Recent Favourites

23.12 in ate, favourites, i, Paid, recent, today, what

At the end of each month, I see an abundance (its a funny word, abundance. I dont know why. I remember the exact English lesson in which I learnt it and since then it has just stuck. Anyway...). At the end of each month, I see an abundance of *insert month* favourites popping up on my Bloglovin dashboard or in my YouTube subscriptions. 

Dont get me wrong, I love looking at what types of things people have been loving; it gives me ideas for things to try. But I ask myself each and every month, how on earth do people have a bunch of favourite things every single month?!? Am I the only one who uses the same things for a good few months? That is probably because once I find something that is a favourite I usually end up sticking with it as I dont see the point in moving onto another thing.

So I thought Id share a bunch of things that Ive been loving over the past few months. It would be pretty ironic if a few days after writing this, I have a complete change of heart and end up absolutely loving a bunch of other things. Oh well, I dont plan on doing monthly favourites, they may be more like here is a collection of things that Ive been loving for x amount of time ... or the easier title of recent favourites.

1. Dry Brushing

Wow. Just wow. Id heard of dry brushing a while back but thought it would be painful, scratching a brush against dry skin. But, I picked up this amazing brush in boots a few months ago and Im so happy I did! This little baby is used about 3-4 times a week, a whole lot more than when I just used normal body scrubs, and my skin is looking and feeling pretty darn good since I started. Ill let you read about the benefits of dry brushing here, but I will say that its so much easier to exfoliate as there is no mess - unlike when using sugar scrubs.

2. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has been a favourite of mine for a while but over the past few months Ive started using it as a hair treatment and ooo my hair feels so soft after doing so. Typically, I try to apply it once a week, but sometimes I forget, and I usually put it on in the morning then leave it on all day with my hair tied up in a bun whilst I lounge around all day (like most days).

3. Tea Tree Oil

Speaking of things to help the hair, Ive recently been adding a drop of tea tree oil to my shampoo about once or twice a week. Tea tree oil helps with hair growth, hair fallout and dry scalps. We all suffer with our little problems and I suffer with a dry scalp (thanks genes) but Ive noticed quite an improvement since using it and I dont have so much hair fallout when I brush my hair.

4. Tangle Teezer

Following swiftly on, once again, with another hair favourite...the tangle teezer. Yes, Im well aware that Im like 3 years late to the hype but at least I joined aye? This little beauty has been a god send in the breezy weather of Britain. I also find it so much easier to keep clean than a regular brush, which is fantastic because loose hairs literally make my skin crawl (even more so when they are wet loose hairs, urgh)

5. Slip On Plimsolls 

I have been living in these for the past 2 months, they are so darn comfy! They are perfect summer footwear for people like me, who dont like showing a whole lot of their feet. They are comfy, practical, go with most things and were only £10!!! Thats all I have to say.

6. Coloured Fine Tip Pens

These little bad boys got me through my revision over the past couple of months. Their fine tip meant I could write with them and it didnt end up taking up half the page as well as looking neat. Who doesnt love a good bit of stationary?

7. Colouring

Yes, Ive joined the trend. Ive seen adult colouring books popping up all over the place but havent picked one up, instead I just printed a bunch of random pictures. Its so relaxing to just colour away and if youre anything like me and cant just sit a watch a program or film and need to be doing something with your hands, colouring is perfect as it doesnt take any concentration.

8. Bananas

Of course I had to include food favourites. For quite some time now, I have been in love with bananas and Im always stocked up so that I have a bunch ripening whilst Im munching away of the already ripe ones. Eat your bananas ripe and spotty people, they are more easily digested!! I love making creamy banana porridge or my new found love of banana nice cream.

9. Potatoes

Okay, this one may seem a little strange, but I potatoes have become kind of an obsession. More specifically, oil free potato wedges (aka my most eaten meal over the past few months). 

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What I Ate Today Vegan

04.00 in ate, i, Paid, porridge, rhubarb, stewed, today, vegan, what

 Im back again today with another What I Ate Today post. One, because I love watching/reading them. Two, because I love sharing my meals. Three, because they are great for inspiration.

In my previous what I ate, I mentioned that I was 95% plant based. But then like a few days later, I was just like nope, Im not supporting the dairy or egg industry. So Im now 100% vegan. Im thinking of maybe doing another post on it; Id love to know if you guys are interested in that.

 Anyway now onto what I ate the other day (because then I have time to edit the photos and write the post without feeling rushed like I would be if I shared on the same day).

Breakfast

I started my day the same as any other by drinking as much water as I felt I needed the moment I woke up, then made a cup of tea followed by my lemon tea - gotta get hydrated in the morning! Just so these posts dont get monotonous, Im not always going to include pictures of them.

Afterwards, I made myself a delicious mango and banana smoothie bowl - literally on of my favourite things, but I dont have it often as mangoes can get expensive (hmmm, I may need to start bulk buying). Let me tell you, the mango I used was so sweet and juicy, perfectly ripened! I remember when I first tried mango, I hated it! Why? Well it was because it wasnt ripe.

I topped the smoothie bowl with some oats, coconut and dried figs (which I used up and need to pick up some more, but Lidl has stopped selling them and they were so cheap at only 50p for quite a lot - sad times).

Lunch

It was one of those days were hunger just crept up on me, so a quick lunch was needed. This is one of my go to meals - brown rice, peas, sweetcorn, spinach and spices. So simple, yet so delicious! 

Tea

Tea was a little bit of recipe testing and this was the creation - a green goodness pie (there will be a recipe in the future)

Snack

I love having some kind of snack and lately these double chocolate shortcakes by minimalist baker have been my obsession!  I find they are a lot like scones and love topping them with a bit of strawberry jam. They are becoming an addiction, Ive probably gone through about a batch a week (by myself). 

