Tuesday 3 December 2013

The Ule Blog

IM BACK! I will be updating this page more often now I have gotten over my writers block! *finger crossed* but in the mean time I have started a new blog just for Christmas.
This blog will be about everything christmasy and feature everything and anything so go check it out!

The Ule Blog

http://theuleblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Oh Christmas Tree!

I love Christmas.
It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! In my opinion at least.
One of my favorite things about it is the festive decorations. Its all well and good getting decorations from a store but nothing beats a home made touch so I decided to take it upon myself to try and make a decoration for our house from scratch! You can have festive fun without breaking the bank.

I will show you how to make this fantastic arty Christmas tree using a magazine! I think this was made popular by Martha Stuart but a girl once showed me how to do it in an art class and I've loved it ever since.

You will need:
  •  an old magazine that you no longer want because I very much doubt you will be able to read it again.
  • (completely up to you) spray glue, spray paint and glitter.
  • about an hour of your time.
Step 2.
Step 1.  You have to break the spine. Bend it and open the book so its bent back on its self so the spine is soft and you can easily manipulate it.

Step 2.  Starting with the front page fold the page back on its self until its inline with the spine so it looks kind of like a triangle.
Step 3.

Step 3.  Still on the same page repeat step 2 folding over the triangle into the spine so it makes a narrower triangle and hangs slightly over the bottom edge of the magazine. It ends up looking a bit like a tie.

Step 4.  Now repeat for the whole magazine. yes it is time consuming but well worth the outcome. you may want to put a Christmas film on to help pass the time.
Step 5.

Step 5.  Now start to fold the little triangle overhang at the bottom up into the folds you have already made. Tuck it inside the folds that have already been made so that it stays neat and tidy and keep going until every edge is tucked up nicely. Once this is finished it should be able to stand up on its own so all you need to so is fan out the pages to make your own Christmas tree!

Now its all up to you! You can spray paint the whole tree, add little decorations or just like me spray the tree with spray glue and add a sprinkling of glitter for a subtle shine!

Kerrie x



All the bottoms folded up nicely.

This was taken from my seperate blog

The Ule Blog, check it out!!



Tuesday 18 June 2013

Making the Gym Bareable

Some people are gifted with enjoying the gym. Others, like me, hate it. I only tolerate it because I know I want to make a change and in the end it will be worth it but I really do sometimes struggle to pull myself out of bed to go and when I get there there's a bigger struggle to stay!

So I have been trying different things to make the gym bearable, Fun even!

  • Take a friend. This one isn't exactly some sort of new discovery but it true and easy. I go to the gym with my mum, it gives us time to see each other and bond since I moved out and it also makes the both of us competitive. We like to try and out do each other and push each other for better at the same time!
  • Find a gym that You actually like. When I was in school I used to go to the gym that was closest and cheapest. For about a week this worked. I felt uncomfortable and out of my depth so I just stopped going, now I go to a different gym that I feel welcome at and like nobody is judging me. Slightly weird, I am aware but it really does make a difference!
  • Music. Another obvious one but recently I have discovered the wonder's of audio books! they are awesome at the gym because you can still be completely aware of your surroundings whilst getting lost in the book and it distracts you from the time because you done have the preset, 4 minutes that a music track is. I've actually found myself doing longer at the gym because I have lost track of time completely!
  • Cover up the time. This is another trick I have learned at the gym, I find it boring to sit on a machine for 15 minutes and do the same thing over and over and over whilst being taunted by the little red flashing numbers reminding you that you still have ten minutes of this left! So I have taken to covering the display with my towel and just get lost in what i'm doing. You don't concentrate on the time and this way you go for as long as your body want's to go for!
  • Switch it up! Doing the same old things, in the same old order every time you go to the gym can get really boring, really fast so switch it up. Don't be afraid to ask to be shown new things it can really benefit your mind set at the gym but also your body. It's healthy to switch your exercises now and then so your muscles and body don't get to used to what your doing.
  • Set Targets. Try and aim to do longer or more or a higher intensity every time you go. Do this in little steps but it really does motivate you, you feel better at the end of the week when you've managed to run for an extra ten minutes or lift more weights than you started of doing!
I hope these tips helped you, feel free to leave your own comments on what you do to make the gym fun!

k.

New and Used.

New and Used.
I am always one for getting a good bargain and I don't think there is anything wrong with buying second hand. It can be hours of fun rummaging through a good car boot sale or charity shop and you don't know what you will find. You really can leave with some amazing gems! Which is why it's good to go with an open mind, you'll be impressed at what you can pick up and how cheap it can be.

Which is exactly why I fell in love with this little shop. For a little while now there has been a shop in the small town I live in that has gone under my radar but recently it moved premise and let me tell you it's making a splash now! Located right in the middle of Cullompton this shop, aptly named 'New and Used' has a plethora of ever changing goods. An Aladdin's cave of sorts.

In my opinion the town needed something like this just to attract people to the shops. I wish this place has existed when I first moved out purely because of the amount of things you can buy for your home at such good prices and I will definitely be pushing other's I know to pop into the shop. Talking to the owner's of the shop I learnt that not only do they run the shop but they run a removals business to and will come help you clear out any space you need and buy items of you.
Vintage suit cases.
You can literally spend a hours in here searching through everything or you can go straight to who ever is in there and they can point you in the right direction, even if it is something they don't have in the shop at the time, they might be able to get it in for you. The service and hospitality in the shop is what makes it. You can easily have a conversation, be well informed, leave with a perfect find and at great prices and that is on of the things I like most.

