Five good things #9

Another week gone, can you believe it? Can you believe it's the last full week of May, I definitely can't! Yesterday I had a super chilled Saturday complete with housework and blog photo taking. The weather hasn't been particularly good, quite a contrast to last weekend, and I'm trying hard to hold on until pay day so there's a strict no shopping rule on at the moment.

Yoga
On Monday Mum and I had another yoga class. This time I managed to do at least 15 seconds of a plank, so I'm pretty pleased. I am so awful at them but everyone else (who is much older I might add) do them with ease while I just lye on my stomach after collapsing. It looks like I'm getting better so I best keep practicing. I have another class tomorrow but then we skip a week because of the Bank Holiday, boo!

Crochet
I've been getting on well with my star blanket this week. I've been trying to do more crochet in the evenings instead of spending them infront of my laptop. The blanket has definitely got bigger and I'm starting to make my way through my wool stash now. I had a class on Thursday, which is our last until July (boo!) and it was good to have two hours completely dedicated to getting on with it. It'll be finished in no time, hopefully!

Bike
Last week I mentioned I got a new exercise bike and yesterday I finally got around to getting a workout in. I thought I was starting out on a pretty easy program but it turned out it was a bit tougher than I thought, I did power through though and managed 13.02km. I really love the bike, it's so easy to use and has lots more options than the one I had before. You'll be happy to know the old one finally got picked up, hurrah!

Cherry Pie plot
A little while ago I mentioned that I got some lettuce, tomato and runner bean plants, well yesterday I was able to cut the lettuce as it has grown loads over the past two weeks or so. I ended up with three bags full of lettuce leaves, I can't believe it. I also can't believe how easy it was to grow, I wish I'd done it sooner. Now I'm just waiting for the runner beans and tomatos to grow!

Day off with Vince
So Vince has the day off together, which will be nice. I'm not really sure what we're going to do, if we're going to do anything at all really but it's nice to have the day off together. I have the Bank Holiday off as well so am hoping Vince can book it off too!

What five good things have happened in your week? Let me know in the comments.

Five good things #8

Just a note to say the weather has been super good this weekend! Charlie has really enjoyed it as you can see from his posey photo!

Comp win
So this time last week I was happily minding my own business and getting on with writing some blog posts when I received a message to say I'd won a blogger competition where the prize was an iPad mini! With all the rubbish luck we've had this year this was a bit of a surprise, mainly because I'd just entered the comp without really thinking I'd win so it was a really nice surprise. The blogger offered me the iPad mini or the monetary alternative. I went for the money just because I have an overdraft to pay off and because I had a tablet before and it didn't really get much use. So that really perked up my week!

Yoga
Yoga was back this week after the previous week's Bank Holiday break. It seems that just as I'm getting into it a Bank Holiday pops up and it's not on. Anyway there were quite a few people in the class this week and I feel like I'm getting more and more used to some of the stretches, I even managed about 30 seconds of a plank! It's really nice after a busy Monday at work to go somewhere with the sole aim of relaxing!

Car
My car is finally completely fixed! I hit it back in March/April and had to have the whole bumper replaced. It was replaced last weekend but I had to order a few little bits that clip into it and we finally got these fitted yesterday so now it's looking as good as new again, you'd never know I hit it at all. Now it just needs a clean!

Bike
So I mentioned that my spin bike stopped working a little while ago and I am still enduring an absolute nightmare with Very/Yodel to get them to come and pick it up. It's been sat in its box in my garage for nearly two weeks while I am promised delivery drivers are coming, then they don't turn up. So while this has all been happening I haven't been able to do any exercising. Just before the bike broke I was getting right on it and really enjoying it so Vince and I went and got another bike in Argos yesterday and it's SO much better! I need Vince to properly show me how to work it then I can get back into spinning again! I also got some dumbells to work out the old bingo wings too!

Vince weekend off
If you didn't know Vince is a courier driver. He's technically self employed and had Thursday this week off, then yesterday he got a call to say did he want the day off as there weren't many routes. Obviously he said yes and we had a nice little day doing odd bits and pieces and wolfing down a cooked breakfast, yum yum! He actually received a call this morning but then they called him in again as someone didn't turn up, boo!

