Fitness Inspiration

It's officially Spring - whoo! Now that the sun should make an appearance more often, I've found myself planning so many things and feeling super inspired. One of the main things I've really been into is fitness - yoga, healthier breakfasts and jogging. I do quite a lot of sports at school and I enjoy them, but when the fitness block comes on, I find myself suddenly dreading PE lessons. For a while I'd had an issue with my stamina, after a bit of intense running my breathing would mess up and I'd start being physically sick. Luckily, I'm working on that and it's actually improving but I'd still rather use "softer" ways to improve my fitness instead.

YOGA
I am definitely the least flexible person in the world and I've started having problems with figure-skating because of it. I started off with a daily set of stretches, just a few to start with and then gradually adding more and more. After a few days, I really started to notice a difference in how tight my muscles felt and I'm so close to touching my toes! (That might sound lame but it's a major achievement for me)

I've now started looking into doing yoga maybe once a week as yoga's great for your flexibility but it's also good at reducing stress levels and letting you spend time to yourself.

BREAKFAST
I'm really not a morning person (it takes me about half an hour to get off my phone and out of bed) and also probably the pickiest breakfast-eater ever. If I find something I like to eat, I will stick to eating it for ages but it's almost always something unhealthy (a slice of toast slathered in Nutella, a big English breakfast, you get the drift). Obviously that isn't the best food choice, and seeing as all you ever get told about healthy eating is that breakfast is the most important and most energising meal you can have, I realised I needed to find a few alternatives.
My favourite breakfast at the moment is muesli with a few dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds store loads of energy and give it a really nice crunch and the dried fruit just give it an extra burst of energy.

PRETTINESS
Me being me, I just couldn't cope with maybe having a boring coloured yoga mat or anything, so I made a Pinterest board to inspire me. If, like me, you're motivated to get a bit fitter during the summer, go check it out here.

A few things I've got my eye on:
-Adidas trainers

-Nike leggings

-Anthropologie bowl (does this count?)

-The video I used for my stretches:

Stretches To Improve Flexibility - 8 Minute Basic Dance & Ballet Stretch Exercise Routine

-My favourite healthy food blog:
Deliciously Ella

So that was it for this post! Let me know in the comments if you liked it and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' to never miss a post!
Natalie xx

Polaroids

Hello there chums,
If you follow my Instagram (aztecnini), you'll know I have a bit of a thing with polaroid pictures. In fact, I've had one for a while but there was just never physical proof of my obsession. Recently, my friend came round my house, polaroid camera in tow, and there are no words to describe how excited I got. No words at all. I mean, I was running around with the camera in my hands, almost dropping it on the stairs and I just couldn't stop talking!

How they look up on the wall

Only a few of the photos we took turned out good enough for my high standards (*adjusts diamond tiara on royal head*) but of those that did, they were just so different to the ones I'd usually take on my phone or camera! I think because of how vintage and hipster they will automatically look in the whole polaroid layout, I wanted to take more in-the-moment, bad-lighting, laughing-at-how-stupid-we-looked photos and I'm glad I did.

The only thing that really annoys me about my love for polaroids is the price. An Instax Mini 8 camera (which is available in any of these cute pastel colours above) costs around £90, depending on what one you pick on Amazon. The company that makes these, Fujifilm, also has a polaroid-printer, which, when connected to your phone or computer, can print out any photo you pick in polaroid-format. This costs a whole wallet-murdering £129 and then there are the actual films you need - £14.45 for 20, but I think that overall it's worth the money you pay.

I'm still debating which one to ask for/buy but I'm sure I'll make a decision soon. I'm leaning towards the polaroid camera purely for its cuteness; which one do you think I should get?

 Natalie xx

 (I'm also going to start uploading on a schedule, every Sunday, so the upload dates won't be as random as they are now)

Cute Lil Drawings

As I said in my February favourites post, I've been drawing a few things recently so here's a collection of a few of my favourites. Hope you enjoy :)

Natalie xx

Love, Tanya | The Bookshelf #1

As many of you might know, Tanya Burr, a beauty Youtuber, released a book called Love, Tanya which is a mixture of beauty and fashion advice, baking, confidence and anxiety and an autobiography.

I pre-ordered it but had only just gotten round to reading it. Personally, I love the fact that Youtubers can accomplish so much from this one platform. I mean if you think about beauty gurus, there's Zoë with her beauty range and bestseller book, Michelle with her book, Bethany with her clothing and home line and then Tanya with this bestseller book - to name but a few. It's exciting and amazing and if they put their popularity to good use, they can really get the right message across to thousands more people.

But more about the book (that's what you're here for right?). The book itself looks amazing, it's a gorgeous hardback with some really nice glossy pictures of her on the front. It's a mixture of an autobiography, advice (from beauty and fashion to more serious topics like anxiety) and baking. Although, the beauty sections didn't really anything completely new to me, it's great for anyone completely new to makeup and helped to remind me of a few things I always forget.

The autobiographical bit, which was at the very start, was split into two chapters and they were quite detailed so by the end you really felt as if she was just a friend talking to you.

Throughout the book were small scrapbook-style 'do it yourself' sections where you could make a list (of people you admire, favourite recipes, etc.). Personally, I don't think I would actually do all of these; for fear of ruining the beautiful layout but also because I just couldn't ever think of anything.

My favourite chapter would probably be the baking chapter but it could equally be the confidence bit - there really are a few golden gems hidden in this book! If you can't decide whether to buy this or not, I'd say go for it! It covers so many topics that there's something for everyone and it really is a good buy.

Here are just a few photos of my favourite parts!

This month I'll be reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tart. It's a long 'un but we'll be able to finish it in time! What did you think of Love, Tanya? Tell me in the comments!

Natalie xx