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 

Lush Haul

I may or may not be just a bit obsessed with Lush right now. There's just something so relaxing about running the tap and then watching the explosion take place that I've constantly been having baths. Seeing as Lush had recently released their Valentine's Day products, I used it as an excuse to spend way more money than was needed and buy practically everything I could lay my hands on. (Jk, I didn't have that much money on me!)

I'm LOVING my storage tins, they're so vintage!

UNICORN HORN BUBBLE BAR  
Key Ingredients: lavender oil, ylang ylang oil
I'm pretty sure almost everyone on the internet has heard about this by now and that's because IT'S JUST TOO DAMN CUTE! This was the first thing I picked up and although it's not my favourite Lush smell, I'm sure the colours it'll give off in the bath will be amazing!

DRAGON EGG BATH BOMB
Key Ingredients: lemon oil, jasmine absolute, popping candy
When I smelt this, I just couldn't decide if I liked it - it's quite a strong citrus/lemon scent but I overheard one of the Lush employees describing it to another customer and I grabbed it. Although it's quite a slow fizzer (which annoys me to no end), the smell makes up for it. It was so so SO relaxing and reminded me of holidays to Spain and Italy.

BUTTERBALL BATH BOMB
 Key Ingredients: cocoa butter, ylang ylang oil
This is unlike other Lush bombs, in the sense that it doesn't explode in a load of different colours. It's quite similar to the bath melts as it has a very simple and subtle smell and seems so nourishing for your skin. This is smaller than the average bomb so was only about £2.

HONEY BEE BATH BOMB
 Key Ingredients: honey, sweet wild orange oil, rhassoul mud
I've been loving their products that smell like honey or toffee (Honey I Washed The Kids and It's Raining Men) so when I smelt this I knew I just had to get it. It's almost like a mixture of honey and caramel and smells UH-MAZING. 

IT'S RAINING MEN SHOWER GEL
  Key Ingredients: honey, sweet wild orange oil, tiger lily infusion
This basically smells like heaven in a bottle. At first I couldn't decided between this and the Valentine's day Prince Charming shower gel but amidst all the smells in the shop, this was the one I could liked best.

BUBBLE GUM & MINT JULIPS LIP SCRUB
  Key Ingredients: caster sugar, jojoba oil, flavouring
To be fair, I bough the Mint Julips one for my sister but boy am I planning on using that one too! Lush lip scrubs are amazing - they're basically a mixture of sugar and other stuff to exfoliate your lips but best of all they're EDIBLE. No need to say anymore.

My current favourite Lush shower gels - It's Raining Men and Hot Toddy

(DISCLAIMER: I am in no means showing off or bragging in any shape or form. I simply want to share with you the products I have enjoyed and maybe even guide you along your Lush-filled path. Also, I know this haul is slightly late as it's already been Valentine's day but I thought it wasn't too late to upload this!)

Have you got your hands on any of the new Lush goodies?
Natalie xx

Loving Yourself

I think that on a day like Valentine's Day, it's very easy to get caught up in the whole 'love your boyfriend / girlfriend' thing and that if you don't have one, or maybe even if you do, it's very hard to remember to love yourself first. I, as usual, was a #singlepringle this year and I really don't mind this (I am only 13 after all) but there are so many people I know that feel it's necessary to have a boyfriend / girlfriend to be worth something and that is the furthest from the truth you could possibly get. No-one needs somebody else to love them to feel confident, you're your own worst critic so if your worst critic, all self-doubt and worry will go away. At least that's my theory. Anyway, here are a few things I use to love myself more everyday.

1. TAKE A LITTLE SUGAR
It's often too easy to beat yourself up when you make a mistake, to punish yourself for not going to the gym, for forgetting that piece of homework or for missing that bus. Don't. When something goes wrong, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Look at what the worst possible outcome could be, look at how important this mistake really was - it's likely that it actually wasn't as important. Punishing yourself will never solve the problem, you'll only make it worse so be a bit sweeter and take a lil sugar.

2. SET YOURSELF ACHIEVABLE GOALS
This is something I do at the start of every month, and it really helps to get the right mindset and to start off the month all motivated. The key here is that they are achievable, that you feel as if you can easily complete them and avoid being disappointed with yourself but so that you are stretching yourself and improving. It's important to move forward so don't underestimate yourself but that being said, if you've never spoken a word of Spanish before don't expect yourself to be able to hold a long conversation with a fluent speaker within a month.

