January Favourites

I can't believe it's this time of the month already - the first monthly favourites of the year is here. By the end of this week we will be in February, thank god, I can't quite believe it. It feels like I was only suffering from a New Years Eve hangover yesterday. 

This monthly favourites is an odd one. I have discovered a few new things but there's also one thing I've rediscovered my love of. So let's get into it.

New York Giants Sweatshirt - Topshop Tea and Cake

I saw this and I had to have it. The New York Giants are my team, by chance. Long story short I chose them in secondary school, they won that year, I stuck with them. So when I saw this sweatshirt in Toyshop literally two days ago I had to have it and I had to put it in my favourites. I love it, its oversized and so comfy. Right now it's great with jeans or joggers depending on the intensity of your lazy day but I think it will also be great in summer with shorts for when there's a bit of an evening breeze. Even if not I'll be wearing it cause I love it.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 in White

These have been doing the rounds for a while now and I finally picked one up last month and I love it. Seeing as I want to start printing more photos anyway so I can actually look back on them, this cuts out the middle man. It's also been great for recipes as I can take a photo of the food and stick it straight in my recipe book. 

Clinique Pep Start Eye Cream

BEST EYE CREAM EVER. Eye cream is a funny one for me, I've never really noticed any changes when using any particular one even though I know there are benefits to different eye cream, and I know I should use one it's always a second thought for me. However, after getting a sample size of this a few weeks ago I had to go out and purchase the full size once I'd used it up. It's fantastic and really does brighten your eyes, I haven't even felt the need for concealer recently and that's saying something.

Eucerin Dermo Purifier Night Care

I raved about this in my Skincare Saviours so I won't go on about it here. But, just know that it is great, has evened my skin tone, reduced scarring and helped fight blemishes. Definitely a good one if you suffer with skin issues.

Lush Lip Scrub in Bubblegum

Chapped, dry lips are the worst and at this time of year, nearly unavoidable. Once you've got over the soreness the worst part is the flaky skin right? The lip scrub from Lush has been my saviour this month for that and I'll definitely be continuing to use it. After using it once my lips felt smoother and softer and ready for lipstick again, so definite winner there. Also it tastes great.

Kikki K Large Planner in Yellow

Jack bought this for me last Valentine's Day and I've been in love with it ever since but this month it's really proved it's metal. After a bit of reorganisation and a few additions inside I've never felt so organised. It's also helped me stick to my resolutions which is a bonus. For me this has been the best organiser I've used and I love that's it's so pretty and bright. They don't seem to do the bright yellow anymore but there are still lots of fun colours and patterns to choose from.

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Chocolate Granola

I'm not going to lie, this wasn't meant to be granola. Throughout baking this I was intending on healthy, chocolate flapjacks. However, they didn't quite go to plan and that needs some work. However, what I did end up with was some delicious chocolate granola which is perfect as a porridge topping, with yoghurt and fruit, frozen yoghurt or just as a snack, so I thought I'd share it with you anyway.

You will need

350g coconut oil

3tbsp maple syrup

200g light brown sugar

100g sunflower or pumpkin seeds (or 50g of both)

100g puffed rice

250g rolled oats

6tbsp cacao powder

How to

Preheat the oven to 140C/284F/Gas Mark 2. 

Put the coconut oil, maple syrup and sugar in a pan and heat until melted. Don't let the mixture boil though and make sure to keep stirring it as otherwise the sugar may burn on the bottom. 

In a separate bowl weigh the seeds, puffed rice and oats. 

Whisk the cacao powder into the wet ingredients before pouring it over the dry ingredients.

Stir them all together until combined and all the dry ingredients are well coated. 

Pour the mixture into a lined baking tray, spread it out evenly and bake for 20 minutes.

Once cooked allow to cool before breaking it up and pouring it into a container to store. 

