Friday, 15 May 2015

Learning about sports supplements, health and fitness

On Sunday, myself and fellow blogger Jennie from Life Styled by Jennie, made our way down to Predator Nutrition in Leeds for an exciting drop-in event. The event was to highlight the launch of a new BSN fitness nutrition product, and to celebrate it all the store had invited two well-respected fitness celebrities.  
 
Local fitness profile and Ms Bikini Tall Miami Pro Carly Tierney welcomed us by the door with a couple of product samples; a pre workout NO Xplode drink with dragon fruit flavour, and the new salted caramel Syntha-6 Edge protein shake.

Once inside, Jennie and I had a browse around and inspected all the weird and wonderful supplements and diet products. None of us have really used sports supplements before, so it was really interesting seeing what there was. 

We also got the chance to have a little photo and Q&A session with James “Flex” Lewis – a famous bodybuilder and champion of a high number of bodybuilding contests in both Europe and USA. And oh my, he was big! Even the muscles in his hands were so pumped up that it was difficult to shake his hand!
He was just one big muscle machine! And no wonder – apparently he started bodybuilding when he was only a teenager. 

We were asked if we wanted to take the #TrueMass challenge – a challenge where you have to hold two large bags of protein powder weighing approximately 5 kilos each at shoulder height for as long as possible. And of course we did! We were the first (and possibly the only) girls taking the challenge during the event. I obviously wanted to show Flex who was boss, and flexed my muscles for 1 minute and 11 seconds. Haha! Him and his team gave me some compliments on my “guns” though. I know I have quite big arms for a girl, and I’ve been working them even harder in the last few days!

I got so inspired by all the muscly people at the event that I’ve exercised every day this week so far;
Monday: 50 minutes powerwalk
Tuesday: 50 minutes powerwalk, 45 minutes fat burning body weight training & 15 minutes abs
Wednesday: 35 minutes power walk, 60 minutes Zumba
Thursday: 30 minutes HIIT circuit training

We’ll see how long I’ll be able to keep it up for… I just wish I had a gym buddy to go with, so that I could stay proper motivated!
Flex, do you fancy a gym session with me? ;) I’d actually love to learn some more about bodybuilding, and wouldn’t mind a challenge.

I’ve even clicked home some new fitness fashion from an online store, which I will show you in an upcoming post. Wearing nice gym clothes makes me feel more confident when working out, and it’s a great motivator.

BSN were nice enough to send us home with a great goodiebag, including several samples of their new supplement shakes, as well as gym gear such as a shaker, headphones and a gym top. I was wearing mine to the gym last night, and I did indeed feel strong ;)

Thank you so much to Predator Nutrition for inviting me to the event.
If you're curious about learning more about the event you can read Predator Nutrition's article about the day and the celebrities.

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Premium Designer Trend Showcase at Harvey Nichols

A couple of weeks ago Harvey Nichols had organised an invitation only event in their Leeds store in Victoria Quarter, where their top buyers showed the latest spring and summer outfits in a Trend Showcase. 
The brands featured were premium designer brands such as Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana, and as well as seeing these gorgeous outfits being modelled on the catwalk, the Harvey Nichols buyers were talking us through them in detail, item by item.


Myself, Kristina from Mode of Style, and Dash from Mode Lily had been invited as VIP bloggers, and were welcomed to the store's newly refurbished second floor with a glass of bubbly. 
Before the Trend Showcase started we had a walk around to browse the various designer brands that Harvey Nichols store, such as Michael Kors, Burberry, and many more.


We also got to enjoy some lovely canapés - both savoury and sweet.
The macaroons were absolutely divine! 

We sat down for the show, and the first outfit shown was this gorgeous black and white jumpsuit from Lanvin. Harvey Nichols' buyer Anita Barr said that a jumpsuit is one of the best investments you can make this year, as the 70's style is the key trend for the summer. This will continue into the autumn and winter as well, and you can easily pair a jumpsuit with boots and a blazer for the colder months as well, which will result in a more dramatic look.


In fact, the majority of outfits shown at the Harvey Nichols Trend Showcase had some sort of inspiration from the 1970's, but with a more glamorous twist. 
Anita Barr informed us that we'll be seeing a lot of typical 70's influences this year, including flared bootcut jeans and trousers, suede accessories and fringed detailing.


Colour clashing is another popular trend at the moment, and we saw some really lovely and vibrant fashion pieces being showcased. 
I don't think I'm quite bold enough for this style yet!


New for Harvey Nichols is the Victoria Beckham mainline which Anita Barr predicts will go down very well with the customers. 

It was a really interesting showcase, and even though these brands are way out of my budget it was great learning about the upcoming trends for the remainder of the year. 
The 70's style is one I could really adapt to as I love the slightly bohemian inspired look.

Thank you so much to Harvey Nichols for having us. It was a fab evening!

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

8 sure signs that you've got that Spring feeling

Isn't this the best time of the year?! :D
The warmer weather makes me ridiculously happy, so much that I'm always documenting the first signs of spring. Well, spring has been here for a while now, but it's only in the last week or so that we've had a proper heat wave. I'm almost feeling ready for summer already, and here are 8 sure signs that we're going in the right direction for warmer weather.

Ray Ban 3025 Aviator Matte Gold 11217
Sunglasses
One of the first things you notice with spring is that people get their shades out. I love a good pair of classic aviator style Ray Bans, and these gorgeous mirrored blue sunglasses is my new investment this year, from Sunglasses Shop
Bring on Beach 2015!

turquoise jewellery
Blue and turquoise accessories
You also know that summer is on the way when people start wearing light blue and turquoise accessories. This is such a typical hue for summer, possibly because it reminds people of the sea. The colour also really brings out  and compliments your tan (once you've got one!).

fishtail braid
Messy braids
Who hasn't ever envied Blake Lively's famous fishtail braid from a few years ago? The messy braids become extremely popular when the sun comes out. They just scream summer, and they work as the perfect do for a day out or on the beach. I'm pairing mine with turquoise earrings for that extra summery feeling.

coral sandals
Coral
Another popular spring colour that keeps coming back year after year is coral. This year's investment in this colour is a pair of gold detail sandals from House of Fraser. Super comfy! I can predict these coming with me on every holiday in the next couple of years!
Oh, and the fact that my toes are out, and no longer locked in a pair of awful winter boots, must be the best spring sing of them all!

iFlorist bouquet
Fresh cut flowers
Not really fashion related, unless you wear them in your hair, but one thing I've noticed that I do more when the sun comes out is that I keep fresh cut flowers in the house. This gorgeous bouquet with pink roses and lilies is from iFlorist, and it just smells divine!

pastel nail polish
Pastels
Those darker colours are replaced by lighter pastels when it comes to both your clothes, accessories, and your nail polish! 
My nail polish collection of the season is currently looking like this! 

marble nail art
Nail polish
And my nails are looking like this at the moment! I used a white base with 2 different pastel polishes; lilac and mint. With the help of some scrunched up plastic foil I've created a marbled look - perfect for spring! I've spiced it up with some tiny silver studs.

boho watch
Bohemian vibe
 Just like coral and turquoise are two colours that come back every spring, so does the bohemian style. It's one of those classic styles that people tend to love to embrace for the festival season, and you'll see them wearing big flowing maxi skirts, fringe bags, random head gear, and of course bohemian inspired jewellery. I've got a couple of boho style watches, which I absolutely love. The new one for this year is this white one, which was an ebay find.

What are your typical signs for spring, and what gets you in the mood for summer?