thanks to my sewing machine!

7. Hit that number on the scale. Hmmm, I’m probably the furthest away from that number I’ve ever been. Don’t ask.

8. Cook a new recipe at least once a fortnight. Yes! This one is going really well! I’m loving trying out new recipes and the majority have been a success. I’m loving this challenge.

9. Save, save, save. A trip to New York may have set this back slightly, but I’m one month away from paying off my credit card (all being well with my car…) so saving can hopefully begin in May. But I’d still consider this a success as I’ve been paying off lots on my credit card, so soon I’ll be debt free!

10. Have regular pamper evenings. Something I still need to work on a little more, but definitely better than it was last year.

So, how are your resolutions going?

Life lately | phone snaps

I’ve been a busy bee catching up with work this week after a fun-filled week in New York, and these photos have been sat on my phone waiting to be shared. New York recaps will be up soon, promise!

A motivational quote from the Tone It Up ladies.

Making the most of the brief sunshine with cropped trousers at work on Monday.

A note left on my car door. I think it says that I look like a bum. Charming.

A delicious chocolately treat bought back from NYC. So, so good.

Keeping up my new year’s resolution of a pamper evening and face mask.

Peanut buttery treats for my BFF bought back from NYC!

Words to live by.

A love letter to coffee

Dear Coffee

When we first met I was young and I didn’t like you, you tasted funny, and you seemed far too old for me. Soon I learnt that you were a great vehicle for dipping in rich tea biscuits, especially when spending afternoon’s at Grandma’s, leaving the biscuits in there so long they dropped off and dissolved into you.

As I got older and moved away from home we fooled around; a milky latte here, a cappuccino there, but we never made it official. In my second year of Uni, things got more serious, and I remember ringing Dad to ask him if you could have too many coffees. I was so naive.

At 21 things between us became intense. Espressos and macchiato’s became a daily, sometimes hourly event. The smell of you bubbling away on the stove in my little flat brings back so many memories, and I learnt to really appreciate you.

By the time I moved back to England I knew you’d be in my life forever. You gave me the perfect, inexpensive excuse to catch up with friends, relax, treat myself, and got me through hours of lectures and long library stints. I played around with adding syrups to you, but I kept coming back to you on your own, plain and simple.

Now we’ve settled into a routine like a married couple. Every morning you wake me up and set me up for the day. Whenever I’m down in the day I know you’ll pick me up, weather you’re on your own, or double dating with some soy milk. At weekends I look forward to spending time with you and friends, experimenting with your different flavours and roasts, there’s always something new to try with you. You make my weekends relaxing, I can’t wait to spend a long, lazy Sunday with you and the TV.

So, coffee, I just wanted to say – thank you, and I love you. I hope you’ll stick by me forever, you’ve given me so many happy memories, and I couldn’t be without you.

Always in your debt

Emma xxx

Life lately

For a lifestyle blog I haven’t filled you in on life lately, have I? Sorry about that, I’ve just got so many ideas for posts, life gets in the way . Anyway, this is a post about what has been going on in my life, aside from the very exciting trip to Hogwarts I’m sure you’ve all read by now, and if you haven’t why haven’t you?

1. I’ve been buying lots flowers for myself. Nothing fancy, just some daffodils, but they sure do cheer me up in the morning. I’ve even ventured out and bought some house plants too, but I’m not sure how well they’ll last!

2. I got to witness the most incredible sunrise on Monday morning, and had a fantastic run. The weather was perfect t-shirt weather, and it made me so happy. I felt great day!

3. I went to the rugby last Friday and had a super time with the work girlies, although I drank a bit too much beer and had a headache all day on Saturday.

4. I got my car washed on Saturday (for the first time in two years!!!! Yes. I am that grose, but only in my car, promise) and immediately regretted it when my wing mirror fell off. Dirt must have been the only thing holding it on! Cue an emergency trip to Halfords. It’s now stuck on with number plate stickers.

5. I’ve been loving having cups of tea in my new mug. I don’t drink tea much, as I don’t often buy soy milk, so this week has been a real treat to have a cup of tea in the morning.

6. I attempted a homemade juice recipe and it tasted bad. Ok, it didn’t taste bad, it just tasted like pure cucumber juice, which we all know is the devil’s food.

