Remember that heavy frost we had quite a few weeks ago? Not really? Well I took the opportunity to snap a load of pictures but unfortunately I thought I'd try out my super macro lens which turned out to be a bad choice for the occasion. Out of close to 100 pictures taken most were pretty dodgy with one area in focus but the rest all blurry and made for ugly viewing. After something of an epic prolonged editing attempt I've finally prepared about a dozen which I'm pretty chuffed with and hope you enjoy looking at. Get your scarves at the ready and prepare to feel the chill....

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Special thanks to Husband for leaving his car out which proved to be rather photogenic in the icy conditions!

Do you enjoy the beauty that can be found in a morning frost? I must admit I can spend quite a while eyeing up the astonishing details at the weekend yet swear like bilio if it dare happen on a weekday morning.

Sophie

What to wear on Valentine’s day in my opinion is something which oozes a little old fashioned romance. When George at Asda asked me what I'd wear on Valentine's day I chose a beautiful dress from their range. This lace prom dress is in the sale for a bargainous £5 would you believe?! I ordered in my usual size but I could have got away with a size smaller. The gorgeous lace bodice with the off-the-shoulder cap sleeves is deliciously old school Hollywood glamour and completely unlike anything I've worn before. I love the way there is a generous amount of neck and shoulder on show without it feeling uncomfortably low cut, the only other dress I have worn like this was my wedding dress, maybe that's why I love it so much. Let's face it the opportunity to wear a pretty net skirt like this is not to be missed and I feel rather grown up in such a frock. The cherry on the dress-cake is the little black bow to the front, just perfect!

I I I decided to try out these polka dot tights which add to the vintage feel of the look. This necklace was chosen for me as an added extra and it's rather different but something I'll probably wear time and time again.

These are my favourite dressy shoes, the buckles to secure them on are a must!

I’m planning to go out for s special meal with Husband but we never go on the 14th, we'd much prefer to go before or after to enjoy a normal atmosphere rather than all the put on guff that places insist on doing on Valentine’s day. I'm planning to wear this dress which makes me feel very happy. It’s nice to show to you care all year round,not just on one day a Valentine's day will most probably be spent having a regular but tasty inner at home and then snuggling up on the sofa with a glass of wine and a snoring dog. As it should be.

 

Do you have any plan?

Sophie

Thanks to George at Asda for sending me the beautiful dress and tights! All opinions my own

My motivation in January had waivered somewhat but now we're into February I can say with a certain degree of determination that my focus is back on track and my nose is due to be glued to the grindstone to make some tangible progress. It almost feels like I need someone kicking me up the backside to start the ball rolling as I'm clinging on to that lazy ledge with my fingertips for all I'm worth instead of diving in gracefully. What's better for making training more enjoyable than new workout wear? Matalan have a whole new range of sportswear at the moment and they kindly offered to send me some to try out. I chose this jaunty pink t-shirt and sensible black leggings to make a practical outfit. Usually I wear a baggy style of jogging bottoms for a workout but always feel that they make me look larger than they ought to so I opted for these flattering fit bottoms which fit much nicer and are going to boost my self esteem no end which is pretty good going for £12.

In order to put the outfit through it's paces I proceeded to work through a couple of YouTube boot camp workouts and then spend 15 minutes on the treadmill and am happy to report that I was very confortable throughout. I was pleased with the length of the tee and it stayed in position well, nothing worse than a top that decides to ruck up!

A few months ago I attended a practical running seminar hosted by an ex-pro distance runner. Like a sponge I soaked up all the information, pointers and concepts that were mentioned and I've been mulling over a few ideas on and off since. There was one point brought up that really hit home and has been nagging away at me when I feel like it's all hopeless. If you gave up work and took up full time training for your running distance of choice, no matter who you are and what your current standard you would not believe the leaps and bounds that you would come on and the progress you could make. Now, becoming a full time athlete, funnily enough, is not on the cards for me, but the promise of being rewarded by a higher level of dedication is something that does tickle my fancy. Who knows what this year could bring? It could be anything, but wouldn't it be great to have an even more successful one than last year? I don't know if I dare to hope but I want to immerse myself in training and positivity regardless and just take each day as it comes.

Sophie

Thanks to Matalan for sending me these items to review, all opinions my own.

This week I went to a family funeral of someone who was in their early fifties. That sounds dreadfully vague but I don't really like to talk about people directly on here as I kind of feel like it's not fair to spread stories about people behind their backs. Over the years I've been to a handful of funerals and cremations and there is one thing they all hold in common;  I cry. I well up and feel dreadfully emotional but in a rather sad way it's the atmosphere, music, sombre readings and generally being part of a church service that brings on the tears. Hideous as it sounds, I think going to the funeral of anyone would produce the same result, even if I'd never met them. Come to think of it I pretty much always cry at weddings too. That environment just stirs up so much emotion it chokes me right up, which is absurd because usually I'm pretty matter of fact about life and death.

I was blown away by the phenomenal strength of character displayed by the family of the deceased, they were so strong, so mature and so outgoing in engaging with the vast (I mean vast) congregation who attended the service and gave such a thoughtful and celebratory send off to such a popular and well loved person who had been taken before their time. Even daring to imagine myself in any of their shoes made me shudder and I have no idea how they all handled the occasion so well.

