WLC - week 7

I have been a bit reluctant to post a weight update this week. I have lost a huge amount of weight since my last weigh-in and it has been due to stress. I start my new job tomorrow and nerves have really got to me, so my eating has been very up and down. My last weight was 69.6kg and I am now 67.8kg - a loss of 1.8kg which is almost 4lbs! I'm pretty sure I will gain some of it back next week.

This week's challenge is to share how you deal with cravings and how do you control yourself. Well, for me it depends. If I reeeally want something then I will have it but I try to be sensible and just have a little of it. If I want something but I know that it won't make me happy and will just end up making me feel really full and bloated then I keep busy until the feeling passes. I will get a big drink of squash or a cup of tea, or sometimes an apple or something. It has been a long time since I've had an all out feast on junk - these days I try to have treats in moderation. I also try to concentrate on the feeling of losing a couple of pounds and feeling amazing and I know that eating rubbish all day every day isn't going to help with that. Also if I have exercised that day then I may have a bigger tea than usual or pudding.

Katy Perry: figure envy!!

Found on The Skinny Runner

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Crowns & flowers (& a Pug)

Here are a few snaps of the makeup I had on today; nothing too fancy but I wanted to use liquid eyeliner and a little bit of eyeshadow so I kept everything else pretty simple. No lipstick for a change! I actually achieved symmetrical and neat flicks which doesn't happen very often - yay. I just used lipbalm on my lips (The Body Shop's Yes Yes Yes Oui Oui Oui which I love) and Benefit's Coralista for a bit of colour.

I'm having a "I like my brown hair" day but a "my teeth look huge in these photos" day instead - oh the joys of being a female! The last photo made me chuckle - check out my rather fetching hair clip! Today I'm definitely not patient enough for a fringe in my eyes.

:) Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation

:) Maybelline mineral concealer

:) Benefit 'Brow-zings' kit

:) Maybelline Line Definer eyeliner

:) Maybelline Shadow Express eyeshadow

:) Loreal Double Extension serum mascara

:) Benefit 'Coralista' blusher 

:) The Body Shop lipbalm 'Yes Yes Yes Oui Oui Oui'

The Maybelline Line Definer makes it so easy to do eyeliner - it doesn't dry up and the fine nib gives good control over the thickness of the line you can achieve. I reeally like this product. It's one of the free things I received at the Maybelline event last year but I would definitely purchase this myself.

I popped to the shops this morning for groceries and ended up in Topshop. I remembered that I still had a few pounds left on a gift card and I spotted this adorable gold crown ring which I snapped up. I also got this long floral cardigan from Primark - I can't get enough of florals at the moment. I thought it would look lovely with a plain vest underneath and skinny jeans. Bring on the warmer weather!

Lola wanted to say "hey". She was poorly last week but she is ok now. Back to her naughty self :)

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CLOSED - Giveaway!! - 4 prizes to be won :) (open internationally)

I'm approaching 800 followers which is awesome and I'd like to say a thank you to my current subscribers and to any potential new people! I'm holding a contest with a few different prizes instead of one big prize - I thought this would be the best way to say thanks because you get a better chance of winning :) I am lucky enough to get sent items to review and I don't have enough time in the day to use them all so I have been putting things to one side - I have also bought a couple of bits to add to the loot!

Prize number 1:

:) A bottle of the famous St Moriz tanning mousse

Prize number 2:

:) Naked 'Silky Smooth' shampoo with marshmallow & aloe

:) Aussie '3 Minute Miracle' Frizz Remedy treatment

Prize number 3:

:) Barbie for New Look false eyelashes

:) Cancer Research rubber ducky!

:) Cancer Research pedometer

Prize number 4:

:) Barbie for New Look face mask

:) Cancer Research nail file

:) Soap & Glory 'Hand Food' hand cream (travel size)

The rules are very simple but please read carefully:

1) For one entry you must be a subscriber of my blog and leave a comment saying "Pugs not drugs". If you don't say this then you won't be entered (bwahaha).

Please don't open up a new blog just for my contest as that won't be counted and it will make me cross. You need to be an active blogger whether it's in the makeup community or fashion, health, weight loss, whatevs :) I'd like the prizes to go to someone who blogs like I do!

