Ambitions for 2015

Happy new year to you all! I hope you had a wonderful and food filled Christmas. I did any way, but we're not going to talk about that... I know it's been a while since I've posted but I'm still in a bit of a rut in terms of blogging. But I thought I'd make the effort this year to try and remember why I got into it.

Well to begin, I survived the Next sale. It was actually the calmest sale I've ever experienced. Now, it was busy and there was a continuous flow of people, but they were all generally quite pleasant, helpful and chatty. And as an added bonus, no ambulances were called this year (yes I know, but it happens). I've also started a small internship in a wedding shop! It's something I've always wanted to do and it's actually something I'm considering as a potential career. I've always wanted to work in a magazine so I would strongly consider one that specialises in bridal wear and weddings. I had my first day last Monday and it's amazing how much I learned in the 7 hours. I dressed three bridal parties who were looking for bridesmaids dresses. They were all so lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of finding a dress that all bridesmaids agreed on, including the bride of course. 

Things I would like to achieve in 2015

Well for one, I'm back on the weight watchers programme. And it's something I've actually quite looked forward to over the last few weeks. So yes, in 2015, I would like to do really well in terms of weight loss and having a healthier lifestyle. I even bought myself some new gym gear to motivate myself and to help me get excited about going back to zumba.

As a few of you will know, I'm taking a year out this year to work and what not. But I don't just want to spend the year solely working and doing nothing else. I've set a goal to go over to London and spend quality time with my cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. I've been loads of times because my parents are both from Camden town, but I've never actually seen the city for real. Like, I'd love to do all the touristy things too. I'd also love to visit my best friend in Germany so I'm going to try and save up for that to hopefully go over in April. I just want to make the most of this year, especially considering that my boyfriend has just left to spend 5 months studying in America, so I don't want to spend my time moping about feeling sorry for myself!

Another thing that I'd like to focus on again is fashion illustration. Last year, you'd walk into my room and it's all I would be doing. And I miss it. So that is something I'm going to promise myself that I'll do because I love it. 

And lastly, I want to start really getting back into blogging. I was looking through my home page the last day and it's been a while since I've done any fashion or beauty posts so I'm going to whip up a few of them. They've all been mainly lifestyle but you guys seem to really enjoy them too. But yes, there will be a flow of posts from here soon!

Well that's all for this little update post. I hope that all your goals for 2015 are off to a good start and if yours are similar to mine, let me know how they're going!

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Why Did I Choose the Weight Watchers Programme?

Welcome back everyone! Since publishing my last post, I've been getting a million questions about the programme, how it works and why I chose to start. I know that I've been posting a lot about this topic lately but it's been getting such a huge response and you all seem to like the personal side of it! So here we go.

First of all, those of you who are familiar with WW know that a while back it was done with something used Pro Points. Basically, you were allowed 49 points a week. Each food is pointed so if you were to exceed over the limit, you would not be following the programme. For example, a bottle of red wine is 19 points so if you were to have the casual vino once a week, you would have to automatically deduct 19 from your 49 points. As of recently, they have introduced this new programme called Simple Start. For me, the thought of pointing, weighing and watching everything that I would eat was kind of a daunting prospect, but the Simple Start programme is amazing. It's a little book filled with foods you can eat, treats you can have and how to build your meals. There's no weighing or pro pointing involved. And there are so many foods on the list! I love the Simple Start programme and as long as you stick to it, it will work!

Now, why did I choose to start? Like most ladies my age, I'm on the pill. So once every 6 months, I have to go back to my doctor just for a check up to make sure I'm not suffering form any side affects, high blood pressure, etc. I went on holiday in June and was due for another check up at the end of July. Getting weighed is apart of the check up and when I stepped up on those scales, for the first time ever I did not like the number that stared back at me. I've never been slim but I remember the feeling so well after I stepped off of those scales. I felt like complete crap. At that moment, something in me sparked. 

I always say to anyone whose thinking of dieting, if you can't do it for yourself then who can you do it for? All our mothers always tell us we should watch what we eat and our best friends will always reassure us that we're perfect just as we are. And to a certain extent that is true. But it gets to a point where you have to say "that's enough" and that is where I was in July. I was never able to stick with dieting in the past because I was never actually doing it for myself. I would always do it in reaction to something like my Mum telling me I shouldn't eat so much pizza or seeing how amazing some girls would look in their tiny, figure hugging dresses. The motivation goes after a couple of weeks and then you're just back where you started. 

