30 day money cleanse

We all start January off feeling full of hope and optimism and with many New Years resolutions, but a week into the year and many of those resolutions will have been broken. This is why this year I am taking part in Personal Capital's 30 day money cleanse. With these small changes I hope to take charge of my finances! It is so easy just to spend all your wages in one go, especially after the early pay day in December with so much extra money it is very hard to be restrained.

Cleanses are a great way to hit the reset button on certain areas of your life. They help you break your bad habits and flush money toxins and set you up with a powerful plan for the future. A money cleanse is no different than any time of food or juice cleanse. With the simple 30 day plan from Personal Capital it is easy to get started.

These are a few simple tips I am using to get started!

Hen party

Last weekend I went to my first ever Hen do!! It was for a good friend from University and in her home town of Guildford. The weekend consisted of drinks and nibbles at the Maid of Honour's house, we then slowly got ready and played cards against matrimony before heading out. Our first stop was All-Bar-One for a cocktail master class. Making cocktails is a lot harder then it looks. We then headed to Bills for more Prosseco and dinner. The Bridemaids did a beautiful job of decorating the table at the restaurants and made a goody bag for all the Hen's. After stuffing our faces we headed to a local bar (Five and Lime) for a few G&T's..then headed to bed for a well deserved rest.

My attempt at an Amaretto Sours

A deflated looking French Martini

Having way too much fun with the Face Mats

On Sunday we woke up to an amazing cooked breakfast made by the Maid of Honour we then got our bikins on ready to head for afternoon tea and then onto the spa for treatments and relaxation at The Harbour hotel.

The afternoon tea was just divine, I had the most delicious jam tart pastry and who doesn't love cucumber sandwiches. After again stuffing our faces with scones, pastries and sandwiches we headed to the spa. As we had finished eating earlier than expected the spa generously let us in early so we could all relax by the pool and make the most of the sauna and steam room. After an hour of relaxing I headed in for my beauty treatment I chose and ESPA facial. The beauty consultant sat my down in the room before starting my treatment to get a better idea of what my skin needs were. She then started my facial and rubbed all sorts of lotions into my face which smelt gorgeous and it was all so relaxing. After the treatment was over she explained what she had used on my skin and gave some very good advice and recommend some products, to help treat my dry eczema prone skin. I have now even purchased one of the products so I will be posting a review when it does arrive. I loved the whole day and I felt so relaxed and my face is still glowing 4 days later!!!

The Spa at the Hotel (picture from taken from the hotel's website)

Simple fudge recipe

Today I had a go at making my own fudge which turned out surprisingly well...it was just the right amount of crumbly and melt in your mouth. So I thought I would share the recipe. 

Ingredients:

680g of caster sugar 

1 can of evaporated milk

225g of unsalted butter

170g of white chocolate 

1 dash of vanilla extract 

Vegetable oil 

Method:

To start this simple recipe grease a 18-20 square baking tray with a very light layer of vegetable oil. 

Place the milk, sugar and butter in a saucepan and warm slowly on a low heat  until the sugar and butter dissolves. It is important to stir constantly during this process to ensure the mix does not stick to the pan and to avoid crystallisation on the sugar. (Is also a great arm workout) 

Once the mix has dissolved, add the vanilla extract, then bring the mix to the boil. Continue to cook whilst constantly stirring until the mixture looks similar to thick bubbly lava. 

You will then need to break the chocolate into small pieces and add to the mixture. Continue stirring I until the chocolate has melted and mixture starts to cool, thicken and goes from shiny to matte in colour. 

Pour the fudge onto the greased baking tray and leave to coolly at room temperature. Once the fudge has set, cut into small cubes and store in an air tight container.

I will be having a go at Jamie Oliver's tasty fish tacos later so will do a small post on the outcome. 

2016

Happy New Year!

We are only three weeks into 2016 and my life has changed so much and for the better. I have just been offered such an amazing exciting job!!!! (Which I am over the moon about), so I'm sure I can be forgiven for neglecting my blog over the past few months (oops). 