How has your week been? Have you got much planned for next week? Let me know in the comments.

Five good things this week #7

I've been up since 7.30am this morning and I completely forgot about writing this blog post, oops! Anyway, here I am, two cups of tea deep into Sunday and still in my PJs. I do feel like I've achieved something though as I've already put the washing away and put a new wash on. Go me!

My plans for today consist of a bit of blogging and a lot of housework. I do try to do housework through the week with a bigger clean on the weekends but sometimes you just have to pull the big guns out (ie, the big hoover) and dedicate a day to cleaning.

Pretend gardening
As I mentioned in last week's post I was planning to visit the garden centre with my mum on Sunday. It was quite the morning out and I picked up some plants, got them home, then stood by as my mum repotted them all for me! I bought tomatos, runner beans, lettuce and a lupin plant plus three huge bags of compost and pots! We planted them all up on Sunday and I'm hoping for lots of lovely edible crops to grow soon, as long as I keep watering them that is!

Prezzo summer menu tasting
On Wednesday Vince and I visited Prezzo in Bristol to try the new summer menu. I was really looking forward to it for ages as it was a complimentary trip for review purposes for the blog (review coming soon!) so I was really anxious that we'd dig into the meal and then they'd produce a bill at the end and wouldn't know anything about it being complimentary. Luckily, that didn't happen and they knew all about it. The food was delish, we went for starters, mains and desserts and I was absolutely stuffed! Everything was so delicious but it felt super weird taking photos in the middle of the restaurant but we actually got some great shots. Or should I say, Vince got some great shots. It was like having my own personal photographer! We also had a little walk around the Bristol harbourside, snapping a few more photos of the pretty lights.

Almost new lounge!
This week we kind of have a new lounge area thanks to Vince! He spent his entire day off on Wednesday rearranging our lounge. I was a bit worried about what I'd come home to. In our old house I came home one day to a brand new sofa, which at the time didn't go down well, but now I've grown used to them. Anyway he spent his whole day cleaning and rearranging and it actually looks much more cosy and lounge like so I was quite pleased with it - it's nice to have a bit of a refresh actually, maybe we should move some more rooms around, haha!

Friday night meal
On Friday my mum was supposed to be coming to mine for dinner but I literally had zero food in the house just because Vince and I haven't had a day off together in order to go and do the shopping, so I suggested either fish and chips or we pop to the pub, which is literally 2 seconds from my house. My mum chose the pub so we went for a nice meal out. My mum and I had chargrilled chicken and pepper with salsa and sweet potato fries. It was delish, especially the sweet potato fries. We've actually managed to get the food shopping done now and I bought some sweet potatoes so I can make my own. Now I just need to hunt down some Jack Daniels sauce, mmmm!

Saturday spending
I say Saturday spending but yesterday I didn't actually spend that much money, luckily. I took my mum to town as she wanted to get a few bits. I also wanted to get some nail polishes from Superdrug but they were out of stock, argh! We had a mooch around and met my sister for tea and cake, or in my case, a bacon bap!

We popped into my sister's house on the way back and once I got home I promptly fell asleep on the sofa for about two hours, oops! I only woke up at 6pm when Vince got home from work. I must have needed the sleep.

Looking back it seems like I had a bit of a busy week, especially as I had crochet as well! This week coming I have Yoga on Monday but not much else planned. I am planning/hoping to get Vince to take a look at my spin bike as it doesn't seem to be working. I think there is a loose or broken connection from the pedals to the digital display as it's not recording anything when the pedals are moving. It's been like it for about a week now. I'm actually really annoyed as I was doing so well, getting on the bike most days and now I've completely fallen out of my routine. I need to get it fixed asap or send it back and exchange it, argh!

How has your week been? Let me know in the comments and let me know what you have coming up.

Five good things this week #6

Exercise
I feel like this week I've really been cracking on with the exercising! I know I won't put most people to shame but I'm rather proud to have gone on my spin bike on Saturday and Sunday, followed by Yoga on Monday, then more spinning on Wednesday and Friday! My sister bought the same bike as me and then on her first ever time using it she completely put me to shame with her hour long work out and 800 calories burnt. Eurgh. I am working myself up slowly having started at 20 minutes then 30 and I'm planning to crank it up to 40 mins and so on.

