Fast Diet Update #2

As I have mentioned before in this blog, I am trying to follow the Fast Diet (also known as Intermittent Fasting and 5:2). If you haven't heard of this diet before I explain the basic principles here or find more (professional) info on it here. To tell the truth I haven't been sticking to it very religiously recently and I have probably only done 2 fast days in a month - I should have fasted for a total of 8 days in that period. Surprisingly though I haven't put any of the weight that I had previously lost back on which I am very happy about! But I have been back on it this week and I thought I would share with you what I ate on my fast days this week in the hope that it might help or inspire any of you that also follow this diet. I split my meals into 3 - breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm always on the go at work so I normally have to buy my lunches out so the choices I make are important. I'm also not too strict on myself, I don't count every single calorie to the digit and I make rough estimates so some days I may be over or under the 500 calorie allowance.

Day 1.

Breakfast: Small bowl of porridge made with water, a splash of soy milk and some blueberries. (aprox 100 kcals)

Lunch: Large bowl of vegetable soup (200 kcals)

Dinner: Corncake with a spread of light philadelphia, 1/2 a tomato and a tangerine (approx 150 kcals)

Day 2.

Breakfast: Banana and Coffee (80-100 kcals)

Lunch: Tuna Nicoise Salad (170 kcals - less if you skip the dressing, I used half)

Dinner: Poached egg on toast, 1 slice of smoked salmon and half a tomato, green tea (approx 250 kcals)

I'm starting to notice that "fast days" are getting easier. My body must be getting used to not having many calories on certain days. In fact, after a heavy weekend of eating and drinking I find I actually look forward to my fast days now. The only downfall to this is that at the beginning my stomach had shrunk and so I was eating less on my "feast days" too. However, my body getting used to this constant fasting followed by feasting means that on my feast days I have no problem stuffing my face. This week the goal is to be ever so slightly more restricted on my feast days too. I have also taken up swimming on the evening of my fast days. I find this keeps me busy so takes my mind off the hunger and apparently it is perfectly fine to exercise on fast days if you have the energy. I'm hoping to lose another 2lbs to add to the 4lbs I have already lost by the end of this week. I will let you know how this goes.

I plan to blog about this again as taking pictures of everything I've eaten has really spurred me on to be inventive with my meals and stick to the calorie limit! Wish me luck for this week.

Isobel x

One Line a Day, Memory Book

My latest Amazon find is this a five year 'one line a day' memory book. I instantly fell in love with the idea of it whilst browsing through sketchbooks & stationary online. I've never been the type of person who's been able to keep a diary so the idea of summarising my day into an individual sentence is perfect for me. It's going to live on my bedside table, something constructive i.e. not twitter, to add my night-time routine. One line is feasible enough to keep up with (even for me) & I'm looking forward to having a record of memories that might otherwise slip away from me.

I love the layout of the pages, each date is set out on one page & has space below for you to fill in the present year. When it's finished you can see what happened on the same calendar date over the course of five years.

If you're interested in checking out the memory book its currently on sale from Chronicle Books at Amazon for £8 with free UK delivery link! They also stock a 'one sketch a day' visual journal which I love the concept of, but I'm too much of a perfectionist when it comes to drawing to commit to one every evening!

Harriet x

Fitness Tip, Kettlebells

Up until now my experience with kettlebells has been limited to a few upper body exercises. I've never got to grips with the wealth of exercises you can do with them or trained with someone who uses them for full body strength & conditioning.

As of last week I started working out with a friend who has just set up a Personal Training studio & after feeling a major lull in my workouts & generally being quite unmotivated, in just a week I feel hugely re-energised & can feel my endurance returning. The exercises he has incorporated into my workouts have been a mixture of some I'm already familiar with & some that are completely new. The ones that have made the biggest impression have been the full body kettlebell moves. Kettlebell swings, alternating swings, the kettlebell clean & (the amazing but leg destroying) burpee-deadlift.

