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?

Days Gone By| It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

 

With only a week to go, it’s definitely starting to look a lot like Christmas. I don’t know about you but I enjoy the build up to Christmas just as much as, if not more, than the day itself! That’s probably why I start my personal build up from as early as possible. I started buying presents in October, I made homemade gift tags in November and I always put up my tree on the 1st of December.

I thought I would share with you my life in pictures from the past few weeks, in particular the Christmassy ones!

• The other weekend my boy and I went Christmas shopping in the lakes. I didn’t have much left to buy but wanted to get a few smaller gifts/stocking fillers, and it’s always great to support local shops. While at Bowness-on-Windermere I got his lovely picture of the snow topped fells.
• As I mentioned above, I started Christmas shopping in October so I managed to finish buying it all quite early. I enjoy wrapping presents just as much as I enjoy buying them, and this year I made my own gift tags featuring my cute and troublesome dogs. You can see how I did it here.
• As the newbie at work I was drawn the short straw and had to write a load of Christmas cards for our clients. It took me a good hour or so as I had to use my fancy writing, but on the plus side it did put me in a festive mood!
• My gorgeous Christmas Tree! I take pride in my Christmas Tree decorating skills and love nothing more than putting the Christmas music on and trying to and cram as many baubles on the tree as possible.
• As  you may have seen from my Twitter or Instagram, I bought this adorable faux fur Russian style hat from Primark last weekend. It only cost £6 so was an absolute bargain! I love how glamourous it makes me feel!
• A little shot of my Christmas Graze box… yes I am still buying these! I find that their little boxes are perfect for snacking at work.
• Christmas George! Don’t you just love decorating your dog in Christmas decorations! He doesn’t look impressed does he?
• This is the Christmas Fairy that I have had since I was a tiny little baby and it still sits proudly on top of my mum’s Christmas Tree.
• My mum also bought new Christmas decorations this year. The one I am most in love with is the Christmas glittery Hedgehog… how cute!
• My dogs got treated to new Christmas jumpers aswell. They were going to debut them on Christmas Day but we were too excited so took some pictures of them now.
• The last picture is from June this year when my friends and I travelled around Finland and Lapland. While we were there we visited the real Santa at his workshop in Lapland. I mean you can’t go to to Lapland without seeing Santa Claus!

Have you been getting in the festive spirit? When do you put your Christmas tree up? Do you have any Christmas traditions?

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| A Week In Pictures

A little update for you all. To be honest I have not been up to much recently, as I have been pretty much tied to Kendal as I am dog sitting for my mum while she is honeymooning in Hawaii… so jealous! So apart from the weekends when my boy comes down to visit, I have been keeping the company of two very lively and sometimes annoying dogs and working hard at work. However despite the lack of excitement in my life these past few weeks I have still taken plenty of pictures.. blogging problems.

• Walk with a view- Last Sunday I dragged my man on a nice long walk with the dogs, the view is the view from the top of the hill I run up, it over looks all of Kendal and across to Oxenholme. I am really enjoying the change in weather, yes the rain sucks, but it rains all year here in Lake District anyway. Its the crisp cold days I am loving.
• Clean brushes mean a clean face- I admit, I am not great with washing my makeup brushes, yes beauty blogger cardinal sin. However last weekend I bought some baby shampoo and spent a good hour washing all my brushes, and the difference in them is amazing! I must keep this up as my makeup looks so much better after applying it with clean brushes.
• Are you breast aware? My Breast Cancer post this past week has received some great feedback. I wasn’t sure on whether to publish it at first as I did not want to offend or lecture anyone, but as it is something close to my heart, and something that is affecting my family right this moment I wanted to talk about it and am glad I have after all your lovely comments. I hope I have helped some of you be more breast aware.
• Drinking green, eating clean- After over indulging both before and after my mums wedding, I haven't been feeling too great so decided to embark on a bit of a detox to kick start my healthy eating regime. You may have seen the post below that talks about it. I essentially have been eating and drinking homemade smoothies and soups and having a healthy dinner, very simple, but effective.
• Autumn television- Oh yes, oh yes oh yes! Gossip Girl is back! I am totally obsessed with this programme! I am so sad it is the last season, I won’t know what to do with myself.
• Puppy cuddles- Pretty self explanatory!
• Wednesday is treat day- This has to be one of the highlights of my week. I came home form work on Wednesday to this scone and note from my lovely neighbour who has been helping me look after the dogs while I am at work. She attends Weight-Watchers with my mum on a Wednesday morning, so after the meeting they always go for coffee and a treat, and this week she brought me a treat… how lovely!
• Cani-x- As I have restarted my healthy living regime again, I have been out on the fells running with my dogs again. It proves a bit more difficult to run down hills when its muddy, I find I slip a lot more and the dogs attached to me pulling like crazy really don’t help. It’s all still fun (until they pull me over).
• Luscious lashes- I had temporary lash inserts applied over two weeks ago, and they are still surviving! Yes there are some gaps but this picture was taken just before I went to bed, so you can see I can still get away without wearing any mascara. A blog post will be coming up.
• Domestic Goddess- Baking at the weekend is something I love to do, I just have to try and not eat all my batch at once. This week I made peanut butter and chocolate squares
• Christmas Presents- I am already buying Christmas presents! Firstly I want to be organised and spread the cost, but secondly it’s because I’m already excited! I am a little Christmas crazy!
• Christmas Chocolates- Again as I am Christmas crazy these were purchased and soon consumed by me and my man this weekend… whoops. Back to the smoothies tomorrow!

What has been the highlight of your week? Have you had a quiet one like me? Have you started Christmas shopping yet?

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?