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

Autumn

Hey lovelies..

I haven't posted in quite a while as I have been a busy bee recently but after reaching 100 followers on bloglovin, I decided to start posting regularly again as I miss writing lots.

So the past month or two has been really busy, I moved into my own little house, it's on a beautiful tree-lined street and it's a very cute little house. I've been loving finding little homes for all of my little trinkets and shopping for homeware is my new favourite hobby.

I've also become a bunny mama to two adorable little baby bunnies. I've named them after two of my favourite characters off Orange is the New Black: Miss Claudette and Suzanne (a.k.a Crazy Eyes!) They are both very naughty and playful and they are keeping me busy, my instagram feed has become a timeline of constant bunny updates (so if that's your kind of thing, click the link to follow!)

Now that the cold dark nights are upon us, I've also been watching a lot of Netflix! I watched the entire series of The Originals in a week, eek. I'm terrible for binge watching, I absolutely love getting all cosy on my new sofa with a cup of tea and getting stuck into a series. At the moment, I'm watching Homeland season 3 on Netflix and I'll recommend it to anyone who hasn't already watched it.

Life has been really rather good lately, I love the change in the seasons and this really is my favourite time of year. I thought I'd share with you a little list of the reasons why I love Autumn...

1) Autumn/Winter clothes: I absolutely love getting all wrapped up in cosy knitwear, cute coats, hats, scarves and winter boots! This time of year is also definitely kinder to my pastey, sunburn-prone ginger skin.

2) Bonfire night: This is one of my favourite events of the year, I love attending a local display, drinking a hot chocolate and getting excited like a little kid about the fireworks. It brings back memories of the excitement of bonfire night and how after the 5th November I was allowed to officially be excited for Christmas.

3) The X Factor: I'm absolutely loving watching the X Factor this year, I'm really glad that Simon and Cheryl are back and there's a lot of talent this year, I absolutely love Andrea and Chloe-Jasmine!

4) Cosy nights in: I love nights out with the girls but in the winter I'd much prefer ordering some yummy food, drinking wine and watching films with the girls in our onesies and not feeling guilty about missing out on nights out.

5) Seasonal drinks: A large percentage of my wages at this time of year will be spent on seasonal drinks from Costa and Starbucks, I absolutely love a gingerbread latte and a honeycomb hot chocolate and with the weather turning colder, there's no better excuse to indulge.

What are you guys loving the most about Autumn and do you have any good Netflix recommendations for all my cosy winter nights in?

Adele x

Pretty Autumn walks...

Absolutely loving munching on these every year...

Say hello to my two baby girls!

This Week I.....#1

Hey guys,

I've decided to start a little series of lifestyle posts about what I've been up to over the past 7 days as I know that these are the posts that I love reading the most on other lifestyle and beauty blogs. So here's a little round-up of what I've been up to this week.

This week I have been.....

Watching: Orange is the New Black

I'm a little bit behind everyone else but this weekend my friend Sophie and I had a Netflix binge and started watching Series 1 of OITNB. I have to say I'm hooked already. I love the fact that every episode focuses on a different character's back story and why they have ended up in prison and the witty dialogue and quirky characters have got me hooked! Give it a watch if you haven't already.

Eating: Bills

I'd heard of Bills in London and have been regularly perving at other bloggers' food porn on Instagram, so when a new Bills restaurant opened recently in Nottingham, I knew I had to try it out. I had a chicken and chorizo burger with avacado and skinny fries and it was so delicious I forgot to Instagram it before I tucked in, oops. I had just enough room to squeeze in a warm chocolate brownie with milk icecream and it was so good. I loved the sound of everything on the menu so I'll definitely be heading back there soon.

Listening: Banks

If you haven't already heard of Banks, Jillian Banks is a 26 year old singer-songwriter from LA. 

She came third in the BBC's Sound of 2014 list and she is on her way to major stardom. I absolutely love her RnB/electro sound combined with her very personal lyrics about relationships. Personal faves of mine include her acoustic cover of Aaliyah's ''Are You That Somebody?'' and recent single ''Brain''. Check her out and let me know what you think. 

Running: Race for Life 10k 

On Sunday, I ran my first ever 10k race and after a few months of training I was very happy with my time of 1hr 3 mins. It was for a great cause and my family and friends came down to cheer me on which definitely helped when I started to get a bit red faced, sweaty and tired. It was a brilliant experience and it was so lovely to see so many girls and women turning out to run for their loved ones that have been lost to cancer, it was an inspiration to me and I'm definitely going to be running again next year.

What have you guys been up to this past week?

Thanks for reading

Adele x

Home update...

Before....


Hey guys,

I haven't written for a few weeks and I've really missed blogging so I'm now officially back. I'm aiming to post more regularly from now on and I have lots of ideas for blog posts coming up soon. I've had a very rough few weeks which have been difficult for me but I'm now starting to come through the other side and I'm starting to feel much more positive.

I've been trying to keep busy recently and one project I've been working on is redecorating my bedroom. My bedroom walls were a shade of dark red and so the room never had much light and I found myself limited to homewares to suit the red walls. So I decided to lighten up my bedroom as this will make my bedroom a calmer, lighter place to be.

I decided to paint the walls a neutral shade and then incorperate colour with accessories and bedding. The shade I chose for the walls is Ivory White from the Dulux Once range. I painted all of the walls in this shade with a couple of coats and then focused on the accessories in the bedroom.

I then focused on accessories. Firstly,  this lovely new floral bedding is from the Range and cost £16 pounds. I love it because it's very Cath Kidston-esque but at a bargain price and it really brightens the room up. I then hung up some pictures and photographs of friends and family to brighten up the walls and inject some colour into the room.