Brunch by the sea

Brunch is by far my favourite thing to do on the weekend. Apart from sleep and absolutely bugger all. I'd much rather go for brunch than dinner on the weekend and I think it's massively underrated. A mid-morning coffee with eggs is always what the doctor ordered after a Saturday or Sunday lie in. Living by the seaside makes brunch even better because it means starting and ending brunch with a brisk walk by the sea - another of my favourite things to do.

WHAT I'M WEARING: JACKET | PRIMARK SHIRT | NEW LOOK JEANS | TOPSHOP

BOOTS | DR MARTENS SUNGLASSES | TOMMY HILFIGER

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5 tips for sticking to your New Years Resolutions

We are officially in the last full week of January, already I know. This is about the time when New Years Resolutions begin to slowly, but surely, fall by the wayside. Well for me anyway, maybe you've got a lot more will power than me and if so, congratulations. However, most humans don't and the goals begin to come a bit daunting and before long we've given up completely. 

This year, very uncharacteristically, I've managed to keep up with my resolutions. I've found a few ways that just make them a little bit easier to stick to so I thought I'd share them with any of you lovely readers who are a bit like me and just give up a little too soon.

Focus on one resolution

We all make heaps of resolutions, every year, four of five get listed off - things I want to to achieve in the year. But, truth be too told it's too much and that's what gets overwhelming. Choose one resolution, out of your mammoth list, and focus on that. For me finding a regular exercise routine was the resolution I wanted to focus on, it's the one I always fail on without, well, fail. So this year I've put all my efforts into it and so far so good. I haven't missed a class yet and am actually really enjoying it. *who are you and what have you done with the real Emily?*

Don't be too extreme

We tend to go to the extreme with resolutions. You've never run before but you set the resolution to start running and when you're not practically Mo Farah within two weeks you give up - don't worry I've been there. Set small goals that will lead you too your big goal. Let's stick with the running example, aim to begin with two fifteen minute jogs a week and once that feels easier up it to three or to two thirty minute jogs. Slow and steady wins the race. It might feel like you're getting no where but constantly making small progress and looking back at the end of the year having made changes will feel better than giving up. 

Make it part of your day-to-day life

Making it part of your lifestyle and less like a chore will make it so much easier to get on with. Schedule time for to work towards your goal into your daily routine and make the time, if something else (obviously nothing important like a presentation with your MD or something) comes up schedule it for later. One of my resolutions is to get back in the kitchen more so one evening a week I make sure I don't have anything else on and don't plan anything so I can get in the kitchen and cook something yummy from scratch. Just doing that means I actually get in the kitchen and do it and don't get home and get distracted because I've got something else going on all of a sudden. 

Write your goal somewhere you'll see it everyday

Having your New Years Resolutions in your head is fine but you forget about them and don't hold yourself accountable. If it was something important for work you'd have it written down somewhere so you never forgot it and you'd kick yourself if you did. So the same thing applies here. Whatever your main goal is write it down somewhere where you'll see it everyday and remind yourself to a) do it but also b) hold yourself accountable. Put a note on the bathroom mirror, the fridge, wherever you go every morning so you'll see it and word it with confidence and authority.

Don't do it alone

This has been the most important thing when it comes to my main goal. Find a friend who's got a similar goal as yours and hold each other to it. I don't want to let my friend down so make sure I go to the classes I've booked onto with her and we motivate each other to kill it once we're there, even when we're sweating our tits off in a circuits class and are just about ready to vomit. Seriously, buddy up it's good advice. Obviously not everything is as easy to find a friend to do it with but there's places online, Twitter, Instagram where people are likely to have the same goals as you. Just find somewhere, someone that gives you a kick up the bum when you need it. 

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Cajun Chicken with Baked Sweet Potato and Spicy Peas

I love spicy food, I mean spicy within reason, I'm not going to order a Vindaloo from the Curry House but I'll add a spicy hint to my food on most occasions. I was watching a cooking show the othr day (don't ask me which one I watch a lot and I can't remember which one it was) and they were talking about Cajun spice and to me, it sounded like heaven. So I had an experiment and this is what happened, the result was pretty good so make sure to give it a go if you like spicy, smoky flavours. Alongside the baked sweet potato it really balances out. This recipe is for 6 people so adjust how you feel best. 

