Autumn

So yeah. How boss is autumn?? I know I've said it a hundred times but I really do love it.

Everything is so pretty and magical and...transitional...I always feel good in autumn, like old crap is going away and leaving making way for new, good things.

I've been feeling that way in particular today, I've finally seen some of the stuff I've been choosing not to see for a while now and it feels good to breathe and know it's all good! I can move on from this thing/these people. Yes, it's really quite sad but it's time to bring the good in and only the good!

So here's to that!  For me and all of you!!!!!

My Week On Instagram

SO I'm having a bit of a weird one lately. Bit up, bit down, bit in between :/ if that makes any sense?

I can't focus on one thing to write about and haven't been able to for a while so I thought I'd do a week on Instagram. I do love Instagram.

Here we go then...

I LOVE ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK.

I finished the second series after re watching the first and I just love it. Nicky has to be my favourite (I'm only slightly biased because I love Natasha Lyonne).

Had a night in with a bottle of gin and one of my best and we watched youtube clips and listened to music all night. Was actually one of the best nights I've had in a long time. Needless to say, we needed some refreshments the morning after so went to the shop and ended up buying whatever orange flavoured stuff we saw.

I wanted to eat bad stuff and I've been so good that when I needed, and I mean NEEDED pizza I put on a crop and pencil skirt to remind me not to eat the pizza!!

Stayed on the healthy wagon....

So this happened and I fangirled a lot harder than I probably knew I could.

Found old pic's and yeah, my bedroom door was sooooo cool when I was 14.

Had plans...then I didn't... so sorted my mush and watched some more Natasha Lyonne films.

Stubborn green hair :|

Had a nice little Saturday afternoon with my Pop's. If you didn't know, my Grandad is my favourite man in the world.

Then the pie got a shower. 

So there was a little glimpse of my week...not the most exciting but I like weeks like this!!

Send over your Instagrams! I'm at Sarahhhh88

xo

50 random facts about me

So....let's hope I can actually think of 50 facts....I'm not actually interesting.
1. I'm naturally blonde
2. I have an older brother and a younger sister
3. Haribo eggs are the best.
4. I'm a qualified hairdresser
5. I dyed my hair black when I was 14 and hid it under a hat, which I pulled off whilst my mum had her friends round so she couldn't fume.
6. Cheese is the best comfort food. Cheesy chips, cheesy mash, cheese on toast....
7. I can't eat gluten.
8. I want to move to Bondi Beach and marry one of the lifeguards because I am in love with him. (Reidy)
9. I have had my hair most colours, red or forest green were my favourites.
10. I secretly want to be a kardashian, but its too high maintenence for me.
11. I will go to war for my friends.
12. I can be quite cold, I find it probably too easy to cut people out of my life.
13. The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me was secretly make his band learn 'teenage kicks' and play it at their gig because me and my dad used to scream along to it in the car. (this is why this friend is one of the best people on the planet).
14. I am obsessed with peanut butter.
15. I drink bourbon.
16. And cider.
17. I watch Pretty Little Liars over and over.
18. Me and one of my best friends absolutely hated eachother until we were 18.
19. I have had a crush on one of my friends for about...8/9 years.....
20. Cheese always goes on top of beans.
21. I used to get into clubs when I was younger and when I was 15 I threw up all over my friends new shoes. He's still not forgiven me.
22. Dubai is one of my favourite places ever.
23. I am super messy.
24. I'm obsessed with washing my bedding.
25. After watching Sin Nombre, my good film buddy friend Joseph, told me to watch Martyrs. I was so confused.
26. I met one of my best friends, Erica, at work, we bonded over those two films and went on our first date that night.
27. Chilli makes my face and mouth swell....I'm working on building up a tolerance because it's suddenly all I want to eat.
28. I remember everything about people I like. Not important things, but like the smallest details. How I met someone, what they smelled like, what they said....and I never forget.
29. I used to morris dance. (not like the men with ribbon, the one with the really horribly competitive girls)
30. I can't eat broadbeans. I ate one in primary school thinking it was a pea and threw up on my teacher. Vile.
31. I hate being alone at night in my house incase a ghost gets me.
32. I love candles.
33. My sister and I, if we had been told off by my dad, would make him a cup of tea to say sorry and would put salt in it and run away.
34. When I was 8, my brother wouldn't speak to me because I was showing him some self defence moves I had learned and grabbed him by the ears and knee'd him in the nose...and we got it on film.
35. There are 9 years between my brother and I and 3 1/2 years between me and my sister.
36. I am obsessed with crime and murder documentaries, and read loads of real crime books and give myself nightmares.
37. Me and my mate were really into the West Memphis Three case and we went to see Eddie Vedder last year and were late, we walked in just as he was talking about Damien Echols, it was emotional haha. A moment I'll never forget.
38. I was a full on goth as a young teenager.
39. I used to be vegan.
40. I would love to have blonde hair again.
41. I have a dog, named Alfie.
42. I had to walk out of Evil Dead because it made my ex feel sick and he doesn't like horror movies. I was so sad...still not seen it.
43. I want 20 kids. Well, no, not 20 but you know, a few.
44. I'm named after a Hall & Oates song.
45. Grande, wet, soy, chai tea latte is my Starbucks drink of choice.
46. I touch everything I walk past in shops, or I have to make a conscious effort to keep my hands in my pocket.
47. I have a 'christmas sandwich' that my friend Jenny made me one year and its the best. Turkey, cheese & onion sensations and black pepper mayo.
48. I have a thing for gingers. Frank Carter, Max Branning etc....
49. Naked Green Machine is the only smoothie I can drink.
50. I'm so hungry now I've written about so much food.