2) For an additional entry please leave a seperate comment linking me to a blog post about my contest but this is totally not required - just do it if you fancy an extra chance of winning!

The contest is open until midnight on the 23 March 2010 (I just typed 2009 - oh dear) and I will pick the winners using random.org. The contest is open internationally.

If you aren't sure about anything just give me a shout on Twitter or email.

Good luck! xx

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Race for Life 2010

For those of you in the UK I'm sure you have heard of Race for Life which is an annual event for women to walk, jog or run 5k or 10k to raise money for Cancer Research. I plan to sign up this year for a 5k event for the first time ever - it will be the first time I've taken part in any kind of race since I did a 'fun run' when I was about 12 years old (I did quite well if I remember rightly).

Through the website you can find your nearest event, sign up, set up a fundraising page, find out where your money goes and also browse the online shop full of goodies.

Running is my weak point but I am determined to jog around the course (or at least most of it). Last night I officially began my jogging programme with my boyfriend as my trainer. I do feel sorry for him as he is quite good at jogging but when he's out with me it is pretty pants for him :) For my first session I did 60 seconds jogging and 90 seconds walking for about 2.2 km which I found hard but I did it which is the main thing! The 90 seconds of walking gave me enough time to get my breathing back to nearly normal. I'm not sure how the rest of the programme goes but I'm going to keep you updated with my progress. My main problem is that my asthma springs into action when I jog and I find it hard to take really deep breaths which sometimes turns into a panic attack if I don't keep it under control. I'm hoping this will improve over time!

I promise I'm not as terribly unfit as it sounds - but jogging is my weak point definitely!

I have kindly been sent some Cancer Research goodies which are fab - I'm going to include some of them in my next giveaway because I feel greedy keeping them all to myself!

Have you ever taken part in Race for Life?

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Monday summary

Hi everyone :) Monday again! Did you have a good weekend? Let me know what you got up to. I couldn't do anything yesterday due to the snow - my car doesn't do so well in the deep stuff - so I stayed in watching The City episodes and Yes Man. We also took the dogs for a long walk and then for tea I had my 'treat' for the week because I've been doing so well with my diet. I only had a small cheese pizza with a handful of chips but I honestly wish I'd had something else - I felt so ill afterwards I had to go for a lie down! :(

Here are my 5 good things:

1) Not having to get my roots done before starting a new job - oh the joys of a natural hair colour! I do however need a fringe trim though. My hair grows so fast - I can see this is going to be a fortnightly ritual!

2) Finding lots more cool blogs! Check out Tiny Sailor, Behind the Glass, Behind The Seams, Sarah xo, Daring, Darling, Delight! & Flattery - they are all really good reads!

3) Watching movies - this week I watched Paper Heart which was just lovely, and Solomon Kane at the cinema which I wasn't looking forward to but it was actually quite good - lots of fighting and blood and guts - one to take your boyfriend to!

4) Just Dance - this game for the Wii is so much fun and after doing 30 minutes yesterday my arm and back muscles ache today! It seems like a great way to exercise to me :) Have you played this?

5) Florals and looking forward to Spring and Summer. I usually love the Winter but the spell of heavy snow is making me long for the bright sun and dry ground!

Topshop website

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My style inspiration

The wonderful Gemma recently did a Style Inspiration post and I am going to share my inspirations with you all. My taste is quite casual so you may not agree with some of my choices but hey, we can't all like the same things! :)

All the photos I have used are from a Google image search. If I stole your picture and you're cross I'm sorry - just let me know! You can click on each collage to see a bigger view and get a good look at the outfits.

Feel free to do your own post and share your inspirations - I'd love to read them! Let me know in the comments box if you do your own.

Ashley Tisdale - I love her mix of casual style with fabulous accessories. Her collection of designer bags is stunning - I especially like the metallic bag on the right hand side of my collage. She still manages to look girly and feminine even in tough biker boots, but she also looks great in pretty dresses and flip flops or if she's dressed for the gym. Also she alternates between blonde and brown hair like moi and she looks great with both. I also love her sunglasses collection.

Zooey Deschanel - This is a total no brainer! I love Zooey D so of course I love her style. Usually seen in dresses, her vintage and girly style is fab whether it's in a lacy number or a floaty, silk dress. She also has lovely hair with a fringe that never looks out of place - how does she do that!?