7. I’ve been trying to eat a bit cleaner, and actually cook homemade meals using proper ingredients, instead of being a bit lazy! I’ve been feeling heavy and bloated and lethargic lately, and I’m sure it’s down to chocolate, so I’m actually looking forward to getting back from New York and trying a bit of a clean eat detox thing, with juice and whole foods. Watch this space…

8. I tried to go out on my first bike ride of 2014 on Saturday and both my tyres were flat. It made me really sad. It’s only acceptable to wear pigtails for bike riding (for your helmet), or yoga (so it doesn’t stick into the back of your head whilst in corpse pose).

9. I finished Breaking Bad. I was a little disappointed by the ending, but mostly my life feels so empty now, there’s a big whole where Walt and Jesse once were. What am I going to do with my life now?

10. I had a really delicious coffee and sausage sarnie at a new cafe near me, and it was the cutest.

11. I broke my space bar trying to get a piece of fluff out from underneath. Now I have to press my space bar in a very specific place to have s p a c e s between my words. A bit annoying.

So, that’s a little about what’s going on with me lately, what’s going on with you?

52 lists #5

Things you love about the town you live in

1. It’s really easy for me to get into London.

2. The high street has plenty of choice for places to eat, I’ll never go hungry, breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert.

3. The chances of you bumping into someone you know on the high street is high.

4. Valentine’s yarn bombing!

5. It’s close to the countryside and box hill making it great for running and biking.

6. There’s good pubs everywhere, great for an stop off on your bike ride, or after a long walk.

7. There’s lots of nice little shops that sell nice little bits for the home and make good presents.

8. I can get into the shops and back in 30 minutes walking if I need something urgent.

9. There’s a great park which makes a lovely place to sit in the summer and soak up the sun.

10. It’s home to some really super people, who I’m glad to call my friends!

What’s in my handbag?

I’m so nosy I love seeing what’s in other people’s handbags, so here’s what’s in mine! It’s always so heavy, and even after looking at this, I’m not really sure why!!

In my bag this week you’ll find:

iPod//bingo dabber//pens//hairbrush//keys//antibac//mirror//empty tic tacs//ginger sweets//tissues//travel sick tablets//receipts//notebook//diary//business cards//car tax// documents//purse//lipstick//hair clips//trolley coins//car keys//headphones//lip salve//

As you can see I don’t carry around a lot of make up in my bag, as I am terrible at remembering to ‘reapply’ during the day, so don’t want the extra weight! It’s unusual to not have an umbrella in my bag, but I’ve been wearing a coat with a hood this week, so again, not needed.

What’s in your handbag? Any essentials you can’t believe I’m not carrying around?

L-O-V-E part two

I saw this late last night on the blog Greatist, just before I was going to bed, and it’s originally from this Buzzfeed article. After some of the lovely pieces of feedback I had on my post yesterday, I couldn’t not share with you. I hope sharing this makes more women happy with who they are.

L-O-V-E

It’s Valentine’s day, in case you hadn’t realised, so here’s a lovey dovey gushy post for you. Except, the thing is, I’m single. On this ever so clichéd romantic day, I wanted to take a moment to share just how in love I am at the moment, with life.

The past few weeks I’ve just felt so happy pottering around, going for lots of runs, regular yoga, pampering myself, treating myself, spending time with friends, planning for the future, and just generally enjoying myself.

I had a rather awkward chat with someone the other day who tried to tell me where I’m going wrong with relationships, (apparently I’m too confident and need to ‘dumb it down’) but you know what? I don’t care. I’m really happy with life at the moment, with my friends, my little routine, and everything I’ve got going on, that life is good.

So, to all my single friends, be in love with life now, I am!

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

In the past two months I’ve been given two beautiful bouquets of flowers. One for my birthday in December, and one last week as a thank you to the work I’ve done recently. I love getting flowers, they feel so indulgent and smell so lovely (although I can’t appreciate my current flower’s aroma thanks to a stinking cold)! I’d really love to start adding some more house plants to my flat, but not really sure where to start. If you have any recommendations, please let me know!

Do you often get given flowers or do you buy them for yourself?