Of course I had to have my cup of tea with them - perfect way to end the day. Yes, I drink my tea through a straw. Dont judge.

What is something youve been loving lately food wise?

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Sharing Some Blogging Love

21.39 in ate, blogging, i, love, Paid, sharing, some, today, vegan, what

Todays post wasnt meant to be this. I had another in mind, but I just couldnt formulate my thoughts into sentences or even words - which is one of the most frustrating things I regularly come across. Who knows if those thoughts will ever become a post? Maybe they arent meant to be. But instead of dwelling on it, I thought I would share some posts Ive enjoyed reading in the past few weeks and share a bit of blogging love.

Lucid Dreaming: A Beginners Guide

Ive often heard references to lucid dreaming, but had no idea that you could train yourself to do it! After reading Tegans post, I have begun putting the steps into practice firstly by dream journalling. It cant say Ive got into the habit of waking up and automatically jotting down dreams just yet, but Im going to try my hardest to as I love reading back over them and remembering them - even though its only been a week, its surprising how fast you actually forget dreams. Have you ever tried or experienced lucid dreaming?

How to Define Success for You

This is just one of those posts you need. A nice little pick me up post. Do I need to say anymore?!

Friendship

I really related to this post by Lauren and let me tell you how good that feels, to know you arent the only one feeling a certain way; when sometimes it feels like you are. It was almost like she wrote from my mind! 

15 Unforgettable Bucket List Trips You Can Do On A Budget

Ive wanted to travel for quite some time now. I love pinning cute little destinations or travel tips on pinterest, it just makes you want to hope on a plane or train and take off for a while. Ive recently got into watching psychotraveller on youtube, she shares tips for travelling cheap which are very helpful as it is the only way Id be able to do it. 

A few weeks ago, I was actually so close to booking a flight to Amsterdam for either £71 or £91 (I cant remember) and then a hostel for 2 nights for £47?!? But I opted out because Id be going by myself which I didnt want to do because 1) Id prefer to go with someone else for safety reasons, especially if it was my first time travelling and 2) I have no idea about airports and flying as Ive only flown once and that was in a school group so checking in was in a big group. But hopefully I will be able to plan sometime maybe for next year!

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What I Ate Today

19.57 in ate, feeling, i, life, others, Paid, today, trapped, unlike, what

I have a confession to make .... Im obsessed with watching What I Eat In A Day videos on YouTube. I seriously cannot stop! The watch later button keeps getting pressed on almost every video that pops in the what to watch section and suggested videos, and along with other videos I watch, I think my watch list now ranks up to about 80 videos. I am slowly getting through them, but then I add more. This then results in me not doing anything that productive.

As I love watching the videos, I thought Id do something similar myself. Possibly even make it a regular thing. Although, I must say that I am one of those people who can eat the same meals for like 4 days in a row. But hey, if you enjoy it, why not eat it as much as you want.

It would probably be helpful if you knew about my diet. No, Im not ON a diet, its just MY diet ( hopefully you understand what Im getting at, its just sometimes when you say the word diet, people automatically associate it with restriction, losing weight etc). I went vegetarian round about the end of March. However, long before this, I came across veganism and I was really interested in it and the fact that people are thriving of fruits, veg etc. Although I was really interested in it, I found it a bit overwhelming when I considered turning vegan. What I mean is, when youve grown up being told to eat that piece of meat to make you big and strong and you need to drink your milk otherwise youll have weak bones and terrible teeth etc, finding that there are so many people have amazing health, energy, great skin and hair and so on feels like a bit of a shock. 

After a while of watching people along the likes of Essena Oneill and Bonny Rebecca and following vegan instagramers like superfoodsioban, plantbasedjudy and carolinejuliab, I discovered the ethical side to veganism. Im not going to go too much into it because Im not someone who is filled with a bunch of facts.

So anyway...Im not going to class myself as 100% vegan (yet) because I do sometimes end up in the treat cupboady - which my mum really should stop keeping so stocked up! But overall, I think for the past month I have been eating about 95% plant based. Since doing so, my energy levels have increased quite a lot (but, yes, I still get tired when I stay up to late on YouTube or netflix). Im also doing research into skin care, hair and beauty products which are cruelty free and hopefully contain nothing derived from animals; so that when what I have now is used up, which isnt vegan, can go.

Breakfast

I always start the day by drinking lemon tea - half a lemon squeezed into some warm water. Perfect way to start the day.

Due to the brilliant weather the UK has been having (please stay this way so we can actually have a summer), I decided to finally try out banana ice cream. Oh my goodness! If you havent tried it already, do it! I simply froze 3 ripe bananas overnight then blended them together in the morning - so simple, but so good! I topped this bowl with rawnola and strawberries (because they are amazing at this time of year, plus because of Wimbolden in which my grandma is glued to every year).

Dinner

For dinner I made pasta with meatballs - which I made a few nights before. The recipe I used was by plantbasedjudy - theyre delicious! I also realised, by the time Id heated the meatballs and cooked the pasta, we had run out of passata. So I ended up making the pasta sauce from fresh chopped tomatoes and just mushing them a bit - but it was still very good.

Tea

This meal was one of those what veg can I find in the fridge, lets throw it all into the pan kinda meals - which I do fairly often to be honest. I also went out that afternoon to pick up some passata (because staple!). It ended up being a chilli and was delicious. 

Snack

Before bed I like to enjoy a nice cup of tea and usually something to eat. So here Im having some homemade banana bread.

P.s - This isnt actually what I ate today, but what I ate on Wednesday. 

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