Cha cha cha chilli

Random little recipe post!

It was soooo cold and miserable here today that I decided to make a big pot of lovely warm chilli!

Ingredients;
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 large red onion
2 large cloves garlic finely chopped
1 chilli deseeded and finely chopped
Handfull of cherry tomatoes
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can of baked beans
1 sachet of chilli con carne mix
OR
2 tablespoons each of; chilli powder, cumin and smoked paprika (or to your own taste)
Lean minced beef or veggie option



I chopped my peppers quite chunky, diced my onion, chopped my garlic and chilli finely. I then heated a tablespoon of oil on a low heat then added my chopped veg and slowly softened them (I was wanting to kill time so I did it slowly).

I then added my beef and browned it.

When that was done I added all my canned ingredients starting with the tomatoes then beans and then my spice mix.
I then let this slowly heat up until we were ready to eat and voila!!

Was delicious!!!

I had mine with a slice of toasted gluten free seeded bread with garlic and rosemary butter that I made the other day!

p.s my mum always puts dark chocolate in her chilli...which is AMAZING...but I didn't have any, otherwise I would have :(

Body Beautiful?

I didn't know whether or not to write this post because I know it's a touchy subject.

I can't and would never speak on behalf of somebody but myself, as I only know about myself and my body.

I've struggled with my body the last few years. I used to be slimmer than I am now, then I got a boyfriend and we stayed in all the time and got takeaways or we went out to eat. Obviously it was fine for him because he had a naturally fast metabolism and had a hard time putting weight on. Good for him, bad for me.

So, yeah, we split up and I was trying things on for a 'girls night out' and I realised how much my body had actually changed. I actually cancelled on my friends, even though it was all in aid of cheering me up, got into my pj's and cried...and ate.

I've always loved eating. Like, I REALLY love eating. It's one of my favourite things ever, but I knew I had to go on a diet to feel better, so I did, and I made myself miserable. I can't not eat the things I like because if I restrict myself, I'll just eat wayyy more than I normally would anyway.