I spent most of 2015 unhappy and feeling rather defeated. I graduated from University in 2013 and felt like my career was really not going anywhere after applying for what seemed like millions of jobs and getting rejected left, right and centre I had pretty much given up all hope of ever getting anywhere with my career. At the end of 2015 after coming out of an unhappy relationship I decided I needed to take back control and focus on myself and getting myself happy again. By the end of 2015 I was finally on a better path and decided to apply for one last job before taking a break from the job hunt and I only went and got the job!!!!! I really do believe everything does happen for a reason as I can't wait to start and it does seem like the perfect fit for me. Everything has finally started to fall into place and I couldn't be more delighted about it. 

So my new mantra for 2016 is don't ever give up on your dreams! Be patient it will happen maybe not tomorrow but you will get what you want if you work hard. 

Single in the city

I am now well into my twenties and having recently come out of a relationship the thought of the unknown kinda scared me. I mean I have had a couple of serious long term relationships and have kind of accidentally never had much time alone. My friends would say I am a relationship type of girl but I have always been ok alone it gives me time to focus on myself and work towards my goals without distraction...which right now I have no idea what my goals are.

After a brief liaison with an ex (probably the only one I have loved unconditionally) which has now come to an abrupt halt. We were definitely an opposites attract kinda love story. I found myself single and freaking out. With everyone around me settling down and getting married, buying their first home or popping out babies I do sometimes feel like I am being left behind. 

I then decided to brave tinder. Honestly tinder is a weird concept to me and make me into a very vein picky person. I got talking to one guy and decided to meet up however I did back out and swiftly deleted tinder. Call me old fashioned but the idea of online dating does not appeal to me. Was was wrong with the days of actively going out and meeting someone. As for tinder guy he seemed nice and genuine but honestly I probably wouldn't have been able to spot him in a room full of people, that along with my dislike of dating just meeting a complete stranger had me running for the hills. 

Whilst I am now taking some "me" time I really do feel the pressure to settle down. Surely I am not the only one...

My Top Tips For Saving

I have recently just brought a brand spanking new Mini...(eep). Whilst they are expensive cars getting one on finance offers you the chance to own your dream car which for me was a Mini. I have spent the past year lusting over Minis and often found myself checking out cars in the Tesco car park. After A LOT of research and thinking I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a Mini.

Throwback Thursday

All pictures from my pre 18 era! 

My Day In Photos

I just wanted to share a little snippet of my day with you all so here we go!

Birthday celebrations

I turned the big 24 on Wednesday and to celebrate I went out with some friends for dinner and drinks. We went to La Tasca for dinner which used to be one of my favourtie restaurants, however they have changed the menu a few times over the past few years and not for the better (in my opinion). They also used to have all you can eat days from a set menu which was great value. Anyway I tried the new 'improved' menu once again and I feel it was nothing special however the food was still good. The thing I love about La Tasca is the tapas. I always struggle picking one item on a menu so I love tapas as it means I can try a bit of everything.

White Sangria 

Sunday Brunch Mexican style

Breakfast is probably my favourite meal of the day from pancakes to eggs benedict I just love making cooking exciting breakfasts (especially over the weekend) I recently found a recipe for Huevos Rancheros on the cook with m&s app. This is a classic Mexican breakfast so full of spice and flavour. 

My week in photos

So it's been a while since I lasted blogged as I've been busy searching for a new job and I have worked a lot over the past month. So I thought I would share with you what I have been up to during my abesence.

So I took a trip to lakeside to go shopping and stopped off in Brentwood on the way to take a look at the places towie made famous. Amongs

Sunday Funday

 

Big wide world

Being at University is like living in a bubble the big wide world is a scary concept, but whilst in your bubble it seems so far away. Three years at University went so quickly and before I knew it I was sitting my last exam. Whilst that last week was glorious and I loved every minute of freedom the big wide world was fast approaching. 

I have now been finished University since may and have endured months of scouting for that perfect first job or internship. After receiving several rejection emails (which can be very de motivating) I thought I would share a few tips on how to survive post University life. 

Smoothie Recipe

Due to having sore teeth and gums from wisdom teeth coming through (hate it). I am now on a soft/liquid diet as chewing gets painful. I am also trying to detox after university and be a little healthier. Therefore I have started making smoothies and here is my favorite one of the moment.