I'm also planning to get back into smoothies again and have got myself a couple of new cook books so I can cook some nice meals instead of eating too much takeaway!

Bath shopping spree
Yesterday Vince and I had such a nice day out in Bath! I've been before but not for a proper day of shopping and we really made the most of it! I didn't buy too much, just a few bits in Kiko (haul coming soon!), nail polish from Topshop (to feature in a Manicure Monday post soon!), some jeans in Primark and a new jacket from New Look.

It was fab to be able to go into a Kiko store as it's a brand I really love but I don't have a store near me, also you have to spend a minimum of £25 on the website to be able to get a delivery, which is just not on!

I was planning where to go for lunch and put a tweet out asking if anyone had any recommendations. Burger & Lobster was one and when I asked my grandad what he recommended, he said the same so Burger & Lobster it was and it was so, so good! We couldn't decide between burger or lobster so we had the combo which is a burger and half a lobster each, plus salad and chips. It was delish, although a tad expensive!

Exciting blog opportunities - food review
Talking of food I had a really exciting blog opportunity come through this week and it was an invitation to try out Prezzo's new summer menu. It might not seem like much to most bloggers who get pretty much everything they lay their hands on for free but this is the first time I've ever been invited to review a restaurant. Vince and I are really looking forward to it! We're going on Wednesday after work so am going to have to get some food photography practice in before then.

Growing my own!
Today my Mum and I are off to the garden centre to get some bits and pieces to enable us to grow tomatoes! I keep meaning to grow more in the garden but as I don't have any beds or planting space I need to get myself some pots and compost ready for planting. I'm also going to get some runner bean plants/seeds so I can grow those as well! I just hope the bad weather stays away, can you believe it's been snowing this week and IT IS MAY?! What is going on?

Bank Holiday Weekend ahead
Technically this is part of a new week but tomorrow is Bank Holiday Monday so I have an extra day off, yipee! I'm not really sure how I'm going to spend it, hopefully getting some blog photos taken. I really want to sort out my blogging 'room,' which is actually our spare room but has also become a bit of a dumping ground for all my blog props and products. It really needs a good sort out.

How has your week been? What have you got planned for the coming week? Let me know in the comments.

Five good things this week #5

I can't believe I'm on number five of these posts already!

Yoga
Yoga was back again this week and I really enjoyed this class. I'm getting much better at the tree pose now, which I'm v.happy about and even demonstrated it to Vince at home, haha! The class is pretty relaxing but I cannot for the life of me hold a plank for more than two seconds. It's embarrasing really, especially when the older ladies are doing it with ease! I definitely need to get the Yoga mat out more at home I think!

Tuesday night dinner date
Not really a 'date' but Vince and I decided, on a bit of a whim, to go out somewhere for dinner. We have wanted to check out a new Chinese restaurant near us for a little while so we decided to go there. We are big fans of Chinese, especially all-you-can-eat buffet style ones, but this one was a normal sit down table service. This particular Chinese restaurant is also a takeaway so I have to admit I wasn't expecting the food to be brilliant, I was probably expecting takeaway style but it was actually really good. Piping hot and delicious! We had a mixed starter to share and then I had Thai King Prawn Green Curry, which tasted really good, even better than the Thai Green Curry I've had before from an actual Thai restaurant! Vince had chicken in oyster sauce, which he really enjoyed too.

The restaurant was absolutely dead the whole time we were there, apparently there was a football match on, which explained it, but it's such a shame as it's such a nice place. We'll definitely be going back! Afterwards we had a walk along the seafront (pic above - no filter!), which was really nice. Walking along the seafront can be a bit hit and miss, usually it's super windy and cold but it was quite warm and calm so it was a really lovely evening! Then we went home and promptly fell asleep!

Crochet

I had crochet again this week. When I have Yoga on a Monday and then crochet on a Thursday it can feel like a bit of a busy week, which is good! I got on with my star blanket during the class but I'm getting that itch that makes me want to start something new, despite not actually finishing anything first.

I have to admit I have started making some coasters for my living room, but they were super easy and quick so they don't really count. I'll hopefully be able to do a post on them once they're all finished - I'm just waiting for the darker grey ball of wool to arrive!