You will need

6 Chicken Breasts

6 Sweet Potatoes

3 cups of peas

1 red chilli

A handful of mint leaves

1.5 tsp Paprika

1.5 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1.5 tsp Onion Powder

1.5 tsp Garlic Powder

1.5 tsp Oregano

1.5 tsp Thyme 

1.5 tsp Black Pepper

2 tsp Salt

How to

Start your potatoes off in the microwave, this way they don't take so long to cook. I put all six of mine in for about 10 minutes until they were just soft. If you don't have a microwave you will need to cook the potatoes in the oven at about 180C for 45 minutes. 

Whilst the potatoes are in the microwave mix all the spices together in a bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and coat evenly. I poured mine out onto the board to make sure they were all evenly coated. Put the spiced chicken back in the bowl and leave, covered, until the potatoes are done.

Whilst your waiting, prepare the peas. Chop the chilli and tear a handful of mint leaves. Put the peas, chilli and mint into a pan of water ready to boil. 

Once the potatoes have finished put them in the oven to crisp up. It is best to keep your oven on a low temperature so these don't burn as they will now stay in the oven until your chicken is cooked and depending on the size of your chicken breasts they may take a longer and shorter time than mine to cook.

Heat some oil in a pan. Once it is hot add the chicken breasts turning every so often letting them get brown and crispy. Cook them over a low heat, slowly to keep them as tender as possible. 

Once your chicken breasts are about ten-fifteen minutes from being cooked, turn the peas on and let them cook.

Once the chicken and peas are cooked, dish everything up and serve the potato with a little bit of a butter and enjoy!

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My skin saviours

Hello, my name's Emily, I'm twenty three and I've finally found a routine my skin and I both like. Yep, it's taken me twenty three years to finally find a skincare routine that works for both me and my skin. I'm not someone who will spend half an hour, or sometimes even fifteen minutes, in the morning and evening on my skincare so I know I need something quick and easy but also effective and these four products help me do just that. 

The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash

I don't use this everyday but when I do I love it. I tend to use it as a second cleanse after taking my makeup of with something like the No7 Cleansing Balm. It makes my skin feel super clean and fresh and is what I grab after a sweaty class at the gym. Since using it I've definitely noticed a difference in my skin. Overall it's more even and if I have a breakout it helps to calm that down so I look less red and blotchy and more soft and glowy.

Eucerin Dermo Purifier Active Night Care

I never used to take any notice of the Eucerin section in Boots but after seeing a few of their products banging around on beauty blogs and also some hear say that Gigi Hadid is a fan I decided to take a gander. I am so glad I did. This has been the best thing I've bought skincare wise in a while. It doesn't feel like the most moisturising of moisturisers but paired with something like the Clinique Moisture Surge it's perfect. This literally calmed down the scarring on my chin overnight and has been gradually decreasing it every night since. This will be a definite repurchase.

L'Oreal Pure Clay Detox Mask

I love a good face mask they add the finishing touch to a good pamper session but I've been using this one 2-3 times a week and it's done my skin the world of good. I pop it on whilst I'm tidying my room, writing a post or just having a sit on the bed with my phone for fifteen minutes and let it do it's magic. It makes my skin feel thoroughly cleansed, soft and balmy. It basically does what it says on the tin. I also want to pick up the glow mask and see if that, also, does what it says on the tin.

Garner Skin Active Pure Active 3in1

I use this every morning to wake my skin up, get rid of any overnight residue and get my skin ready for the day. I use it mainly as a wash and it does the job I ask of it. I don't know if it's made my skin clearer but it definitely ensures my skin gets a good cleanse every morning which can only be a good thing. 

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