MEMEME: 82 day catch up

Me in Espy bar, before hitting the beach (I love this weather! I was wearing bikini top and denim hotpants, on a Scottish beach in June! What the hell.  I'm loving this heatwave <3

Hey ladies! It has been a while for sure.  I cannot BELIEVE I haven't blogged in 82 days!! What started off as a couple weeks of break while I felt a bit uninspired, led into a holiday, which was then followed by Mike imposing a 'social media break' from 1 May for a calendar month (whaddya mean it's not the 1st June yet? Oopsie).  

I don't know how regular my posting will be, but I do know some things for sure, such as the direction I want to take my blog in.  I've never really been one for OOTD posts - I'm not really bothered by them on other blogs, and I always feel a tad uncomfortable and poserish when I get Mike to take blogging pics of me.  AND I NEVER LOOK GOOD WHYYYY.  I love reading (and writing) reviews, and I'm also beginning to realise I love lifestyle blogs, rather than just fashion/bblogging.   I've actually just unfollowed some (very famous) UK bbloggers, purely because I'm fed up of OOTD posts with not much integrity to them.  That coupled with the fact that they just make me want to go out and spend a fortune on MU/clothes/whatever (even though I'm currently supporting Mike through college and therefore don't have a shit ton of money) has left me feeling unsatisfied, both by feeling very consumerist/materialistic "OMG I MUST BUY THIS NOW" and also with my blogging skills or lack thereof.  So yes, back to blogging square 1.  Which is pretty exciting!

I went to Spain.  With my parents.  As much as I was dreading it (I mean, I love them to bits, but 10 days of nothing but your parents for company can seem a little daunting!), it was actually AWESOME.  We all agreed that it was like getting to know each other again, which was really nice! I did a lot of walks with my dad, catching up with my mum and sunbathing to the max :) 

View from the top of a mountain - I love where our Spanish villa is - surrounded by valleys and olive groves :)

Well, it wouldn't be a British blog post this week without mentioning the weather! It's been fantastic!! I just looked at my arms and I think I may be a tad burnt oops! Every break in my labwork as seen me chilling out in the grass by my workplace.  LOVE IT.  I wish it was like this all the time, which I suppose which is why Cali/Australia call to me so much.

Me soaking up some rays when I should be working ;)

I will leave you with this picture of my cat (by the way, don't leave Neurofen tablet strips out overnight, or you WILL end up with hefty vet bills but that's a story for another day!) and also some exciting news - remember my post from 29th January this year (can't believe I've been wanting it for this long)?  Well.. it's happening!! Woohoo

xxxx

MEMEME: Week in pictures

Resolutions: I will schedule my posts better! I will!

From top left: Pentland hills 1 and 2, feline love, poser Monday, OOTD Wednesday, pastel nails, new hair, lap cat, hooked on that book

HAIR: Tali and Ombré, finally united!

My hair and I are no strangers to the ombré concept. Nearly 2 years ago I went into a salon, asking for dipdyed ends and darker roots. The hairdresser basically refused, saying it would look like grown-out highlights and she didn't want to do it!!!! Ombré then became more and more popular, every picture taunting me of the hair I wasnt "allowed" to have!

 Just over a year ago I went to another salon (I had moved to Scotland by then) and asked for it again, showing pics of what I had in mind. I walked out with orange hair and one inch of dark roots!! The orange was kinda my fault, as the stylist had warned me that the warm brown I had previously had on my hair would pull warm. However, she pretty much gave me a reverse ombre - I maintain to this day that if she had only bleached the tips I could've pulled off the orangeness!!

 Anyway, I hope the above rumblings gave you some insight to my ombre longings! For the last few months Ive been torn between pastel and ombré.. Or pastel ombré for that matter!! I eventually decided that ombré would be kinder on my hair as I wouldn't constantly have to refresh the colour. And if I do want pastel I'm going to chalk my tips. 

 Now, I'm writing this down for the world to see: 

 TALI - STOP DYEING YOUR HAIR!!! 

I always go straight for the dye whenever I feel a little 
[down/insecure/unconfident/bored/dissatisfied] 
with myself and/or my life. I now want to leave my hair and just focus on its health - good products, limited heat styling, lots of biotin - and if I do feel any of the above, I'm going to do something that will actually help my life and not just try to "start afresh".

So, my hair!!

It started off like this:

With maaajor bad roots!!

The hairdresser backcombed my whole head: 

 LOL I looked half vogue, half scary monster

The stylist then coloured my roots/midsection to my natural colour (level 5), and bleached the ends.  The backcombing helped prevent there from being a visible line between light/dark

The finished piece:

Yep the duckface was a freebie haha (sorry I'm a poser)

The ombré won't photograph well on my iPhone grr, and my camera battery is dead.  But take my word for it - caramel dip dye and a warm level 5 for the rest! It's lovely and I feel much more like myself as a brunette again.

And the best part? No more roots, no more fadeage, just my natural hair growing back in, with caramel dipdye for added dimension! Woohoo :)

Let me know what you think!

FASHION: Current lusthaves

Hey! Here's some more stuff on my Shopstyle Favourites list (if you don't have a Shopstyle account already, why not?):

Topshop Unicorn Sweat £36 

I think Mike would seriously disown me if I ever bought this, but it's so damn cute!!

