Charlotte in England: May 2015

canal

Moira Canal Festival 2015

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

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boots

Recent Purchase: The Regina Fairfax & Favor Boot

So, I bought them!

They're just as beautiful as I imagined. I'm so happy with them!

Did you see my previous post? If not, check it here.

The tan leather is so soft and a really lovely shade. I love tan! They match my Cambridge Satchel brilliantly. The zip feels durable and strong. The soles are leather too which just adds to their elegance. The sizing is spot on. I read online that a lady said they were tight fitting but I do not believe this is the case. Fairfax & Favor have added a stretch back to the boots to make them a comfortable fit. If anything I think they could get away with being a little tighter but I guess everyone is different.

"They're just as beautiful as I imagined"

The packaging and presentation was wonderful. I love the finishes touches and the hand written note as it added a real personal element and was a great surprise. The boots were wrapped in a branded fabric cloth inside the box. From a designers point of view they have nailed their branding and gone the extra mile with the print and added extras. It really does make a difference.

The leather is quite light. By light, I mean it's not padded and is not really thick material. I love my Dubarrys but I think for Spring / Summer they feel a bit heavy for warmer months. These will be perfect for the summery weather and they look smart enough to wear in the day or evening.

The inside of the boots have an orange shade of leather and a lovely Fairfax & Favor logo stamp. The stitching is a work of art. You can see some close up photographs I have taken further down the page...

I have worn them here with white jeans, a polo shirt and my tweed blazer but I'm confident these will look great with a skirt and/or dress too. My legs are annoyingly short so I have to buy petite jeans. These do come up quite high on my little legs but I love how they look. Depending on your leg length these will look different, I guess this is the same with any boots.

The zip is on the outside of the boot which is a nice change. All I need now is some Fairfax & Favour coloured tassels (see the range here)

The Regina Boot, £299GBP

I am so happy with them and I can't wait to wear them more and more! Plus, I really like the tassels because they give the boot a bit more character and they look great as you walk because they happily swing along with you.

The only downside would be (which isn't really a downside because I love the leather sole but) like all leather soles, they are quite slippy. I have a habit of running everywhere and walking quite fast so I do have to walk slower in these just so I don't fall over. I fell over recently (not wearing the boots) but in fluffy socks in an intoxicated Jack Daniels manner. After sprinting and flying on laminate flooring I now have a lovely black bruise on my hip! I'll save my clumsy idiotic behaviour another time... haha

I have been careful not to wear these out when it has been raining. If you live in the UK you will be well aware of our ever changing weather so I am going to research and invest in some good suede protector for them!

Have you checked out their NEW Windsor Handbag range? They're to die for... See here.

Fairfax and Favor offer a FREE next day delivery service. I ordered before 3pm and they arrived as promised the next day which in my eyes is excellent service.

Top work guys and thank you for such a great service and creating fantastic footwear!

Thursday, May 21, 2015

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boots

Hunter : Accessories

Thursday, May 21, 2015

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boots

Fairfax & Favor

Thursday, May 14, 2015

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designedbynature

Designed By Nature - Orchid Buds Range

Monday, May 11, 2015

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bankholiday

Bank Holiday, May 4th

Wellies - Check, Dog - Check, Nightie - Check

Wasn't Bank Holiday great?

I normally spend my day off not getting dressed out of my pjs until I really have to and this is exactly what I did this Bank Holiday Monday. I literally threw my wellies on whilst still wearing my nightie and my scruffy hair and enjoyed a cup of tea whilst watching the ducklings skate across the pond catching flies with my boyfriend. We made breakfast (grilled cheese on toast with bacon and scrambled eggs) at a lazy 13:30pm and enjoyed having the day off in the British sunshine.

Mummy duck on our pond with a couple of her beautiful babies

I had a jam packed weekend catching up with friends who I haven't seen for a while. We went to TGI Fridays which was amazing. The food in there is incredible. Jack Daniels chicken, nom. I enjoyed a couple of whiskey inspired cocktails to carry on the theme; Cherry Stag (Jim Beam Black Cherry infused bourbon shaken with Luxardo Amaretto, BOLS cherry brandy and a dash of lemon juice) and a Lynchburg Lemonade (Jack Daniel’s®, BOLS Triple Sec, sweet & sour and Schweppes® Lemonade).