I love the fact that this small Cullompton born business is doing so well, as you may know from previous articles I am a firm believer in helping out local business's and giving everybody a fair chance in life so if you haven't done so already and have the chance, pop in, say hello and see what gem's you can uncover.

k.

Aladdin's Cave.

Friday 17 May 2013

Ombre Nails!


There are whisperings in the fashion world that Ombre is out, yet increasingly it's been boldly making it's way back into our lives and what I'm loving at the moment is Ombre nails! They are super stylish, incredibly easy to do and actually don't take a lot of time! Perfect for a quick fix!

First off, make sure you have all of your tools, you don't want to be getting up half way through and having to rummage for the rest of your tools! you might ruin your nails!
You will need:
  • The nail polishes in the colours you want to use. You can almost literally use any colours, it's a great chance to experiment and have fun!
  • A good top coat! This will smooth out the nails and make sure it lasts longer and stays perfect!
  • Toothpicks. Great little mixers.
  • Something plastic. preferably a plastic sleeve of some sorts that won't make the polish dry out and won't absorb it.

Step 1: Choose your lightest colour and paint all of your nails as normal. wait for this to dry as much as possible for a good base coat.

Step 2: Using the plastic, paint the polish straight onto the plastic so the colours touch, make sure you use plenty so there is no gap.

Step 3: Take a tooth pick and mix the colours together in the middle (use a swirling motion so there isn't just one straight line, it gives it more of a gradient look).

Step 4: Using a sponge (I use a makeup sponge but you can use an ordinary sponge to) dab it in the polish and start pressing it onto the nail. You can do this as many times as you like to create layers but make sure it's dry in between applications!

Step 4: Once you're happy and everything is dry, add a top coat or two for protection, clean up the edges and you're ready to go!

Hopefully this will help you! The pictures aren't great because I did it late at night with a friend and this was my first ever attempt but i'm really pleased with the outcome and I will definitely be doing this again! Perfect for a night out!


The picture is a bit blurry and I haven't cleaned up the edges but here's some experimentation I did with colours! Very easy and very fun!

k.

Sunday 12 May 2013

Thighs the Limit.

The new dark obsession clouding over women of all ages. The thigh gap. We've all seen it and we all have an opinion on it, but who is right? If you type in 'leg gap' on Google you will see how this issue has us all divided, half the sites will be pro gap, encouraging you to work on your own gap and how to achieve it and half will be telling you the real problems and effects of having 'the gap'. (For those of you who have read this far and are confused, a thigh gap is a cavity that appears at the top of your thighs when your feet and knees are placed together.) The general consensus at the moment seem to be that if you want to be pretty, attractive or have the perfect body then your thighs must not be able to touch! It's not physically natural or normal for us to have a gap in our thighs, without being underweight or not yet a fully grown adult, although I want to make it clear i'm not trying to attack anyone and some people do actually have thigh gaps naturally but it's natural to them not something they have had to possibly harm their bodies to achieve.
Yes we all want lovely toned and slim thighs but there really is a limit. Your body needs that bit there and it needs body fat to provide you with a bit of padding so you don't damage your bones and organs. Also it produces oestrogen and other hormones which is something all of us need, it's not really optional, so pushing your body to achieve this highly unattainable fad is damaging your body in more ways than you can count!
People are pushing their bodies to extremes to try and achieve that gap, there are numerous tumblr accounts encouraging you to do severe things such as only eat one small slice of apple every two hours! or grab that fat   to get the gap? Another way people are getting the gap is through Lipoglaze (cosmetic surgery). Lipoglaze is basically where they freeze your inner thigh fat to get rid of it! The Harley street clinic in London has reported a 240% increase in this procedure in the last year!
I thought that society was starting to understand being healthy is key, and was encouraging curves and all healthy body shapes among women but now this! It's like we are taking a step backwards again and it's quickly spreading to the younger generations. Again we are telling them that eating disorders are OK and they should have them to look good. Just like the models. That's where this has all trickled down from but people seem to forget those women really do push their bodies, it's part of the job and hard work, it's not as glamorous as everyone thinks.
I know some women have this gap naturally no matter how hard they try, they will always have it, and that's how you are, its healthy and obtainable for them, they're not purposely doing it to themselves but I would really encourage women who don't have this naturally not to conform to the fad! Your lovely as you are, Touchy things and all, you should just aim to be healthy and happy not worry about this issue. It's just another obsession that we don't need.

Also I would like to add the argument from the other side. Its wrong to attack slimmer women for being skinny if thats how they are and it's healthy for them!
A friend of mine has been picked on, on tumblr, because she has a thigh gap but she is tall and slim and thats how her body is no matter what she tries!
I know some people have said how its a way of making curvy girls feel better about themselves, having the whole 'curvy girls are beautiful, skinny girls aren't' and 'real women have curves'  in the same way skinny people feel the need to say 'curves are ugly and skinny is better'. Neither is better, as long as everyone's healthy and this really is the point i'm trying to make! :)


k.


(P.s I'm honestly not trying to offend anyone, just trying to raise awareness of this issue and voice my opinion. I'm sharing this in hopes that people will gain a bit more of an understanding on the issue, the last thing I want in the world is for anyone to feel bad, harm their bodies or themselves, just trying to promote a happy, healthy world!)

