Happy December 1st...the Christmas Countdown is on!

As the countdown to Christmas officially starts today, people all over will be opening the first door on their advent calendars, a tradition that's years old! Did you know that back in the day they didn't even have chocolate in...?!

Another age old tradition we are all familiar with at this time of year is New Years Resolutions.

"a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of a new year"

I know I am a little early, most people haven’t even thought about their ‘new year, new me’s' yet. Usually I am the same, I’m more focused on what I am doing (and will be wearing) NYE rather than my resolutions. In the past I have even had the attitude of ‘well it will be my New Years resolution to drink less so I should drink more between now and New Year’ or ‘it will be my New Years resolution to not eat chocolate so I might as well make the most of it now, while I can’.

This year, while I will have all of the usual (you know the ones, lose weight, tone up, eat healthier, drink more water) I have been thinking lately about how negative I can sometimes be and how I want that to change, then I thought….why should that wait until New Year?! 

Surviving the Festive Season

The Festive Season is here, and with it comes lots of celebrations...team nights out, office parties, Christmas meals with friends. That's before you even factor in Christmas itself. I don't know about you but my December is pretty booked up already and everything seems to revolve around eating and drinking.

All of the rich foods, drinking and late nights takes its toll on our bodies both inside and out. So how do we go about surviving this mince pie mine field...?

Well, this is my plan:

Columbia Road Flower Market

Last Sunday, after 3 years living in London, I finally took myself on a trip to Columbia Road Flower Market.

The Sky Garden-A Photo Diary

If you are looking for the place to get some of the best views of London, then the Sky Garden will be right up your street.

'Gin' Ne Sais Quoi

If you follow me on Instagram (thank you) then you will have seen that I spent Saturday at The Ginstitute. It's located in one of my favourite areas in all of London, Notting Hill. Let me show you around.

Healthy Holidaying

A lot of us live for our holidays, those couple of weeks each year where we can just relax away from home and work, in the sunshine. Just because you take time off though, doesn't mean you need to take time off from your healthy lifestyle. I follow these few tips in order to stop myself from over indulging;

1-Keep Hydrated

Our bodies are made up of about 60% water. Drinking water is important; it flushes out toxins, clears your skin, and fills you up so that you only eat when you are actually hungry. I'm not quite a gallon a day kind of girl but I do tend to get at least 2 litres in on an average day.

When away on hotter climates than our beloved UK it is more important than ever to keep hydrated. It helps your body regulate your temperature and if you drink enough it should prevent those holiday hangovers.

2-HIIT

High Intense Interval Training (HIIT) isn't just the most effective (in my humble opinion) form of exercise for fat loss, it's actually easy to fit in. On your balcony, in the hotel room, at the beach. You really don't need much space, or time. Most HIIT sessions last between 15 and 30 minutes...easy to fit in before breakfast so that you feel less guilty tucking into those pastries.

3-Low Carb

When I'm away I tend to stick to low carb foods, unless I've fitted in a HIIT. On holiday I usually find this easier to stick to than I do when I'm back at home. When the sun is shining the idea of a huge salad for lunch is actually amazing. Fresh seafood and veggies for dinner, yes please.

4-Less Cocktails

Wait, hear me out. I'm not saying I don't have any cocktails while I am on holiday. I love a frozen strawberry daiquiri as much as the next girl. However, I do, these days think of such drinks more like empty calories. Calories that could have been spent elsewhere, like on yummy food. So I do tend to stick to my beloved G&T whilst away. I have found, that for some reason when you are on holiday slimline (or diet) tonic doesn't seem to exist and have actually sometimes resorted to gin & soda (you get used to the taste) rather than have the full calorie version.

5-Guilt Free

You are on holiday after all, so if you do decide to miss a HIIT one day, have those carbs anyway or have a few too many Mai Tai...let it go. Enjoy yourself and get back on the bandwagon the next day. Just don't make it a whole week of guilt free craziness that you will only regret when you get home.

I'd love to hear about your tips to staying healthy when you're away...

Life on the Island of Ios

Ios is a delightful little island situated between the well known islands of Santorini and Naxos.

Blue Myth-A Mykonos Gem

 

This little gem is the reason we left Paradise Beach early...it was our last night before we headed to Ios and we really wanted to make sure our friends got to visit this place.

Para-Para-Paradise

We never got around to visiting Paradise Beach last time we were in Mykonos, so it was on top of our to-do-list, this time around.

Mykonos Chora (Town)

Won't you join me on a little walk around Mykonos Town...?

Manolia View, Mykonos

Mykonos is one of the Greek Islands that we visited as part of our honeymoon (sorry I know I keep mentioning it) last year. We spent 5 nights there and it was definitely one of our favourites, which is why we decided to come back again this year. We convinced four of our friends to join us this time round and so decided to book a villa type apartment to house us all...welcome to Manolia View.

A Hotel in the Sky

For our first wedding anniversary my husband and I decided to treat ourselves to a stay in the Shangri-La Hotel in The Shard. It is one of the buildings that I have been desperate to get inside ever since we moved to London, it is stunning and just towers over the whole city so that you can see it almost everywhere. It is actually the tallest building in Western Europe and the hotel is based on floors 35-52.

Our room was on floor 48 and as a Deluxe City View Room it was HUGE, with the biggest bed I've ever slept in and floor to ceiling windows so that you could take in the amazing views.

My 90 days with The Body Coach

Picture borrowed from @TheBodyCoach instagram

Unless you have been living in a bubble I am pretty sure that you will have heard of Joe Wicks and the instagram sensation that is 'Lean in 15'. If not, well, in a nutshell Joe is a personal trainer who exploded in popularity following his 15 second instagram videos claiming to be able to get people lean by eating more and exercising less using simple recipes and high intense interval training (HIIT). I know what you are thinking, sounds too good to be true.

Well, a friend in work had mentioned his instagram account to me last year so I followed him for a while, like a lot of people, wondering whether the transformations he posted were too good to be true. It was less than four months before our wedding, I had been training harder than I ever had before and was not getting the results I wanted so I thought, what have I got to lose?

A peak inside my hand luggage

Today is the day, we are heading off to Mykonos. Before I go I just wanted to share with you what I will be taking in my hand luggage...

A taste of Mexico

The obligatory sausage leg type holiday instagram shot.

When we arrived at The Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya back in March, I couldn't help taking this picture to make all my friends and family back in the UK a little jealous. 

It was 30 degrees, you could swim up to the bar and frozen strawberry margaritas were on tap, perfect.

Santorini Dreaming...

As our one year wedding anniversary fast approaches I have found myself daydreaming about the beautiful island of Santorini, where we got married. 

As our wedding location Santorini will always have a special place in my heart, the white buildings, blue waters and pretty flower lined streets are just dreamy and I think it is one island that should be on everyones travelling bucket list.