Jennifer Aniston - She is so sophisticated and well groomed. I hope to be as glam when I'm in my 30s and 40s. I like how she can make a plain white t shirt with jeans look AMAZING and of course she has the most fabulous hair.

Alexa Chung - I almost didn't choose Alexa as I think she is far too thin, almost impossibly thin, and that isn't someone I can relate to. BUT, saying that, she does have really cool style so I had to include her. I love her casual, everyday style which can sometimes be quite granny-ish but who else can pull it off except Alexa ay! I love her best in a high waisted skirt with a cute top and some flat shoes.

Whitney Port - I prefer Whitney to Lauren as she's a little bit more colourful. I love her playsuit collection and the way she mixes different colours and patterns.

Ashley Olsen - Ashley is my favourite of the Olsen twins. My favourite look above is the centre picture with the geeky specs. A plain, dark outfit but it looks absolutely stunning! I love her collection of chunky rings and her huge designer handbags.

Nicole Richie - Of course Nicole has to make an appearance. She's my favourite celebrity ever and I've loved her style from the word go - yes even the Juicy tracksuits and long tatty hair extensions! I love her best in big sunnies, head scarves and anything floaty and summery. She looks amazing in maxi dresses especially!

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Paper Heart

Since watching Paper Heart the other night (twice because I loved it so much) I think I love Michael Cera...

♥

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WLC - update & apology!

I'm such a terrible Weight Loss Challenge member! I'm sorry Cat :( I haven't done a video in ages but I did speak to Cat to let her know why. I fell off the wagon! Well and truly! It started with my birthday and a huge meal out. Then a Chinese takeway popped up on the day of my actual birthday. Then THIS cake came into action and it would call my name from the fridge.. "Victoriaaaa, I taste so good". A slice of that was probably about 1000 calories and I would eat at least one slice a day until it was gone. But boy it was tasty. Then there was a weekend away with a delicious Indian takeaway feast and lots of bacon sandwiches. 

It's only in the past few days I have sprung back into action and I feel in the right frame of mind to lose weight again. At the start of the week I weighed 71.1 kg and as of today I weigh 69.6 so I've lost weight which is super! 1.5 kg to be precise which is like 3.3 lbs! I have done so by:

Cutting out snacking:

Drinking more - herbal tea, water, juice, etc:

Swapping semi-skimmed milk for skimmed:

Walking more:

Feeling inspired by slim folk:

And going forward I'm going to keep doing the same as above. I'm also going to fill up with veg instead of piling on the chips with my tea. I also want to try out my Wii dancing game which I reckon will be calorie-burning-tastic. When the weather gets better I'm going to head out into the countryside and find some nice walks to do and take the dogs. But at the moment it's just far too muddy!

I have also done some cooking this week. Last night I made just simple jacket potatoes with baked beans and a little bit of cheese, and the night before last I did sweet n sour turkey with noodles and some green beans on the side. Really simple and very tasty! I just chopped a red pepper, some onion, some turkey and added a packet of sauce. Tonight I'm making carrot & butternut squash soup with some bread & butter :)

I will update you again next week and hopefully the hard work will carry on paying off! :) If you're in the challenge too let me know how you're getting on. It's so tough trying to lose a few pounds. It sounds so easy to do but the temptation of yummy, calorie loaded food is so tempting sometimes!

Photos - www.weheartit.com

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Review: Benefit Bad Gal brown

I got this for my birthday and I thought I'd share my thoughts with you. This is a fairly new addition to Benefit and I first tried it out when I received a makeover at one of the Benefit counters last November (click HERE to read that post).

The wand is much smaller than the original Bad gal wand which I know some people struggle with (although I quite like it). And of course the colour is a lovely brown which I thought would compliment my brown eyes and new brown hair nicely.

As you can see it is a nice, subtle mascara which requires a couple of coats to get the desired look. I love the wand and find that it really seperates my lashes as it coats them and the wand doesn't get messy with excess mascara and clumpy bits.

I think this is a real winner and perfect if you have pale lashes but you don't want an extreme black lashed look. Without mascara on my eyelashes are virtually undetectable so this works great for me.

