Life from my perspective: April 2014

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Weightloss Wednesday

Hey everyone,

So it's weightloss Wednesday. The first step in our program is to eat three meals a day, it sound silly but we have been eating about 700 calories a day which results in weight gain. Therefore we have to stabilise our body out of survival mode.

Take care x

Tuesday, 29 April 2014

TTC Tuesday: My story so far

Hey everyone,

For the first Trying To Concieve Tuesday, I thought I would tell you our story so far.

When I was 14 I was diagnosed with PCOS, this does notnecessarily cause fertility problems, there are other symptoms but that's a whole other blog.

When Paul and I got serious we discussed children and he told me he had a vasectomy. So we decided to visit a clinic, after much discussion we chose CRM London.

We made an appointment for a consultation, I had an internal scan of my uterus and overies. I then had 7 viles of blood taken. We discussed the different plans and processes that the clinic performs.

We then had to go home and wait for my results. After a couple of weeks my results came back, I am highly fertile and have a perfect mix of hormones.

We now have a choice to have a vasectomy reversal of go straight to ICSI.

Currently our plan is to get married first and then move on to having children,

Each week we will discuss more of our story and different ttc topics

Take care x

Easy, Cheap Oreo Cupcakes

Hey everyone I saw this great recipe on UKTV Food and wanted to try it. I wanted to make these cupcakes with the most inexpensive products possible to prove you don't have to spend a lot of money to bake. The cost to buy the ingredients £5.17 and most of the ingredients will only be part used.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

6 Oreo biscuits

115 g unsalted butter, softened

115 g caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

100 g self-raising flour

20 g cocoa powder

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp milk

Icing

50 g butter, softened

80 g cream cheese, cold

175 g icing sugar

6 Oreo biscuits

Method

1. For the cupcakes: preheat oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4. Line a muffin tin or baking tray with 10 paper cases. place one oreo into the bottom of each case.

2. Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar, along with the vanilla extract, until pale and fluffy.

3. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Add the two beaten eggs and mix well, taking care to stop once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Add the milk and beat briefly to combine.

4. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases. Bake for 22-25 minutes.

*TIP: Do not open the door until ready to take out or the cupcakes will collapse.

5. For the icing: place the six Oreos into a food processor and whizz into crumbs or place the cookies into a plastic food bag and smash with a rolling pin. Set aside.

6. Rub the softened butter into the icing sugar using the back of a wooden spoon. Do the same with the cream cheese.

7. Once the icing sugar has been incorporated, whisk with an electric mixer until light and fluffy or with wooden spoon.

8. Gently fold the Oreo crumbs into the icing. Place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

9. To decorate: cover each cupcake with the icing.

*Tip: Double the icing recipe as I found there was not enough icing for all the cupcakes and the icing was on the stingy side.

Hope you enjoyed this, take care x

Monday, 28 April 2014

Marriage Monday

Hey everyone, welcome to the first Marriage Monday post!

As you all know Paul and I have been planning our wedding for years but for reasons that don't deserve the time of day, we have not booked anything.

In this post I want to introduce you all to our wedding reception and evening venue. Oakwood House.

Oakwood house is a grand Victorian mansion, it has been owned and lived in by a wealthy family for many years until their was only one owner left with no heirs. He left the mansion to the local council.

This picture is of the front of Oakwood House. As you can see it is built of redbrick, it has a long drive way too. If you turn right off of this picture you come to the car park, which leads on to an overflow car park.

This is the back of Oakwood House and it opens up into a large enclosed garden. The reception room or Suite is just to the left of this picture it has double french doors that open onto a large terrace, also leading into this enclosed garden.

This is a picture of the Suit as you can see it is light and airy, you can see one set of double doors to the left of the picture.

This picture shows the magnificent ceiling of the suit, it also has a skylight at the far end, to dance beneath the stars.

Thats a teaser of our wedding venue. Did you have your wedding here or know someone who has? What are your thoughts on our venue?