Friday 10 May 2013

Phill Jupitus at TCAT

Who: Phill Jupitus
When: Monday 6th May
Where: TCAT Tiverton

You're Probably Wondering Why I've Asked You Here...



Phil Jupitus is well known for his appearances on television shows such as QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, so it really was to my surprise that he was playing his very own shown in Tiverton!
I honestly didn't know what to expect attending this event. I have been to my fair share of gigs but never for a stand up comedian.
Taking our seats  the audience was greeted by a solitary artist's easel supporting a card simply stating, 'welcome' next to a microphone stand. Simple and Intriguing.

After a short wait his first 'character' graced the stage, rather stiffly and slowly, plodding up to the mike.
The late Vernon Herschel Harley (played rather convincingly by Jupitus) is or should I say was, an acting legend who died at the age of 113 through a family feud. This was really clever, basically Vernon is a dead guy who was brought to us so we can ask him questions about his life and acting (having worked with all the greats!).
Jupitus kept the accent and the character perfectly throughout this segment of the show. He constantly asked the audience to provide questions for him to answer and every time he seamlessly answered with witty comebacks, even amusing himself sometimes!

After a short intermission we were introduced to the late Kurt Schiffer, a captain of a U42B that was part of the German Navy's wolfpacks. He unfortunately died in 1944 after choking on an olive. He strolled onto the stage, ignoring the audience trying to light a cigarette  where he was promptly shouted at by a mysterious voice in the wings, to put it out. With some reluctance he did stating 'I was under the impression, you guys won the was? Glad to see your enjoying all that freedom!'
The tale of 'Schiffer' is particularly hilarious with him explaining all about his marriage and experiences through the war. Again we learnt of him through the audiences questions with Schiffer (Jupitus) making up his answers on the spot. His accent did slip in and out abit during this segment, especially when he was amused or angry but still he played the role superbly and was very quick on his feet with answers and reactions to the crowd. Of course with his working background and death dates, the audience questions quickly veered towards that war and Hitler but Schiffer was quick to declare that he thought Hitler was a 'dick' after meeting him at a car boot sale and buying all his thimbles. It was a rather elaborate tale but utterly hilarious.

After the second and last interval the stage was graced finally by Phill Jupitus as 'himself'. Kind off. It was the late great Phil Jupitus who died on June 24th 2052 on the eve of his 90th birthday. He immediately explains that he is being illegally broadcast and beamed onto the stage by a nerd in Bethnal Green, and that he may suddenly disappear because it is completely banned to do this and the government constantly scan everyones computer in the future playing the songs of 'Alanis morissette' which immediately stops the broadcast.
After this explanation he encourages the audience to ask him questions about himself from this point until his death and what happens in the future.
With no Accents or persona's to keep up, this segment was seamless and incredibly witty, and by now the whole audience had come out of the shock of being asked to do some of the work and were throwing questions at him from all directions! A little audience mocking did go on but thats the fun of it really!
The whole show is very clever in itself and it really takes talent to not have any specific jokes rehearsed and just fuel the show purley of the audience.

I won't spoil the whole show for you but I would 100% recommend seeing this man live. It was superb, hilarious and a whole lot of fun!

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Bucket Lists.

Recently I have been thinking more and more about the future, what I'm going to do, going to be, What will be when I die and one thing that rather scares me is not doing anything with my life. Not being able to say 'I've done this' or 'I am that'. Now I know for a fact that I am far from the only one that feels this, especially as you get older, which is where the lovely 'Bucket List' comes into it all.
A bucket list if you haven't guessed is a list of things you want to do and achieve before you die. The be all and end all of to do lists.

There is a bit of a debate about Bucket Lists and whether or not you should make one. The con's mainly are that you may not finish your list and feel awful about it when the time come and that's counter productive because you want to feel fulfilled and happy when you die. Also it can be a bit depressing thinking about dying and can put you off even thinking about these kind of things, but ask yourself
'Would I be happy dying today knowing what I have achieved and done in my lifetime?' I wouldn't and there are a million and one things I want to do before die.
Which leads us onto the 'pro' side of the list. I think a Bucket List will push you to do amazing things, live life to the full and really challenge yourself. You could learn a lot and leave this world happy and in the knowledge that you have done what you wanted or even left this world a slightly better place.

My advice would be, if you write a Bucket List you have some level of commitment, you have to really want to do what you write and push yourself to do them or else you will let yourself down.
Another piece of advice would be to tell friends and family, get them involved too if you wish. It might push you towards doing everything and leave you with amazingly happy memories of times with them.
So personally I think Bucket Lists are amazing and everyone should have some sort of a list. you can have anything at all on the list, anything you have ever thought would be cool or dreamed of doing.

Whilst researching Bucket Lists I came across another blog of an amazing 17 year old girl who unfortunately died of cancer. She had a bucket list and documented every memory on the blog, it truly is lovely and inspirational. Her sister and family now carry on the blog and the list, raising money for the charity 'Alice's Escapes' which allows terminally ill children to have amazing adventures and experiences.
Alice's Bucket List is really inspirational because it is helping others, she has made this earth a little better and made many other children and families happier.

