Style Inspiration | Alexa Chung

Following on from last month's style inspiration post which featured my lovely mum (here) I'm moving on to my celebrity style inspiration. It may be a total cliche, but the celebrity whose style I adore the most has got to be Alexa Chung. My figure is completely different from Alexa's so I have to use the word 'inspiration' very literally when admiring her style and apply it to my own style in a way that suits and compliments me.

I don't think I've ever seen Alexa in an outfit I haven't liked and I'm pretty picky when it comes to clothes! The main details I like about her style and the ones I like to think apply to mine are her love of denim, owning a million slightly different blouses and the tendency to stick to fairly classic colours. Her style is what I would describe as 'classic with a twist.' She wears so many staple and wearable pieces, but always manages to make an outfit look interesting. That's a feat I'm still trying to accomplish!

Aside from her clothes, her hair is another source of inspiration to me. Hers is short and mine is long, but I love wearing an undone and slightly messy look with plenty of texture (basically just a good excuse to not do much to my hair!). Below are a few of my favourite outfits that are quite Alexa-inspired.

Do you like Alexa Chung's style? Who is your celebrity style inspiration?

Amy x

Fit February | Weekly Routine

This marks my final fitness update of my month long fitness motivation plan! It's been really useful in helping me find out what type of exercise I'm most motivated to do and what kinds of workouts I'll (hopefully) be able to keep up.

I definitely think my most successful week was the YouTube workouts week (post here) and it was also the week I enjoyed the most. I think because of the variety of YouTube workouts that are out there meant I didn't get bored and also the ease of being able to choose workouts that fitted into my day was so handy.

My least successful week was definitely my running week. Turns out that exercising outside in February is not my idea of fun at all and I really lacked the motivation to do so! Originally I was planning to make a weekly routine consisting of a mixture of the past three weeks, but realistically I think I'll be much more likely to keep it up if I stick to YouTube workouts alone. Being able to work out in my own home while still having variety and the flexibility to choose a workout length based on the time I have available is a win win for me.

My plan is to sit down every Sunday and plan my workouts for the week based around my work rota, aiming for four workouts a week minimum (which seems achievable seeing as some of them are as short as ten minutes).

How do you stay fit?

Amy x

The Classic Check Shirt

Sometimes it's nice to be all bold and adventurous with outfit choices and sometimes, well sometimes it's just nice to go back to basics, to what you know works and to what you forget actually looks pretty good. That's what I've done with this check shirt from H&M that I bought completely on a whim with a voucher from Christmas and that I've worn probably a bit too much since. Paired with my Topshop Joni jeans it's the easiest outfit to throw on and yet I still feel stylish in it. Ease, comfort and style means it's a total winner in my eyes. As well as wearing it like this it also looks good tucked in with the sleeves rolled up. Also I promise I ironed it even though it doesn't necessarily look that way!

I'm also loving these boots I got in the Asos sale from the Truffle Collection. I love the cut out detail plus they're suede which I just adore!

Shirt - H&M (here)

Jeans - Topshop (here)
Boots - Truffle Collection via Asos (here)

Do you like check shirts?

Amy x

3 Healthy Breakfasts

Breakfast is my absolute favourite meal of the day and is also the meal where I'm the healthiest! Thanks to breakfast I actually manage to get my five a day because I usually cram about three of the five into it! I thought I'd share my three favourite healthy breakfasts because I love nosying at what other people eat! These are definitely nothing groundbreaking, but they also don't take much preparation so are perfect for the morning because who's got time to be whipping up something complicated anyway?

Homemade granola with yogurt and fruit

I use the Deliciously Ella recipe for granola (here), but adapt it depending on what I've got in or what I fancy experimenting with etc. I love all granola but try to make my own when I can because most shop bought ones are full of unnecessary sugar. I make it at the weekend and just keep it in a big jar. I usually eat it sprinkled over natural yogurt with lots of berries!


Overnight yogurty oats with berries and honey

This is my favourite breakfast at the moment even though it's more suited to summer. I mix some oats with some natural yogurt and a little bit of water, leave them covered overnight in the fridge then in the morning you've got a kind of creamy cold porridge (sounds gross, but trust me). I eat mine with berries and honey. Tastyyyy.