But I decided exercise was the way forward, I stopped my diet and decided I HAD to eat breakfast even though I hate eating it, and I had to have lunch and dinner at a reasonable time and with loads of veg or with fruit after each  meal. Anyways, after about.....3/4 months I lost 25lbs and I've managed to stay at that weight for the last 2 years, well not, that's a total lie, I've put on 4lbs, but I'm already on to getting rid of that.

I don't want to be thin, I know I'll never be thin, I'm not built to be thin, that's not what I'm aiming for. I'm aiming for happy and healthy. So after new year, I'm going to take up running again and eat more fruit and veg, that's my plan.

I'm still not very comfortable with my weight because I'm only 5'1 and a size 10/12 and my frame is quite small so it doesn't sit right on me. I do kinda like having a bum though, I must admit! I don't like to be called 'curvy' though, I don't know why, but one of my friends said it once and I was just got defensive. I think that's the medias fault though, putting labels such as 'curvy' and 'skinny' on people, I hate that. And the term 'real woman' for someone 'curvy' like, erm, hello? all women are real....aren't they?? I mean, if you pinch us, we're all actually here, real, not a figment of your imagination.... Sorry, I'll stop before that turns into a proper rant.

My boyfriend now is super active and always moving so I don't see him all the time, but he's fit and it kind of makes me want to do more...I haven't yet but I am determined,

Another thing about putting weight on  in those years, my boobs got bigger....I had quite big boobs anyway, I was a DD by the time I was 14/15 and I've always hated having boobs, in school I always felt weird because I had them before everyone but this one other girl, and I hated PE and getting changed and having to run and all the boys being really immature. When I put weight on, they got even bigger and they're still the same size now.

I'm still the same, I get so self conscious, I never, ever have them out, I get so paranoid.

However, I'm thinking as a new years resolution, I'm not going to make stupid ones like, 'I'll keep my room tidy' or 'I will limit my pizza intake to one a month' - ( impossible ones! ), but to accept that I have boobs and that, it's not so bad, everyone has them now, and if I like a dress but it shows a bit of cleavage, I don't have to immediately dismiss it.

I'm feeling a tiny bit more confident about myself now that I have started to relax, I've started wearing dresses too! I'm glad that I got myself to this point though, on that night I cancelled on my friends, one of my first thoughts was, 'I'll never get another boyfriend', and it really pisses me off that I thought that, now I can honestly say, I would never change to make someone like me and I'm glad I didn't. I did get another boyfriend, despite not looking that much different to when I felt so rubbish, and he just adds to it, he's so nice to me and makes me feel good. I'm happy, and when I'm happy, I smile... a LOT and I don't panic over the slice of pizza or cake I just ate, and life is easier that way!

But, I am going to look after myself next year, get fit and work with what I've got!!

I don't know why I wrote this. I think it was just so I have it in writing to remind myself to work at it. :)

The Wanderer Returns...

So, I'm back from my travels.....and I'm kinda glad to be honest. I missed my bed and I don't do well sunbathing and the like. I mean, I was in Dubai for nearly two months and wasn't bored once but real 'holidays' where my mum goes to relax, stress me out so bad. I can't sit still and end up walking around by myself or sitting on the balcony reading and listening to music, so I always feel like it's wasted on me.

It was lovely though, I love Protaras in Cyprus, I've been twice before and will definitely be going again.

Anywhere with Greek food is fine by me. I love all the ancient Greek history and all the mythology and all of that, I've been obsessed with it since I was a kid. I always feel sad when I go to Cyprus though and we go on the Aphrodite boat trip and look at Famagusta (The Ghost Town), from miles away. Makes me really sad that those poor people just got turfed out of their own homes and have never returned. Sucks, what a waste. It's not used for anything, it's just empty, so how pointless and ridiculous??!!

I do love looking at it though, it's kind of eerie and always seems to look like it has a black cloud over it and all the buildings are dark which is really weird because all along the coast it white and cream and blue but as you scan along the coast line, that part is grey and dark. weird.

I know you can go into Famagusta and look around, but I don't think I would.

