Fashion Fridays... Forget festive

Firstly - this is me loving life and celebrating my birthday at McClusky's last week! A terribly cliched picture but it made me laugh when I saw it the morning after (which was a truly terribly morning. I'm too old for hangovers now). To my right is Not my sister, before you ask; it's my Partner In Crime, Daniella, who happens to look a lot like me but, as far as we know, we're not related.

Anyway, onto my fashion Friday...

Last week, I posted about the epic necklace that my housemate got me for my birthday. Sadly, when I went to put it on with the birthday outfit, it fell apart! I was really gutted as I'd actually planned my outfit around it (a green silk cami and a highwaisted black skirt and my Louboutins of course).

Yesterday I went to exchange it for a new one in River Island. Disaster struck again; they didn't have any in stock. So I had to spend a long time deliberating and browsing the various ridiculous shiny things they have there before I settled on this awesome alternative!

The picture doesn't do it justice - it's huge and shiny and wonderful and I also Love it.

On my wish list this week is this beautiful faux fur coat. I definitely cannot afford it and there's also no point in having a coat like this in a country of rain but a girl can dream. In my dream, I'm running between fabulous parties in New York and being Carrie Bradshaw.

Workout Wednesdays... Woe is me

My poorliness from last week is still lingering, now in the form of a chest infection. Thus, I'm giving myself a break from my regime and not exerting my body in the hopes of getting better.

I did, however, manage a lovely revitalising yoga session on Saturday which left me feeling quite uplifted. Note - coughing in Downward Dog causes you to fall on your face.

Seeing as I have no update on my new workout plan whatsoever, I think I'd quite like to waffle on about how much I love yoga.

I never thought I would get into yoga as much as I have. I'm not a particularly spiritual person, nor am I very good at letting go of my mind and being 'in the moment'. I've tried yoga classes on and off over the years and never really got into it.

I don't know at what point I realised I love yoga. I started going again earlier in the year after joining my new gym (Virgin Active Kingston, thoroughly recommend it) and something magical clicked. I go for an hour on Tuesday evenings and again on Saturday afternoons and find myself really looking forward to it.

The classes are mixed up every time so I'm constantly challenging myself but definitely noticing improvements. My strength in my arms is improving slowly which means I've got a better foundation for some of the poses and I can really feel a difference in my tight hips which is pleasant.

I'm also finding that the two one-hour sessions are the only part of my week where my brain isn't running at a billion miles an hour. I constantly have a hundred thousand different thoughts in my head, even when I'm running or lifting weights. For some reason, when I'm doing yoga, I'm so centred on that moment and focused on my breathing and the feelings in my body, that it's all that I think about.

I'd love to join an actual yoga school but I really can't afford it unfortunately so for now the two sessions at my gym will have to suffice but I'm so glad I found a love of yoga.

Geography Sundays... Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Whilst helping a friend devise a quiz this week, I stumbled across the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. For once, I actually knew something that someone else didn't about a place! She thought it was a current real place that you could visit. I knew that it's mostly discussed in mythology and no one knows if it's real and / or it's location. Score for me!
 
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (HGB from now on) are considered one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World - alongside: the Great Pyramid of Giza; the temple of Artemis; Statue of Zeus at Olympia; Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; Lighthouse of Alexandria; Colossus of Rhodes - but it's the only one that's location  has never been determined, a bit like the Lost City of Atlantis.
 
There's been several depictions of HGB over the years but most show a lush, Utopian paradise with beautiful vegetation and flowing rivers, like the one below.
 
The lack of evidence of its existence has caused most historians to refute any of the writings of it by the likes of Quintus Curtius Rufus (no, I never heard of him before either).
 
Various writers have described it as a myriad of cubes, immensely wide with the grossly thick walls and they also place a lot of emphasis on irrigation.
 
Still to this day there is no archaeological evidence of it having ever existed. It is possible that there is proof lying under the Euphrates (river) but it is physically impossible to excavate it to investigate.

What we do know is that it's most likely location is in the Middle East, specifically in either Hillah or Nineveh, both in Iraq.
 
One of the most common tales of the HGB is that Emperor Nebuchadnezzar II create them for his Persian Wife Queen Amytis as she missed the lush waters and greenery of her homeland.
 
Whichever location, for whichever reason, I'd like the believe they did exist and that it'll be a mystery that we never get to the bottom of. Sometimes, life is good with a little extra mystery!

Fashion Fridays... Birthday goodies!

Yesterday was my birthday! I don't like to admit to how old I am very often but I am now officially 26! I definitely don't feel that old. It's a strange sensation, ageing. I still feel like I did when I was 23 yet now I would be in the "Overs" category on X Factor. Holly is over the Hill. Brilliant.

Anyway, to cheer myself up, I bought myself these shiny earrings. Yes, they're big and tacky and a little chavvy but they make me smile. And they were half price in the New Look sale so I'm double happy about them.

I got a few very shiny lovely things. I think I'm probably quite an easy [predictable] person to pick presents for so people always do really well in choosing things that I love.

My mumma had me a necklace made in the gold souk in Bahrain. It's a beautiful, delicate gold chain with my name inscribed in Arabic on the pendant. I absolutely love it. Me, my mum and brother each have our own with our name in Arabic on and it's another lovely little tie between my lovely little family.

