The Days Gone By| Feb to March

It feels like forever since I wrote one of these posts, so I thought I would let you all know what I’ve been up to over the past month.

 

Valentine's Dinner- As you will know from my Valentines Day post, this year Matt and I decided to stay in and have an evening to ourselves. To make it special I cooked dinner (seems I never cook), and I’m happy to say I never gave him food poisoning so I would say it was a success.

Hart of Dixie- I am a little bit obsessed with this programme, and I know a few of you are also. If you loved Rachel Bilson in the OC you will love her even more in this…She is my girl crush!

Ebaying- I have been going mad on ebay this past month. I have so far sold about 40 items of clothing and made about £200. I think the people at the Post Office are sick of the sight of me, but it's great to get rid of my fat clothes and get some money for some new ones!

Theme Hospital- After seeing all the talk of the relaunch of SimCity, it had me wishing that Theme Hospital would be relauched also. So after a long search online I found out how to get the game to work on newer operating systems. You can see more info here if you are interested.

My New Apartment- Matt and I have signed for a new apartment and I am so so so excited! We will finally be living together again after 9 months of long distance, and we will be living in a building I have had my heart set on so I couldn’t be happier! Expect lots of posts about interiors, furniture and pictures of my new apartment in the coming months!

Confused.com- This past week, thanks to my blogger friend Jamie, who writes the Zombie Fitness Blog, I was featured on Confused.com. The article was about their top fitness tips from favourite fitness bloggers, so I was honoured to be featured.

Personal Fitspiration- As I was sorting through my pictures on my laptop this past week (blogger problems) I came across some bikini pictures of me from 5 years ago and was amazed at my flat stomach! I think I’m going to print out the picture and put it by my treadmill as some fitspiration!

Matts Birthday- My boy turned 27 last week so we were obviously out celebrating. We went for some food and plenty of drinks in Leeds last weekend, and I definitely paid for it the next day!

Hangover Breakfast- The second hangover of the month, this time from meeting up with my friend whom I moved to France with. We haven’t met up in about 6 months, so we went out for a few quiet drinks in Jesmond, Newcastle, which turned into playing drunken darts at my friends house till 2 in the morning. It is safe to say I was very thankful for this breakfast in the morning.

Fitness Clothes Haul- I finally went and bought some new workout clothes! My road running trainers are a little tired and have given me a sore foot this past week, so I went and bought these gorgeous new pink ones, along with new leggings and bras!

Mothers Day Afternoon Tea- As today is Mothers Day I have spent the day with my gorgeous Mother Bar. We went for a run on the fells this morning, had some laugh when trying to complete some hill sprints, and treated ourselves with homemade afternoon tea.

Froggy’s- The pond in my mum’s garden is currently home to hundreds of little frogs! We went up this afternoon to watch them all.

 

Do you love Hart of Dixie as much as I do? Have you ever made money from Ebay? What have you been up to over the past month? Anything exciting?

Fifty Facts and a Catch Up

 

Pretty Snow- Cookie Dough- YouTube video- Dinner-Sunrise- The Hospitality Show 2013-Playing in the snow- Chilli and Ginger Salmon- New running trainer insoles- Cajun Chicken and Wedges- Card from my boy- Mozzarella and tomato Chicken- Woolly Hat- Easter Egg- Posing before work- Baking cookies- Cutie George- The Devils Number-

So it is finally the end of January… what a long month! Pay day was yesterday and I’m already itching to spend it after a month of having very little money. I never learn! It seems that January is everyone's least favourite month, and although it’s not my favourite I don’t hate it. I think January is a great time to focus on yourself and enjoy life's little luxuries. I mean the majority of people don’t have any money and we have all set ourselves New Year Resolutions, so why not get cracking on improving yourself than dwelling on the end of the holidays.

I have had a quiet month on the home front but a very hectic one for work. This month I got to go on my first ever business trip and although it was only to the Birmingham NEC it was great to get out of the office and talking and networking with everyone else in my industry.