Banana porridge

I quite often make my porridge with water or if I have some almond or coconut milk I'll use that. I chop up a banana and add it to the mixture then microwave the whole thing for two minutes. The banana goes all warm and mushy and makes the porridge taste amazing! If I feel it needs sweetening I'll also add a bit of honey. Apologies that it's impossible to get a picture of porridge that doesn't look totally gross!

What do you eat for breakfast? Do you eat any of these?

Amy x

Fit February | Running

Ah running...I used to be quite good at it (well, I mean 30 minutes on the treadmill quite good, not marathon quite good) but my running stamina is the thing that slips the most when I've got out of the habit of exercise and that's why I've left it until week 3 of my Fit February posts (weeks 1 and 2 here and here) in the hopes that I've regained some sort of fitness level over the past two weeks. Last week I managed all my planned YouTube workouts which I'm so pleased about seeing as I didn't start them until Thursday!) and I'm feeling so much better for actually doing more exercise. It's annoying that I struggle with motivation for something that actually makes me feel better!

I went out on Thursday for the first time with my only goal being to run for as long as I felt that I could, with the thinking that I could base the rest of this week's training on that time. Well I basically managed to run to the shop and back which is probably max 7 minutes so I'm not holding out much hope for today! I'm actually away all weekend so won't get the chance to exercise, so I'm a bit gutted at only managing two sessions this week!

I'll let you know how I get on in next week's post, but I would love to hear any tips you might have about running - how to get into it properly, how to get your stamina up etc - any tips would be useful to be honest! Now wish me luck running in the freezing cold!

Are you a runner?

Amy x

Questions To Ask When Having a Clear Out

This post was born from the fact that I have been massively overdue a good clear out for about 5 years. I'm quite a hoarder really and with a whole wardrobe's worth of clothes still at my parents' house as well as far too many to fit into my wardrobe here I really need to get a clear out over and done with! As well as clothes I've got books that I haven't read since school, DVDs and a heap of old papers and photographs. I've put together some questions I'm going to be asking myself when I'm deciding whether to get rid of things or not and thought I'd make them into a post in case anyone else in struggling in the hoarding department!

Have you worn it / used it in the last year? If the answer is no then the chances of you wearing / using it this year or the year after are slim. Sometimes it can be so hard to throw things away that you have to just be brutal!

Do you actually like it? I have so many things that I don't even like anymore that I'm scared of throwing away in case I start liking them again - how silly is that?! This time if the answer is no it's going in the charity bag!

Does it have sentimental value or is special to you? This is the exception to the not liking things rule. I have a jacket that I never wear and doesn't really suit me, but it belonged to my Grandad and I would never get rid of it for that reason. Some things are worth the clutter. 

Does it still fit? Some items of clothing I've not worn for so long that I don't actually know whether they fit anymore so my plan is to try everything on and if things don't actually fit it'll be a lot easier to get rid of them because I know I won't be wearing them again!

Do you already own something similar? This is a difficult one for me because I have about 10 striped tops that I swear are completely different! However if I have similar items, but always turn to one over the other I'm going to be ruthless!

What can I do with it now? Usually the answer to this for me is a charity shop, but some things need to go in the bin (if you still wear things that have holes in like I do, whoops) or if you think some things are worth selling on eBay then set those aside.

Wish me luck! Have you had clearout recently or do you need to have one? What would your tips be?

Amy x

10 Signs You're In a Scarily Comfortable Relationship

Being in a comfortable relationship is both a good and bad thing. On the one hand you've got someone you can completely be yourself around and who knows you so well, but on the other hand sometimes romance can end up going completely out of the window...

1 | You both sit on the sofa watching TV while simultaneously being on your laptops and your phones. You both count this as 'quality time' together. 

2 | You talk about everything. And by everything I mean period updates, graphic details of illnesses and that time you actually did wet yourself laughing when you were thirteen. And you're not even embarrassed. Bit of a mood killer though...

3 | You have absolutely no qualms in offending each other. Their breath smells? You tell them straight. Must. Remember. To. Compliment. Too. 

4 | When you go out for a meal it's for the food, not the conversation. Other people must think you're either really boring or on a bad first date. 

5 | You can sing at the top of your voice in front of them without being embarrassed. Nothing like a cute little out of tune serenade in the car. 

6 | The majority of your text messages to each other are selfies of you pulling stupid faces, each trying to be uglier than the last. #romance.

