12 Memorable Moments: September

It started to get quite hard in month 9 of 2014 to think of some new memorable things that are realistic and within my ever draining budget range.

I have never been a sporty person as I believe I have already stressed. And that anti-sport sorta feeling isn't just in the active sense, even watching it makes me feel a bit nauseous and never captures my attention. Whether it is the Olympics, Wimbledon, World Cup I dunno, it just doesn't really tickle my fancy. But take a lonely girl in a lonely world with a bank balance looking quite thin and throw in a friend with a passion for football and well... there you got me, I'll try anything

A week in pictures

What a week! The Christmas season is definitely in motion. Christmas light switch ons, partys, birthday celebrations and meetings galore it just seems to have flown by this week and I thought I would share with you a few pictures of my week. There were actually so many more I could have taken but here is a few I took in the moment.

End of last week we celebrated my friends birthday at the fireworks. I love getting all wrapped up in the cold and seeing a blazing fire with beautiful displays in the sky. There is something about firework night that marks the start of the festive season for me, I love it!

It's been busy busy at work this week with lots of projects underway and one of my meetings took me through Chalk Farm where I saw some awesome grafitti. I love finding little surprises like this on my average every day and really makes me feel I'm seeing more of London.

Despite the busy schedules we managed to stop and have lunch one day with one of our agencies at Pachamama in W1, a peruvian restaurant tucked away on Thayer Street. As we were a larger table we ordered one of everything from the fix menu where everything was £6 a plate. You can find the menu here but my favourites was definitely the Chicken anticuchos, charred corn (kebab style),  the Quinoq with avocado, Granny Smith, tomato, coriander vinaigrette, Short Grain rice, spring onions, roasted nuts and the Chilled prawn, onion squash, english mustard and tiger milk.  And of course, wherever I go, I have to have a cocktail and this Mama Pisco, though strong, hit the spot! How cool is the little silver pot it came in?

image from pacha mamalondon.com

I also got the exciting news I am off to Berlin in January for work. I am so excited! I love getting on a plane and jetting away and this will be my second destination I am visiting for work so I feel quite the jet setter. It is going to be during fashion week and I hope to take a few extra days to visit the city as I have never been. Does anyone have any tourist tips? It also finally means I have a reason for my Topshop Berlin tee that I have always been mocked for.

To top off a busy week every evening has been lit up with the Christmas spirits. Oxford Street has turned on its light and in all its glory brought Christmas to London with Selfridges, the mother ship, a beacon of joy to shopaholics a like. Always a great vision for the end of a long working day.

Back home, the weekend is here which means a night out with some friends. The only thing that annoys me at this time of year is the bars and clubs put up their prices. Understandable but a bit cheeky when there isn't much new yet once inside. However, they kept me sweet by giving out to the lades these venetian masks in one of my local bars. I'm always partial to a bit of glitter and it has certainly got me in the party spirit (not that I needed MUCH convincing)

Now, time to snuggle down to some X Factor and strictly before the next busy week begins!

Hope you all had a great weekend, what did you get up to? Has anyone else been to London yet for Christmas shopping?

A girl should be two things; classy and fabulous

The holy grail, the mother of the beauty ship, Coco, CHANEL.

There is something about the slick black and white branding, the glossy lids and the elegance, the prestige that gets girls hearts all over the world pounding, pennys rattling and minds slipping into endless dreaming. You just simply cannot deny the beautiful, sophisticated packaging from the iconic Chanel, whether it is a nail varnish or the out-of-reach handbags poised perfectly in the Bond Street stores.

I am not one to splash my cash on such items. Not because I don't want to but because I can't afford it whilst battling all my monthly fees; train, rent, food. Sure, I've contemplated walking from Warwickshire to London for a few months and even come close to giving up food in the cause for being fabulous. It's like once you have Chanel you are immediately accepted by some higher power in towering heels gleaming head to toe in designer. You have made it.

Well girls, its happened. The Gods have listened to me and his trusty men here on earth (ahem, my parents) have been at work. I have my very first Chanel!

12 Memorable moments: August

Just before my birthday I was whisked away to Devon by my two lovely best friends. I always hate celebrating my birthday and refuse to throw a party or acknowledge it anyway.However, this year I had one of the BEST weekends filled with shopping, dancing and....kayaking.

Yup, you heard it, Kayaking!

We were so lucky to stay in my friends house that sits just above the Estuery in the little town of Newton Ferrers which is so quaint and beautiful and have the fortunate luxury to do a bit of kayaking in her families...kayaks. (nearly said boats )

Day in the life

For a person who is a big fan of lists, loves to plan and abides to organising anything she can get her hands on I find it near to impossible to stick to a beauty cleansing regime. Also taking into the fact I have exceptionally dry skin with more than enough time to fulfil its quite frankly, in beauty world, scandalous.

Recently however I have got so sick of my dry skin. Even my  liquid foundation even forming a 'peeling' effect on my forehead, nose and quite strangely the side of my face by my ears. It is has resulted in me making the little effort I should have always made. In desperate measures, I pulled together all the countless cosmetics I have parted with my cash on recently and surprisingly have found the magic ingredients

12 memorable moments: July Take Two

July, what a dream a way that was. The sun was shining, office melting from the heatwave of  the English summer. That lasted one week, I know ok but a girl gotta paint a pretty picture!

I know its took me a long time to catch up on these memorable moments but hey, I've just been having too much fun.

Now on this lovely July day the sun was actually not shining. It was the rain making a grand entrance with torrential rain on the one day my best friends and I decide to get active.

We travelled to Woburn's Go Ape & Safari park near Milton Keynes. Fashionably late after making our way through the unaccounted Safari (which you must visit first) to get to the Go Ape we were strapped up and ready to swing amongst the rainy trees. Of course, If you ever meet me and my friends it won't surprise you in our decision to continue with the course despite the many people fleeing the route drenched head to toe.

Optimistic and hysterical with laughter I then realised what I actually had to do. Swing, from trees, high up.

Erm, yeah, I'm scared of heights did I mention that?

Dinner for one: Take one.

As a singleton living in a rented room in a family home in London there is one thing that frustrates me the most. Dinner. Walking past the aisles in supermarkets is a constant anguishment. Not only am I trying to save money but I am constantly being battled with being resourceful with my one shelf in the fridge.

If you are a singleton of some kind you may share my anger for the many 'dinner for two' meals on the shelves. Or the packs of four chicken.

See my predicament. I have one shelf in the fridge, literally. Approximately one microwaved shaped space in the freezer. I need to shop for a week but use all the contents before they go off and I've practically flushed my money down the drain. I want to be healthy and I want variety and all of this with a limited budget. I am also restricted to kitchen facilities due to my impossible (and yes ridiculous) concerns of intruding someones kitchen space (who wants to be cooking when a dinner party is going on in the same room?).

A four pack of chicken could take you far at not such a hefty fee. Lunch, 3 dinners in the week perhaps. But do I really want to be having that for 70% of my meals? Fish and steaks are expensive. Fresh fruit and veg have a decent life span but also not that cheap. The cost of eating healthy though not pocking breaking isn't as cheap as other alternatives which add pounds in other areas. Really, I am quite lazy and this needs to stop if I want to get my bikini body. I don't think it actually takes much to make this work so, I have decided from today, going forward I will make a vow. To eat a balanced diet at a reasonable budget with creative flair. I will document my efforts with you the beautiful blog reading public.

I thought I would share with you a meal I whipped up a few weeks back in acknowledgement of this new eating me.

Marks and Spencer Chicken Breast filled with Ricotta and Spinach, cous cous and salad. YUM!