F I V E ; T I P S

5 things to do if your having a shite of a week !

Now, we all have them. One thing going wrong after the other.

But for the anxiety strugglers out there,  when a week goes bad.

It goes bad.

One thing an anxiety sufferer does well is catastrophising. Drama queen I hear you sigh ? I did drama at school, I was never very good. Although, honey, you should see me in a crown. (If anyone can guess where that quote is from, I will personally high five you)

So, a lovey example of catastrophising is when you realise you left your tasty chocolate protien granola in the boot of your mums car and you know you were looking forward to chowing down on that for breakfast. You then ring said mother, frantic, slightly aggressive and then become extremely miserable knowing you will not be eating that chocolate, crunchy, protein packed goodness for breakfast. That my friends is catastrophising. Or an extreme case of morning hangry. (Sorry mum).

So these are the 5 things I like to do when I can't seem to carry on, oh woe is me ...

Obviously in at number 1, FOOD and WATER.

I am a firm believer of good things in, good things out. That includes some of the naughties too. If any of you follow me on Instagram. You will know I ate a 1/3 of a chocolate cake today.

And I am not sorry. Nope. Not one bit. But I do love to cook. When I know it's healthy for me to. That's a bonus.
Something I have been lovin is a little bit of lean in 15. This cook book is amazing for quick, tasty and nutritious meals ! And I can speak for us all when I say, he is a little easy on eye too. GUILTY.

In at number 2, EXERCISE.

I may be a little bit of an exercise fanatic. But let me tell you a little bit of sweat, however way you work it, CHEEKY, can go a long way. That natural release of chemicals in the body will get you out of your funk. So get out, a walk, a run, or some Yoga with Adriene or blogliates, even buy a Fitbit. I love mine. It encourages you to just, not sit down. Or run up and down the stairs until you have reached your step goal. But whatever it is. Get your booty moving.

Number 3, SLEEP.
We are all guilty of not getting enough of this. This is so important. Sleep is key. I can be exhausted  then go to bed and be as alert as a bloody meerkat ! One tool I use, sleepin apps. Whether it's Rain sounds, meditation or one of my favourites Mindfulness. Whack it on. Reconnect with you. I can 90% guarantee you'll be fast asleep before you even reach the end.

In at 4 is YOU.
Make time for you. Whether it's that game you wanted to play, or just a bath and big glass of cider. Schedule it in and not just once. Twice. Three times even. Do it, you will feel better after. If you like to get a little crafty, crack out the crochet. But not too close to bedtime. Even that gets my brain going. Yeah, how bloody old do I sound.

And finally for 5, SUPPORT.
You need it. Everyone does. Even if you struggle with anxiety or not. Knowing you are not alone is everything. It has taken me, a long long time to get to this phase. Where I can finally seek help for my problems. This is because I am finally in a place where I feel safe enough to do so, knowing you have people to fall back on. They won't challenge your crazy, won't call you stupid, will understand when your het up and tetchy and know your working your ass off to change. For the better. You'll need that. Because anxiety and worriers, they worry about shit like that. But what do I know, I lost my marbles years ago.

And if all else fails, if these 5 TIPS don't help. I hear vodka is good. Try that.

Ta Ta for now !

XOXO

Mineral makeup goes Harry Potter !

B E A U T Y 
Woah woah woah it's magiiiiiiiic. 

Mineral Magic that is. I picked this up on a whim in Asda well over a month or two a go. Then I asked my mum to pick me up another. Yeah, it's not often I repurchase a product. So that say's a lot ! Pricing up at  just under 10 pounds this little beauty is a thing of wizardy. It's a kaolin base, which from my trusty Lush knowledge it is oil absorbing as well as being good for spot prone skin. Which is me down to a T. T-zone that is ! You can use this as a finishing powder or as a foundation. It has little beads, purple, yellow, green and pink. Making this correcting and concealing. With a little bit of collections lasting perfection concealer, you are wingardium leviosaing your ass to oil, spotless free skin and a flawless coverage that last's all day. I know, MAGIC. 
Have you tried any of JML's wonder products ?

My Charlotte SunJelly bag !

My Charlottes already getting her fill. Full of wool and crochet projects. This week I was the proud winner of Beauty In The Mirrors Twitter competition to win my very on SunJellies bag. Boy was I excited. At first I hadn't realised I had won, due to Twitter notifications on my app being down for the day. Then on the morning of my vibe class, I awoke to beeps and tweets. I immediately contacted the lovely people at SunJellies and requested the beautiful Charlotte. Black of course, that is the only colour I seem to wear. That, or white and the occasional red or floral/Paisley/Aztec pattern. But that is strictly occasional. For special times. They don't happen much. 

And on Thursday, it arrived. All collapsed down like nobodies business. Easy to assemble and in less than a minute I was taking photographs and posting pictures. 5 minute after that I had already filled it with yet another of my many crochet projects. I cannot wait to test this baby out, food shopping, beach times, even a makeup/hairdryer storage. With a tidy price of £10 you can't go wrong with this sheek black bag. Next on my list, black SunJellies sandals. 

Summer, hurry up please.

Do you guys remember jelly shoes ? 

Tasty nummys for my tummies !

H E A L T H 
Food. Need I say no more ? I have been playing with what I put in my tummy. From healthy mug cakes, to simply changing my bread from seeded to rye.

Here are a few of my faves. And the inspo behind them ! 

Iced green tea ! Now this little gem came from the amazing Carly Rowena, if you not aware of this youtube hottie. Then get aware. Inspiring, helpful videos and the bod to go with it ! 

So I adapted the recipe a little, chill a jug of green tea. I like the stuff with lemon. Leave this overnight then in the morning blend with frozen mango, a squeeze of honey and the juice of lemon. Booooootiful.

Next is the mug cake ! Now I followed this recipe to the T so head over to Mind Over Munch, where the beautiful Alyssia will rock your world with healthy alternatives. I was a greedy ganit last night and added half a sliced banana, a spoonful of Greek yog and a squeeze of honey. I can't get enough of this sweet treat. 

Now this crumble, is made of some sorcery. This little recipe I found from the lovely Kryshka Cooks, and this is what got through the dark cold winter months. A simple crumble made with cornflakes, a little flour, a little butter and cinnamon. My favourite fillings are peach and cherry. Canned peaches, the ones in its juice. And frozen cherries. Cheap and cheerful. Don't forget to check out this Welsh babes blog, you won't be able to stop yourself. 

Finally, just a simple poached egg on rye toast. With cut up avocado, tomatoes with salt and cracked black pepper. DELISH. 

What is your favourite healthy dish ?

You Snap The Whip. Cheeeeeky ...

It has happened. I have taken my Lush obsession to the extreme. How do you know when this happened ?
Well here are 3 easy warning signs:
1) Your haircare, bodycare and skincare are all Lush products
2) You tell anyone and everyone about Ultrabland
3) You apply to become a Lush Christmas Temp.

Yep. You guessed it. My name is Jess, and I am a Lush Christmas Temp/addict. Which can be said for all of it's employees, they aint foolin ya when they are generally enthusiastic about that product. They probably and most likely do have it by the buckets. Myself included.

Enough of that anyway and onto the product. This product was introduced to me at my group interview, and, GASP ! this is a product I have never heard of/used before.

HOOOOOOOOW ?! I do not bloomin know, but needless to say, there was nothing but smiles on my face.

Now kiddies, who of you LOVE the Comforter ? Silly question, who doesn't. But who out of you, loves the Comforter but do not have a tub ?

Raises own hand with a very sad sad face. Yes, I no longer have bath. A lovely well decorated house on a budget perhaps, but no bath. Alas, my Comforter days are long gone. I lie, due to my mummy I visit home more frequently these days, so I can sneak in a bath here and there.

But, for the in between visits, the product that keeps me smelling of blackcurrent and my skin buttery smooth.

You Snap The Whip.

Again, HOOOOOWWWW ?! HOW ?! Did I get through my days, without realising this product existed ? It is a beautiful exfoliating body butter, so lazy people, this is yo thaaang.

Now it's main base is cocoa butter so it will melt quite quick, but that is what you want, melt it baby, melt it all over your body. It uses charcoal and pumice to gently exfoliate, so it's a bit messy. But a sacrifice you should all be willing to make. Full of macadamia oil which helps cell renewal. And what gives it that black currenty scent, bergamont and cassis absolut. Oh booooooy.

Now I moisten my body with the shower turn it off, scrub then rinse. And definitely do not leave this one in the cubicle cause it's bye bye buffed bod. This lovely bar is £6.25, so a just a little pricey if you are on a budget. But, definitely one of those, 'what can I get for under a tenner that makes me feel like a goddess without breaking the bank products.' I have had about 5 uses out of my bar so far and pretty intense sessions with it too and some left for a couple more. Win.

Let me know if you have tried this Comforters best friend !

See you guys soon !

Jess, Just Another Blogger <3

I like me some solid wood.

So, after a month of absence, I am back ! And with another budget post. This time, furniture and homeware. Come on, we all love a good homeware haul.

This last month has been somewhat hectic, as well as emotional.

Anyway, on with the haul. At the beginning of the month, mine and my boyfriends housemate announced his leave, a long with some of his lovely furniture.

Fair well lovely leather sofas ...

We were anticipating this for a while and had two lovely ladies ready to move in with us. But as far as furniture goes we had a lot to purchase and on a very toight budget.

So gumtree, ebay and local charity shops I went.

Our shopping list was as follows. A chest of draws, a sofa, armchairs, a TV stand, a coffee table, a bookcase, a desk, a dining table, a shoe rack, a bathroom cabinet, a shower caddy, a few kitchen items and a cuddly toy. The last was optional.

