Tuesday 31 July 2012

saving for a rainy day #2





Here are a few more items that I have put on eBay recently. All starting from 99p and all money will be going towards my travelling fund.

:) my eBay page is here.





Sunday 29 July 2012

live your dreams



Top - Topshop
Once again, I have changed my mind about what I want to do with my life. Everything I said in this post can basically be ignored. I will be going to Australia and I will be going soon. I love to meet new people and explore new places and I think, momentarily, I forgot that and got too comfortable in my life as it is now. I have forgotten what it feels like to be out of my comfort zone and how much I enjoy not knowing what will happen next.

I am so excited about my plans, but at the moment I haven't told my parents about my change of heart. They want me to follow my dreams but at the same time they will think I am a massive idiot to leave another well paid job to travel. That may be true and may seem stupid to some people but I am a huge believer of following your dreams and I have wanted to live in Australia for as long as I can remember.
Before I leave I will be selling quite a bit on eBay and setting up a Big Cartel shop to sell some vintage clothes I have discovered, so keep an eye out. All money made will be going towards my travel fund. I will also be organising one last blogger meet before I go and I hope I'll get to see a lot of you there.
I really do love to travel and I have set up my own travel blog [the-travelchain] which I will be updating a lot more now my mind has been made up about leaving. I hope you'll enjoy reading about my journey along the way.

Friday 27 July 2012

london we go hard




You can not escape the Olympics. If it's not interfering with your journey to work, it is on your TV screens being used in adverts for just about everything. The build up has been slightly ridiculous and all we seem to see on the TV is the greedy and negative sides of the games. Despite all of that, I am actually looking forward to the Olympics as I will be part of it. I will be one of 70,000 volunteers working behind be scenes, know as game makers. I am based at the Excel on the Technology Team working behind Fencing and Taekwondo.
I sent my application to be a game maker for the Olympics from a little internet cafe in Darwin, Australia in 2010. I still remember the very first interview I had and I can't believe the day of the Opening Ceremony is finally here.

This is a post to show you the uniform that I will be wearing.  As Adidas are sponsors of the Olympics I will be dressed head to toe in sportswear, including the first pair of trainers I have owned for a long time. I will be volunteering for 10 days out of the 2 weeks as well as working at my full time job when I can. It's going to be a busy few weeks but I am sure there is going to be an amazing atmosphere that will make it all worth while.



Wednesday 25 July 2012

operation shorts #2


I started Operation Shorts in February. I found a lovely pair of shorts that used to belong to my mum in the 80's that were just too small and it is my aim to fit in to them.
Since February I have managed to lose and keep off a total of 12 pounds which I am really pleased with. I have only changed my eating habits so far! I'm now eating breakfast, having salads for lunch and smaller portions in the evening! I now treat myself to chocolate, crisps and caffeine once a week instead of on a daily basis.
I think I've lost as much as I can from eating healthy alone so I am now going to do the 30 day shred and buy a weighted hula hoop. I want to concentrate on my thighs and stomach so if you have any exercises for these areas I would love to hear them.
12 pounds down, 9 to go to my goal weight. I have a feeling this is going to be really hard!

Tuesday 24 July 2012

wake up kid, we've got the dreamer's disease




I have been full of a cold and conjunctivitis the last few days and feeling extremely run down. I can only blame myself. If I haven't done anything for a while then I feel like I need to make loads of plans with everyone I know. It wouldn't be as bad if this was just a big night out, but it's not. I don't have one large group of friends that all know each other and they live all over the place. This is the end result of about 3 months worth of travelling all over the place, late nights and early mornings. I seriously need to learn how to balance everything.

The last time I was feeling run down I decided to give my bed a make over.

Duvet and Pillows in Air Force Blue - Marks and Spencers
Lights - eBay
Dream Catcher - Vegas
Keep Calm and Carry On Cushion - Past Times
Union Jack Cushion - Past Times
Fern and Striped Cushion - Being Little Shop
Glow in the Dark Stickers - Paperchase





Monday 23 July 2012

cliff's ribs sauce




I think you'll agree that we had beautiful weather at the weekend. Like most Brits, as soon as the sun shines we bring out the BBQ. I thought I would share with you a brilliant recipe for ribs. This recipe will forever be knows as Cliff's Ribs Sauce. Cliff is one of my friend's uncles who has recently sadly passed away from cancer. He invented this amazing sauce which we use every time we cook ribs.

Cooking the ribs:
- boil the ribs for 30-45 minutes.
- drain and leave to cool.

Sauce ingredients:
- 460g of tomato ketchup
- 80g of butter
- 1 tea spoon of white/normal pepper
- 3 table spoons of red wine/white vinegar
- the juice of 2 lemons
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 4/5 drops of tabasco
- 4 table spoons of sugar
- 2 table spoons of worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 an onion
Put the sauce in a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Once the ribs and the sauce is cool, mix together and leave for as long as possible before reheating.

Reheat the ribs covered in sauce on the BBQ.


Sunday 22 July 2012

saving for a rainy day #1





I have finally got round to putting some things on eBay, I've been meaning to do it for
such a long time. Here are some bits I have put up today and there will be more over the next few days/weeks. All money will be going towards my travelling fund :)
All items are used but still in very good condition.





Wednesday 18 July 2012

whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it because nobody else will


My friend Cathy graduated yesterday and I was luck enough be to invited along with her parents and her boyfriend. It was such a wonderful day and I am so proud of her for doing so well! Cathy now lives in Germany so it was lovely to spend the day with her! :')

Dress - Apricot
Jacket - Zara
Shoes [old] - New Look
Belt - Primark

Sunday 8 July 2012

no one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky



I absolutely love candles, especially Yankee Candles. I usually treat myself to the larger candle, but they are pretty pricey. I was shopping the other day and decided to buy some of the sampler candles instead for £1.75 each.

Twitter is great for chatting to other bloggers, but also finding new shops. I discovered Ditzy Doll on twitter and I bought this beautiful bird cage a while ago. It's been on top of my book case for a while and so I decided to put it to good use and put my candles inside.

I don't think Ditzy Doll is selling the bird cage still, but their site is well worth a visit.


Saturday 7 July 2012

#ldnbloggermeet


Here are a few snaps from the London Blogger Meet I organised, all from Aysha. It was the smallest group I have organised for but it was nice to have the chance to speak to everyone.
I hope everyone who come along enjoyed themselves.

@WiredJewellery
@Safira786
@amymcjohnson
@aysh_tmb
@hannahrozalyn
@Laurac15
@prettygreentea
@AislingNM


Wednesday 4 July 2012

highly motivated to do nothing



I'm not going to lie - I bloody love baggy, comfy clothes and could spend my life in this denim shirt. I am really pleased I rediscovered my old school Vans. I bought them in Cornwall about 5 years ago but they've been hidden away for so long I forgot I owned them.

Yesterday, I had a hair cut. I do not like the hairdressers at all! I don't like the small talk and the fact they never seem to do what you ask. I asked for a little off the length and a thick side fringe - I got about 3 inches off the length and a thin wispy fringe!! I ended up cutting my own hair with scissors that had glue on them to get my fringe how I wanted it. Luckily, I didn't get too scissor happy and I think it looks okay. Thankfully I won't have to go back for another few months!

Tonight I went shopping and had Nando's with my mate Ben. I bought a boys cardigan from H&M and he bought his girlfriend pretty birthday presents. I am not really a fan of wandering around the shops so it was good to go shopping with a boy. Bish bash bosh!



Shoes [old] - Vans
Jeggings - Primark
Denim Shirt - Bik Bok
Earrings - Broome, Australia
Sunglasses - Ray Ban