I was not aware of the Birthday routine at TGI's... At the end of the meal I had to stand up in front of the whole packed restaurant and shout "Hello, my name is Charlotte and it's my Birthday" then the staff sing a song. I'm not a loud person, in fact I hate standing in front of big groups of people but I think I deafened the room, maybe it was the cocktails. Our waitress made us some inflatable swords and we had a sword fight in the car park.

TGI Fridays tasty grub

The following day we had a 9 hour pub drinkathon in my local town; Ashby de la Zouch. Starting at 3pm and ending with some live music in a pub up the road. Since my health kick I've saved drinking for special occasions so it was nice to let my hair down.

The rest of the weekend was relaxing. Our garden is really starting to transform now and it is beautiful to see.

I hope you all got a well deserved rest this Bank Holiday!

Friday, May 08, 2015

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exercise

Fitness Journey: Progress / Maintain

So, since January (See my BEFORE post here) I've been exercising a couple of times a week at home, eating right and drinking more water. I've not attempted any crazy ass diet, I have not gone to the gym 7 days a week, not attended diet classes or starved myself in any way.

Here is my 4 month progress photo.

I don't train every night. On average it's normally, 2 to 3 times a week but if i'm feeling stupidly motivated i'll stretch to 4 times. If I don't have enough energy that night and I really don't feel like doing it that evening, I won't do it. Exercising with no energy after being stuck in an office environment all day is the worst. But, i'll make more of an effort to do it the next day! Sessions normally last about 30 minutes but in those 30 minutes I push hard.

STATS

PROGRESS / MAINTAIN

Height: 5ft 3in

Waist: 24.5 inches

Lower Waist : 30.0 inches

Hips: 34.2 inches

Thigh: 21.5 inches

All in all I've lost about 2 inches from everywhere. Before I started I felt cramped in my clothes but now I feel comfortable. All it has taken is time, effort and determination. 4 months and you could achieve the same!

Wanna know how I did it? Frankly, I got off my arse, exercised and cut out the junk food. I made a conscious effort to drink water throughout the day instead of squash and fizzy drinks and I stopped snacking; no crisps, no chocolate. I followed Kayla Itsines training guide. And guys, it works. See other peoples amazing Before & After transformation photos here.

I will be honest, I did not follow it perfectly. I followed the weekly guide but not the food guide plus I did not do half as much cardio as recommended. But, I do a morning walk and sometimes an afternoon one too which does help.

Before (Left) After (Right)

After

Before (Left) After (Right)

How do I feel? Awesome. I feel happy. Like I said in my previous post, I have not lost any weight. But now, my favourite jeans fit. Dresses that were tight and uncomfortable fit wonderfully now and I have my confidence back.

I'm still training so will be updating my progress but I am happy with how I look now so I am maintaining rather than toning. Remember guys, everyone is unique and everybody has a different metabolism and body shape so be patient and keep at it and you will certainly see your body change. I'll be writing a genuine and real 'What I eat' blog post soon so you can see that it is attainable.

If you're following me on twitter thanks to those who praised me, it means a lot! Why not follow me here?

Wednesday, May 06, 2015

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exercise

Fitness Journey: Before

Are you currently training or need some inspiration to start? Motivation is the main battle for me.

I work in an office, full time. So, the only time I get to exercise is before work, dinner time or after work. Superhuman people can exercise before work, I can't even function without a strong cuppa so I just can't find the energy to exercise at that hour. I choose to train in the evening, straight after work. Out come the trainers, sports bra and loud music.

I don't train every night. On average it's normally, 2 to 3 times a week but if i'm feeling stupidly motivated i'll stretch to 4 times. If I don't feel like doing it that evening, I won't do it. Exercising with no energy after being stuck in an office environment all day is the worst. But, i'll make more of an effort to do it the next day! Sessions normally last about 30 minutes!

In 2012 I completed Insanity, it was awesome. It only took me 2 months to complete and I lost 4% body fat, I was proud of what I achieved.

In 2013 and 2014 I took a step back from the insane training of Insanity and did some weight training at the start of the year whilst still doing some interval training.

Now in 2015, I'm back on the fitness thing.

