2016 .

This post may seem a little late as we are now 4 weeks into January, however I've been slowly bringing myself back to reality after the most amazing 2 weeks away over Christmas in Mauritius.

I'm quite happy with my lifestyle habits that I have adapted in the past year and this year I plan on continuing my efforts without needing to put a pressure on myself with unrealistic expectations.  2015 was my best year yet - and I plan for this year to be no different. 

I work on a 'need to work towards something' mentality therefore I've set some goals/plans of what I want to achieve this year. None of these have time frames just aspects of my life I'd like to work towards. 

1. Finish the Bikini Body Guide 1.0

Third time lucky right? Kayla Itsines is a genius, I love feeling stronger and having a different workout for every gym session helps me stay focused.

2. Find a job more fitting to my interests

This has been something I have been thinking about for a while. I'd like to find a role in London, in Digital Marketing - wish me luck!

3. Allow time for me to blog and read (and spend less time on Instagram)

This is something I am already struggling with, my job search is taking up a lot of my time. However I'd really like to set aside some time for me to really try and build my blog and social platforms.

4. Partake in some kind of physical challenge

This is why I cannot wait to be in London - these physical challenges are all over the city. Including a Where's Wally run in May. Dressing up in a costume and running 10k looking like a Wally? - count me in!

5. Make more summer plans than I can afford

This may be a little difficult with my lower disposable income in London however I want the summer to be my best one yet. There is so much to do and I'd like to meet new people, try new places. Summer Bucket list post to follow in the near future!

6. Eat well 90% of the time

I have got myself into the routine of balancing healthy eating - and I feel so great for it.Something I definitely want to continue this year, with just maybe less five guys. 

7. Experiment more with cooking by using some of the cook books I have recently purchased

The Body Coach, Jamie Olivers superfoods and Madeliene Shaw's 'Get the glow' to name a few. 

8. Make time for my family

Sometimes making time to see family is so difficult, before you know it 2 months have passed and you haven't seen your grandparents. This year I will make a conscious effort to stay in touch with my loved ones.

9. Take up yoga

Good for the body, good for the mind - I am sold!

and finally

10. Travel

After my amazing trips in 2015 to Dubai, Budapest, Nice, Prague and Mauritius I really want to see more of the world. I truly believe you learn something everywhere you go (even about yourself)and is definitely something worth saving towards.


What are your goals for 2016?

AbbieJS

xxx

18 reasons why trying to get a bikini body for Christmas is difficult.

Okay. No one panic.

Just over 2 weeks until Christmas means just over a week until holiday *insert smug emoji*

Going away at this time of year is a blessing in disguise, I'd usually be face planting a box of quality street - and lets be honest at any other point of the year when would quality street actually be your first preference on chocolate? but you still cram in half the tin on a December Tuesday evening because why the hell not? ITS CHRISTMAS. However trying to resist everything is just getting harder by the day.

1. Number uno, the most difficult reason -  Tis the season to be jolly, and by jolly we mean eat and drink what the hell you want.

2. December is the most sociable month of the year. It also is the first time since Summer when its acceptable to get hammered on a Tuesday evening and roll up to work hungover no judgements made.

3. You have christmas invites left right and centre for christmas meals. You know the ones where you have to have 3 courses because its the 'Christmas menu'

4. From work this sometimes comes in the form of a free meal. Having to turn down free drinks - your summer self would shake their head.

5. Not to mention Christmas markets - attending one without having a sausage and alcoholic beverage is basically frowned upon.

6. Advent calenders - Its only a little cube, but maybe I'll eat 14th,15th, 16th as I'm busy those days. Oh crap I'm on the 24th and its the 12th.

7. Its cold, which means you just want carbs. All day, everyday.

8. It's dark. Leaving work at 5pm and all you want to do is eat a warm bowl full of carbs, get in some unflattering pjs and watch christmas films.

9. When your alarm goes off for the gym at 6am you literally lol and think it must be 2am, look at your phone and cry a little inside.

10.  The shops are brimming with chocolate - theres even a whole isle dedicated. I can't even deal.

11. And everything is so cheap? Why are these items so cheap? Makes you rethink your £2.00 for avocados when theres a share box of maltesers for the same price. I know which would taste better on a salad.

12. Mince pies. I tried one for the first time last year and instantly regretted it as I had about 24 to make up for all those years I missed out.

13. The office is FILLED with nibbles and cakes and you get the 'cmon its christmas' look when people offer you something.

14. Everytime you go see your parents/grandparents they have some form of baked seasonal good. No gran I don't want any chooclate log or homemade sausage rolls, yes I'm sure for the 16th time.

15. Watching christmas films with your carrot sticks just isn't the same.

 (3 personal faves)

16. People give you chocolate to thank you for things - and you regret every nice thing you've done all year.

17. Has anyone actually attempted to buy holiday clothes this time of year? A beach dress - Yep unless you're a size 6 or 18, you will struggle. - It's also not an ideal month to buy a new summer wardrobe with half a wage thanks to Christmas presents.