Nike Air Max Excel Mid Ladies (£39.99 at Sports Direct)

Not my usual thing to blog about, but as I do a lot of Zumba, and am about to start Booiaka, I need some trainers that won't embarrass me!!

All Saints Donore Skirt £250

Exquisite lambskin leather with a metallic sheen

Luckily for my bank balance, it's out of stock everywhere

Topshop Plain scoop neck vest in burnt orange £6

Cheap and very cheerful - I've actually never worn anything orange/red, even though it's a colour that's been 'in' for a good few years now!

Superdry Vintage bouquet dress, £44.99

It's just so damn cute! I love the pretty-girl-does-grunge kinda look, and this dress is perfect

Miss Selfridge Aztec print bodycon dress £28

I first noticed this on the Miss Selfridge Look Book a few months ago - it looks super flattering and cute 

MEMEME: Right Now

Had a nice week - up and down since my decrease in meds, but been busy which has been good! 

 Currently waiting for: Mike to finish cooking his speciality spaghetti bolognese! So hungry my tummy is rumbling! 

 Reading: Stephen King 11.22.63 - got to the stage now where I can't put it down! 

 Looking forward to: my hair appointment next weekend, getting rid of the red and going a bit caramelly/beachy. Watch this space! 

 Thinking about: my hair now! Haha. Gonna stop messing with it so much - want to stop dyeing it once i go back to an easier-to-maintain colour next week, and let it grow and be more natural. Also going to stop heat styling it so much. This means it's currently very curly!! 

 Today I: went for a nice walk in the Pentland Hills for an hour, and then had a relaxing arvo with aforementioned book :) bit strapped for catch (payday on Tuesday woo!) atm so was good to have a low cost day! Lusting after: these beauties from Republic - dip dye candy jeans at a mere £35. Come in 34" leg too which is perfect for me!

What have you all been up to this week?

LIFE: Food update

Hello and happy Sunday! I got up pretty early and now have the house to myself as Mike is at Ninjutsu.  Thought I'd give an update as to how my eating has been since my last food post.  

Basically I wasn't eating very mindfully, which kinda defeats the purpose of intuitive eating.  I would start to snack at like 9:30am at my desk, and that would continue all day! My life would consist of sugar highs and crashes, which resulted in me constantly struggling to keep my eyes open at work which is not good!

So, the changes I made were:

• Not taking any chocolate/cake/anything sweet to work, or money so that I could buy any
• Signing up for Graze (the nibble box cos it's full of gourmet yet healthy treats) - I have voucher codes if anybody still wants one
• Taking 2 portions of fruit with me to work - this week was an apple and two kiwis a day, which has resulted in me having 5 or more of my fruit/veg portions a day
• Drinking more water - I have always done the 8-a-day thing until recently, and have started to do the whole having 2 glasses instead of 1 whenever I'm thirsty
• This week I took a salad with me one day, Wednesday I think, and I really could tell the difference in my well being! I've decided I'm going to have salad every day from now on.
• Eating what I want at home - I want to stress, this is not me dieting at work, this is just purely for the sake of my energy levels. So I can eat intuitively at home, which normally consists of me having a few pieces of chocolate or some icecream when I get home from work.
• Getting Mike to stop dropping me off at my work entrance; instead he drops me off at a point where it takes about 20minutes for me to walk to work, so I get a nice refreshing bit of exercise first thing in the morning.

The changes I noticed were:

• Feeling FANTASTIC!!! My mood has been so good the last few week - I have bipolar so this is something I really have to look out for
• Energy levels maxxed up.  I feel alert and awake, no sugar peaks and crashes  
• My skin is better - looks so much more radiant, and my hair seems to be growing faster too! This is a bonus I didn't expect!
• I just generally feel cleaner, healthier and happier.  Can't really put the feeling into words, but I just feel so much nicer!!

Definitely going to keep up with this, not because I have to, but because I want to carry on feeling this good :) :)

Hope everyone's having fun at LFW!! Jealous much!

FASHION: Current lusthaves

It may have snowed (a little) this morning, but I'm completely over winter and thinking about my summer wardrobe.  There's so many things online that I am in love with - too many clothes not enough time..or money!  Anyway , here's a selection of my current favourites:

Topshop "knitted summer pastel jumper", £36
Perfect for spring with its cute pastel colours, but still warm enough to wear when it's a wee bit chilly!

Wildfox Couture "leopard spots slip top" £69

I can really imagine this being thrown over a bikini on the beach, or worn with denim cut-offs.  Ideal for summer!

Rare "pleat neck keyhole back dress" £47

Really wanting a tan right now, and of course white is the perfect accompaniment to glowy skin!

Topshop Boutique "fluro flower swing slip" £68

Even if 100% silk is dry clean only and therefore completely unpractical, this is absolutely gorgeous don't you think?!

Miss Selfridge "star and stripe denim short" £30

Ah yes, the aforementioned denim cut-offs :)

Givenchy "Le Prisme Visage Powder Bucolic Blossoms" £36.50

Is this not THE most beautiful thing you ever set eyes upon? I burn I perish! And there's only one left in stock at HoF............I rest my case.