So this month has been great for my career and also for my blog. I have already completed one of my New Year Resolutions which was to film a You Tube video. I was so scared and nervous about it, but after getting such an amazing response from all you lovely people I have gone ahead and made my second video, which you can see above. The second one was so much easier to make than my first one, I felt more at ease when recording it and am happy to hear that my accent has toned down and is a bit more natural now! So to anyone thinking about dipping their toes into the YouTube world my advice is to do it! Yes it is scary but you will never know how it goes until you do it!

Subscribe to my Channel so you don’t miss my next video!

How has your January been? How have you been working on your New Years Resolutions?

The Days Gone By| An Instagram Catchup

 

I hadn’t actually realised how long it had been since I’ve done an Instagram post, so I thought I would give you a little catch up on the happenings in my life.

1- During the middle of October my gorgeous man took me for a romantic trip to Edinburgh for our 5 year anniversary. The highlight was definitely the trip to the zoo to visit the Pandas! I have always wanted to see them, and was completely overwhelmed when I did. You can see more about my trip here.

2- This was my look for Halloween this year. I don’t often take part in Halloween but I enjoyed dressing up for a change. I did a post on the evening here.

3- I have recently started a Festive Flat Tum Fitness Challenge for myself, and for any others who want to take part; you can find all the details here. There is myself and a few others taking part, so feel free to take charge of your body and feel and look amazing for Christmas by giving it a go.

4- I have already ruined one of my Christmas surprises by begging for Michael Buble tickets, so my boyfriend had to let on that he had already bought some for me. I am beyond excited for this and can’t believe I have to wait another 8 months for it.

5-We have recently started Cake Day at my work place, and this week was my turn. We had a Brownie off between myself and another member of staff. It was very close as to who was the winner but I think I just nipped it in the bud.

6- This past weekend I finally visited Quayside market. I have lived in Newcastle for 5 years and never had the chance as I always worked at the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised and found an amazing store; No Bones, which makes amazing dog treats at super cheap prices! Perfect Christmas presents for your four legged friend.

7- I have been running most days for around 3 months now and even though I’m not the fastest I am really enjoying it and am still lapping everyone who is sitting on the couch! I have definitely noticed a difference in my waist line, skin and confidence since I started back, and am aiming to run for 30mins each day as well as doing an additional toning/strength exercise each day.

8- For bonfire night I visited my family in Carlisle and we went to Carlisle Firework display which is really impressive, I think around 35000 people watch it so there is always a great atmosphere.

9- A healthy dinner made my Master Chef of a boyfriend. It’s one of my favourite salads and is very easy to make, it's a mixture of tomato, spring onion, shallots, and chorizo, with a vinegar dressing.

10- An outfit of the day from when I went for lunch with my girls this past Saturday. I miss them a lot, so it’s great to spend some quality time with them catching up and eating good food.

11- I also visited Fenwicks Christmas Window this past weekend; always a highlight of the year for me! It was very busy with people queuing half way down the high-street to see it, quite understandable as there is something magical about it and it’s always impressive.

12- Wearing my poppy with pride on Remembrance Sunday. I very nearly ran into a remembrance parade today, but managed to stop just in time of ruining it for everyone.. now that would of been beyond embarrassing!

If you don’t want to miss anything on my Instagram you can follow me at Cat_Storey.

What have you been busying yourself with these past few weeks? What have been your highlights? Are you getting ready and excited for Christmas?

Five Years

Five years ago, not only did I start a new chapter in my life by moving across the country to attend university, I also started a chapter in my life that I hope never ends, and that is the chapter I share with Matt.

Five years ago I moved into my university accommodation and on the first day I met, unknown to me then, the man that now makes my life complete. The man who loves, supports and cherishes me; the man who makes me one of luckiest girls in the world. As many people say to me, he is one of the good ones… He’s a good egg, which is pretty much spot on!  Five years later and many miles between us (at one time 919 miles), he still makes me smile every day and with him by my side I know I can take on whatever the world throws at us. 

I know I don’t often speak about Matt but as it is our five year anniversary, and as he did treat me to an amazing weekend away in Edinburgh, this post is dedicated to him. I thought I would share a number of the countless pictures I took.