You need to learn to love yourself enough to be able to say, I want my body to be well and healthy. That doesn't mean you can't treat yourself! I usually save my treats for the weekend. It might be going out for dinner or going to the cinema. But those small things will keep you going! 

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Weight Watchers Update No.3

Okay, Okay. I know it's been well over a month since I last posted but I needed to get some perspective. You know? Sometimes we need to take a step back from the things we love to realise what made us love it in the first place. But, I'm here. And back with a biggie! Well for me at least.

Obviously this is the third post of my weight watchers series and I'm rather excited about it. On October 23rd, I was officially down my first stone and two pounds into my next one! Honestly, I went into the weigh in thinking I had lost nothing. I had a bit of a "ron de vous" with pizza over the weekend followed by some damn good popcorn! Pizza has always been and forever will be my sworn nemesis! BUT ENOUGH ABOUT PIZZA!

Needless to say I was over the moon when my truly wonderful WW leader told me that I had hit my first stone. Those of you reading this who know me personally would have seen the picture I posted on Facebook on the day that I had received the news. For those of you who follow me on my blog page, twitter and instagram, here it is.

"Today, I have officially lost 1 stone and 2 pounds with weight watchers. This has been both the hardest and the easiest thing I've ever done. Some days, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball with a pizza and forget it all. But seeing the physical results, is just incredible. My leader asked me during my second week of the programme if I felt embarrassed about being a young weight watchers member as she had young members in the past who would hide their WW cards in the deepest part of their bags. I looked to her and said, "why would I be embarrassed about taking control of my own life". I still stand by that answer. HERE'S TO THE NEXT STONE!"

Please excuse the hair. The picture was taken just as I got through the door after Zumba. Such a glamorous life I live!

So yes. In the post I address what my leader said to me during my second week of the programme. And like I said, I am not one bit embarrassed about being a 20 year old WW member. It took a lot for me to join so no way was I going to hide the progress I was making. I do this hoping that I can maybe inspire just one other person to do it. I've tried dieting alone before. And I was never able to stick with it because I had no idea what I was doing. But this programme is just amazing! They lay everything out for you and the amount of foods you actually can it is rather surprising. I usually treat myself on the weekends with dinners out or the cinema so it gives me something to work towards during the week. I also bought a new little black dress from boohoo.com for a 21st and how I felt when I put it on, is how I want to feel all the time!

I'm not going to lie, over the last two weeks I have been very bold. They say that everyone will hot a wall where they think "why bother" and "what's the point", which is true. I had one of those last week and just spent it eating my feelings. But I had a little one to one chat with myself and remembered why I chose to do this. I know I'm up a couple of pounds but I am going to go back into that weigh in tomorrow and get back on the horse. I've come too far and worked too hard to stop this now.

Thank you all for your incredible support and let me know your progress if you're with WW too!

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Interview with The Make Up Fairy

Well do I have a slightly more interesting post for you tonight? If you're a blog reader, then you have surely heard of Joanne Larby. Currently one of Ireland's leading make up artists, curvy models, stylists, beauty bloggers and youtube guru's, she's becoming a household name. Joanne was kind enough to respond to an e-mail I wrote her and agreed to an interview. I don't know about you guys but she is such an inspiration to me and is a reminder that all women are beautiful. She's also a very genuine and kind person with an array of talents, skills and qualifications. Thanks again Joanne for taking the time out of your day to talk to me. I kept my cool but there was some serious fan girl-ing going on!

1. So Joanne, tell me a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? Where did you study? etc.
I turned 27 this year and I've been a make up artist for about 7 years. I went straight into art college after school and did a four year portfolio course. From then, I went on to study make up artistry full time which covered all areas of make up artistry from high fashion, beauty therapy, skin disorders, etc. I was then qualified and wend to work for Shiseido in Brown Thomas. I also worked in smash box for a year and a half. I then went back to study child psychology and special needs. I worked as a teacher for three years and ran the make up along side it. During which time I started my blog, The Make Up Fairy. It was literally just a hobby to get me the odd freelance job, to keep in the loop of beauty and to keep the passion as I taught. I would come home everyday from teaching and go to various events and show my face around which eventually lead to people beginning to recognise me. I now have about 97,000 international hits a week and my social media has grown dramatically. I came to the decision to start modelling, styling and doing make up artistry. I had no time to teach any more so I decided to leave after December (not just gone, the one before) and I launched the website turning my blog into an on line magazine. Since then, a lot has happened!

