The Style Post | Shorts in Winter... Of Course!

Jumper: Topshop | Shorts: ASOS | Necklace: Accessorize | Boots: Topshop

I honestly forgot how hard it is to actually take good outfit photos... Especially with a boyfriend who doesn't particularly want to be doing it. But hey! I wore this outfit on Sunday when it was a bit chilly but I'm in a complete and utter avoid jeans if I can head space at the moment. Saying that, my new outfit post will most likely end up including jeans...

Anyway - this is definitely a "Oh, tree in my garden - let's pose awkwardly by you" post. Saying that, I do like the tree though. I got this jumper in the Topshop Black Friday sale and I've worn it sooo much since. It's pretty much been attached. It's so comfortable and goes with pretty much everything. I love the detailing on the shoulders which take it from boring to something special. The shorts I got last year for summer and I still love them. I've styled them for summer here but I wanted to give them a wintery feel as well. 

Now for the little details. The necklace is a hefter from Accessorize and I adore it. I bought it with some birthday vouchers and it's turned into my most worn necklace of all time probably. It's quite heavy but it makes any outfit look incredible. Now the shoes. Sign, I love the shoes. These are brand new from the Topshop sale and I haven't really taken them off my feet since I bought them. So comfortable and I love the buckle detail.

How would you style shorts this winter?

The Health Post | Duronic Sports Blender

This is my year for getting really healthy and one way I'd like to do that is to have a smoothie a day - home made, of course. To do that I needed a smoothie maker. I scoured the internet for one and was a touch overwhelmed by choice, but then I came upon this one on Amazon for £15. 

One thing I liked about this one is that it comes with two travel cups, both of which you use to put onto the blender so your drink blends inside the cup - minimising washing (always a fan of minimising washing). The travel aspect was really important for me as I wanted to be able to take one to work with me every day and not have it spill all over the inside of my bag.

This is so incredibly easy to use as well. I was worried that at only £15 it would be a case of cheap tat, but it's very robust - the blades haven't faltered once - and again, super easy. Just put your fruit or whatever you choose in the cup. Put on the lid (with the blades) and put on, turn on and voila. You can also push down to increase the liquid consistency. 

I actually couldn't champion this enough. It's really encouraged me to make a smoothie everyday since I've had it and they reduce the fruit enough so I'm not gagging on bits and pieces. It's perfect for me and I couldn't be happier with it.

I found it here on Amazon in case you'd like to know more or read more reviews. I will be doing a post soon with my five favourite smoothies to make as well so if there's any you'd like me to try just pop them in the comments below!

What smoothies would you recommend for me to try?

The Beauty Post | Commuting Defenses

Commuting in winter is one of the worst things I've ever put my skin through, it's not great. However, two parts of my body really stand out when it comes to dryness at the moment and that would be my hands and my lips. My hands are usually okay but at the moment they are so ridiculously dry I needed to combat it. My lips are usually bad all year around, but this winter they seem to be worse then ever - so much so that my lipstick obsession has had to take a back seat. 

For Christmas "Santa" very kindly put a little Body Shop set in my stocking which had two skin-saving products inside. One's that I would now find incredibly hard to live without. But you know one of the best things? They are an adorable handbag friendly side - on the go defences indeed!

Strawberry Hand Cream

I usually hate handcreams due to the greasy left over residue and the fact that I usually can't touch anything for a good few minutes after application, however this one is so light it absorbs pretty much instantly. I can continue working without any problems and the fragrance is subtle enough to go undetected. 

I think this may be a relatively new addition as I've wanted to try their handcreams before but have been put off by the options so I'm so glad they've released a Lisa-friend fragranced one.

Strawberry Lip Butter

Now I'm not a lip balm person, especially ones where I have to use my finger to apply it. Hmm, not my thing. However, this one is so light it doesn't leave a residue on your fingers and is so nourishing it's really surprised me. It does leave a slight tint on the lips which looks very natural, it just makes them look a lot healthier. It's taken me a few days to see a big difference but I'm definitely seeing one.