New Topshop top

This week I treated myself to a new top for my wardrobe, oops! It's this plain white tee with some detailing on the arms. I actually saw it on ViviannaDoesMakeUp's video and instantly bought it. As a generally clumsy person who is forever spilling food down myself, white isn't usually a colour I'd go for in a top but it just had such a spring/summer vibe to it that I had to get it. I guess I'll just have to not eat anything while I wear it (yeh, right!).

Tea and shopping

Actually, make that raspberry lemonade, sausage sandwiches and shopping! On Saturday I popped to town with my mum for a bit of a mooch round. I ended up buying myself a new jumper from New Look, although I know it's supposedly getting warmer, it was just so me that I couldn't leave it. The best bit is I had the money to cover it on my gift cards so technically I didn't spend anything!

It was a nice afternoon and the weather played nice too, which is a change. It was good to get out of the house especially as the morning had put me in such a bad mood due to me thinking my spin bike was broken! It looks like it's not actually broken but there could be a loose connection somewhere. Argh!

What are five good things that have happened in your week? Let me know in the comments.

Five good things this week #4

Well it took me a pretty long time to think of my five things for this week. Unfortunately it was a pretty general week with not much going on. There was no crochet class and Yoga was cancelled so I didn't exactly get up to much. I have managed to come up with my five though, no matter how hard it was...

Back on the crochet
After last week's class I've been determined to do more crochet at home in the evenings. I'm the type of person that if something is out of sight then it is out of mind so putting my crochet away is not a good thing as I forget about it and I keep ending up only ever picking it up every two weeks during class. This week I got back into doing my star blanket! I'm not really sure what I'm making it for but I'm just keeping on going. I'm determined to actually finish it too, which I don't often do with my projects, oops!

New book
I have always been a huge bookworm but in recent years I haven't been reading nearly as much as I'd like to. A couple of weeks ago I picked up the newest book in the Shopaholic series. It's probably much too young for me now but as I've read all the other books in the series and I spotted this one, I just had to pick it up and see how the story continued. It's been nice to actually read again and hopefully it will lead me to reading more often!

Boots haul
Yesterday I somehow accidentally found myself in Boots...which is a real danger. I always pop in even if I don't need anything and I always end up picking something up! I got myself two new nail polishes from the Maybelline Blushed Nudes collection, which I'll definitely be featuring in a Manicure Monday soon so look out for those! I also picked up a couple of Biore products, which is a brand I've never tried before. Recently I've developed quite big pores on my nose and chin so I picked up some pore strips and a pore cleanser. I gave the strips a little go yesterday afternoon and while being a bit grossed out, I was also really impressed with what they managed to pick up. I'm not too sure how often I should use them but with the cleanser I'm hoping for a pore free face!

Clean house!
Yesterday was also a big cleaning day in my house. I do clean regularly every week but every month or so I go full on clean and get the big hoover out, get the air fresheners and fabric fresheners out and just spend most of the day giving everything a good scrub. The house now smells lovely and clean and I'm so impressed I managed to get the black glass TV stand dust free!

A free Sunday...
Today I have a day all to myself...my mum is off out with my sister and the kids but I'm staying home so I can get a proper day of blogging under my belt. I haven't had one in SO long and usually leave taking photos until late Sunday afternoon so I'm determined today to get lots of photos taken of products that are piling up on my desk and get lots of writing done too. I'm also going to hop on my spin bike as I'm determined to do it more often, I've been really lazy recently!

What are five good things that have happened in your week? Let me know in the comments.

Catch up on the week's posts:

Five simple ways to cheer yourself up

Manicure Monday: Barry M Coconut Infusions

Five good things this week #3

This post is coming a bit late today, especially when I'm hoping to have one going up on Monday morning too - as long as I get my act together and get it all photographed this afternoon, eek! I am planning to get a few blog photos taken this afternoon but really need to stop leaving it so late. I need to start taking photographs on Saturdays too and eventually, after work when it is lighter a bit later!

Yoga
This week Yoga was back after the Bank Holiday. It's only the second class we've been to so some of the stretches are a bit adventurous for us newbies but it's still good to get some exercise in - I do struggle with the breathing sometimes though. When the teacher tells us to breath in and hold it, I can't hold it long enough and by the time she's breathing out, I've already breathed out and breathed back in again! I'm not sure if it's something to do with my asthma or if it's something you learn to do better over time.