So grab a pen and paper and start writing. Try not to regret anything you haven't done and strive for the next thing! Also try and add something to your list that would help someone else. Put a smile on their face.
Hopefully you will achieve some amazing fetes and embark on fantastic adventures, so when you finally come to actually kicking the metaphorical bucket, you're happy in the knowledge you had a brilliant life.

(feel free to tell me what's on your list!)

k.

For Inspiration...
Alices blog :http://alicepyne.blogspot.co.uk/
Millies fundraising page :https://www.justgiving.com/millypyne

Here's a little insight into my list...
  • Swim with dolphins.
  • Bungee Jump.
  • Cuddle a REAL koala.
  • Go on holiday (somewhere outside the uk).
  • Go on a hot air balloon.
  • Cook a roast dinner from scratch.
and many, many, MANY more! x

Monday 22 April 2013

30 Days of Squatting? Challenge Accepted!

Recently I have been bored on my computer so I have inevitably fallen into the hype of looking at things such as 'lol cats' and funny pictures. Whilst amusing, this activity is also rather soul crushing but amidst my pointless searching I came across a picture entitled 'The 30 day squat challenge' I didn't think much of it at first and went on to look at funny pictures of pugs doing handstands but it kept cropping up again and again, so without any other choice(and because I was curious) I found myself clicking on the picture.
Basically you are challenged to do roughly a month of squats, starting at 50 and working your way up to 250 in one day!
Challenge Accepted!

Naively, I thought '250 would be easy' I am currently on my 5th day and already my legs are killing me! I have worked up to 70 squats a day and already the difference is amazing! But you really do need to persevere,  its very easy to give up in this challenge!
Online people are raving about this. The soreness will pass and at the end the results will be well worth it apparently!
 Me and my friend are doing the challenge but decided to take it up a level! As well as the squats, we plan to match the amount done daily with sit-ups/crunches and all in one go, where as some people I have seen are spreading it out throughout the day!
So I will keep doing this challenge and update on my day 30, if you are doing it yourself let me know how its going! And for everyone else, I challenge you to do this! You won't be able to walk properly to begin with but it really is an interesting challenge!

k.

Friday 12 April 2013

Skin! Look after it and it will look after you!


Skin! Something we all have and would have a lot of trouble going about our daily business without it (or even surviving without it for that matter) but a lot of the time most of us don't even think about it and definitely don't look after it! I'm writing this because I have been trying to improve my skin lately and make it look better but it lead me to question how to do this and why! So I thought I would share my findings with you!

Our skin works hard to look after us! It keeps us warm and cool, protects us against the weather (or if your in Britain, mainly just the rain), fights of infections for us so we don't get ill, allows us to feel with millions of nerves in it and much more! It is one of our biggest and complex organs yet we seem to forget about it and mistreat but why should we? You wouldn't treat your heart or your brain like that!
Now for something that may put you off your food but I thought I'd share anyway because it's rather fascinating! we shed about 40,000 every hour! That's almost a million a day! It constantly regenerates and pushes the old, dead, skin cells out leaving you with healthy, fresh and new skin! why thank you skin! The disgusting part is that the skin cells lay around your house and everywhere you go collecting and ending up as dust! Which is an amazing reason to keep your house clean, so you don't have billions of little dead, 'you' bits hanging around!
So here is how to do it and get some awesome looking and feeling skin!

  • Eat healthy. What you put into your body can be reflected on the outside. The general consensus is if you are healthy your skin is healthy!
  • A very obvious one is to protect yourself from the sun. Sun damage can cause an array of problems such as cancer and can make you age a lot quicker.
  • Water is especially important and I can definitely preach this point! If you are dehydrated your skin can look older and tired, something none of us would want so make sure to drink plenty of the right things, especially if drinking alcohol. 
  • Sleep.
  • Wash of your makeup at night! It can block your pores and damage your skin and then re-wash your face in the morning before reapplying to make sure everything is fresh and clean, it also helps avoid infections although be careful when washing! Strong soaps or over washing can get rid of the skin's natural oils that protect your skin and keep it healthy!
  • Face masks can help the appearance of skin, they are quite cheap and come with a host of benefits such as banishing blackheads, cleansing, toning and much more (plus they are quite fun if I do say so myself!)
  • Skip a day of makeup. whenever you can, try and not wear makeup that day, even if its just around the house, it allows you skin to breath and promotes it to heal itself, get rid of more dead skin cells and make you look healthy and radiant!
  • Moisturize! A lot of the time our skin can lack moisture, especially because of our surroundings and environments  so moisturizers can top up what our skin needs! It's better to get a natural moisturiser, one with less chemicals so your face can breath a lot more. I recommend 'Dream Cream' from Lush, it is amazing and I swear by it! If you want to find out more about it, keep an eye on the blog I will be posting a review on the stuff!
  • Try and relax. Stress causes effects on your skin such as dehydration, wrinkles and lines, spots, patchy-ness, redness and a lot more! So chill out and your skin will stay clear and lovely!
  • Drink green tea. Personally I think the stuff is disgusting but always try and get a cup of it in when I remember! The tea has anti-inflammatory properties which helps reduce puffy skin and redness!
  • Vitamins. If you can try and regularly take vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D complex and vitamin C, it will give your skin and your body everything it is lacking so it can keep protecting you and doing its job properly.
So there are a few tips to get you going, it is quite simple but highly important to look after your skin. If you have any other tips or anything let me know! It would be interesting to find out more about this, it's something you have your whole life and as you get older especially you have to take care of yourself and skin is a priority we sometimes overlook.

k.

