Resolutions

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In 2015, I promise to try to:

• Take (more) pleasure in all the little things
• Spend more time with friends
• Take more time out alone 
• Ruminate less
• Exercise more
• Be kinder to myself

#JanuaryJoy 2014 Week 1

Florence Finds blog is one of my regular reads and last year's January Joy made January just that bit more joyful! Rebecca's drawn up another great list of prompts for this January and I hope to join in with as many prompts as I can. We're three days in and I thought I'd share what I've been up to.

#JanuaryJoy Prompt 1: Make some resolutions

Here are mine for 2014:

1. Take up a new/ revisit an old hobby. I had hoped to do this last year but, although I did lots of general crafting, I didn't actually join or sign up for anything more formal.
2. Make more regular appearances at my hairdressers and try to thicken up this sad looking head of hair
3. Spend more time with friends
4. Worry less about what others think of me/ my work/ my lifestyle. A repeat from last year - it's a hard one to crack, and will probably appear on my resolutions list each year.

#JanuaryJoy Prompt 2: Get serious about your skin

This photo shows what happens when you leave Sanctuary facial oil on your dressing table in front of the window. Left hand bottle: sun bleached and nasty Right hand bottle: my new bottle of spa smelling loveliness which will be stored out of the sun's rays. My skin's got to be a little bit happy about this!

#JanuaryJoy Prompt 3: Plan a girl's night in

This ties in nicely with my 2014 resolutions. I'd love a cosy night in catching up with my favourite girls. Our schedules are all quite different but I'm really hoping we can get something pencilled in this month.

Sipping Glugging homemade mulled wine with my favourite girlies this Christmas

Are you joining in with #JanuaryJoy? I'm looking forward to getting involved in the rest of the #JanuaryJoy prompts and will try to keep the blog up to date with what I've been up to!

Have A Good Hair Day #JanuaryJoy

Good hair days are usually feel good days. I'm a restless sleeper and rarely/ never wake up with 'good' hair. I thought I'd share some of the things I rely on to give my hair a helping hand!

1. I've used the Aussie range of shampoos and conditioners on and off since I first started buying my own toiletries with pocket money. It used to seem like the biggest luxury expense. Of course, now I know its not such a luxury product, but I still love it. It always smells good, and leaves your hair clean and soft. Everything a shampoo should do, I guess.
2. I have a 1l backwash size Kérastase Reflection Bain Chroma Riche. It smells lovely and is perfect for highlighted hair. I do find it dries out my scalp a little so I alternate with the Aussie products.
3. Kérastase Nutritive Masquintense conditioning treatment is my miracle product. I leave it on for at least five minutes for super soft hair.
4. The Remington Pearl Curl Wand has a temperature control, is ceramic coated to protect you hair, and comes with a glove to protect your hand. It's really easy to use and lets you create either big waves or tight curls depending on how much hair you take, how long you hold and what part of the wand you wrap around.
5. Schwarzkopf OSiS Dust It powder which swells your hair cuticles at the roots, apparently, to create a backcombed volume which brushes out at the end of the night (or the next morning!)
6. If I'm blow drying my hair straight, I'll put a small amount of Kérastase Oleo Relax serum onto the ends of my hair after towel drying.
7. Kérastase Créme D'Huile Oleo Curl is lightweight, smells gorgeous and helps to define curls on wet or dry hair. Good for rejuventating curls on the second day.
8. Good old GhD straighteners for straightening or beach waving my hair.
9. Kevin Murphy 'Texture' comb. Big teeth. Perfect for getting rid of tangles.
10. A SCRUNCHIE. If all else fails, a trusty shiny neon, polka dots, or tartan scrunchie will always be there to hold your hair lovingly.

I'd love to know what other people do to tame their tresses. My hair's also got pretty thin over the past couple of years - any tips to get it thickening up again?

Thrifty Thinking #JanuaryJoy

Money. I'm more than happy to spend it but I don't really like talking about it. Today's #JanuaryJoy on Florence Finds blog is about finances/ budgets and so there's a lot of blog talk today, and at the start of 2013, about how people manage their household spends.  

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We are a household of three: Me, M and our awesome cat, Jacques. We have a joint account where all bills and household spends come out (and Jacques' pocket money, naturally), a joint savings account, and then we each have our own personal account. Our salaries go into our own bank accounts and then we each put a significant portion  into the joint account, leaving a little to spend or save ourselves each month. 



I've got to admit, I don't think I have or will ever be good at sitting down and 'doing the budget'. If there was ever a time to try this it was our wedding and, on reflection, I don't think we did very well at sticking to our wedding budget. It didn't matter, to be honest. We used a 12 months 0% interest credit card and paid it off as soon as we could, just as if we'd had the extra month or so to save for the wedding. That being said, I do want to try to be more mindful of where I am spending my money.

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When I look at my own account, I've noticed that I am a chronic fritter-er. £2 here, another £1.67 there. I also love a good bargain. The problem: My love for a good deal combined with my fritter-y habits mean that I often end up with unnecessary bags of Home Bargains' finest or voucher deals that I could happily go without. Worse still, I often forget about voucher deals that I have bought and then they expire. Not such a good deal after all!

Over the coming months I am going to try to make a conscious effort to cut down on the wasting of pennies. We just got an EngerySmart meter. I don't think this will help us cut down our bills dramatically, but I hope it will make us think about how we use power in the house. On top of this, I pledge to: 

1. Use Shoestring Splendour's finance spreadsheet to get a better general picture of where our money goes.

2. Be deal savy.

3. Make greater use of my Quidco account, which gives you cashback for online (and some in store, including Cineworld) shopping.

