May Update...

Hey lovelies, 

So this is my first post since January as I've been a busy little bee since then. I've worked lots, exercised lots and spent a lot of time with my friends and family and this has let to me neglecting my blog. How is it May already?! It's almost half way through 2015! So I'm back and I'm determined to write at least one post a week and rediscover my love for blogging.

Back in January my last post was about my new year goals and so as we are almost halfway through the year I figure it's a great time to see how much I've achieved so far. 2015 has been a very happy year for me so far and I wanted to share my progress with you all.

This is me in Paris doing a ''Marilyn'' after a gust of wind blew up my skirt, ha!

1) Run a Half Marathon this year: So, I haven't ran a half marathon yet but I've signed up to the Nottingham Half Marathon in September, I will be running to raise money for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research charity and if you would like to donate please click this link.... https://www.justgiving.com/Adele-Clifford My training is going pretty well so far, I've been running 3 times a week since January and I'm starting to feel much better for it!

2) Eat a Gluten Free Diet: Hmm well if we're being completely honest, this resolution hasn't gone so well. Giving up gluten is far more difficult than it sounds and much easier said than done. All my favourite foods just happen to have gluten in (pizza, bread, cake) and this is making it pretty difficult to stick to. I definitely eat less in the week but on weekends I end up falling off the wagon without fail. I've also become a vegetarian around 6 weeks ago so my focus has been more on that than going gluten free, but I'm determined to try and cut down on my gluten intake so if any of you guys have any good gluten free recipes or ideas for me to try please leave a comment below.

3) Sort out my spare room and garden: My friend of 9 years has recently moved into my spare room so I feel like this resolution has been achieved in one sense, it's been lovely having company in the house again and it's definitely helped my bank balance allow me to go on all sorts of adventures. The garden remains untouched but as the weather gets warmer this is going to be a focus in the summer. In the meantime, I'm spending a lot of time browsing Pinterest for ideas on how to make the most of a small outdoor space preferably with an Alice in Wonderland theme!

4) Be as happy as I possibly can: I feel like I'm absolutely smashing this resolution so far this year. I've been far happier in myself this year than the past several years and I owe a lot to my friends and family for that. I've been trying to give 100% in every thing I do this year and trying to make the most of every opportunity and I can safely say it's definitely paying off.

5) Travel More: So far in 2015, I've spent a weekend in Liverpool seeing friends and exploring a new city, weekends away in Leicester and Portsmouth visiting school friends and last weekend I went on a long weekend city break to Paris which was just incredible. I'm going to be posting a Paris themed post this week so watch out for that! I also have a holiday planned for the end of the month to Croatia for a week so 2015 has been filled with adventure so far and I feel like the more I travel the more adventure I'm going to crave.

So that's a round up of my resolutions and how I'm getting on so far (some clearly better than others,) but hey giving up pizza is probably one of the hardest things a person could give up in life! 2015 really is shaping up to be an incredible year so far and I have a feeling it's only going to get even better, especially by the fact that I'm going to see Taylor Swift in June (eeeeeeeek!) 

How is 2015 shaping up for you guys so far? Any summer plans?

Adele x

Belated New Year Goals....

Hey guys and a happy 2015 from Hellofreckleface! :)

I haven't blogged so far this year (it feels weird saying that!) I've been pretty busy with work recently and have been feeling a bit sluggish and unproductive. So I thought I would share my belated new year goals and how I've worked towards them so far to help kickstart my motivation.

1) Run a half marathon this year:

    After running the Great South Run last year which is a 10 mile run, my next challenge is to complete a half marathon. This is something which I never thought possible but I'm more determined than ever. So far this year I've been aiming to run at least twice a week, I now need to increase this to at least 3 times a week to improve my fitness and improve my chances at surviving a half marathon.

2) Eat a gluten-free diet:

    After trialling a gluten-free diet last year and noticing the improvement the diet had on my eczema and my health, I am determined to make more of an effort to try to stick to a gluten-free diet this year. I'll miss my bread and cakes however I'm looking for some satisfying gluten free alternatives. I've started this resolution this week by buying a healthy, gluten free food shop. If you guys have any good gluten free recipes then please feel free to share :)

3) Sort out my spare room and my garden:

    Since moving into my new house, I've been trying to make the place as homely as possible, I've not managed to get around to sorting out my spare room. This Spring, I would like to make my spare room cosy and comfortable for any friends/family staying over and to also make my garden covered in flowers and pretty. Thankfully I absolutely love homeware shopping, nowadays I even prefer it to clothes shopping (I'm growing old gracefully), so this will be a fun new years resolution.

4) Be as happy as I possibly can:

    After a pretty turbulent 2014, I am determined to make the most of everything I have this year and to try to see the positives in every situation. I'm incredibly grateful for what I have and I've decided to make the most of every opportunity presented to me.

5) Travel more:

    Last year, I didn't go abroad at all and I'm definitely starting to get itchy feet. So this year, I'm definitely going to travel more. I have a mini break with the girls in Paris planned for May and I'm also hoping to go island hopping in Croatia with another friend this year. I'd also like to explore more of the UK and my local area this year, especially by having picnics in the countryside when the weather is warmer. (A perfect excuse to buy a super cute picnic basket!)

What are your new years resolutions and have you been sticking to them so far?

Adele x

P.S: Here are some pics of what I've been up to lately......

Dancing with my pals on my birthday... :)

Cooking and eating my first attempt at homemade gluten-free pizza!