18. And finally has anyone ever heard of dry December? because it doesn't sound like something I want to partake in. 4 weeks sober going strong.

However with only one more monday and only 5 working days left to go - I think I can grin and bare it when I walk out of work Wednesday evening for my winter sun 'SO LONG SUCKERS - until next year!'

Happy holidays!

AbbieJS

xxx

Christmas wish list

Writing a blog seemed to work quite well for my birthday so I thought I'd create a Christmas wish list so that my friends and family can take a look at what I'm lusting over this winter!

I am not the easiest person to buy for, I am the fussiest person in the world when it comes to gifts, its not that I'm ungrateful I just don't like the thought of having something I'll never use. My parents have learnt the hard way - stick to the list, no surprises. Luckily my boyfriend is cool with the fact I'm a spoilt brat and that's why I'll probably receive trips for every birthday to ensure I can't complain LOL.

1. First thing on my list is some new gym gear. I feel like I'm always buying it but never have any. I've recently turned over a new leaf and embraced waking up at 6am every morning before work to fit in a workout (mainly because when it gets round to 5pm I would rather shave my head than drive to the gym).

I came across Adanola on Instagram and fell in love with their collection. 

£24.00 for top & £38.00 for the leggings - but I promise I'll wear them lots!

2. Winter jumpers. I literally have about 37 saved in my items on Asos. I just like to keep an eye on them..

This charcoal jumper dress (£45.00) caught my eye, combined with my new boots (post below)I can't wait for winter! 

This orange chunky knit jumper (£40.00) is also one of my saved items!

3. NARS - I've read a lot of good things about NARS as a make-up brand so I'd be keen to try some of their products.

Audacious mascara - £21.00

Iluminating multiple in either Luxor or St Lucia (£29.00)

Light reflecting setting powder £26.50

4. Bobbi brown -  I swear by the Bobbi Brown eyebrow pencil and at £29.50 its a bit steep. My boyfriend nearly died when he heard me hand over nearly £30.00 for something to draw my eyebrows on with - but its okay because I had a £20.00 voucher for my birthday plus you can't walk around with bad eyebrows.

Anyway my eyes are literally sealed up when I wake up at 6am so I want to try some of their hydrating eye cream (£32.00). I've heard it has a good cooling effect which is just what I need early in the mornings!

and the 'Vitamin enriched face base' £39.99

Another item I want to add to my make-up bag are these party stick cream shadow set. I hardly ever wear eyeshadow but would love to dress my face up abit more when I go out. At £32.00 I would hope the 'long-wear' lasts until 4am. 

5. A winter coat. I recently saw this coat on ThatPommieGirl its from MissGuided but currenty sold out - if anyone knows of anywhere that does a coat like this please send it my way!

6. Kevin Murphy. These products have always been my weakness. They sell the products at LoveHair in Broadway and I used to always tell myself I'd just pay to get my hair done and I'd always end up coming out with at least two products and an extra £45.00 to the bill. Everything smells and feels amazing. I've recently bought some shampoo and conditioner to help grow my hair (which I've been trying to grow for a good 10 years now). I've had the Young.Again serum before and it makes your hair so soft and silky but I've ran out :( I'd also like to try the Angel Masque. Both of these products are around £25.00 but they make such a difference to my hair! Also my collection wouldn't be complete without the Kevin Murphy roller brushes - yes I know I wont be able to blow dry my hair like the stylist but a girl can dream!

7. Storage. Even though my make up bag spends 90% of its time in my gym bag in the week or an overnight bag at the weekend I love these organisers for my make up and skincare products. These are avaialable from pretty much anywhere now. The 3 draws is higher on my priority list for my sincare products just because I move my make up around so much! They have some reasonable priced ones on the MUJI website.

8. Handbag. This ASOS Suede Embossed Croc Shopper Bag has been in my saved items since before my birthday - I've been arguing with myself whether to 'treat yo self' but hopefully some nice individual will buy this for me as a christmas present! It will make a great work bag for the new year (along with me new work wardrobe - post to follow)

9. Shoes. These ASOS HEARTBREAK HOTEL Lace-up Heeled Sandals caught my eyes in the New in section this week. How lush are they? Perfection in a shoe. These babies are £45.00 (FYI I'm a size 6 hehe). I probably dont need another pair of shoes  but you really cant have too many pairs of black shoes?

These boots I already actually have waiting in a big black Dune bag at my boyfriends in London *spoiler alert*. They are called 'Toulon' from Dune and I got them in black suede - I'm in love. We went to Westfields last weekend and picked out these beauties (Josh actually picked them out but I chaperoned). These are going to be a strong staple piece of my winter wardrobe. Lets just hope they are comfy! 