Yeah, so, anyway, I always get distracted, it's quite annoying, but yes, it was lovely, I love the beach and the sea and all that, I just can't sit there all day and  bake I get all fidgety and restless, and hyper and really annoying to whoever I'm with, but I can't help it. So we went the beach more than we normally do, and the pool a lot less than we usually do, I must admit I liked the sea a lot more than the pool this time round...was wayyy warmer!!

We also did a lot of walking around and eating - of course! I think I went into every single souvenir shop on the strip every night looking for something to get for my friend, because I told her I'd bring her something back, and I'm normally great at getting little bits for people but I didn't find a thing I liked enough to buy her, which was annoying.

I had some amaaaazing food out there, I definitely put on far too many holiday lbs!! haha oh well, I enjoyed every bite!! I had stifado, kleftico, moussaka and tzatzsiki ( spelling?). I am obsessed with Greek food. It's just sooooo good!!! Greek bread is pretty awesome too, especially Greek Pitta. YUM.

Also, loooads of drinks! I had a mango and passion fruit daiquiri whoch I've never had before but it was ridiculous, then we went to a little mexican place and got frozen margaritas which I normally love but I could not for the life of me drink it! It nearly blew my socks off! It was sooo strong and I can't drink tequila unless it's flavoured or a frozen margarita. I could have been a fire breather after that one! My mum drank it though!! haha

The cocktails are super cheap over there and my best friend's last day there was my first day so it was awesome that we got to spend the afternoon drinking cocktails together because she was the first person I went there with! We ended up talking about all sorts of stuff, the way you do when you've had a few too many, and we got talking about an old friend, so we sent her a text and arranged a night out for tomorrow, and I am really excited to see her. Weird how fast time can go by and you lose touch with people. It should be a super fun night because we used to be the three musketeers and we shall be reunited once again! yay!!

My Mum's birthday is on the 7th of this month and she said because we got her so much for mothers day she didn't want a big fuss, so of course we couldn't not do anything so we thought we'd celebrate over there, so we took her to a posh restaurant and then for frozen cocktails in a swanky little lounge/bar thing (which turned out to be stupidly cheap) and then we took her for breakfast and a boat trip the next day. It was really nice actually, even though my brother wasn't there with us! I wouldn't mind celebrating her birthday there every year! haha! She had a nice time anyway so that was good!!

But yeah, came back to rain, wind and cold........ and its friggin' great!!! :)

Went out looking for boots today and got so excited about the weather and starting college soon!!

I think I've rambled a tad bit there...so here's some pics instead....

Will do a separate outfit post tomorrow!!

Food, Glorious, Foooood....

I am food OBSESSED.

It's all I think about. I LOVE it. LOADS.


I don't know why I'm doing a post about food, but I've been thinking about it today non stop (as usual).

I've been trying to eat wayyy better than I normally do because I'm going on holiday and I finally got to my goal weight about 2 weeks ago, and for some stupid reason, as soon as I reached it, I started eating crap again!

I have zero will power. Sometimes I can eat really well for ages, and then I'll have a bad week or something and I'll just eat what I want!!

Well, the last couple of weeks have been a bit...shall we say, blah. They've been a tad confusing and quite frankly I still h ave no idea what I'm doing. So my holiday figure has gone down the pan, but it's okay because I have every intention to change that when I get back from holiday. College starts in October and my other plans will be starting to come together around then too. So then I can be a lot more disciplined and can plan my time and meals a lot more, which always helps!

So, 'what is your favourite food?' is one of the hardest questions ever. Yes, dramatic, but I either answer with 'I can't choose' or I reel off a huuuge list!

I think about this in bed when I can't sleep, which is more often than I'd like!

I start thinking it's pizza, then I think it's pie and mash, then I think it's Nando's, then I think it's Yo! Sushi, then I think it's Ramen from a little place in town, then I think it's burger and chips, then it's chilli cheese fries....OMG. Seriously. I could go on forever. Then I go onto desserts....then drinks...then I think occasionally about starters and things. It's absolutely ridiculous.