It retails at £15.50 so it's not cheap but I'm hoping I'll get a lot of use out of it :)

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Outfit of the day (Lola style)

Lola raided Lily's wardrobe to pinch a little pink t shirt which she is stylishly modelling for you guys. She was shivering when I took her outside so I thought she might like a little extra layer. The t shirt says "I heart my Mom" which I bought for Lily because she is a proper Mummy's girl :)

Here's a better picture of the design - so cute!

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Rehab

The other day I had a good rummage in my storage box, which houses all of my hair products, in the hopes of finding a heat protector spray or some serum, but all I could find was vast quantities of volumising mousse, spray and powder (a sample of which are in the photo below!) I have accumulated these products over time and when each one has failed to give me huge hair it has been relegated to the storage box. Why do I keep on buying the same products over and over again? Surely I should just settle for what nature intended?

Andrew Barton "I Love Volume" mousse - this left me with slightly sticky/tacky hair. It did give a slight lift at the roots but nothing drastic.

Lee Stafford DDouble Bblow mousse - this is my most recent purchase and it does give some lift but I can't get excited about it. I am going to give this another chance though because I may have been using too much (but the nozzle isn't working properly so it sprays out loads of product).

TRESemme 24 Hour Body - not much noticeable difference.

S Factor Body Booster - a little bit of a lift and no crispy feeling which is always a winner. This is the product I tend to reach for if I attempt a volumised look.

Lee Stafford Matt Fat powder - I do like this product. It gives a good messy look but can look awful if you use too much of it. Great for carrying round in your handbag.

I have decided to quit the quest for big hair and concentrate on getting shiny hair in good condition and concentrate on lots of deep conditioning treatments and serums. My friend gave me the last little bit of her Mark Hill De-Frizz Shine Serum which is great for getting shine and it's so diddy that it is perfect for on the go. It retails for just under £4 so it's not too pricey and Boots are always offering 3 for 2 offers on professional haircare which includes Mark Hill.

I also really like the S Factor Silky Smooth Moisture Serum which I have run out of but I definitely want to repurchase this when I can, however it's a little pricier than the Mark Hill stuff. This serum can turn anyones Worzel Gummige hair into silky soft tresses. And I really like the sound of THIS one. I'm also on the hunt for a decent protector spray for when I use straighteners.

I'm taking full advantage of going back to my natural hair colour and I'm giving my hair some well deserved rehab! Years and years of dying and blow drying can't be good for anyone, so on the days I have no plans I'm avoiding heat on my hair and letting my hair dry naturally. I also might try out an olive oil type treatment at some point this week.

How do you give your hair TLC?

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Hummingbird Cake

I recently made a huge and delicious cake using my Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook that my best friend got me for my birthday. I really recommend this cookbook if you like cakes and buns of any variety - it is packed full of recipes which all look and sound delicious! I have got my eye on the Marshmallow Cupcakes next.

Andrew and I decided to attempt the Hummingbird Cake which basically has the same principals of carrot cake but instead of carrots you use bananas, pineapple and walnuts. We wanted to do a triple layer like in the book but our first two layers turned out quite high so we stuck with two. We could have done another but it seriously would have been the highest cake ever.

It was surprisingly quite easy to make. We had to go shopping for some of the ingredients like the Bicarbonate of Soda and the pineapple and walnuts, but we had lots of the main ingredients already. We laid everything out on the work surface and then worked our way through the instructions which were really clear and easy to follow. The bananas had to be mashed but the pineapple and walnuts were kept as small pieces so they made the mixture chunky and more interesting!

We made the frosting from scratch using the Hummingbird cream cheese frosting recipe and used lashings of it to fill the middle of the cake and to decorate the outside. We had loads left over which we ate like small children and then felt a little overloaded on sugar. We used the leftover walnuts to decorate the top and then a light dusting of cinnamon powder finished it all off.

And here is the finished result!

It was so so delicious! It tasted better than anything I've ever bought from a shop and it was really moist and tasty. The mixture of the crunchy walnuts with the chunks of pineapple made it really interesting and the frosting tasted really good; much nicer than the ready-made stuff you can buy. We shared some of the cake with other people but we still had loads for ourselves which was great but not so good for the waistline. I would definitely make this again as it was yummy (and for a rubbish cook like me it was quite easy!)