10. Quest bars. My last request seems abit random for a christmas list but I cant justify spending £25.00 on protein bars so if anyone would like to stock me up with some Quest bars I'd love you.

 I've only ever tried the Chocolate brownie flavour but they are perfect as a treat (microwaved for 20 seconds)! These can be brought from Musclefood.com or any other supplement store.

I'll promise to put on my surprised face when I open any of these gifts!

Whats everyone else lusting over this Christmas?

AbbieJS

xxx

Birthday in Budapest

I've wanted to see more of Europe after visiting Prague and Nice earlier this year with work so was so happy when my boyfriend booked us a 3 day trip to Budapest. As previously mentioned in my last post our taxi came to pick us up at 4.30 AM - yes AM, but I can't complain it just made my birthday extra long!

Thursday 

We had a mammoth journey to Stanstead airport 4.30am taxi, 5.15am bus and then flight at 8.30am. We were both so tired, my boyfriend so half asleep he actually forgot to wish me happy birthday until we got onto the bus.. but I'll let him off he's really not a morning person!

We arrived to Budapest at around noon and went to check into our hotel which was on a cute little bricked backstreet. Its so odd to see such lovely architecture next to abandoned buildings, but this was common throughout the city. 

 We had booked to go to a restaurant we had read about online called 'Comme Sez Choi'. I may have made a slight error just before the meal in Josh buying me a pair of boots from Zara to find out we left the majority of our money back at the hotel and they really weren't as comfy as they were in the shop - the beauty of the shoes must of blinded me to the pain. So while Josh ran back to Zara to return a pair of shoes I ordered us our first of many glasses of wine.

We both had the Beef carpaccio to start, we'd already been given a small appetiser to share before this came out but both were absolutley delicious. Then came the more incredible main! I ordered the Salmon on arribiata rice, Josh had steak, chips & some green pepper sauce. They should sell that stuff in bottles - it was amazinggg. We both agreed it was one of the best meals we had in ages.

Josh had pre warned the waiter it was my birthday so I had to prepare my surprised face when they bought out a free tiramisu with a candle in! Take note, I used the birthday card all 3 days we were there. This was also followed by a glass of prosecco and 2 shots, one nearly blinded me when I tried to smell it so I politely slipped it into my water glass.

That evening we walked around trying to find the ruin bars, google maps failed us in this instance and after a jug of strawberry mojito we ended up in bed with a Burger King - but what better way to end your 24th birthday?

Friday 

Friday we woke up and decided to have a day of being tourists. We'd read a few blogs before we took our trip so I knew what I wanted to see. Unfortunately we were not lucky with the weather. 

We walked to the Castle bridge and tried some of the famous hungarian goulash in a cute little cafe. Followed by what I can only describe is like a flaky doughnut - whatever it was it tasted AMAZING. 

That afternoon the weather thankfully cleared and we decided to take a trip to one of the well-known Baths in the city. We decided to do the outside bath first, Take note - if you ever visit in the winter do this first, we were loving life in the 38 degree pool but my god when we got out. I've never ran so fast in my life. The inside of the baths are amazing really wish I'd got some photos so here's some I stole offline!

That evening we had a dinner cruise Josh had booked before we went. This was by far my favourite thing about the trip. Unfortunately we were not lucky with the weather and raining during a dinner cruise is not ideal, but we were lucky enough to get some great views regardless of this! 

It was such a perfect setting, they had someone playing a guitar while you ate amazing food. I quickly got very drunk from a bottle of prosecco (that also only cost £8.00 - winning) Everything is so lit up it was incredible - if you ever go to Budapest you must do this!

Saturday

Saturday we met one of Josh's Hungarian friends Daniel who invited us to for breakfast and to see the best of Budapest!
We brunched in a cute little cafe before going to the Citadella. The views were amazing!

Daniel recommended a traditional Hungarian restaurant for lunch, we decided to share a starter.. thank god we did! This was like a pancake filled with a stewed meat with a tomatoey creamy sauce (technical term) - it was absolutely lush but we were both quite full and were not prepared for the HUGE main.

Josh had the heart attack on a plate… Steak filled with mushrooms, liver pate, wrapped in bacon and covered in cheese. With potatoes that were fried in a 'little' oil.

I went for the Hunagrian dish that I couldn't really work out what it was. It tasted like scrambled eggs with potato, topped with chicken in paprika (paprika is used in EVERYTHING).

After eating our body weight in food we made our way back to the hotel before our journey back to London.
I cannot thank my boyfriend enough for this trip, it was amazing from start to finish and we did not stop laughing, mainly because I'm hilarious but also because we had to much fun. 

This this trip made the couple of weeks (now just 5) until our next holiday so much more bearable and I cannot wait for Mauritus for Christmas!... this also means my eating out posts should really slow down and my fitness posts increase in preperation for my bikini body, but I'll let you know how that goes.

AbbieJS 

x