My shoulders were really painful this week, I think from sitting at my spin bike. I think the seat needs to be closer but unfortunately I've got it pulled as far forwards as it will go. I thought Yoga might help my shoulders a bit but the day after they were SO stiff so I've been suffering with them a bit this week.

This section doesn't particularly sound like a 'good thing' but I promise I enjoyed the class, especially the last 20 minutes or so when you basically get to go to sleep on the floor - some people even bring blankets!

Crochet
My Mum and I went back to crochet classes this week after a few weeks off. I haven't picked my crochet up in weeks, oops, but it was good to get started again. I'm currently working on a pink and cream star blanket, which I'm sure I'll post about soon or once it's finished. I am keen to start making some more adventurous items such as teddies/toys and am currently waiting for some kind of kit to come into stock. I'm not sure how good I will be at it but I'm going to give it a go!

Back on the bike
On Saturday, after a few days off in order to rest my shoulders and neck, I got back on my spin bike for 30 minutes. I'm still actually taking it quite slow and I have the resistance right down but I managed 15km and my shoulders didn't hurt too bad from it afterwards. I need to make sure I sit up straighter I think and really warm up/warm down properly. I guess it's easy to not do it properly when you're doing it at home at your own pace.

Although the resistance was right down I did keep up the pace for the entire 30 minutes, which I was quite pleased with. I need to start upping the time to around 45 minutes and putting the resistance up slightly, however the next resistance setting from the lowest one seems really hard! Wish me luck!

Park afternoon
Yesterday my Mum and I popped to my sister's for a cup of tea, which ended up in a trip the park for my niece and nephew. The weather wasn't brilliant and it did start raining halfway through the kids playing on the swings but I think they enjoyed themselves. They just enjoy walking through the park, Daisy said it was 'a beautiful place' and Oscar looked hilarious running around in his Spiderman costume!

Day with Vince
Vince finally has a day off today and I'm currently trying to get him off the sofa and to the shops with me. He very kindly made me toast for breakfast but now he seems to have slumped on the sofa. It's quite a nice day weather wise so even just getting outside to the shops would be nice, just so we're not stuck indoors all day!

It is his first day off in six though so I can't be too naggy with him! I'm hoping to get blog photos taken this afternoon and will probably pop to my Mum's as well. I've got housework to do but I'm currently ignoring it in favour of writing this post!

It's going to be a pretty chilled out day I think...I'm not sure what I will be doing next week. Unfortunately Yoga isn't on tomorrow and Crochet is every two weeks so it certainly won't be as busy of a week. I'm hoping to get on my bike a bit more so will report back on that next week.

What have been five good things that have happened to you this week? Let me know in the comments.

Catch up on this week's posts:

Body Fantasies Body Spray

Spring clean your makeup collection

Manicure Monday: Spring Pinks

Five good things this week #2

So last week's post went down quite well and what's more, I enjoyed writing it. I thought I'd struggle to find five good things to be honest but it's not been too bad. Here we go...

Four day week
The downside to this week was that my holiday was over but on the plus side Monday was a Bank Holiday so for me it was actually only a four day working week! Whenever there's a Bank Holiday I always get my days muddled up and Tuesday feels like a Monday and so on. The week went pretty quickly and wasn't too stressful!

Getting my cook on
I've been continuing to cook up some dinners again this week - in last week's post I mentioned that I was making Spanish Sausage Goulash, which I did and it was so yummy! I was really impressed with myself actually. I did have help from my mum but it turned out really yummy, I just wish I had made more of it! I am definitely going to try it again.

On Friday I made Peri Peri chicken, admittedly the sauce was from a jar, but it did taste good! I need to have a root through the cupboards and see what else I can whip up for the week to come - any suggestions?

Pub dinner
On Thursday I had the night off from slaving away in the kitchen and Vince and I enjoyed dinner at the pub with our two friends. We haven't seen them in AGES, since before Christmas, so it was good to catch up. I had Sausage Whirl for dinner with sweet potatoe fries and runner beans. It was really nice, basically a sausage shaped into a catherine wheel/swirl with some yummy sauce. I've actually just seen a recipe for it in my book so maybe that will be something I whip up soon!