In just a week I can notice a big difference in my lower body tone & will definitely be using these moves in the run up to summer! Looking for toned lean legs & a pert bum? Try kettlebells! A lot of gyms will offer a kettlebells workshop or class (something I explicably missed out on during 3 years at Virgin Active) so if you're stuck in a workout rut I'd take full advantage of them!

If you are based in South London & looking to kickstart your fitness regime definitely check out Ed's boutique training studio the Apex Club! The full website will be up & running soon but there's currently a online booking system that you can use to book in your first free session. Ed has a wealth of fitness experience & know-how & has kitted out the beautiful space with everything you need to get a killer workout. Paired with brand new bathrooms & shower facilities it really is a bit of a fitness gem in the Vauxhall/ Stockwell area. Ed is now on twitter as of today so if you have any fitness/ health questions pop over and say hi!

Harriet x

Valentine's Glossy Box

Yay, another lovely little treat waiting on my doorstep when I got home from my long weekend in Newcastle - a Glossy Box. This time it was a Valentines edition - supposedly everything in this month's box is to help you have "the night of your life".

So, what did I get? Much to my delight this box was a lot more makeup orientated that my last one. Inside was a mini Micabella Cosmetics mineral eye shadow in the shade Deep Secrets which is a shimmery brown colour. I did a little swatch on my hand and it's really heavily pigmented so I'm excited to test this one out properly. There was also a Balance Me Rose Otto Body Cream which smells beautiful and a MeMeMe Beat The Blues highlighter in "Pearl Pink" which I hear is a great dupe for Benefit High Beam. As well as these there were two lip products - Figs & Rouge "Rambling Rose" Lip Balm which seems nice and moisturising so far and a Miners "Cinamon" Lip Colour which I will probably get the least use out of as it is not a great colour for me (an in between dusty pink and brown shade) and it doesn't seem to apply very well. 

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you would like full reviews of any of these products.

Isobel x

Liebster Award

We were very kindly nominated for the Liebster Award by Charlotte from The Beauty Board. Thank you very much and we would love to take part!

Liebster is a German word meaning kindest, nicest, beloved, endearing and welcoming. It's a word which has a positive meaning towards people. This award is given to bloggers by other bloggers. And the most important thing about this award is to share and grow the network and encourage new bloggers. The blogger who has been nominated should have less than 200 followers.

How it works...
Each person must post 11 things about themselves
Answer the questions that the nominator set for you, then set 11 more questions for the blogs you nominate
Chose blogs to nominate, then link them to your blog
Go to their page and let them know.

11 things about us:
1. We have known each other since we were 7 but only really became friends when we were 15 and bonded on a school trip to Germany.
2. When we were about 18 we got obsessed with Example (before he was famous) and followed his gigs around London.
3. We've been talking about starting a blog for years but only got round to doing it at the beginning of this year.
4. We live really close to each other in South London, have lived here our whole lives and will probably both never leave. 
5. We used to spend a lot of summers together in Crantock, North Cornwall which is Harriet's family holiday destination.
6. We both had our first job working in a bar when when we were 18. 
7. Our favourite drink is a gin & tonic with lots of fresh lime... preferably on a warm summers evening!
8. We both have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with coffee...especially from Starbucks (eek).
9. Isobel has a Canon 450D DSLR and that's what we take most of the pictures for our blog with.
10. We've both been traveling and would love to do more!
11. We're really enjoying blogging and hope we can carry on for as long as possible.