Oh and here's the mess that Andrew made after he had whisked the icing sugar with the other ingredients. I had to clean this up! :( How did the tv remote get there!? I have no idea. The only downside to baking is the tidying up afterwards isn't it?

Grrrrr.

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Monday summary

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a good weekend. I was in Blackburn for the weekend and got back yesterday late afternoon then spent the evening watching chick flicks. We watched The Ugly Truth which I thought was kinda ok, and Failure to Launch which is one of my fave chick flicks. I didn't have time to blog all weekend so I've got lots to talk about this week.

Here are my 5 good things:

1) I got a fringe! :) At first I liked it, then I hated it, then I learnt how to style it and I like it again! I don't know how long it will last; my hair grows so fast that I will need it trimming soon no doubt! Or I may just let it grow. I haven't decided yet..

2) Parcels waiting for me at the post office. I love receiving parcels especially when I have no idea what they are! It's nice getting surprises. Being a blogger means that occasionally I get sent things to review which is great - just getting bills in the post the whole time is rubbish!

3) The huge cake we made is almost gone and there are no more treats left in the house so I feel more positive that I can stop being such a greedy guts! Plans for this week = lots of veg and fish. I am going to turn into a huge slice of cake if I'm not careful! You are what you eat as they say!

4) I got offered a job - woohoo!

5) Number 4 means I can start to plan my holidays for this year! Planning holidays is my favourite activity. I'm hoping to visit my sister in Gibralter at some point in the next few months then go away somewhere sunny with the bf in the Summer, and there has also been talk of a girlie holiday this year too.

Where are you going on holiday this year?

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In & Out

In

American Apparel are opening a new store in Leeds - wahey! I can get a good look at the clothes now instead of relying on the website. Also I really resent paying P&P (cheapskate).

Antiques. Ever since I visited a proper antiques shop at the weekend I have become obsessed with owning old things :) I really want some vintage typewriters although I have no idea where I would put them! In the future I would love to have a house with a study/library where I could display my vintage typewriters alongside all my books and a huge comfy chair for reading :)

Finding awesome blogs. I'm always finding new little treasures - here are some of my recent new reads: Life of a Twenty Something, oh emma, & Canned Fashion. If you are reading this and you're new let me know your blog link in the comments! I'd love to have a read.

Baking. I don't enjoy cooking but baking is something I can definitely get excited about. I recently made the Hummingbird cake from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook that my friend got me for my birthday and it was a-maz-ing! My next attempt is going to be marshmallow cupcakes! Yum. Actually baking isn't too hard as long as you have all the right ingredients and some scales to weigh everything out. It's just a case of getting the mixture right and decorating it to look pretty :)

Watching movies. This is always 'in' for me because I adore watching dvds and going to the cinema. Recently I re-watched He's Just Not That Into You and Girl Interrupted, and 500 Days of Summer is on constantly. At the cinema I last saw Sherlock Holmes and I'd like to go see Valentine's Day, The Princess & The Frog and The Book of Eli. My friend has lent me Marley & Me and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas on dvd but I'm not quite ready for the major crying fest.

Out

Missing blonde hair a little. You guys need to keep telling me I look better as a brunette! *fishes for compliments.* I think I'm struggling with the makeup change. As a blonde I could just stick some bronzer on and a little mascara and I was good to go but now I feel like I need a face transplant or something! Last time this was my regular hair colour I wore little to no makeup so it's certainly a challenge!

Uncertainty about the future. I'd love to be one of those people who have a career and life planned out but I tend to just take things as they come and occasionally I make silly choices. But they, that's life I guess! Everything happens for a reason.

Struggling with my weight loss and having a couple of seriously bad weeks - there was a flurry of birthdays and meals out/cake/alcohol/general face stuffing. I need to get back on track with the WLC but I fear I have fallen well and truly off the track. I'm hoping when I start my permanent job my routine will get back to normal and I won't have time for mid afternoon cake breaks. Temping and an odd routine isn't ideal especially for someone like me who is a creature of habit!

All photos - www.weheartit.com
Click HERE to see what I heart.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt

A little scruffy, a little geeky but gorgeous and super talented... I love him!

Enjoy...

Photos - google image search

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