Pay day
When this day comes around it's always one of the best of the week but it's tricky to control myself and stop myself from blowing it all - oh to be a teenager again and spending the day shopping, blowing all my money in Topshop. These days most of my money comes in and goes straight back out again on things like rent, bills and other boring adult stuff. Pay day does always make me feel 'safer' again though, knowing I've got some money in the bank should I need it. This month coming I have a dentist appointment though and definitely need to start paying off my spin bike!

Shopping and tea
Yesterday my mum, sister and I took a little afternoon trip into town. Not for anything special, just to have a look around some of the shops and stop off for a cup of tea in a little cafe. I ended up picking up a new top from New Look, some cleaning products (fun!) and some new bath products for me to test out on the blog. I used a voucher for the New Look top so I don't feel like I was too spendy! We stopped off at a nice little cafe in the town where mum had tea and my sister and I have iced drinks - mine was peaches and mint, which was surprisingly lovely! It was a really nice afternoon, simple, not stressful and fun! Even if it was only for a couple of hours.

What have been five good things that have happened to you this week? Let me know in the comments.

PS - I've just joined Snapchat. Add me (cherryp13) for lots of behind the scenes bloggy bits!

Five good things this week

I thought I'd start a bit of a new series here on the blog, a bit of re-invention of my Sunday Summary posts, but instead of talking about everything that went on in the week I thought I'd instead talk about five things in particular that really made my week. The first three months of this year have been absolute poo to put it politely so I thought focusing on some of the positives might be a nice change.

Week off
I've had the past week off work, my first week off since Christmas and it's been rather lovely. Vince also managed to book off two consecutive days so on Tuesday we popped out for breakfast and Wednesday we headed out for lunch and some shopping, but more on that later. Every time I say I have a week off work people ask me where I'm off to or what I'm doing but to be honest I never have anything planned. It's just nice to be at home and I managed to get some blog photos taken during the daylight!

Yoga
On Monday I went to my very first yoga class! I've been doing yoga at home on Youtube on and off but it caused pain in my shoulders and neck so I'm not sure I was really doing it properly and it was about time I found a 'proper' class to go to. I took my mum along with me and it was pretty relaxing for a Monday night workout...it's really my kind of workout when you get to spend about 20 minutes 'asleep' on the floor. Score! I'm really looking forward to the next class.

Exercise bike
All that sleeping and relaxing in Yoga means I do need to do something a bit more vigorous so I have finally ordered myself an exercise bike to save me all the embarrasment of having to run out of my spin class to throw up. Yes it happened, twice. I thought I'd get my own bike so I can go at my own pace instead of pushing myself too hard to meet what the spin class teacher is shouting at me to do. I need to be sure I do push myself a little bit, building up resistance on the bike etc but I'm starting off very simply for the first week.

Lunch and shopping!
On Wednesday Vince and I decided to pop to Bristol for a spot of shopping and some lunch at one of our fave all-you-can-eat restaurants. Although my purse was quite literally groaning, I picked myself up a new pair of jeans, a jumper and a new sports bra top for all that working out I am yet to do. Vince treated me to lunch and we absolutely stuffed ourselves silly as per usual. It's a Pan Asian restaurant so has all of our faves but Vince went all out with chinese followed by roast dinner and then curry! I stuck to mostly chinese food and it was delish!

It was really nice to go a shopping centre on a week day as everyone else was at work so it was nice and quiet! Primark was a dream!

Masterchef!
Masterchef may be a slight exaggeration but this week has been full of baking and 'proper' cooking. I've been trying to make some 'different' dishes for our dinner recently, using recipes online and a couple of cook books. I started out with Red Pesto Chicken Pasta followed by a Chicken and Mushroom Pie on Friday. I whipped up some Rocky Road Mini Egg bites, which you can see here and I have Spanish Sausage Goulash planned as well before needing to research some more recipes. I'm not sure what prompted me to do some proper cooking for a change, I guess it's because Vince has been working so late most evenings and apart from this week off, I will usually be at home around 6.30pm so thought I better put my time to good use. I'm not usually a good cook so this will give me lots of practice!

What have been five good things that have happened to you this week? Let me know in the comments.