4. Take greater advantage of the free local music and gallery events.

5. Plan meals more often and take my own lunches to work . 

How do you plan to shake up your own finances? Have you got anything big to save for?  

    

What Weekends Were Made For

For me, this weekend was just what weekends were made for: Long walks together, Scrabble, dancing feet, family and friends. Here's what I got up to.

 Thursday 

M had a day away from work, but only because he had an exam in the afternoon to pass. Well, the boy passed! Hoot-hoot! This meant we had the rest of the afternoon together and we went for a long walk around our local park, stopping at The Moon and Pea on Lark Lane for some food, hot chocolates and a game of Scrabble. The night was finished with more episodes of The [very addictive] Wire. 

 Friday

Image via xxbluemoonxx on Tumblr

Day off spent in Manchester with mum and a cinema trip to see Les Misérables. One word: Amazing. I've not stopped singing! 

Saturday

Sun setting over Crosby Beach

LAZY pjs morning, The Wire, boiled egg and soldiers. A walk at another favourite spot, watching the sun set over Crosby beach. Scouse, red cabbage and wine at the lakeside bistro. Back home, heels on and tissues packed, and out for lots of dancing to send a friend off on her travels in style! FIVE megamix got some airtime, and for about two seconds we pretended we couldn't remember the moves. Three seconds in, there was no stopping us.

 Sunday

Pennington Flash Country Park

A trip to pick up a drum pedal turned into an opportunity for another walk at a new spot, Pennington Flash Country Park, an extensive nature reserve about 30 minutes drive. Warmed up with cupasoup and hot Vimtos from the man-in-a-van, we had a good couple of hours exploring. We'll definitely be making another trip there, maybe when the ground's a little drier! Squeezed in another episode of The Wire, before heading to my mums for a Sunday dinner. 

There's another weekend on its way, but this one's looking pretty empty at the moment. What to do? 

What's your idea of a perfect weekend? 

The Skin You Live In #JanuaryJoy

Today's #JanuaryJoy was all about skincare. I confess, I'm often dirtying up my pillowcase with the day's mascara and my night cream some times stays in the drawer, unused.

One of my resolutions for 2013 was to be more body friendly. If nothing else, today's #JanuaryJoy has made me think about what I use and like, and what I use because I'm simply used to buying it. If you love the product, I would imagine you're more likely to use it as you should.

The Regulars.

These are the things that get used, face or body, day to day:

• Body Shop Vitamin C daily moisturiser with SPF. In my opinion, you can't beat it. I've had samples of lots of different face creams, at different price ranges, but I seem to always go back to this one, priced around £12. 
• Garnier Simply Essentials Sensitive make up remover. It does the job!
• Johnson's Baby Oil. I get very dry itchy skin after bathing but using this all over, daily, has really helped.
• Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector. May not smell pretty, but it is the best hand cream. 

Skin treats.

Basically when I remember to use them, which I pledge to be more often in 2013:

 

• Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion facial scrub. To be honest, I've used the same thing for ages because it gets picked up with my other BS things. I'd happily change this product to something that does a better job.
• Boots Sanctuary Facial Oil. Lovely feel, sinks in quickly and has a spa-like smell. 
• Boots No.7 Protect and Perfect eye cream. I do use this most days, day and night. It's light and makes my eyes feel less puffy. There may be something better out there though.
• Boots No.7 Protect and Perfect night cream. Again, I do use this most days and it has only a light, fresh scent that doesn't overpower you as you try and fall asleep.

It's funny what you keep using out of habit, but then there are so many things advertised it can be an overwhelming task to find something new that matches it's gimmick. I'd definitely welcome any recommendations, particularly any good facial cleansers and toners, and facial exfoliators.

Any tips?

Dem's da Rules: Resolutions for 2013 #JanuaryJoy

It's a new year; in fact it is three days into a new year and I am yet to post my resolutions (which may explain why I've not done too swell a job at sticking to them so far?) Here we go...

For 2013, I hope to: 

• Be more body friendly. This covers eating a better diet, eating a lunch (which I often skip), drinking more water, getting enough exercise, and also generally taking better care of my hair and skin in 2013.

• Learn a new skill. I think 2013 is the year I'll enroll in a course to learn for fun, for enjoyment. Perhaps a sewing class, a full photography course, I'm not sure exactly what just yet but one where I can dip in and out if I want, no pressure.

• Be 'wild'. This sounds a tad more dramatic than it represents: Too often I fall into routines and then get fed up of them, yet reluctant to change things up. So, in 2013, I'm going to say 'yes' to new opportunities more often, take risks, step outside of the 'normal' routine, and then remember all of 2013's highlights on these pages.

I hope to avoid:

• Worrying. I'm a pretty positive person but I have the tendency to fret, too much, about what people think of me, of my life, of my research and teaching. This is definitely something I need to work on in 2013.

• Boredom. I need to remind myself that I am responsible for my own happiness and to enjoy the fun in little moments and, if I'm getting restless, know that it's up to me to do something about it and change things up a little to enjoy life to the full (big up to resolution no#3: Be wild).

It will be good to look back to this post December 2013 and see how close I came to achieving each of these but then again, rules were made to be broken!

I'm taking part in #JanuaryJoy on Florence Finds. Each day brings a new prompt to help you through any post-Christmas blues! First prompt: Make some resolutions for 2013. Done!