Using all my Christmas and Birthday Lush products!

Cuddling my beautiful bunnies!

Reasons to be happy this week!

Hey guys,

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, work and life have been keeping me busy but I've really missed blogging so I'm gonna get back in to it again. Life has been a bit up and down lately but I'm trying to focus on all the positives this week so I thought I would write some reasons to be happy this week in list form ( I LOVE LISTS!) 

(Back home so I get to cuddle this cutie!)

1) The weather: How gorgeous has the weather been in the UK this past couple of weeks?!? I'm a pastey ginger nut so I don't cope all that well in the sun, so I'm having to slap on the factor 50 but it's been so lovely to get outside, get some Vitamin D and chill in a beer garden with friends.

2) Girly nights: On Friday it's my friend Abi's birthday and we are going for a champagne breakfast with pancakes and lots of yumminess to celebrate, then we are gonna have a girly film day and we are off out again in the evening for cocktails, blissss. I just need to find something to wear now....any suggestions welcome...?

3) Pay day: Pay day will finally be here on Thursday and it couldn't come soon enough, I'm going to write a pay day wish list post soon for you guys to have a nosy at what I'm thinking of treating myself to on Thursday.

4) Home: I'm back at my parent's house at the moment for a few days and it's been lovely to catch up with friends and family back home. It's felt like a little break away from reality which is always good.

5) Lana Del Rey's new album: I've been listening to Lana's new album Ultraviolence a lot the past couple of days and I'm loving it so far, if you're already a massive fan of Lana like myself then you will absolutely love it, it's perfect listening for lazy summer days.

So what are you guys all happy about this week? Hope you all have a beautiful week and happy Monday!

Adele x

Liebster Award

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Emily from Pumpkin Emily Smiles. Thankyou :)

The Rules Are:

1. Post the award on your blog.

2. Thank the blogger who presented this award and link back to their blog. 

3. Write 11 random facts about yourself.

4. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask 11 for your nominees to answer.

5. Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and who have less than 1000 followers.

6. Let the nominees know you nominated them.

11 Random Facts About Me:

1) My favourite band is Paramore, I've loved them since I was about 16 and not just because Hayley is a fellow ginge (although that helps!)

2) I used to be in the air cadets and did some flying lessons and a gliding scholarship, so I guess you could call me a pilot (ha).

3) I'm a children's nurse and absolutely love my job, it's challenging at times but very rewarding.

4) My obsession with owls and owl-related things is getting a bit out of control, 75% of my Christmas presents last year were owl-related, I'm a crazy owl lady.

5)I'm going to see Pixies next month at Field Day in London and ridiculously excited.

6) The best day of my life so far was probably when I went to the Harry Potter Studios last year, taking a trip down Diagon Alley and drinking butterbeer was amazing and made me a bit emotional (ha!)

7) I'm a natural ginger and my red headed idols include Ginger Spice, Christina Hendricks and Florence Welch!

8) I used to play a little bit of the violin (badly), my dad used to describe it as sounding like a cat being strangled, lovely.

9) I was once on a Living TV ghost-hunting programme when I was younger and visited a ghost-hunting event at a castle, I looked very drenched from the rain and looked very freaked out! My TV debut...... (ha)

10) I'm a big kid and my favourite films are normally Disney, I'm absolutely obsessed with Frozen, especially Olaf the snowman!

11) I'm very new to the blogging world and started this blog just a month ago!

    Questions from Emily   

                         

1. What's your favorite anime or cartoon?

My favourite cartoon is probably Pokemon, it's now on Netflix and I'm loving reliving my youth.

2. What's your favorite type of music?

I honestly love a bit of everything from pop to folk, currently loving Haim.

3. If you could listen to a band or singer for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Hmmm for the rest of my life, it would probably have to be Paramore!

4. What's your favorite animal?

Dog, I miss my childhood doggy and can't wait to get another eventually.

5. What country would you like to visit?

Japan, hoping to visit Kyoto in the next couple of years.

6. If you could live in any country or city, where would you live?

Barcelona, I went there on holiday last year and it was just the most chilled out, beautiful place.

7. What's your favorite band or singer?

Paramore!

8. What's your favorite thing to do?

I'm probably at my happiest watching a film all cosy, normally with some good snacks or pudding!

9. What's your favorite day of the week?

Hmmm probably Sunday (if I'm off), I like having a lazy Sunday.

10. What's your favorite childhood TV show?

My favourite TV show as a kid was Sabrina The Teenage Witch, I absolutely loved it, especially Salem! I'd have loved a talking cat.

11. If you could take a picture of anything in the world, what or who would it be?

I'd love to visit Egypt and take a photograph of the pyramids, it would be incredible to see them.

Questions for my nominees

1) What is your favourite band/singer?

2) If you could only take 1 thing to a desert island, what would it be?

3) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

4) Do you have any pets?

5) What was the best day of your life so far?

6) Do you have any hobbies?

7) What is your favourite beauty brand?

8) Who is your idol?

9) What is your favourite movie?

10)  What is your party trick?

11) What inspired you to start a blog?


My Nominations

The Beauty Butterfly
Louise Robertson
TESSA JOY Beauty
Helen's Beauty Corner
Katie Thompson
Gemstone
Love, Lauren Marie
Pink Polka Dot and Popcorn

Emily Lavenders
The Sassy Blog
Sugar Makeup Doll


Adele x