Thursday 4 April 2013

Cambion, Mind for Murder and Anal Bead at Tiverton Tomato Bar

When: Saturday 30th March
Where: Tomato Bar Tiverton
Who: Anal Bead, Mind for Murder and Cambion.

Who knew such a small venue in the midst of Tiverton high street could provide the backdrop of such a high energy evening? As soon as I arrived at the Tomato Bar there was already quite a lot of buzz and excitement with people everywhere, chilling out surprisingly to the sound of 'Sikth' blasting over the speakers.
Anal Bead
As the rest of the crowd started to ascend on the bar the first band took the stage. There's not a lot of words to describe Anal Bead. They really are a marmite band, you either love them or hate them, and fortunately Tiverton love them! As you can guess from their name, Anal Bead is a comedy metal band that take pride in not taking themselves seriously, so far so that they don't even play the instrument they originally learnt to play! The front man/guitarist is actually a drummer, the drummer is actually a guitarist...you get my point but all this aside they make for one hell of an evening of entertainment! Starting with their infamous song 'Any holes a goal' they had the whole crowd laughing and singing along (other songs include titles such as 'Mayonnaise salute' and the ever popular 'we like boobies'.) At one point the front man 'Frank Dennis performed a song on the shoulders of someone in the audience, although I don't think he was expecting that!
Anal Bead are a funny band that really get the show going with their simplistic sounds, likened to that of 'Lawnmower Deth'. The best way to sum up Anal Bead though was actually posted on the event page for the gig. "Anal Bead are without a doubt Tiverton's best shit band!"
Mind for Murder
Next to play were 'Mind for Murder.' Not a band I had ever heard of before but definitely one to watch out for now! One thing that strikes me about this band was their very effective old school style. Rather than playing fast, chaotic riffs and overly complicated beats they stuck with the once and always great style, reminiscent of bands such as 'Soil and Pantera' and to really drive the point home they even wowed us all with a cover of metal giants 'Crowbar - High Rate Extinction'. The vocals also caught everyone's attention with singer Lewis throwing some new and interesting techniques into the mix to liven things up! 
This band is very connected and work well together, they can listen to each other and respond well to create strong, blasting rhythms and catchy and memorable songs that get everyone moving.
This Bristol based band really deserves everyone's support and I would definitely suggest to everyone to go catch them live if you can!
After a short break with everyone running to the bar, the small room was quickly filled back up again with people desperate to get to the front, even lining the stairs awaiting the return of Cambion.
Cambion
Straight into the set, no messing around and they opened up with 'Death March' a song from their previous E.P 'Last Rites'. With a seamless flow they worked through the first E.P showing of their melodic and technical style that had anyone who could move head banging. A crowd favourite was definitely 'Salem' which had the whole crowd singing along with frontman Elliott. The thing that impresses me the most with this band is the stage presence each of them have. Unfortunately you do see some bands who have great music but let their performances down with lack of stage presence but not this band. Even the Drummer was head banging and wind milling in time with the rest of them whilst blasting out some amazingly technical beats. There sound definitely has a djent edge to it, you don't often see around these parts and you can see how bands such as 'Meshuggah and Animals as Leaders' influence their sound, yet they manage to pull off their own style. 
Finishing the set they played through their latest E.P 'Virus'. What I loved most about Virus was how atmospheric it is, you really get a sense of a story when they are playing. Just like their previous songs, Virus is technical and melodic but you can instantly hear the malevolence in all the songs, it's especially honed in 'Virus part 3' Death'. Although each song follows on from the last you really do get a variety of sounds and Levels from 'Part 1' throwing you in at the deep end to 'Part 5' almost restoring your faith in humanity (Listen to the song/words and you will understand) Clean vocals intermixed with the aggressive screaming and they have perfected the art of conveying emotions beautifully.
Brutal beats, face melting riffs, amazing live sound and all around metal, you can't really ask much more from this Devonshire band yet they strive to give you more.



Friday 29 March 2013

Be a yummy Muffin Without the Top!

Spare Tyre, love handles? Muffin tops? And no, i'm not talking about your favorite treat. A lot of us have them but it doesn't mean we actually want them and actually they are quite simple to get rid of! So you can be a yummy muffin without the top! For those of you lucky or ignorant people who don't know what the muffin top is, its the overhanging fleshy bit that spills out over your waistband to put it bluntly! They are mainly fat but the muscles surrounding it attaches to it to giving you those undesired little muffin tops!You must remember when working out you can't always just focus on one area and expect to see results there, you have to do a rounded workout, you will lose body fat and reduce area's in size quicker that way but that doesn't mean there aren't some useful tips to help.
Summer is fast approaching with clingy dresses and small tops the staple diet in our warm wardrobes so here are some amazing tips to banish those muffin tops for the summer!