2. How did you become interested in make up? Did you always know you wanted to be involved in it somehow or was it something that just happened?
I always knew. I would have always been an artistic, creative person from when I was small so whether it was making and altering clothes to painting on my walls, my mum kind of gave me the artistic life to do what ever I wanted with my room. Between interior design, styling and make up, those were the three avenues of creativity that I was always interested in so then I kind of focussed in on fashion and make up I suppose when I got into transition year in school where I actually worked in MAC for two weeks and I also got to study under John Rocha so I pretty much always knew. I went into the avenues of styling and make up from about the age of seventeen on.

3. Who is your favourite designer and why?
Hmmmmm.... I like so many different designers for different reasons but I guess it would be the likes of Marchesa and stuff that are more high end, elaborate and creative. They wouldn't exactly be directly wearable but I kind of more admire it for the artistry that goes with it. As regards to high street, it comes down to small, unknown designers and Zara. If I had choose between, it would be high street rather than designer.

4. You're currently working part time as a model. Tell me a little bit about that?
I was initially signed on my first modelling job about two or three years ago where I was asked to do a style diary, which is basically a week in my world of outfits and I got a photographer on board to professionally take the photo's for that instead of myself. I was then contacted by Assets modelling agency having seen the photo's. At the time they didn't have a size 12-14 on their books when they signed me so I did a couple of jobs over the year and a half I spent with them and then I ended up being approached by a woman called Andrea Roche. I moved to her agency and did similar jobs as well as catwalk modelling and stuff like that. And now, I'm with Asset's again. 

5. Do you think that plus size modelling is on the rise?
Yes definitely! Over the past, even the time that I've been in the industry which is incredibly short, there is a massive difference. When I first started out two years ago, I was one of a hand full of girls that were plus size from a 12 up that were actively working and recognised as such. Now, even with V Plus, I think we've got 24 models so far on our books and that was before we even had any casting date! Also with the likes of high streets stores. I've worked recently with the likes of boohoo.com as their plus size model and other shops like missguided, forever 21 and Topshop are all doing segregated plus size ranges because the main retail size would be 14-16. They're basically starting to realise that women are that size and stuff like that so it's definitely on the rise.

6. When you're not working or travelling, what do you like doing?
I do work a lot. I am a self confessed workaholic. So a lot of my work is hobby based. However, I joined the gym which is going to be my outlet to stop me over working. I definitely have a good social life! A lot of my work would be attending events so I have a lot of great friends in the blogging industry to meet up with. And outside of that, just the usual girly stuff like shopping and going out. I don't party that much any more because I work so much. I love animals as well so I try and go horse riding when I can. 

Want to see more of Joanne? Follow her on:

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www.joannelarby.com

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Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

HP Chromebook Review

Welcome back ladies and gents. Well the title for this evening's post is very self explanatory so I'll get right to the point.

Last month I finally bought a much anticipated gift for myself. I have been looking at laptops for the past 6 months knowing that I would be getting one at the end of summer. Of course I went and looked at Mac first but there was just no way that I was okay with spending so much of my own money on something that I could get for a lot less and that would work equally as good. So I started doing some more research and found something that is called a Chromebook.

A Chromebook is a laptop that is entirely powered by Google Chrome. Considering that I'm a blogger, soon to be student and an internet addict, I was intrigued. So I went into PC World to have a look at it in person. First of all, the colour immediately caught my eye. I then looked at the graphic quality, storage, battery and all the other nooks and cranny's. I later decided that I was going to buy it.

I went in to ask all the questions I had about it and the man who was helping me was so genuinely happy to answer all of them. First if all, the HP Chromebook cannot download ITunes or Microsoft. So if you have an ipod or iphone, then maybe this isn't the laptop for you. And if you're reliable on Microsoft, then maybe that should be another factor to consider. But I have a Samsung Galaxy and I use Google Docs now. So this was perfect. The laptop also comes with a built in antivirus which is permanent and does not need to be renewed every year. 

I was completely sold and bought it for 319 euro. I've been using it for just over a week now and I fall in love with it more each day. It turns on and off so quickly because it doesn't have desktop programmes slowing it down. The chrome store allows you to personalise your pages, tabs and desktop to whatever suits your personality. AND IT'S BLUE!

For an everyday internet user I could not recommend this more. I can't believe it took me this long to get one!