My brother and my nephew got me lots of goodies from Boots: this set which comes in a gorgeous gold bag and smells Divine; these glam glittery polishes perfect for the upcoming festive season; these lush, deep hues which are already adorning my toes; and this set, perfect for creating many looks for the many events coming up soon!

My housemate did a grand job too! She got me these lovely things.

 

 



 

The bling-tastic necklace is a River Island god send and I can't wait to wear it this weekend! The spangly varnish is a Barry M beauty and will definitely be part of my birthday outfit! 

Workout Wednesday... Weekly update

I thought I'd give you a little update about the events of my week, mostly fitness related but also some fun too!

Last week I started my new workout plan. I missed Thursday's workout due to gorging on food and entertainment at Kingston's night StocktMarkt and then an open mic night at the Rose Theatre.

 

My housemate (Conny) and I went on a little gourmet adventure. To start we devoured a mixed cheese and meat plate from the Social Club van. For mains, we had the world's most beautiful burger from the lovely lads at RareStr'eat and naturally for dessert we simply had to share some churros from these lovely Spaniards.

 

We then went to Mosaic at The Rose Theatre Cafe where we were thoroughly entertained by the brilliant Bits & Box lads and of course the ever beautifully crazy Tankus the Henge gracing us with their eclectic mix of gypsy funk jazz!

 

From the fun to the hard work...

 



As I had the day off on Friday, I went on a mega gym session and did Thursday and Friday's workout back to back. I then discovered that after the two of those, both washing my hair and walking down the stairs were nearly impossible!

I also discovered that I simply cannot do tricep dips due to a wrist injury so I had to modify a lateral pull-down to work my triceps but it went OK. Additionally, watching me attempt to do an incline crunch is about as hilarious as watching a fish try to climb a mountain; I failed miserably. So I got a trainer to show me how to do some ab exercises on the TRX equipment and definitely felt the burn on Saturday!

As I said before, this workout regime is going to be a work in progress and hopefully each week I'll be able to tweak it to make it harder for me and challenge myself.

I'm feeling under the weather this week (read - man flu of death) so may not make it to the gym as much as I'd like but such is life.

And also it's my BIRTHDAY this week so I'll definitely be overindulging in too much food and booze at the end of the week!

Geography Sundays - Bosnia

So Bosnia is next on my "list of places that I thought was somewhere else".

When I hear "Bosnia" it makes me think of listening to the news growing up, around the time that the Gulf War was winding down. If we were playing a word association game, if you said "Bosnia", I would likely say "Gaza Strip". Which is a pointer of where I thought Bosnia was.... in the Middle East. In my mind, I'd grouped Bosnia with Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, etc.

Considering I've been to the Middle East twice in the last two years (twice to Bahrain, and once to Dubai), I was massively shocked to discover last week that Bosnia is, in fact, in Europe, nestled between Croatia, Serbia & Montenegro.

Despite having been the biggest fan of London 2012 and a repeat offender Eurovision lover, I failed to connect Bosnia with the place in Europe called Bosnia & Herzegovina, apparently.

Google maps has shown me that it's also just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy so I'm assuming the weather's quite nice. Though I always think that Serbia is cold as I get Serbia and Siberia mixed up often too.

Bosnia's capital city is Sarajevo, which I also thought was a desert in the Middle East. Again, apparently not. Bosnia is mostly landlocked, with just 20 kilometres of coastline.

I wonder if people in landlocked countries ever feel claustrophobic. I grew up by the sea and feel anxious if I go for too long without seeing it.

The three official languages of Bosnia are Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. I didn't even know any of them were languages. I'm learning so much while writing this!

I'm afraid Bosnia has proved another place that is hard to find some fun facts about. So here is a fun picture of a recent Eurovision entry from them to entertain you...

Fashion Fridays... Bling

So I may not be the most stylish person on the planet but I do love fashion. Jewellery and shoes more than clothes but I think that is more down to my body type and not feeling so confident in a lot of things that are on trend at the moment (bodycon dresses are my arch nemeses).

My friends and family have often called me a magpie in the past - I just love shiny things! So naturally jewellery is my weakness. Tacky costume pieces more specifically. Previously I have been severely mocked for being tacky but now all the big, blingy, fake gold statement pieces are hotter than fire and everyone's suddenly stopped judging my oversized rings and ridiculous necklaces!

So I bring you Fashion Fridays. I'm fairly sure this is mostly going to be about shiny things that I've bought or dream shoes that I can't afford. Who knows what the fashion fairies will bring into my life that I'll want to share!

This week is just that; shiny rings that I acquired over the weekend and shoes that I wish I had the money and need to buy!

I bought these beauties from New Look this weekend -

I think it was the big cobalt ring that caught my eye and the two either side drew me right in. I think the fourth piece in the set is a little abstract and I probably wouldn't wear it with the set but I've got a necklace it would go well with so it won't get forgotten! The set was only £7.99 so at less than £2 each, I'm super happy with this purchase. They could be worn seperately day to day or as a super set to jazz up an evening outfit and I love them!


This week's dream purchase are these bad boys...


I don't have £1670, nor a place to wear such extravagant fabulousness but I feel like I wouldn't have a care in the world if I owned these. Between Zanotti and Louboutin, my desire levels are constantly through the roof!