The latter half of 2014; my clothes started to feel tight, I could not fit into my favourite jeans and I generally felt sluggish, lethargic and was feeling unhappy about how I was looking. I was eating a lot of junk, every night. Weekends consisted of cake and takeaways. I was unhappy with how things were shaping out, so... I did something about it.

I'm petite (standing tall at... 5ft3") so I have to be careful with my weight as I can look overweight much easier than you lucky taller people. I have short little legs so I need to look after my pins.

I exercise to tone, not to lose weight. This year whilst training I haven't lost a single pound (seriously) but I've toned up quite a bit, see my progress here (coming soon). This may be a bit disheartening to some but I did not need to lose weight so this does not bother me at all. I've learnt weighing yourself is not important. As a heads up, I have not used any protein, diet tablets or weight loss aids. Please please don't take diet tablets for weight loss. I tried a meal replacement drink last year for a week and it was awful, never again.

I understand some of you will think I did not need to exercise or tone and some may think I've been brainwashed by the media or something crazy but personally (this point is REALLY important), I felt I needed to. I didn't feel like "me" and was unhappy. I've always had high expectations for my body and I strive to look, and more importantly feel my best.

The recent negative light on the "Are you beach body ready" thing has fueled me to write and share my personal experience with exercising. See my rant here...

STATS
BEFORE / Week 1

Height: 5ft 3in
Waist: 26.5 inches
Lower Waist : 32.5 inches
Hips: 36 inches
Thigh: 22.5 inches

Here is my BEFORE photo.

Want to see my 4 month AFTER photo and measurements? See here... (i'm writing this post, come back soon)

Wednesday, May 06, 2015

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baby

Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

Tuesday, May 05, 2015

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beachbody

Beach Body Ready rant

This is a bit of a rant...

Following the recent negative light on the whole Protein World advertising campaign it really got my back up.

The gorgeous model on the poster and Protein World have really taken a beating from the media and on social media because of the phrase "Are you beach body ready?". The poster is deemed as offensive and insulting by some. I see this as the opposite, it makes me want to work out and look the very best I can personally be. We are all unique, not one person will look like another after training.

Last week there was a program on TV called; Plus Sized Wars. Fair play to the ladies having bags of confidence and flipping the bird to people those who were rude or offensive. But, with 60% of women in the UK now considered obese this program really gave out the wrong messages and essentially encouraged people to feel happy about being morbidly obese. You risk increased problems with heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, high cholesterol, joint problems, fertility problems, polycystic ovary problems, gallstones, kidney disease, asthma, and quite importantly erectile dysfunction. Non of these health issues are positive!

Please be happy, we love happy people in this world but your body inside is not happy when put under extreme amounts of overweight pressure. Please be carefree! You don't need to look like this to be happy but some people want to look like this. I understand people have genuine health issues and cannot control their weight easily (please don't take any offence by this post) but those who don't have health issues sometimes shame 'skinny' people by making out it is wrong to be fit and healthy and wrong to want to look fit just because they don't exercise or take care of what they eat. Society has evolved into praising overweight people for being "carefree" but really, this is just pure laziness.The irony is, the model has been completely body shamed herself!

This post is not about fat shaming, skinny shaming or anything in between. I work for what I have and I try to eat a healthy and balanced diet. I can't eat as much as I want and not gain weight. I can't drink lots of fizzy drinks and alcohol and still feel good. It's effort, but in my eyes it's worth it. It's about understanding what is healthy and what is not.

You can see my healthy fitness progress here and after results here. (BRB Busy writing this post)

What's wrong with the fit, gorgeous model on the poster? Nothing. The term "beach body" has been used over and over again in the fitness industry. Team Beach Body is massive in America. They have a extensive list of fitness programs, having tried Insanity and Insanity MAX:30, I can say now... they're tough but they work. I haven't been using protein this year and I don't believe you need to to be healthy and look healthy. Look at all the fashion models online, adverts in magazines, on the tube... everywhere. These promotions and campaigns could also be considered as body shaming and we see these everyday.

People are getting worked up over the fact they think they have to look like the model to be "beach ready". It doesn't matter what you look like on the beach, I don't care. If YOU are happy that's all that matters. But, don't shame or discourage those who want to look like that, or those who are striving for that body. I've worked my arse off getting fit but now people who want to look like her or get fit are being made to feel like the bad guys for doing so! Be real, not perfect!

Rant over, stay positive people.

Friday, May 01, 2015