Hello, 2015.

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Happy New Year, everyone, and a big hello to 2015!

I hope you all had a fantastic festive period and were able to ring in the new year in style! Personally, I ended up having a night in for one, as many of my friends have recently had babies and the other half was working, but to be honest, it wasn't nearly as bad as you might imagine! For a start, I spent my first New Year's Day in a lonnnng time without so much of a sniff of a hangover, but I'll talk more about that later. I also had the chance to indulge in a bit of pampering and spend some time reflecting on the year gone by, as well as what I hope to achieve in this brand new year,

Last year was a great one for me for many reasons, but the main one has got to be that it was the first year in the last six that I spent here in the UK with my family and friends. You may or may not remember, depending on how often you drop by, but I spent a long period living abroad, before finally moving home in the second half of 2013.  Other highlights of the last twelve months have included travelling to Paris and Ibiza, landing a new job and watching my best friend get married, as well as celebrating my sister's graduation, accepting an FHM Award and going on a few shorter trips to the likes of Brighton, Manchester and London. 

But with 2015 now upon us, it's out with the old and in with the new, as they say, and time to make a few resolutions for the year ahead. Although they are the sort of things that tend to be broken before January draws to a close, I fully intend to follow through on my promises to myself this year, as I have been trying to get some of them done for months now, to no avail. So now it's time for a fresh start, and what better time to get motivated than on the first day of a new year? Without further ado, my new year's resolutions for 2015 are:

1. Resume blogging! 

Well, looks like we're off to a promising start on at least one of these, but this is something I have been desperate to do for some while It's not that I ever 'stopped', per se - at least, not intentionally. But with a broken computer (jammed keyboard and viruses a-plenty), there was little I could do, and without the use of a functioning camera to boot, things became difficult to say the least. I actually spent part of my evening last night installing a brand, spanking new keyboard (who needs a man to do their DIY? Smug.), and also picked myself up a new camera in the sales. So, I'm fully equipped and ready to go, and I couldn't be more thrilled! 

2. Lose a few lbs

This is one that has been attempted several times since last April, but alas, I have failed. It's not that I've got a lot to lose, but a good 10lbs had slowly crept on since moving back to the UK, and while I would normally have been able to lose it without too much trouble thanks to being a fan of healthy eating by nature, this time, it simply hasn't shifted. Within the next few days, I aim to see the nurse in order to change my pill, and also get a blood test to ensure that my thyroid is functioning properly, because it certainly seems that something is different. Either way, something needs to be done, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on my progress.

3. Add weights and yoga into to my exercise regime

That is, after upping my exercise sessions in general. I'm a member of a local gym, but I'd like to make the effort to go more consistently, as I tend to go through peaks and troughs. When I'm trying to lose weight, I go religiously, but because I wasn't getting anywhere in that department, I'd often lose my motivation and end up going less than usual for a while. I've been meaning to add in yoga for a while, as I'm quite a stressy type and am sure it would benefit me, but so far, I haven't found the time. This year, I will, and I'll also be adding more weights into my regime in order to build muscle, as this will help me to achieve my goals.

So, those are my three ongoing goals for the year, but I also plan to start (and finish!) a new course, save more money, learn some new skills, travel to Venice and Cuba and read at least two books a month.

I'll leave it there for now, but I'd love to hear about your new year's resolutions in the comments below. In the meantime, wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

xx

Sunday Catch-Up

Hello everyone, hope you're all out enjoying the lovely sunshine this weekend and making the most of it. Judging by the various Facebook, Instagram and Twitter snaps I've seen that does seem to be the case, and it'd be rude not to really considering there is no telling when the next spell of sunshine might be!

It's still pretty boiling over here in Brazil, in spite of the fact that it's meant to be winter. It's kind of like the UK weather, but in reverse, as when it's ridiculously hot all the time, all you want is a nice cloudy or rainy day so that you can cool off a bit, but much like the illusive UK sunshine, it rarely happens!

I would really love to be back home at the moment, as I just adore the atmosphere of s good sunny day in England. It seems to put everyone in such a good mood, and there is nothing better than sitting in the garden, sipping a Pimms and lemonade, with the smell of barbecues wafting overhead and the faint sound of a lawn mower in the background, haha.

But anyway, speaking of home, this brings me onto my good news! It's been a pretty epic week this week for me, as as well as having a lovely little trip away which inevitably involved some shopping, eating and beaching, we also got some really good news! Basically, we have got the go-ahead to move home at the end of July, and I couldn't be happier! I know I've already mentioned on here that I was going to be moving home in the summer, but since then a spanner had been thrown into the works, which was going to make it a lot more expensive as well prolonging our time here by a few months. Well, thankfully that is no longer an issue, and with the end of July being just eight weeks away it feels like the end is finally in sight! I will be finishing my job for good in four weeks, at the end of June, so after that it will be all about getting ourselves sorted and ready to go! I'm thrilled that we're going to back in time to (hopefully) enjoy a bit of summer - or, at least that we won't be arriving in the dead of winter, which would probably be a bit of a shock to the system seeing as we are pretty acclimatised with the weather over here. Hey, we might even be able to squeeze in a late summer festival, which would frankly be awesome, as I've really missed going to them over the past couple of years.

Anyway, onto the rest of this week's goings-on. We travelled to Vitoria, which is the state capital, to spend a couple of days there, and it would have been rude not to pop into the shopping mall while there and pick up a couple of bits. I didn't get much, but I did pick up a few things, so watch this space for a mini-haul video, which I'll probably be posting on Tuesday or Wednesday. I did pick up a couple of new books, too, which I've just realised I forgot to include in the video (I've already filmed it) - Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, and Eighty Days Blue, by Vina Jackson. I've actually just noticed that the latter is the sequel to another book, which I haven't read - bit of a fail, but hopefully it'll be worth a read anyway!

On the Tuesday night, we were out celebrating our good news, and we went to a new Asian restaurant/bar called Taj. The food was absolutely phenomenal - I had grilled duck in a tamarind sauce, which was served with jasmine rice, oriental veggies and a yummy apple chutney, and the hubby went for a seafood Pad Thai, which was also amazing. Of course, it was only fair that we washed those down with a couple of cocktails, and I went for a sake cocktail with apple and ginger, followed by a couple of pineapple mojitos - sooo good. I wore my new Zara dress, which you can just about see in the top right-hand image - the top part is sheer, with monochrome stripes, and the skirt is faux (I assume) leather body con. I'm sure you'll get to see it in all it's glory before too long, anyway!

This weekend, the hubby is hard at work, so it's a bit of an uneventful one. I'm planning on spending the rest of the day taking some photos for upcoming blog posts, sorting out some paperwork for work tomorrow (fun) and relaxing in my hammock with one of my new books.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

xx