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Weight Watchers Update No.2

Well hello there! Welcome back to another update on my WW journey! I've now hit the 10 pound mark which means I'm only four pounds away from losing my first stone. I'm feeling really good and extremely motivated. I have to confess that I was a bit bold last weekend. I went to a work barbecue where the wine and food were flowing and then to the cinema the following evening. But by Sunday morning, I dove head first back into healthy eating again. That was one of the main things we were taught when Mum and I started. Life goes on and sometimes, we're going to want to live it. Just because we have a cheat day, doesn't mean it's all over. Like everything, you've just got to get back up on the horse. 

Also, I've started going to Zumba classes in the Galway Bay Hotel. Mum and I went for the first time on Monday and I actually had a blast. I looked like a complete fool but I didn't care because I wasn't the only one. I thoroughly enjoyed the hour and I'm definitely doing it twice a week once I get paid at the end of the month. My lovely Mummy also bought me a new pair of trainers! It's my birthday in two weeks so she was kind enough to give me an early gift. These ones are from Littlewoods and were 69 euro. I insisted on sticking with my converse shoes that I've had since I was 15 but Mum refused to let me Zumba with no cushioning on my soles. "New shoes for a new you" is what she finished the discussion with. Love her!

What's kept me going?
They say that once you hit the 10 pound mark, you begin to see physical changes. Well I can most definitely feel them. I'm slimmer around my waist and stomach for sure. I was never too concerned with my stomach because I carry most of my weight in my thighs and hips. But it's still really great to see. Knowing that it's actually working is the best motivation.

What new foods have I discovered?
I am officially obsessed with fruit. All I ever really ate were bananas and strawberries. But now that I finally gave melon, pineapple, grapes and all the other stuff a go, I can't go a day in work without a fruit salad.

Where do I struggle?
I still get regular cravings for pizza and pasta. Like a lot. I had a bit of pizza at the weekend which was AMAZING! That's fulfilled my needs for now but other than that, I've been good at saying no.

My meal of the week?
It is without a doubt a fruit salad. I don't know why but I have been finding them so satisfying lately. I nearly always have a small one with a ham sandwich for my lunch at work. Dunnes Stores do freshly made ones so I always get them from there.

Hopefully I'll be down a full stone when you read my next post. And thank you all so much for your support and kind words! At the end of the day, people need people.

To get regular/daily updates on my weight loss or life in general, follow me on:

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Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

New Bedroom: What I Bought

Well do I have a treat in store for you guys tonight. Well to be honest it's more of a treat for me and feeding my obsession for homeware.... At the moment, I am in the process of redecorating my room. Last month I looked in at my bedroom and knew I couldn't continue living in a lime green and hot pink environment decorated by my nine year old self. 

To begin, my bed. I opted for a single bed because I don't need a double one and it would also take up an unbearable amount of space in my room. I bought my new bed sheets and throw in Penney's and my cushions in B&Q. The throw, I am in love with. I popped into Penney's to kill some time while I was waiting for my Mum and couldn't believe that their linen and accessories were all the same colour scheme as what I was planning for my room. So I had to pick up the throw, the storage baskets and the parisian themed bed sheets. The throw was 20 euro and has a lace trim with adorable patchwork and detailing. The covers were 14 euro and have a gorgeous them printed on them. And finally the set of two storage baskets were, wait for it...... JUST 8 EURO! It really was a steal all together! It would have been rude not to.

Then the cushions happened. I popped into B&Q while I had a spare few minutes before work. Originally to see if they had any trays. But then I saw that they were having a sale on cushions, which is something I didn't even know they sold. I rummaged through the pile and found two gorgeous cushions with hints of lilac, purple and beige. And guess what? They were the same theme as my bed sheets. PERFECT! One has a load of french words written on them with adorable embroidery and the other has an embroidered Eiffel Tower with a similar design as the other one. Both were just 9 euro and they are fantastic quality (I should know. I've worked in the home section in Next so cushion knowledge is essential).

Lastly, I bought these wall stickers from next. I think they were around 37 euro. I just love the colours and I thought they would just add a little bit of something to my room. Now that they're up, I love them twice as much!

I'll probably go back and buy more of the storage baskets and maybe one more cushion. But for now, this is what I've gotten. Next month I'll finally be buying a Vanity table and a bed side locker so stay tuned to see them! I've also bought a few bits off Ebay which I'll probably include in my next "New Room" post along with a few pictures of the new coat of paint, decoration, etc.

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo