Project Life - My first layouts!

Evening lovelies!

So it's been a week since I've posted, and a hectic week at that! I've had 2 parent's nights (as teacher not parent!), 2 inductions at the gym and various social engagements, as well as trying to get organised for our holiday on Friday (eeek!!). But I refuse to get out of the habit of posting regularly, so I've ditched my holiday packing for now to get a wee post up. I've had this post in mind for a wee while now but I needed to wait for some decent light to get some photo's taken.

If you haven't heard of Project Life, a quick search on google or Pinterest will give you loads of eye candy, but in summary it's a method of scrapbooking and memory keeping using a pocket system with pocket pages and mini cards to insert journaling or photographs. The best thing about it is that layouts can be as simple or as embellished as you like but both styles look great, and so you can pull pages together really quickly.

I first decided to buy some project life materials in America on holiday last year, where I bought the small chevron album you see above. This is a 6x8 album, and I bought some 6x8 journaling cards to go with it. In hindsight I don't think these were really necessary for what I plan to do, I just wasn't really sure what I needed!

I also bought a Seasons Mini Kit, which as you can probably guess has lots of season themed cards.

Later at home, Robert bought me some more Project Life bits, including the Blush kit, and I bought the Blush binder to go with it.

You can probably guess by the pictures what kind of colour schemes appeal to me!

I have 2 separate plans for my Project Life binders - the big one is going to be our Honeymoon album, and the small one is my 2015 album where I'll be recording our day to day memories and events throughout the year.

So without waffling on any further, here are my first pages in both the albums.

Disneymoon Day 1

2015 album cover page

Goals for 2015

I was pretty chuffed with my first pages, and also impressed with how easy it was to put the layouts together, particularly the pocket pages. I've been pretty bogged down with work, illness and life in general recently so I haven't got past the first couple of pages in each album but after my holiday I'm going to really try to get some more pages completed each week so that I don't fall miles behind on my 2015 album.

Do you do project life? What kits are your favourites? Do you go for the simple or embellished styles? One of my favourite things to browse online is other people's layouts so if you have a blog or other place where you share your Project Life pages please link me up!

Thanks for reading!

Jilly xox

 

Disneymoon Trip Report - Day 2

Tuesday 8th July.

The first "proper" day of our honeymoon started with a 6.15am wake up call for me. Everyone else who goes to Orlando seems to have this problem where they wake up at 4am for the first few days of their holiday while they adjust to the time difference, but no not us. Maybe it was just with the busyness of the last few days with the wedding and everything, but we could have slept for hours longer!

I got up, still unsure wether or not Robert was going to make it up in time for our breakfast ADR but I had already decided I'd be going myself if didn't get up! I just started getting myself organised and ready; I went out on the balcony to do my make up where I could also watch the resort getting slowly brighter and busier as everyone came to life.

My notes here say "woke Robert gently @ 6.35" and this made me laugh reading back on it. At 6.46 (so precise) my notes say he got up to start getting ready. Yay, he was coming with me :D

We left the hotel about 7.15am, posing for a few photos by the Mustang as we went.

I was sooooo excited by this point, I couldn't believe we were heading to Magic Kingdom!! Of course I got the obligatory gate picture...

Arrrgh, so exciting!!

It was 7.30 when we reached the car park, and we walked over as we were really close to the Transportation and Ticketing Centee. If you're further away, the little trams are a better option. When we arrived at the TTC we were informed that the monorail didn't open until 9, and the next boat would be leaving in 15 minutes. I started to worry we wouldn't make it in time, but the boat actually left after about 5 minutes, so we stepped off at the MK turnstiles at about 5 to 8.

Approaching MK by boat is a definite must do for the first visit of your trip, or at least for your first visit ever. The monorail is fun, but there's nothing quite like standing on the front of the ferry watching the castle appear bigger and bigger on the horizon as you approach the magic!

It was mobbed outside the gates, obviously people waiting for the Rope Drop show. We went to find the ADR entrance and headed straight through. We headed on in, of course stopping for the must have castle shots.

We headed for Crystal Palace, to find ourselves in another massive queue. They eventually asked that while in line to check in, that only one member of each party wait in line, which weeded out quite a lot of people from the queue, but of course some families decided the rules didn't apply to them and the whole family of 5 or 6 stayed in the queue.

It actually went down really quickly anyway so we were soon presented with our buzzer, and we waited off to the side while watching some cute duckies.

We were soon seated, and our server Vinnie aquatinted us with the buffet procedure, and got us each some drinks. We had some pretty sequins on our table due to the fact we had listed our honeymoon as a celebration.

We were both pretty hungry so soon headed up for our first selection.

This was my first plate, and everything was so yummy! Especially the breakfast pizza! I haven't got a picture of Robert's plate but I imagine it was similar to mine.

I was pretty gutted after this plate because I was starting to feel really full! So unfair, there was so much food I still wanted to eat! I decided I wasn't leaving without having had a Mickey waffle so I headed up for another (very small) plate, with a waffle and some stuffed French toast.

While we were eating I happened to glance outside and I could see a stampede of people following a rope up Main Street towards the castle. It was gonna be a busy day at MK!

Of course, the food isn't the only attraction of Crystal Palace; Winnie the Pooh and his pals were also joining us throughout breakfast! Robert wasn't too keen on posing for pictures with characters, but of course it's impossible not to get swept up in the action and so we ended up with a few great pictures :)

We didn't manage to see Piglet because he had come round when we were up at the buffet and we didn't really want to hang around til he came right round again so we decided just to get our check. Vinnie was shocked we were leaving so soon and how little we had eaten, so he must be used to people eating loads more! I thought we had done not too bad even though I was disappointed in my stomach, but that was just me being greedy!

When Vinnie brought the check he also brought us a little celebration cupcake! It was a lovely gesture and I do love cake, but we were both so full that we exchanged an awkward little "uh oh, what are we going to do with this" smile when he put it down. Luckily Vinnie must be familiar with that look so he offered us a paper drink cup to put it in for taking away.

We quickly paid up our check and headed into the roasting hot day. And this is where my notes end, whoops! We had 3 fast passes booked for the day, but we had about 2 hours before any of them would be valid. I think, from memory, that our 3 fast passes were Space Mountain, Dwarves Mine Train and Splash Mountain.

Despite the crowds we had seen storming into the park about 15 minutes ago, the park still seemed relatively quiet and the lines for the rides reflected that. We headed straight over to To orrowland and went on Space Mountain. We were less than 10 minutes in the queue, so we could really see the benefit of being there for rope drop. Within the next hour or so we did Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Buzz Lightyear and Robert's favourite, Carousel of Progress. This wasn't actually his favourite, he called it the worst thing he'd ever been on haha! It's a bit dated but I love the catchy tune and it's a Disney World classic! We then headed to Frontierland for a go on Big Thunder Mountain, which had a queue of about 15 minutes.

Serious face!

Soon our Space Mountain fast pass was up, so we joined the FP line. The line to get through the fast pass entrance was really big, but it was moving quickly, and once you were through the entrance there was no queue right up until you got to the loading area. We were loving FP+ so far!

First time round I had managed to take a mental note of where the cameras were, so on our second go I managed to get this picture!

When I came off Space Mountain I realised I had an email from My Disney Experience, telling me that Seven Dwarves Mine Train wasn't running so we had to select a different fast pass. I was gutted; this ride is just newly opened so I'd been so chuffed to get a fast pass in the first place. The alternative options were mostly a bit rubbish (ie the rides you don't really need a FP for) but in the end we (or at least I) decided to go for Voyage of the Little Mermaid. This was cute and fun, obviously as a mermaid fan I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's just a slow moving sing songy ride so it didn't appeal so much to Robert.

Last up for the day was Splash Mountain. For some reason this ride makes me feel so nervous, more so some roller coasters which is weird because it only has the one big drop at the end really. I guess it's probably just the build up to that drop! Robert's face in this picture always makes me chuckle!we both loved this ride, despite the look of fear on our faces!

We didnt get too wet, but the little bit wet we did get had dried up by the time we reached the front of the park. Once in the car, which was like an oven, we decided to head to Walmart to pick up a few essentials. We didn't do a massive shop, just got some bits and bobs like water, beers, shampoo and some crisps for the room.

On the way back to the resort I decided I was going to eat the cupcake, so I delved in to get the cup and this is what I found inside, whoops!

Back at the room we had a quick freshen up and a wee beverage.

Once we were sorted we headed down to ESPN cafe again to try get in for the football. Obviously I had underestimated how busy a sports bar would be during the World Cup (silly me) so there was a massive queue out the door to get a table. We headed in to the bar area instead, and managed to squeeze ourselves into a wee spot by the bar.

My drink of choice was a classic margarita on the rocks, no salt.

Now I don't know if you'll remember this game, but it was Germany v Brazil, so the bar was FULL of Brazilian families and groups. Unfortunately it didn't go so well for Brazil, as they were beaten 7-1 by Germany. I'm not even into football but this game was so unbelievable, especially after how hyped up Brazil were to do well! It wasn't pretty, there were little Brazilian kids crying as they left with their families, and grown men with their heads in their hands at the tables. The queue outside quickly disapeared as the Brazilian fans became more down heartened. Bit of a shame, but hey it's just a game isn't it!

By the time the football finished we were starting to get a bit hungry, so we got a seat at the bar and order some wings. I went for boneless, and Robert got bone in.

These were so delicious, and I'm actually getting hungry looking at the pictures!

After we had eaten, we were both feeling really sleepy, so we decided to have a wee wander round the Boardwalk shops then head back to the room to chill for a bit before bed.

I was very excited to discover that the shop sold Disney Monopoly, so I bought that along with a few other wee things -

We went back to the room, planning to watch tv for a bit, but from what I remember we were both out for the count by about 8.30pm!

It was a fabulous first day, lots of disney magic but also some relaxation in there too, just what I had hoped for.

Highlight of the day: Arriving at Magic Kingdom for the first time!

Food of the day: got to be a Mickey waffle with syrup! Yum!

Thanks for reading, hopefully day 3 will be along soon!

Jilly xo

KIKO Cosmetics wishlist...

I first heard of KIKO when I was in Spain almost two years ago, and I stumbled on a tiny little paradise of colour and sparkle. I didn't know anything about the brand but I absolutely loved the way their products were displayed, creating a rainbow of things I wanted to buy!

I posted this photo on Instagram at the time...

I remember standing for ages debating about what to buy, and settled on a bright pink and a purplish pink shade of nail polish, as well as a mascara. All 3 together came to about 12€, and I was later impressed with the quality considering how cheap they were. The nail lacquers went on smoothly and dried solidly, no tacky bumps or rubbery feeling (if you know what I mean?!), and they were long lasting too. I still have both shades and still use them regularly so they haven't gone gloopy and tacky the way some polishes do.

I'm going back to my mum and dad's house in Spain again in 13 days, and I suddenly remembered that this would mean another visit to KIKO! Their products are available in the UK, but only in London or online which isn't quite the same experience as drooling over an array of delicious colours.

I've made up a wee bit of a wish list of some of the products I want to check out.

1 - 3D Instant Volume Lip Gloss. My favourite volumising Soap & Glory lipgloss has just run out so I'm on the look out for a new bold pink shade.

2 - The amazing Nail Lacquers - I'm after a navyish colour and a dark purpley pink to replace my Rimmel Urban Purple which has gone gloopy. I expect I'll choose 2 or 3 shades.

3 - I wear eyeliner every day but always stick with black, but I'm going to go for a dark purplish or violet shade of the Precision Eye Liner to mix things up a bit.

4 - I love a creamy matte lipstick so I'm going to check out their Luscious Cream Lipstick. The word luscious makes them sound really moisturising despite being matte so I'm looking forward to seeing what the texture is like in person. I'm looking for a nice rose shade - bold but not too bright.

1 - I've just noticed my poor label placement above, but this is an Invisible Setting Powder. I've never used one before but I quite like the look of this!

2 - This Hand and Foot Stone scrub looks fab for getting my little feeties ready for sandals this summer.

3 - My lips would also thank me for this delicious looking Lip Scrub.

4 - And last but not least, this spray Make Up Fixer. Again I've never used a make up fixer before, but I always find my make up is fading off by lunch time so it's definitely something I'd like to try!

The bonus is that most of these products are around 5 or 6 euros, so even if I go a little bit crazy I shouldn't need to spend a fortune! And luckily most are really small so it also won't take up too much luggage space.

Have you ever tried KIKO products before? Are there any other must haves I should add to my list?

Jilly x

 

 

Why I've fallen out of love with Slimming World.

Slimming world, I'm sorry but our relationship is over. We're on an indefinite break, but it's definitely me, not you.

I've been thinking about this for a wee while now, but this weekend I made the decision to give up on Slimming World and go back to good old fashioned calorie counting, using My Fitness Pal to track my calorie consumption.

If you know me either personally or via twitter or Instagram, you'll probably be aware that I started Slimming World a year and a half ago in order to lose weight for our wedding. I LOVED that diet plan. I loved that I could eat certain foods such as pasta, potatoes, rice, and even bacon, absolutely guilt free. You can't imagine how it works, but it does.

I lost almost 2 stones for our wedding and honeymoon, and felt great being into size 10 and 12s when I've been a size 14 for years. So this itself is proof that the problem is with me, not the plan, because it definitely does work if you follow it properly.

After losing weight for the wedding I went a bit crazy on honeymoon and I put on about 11/12lbs in the 3 weeks we were away.. Since August last year I've just slowly allowed the weight to creep back on. I've been yoyo-ing up and down, losing a few lbs then putting a few more back on. I rejoined a Slimming world class but every week I found myself making excuses not to go, or I was wasting a fiver to go and find out I'd stayed the same because I just hadn't put the effort in.

I decided last week that enough was enough, and I wanted to get back to those 10s and 12s for the summer, but it wasn't going to be with slimming world this time, and here are my reasons why -

I need something new to revitalise my motivation - I've definitely become too familiar with the plan, I cut corners and cheat my way through the diet, but the only person I'm cheating is myself. A new plan to follow will give me a renewed enthusiasm for weight loss.

My eating routine had become predictable and boring - now there's no real reason for this to happen on slimming world. One only needs to look up slimming world recipes online to see that there is an abundance of exciting recipes out there, but I just didn't have the time and money to invest in trying new things every week. So we pretty much had the same meals week in and week out and it got pretty boring.

I miss certain restricted foods - obviously the plan has its science behind it and there's a reason why some foods are free and others are not but it's frustrated me at times when I was able to eat free pasta and potatoes and meats, but I couldn't eat something like a slice of quiche that had equivalent or less calories. The plan wasn't based on calories so I suppose that's an unfair comparison to make, but still, sometimes a girl just needs a slice of quiche!

Healthy choices weren't an option but unhealthy were - similar to the point above, it bugged me at times when certain options that were actually healthy or low on calories were synned but unhealthy options were free. For example, a whole meal pitta and humous would have racked up about 10 syns, yet I could eat a Mug shot with little to no nutritional value. This meant eating on the run at busier times could be really tricky - if I had to grab a shop bought lunch there wasn't many options. Or if I wasn't organised and I ended up eating something high in syns for breakfast, I'd feel like my day was ruined already and it could easily go downhill from there. The bonus of calorie counting is that nothing is off limits - as long as you count up the calories.

So those are my reasons for switching to calorie counting, but I definitely wouldn't rule out a return to Slimming World in the future because the problem right now is my attitude towards it rather than the plan itself. I only have 2 and a half weeks until my holiday in Spain but I'm hoping I can lose 5lbs by then; I know I'll manage that if I put my mind to it!

Thanks for reading if you made it this far through my wall of text... I had more to say than I initially planned.

Please friend me on My fitness Pal if you use it, my name is Jillyloves

Jilly xo

Boots Spring Beauty purchases

I only went in for a nail polish... Honestly!

But obviously if you're anything like me that's never gonna happen. While in Boots I suddenly decided that I needed a new skin care routine (which in fairness I do) plus some bits and bobs to go along with that, and then like a sucker I was drawn in by pretty pink glittery stuff.

For the nail polish I actually went in for, I found that Barry M were doing 2 for £7. I've never used Barry M before (that I remember) but I fancied the Gelly Hi-shine ones that I've seen reviewed on a few blogs. I also went for a Speedy quick drying one. I went for some nice pastel shades as I'm SO ready for spring to arrive so thought these might brighten my mood if spring isn't ready to show up yet!

Barry M Speedy in shade In a Heart Beat - £3.99

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in shade Green Berry - £3.99

Next up were my skin care purchases. I started using a micellar water recently but I'd read online that it should be be used to complement a cream cleanser rather than instead of. I pottered around for ages looking at a hundred different products. I'm so bad for spending a fortune on products that I never actually look at when I get them home so I didn't want to spend a fortune. This is what I eventually came away with -

After browsing for ages I almost gave up because there was too much choice, when I spotted Ponds Cold Cream Cleanser. My mum always used this when I was younger and I remembered loving the smell so it was almost a nostalgia purchase. Plus it was only £4.99 so not too much of a waste if I didn't like it.

They were doing 3 for 2 on skincare and body care so I decided to get 2 more products to qualify for the deal. I spotted this Botanics Microdermabrasion Polish which promises to "banish dull skin" and so I was sold. Full price it's £7.99.

I decided to go for the night cream in the same range, the tester pot had a nice scent and a light texture so the Botanics Radiant Youth Replenishing Night Cream also went into my basket. This also was £7.99, meaning that the Ponds Cleanser became my freebie item. Got to love a 3 for 2!

Next up I decided I wanted one of those little face brushy mitt things so I headed to the aisle with the beauty accessories and hunted down the face mitt from Soap and Glory I'd seen before. I selected the face mitt and a Champneys body scrub mitt. As I got to the the cash desk there was a bit of a caffuffle because they were telling me some of my items should have been 3 for 2 (aside from the skincare) but they couldn't figure out which. In the end they realised both Soap and Glory and Champneys were on 3 for 2 but you couldn't mix the brands. So I headed back to the aisle to make some new choices and ended up with these 3 below -

Soap and Glory shower cap - £6.25

Soap and Glory Face Massage Mit - £4.00

Soap and Glory Scrub Gloves - £4.00

And last but not least, the pink glittery stuff that caught my eye whilst heading back to the checkout after the Soap and Glory 3 for 2 debacle. To be fair, I needed new shampoo anyway, and it was actually a good deal, so I'm ok with this impulse buy! You can't really see the glittery bits but under the lights in Boots it was super sparkly!

L'Oreal Paris Elvive Nutri-Gloss Crystal Sparkling Shampoo - £1.99 (regular price £3.99)

L'Oreal Paris Elvive Nutri-Gloss Crystal Sparkling Conditioner - £1.99 (regular price £3.99)

So all in all a successful shopping trip, if you disregard the fact I only went in for nail polish. It wasn't actually until I got home that I realised all of my purchases had a very distinct colour scheme, it must be the time of year drawing me to the pink and green pastels. Roll on the lovely spring weather!