3 Instagram Food Heroes

I'm not ashamed to say I'm a bit of an Instagram nerd (I know I'm not the only one, we're all addicted, aren't we).

My feed is mostly filled with insane looking healthy food, fitness inspiration (or fitspo...god, I hate that word) and, obviously, obviously, some hilarious cats for good measure. Amongst all the mire, there's three food-based accounts I've been absolutely loving recently, and they're three you definitely need to hit that follow button on now.

New In Food: Newcastle Special

This week has been all about food and new foodie places to try around Newcastle. There are some fantastic new restaurants, cafes, healthy food places popping up in and around town, so here's the lowdown on three new haunts on my food radar.

How to workout in Winter

Oh god. They’re here. And by ‘they’ I mean those dog sh*te dark mornings when you just want to stay wrapped up in your heavier tog duvet (yes, we’ve already upped the tog in prep for full-blown winter).

But, you know what they say - summer bodies are made in winter, so I’ve been thinking about how to make sure I stay motivated to train when it’s dark and cold outside and I’d far rather be eating crumble and custard than running.

So, with this in mind, I've pulled together a few tips to help make winter workouts a walk in the park.

Ullswater | Go Pro Video

So, we took a trip to the wonderful Lake District in September and took our Go Pro Hero4 along with us for the ride.

Here's a look at some of the best bits.

Getting my bride on at Charlotte Tilbury

So, as you may have seen me mention (once, twice or a million times - soz), I'm getting married next year! In nine months to be precise, which is a little scary but mega exciting.

I'm getting fully into the swing of prepping and planning (including a big ramp up in training), so when an invitation to have my make-up professionally done at the very shiny and new Charlotte Tilbury counter at Fenwick, Newcastle came through, I knew this would be an amazing opportunity to road-test a few things I had in mind (and also swoon over products I've been dying to try for months. Thank the sweet lord for bringing your brand to Newcastle, Charlotte).

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES

Simple; a round-up of the great and good from the last month including skincare and audio visual delights.

This Works Light Time Cleanse and Glow*
A new little saviour in my morning routine, this light and fresh cleanser from This Works is jam-packed full of vitamin C and other skin brightening loveliness which work a treat to banish that sleepy look first thing in the morning. I've been using this every other day over the past couple of weeks and have already seen a difference in my complexion. It also smells bloody great too, so makes having to get up on these darker autumnal mornings that bit more OK.

Slimming Solution Teatox - Evening Blend*
I'm really not one to jump on the detox tea bandwagon - I'm not utterly convinced by their whole ethos to be honest, as there are no quick fix solutions to weight loss or slimming. I do however, believe in a healthy eating plan and everything in moderation whatever your body goals are, which is more realistic in the long run IMHO. So even though and I'm bit anti-teatox, and I am very much pro-tea and have been enjoying this blend as part of my current way of eating and trying it out in the evening. It's packed with stomach-settling peppermint and liquorice root, and has a really calming overall scent so a perfect one to have just before bed. 

Broadly
I'm mad for YouTube and there are some incredible vloggers out there creating genuinely brilliant original content. However, Broadly a new women's only channel from Vice, is pretty much the only channel that's had my full attention over the last month or so. Each video is beautifully shot in a documentary style and the content covers a whole host of subjects and issues specifically targeted to women. Go and check it out to see for yourself - you won't be disappointed.

Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask

One product that's been on my beauty wishlist for a long time is this face mask from Antipodes, so when I saw that Fenwick had started stocking it, I picked one up to give it a whirl. And I have to say, it hasn't disappointed and has been another skin superhero recently, so big up to you, Antipodes. If you haven't heard of the NZ-based brand before, they produce natural skincare and make-up, with fully recyclable (and very well-designed) packaging to boot. The change in weather and mixture of heating/air-conditioning has made my skin incredibly dry and lathering this on a couple of times a week has been helping with that Autumnal hydration drought and given me back some much needed softness to my skin too.

Have you tried anything from Antipodes? What have been your favourite things from past month?

October Goals

Hello October, you gorgeous autumnal month you.

As always, the start of the month acts as a reboot for me and a chance to focus on things I want to achieve over the next four/five weeks.

With the festive season fast approaching, I’m wanting to really focus on my healthy eating and exercise, so overindulging towards the end of the year won’t feel so naughty if I do the right kind of prep now.

Without further a-do, here's what I've got planned this month.