  • Eat citrus fruit such as lemons, oranges, grapefruit or tangerines. According to FatFreeKitchen.com, these fruits are rich in vitamin C, which helps the body speed up the ability to burn fat by diluting the fat.
  • Eat banana's! Banana's have potassium, one banana gives you roughly 25% of your recommended daily amount. Potassium is important because it helps boost and improve your metabolism so you can bur calories and fat. Also potassium helps regulate your water balance so you wont have to worry so much about water weight!
  • The Plank and side plank are fabulous exercises that tone up all the muscles there, so when the fat is stripped away you are left a toned and tight mid section!
  • Drink green tea! a nice green brew will boost your metabolism and give you energy so you feel hydrated and renewed. No excuse not to exercise now.
  • Drink lots of water. A tip we all know but don't seem to do as much as we should!
  • Exercise! Cardio is important it will shrink you all around your body and generally tone you up. The best exercise I find for loosing the love handles is jogging. Try and push your self by doing a long slow jog, keeping your heart rate elevated constantly for more than half and hour and try and use long strides that will keep your hips moving.
  • Avoid processed foods (take aways, ready meals) these contain amazingly high amounts of fat and salt which makes you retain water and just generally makes you pile on the pounds, especially in area's where you are most susceptible to weight gain quickly (i.e muffin tops)
There are millions of tips and tricks so get started with these ones and see what works for you! You can be A yummy muffin, without the muffin top!

k.



Wednesday 27 March 2013

Peplum Trousers, a Leg too Far?


Peplum. Not just an amusing word I assure you. The Peplum has swept our planet this year and pushed itself to the forefront of fashion in such a small space of time. But what is a Peplum? Basically it is a short over skirt that is attached to usually skirts, jackets or dresses. It's sleek and sophisticated and makes the waist appear thinner giving you a fuller hourglass figure, a favourite with most celebrities but bought into the spot light a lot by none other than Kim Kardashian.
Kim Kardashian - Peplum Skirt
The Peplum was first brought to our attention as a dress. At first I thought this was a wacky, useless design that wouldn't catch on but the more I saw it, the more I started to think it was really flattering and encouraged people to look curvy and embrace their curves instead of trying to hide them! Peplum dresses are the perfect casual chic dress but can easily be worn as the perfect office dress, party dress, night out on the town dress and so much more! I rather liked the Peplum by this point and its popularity was sky rocketing, so inevitably along came the Peplum skirt. With its throw back connotations of the classic pencil skirt, the Peplum skirt was still up there in the fashion stakes. It's still sophisticated and structured yet had more of a laid back (and depending on what you paired it with) a girly look to it. It could go with an array of outfits, a staple in any closet.
Peplum - Trousers
But then they took the Peplum a step to far (or should I say a leg too far, rather literally!) and Peplum trousers were born, and in my opinion should be destroyed. Peplum's are good and trousers have always been a plus in humanities books but the two should really not be mixed together. The idea of the peplum is to flatter the shape, the skirt or dress tapers in at the waist and knee's for an ultra-feminine shape that covers the hips and lower stomach where any lumps and bumps may be, scoring top trumps on the amazing things to wear list. Whereas Peplum trousers are rarely flattering, this is because it draws a lot of attention to your thigh area which is smoothed over on a skirt or dress, it's a lot going on in such a small area and it subtracts all the femininity. It's like its missing the point of itself!
So overall, I am a fan of the Peplum if it's worn correctly. It can be a fashionable statement piece that complements your shape but my advice to most people would be to stay away from the Peplum trousers. They don't really do anyone any favours, if you're going to go Peplum, go for a skirt, dress or even top for that feminine, sleek look!

k.



Monday 25 March 2013

DriveChain and Zoltar Speaks at TCAT

When: 23rd March
Where: TCAT Tiverton
Who: Drive Chain + Zoltar Speaks.


The Venue, a warm, amazingly lit hall with a large stage worthy of any big band. A huge drum kit sat on a high rise surrounded by white Gothic-esq, Victorian lamp posts. The scene was well and truly set for the highly anticipated return of DriveChain. But the biggest surprise of all? We were in Tiverton high school's school hall and the lead singer of this Heavy metal band taught English here for 4 years and the bassist was a student! This really was their Home ground show.
And first up to bat was Zoltar Speaks, a Minehead based, female fronted melodic rock band, boasting their high energy shows and they did not disappoint.  From the word go Zoltar Speaks engaged the crowd, instantly wowing. Their heavy melodic, almost funk sound went down well with everyone head banging and dancing. They played a mixture of old and new songs showing of the full range of their talent but what really stood out was when they played the track from there new video release titled 'Last man standing'.
All of them pushed it and played their hearts out to this song, very impressive with the front row stood in awe. The drummer and the bassists played what seemed to be a well rehearsed  carefully placed marriage of skill and ability to create a sturdy foundation on which the guitars built there chunky yet melodic phrases. All tied together, you had a catchy and powerful sound that any metal lover would bang their heads to. The lead singer, Louise, fully commanded the audience's attention, making full use of the stage and showing of her powerful vocals with one innocent bystander commenting that it was "mind blowingly good"
During the changeover I caught up with an excited Zoltar, all buzzing from the performance they just gave. Lead singer Louise told me, almost literally bouncing from the walls, "I love the Venue, definitely the best venue we've played in a long time and the crowd was amazing! It's been a while since we last gigged and the crowd just accepted us amazingly!" With Drummer Ben adding "We really appreciate everything, the venue is amazing and the crowd was really welcoming especially compared to the Minehead crowds"
When asked what they were up to for the rest of the year, they kept it close to their chests with guitarist Ollie stating "We definitely have lots in the pipe-line, the video's just come out, loads of PR is getting done, keep watching!" And I agree! This band is absolutely one to watch in the future, they have so much energy and showmanship they really opened up the gig, getting ready for the main event.