7 | The rest of your messages to each other consist of questions such as 'did you put the bins out?' and 'what's for tea?'

8 | You can eat a horrendous amount of calories together without any fear of judgement. 

9 | They're the only person you don't worry about being late for. If it was anyone else you'd feel guilty, but they'll wait and you probably won't apologise.            

10 | There's no such thing as being embarrassed in front of each other, mainly because you've already done so many stupid things in front of them already that you no longer have any shame.

Whether you're single or in a relationship I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day! 

Amy x

Fit February | YouTube Workouts

Following on from last week's fitness post (here) here is an update on how I did last week and how I've switched it up this week! One of the main things about fitness motivation for me is variety - I get bored so easily so I need different things to do so I don't lose motivation. Last week I did circuit training, which I actually love (mainly because it's over so quickly haha!) and it went really well to say I haven't exercised in so long and I did them every other day apart from Sunday when I failed because, well, Sunday. Hopefully they've improved my fitness enough for me to last this week though! I've been doing a variety of YouTube workouts this week, which I will list below! I had planned to workout every other day again, but my work shifts were a bit all over the place this week so I actually got my first chance to work out yesterday and I'm hopefully following that up with a workout today, tomorrow and Sunday.

HIIT and Tone All Over | Lucy Wyndham-Read | I love Lucy's channel for short workouts that work really well but fit into my day easily and as I had plans yesterday this was perfect. Even though it's short it still works so well and combines cardio with toning in just 10 minutes! A short workout is my kind of workout!

Rainy Day Workout | Anna Saccone | This is kind of cheating because Lucy Wyndham-Read is Anna Saccone's trainer so this is a similar kind of video to yesterday, but her workouts are so easy to fit around work! This one is what I'll be doing today. 

Pump It Up The Ultimate Dance Workout | Yes this is the Call On Me workout (everyone must remember that music video yes?) This is the plan for Saturday and I'm going to do four of the five sections. I usually skip the actual dance section and go straight to the pump it up section because ain't nobody got time to learn actual salsa. This is such a good workout because I feel so good afterwards, it tested my stamina, plus the scantily clad girls are actually pretty good motivation to carry on!

Yoga For Stress and Anxiety | Yoga With Adriene | Because this is for Sunday I thought I'd give myself something a bit more relaxing to do and I love Adriene's channel. I've chosen yoga for stress and anxiety because I've had such a busy week this week and feel like I might need this! I'm sooo looking forward to doing this actually!

I'll have another update next week :) 

Do you like doing YouTube workouts?

Amy x

The Orange Dress

I've never really worn orange before but when I was browsing the H&M sale this little floaty number jumped out at me. It's a lovely colour for this time of year, it's flattering while hiding the post-Christmas paunch at the same time and it keeps me warm (ish) because of the long sleeves. It goes with leggings or with tights and I love that I can just throw it on without really having to plan an outfit. Because it's got quite a high neckline it looks nice with long necklaces and I'm trying my hardest to accessorize a bit more this year as that is one area I really skimp on. This particular necklace is actually a medal that belonged to my Great-Grandad (who I never met) but I love wearing it because it means something as well as actually looking pretty good! The completely non-matching earrings are from Next and who doesn't love a bit of marble?

Dress - H&M (sale)
Shoes - Asos (old)
Bag - Primark
Squinty face - My own

What do you think of orange? 

Amy x 

3 Ways to Wear the Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 Palette

I have a bit of a thing for the £4 Makeup Revolution eyeshadow palettes - they're so cheap and so wearable. Recently I bought the Iconic 3 palette so I thought I'd put together a post on the three different ways I'll be wearing it!

Seeing as there are no colour names I've numbered the shades below to make it easier to explain!

Rose Gold 

Sadly this look is quite subtle so doesn't show up that well on camera. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a pink person usually, but the rosy shades in this palette are beautiful so I can be persuaded! For this look I took shade 4 all over my eyelid, shade 3 in the outer corner and crease, shade 2 in the inner corner and then shade 5 over the outer corner and then blended!

Copper 

This is a really simple everyday eye look that's me all over. I took shade 7 all over my eyelid, shade 8 in the inner corner and shade 6 in the outer corner and through the crease. 