I am very pleasantly surprised by these products, I wasn't expecting to love them quite as much as I do. I do think £4 for a lip balm is a touch pricey but it does really work so I'd be happy to repurchase. 

What products are saving your dry skin this January?

The Life Post | My 2015

Happy new year everyone - welcome to 2015!! 2014 was such a busy and rollercoaster year for me, I'm a little sorry to send the end part of it go - however I am excited for 2015. Last year came with so much pressure in terms of finding a new job and moving out etc and now that's all done it really feels like 2015 can really be a bit of a relaxing year. This just so happens to be my main resolution...

Last year was SO serious, my emotions were all over the place all the time, I was stressed and it just wasn't a fun few months to begin with. So this year my resolution is to just relax and have fun. Enjoy my year! Nothing huge or big is scheduled to happen this year so it's nice to know we have twelve months to really enjoy that fact that we've started our new life together, we can focus on us. That being said I do have a couple of things in mind...

1. Redecorating

Now we've moved in we are planning to decorate... We're so lucky that our house is all white and basically a blank canvas so we can literally do what we want with it. We know what we wanna do in a round about way so that will all be starting very soon and also comes with a new kitchen... nice!

2. 3 Peaks Challenge

In May I am going to be taking part in the 3 peaks challenge for The Princes Trust. I've never done anything like this before but it means training - which will mean improving my fitness which I can't wait to do. I think it will also be the most amazing experience as well. If you fancy donating (cheeky plug) click here and I'll be incredibly grateful!

3. Back into Blogging

Yeah, so I neglected poor little T&M in the last half of last year as I'm sure you're all aware so it's my big mission to get back into it this year, really start to enjoy it again and really find an identity for T&M. If there's anything you've ever really loved about my blog I'd love to know as I will definitely love to do more of what you guys enjoy seeing. I also really enjoy doing videos, however bad I may be at them, so I want to get really into YouTube this year as well!

4. Health and Fitness

Over the past few years this hasn't really been a priority for me and because of this my confidence in terms of appearance has really fallen. This is something I really want to rectify this year and get back into a head space, and health space, of liking how I look again. If you guys can recommend any health blogs/vlogs etc I'd appreciate it!

5. Friendships

I'm one of those people that has a very small group of incredibly close friends as opposed to someone who has loads of different friends. Nothing wrong with the later of course, but where the past couple of years have been so intense and busy I've not been able to commit to some friendships as much as I'd like to... This year is one where I hope to rectify some of that and definitely make up for this.

I guess they aren't really resolutions, just some lifestyle adjustments really! I am really looking forward to this year and to really get stuck into it. If you want to see my progression with fitness and health, or even more to do with the 3 peaks just let me know and I'll do what I can!

I'd love to hear your 2015 resolutions... Pop some below!
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The Hair Post | The Dark Side

The majority of the time I've had this blog my hair has definitely been on the lighter side. While it stayed natural for a while to give it a break I then got back into highlights when I went and chopped my hair into a bob nearly two years ago. Since then it's been regular visits to top up the blonde. However, I felt like it was time for a change.

If you read this post you'll know I've had a lot happening this year. especially in the past couple of months and it felt like a whole new chapter of my life was starting and I think I wanted something to really signify this. To start with I played a little and got a bit of red colour put into the blonde, it was okay but if I'm honest I wasn't 100% happy with it. So last time I went I decided to just go for it and went full on dark. I've been light for so long it was a bit of a shock when it dried and if I'm hoenst, it was darker than I was hoping for. However now it's had time to settle and fade a little from washes I couldn't be happier with it. I'd asked for some lighter bits to be put through the front which I love and I think I'll be asking for some more to be put in next time as well as it really helps to lift it.

What about blondes having more fun? Sure, probably! However I have huge responsibilities now and it was time to grow up, and this colour - as silly as it may sound to some - was my way of signifying this and drawing a line between who I was before, and who I am now. Who knew a hair change could signify so much?!

Do you think such an artificial change can signify something much bigger?