Now for those of you who don't know, DriveChain is a 4 Piece Metal band that disbanded 2 years ago, their influence still lingered around the local southwest music scene though, with many bands looking up to and learning from them, hoping to fill their shoes whilst they were gone. But no longer it seems.
Ascending the stage they leapt straight into their set, with the song 'First to this Fire' as if they had never left before. Instantly it was seamless even with their new, female bassist, Chrissy Slevin, who was not only performing live for the first time with the well-known rockers but was running the whole gig, being the promoter!
One of the highlight songs was 'Salvation' which took all fans back to the old days and had everyone singing along. One thing I really like about this band is their sound is raw and basic. It takes you back to the classic, simple, no fuss metal days of bands such as 'American Head Charge' and 'Drowning Pool'. Impressive really in this day and age with everyone striving for a new sound. They make old school cool. Yet they still have an edge, keeping current and fresh. Fair enough they haven't got a highly technical edge but they are still thoroughly melodic and strong, with clear and seamless vocals, backed by memorable, fast paced guitars. A well oiled-machine grinding out those pounding rhythms.
I caught up with lead singer Matt after the show who told me that it was really good to be back here, especially in the place that he once taught. "It's good but strange, I walked through these doors every day for 4 years and then just stopped." On Stage he gushed to the crowd about how amazing the crowd were, adding after, "Tiverton is the place to gig, even better than Exeter!" And it's true, the crowd at this gig welcomed them back like heroes, singing along and moshing best they could. So it looks like the infamous Drive Chain are back for good, when asked about what's different now to how it was, Matt replied;
"There's not as much pressure anymore, it's much more relaxed, it's not like I'm turning up to the third practice in one week and thinking 'I have to look at your face again!'

As the crowd fell out the hall at the end of the gig, overall the consensus was that everyone had pretty outstanding night, the first of its kind in Tiverton's own TCAT, and not the last with hopefully a regular metal night to be hosted in the venue. Its community run, so all of the profits go back into the venue to improve the facilities and to get more decent entertainment in! So definitely keep your eyes peeled for more face melting metal coming Tiverton's way!

k.

Go check the Bands out!

Drive Chain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOZ6ZcCp-DM

Zoltar Speaks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTC8j84bmM

Friday 22 March 2013

Nail Foils

Nail Painting and decorating is something that women have been doing for hundred's of years and yet there is always a new trend around the corner, French manicure's, Heart tips, alternate colours, jewels and now nail foils have caught my eye although they are far from being new! I first noticed nail foils when I worked for Claire's Accessories, they were rather basic and un-imagenitive and also quite pricey, around £7. We never seemed to sell a whole lot of them, but why would you buy them when you could buy an amazing coloured nail varnish that was sparkly or magnetic and half the price?
No, when I first found the nail foil I wasn't particularly impressed, however recently I have been noticing them everywhere in all sorts of patterns and colours. Anything you can think of really and they're far from boring! I know there are lots of different types of nail foils about but these ones are really simple easy and work so well!
Having a general search on the internet I found these fabulous leopard print foils for 99p on Ebay and they arrived less than a week later. I was very spoilt for choice as there were thousands to chose from!They are easy on your pockets, quick to apply and leave you with amazing and trendy nails in a flash!
And I will show you how!

Step 1: Make sure your hands and nails are oil free and clean! Don't put any moisturizer or creams on your hands and then (even if you don't have nail varnish on, which you shouldn't to apply the foils) Rub nail varnish remover over the nail to make sure it is smooth and clear.

Step 2: Chose which foil best fits the nail your doing and cut it out of the pack! My nails are awkwardly thin and small so I have to cut into the foil a bit more to get the right fit, but they do provide you will good sizes!

Step 3: Put the foil in the nail and make sure everything fits and aligns, you have to be careful but with these foils you can keep removing them (peeling them back gently) and reapplying them if you need to cut them down to size anymore.

Step 4: When your happy with the shape and size, smooth down the foil making sure there are no creases or air bubbles! you will be left with a long bit of excess at the top (unless you have already trimmed it).

Step 5: Trim that top excess bit, leaving a small ledge to tuck under the nail and then file the top to create a smooth perfect line! And wa-la! funky, stylish nails quickly!


If you are worried about them peeling or chipping you can seal them to make them last a bit longer with a clear nail varnish, that's the only downside to them they can be damaged quite quickly! I use Sally Hansens Hard as Nails, because it also protects your nails!
At the moment i'm a little bit obsessed with painting my ring finger on both hands a complementary colour, as you can see, It's a new trend that has come in and I love it, it's just something quirky, fun and draws attentions to your nails!
So there you go! cheap, effective and easy, something were all looking for so definitely try these cool nail foils!


And I have even found you some good places to get your own!