I also treated myself to a Yankee Candle with a Vanilla Frosting fragrance. I love Yankee Candles and as I'm a fan of sweet smells this one is perfect for my new room. It was £13 from Asda.

I've still got a few things I'd like to add to the room, such as new cushions and I'd like to buy a new bedside table but for now I'm loving the result. I find it so much more relaxing and bright and my mood reflects this.

A vase I picked up from The Range, now I just need someone to buy me flowers....



Yankee Candle in Vanilla Frosting: £13 from Asda

Photos of friends and family...

I moved my chair by the window to create the perfect spot for reading.



This really does sum me up...

Any tips on what else to add to my bedroom? What are your favourite stores to shop for homewares?

Thanks for reading :)

Adele x





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

Bath Time Bliss......

Evening all.... I've just got back from a lovely, long weekend away in London and I decided to have a pamper night tonight in preparation for going back to work in the morning. After a weekend of festival fun at Field Day (Pixies blew my mind), I was ready to have a bath, read a book and drink a ridiculous amount of tea. So here's what I used during my pamper session.

Lush: You've Been Mangoed Bath Melt

This bath melt smells absolutely divine, it has a very fresh citrus scent and moisturised my skin beautifully. The scent lasted for my entire bath and it made my skin lovely and soft, I recommend Lush Bath Melts if your skin is dry and in need of moisture. 

Lush: Cupcake Fresh Face Mask

This face mask from Lush is great if you have oily/combination skin or spot prone skin. I have combination skin and find that this mask is a life saver when I'm having a skin crisis. It is quite thick to apply but you can add a little water to make it easier and I tend to leave it on for about 15 minutes whilst reading a book in the bath. As a self confessed chocoholic, I find the scent of this mask heavenly and it leaves my skin feeling brighter and much less oily. 

Soap and Glory: Butter Yourself Body Cream

After my mango bath melt, I decided to treat my dry skin even more and apply this body cream from Soap & Glory. I absolutely love this product because it absorbs really well, it isn't greasy at all and it leaves my skin feeling really soft. 

A perfect bath for me isn't just about the products you use but you also need a good book to help you forget life's daily stresses and a good soundtrack in the background. For me today the book I chose was Game of Thrones, which I'm finally getting round to reading after watching the TV series and my soundtrack was First Aid Kit's new album Stay Gold. I'm now feeling completely refreshed and ready to take on my first day back at work tomorrow (after some much needed caffeine in the morning!) 

Thanks for reading! What products do you guys recommend when you are pampering and treating yourself? Any recommendations? 

Adele x

How to boost your motivation to exercise

Muddy trainers after a very wet run!


Good morning and happy Wednesday :) This is my first health & fitness post and I'm fairly new to working out regularly so I thought I'd share tips that I learn as I continue my mission to get fit. I've been running regularly since February and I'm absolutely loving it, I've lost a stone since I started, I've toned up, it's boosted my confidence and I feel more energized and less stressed which is pretty good considering it's free! However, I'd be lying if I said that I don't have those days where I'd much prefer to switch off the alarm and get some more kip or the thought of making myself lace up my trainers and go out in the rain seems impossible, so I thought I'd share some tips on how I keep myself motivated.

• Take a friend: If you're anything like me, I find it pretty hard to keep myself going at times when I'm exercising; I start to make excuses or tell myself after 5 minutes that I've definitely done enough and can go and eat cake instead. So one thing I find that helps me is to arrange to work out with a friend. It helps because you won't want to cancel on them so even if you can't be bothered that day it'll spur you on, they will help to keep you going and it can just make the experience more fun. You could also sign up to a local exercise class to meet new people or if you enjoy running like me you could sign up to Park Run, an organisation that organises weekly runs at local parks all over the country so that you can run with other people which can help to boost your motivation. (Click the link to find an event in your local area.)

•  Set personal goals: Whether you sign yourself up for a race or event or if you have a weight loss goal in mind, setting personal goals big or small can help to boost your motivation as it gives you something to aim for. I definitely find that on the days when my motivation is seriously lacking if I think about the 10k run I've signed up for it pushes me into getting myself out there.

• Reward Yourself: Keep yourself motivated by rewarding yourself with little treats, whether it's that new dress you've been lusting after or whether you tell yourself that after you finish working out you're going to have a cup of tea and watch Made in Chelsea. I find that giving myself little treats afterwards helps me to keep going because I know that I've earned them.

• Make an exercise playlist: Music plays a huge part in how well I work out especially on the days when I have to run solo, a great playlist is vital! I use Spotify which is great because it's free (if you don't mind occasional ads) and you can compile your own playlists with tonnes of tracks to choose from. Personally, I find that listening to Paramore seems to make me run faster and for longer, so that's my playlist of choice at the moment. Listening to music just helps to make exercise more enjoyable and it makes the time seem to pass much more quickly so I'd recommend it to anyone.

•  Plan, Plan, Plan: Planning workouts definitely helps me to stay motivated and helps exercise to become a part of my routine. Some people prefer to work out early in the morning before work and others prefer an evening workout, so find what works for you and you'll be more likely to stick at it. Personally, I prefer a morning workout because I talk myself out of it by the evening and eat sweets instead!

•  Keep track of your progress: One thing that really spurs me on is to look back and see how much I've improved since I started out. There are lots of free apps and gadgets available to help you to do this such as the Nike+ app available at the App Store or on Google Play. It maps your runs, tracks distance and time and lets you know how many calories you've burned in each workout. I love this app because it notifies you when you have ran your fastest time or ran your furthest run which just helps to motivate me to keep improving.

Does anyone have any other tips on how to keep motivated? Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

Adele x