Questions for us:
1. What is your favourite make-up brand?
Bobbi Brown! Each time I walk past the Bobbi Brown stand at the moment something else finds its way into my makeup bag. I love their concept that everything should revolve around really great skin, & adore their colour range of lipsticks & blushes - lots & lots of pinks. (Harriet)
2. What is your favourite TV Show?
At the moment it's Peep Show. British comedy, 8 series and still going strong! (Isobel)
3. Are you planning on going on holiday this year? Where?
My Uni friends and I were flirting with the idea of spending a week in Spain this Summer and taking a cheeky little trip across to Ibiza for one night. This probably won't eventuate though as we suck at organisation! (Isobel)
4. What was the last gig/concert you went to?
In the summer I went to "SW4" a 2 day festival on Clapham Common in South London. Chase & Status headlined the 1st day and Skrillex headlined on the 2nd. A friend works in music so I managed to go backstage which was so much fun. (Isobel)
5. Who do you think is the most beautiful Celebrity?
Monica Bellucci, Marion Cotillard & Bar Refaeli- I couldn't decide between the three of these naturally gorgeous women! (Harriet)
6. What's your favourite Take-Away?
Such an easy one for me: Noodles! And my favourite place to get them from is Noodle Express which you should definitely try if you live in the South London area. (Isobel)
7. What do you do? Studying/Working? 
We both work! Isobel studied Graphic Design at Uni and would love to pursue it, at the moment she is working as a Nanny. Harriet has worked in retail for years and now is making the transition into fitness & nutrition.
8. Handbags or Shoes?
Handbags. I definitely have a bit of a handbag addiction, there might be a new naughty purchase coming up on the blog soon... I love shoes as well but feel like I get so much less wear out of them so they're harder to justify. (Harriet)
9. What is your worst beauty habit?
I definitely don't clean my makeup brushes enough. It's a terrible habit and in fact I feel so bad thinking about them all dirty I'm off to clean them right now! (Isobel)
10. What is your holy grail beauty product?
Following on from the first question; the Bobbi Brown corrector, I have repurchased this countless times. It completely erases dark circles & discolouration & has a great consistency that makes it invisible on the skin. (Harriet)
11. Favourite Junk Food/ Comfort Food?
CHOCOLATE! Not a favourite, rather an addiction! (Isobel) 

Questions for you:

1. Do you have a pet? What is it? Name?
2. What's your favourite City?
3. What's the one beauty product you couldn't live without?
4. If you had to leave the house with only ONE part of your makeup done, what would it be? Eyebrows/Lips/Foundation...etc?
5. Apart from being a blogger, what do you do?
6. What's your favourite High Street Fashion Store?
7. What's your favourite form of exercise?
8. Who's your favourite celeb & why?
9. What's the last restaurant you went to?
10. If you could only wear either rings, necklaces or bracelets, which one would you chose?
11. What do you consider your best quality?

We nominate:
Ou est la discotheque?
nihilarian
Comely Cobber
Samya Says
Charlotte Jackson

Lovely Weekend in the Toon!

So, this weekend I went up to visit my lovely friends from Uni in Newcastle. It was a weekend full of shenanigans...mainly, drinking red wine and catching up. Whilst there I met a lovely little Lion-head Rabbit called Costello. I just thought I'd include him in this post as he is SO cute. He belongs to my friend Jenna, who also has a blog. Sorry about the terrible picture quality, my phone is rubbish and I didn't take my camera with me!

We also ended up having an amazing breakfast on Sunday at The Butterfly Cabinet in Heaton. Despite having lived in Newcastle for 3 years I had never been before...and I have no idea why as it was so yummy. It doesn't look much from the outside but it has a really cutesy, quirky interior with vintage decor and eclectic trinkets. It has a very good reputation in Newcastle and we even had to queue to get a table! I went for the full works, full english, American style pancakes and a really naughty hot chocolate with whipped cream, marsh mallows and a flake (please don't judge)! To top it off my bill only came to a tenner - unheard of in London.

A lovely weekend re-living my student days! 

Isobel x

Coffee Break OOTD

Jacket: Zara

T-Shirt: Topshop

Jeans: Primark

Bag: Accessorize

Shoes: H by Hudson

I've got the week off work (yay!) so I had a much needed lazy day. Keeping it casual as I just ran a few errands this morning and grabbed a quick coffee with Harriet...bliss. I got her to take a few snaps of my outfit before I head off for dinner tonight at a friend's house. I only got this jacket on Friday and have been wearing it all weekend as I'm totally in love. I'm really appreciating Aztec patterns being back on-trend at the moment and this jacket goes really well with these "red wine" coloured jeans too. 

Isobel x

New Shoes

Fed up of ruining my boots & gym trainers pounding the pavements with my dog I finally decided to buy a pair of designated dog walking shoes.