I don't know if anybody else thinks about food this much, or am I totally alone in this? haha

Some of the things that I love:

Peanut Butter - anything
Pizza
Sandwiches
Crisps
Chips - with cheese, beans, chilli, sour cream, almost anything!
Pasta
Nando's
Chinese
Mexican

I'm starting to mentally drool just thinking about this. So I should stop.

Anyone else think about food a lot??

Got any favourites? Any tasty recipes??

Share!!

Ramble, Ramble...

Yesterday was such a nice day so I decided to walk into town to get some bits and bobs. I shouldn't have really...supposed to be saving for my holiday...oops.

I bought LOVE magazine to read while I'm away and I'm trying soooo hard not to peek.
I also got a plain black skater skirt, some lashes, bedding and a toothbrush...exciting stuff eh?

After sitting in the sun for a bit, I decided to go grab some lunch in one of my favourite little places.
Lentil soup and fresh juice is definitely the way forward.

I had the best little time on my lonesome....best date ever, no sarcasm there either!!

I do love people watching, it's so much fun! Saw an OAP in neon Nike hi tops, some funky leggings and a drop arm vest and some Ray Bans. She was a random sighting indeed.

I didn't actually go to many shops today, tried my best to avoid them because if I see something, I just can't say no, it's near impossible.

Primark however, had some pretty awesome things in.
People give Primark so much crap because of how cheap it is and the 'quality' of the stuff, but to be honest, I love it and I always check items out for quality before I buy no matter where I am, so as far as quality goes, I think it's not that far off Topshop and the like. I LOVE Topshop, don't get me wrong but sometimes the quality of some of their stuff is shocking for the price you pay. I do get kind of annoyed when I have something that falls apart and I see a cheaper version of it in Primark, which happens all the time, and I just think 'whyyyy didn't I just get that one?!' If I do spot something similar in Primark to anywhere else and it's cheaper, I will get it from Primark, I don't mind being cheap with disposable fashion items.

I do however, contradict myself as I am a HUGE fan of Topshop basics. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their basic tee's and vests and as much as I hate parting with about £15 for something basic, I still do it and never regret it. I love basics so much though, I mainly wear plain stuff and if it's plain it goes with everything!!

I always wear plain tops/tees/vests with leggings and I am a huge legging lover!!

I wear Primark control leggings. Seriously. Best leggings ever. They're only about £4 and they're high waisted and not matte, but not super shiny either, just right, a nice subtle shine, and they suck you in!! How much more could you ask for £4??? They're the only leggings I wear, unless I'm running, then I just wear the £3 Primark basic leggings.

I'm currently on the lookout for some matte leather look leggings but just haven't come across any that I like, same with disco pants, my legs are super short and chunky so I don't think I could pull off disco pants but I am determined to find those leggings!!! If you know of any good ones....let me know!! :)

Today was super random, went to pick my new office and picked a cute one if I do say so myself!!

Then my mum decided we should go to Southport for a walk around and some chips and candy floss because the weather was nice. So, that we did. It was really fun in the end, haven't really been there since I was a kid. It was slightly depressing going past the fair and seeing that it had closed down, and then getting cheated out of a couple of quid in the 2p machines in the arcade!! But other than that, it was really nice spending the day with my mum and sister.

Then we popped into Waitrose on our way home, we never shop at Waitrose so I was totally lost, but, I did find my favourite Naked drink 'Green Machine', and the Ben & Jerry's ice cream sandwich which was a total bonus. I'm going to cry tomorrow though when I get on the scales. I've been so out of control the last week while I've been ill. Oh well, back to running and eating good this week!! Only got just over 2 weeks until my holiday....dreading bikini time. Can't fight it now!! haha.

Going to go make some hot choc and catch up on Breaking Bad....

Wow this post really was just a load of rambling. Sorry.