Is Lilac the New Blush?

In Autumn I fell in love with the colour blush. I've always liked pink but never enough to buy pink clothing, so I felt that blush was the perfect colour to allow me to be just the right amount of girly. Now, when I like a colour I tend to become a bit obsessed. By Christmas I had a blush jumper, two crop tops and a velvet blush long sleeved top too. (I also became a bit obsessed with velvet... but thats another story!)

In the new year, I realised that I was bored of blush, as I had worn it so much. Thats when I discovered lilac. Since it's coming up to spring, I saw pastel colours coming into the shops and realised my love for them. After so much dark coloured clothing in the winter I think my mind was just looking for something to brighten up my life, as bright colours make me feel happy. Especially with all of the rain and dark evenings in Winter. I find the colour lilac really relaxing as for me its associated with lavender which I LOVE the smell of. 

So I thought I would give you guys a look at the lilac clothing I got for my birthday a few weeks ago, since I hunted everywhere for the perfect items and eventually found these!

I found that Topshop was amazing for lilac and had some really nice jumpers:

This first one looks pink but its actually a bright pink-purple colour which is really eye catching and lovely. Plus the inside of the sweatshirt is fluffy which makes it so comfortable and warm!

This next jumper is also really cosy and is perfect for the cold weather in England at this time of year.  Plus it looks really cute with light coloured denim jackets or jeans.

    

I love this piece because even though in this picture it looks quite casual, it could easily be worn with a pencil skirt or black trousers, and so is perfect for a smart casual style at college or work. Also, the ribbed effect makes the top really unique and the price is quite good for Toyshop.

Another item of clothing that I have wanted for a while is a cropped hoodie. I love cropped clothing because I feel that it looks so flattering with high waisted jeans, and its just something thats a bit different to usual. So I searched on the internet and eventually found my favourite one on Asos.

The band around the bottom of the jumper makes it not too baggy which looks really flattering. Plus its perfect for working out as its made of quite thin material. 

I hope that you enjoyed my post, and that its inspired you for the new season. Please leave any questions or suggestions for my next post below and let me know if you own anything lilac!

Thanks,

Hannah x

Best Healthy Porridge Recipes

I don't know about you, but i am absolutely OBSESSED with porridge! I love how its easy to make, healthy and yet still super tasty. So I thought I would share two of my own porridge recipes that I have created from trying so many of other people's porridge recipes over the last few months.

Banana and Peanut Butter Porridge

Ingredients:

40g of rolled oats

250ml of unsweetened almond milk

1 banana (cut into bitesize chunks)

1 Tbsp of nut butter (I mostly use peanut butter because I love it!)

1 Tbsp of honey

1 Tsp of chia seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Place the oats, almond milk, half of the banana, nut butter and chia seeds into a small-medium sized sauce pan. Set the heat on high.

2. Bring the mixture to boil, making sure you are stirring regularly.

3. Turn the heat down to low and let the porridge simmer.

4. Mix constantly for another 2/3 minutes. Until the liquid starts to reduce, and when you mix it you can see the base of the pan (as shown in the image) take it off the heat.

5. Pour the porridge into a bowl.

6. Drizzle the honey and scatter the remaining banana on top.

Cinnamon and Pear/Apple Porridge

Ingredients:

40g of rolled oats

250ml of unsweetened almond milk

1 apple or pear (stalk removed and cut into bite size pieces) 

1/2 Tsp of cinnamon
1 Tsp of chia seeds (optional)
A handful of raisin
1 Tbsp of greek yogurt
1 Tbsp of honey

Directions:
1. Place the oats, almond milk, apple/pear, cinnamon and chia seeds into a small-medium sized sauce pan.  Set the heat on high.

2. Bring the mixture to boil, making sure you are stirring regularly.

3. Turn the heat down to low and let the porridge simmer.

4. When the liquid starts to reduce, and when you mix it you can see the base of the pan (as shown in the image) take it off the heat.

5. Pour the porridge into a bowl.

6. Scatter the raisins on top and drizzle the honey. Then dollop the greek yogurt into the bowl.

I can guarantee you that both of these porridges taste amazing! And if you do not like any of the ingredients they can easily be removed or changed with a different alternative. Also I tend to drink a green tea whilst I eat my porridge and they go quite well together! Plus green tea has some great health benefits!

Please tell me if you tried the recipes out, or need any advice.

Thanks,

Hannah x

Motivation For February and Snack Help

Shockingly February is already upon us! Have you kept the resolutions that you made in the New year?

If so well done! Now you need to try and make your changes permanent and worthwhile !

If not then don't worry! Maybe try to adjust your goals so that they are more achievable, and then start again this month. It doesn't have to be New Year for you to change something in your life! You can make a change or start something new whenever you want! Simply write your goals somewhere that you will look everyday and try to stick to them! Just make sure that they are positive and achievable in your life. And if you have had a bad January there is still loads of time to turn this year around and make it your best year of your life so far!

For myself, I achieved my goal of not eating an dairy, crisps, sweets or chocolate in January! I did this to see whether it would clear my skin since I suffer from spots, and dairy is commonly a effects people with spots. From doing this my skin have cleared up a bit but I think that its from eating healthily rather than eating dairy, which is all of the encouragement that I need to continue being healthy. When it comes to crisps, sweets and chocolate I feel like my tastebuds have changed slightly and I no longer have cravings for them! Although, this might also be because of all of the healthier alternatives I have put into my diet. Every sunday I normally bake some kind of sweet treat like blueberry and coconut flapjacks or pancakes etc. But all of the recipes are vegan, and contain no where near the amount of sugar that processed foods do which means that all of my snacking is guilt free! 

Recently, I have started to love cooking again because I find it very relaxing and rewarding. Plus, it allows me to have a break when my week have been a bit chaotic, as I can just zone out completely.

A cook book that I have been loving recently is Eat Smart by Niomi Smart. All of the breakfasts and snacks are so tasty (even my mum who normally hates health foods likes them!). Also, apart from some optional health powders the ingredients are relatively easy source in your local supermarket!

All of the recipes are  quick and easy which is a bonus as I never have much free time.

If you are looking to snack more healthily I would really recommend buying the book! However, if you don't want to buy the book and need some snack inspiration here is one healthy and tasty snack that isn't from the book that I make quite often:

Peanut Butter and Apple

Now, do not judge this before you try it! I had heard about it for a while, but thought it sounded a bit strange so hadn't tried it. But I can tell you, if you like peanut butter you would love this! Plus it's really quick to make!

Directions:

1. cut up an apple.

2. On each slice spread the peanut butter.

3. Eat!

I hope that you enjoyed this post! Please leave any comments below about the post or recommendations for future posts!

Thanks,

Hannah x