We managed to bag all of this for under 400 pounds. Yes some of it was purchased from shops. TK MAXX, Hollllaaaaaaaa ! But all of the furniture was purchased from gumtree and charity shops. And good furniture at that. Wood, oak, pine, even a laura Ashley chest of draws. OOooooooh arrrrhhhhh.

Some of my favourite pieces, our bed. A bargain at only 50 pounds, solid wood and well made.

Next, with a little bit of work and imagination is the bookcase. An old tea chest and crates who were being made by a guy in Plymouth. 5 for £20. A bit of wood stain later and hello there beautiful bookcase.

Our lovely oak coffee table was £30 pounds from a lovely old couple, whose house was a cracker. All it needed was a quick sand down with a 15 pound Wilko sander and some linseed oil and this table is good to go.

My final favourite, two oak reclining chairs. Sensing a theme here. What can I say, I like things that are solid. Innuendo intended. At 20 pounds a piece. You can't argue with that can you ?

Some top tips for when buying furniture, be patient, take measurements, and also ask if they will deliver for an extra cost. The lovely people who we got our bed from kindly delivered it to our door and offered us help if we got stuck assembling it.

Wouldn't get that with Argos now would you ? Just poor instructions and missing pieces. Sorry Argos, it's true. You do a good bread bin though !

Let me know if you have purchased and home ware and furniture steals.

Jess, just another blogger

<3

Lush me longtime.

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of being invited to Lush Plymouth's first blogging event. Now, when it comes to Lush, we all know I aint no stranger. As you may have guessed, from the many product mentions and reviews. But I am that gal that will want to use every product from that brand. And I mean every product. And I've done it with most; clearsil, Clinque, Origins, John Frieda, Bed head. Lush is the one that stuck, and the one that's products really have worked.

But, back to the event. This marks the first official justanothablogger outing and it true Jess form, I did everything I could to make a tit out of my self. See evidence below.

That being said, the event was a true beauty bloggers dream. We were demo'd the teams summer essentials, scoffed a sufficient amount of mini cakes and drank tea from the most sexiest vintage tea collection I had ever seen. Definitely instagramworthy.

One of the highlights was making our very own Bath Bomb. Those little Lushies, don't lie when it comes to it being "hand made". As I struggled to make mine in 3 minutes, a Lushie will make 10 in just 1. Cray to the cray. (Name that YouTuber !)

Big Blue is full of sea salt, sea weed, lemon and lavender ! A perfect dip for all you beach lovers. That perfect pick me up for those of you who are unable to have that summer getaway this year. Myself included. But for those of you who are, Lush Plymouth have prepared the perfect plethora of products to prep your pins and piggies for the glorious summer sun.

First up, Buffy. Inspired by the Brazilians bought religiously by Kylie Minogue. Yes, that's why her booty always looks so buffed. The trick, ground aduki beans, the Eco way to exfoliate. This bar is also full of cocoa butter and shea butter. So for all you lazy folk, it's a perfect all in one.

Fake tan faff = SORTED.

For those who prefer a frothy alternative, have a go with Sandstone soap. Sand, lemon and coconut oil make it a fresh exfoliator. Once you've sanded yourself down, slick yourself in African Paradise. A light body conditioner, full of mangos, almond oil, Shea butter and aloe gel. This beaut will not only brighten the skin with its natural enzymes that eat away dead skin, but will soothe sun burn with its aloey goodness.

Now not to forget those piggies, feet.They make me cringe on all kinds of levels, but you have to give them some TLC. Soak your feet in the bath, bowl, or whatever you have to hand, even the shower ! Break off a piece of Stepping Stones and then go to town on those flappers. If you like pumice stones, you'll love this more. With lemon and lime to eat nasty odours and jojoba oil to soften. It's like a bath bomb for your tootsies.

So if you are fortunate enough to engage in the sun, it's that thing bright thing in the sky, often found in foreign climates where one has to pay to enjoy it. Brits, I can assure you, it is real. One thing you must always remember is to slather on that SPF. Even if you are in the sun or not. PROTECT YO SKIN. Now Lush, the clever beans have produced the most gorgeous sunscreens that will stop you from reaching for your usual sun protecting suspects. One that has me peeing in my little panties, well, rather large panties, is Million Dollar Moisturiser. SPF 30, rich in honey, shea butter, jojoba oil, lavender oil and shiny pigments for that million look. This won't only protect your skin but will keep it healthy and balanced. Good for you acne skin types, with Shea butter and jojoba oil being non comedogenic. So no blockages baby.

If you wish to find out more about the other wonderful sunscreens, nip into your nearest Lush, even better, pop down to Plymouth. The team are lovely ! And bloggers, old and new, Keep yo eyes peeled. There is talk of more #LushPlymouthBlogs events. Yet more peeing in my over large panties.

Cheers Plymouth Team ! You beauty blogging babes !

Also check out the other Blogging Talents, lots of lovely ladies here who have been blogging for a while, it's safe to say I have a lot of catching up to do ! All the links are on Lush Plymouth's Facebook page. Go onnn, give em a like too !