1+2. Some shots of Edinburgh I took; the castle and the view from it. We were extremely lucky and got some great weather over the weekend, perfect for wandering the streets aimlessly; as we did.

3+4. Our hotel room, and cards. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel on the outskirts of Edinburgh and lucky girl I am, we stayed in a gorgeous suite.

5+6. Shots of the hotel room again. The hotel had little cuddly toys that acted as your do not disturb sign, which I always love. However I always feel sorry for the cuddly toys being left in the cold corridor over night… soppy I know! The bathroom in the hotel suite was huge! There was a double shower and a big bath with a television in it… Luxury!

7+8. Celebrating by drinking champers in my pyjamas…why not! The hotel served some amazing breakfast, my favourite was the pancakes and maple syrup.

9+10. Some gorgeous cupcakes from a store we stumbled across called Bibi’s Bakery, the cakes were to die for and the interior of the shop was very cute and kitsch. A picture of me and my man, he’s quite photo shy, unlike me.

11+12. We chose to visit Edinburgh because Matt had had bought me a voucher at Christmas so I could go see the pandas at the zoo. I had been so excited about it, as I am a little obsessed with them. I would love to go to China and visit them in a sanctuary, but at the moment this is as close as I’m going to get, and it was definitely enough. I was completely memorised and so overwhelmed I nearly cried! We were very lucky and saw both male and female pandas for the entirity of our viewing slot. I would recommend a visit to anyone.

I had such an anniversary weekend, and fall in love with Edinburgh more each time I visit. So thank you Matt for making it so special for me!

The days gone by| Instagram

 

Just a little update for you all. I have been quite busy recently, with work but also as my mother’s wedding is next weekend there has been a lot of preparation for that, so I actually feel like I don’t have a lot of free time; which is a lie, as I still get up to plenty. So I will run you through the above pictures, as I seem to be documenting my life through Instagram at the moment, but I suppose that’s an obsession all us bloggers have. As much as my family tire of me taking pictures of even the least significant parts of my day, they enjoy the finished product; the blog posts, so they can’t complain too much.

• Flowers For A Friend- My best friend is going through a messy divorce at the moment, but we celebrated her becoming a ‘Miss’ again the other day. It’s great for her to be back to the name that was of the girl that I befriended 20 years ago, the name of the independent, fun and flirty girl she used to, and will be again in time.
• Blogging Goodies- Monu contacted me a few weeks ago and offered me some goodies to try, I was completely over the moon with this opportunity, and am happily testing them at the moment, so a review will come in time.
• Glitter Galore- Being a desk working girl now, my obsession with nail art continues. This week was my first attempt at glitter dipper nails.
• Product Testing Central- This was me using the Soap and glory Detox mask for the first time, the review for which is below.
• Cake Pops- We have had a busy week in our house making 100 pop cakes. We are yet to ice and decorate them, but I can say that the inners are so yummy!
• Train Travels- I have been travelling around for the past few weeks, very often to Newcastle to see my boy, but other ‘exciting’ places including Carlisle and Lancaster, to visit friends and family.
• Newcastle City Games- I was lucky enough to be in Newcastle for the Great North Run weekend, which meant I got to watch the City Games on Quayside and saw legends like Mo Farrah and Greg Rutherford!
• The Great North Run- I spend an hour in the rain cheering on the 55,000 runners, in which were a few of my friends who all did fantastic! It has even inspired me, to perhaps enter next year… if I’m lucky enough to get a place.
• Pretty in Pink- Another Nail of the Day.
• Massive Milestone- I surpassed 400 followers on my blog this week! It really surprised me as I think I gained 15 followers in a day. But as always I want to thank you all; new and old for reading, commenting and sharing my blog. It is my passion and I enjoy it so much, but to know that others read and enjoy what I have to say makes it so much more fun.
• Fun with fruit- My boy gave me a choice of a sausage butty or a bowl of fruit for my breakfast last weekend, and low and behold I chose the fruit! I even shocked myself, I think my fitness kick is finally starting to change my attitude towards food, which is a great thing!
• Christmas comfies- Last night (and right now) I have been rocking my Christmas pyjama bottoms, because it is just so damn cold! What happened to out Indian summer!