3. MAKE TIME FOR THE THINGS YOU LOVE
Sometimes, in this hectic and scheduled world we live in, it's very easy to get caught up in all the busy-ness and to start feeling very overwhelmed with all the deadlines and the meetings. This will lead to stress, anxiety and possibly even irritation, and we all know how horriblet it is to be around a grumpy person. When you plan the day's, or week's, work, set time aside for a little me-time. It's important to have a certain slot of time solely dedicated to you where you can relax and make sure you're completely happy every week, ideally every day. A little example I love using is the Sims 4 game - you can busy them with work, study and cleaning all you want but if their fun level's are too low, they start getting stressed and take their anger out on the world. When you do have a little me-time, I advise turning off all your devices or putting them on aeroplane mode so that they can't distract you. I love filling this time with baths, reading or watching a little Friends but it's all up to you really.

4. DO THINGS FOR YOURSELF, NOT OTHERS
I recently had a little dilemma in life: I really wanted to go out wearing the outfit I was but thought people would stare at me and laugh because not a lot of people wore stuff like that. In the end, I wore it anyway - my logic being that I enjoyed wearing it and that there was no real reason why anything else should be stopping me. I think that that's a really good lesson to have learnt, if you spend your whole life worrying about what others will think or doing things because you'll seem "cool" then you'll never do the things you love or anything which will benefit you. In the grand old scheme of things, who cares about what other people think of you? It's your life, not theirs, and you can do what you want with it.

5. HANG OUT WITH THE HAPPY PEOPLE
Okay, so that may sound a bit weird but hear me out (even though this technically isn't something you can do, it's still super super important). Surround yourself with people you love, people who love and understand you but most importantly people who support you. If everyone around you doesn't fully support your decision, then they're not the right people to be friends with. Everyone in your life should want the best for you and the more time you spend with people who make you happy, the longer you'll be happy for. Anyone who doesn't want to help you and your life isn't good enough for you, so just chuck them out, simple as.

All images courtesy of the Tumblr-world of course

Every single one of you is perfect, remember that.

Natalie xx

LISTEN WATCH DRINK

This month has mainly been about gettinga into my new routine, with all the changes my New Year's Resolutions brought but I've still made time to listen, watch and drink. (#titlereference)

LISTEN - I'm sure you've heard at least 1 person obsessing over Taylor Swift's 1989 and that's because it's just sooo good! Even if Taylor Swift's old music wasn't your cup of tea or you don't like her personality, just listen to it! It's completely different than her old music, it has a kind of 1980's-pop inspired vibe and I swear if every song was released as a single, they'd all be #1. (And if you're basing your opinion on Shake It Off, don't. It's probably one of the least good songs on the album, no offence Tay-tay.) My favourite songs would have to Wildest Dreams and I Know Places. 

WATCH - My TV watching habits haven't really changed that much (just constant reruns of Friends) but I've definitely been watching new types of youtube videos. For some reason, I've just really been digging vlogs - I just think they're so down to earth and relaxed. I've been watching Alfie's daily ones, Gabby's weekly ones and even Zoë's old ones but I've especially been loving Louis' ones. He's currently in New Zealand I think? and now I can't wait till I have the money to travel!

DRINK - As the snow began to fall a few nights back, I set the milk to boil for the best hot chocolate I have ever had. Although I've bought a lot of hot drinks at places like Starbucks lately, nothing has quite beat drinking homemade hot chocolate while cuddled up in a nice, cozy blanket.

What you'll need (for 1 mug): 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, 3 teaspoons sugar and an assortment of spices
1. Measure out the milk and set to boil
2. While you do this, mix the cocoa powder, sugar and a tiny bit of milk together. Keep adding the milk until there aren't any lumps left.
3. This bit is down to personal preference but add in about 1/2 a teaspoon of mixed spice or cloves.
4. Taste and adapt it according to preference and then add the boiled milk, stirring as you do.

(I know this may seem like a bit of a random first post so go check out my All About Me page.)

Natalie
Xx