Purple smokey

Usually I'd run screaming from purple on my eyes, but these shades are kind of brown-purple so are super wearable. I used shade 1 all over my lids, shade 11 from the middle of my lid blended out, shade 10 in the inner corner and shade 12 in the outer corner and along the lower lashline.

Which look is your favourite? Have you tried this palette?

Amy x 

Fit February | Circuit Training

Today is quite a different post for me and is a topic I've never really spoken about on my blog before: fitness. My fitness story is a bit of a joke really, I tend to go through a phase of being really active and getting to the point where I feel like my fitness is quite good and then I'll fall off the bandwagon and find it really difficult to get back on it again. Since my gym membership ran out in September of last year I haven't done any exercise apart from walking and the odd workout video and I'm really feeling it. I'm determined to get back into it and I've decided February is the month I'm going to get back on it! I then thought if I logged my progress on here then I would have no excuses to not exercise because it doesn't make a very interesting post if I say I haven't been doing anything!

For my first week of 'Fit February' I'm doing circuit training. I started on Monday and doing them every other day (my legs definitely can't take every day when I first start!). I decided on circuits because I find doing circuits really gets my fitness up fast because of their intensity. I'm going to list my workout below so you can see what I've been doing and then you can try it too if you fancy! I do need to stress that I'm definitely not a fitness expert and although these circuits were given to me by a personal trainer I've switched them around a bit to suit me!

Circuit 1

10 x squat jumps

10 second rest

10 x plyo lunges (jumping straight from one lunge into the other)

10 second rest

10 x burpees (squat to a press up to a jump to a squat etc)

10 second rest

Repeat whole circuit three times.


Circuit 2

15 x crunches

15 second rest

15 x Russian twist with feet up

15 second rest

15 seconds plank

15 second rest

Repeat whole circuit three times.


Circuit 3

15 x press ups (I do them with my knees on the floor!)

15 second rest

15 secs left side plank

15 second rest

15 secs right side plank

15 second rest

Repeat whole circuit three times.


I purposefully do the circuit I find the most difficult first to get it out of the way and I get so tired after these even though they only take about half an hour. I would love to hear what you do for a workout as fitness inspiration is definitely needed right now! Also if you've written any posts about fitness please leave me the link so I can go and read them!

Amy x

Mother's Day on a Budget | At Home Spa Day

It's just over a month to Mother's Day with it falling quite early this year on 6th March so I've had my thinking cap on in search of ideas. With a mortgage and a house much in need of renovation I'm on a tight budget this year and as I'm sure many others are too I thought I'd share my idea for Mother's Day on a budget - an at home spa day! Read on for my ideas of what to do!

Get comfy | One of the most important things for me about a spa day is being able to relax so I'd suggest getting some comfortable and cosy clothes on - possibly even pyjamas if you fancy! Make sure the room you're based in is cosy as well - plenty of blankets and cushions on the sofa!

Atmosphere | Spas always smell absolutely amazing so scented candles are a must for an at home spa day! My favourite at the moment is this Yankee Candle New England Maple Syrup. You could also pop some music on if you fancy, although I think I would prefer sticking a girly film on that you can both watch while having a bit of a natter at the same time!

Refreshments | A pamper for me has to include something chocolatey so depending on what mood you're in and what you feel like I'd either whip up an indulgent hot chocolate or open some wine accompanied by a sharing bar of chocolate!

DIY treatments | Once you're all set up on the sofa in your comfy clothes watching a film and indulging it's time to get stuck into some pampering. A face mask would definitely be on the cards so make sure neither of you have makeup on before starting! A perfect face mask for a pamper day is The Body Shop's Aloe Protective Restoring Mask because it's a leave on mask so once you've applied it you can leave it to sink into your skin without having to even get up to wash it off! Once you've both applied your masks you can get stuck in with DIY manicures and pedicures. I'd keep it simple by just using some foot cream and hand cream (my favourites are Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream and Lush Helping Hands) before applying your favourite colour.

This would be such a perfect girly day and I would definitely love to do this with my mum for Mother's Day! Plus it doesn't cost a thing as you can use whatever you have in the house so it's perfect for those on a budget! If you're looking for more ideas check out the Cotton Trader's Mother's Day Inspiration Guide, which I was lucky enough to be featured in here!

What would your idea for Mother's Day be? Would you enjoy an at home spa day?

Amy x