It hit a nerve with me how utterly different I am from the person in the coffin, they were involved with so many groups, clubs, sports with endless work colleagues and friends, always keen to try new things and mix with more people. I, on the other hand, don't tick any of those boxes. The number of friends I have varies between one (Husband) and half a dozen (that would be you, good old online buddies) with most of my hobby activities being a solo affair and avoiding socialising with a vengeance. I wouldn't say this makes me 'happy' but it certainly is in preference over anything else. My personality is one I would describe as complex. Or perhaps simple. It's kind of split down the middle. I sometimes describe myself as an introvert which is probably accurate as I find being with other people exhausting. In a room full of people I would far prefer to zone out and not be directly addressed by anyone, nor expected to contribute anything to conversation. However, I can also be absolutely outgoing, lively and completely different, like when I went to the blogger meet up in Norwich (stone cold sober) for perhaps the exact same scenario for seemingly no logical reason at all. All I can say for sure it that I don't crave human contact, much as I like the idea of having close friends (that I actually see regularly) it's not happened in adult life and I'm not sure I could make it last anyway. The very thought of having to be part of a team makes me roll my eyes and pull a face as I cannot tolerate being part of an ill-organised team (most are) and would want to bark out direction to sort out leadership yet at the same time loathing, loathing having to be in charge. My fitness pursuits are all about me individually and even my group boot camp sessions are not a 'team' thing. Baffling how human beings can be so different. So the funeral made me question whether I am missing out, whether I need to re-asses my priorities, engage in anything and just generally my life. Thought of it makes me feel ill. Put it this way, I could probably only just fill a garden shed with a turnout for my funeral so should that persuade me to do anything different? I don't even know.

Sophie

January seems to have flown by for me, so much so that I had in fact forgotten to blow up the balloons and celebrate three years of blogging. In one sense I can't imagine how I've written 884 posts and yet in another it feels like I've been blogging my whole life. Sometimes I wonder where my life would be had I never started this blog. With a degree of certainty I would say I'd probably be a stone heavier, still eating loads of ready meals and insisting that watching telly in the evenings constitutes a hobby. Only a couple of positives would have come from not blogging - I doubt my wardrobe would be so jam packed (and the spending n that front minimal) and I'm pretty sure I would have carried on with the gardening in the warmer months. Hours used to be spent outside planting, weeding, pruning and the odd bit of admiring in the days before the blogging bug took hold and I have to say that is one of the compromises I've made.

This year I'm determined to get back a bit of that joy and ensure that I spend enough time outside to keep my green fingers a pleasing shade. I do so enjoy looking out of the window to see a lovely tidy outlook with some jolly pretty flowers adding a splash of colour to all the greenery. The last few years have been ok but nothing more and I want to be excited about our little patch again.

 



I took these pictures an eternity ago and shelved them pending thinking of something interesting to say. As that never happened I've resorted to fishing them out regardless for a waffle about the great  soutdoors. I picked up this lovely lace top not so long ago and had visions of wearing it simply but what I overlooked was the fact it is completely see through so I'm going to have to think again. My new-ish boots still haven't been broken in just yet, they almost seem too nice to wear out the house which is a ridiculous notion as they were a second hand steal as they were. My super long scarf doesn't get anywhere near enough wear at the moment but seemed just the right accessory to wear with my simple outfit.

Have you made any sacrifices for blogging?

Sophie

It's tough to know what to eat in order to maintain a nutritional diet day in, day out. The term 'eat clean' is bandied around like nobody's business but what does it actually mean? Getting enough of the right things in your meals is seriously important and plays arguably the most important role of living a healthy lifestyle. Exercise alone only has a certain level of effectiveness if you eat the wrong things. When fitness trainer Greg Johnson got in touch to give me a preview of his book Clean eating for busy people I knew this was exactly what I needed. I've been trying some of his recipes and have to say it's been fun. The first dish I tried was Seabass, sweet potato chilli mash and spinach. It was good!

Next up to try was Moroccan meatballs which I would never have labelled as 'diet' food, it was so tasty and filling. The meatballs recipe was nothing like any I've made before but they really worked and I'll definitely be knocking these up again.

Somehow the sauce ended up a little watery on the plate but that is easy enough to fix.

Spicy pork

The final main dish I tried was the guilt free shepherds pie. Although it bore little resemblance to a traditional shepherds pie, it was a super scrummy, hearty pie and using gluten free gravy was far nicer than the normal gravy - I don't want to go back.

I’ve been on the lookout for proper filling tasty breakfasts so this banana and cinnamon omelette (yes I said omelette) jumped out at me. It's become an instant favourite and I like to make it at least once a week. Deeeeelicious. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

I'm going to be making my way through some more of the recipes, especially the breakfasts and I can't believe that such healthy meals can be so tasty and filling. Thanks for showing me the light! Greg shares all his knowledge and experience with how to nourish your body to perform at it's best within this book, it does what it says on the tin, you don't need to be a cook to be able to make these meals. Easy, simple and tasty.

Sophie

Thanks to Greg Johnson for letting me test run his book Clean eating for busy people