Amazon has a wide range of reasonably priced, stylish nail foils starting at £1.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=me%3DANFYV56DHPFBH&field-keywords=nail+foils

This site has a wonderful range of all things nail including funky foils starting at £2.15
http://www.naildelights.com/foils-c-18.html

Although this is a fragrance site it has some amazing nail foils really cheap! check them out!
http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/make-up/nails/icat/nails

Have fun and get creating!

k.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

By Mark Haddon
The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time. First page and I was confused as It starts on chapter two. After making sure I hadn't bought a faulty book and that yes, the whole things starts on the second chapter, which is really the first chapter, I read on. The beginning of the book jumps around a lot, starting with you seemingly randomly being shown the dead dog from a young boy's point of view, then a page later goes on to tell you about the protagonist Christopher John Francis Boone who knows all the capital cities in the world and every prime number up to 7,507.
The style of writing is rather illogical and unemotional which completely throws you off because of the subject matter but as you read on you realize, This is perfectly normal for the young boy Christopher as this is how he processes things normally. What's normal for him may not necessarily be normal for others. And that's because he has Autism.
Now being exposed to autism and knowing of it in the past, reading this novel I realized that I was quite ignorant and this really opened my eyes to what it's really like and how people with autism really think and perceive things. And from then on the whole book becomes logical and is really a fascinating read! The character is written amazingly and really draws you into the book, he was not written to evoke sympathy but he really teaches you how life is really like for him.
The book takes you on a Journey with Christopher as he goes out of his comfort zone to try and logically solve the case of the murdered dog and learns a few hard to accept home truths along the way. Although its not written in an emotive style you definitely will feel an array of emotions that top of this remarkable book.
Its positively superb, funny yet bleak. Definitely give it a read and see what you think and what you can learn from it.

k.

Monday 18 March 2013

Keep your House Clean. Keep your Body Lean.


The dreaded housework. Hours slaving away to make your home clean and tidy. It's not really my idea of fun and sometimes it really does feel like a chore but it is actually rather useful in other ways than just keeping a lovely home. Exercise  Exercise is up there on my list of things I can't be bothered to do but I do anyway it often feels like a chore but recently I found out by cleaning your house you are actually killing two birds with one stone! (So to speak). It turns out that housework is a very rewarding form of exercise and you can burn an awful lot of calories this way and work on toning your body whilst you're at it!

House Work
Calories Burned on average
Laundry
73 calories
Making the bed
68 calories
Cooking
85 calories
Washing the dishes
78 calories
Ironing
78 calories
Hoovering
119 calories
Washing the floor
129 calories
Washing the windows
102 calories
Washing the car
102 calories


And those calories are burnt with very little movement! Turn on some music and get funky whilst cleaning, move more and you can burn twice as many calories! It all really does add up.
You can even burn more calories by doing things such as;

  •  Leaving the laundry basket on the floor so you have to keep bending over! (almost like standing crunches)
  •  Carrying things up the stairs one by one so you have to keep running up and down them.
  •  Use wax polish instead of spray polish, you'll have to work harder to rub it in.
  •  Clean out your cupboards, constantly reaching to the back.
  •  Moving the furniture about to hoover under things.
  •  Dusting all top shelves and high places to flatten that tummy.
Of course everybody is going to be different and lose the calories at a different rate but hopefully now you can see that it really is simple and effective. So there really is no excuse not to clean the house now! Pick up an apron, grab a cloth and start working on your clean house and lean body!

k.

Saturday 16 March 2013

Carbonara for Idiots.

Carbonara is one of my favourite meals, although I never used to make it myself. I always used to get it at restaurants or in a ready meal thinking it was too hard and expensive to make! Bit of a posh dish! And yes, carbonara for idiots, apt'ly named because if I can make it, you surely can! Now for those of you who don't know, carbonara is an incredibly yummy pasta dish with a creamy sauce made with bacon or ham, eggs and cream, Its simply amazing and thanks to a little secret cheat from Tesco (or probably any other supermarket, that's just where I buy it from) it's incredibly easy and cheap to make and that is coming from me! The girl who can burn water!

You will need:

  • 1 sachet of schwartz spaghetti carbonara (recipe mix) -90p
  • Bacon - £1.70
  • Mushrooms (any will do, I use button mushrooms) -75p
  • (3/4 pint) semi-skimmed milk -84p
  • Spaghetti. - 30p 

Step 1: First of all bring the spaghetti to the boil, the whole meal should be done by the time the spaghetti is cooked, it really is that quick! (Salt if needed)

Step 2: Fry the bacon until it's nice and crispy. It really doesn't particularly matter what bacon you get, I tend to go for the cheapest I can find in this dish, it's going to 
be diced up anyway! 

Step 3: Chop up the mushrooms and throw them in with the bacon to fry.

Step 4: Mix the carbonara sachet with the milk and then bring to the boil, (make sure you don't burn anything during this stage, it wouldn't be the first time I have.)

Step 5: Drain off the pasta and add to the sauce (sorry I haven't got a picture for this stage but if you don't know how to drain pasta, I would strongly advise not even trying this dish, for your own safety)

Step 6: Cut up the bacon and mix the bacon bits and mushrooms in 
with the spaghetti and sauce. Heat through for a few minutes altogether 
and you should be done! 

You can serve this dish however you like and with whatever you like! A few good tips would be to try adding or serving with chicken, use sausages in the mix too, Serve with cheese, mix and match with whatever you can find in your cupboards, the list is endless, it truly is a versatile dish. Traditionally carbonara is served with a red wine but since I'm not much of a drinker, I like this dish with 7up (classy I know). So hopefully now you can see how cheap and easy this dish really is, you will try it yourself! It's perfect for students, couples and families and takes less than 15 minutes to make! Happy cooking!

k.

Finished Carbonara.