Take care x

Saturday, 26 April 2014

Sanctuary Saturday: Relaxation

Hey everyone, today is the first Sanctuary Saturday blog. Sanctuary means many things, safety, relaxation, bliss, serenity and much more. In this post I am going to talk about the relaxation.

We live in such a busy stressful world with more and more people suffering from mental breakdowns, depression and other stress related illnesses. We need to make time to relax and destress.

We live such busy lives that we are always rushing and don't have time to our selves for rest and relaxation. Here is a quick tip I use to relax and stay sane:-

Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down on your bed. Either place our hands by your sides or rested on your stomach. Close your eyes. Breath in for 5 seconds, hold your breath for 5 seconds then breath out for 5 seconds. Repeat the cycle for 3 minutes or until you feel the relaxing effects of controlled breathing.

I know it sounds silly but it works!

Take care x

Friday, 25 April 2014

Fashion Friday: Aeropostale

Hey everyone, today is my first Fashion Friday blog so I thought I would share one of me USA loves. When we visited Orlando, Florida last year we obviously did some shopping. One of my new favorite brands is Aeropostale. I was first attracted to the brand because it was created in 1987 the year I was born! Then I was blown away by their designs. I love the casual/ sporty look they pull off so effortlessly.

I will now share some of my favorite items:-

This t-shirt is breathable and kind to the skin. I have worn these tops when I had sunburn as it was the only thing that could cover me up but not hurt me. The style is sporty and a good option for a casual day.

Aeropostale hoodies have the right balance of temperature. They are warm enough to keep out the cold but breathable so you don't feel stuffy. Again the sporty design gives you casual style.

I wore this lace top over a cami, sometimes in Orlando you get freak rain storms, this lace top gave me a little more protection without sweating for the rest of the day. This top is smart enough to wear with jeans and heels if you're eating out after.

There are so many reasons why I love these slippers. They are animal print which is currently in fashion, although I always love animal print. They are colourful, which is different from the usual beige, brown or black slippers. Most importantly they were super comfy.

Lastly this cute bag. It is feminine yet practical. I love that it has an air of beach chic and all those pockets come in handy too.

Have you got any favorite brands

Take care x

Daily Themes

Hey everyone,

Just a quick post to say, I have been thinking a lot about what I want from my blogs and vlog. With these thoughts in place I think a rejig is in order. Please see below my new blog themes for each day:

Marriage Monday

TTC Tuesday

Weight loss Wednesday

Throwback Thursday

FashionFriday

Sanctuary Saturday.

Take care xx

Thursday, 24 April 2014

Interview outfit

Interview outfit by grace-carter-i featuring a floral skirt

Laltramoda v neck top
$99 - yoox.com

Black linen blazer
$42 - tkmaxx.com

NIC ZOE floral skirt
nicandzoe.com

Giuseppe Zanotti platform pumps
bluefly.com

Steve Madden handbag
macys.com

DKNY white bracelet
overstock.com

Teardrop earrings
artisandesigngallery.com

Saturday, 19 April 2014

Bech chic

Bech chic by grace-carter-i featuring steve madden purses

T shirt
$69 - conleys.de

J TOMSON chiffon skirt
amazon.com

Zara leather sandals
zara.com

Steve madden purse
6pm.com

Red Herring pearl flower bracelet
$20 - debenhams.com

Red Herring earrings
$10 - debenhams.com

Friday, 18 April 2014

My every day make up

Hey everyone. I wanted to share my everyday make up routine.

I start off by applying my foundation, at the moment I am using NO7 Stay perfect (new formula) in the shade cameo.

Then I set the foundation and get rid of any shininess with the Rimmel Clear complexion powder in transparent. I apply this with a kabuki brush.

I then start on my eye make up.

I prime my eyes with the Urban Decay primer potion.Apply this to the entire eye from the brow bone to the eyelash line.

I start off by applying virgin to my entire eye. Secondly apply toasted to the crease, then I contour the outer eye with hustle. Lastly I apply half-baked to the lid.

Then I apply my mascara today it is waterproof false lash effect mascara. I always apply two coats but let the first one dry before applying the next.