What’s been going on in your life recently? Am I the only one rocking my Christmas Pyjamas far too early? Please say I’m not!

Instagram| The past few weeks

-Hangover food- Saturday nights FOTD- Partying- Aztec nails- Saturday nights OOTD- Archie and I- Treats off mother bear-Retro Sweets-

-New workout top from Samsung- Sunshine in my back garden- Blogging- Graze box- Views on my run -Perfect weather for the Beemer-

-Ice Lolly time- Canoeing with bother bear- sexy hair curlers- Smart nails- Bridesmaid hair-Watching the Olympic ceremony-

As many of you know I recently purchased an iphone and don’t think I have put it down since. It really is fuelling my obsession with taking pictures, I don’t think my family and friends appreciate or enjoy it, but I’m sure they will get used to it.

As I now have an iphone, one of the first apps I downloaded was Instagram and have been uploading pictures on a regular ever since. My user name is Cat0805 if you do want to follow me. I love the app, its a great way to find motivation for makeup, fashion and nail looks, and a great way to be nosey as many share the little moments in their lives with the rest of us. As I am new I am still fascinated with this app, but wonder if the novelty will wear off over time. Anyways these pictures are mine from the past two weeks, which have been fairly quiet for me, but I have been out enjoying the little sunshine we have had.

What you you think of Instagram? Do you love it, or are you bored of it?

Easter Week Through the Eyes of my Blackberry

*All packed and ready to go* *Me and new dog George* *Archie Relaxing* *Bargain sofa in Next* *Breakfast in bed courtesy of my friend*

*My Friend's mad dog Lola* *Signed my boy up to Graze box also* *Dominos rubbish attempt at a half and half* *Back on my smoothies*

*A gifted Laduree bag, if only it was filled with macaroons* *New books to read* *Reached 10,000 views*

I’ve had quite a busy few weeks, despite them not being productive, I have clocked up a few miles of travelling. I decided to treat myself to some quality time with friends and family before I start back on my university assignments.

Firstly I visited my home in the Lake District with my boy. We haven’t actually spent much quality time there together since Christmas, so it was great to catch up with my Mum, her partner and my Grandparents, along with all the animals, all six of them. The weather was not great, but we still managed to take a nice walk with the dogs one day…its these simple pleasures that make me happy.

When I arrived back in Newcastle from Cumbria I then took my first visit to Sunderland to spend some time with my friend whom I lived and studied in France with. We had a night of beautifying and cooking, then spent the next day leisurely shopping. It was great to finally see where she grew up and to meet more of her family. I have only worked since returning form Sunderland, so no excitement there, especially since I will be moving back into the library for the next two weeks again.

It was also a big week for my blog this week. I finally hit 10,000 views, so many thanks to each and everyone of you who dropped by to read my ramblings. I hope you continue to read, and maybe even follow to ensure you don’t miss any posts.

I hope you all had a lovely few weeks. How did you spend your Easter weekend?

A Week in Pictures

*Treats off the boyfriend for finishing my assignments*

*My friend messing around at uni*

*Chocolate pudding from Domino's*

*Dosing up on Lemsip*

*My green smoothie*

A relatively quiet week compared to last week. Even though I've been back at work for many hours I still feel like I have had time to relax and step down a gear. It won't be for long, seems I'm back at uni next week and really need to crack on with my dissertation.

• Treats off the boyfriend for finishing my assignments- pretty much self explanatory. I got lovely flowers, some of my favourite wine, and my favourite chocolate.. such a lucky girl!
• My Friend messing around at uni- this is where we spent most of last week, and this picture was taken after handing one assignment in, which we had stayed up all night doing, and having to crack on with the next one. So we were all a bit sleep deprived. 
• Chocolate pudding from Domino's- all I have to say if nomnomnom!
• Dosing up on Lemsip- I have fallen ill....noooooo! Probably due to the lack of sleep and bad diet last week. I'm really pathetic when I'm ill so trying to shift my cold.
• My green smoothie- back on the health kick, starting with smoothies again for breakfast. It looks pretty gross but it actually is really refreshing and tastes alright!

I hope you all have a great weekend.