Nike Blazers had been on my radar/ wishlist for a while (mainly due to the huge range of vibrant colours they come in) so I decided to kill two birds with one stone & try a pair out. Not owning a single pair of fashion trainers I wasn't convinced how wearable I would find these but I really love them.

They look great paired with skinny jeans & I love the classic retro design. I would definitely wear these out for coffee/ lunch, not just relegated to walks with my clumsy muddy pawed Rottweiler.

Today I went for very blue themed outfit & wore them with a Zoe Karssen tee & Vince jeans. An oh so simple, casual outfit made a tad bit more fun with these iconic shoes.

I got mine from Office for £69.99, they are the Hi Suede Vintage, in obsidian blue, deep royal blue. I love the neutral colour combination & think they will pretty much go with anything. Link!

What do you think of Nike Blazers & how would you style them?

Harriet x

L'Occitane en Provence Haul

Harriet and I decided to make the most of a 20% off voucher I had for L'Occitane so we ordered a few things online to help us get through the coldest February London has seen in the last 28 years!!

Harriet and I both went for an Almond Shower Oil (£17.50) as she raves about it and I'm really into oils for my skin at the moment so I really wanted to try it. I also bought a HUGE jar of Repairing Mask for Dry & Damaged Hair which at £20 is kind of pricey but it should last ages and it's totally worth it. You can read a little review I did of it here. If you spent over £30 you could get a Comforting Winter Collection for just £14 which I thought was a nice little bargain and a great way to try out some different products without having to buy the full sizes for the full prices! It came in a lovely cream, knitted bag which I am going to keep as a winter essentials (lip balms, hand creams etc) that I take to work bag. In it came 6 miniature products from their Shea Butter range. Hand Cream, Foot Cream, Lip balm (which, by the way, I have tried already and is heavenly!), Ultra Rich Body Cream & Face Cream and an Extra Gentle Soap. Unfortunately L'Occitane have stopped this promotion but they've got some good offers on sets of their new Spring products at the moment. Harriet also bought a tried, tested and much loved Shea Butter Rose Petals Hand Cream (£8), I love the packaging of this one. 

Isobel x

What's in my Graze Box #2

This week in my Graze Box I got.....

Healthy Popping Corn
Salty popping corn in a bag that you can pop (no pun intended) into the microwave for a minute or so and come out with lovely warm, perfect popcorn. So easy to make! I've tried these microwaveable popcorn bags before but what's good about this one is it's just the right portion size for one person for a little snack.
Guilt Free High Tea: perfect pumpkin & ginger cake with an afternoon tea infusion
This snack is SUCH a good idea. There is a small slice of cake that comes with a tea bag so you can enjoy your cake with a cuppa. The little square of cake tasted just like the Jamaica Ginger Cake which I used to love as a child. It's labeled as "extra light" at only 76 calories which sounds promising but to be honest with you the slice is literally only 2 bites. The tea was very light and reminiscent of Earl Grey. Can't wait to sample the other 3 cakes they have to offer!
Copacabana: dark chocolate buttons, milk chocolate buttons & brazil nuts
Ok, so I can't give a fair comment on this snack as unfortunately being allergic to Brazil nuts (and Cashews) I couldn't eat this one. Which was such a shame as I could only eat 3 of the 4 snacks that came in the box. On the Graze website you can browse and rate all of the snacks they provide but as far as I can see there is nowhere on the website to say that you are a nut allergy sufferer. Obviously if you have a severe nut allergy then I wouldn't recommend the Graze Box as they have a lot of nut products and I'm sure there would be no guarantee that any of their products wouldn't contain nut traces. But what about someone like me who is just allergic to some nuts? I'm not going to scroll through over 100 products and individually "bin" nut filled items! I have to say I am a bit disappointed with this aspect of Graze.
Pina Colada: pineapple, coconut and mango
This one does as it says on the tin really. It is dried pineapple, coconut and mango pieces. It's marketed as super healthy, 1 of your 5 a day, vitamins & minerals etc...but to me it was just darn tasty!

Isobel x