Lifestyle – Page 7

10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT ME

Published on August 27, 2017March 1, 2024 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hi friends,

I think it is time for a get to know me tag, I saw this idea on another blog and thought it was a good idea. So hope you enjoy getting to know me better.

1. Do you have a nickname?

Nope, not really. When I was young some of my friends would call me Cari and whilst at Uni I occasionally got Car, but nothing stuck.

2. Do you have any weird habits?

Erm, I have a little OCD tick with toilet roll having to face forward; as in to pull from the front and not the side facing the wall if that makes sense.

3. Do you have any phobias?

Agoraphobia – the fear of being trapped in a public place, the fear of not being able to escape.

So if I go to the cinema for example I need to sit on an aisle seat same goes for the theater and planes and trains…

4. Do you have any habits others find annoying?

Yes aha, I crack my finger joints all the time which others can’t stand.

5. What position do you sleep in?

I am a stomach sleeper.

6. What drink do you always order at Starbucks?

I try and avoid Starbucks to be honest. Being a barista I prefer to support independent coffee shops. If available, my go to would be a freshly filtered coffee, but occasionally I would also enjoy an oat milk flat white.

7. What is your favourite comfort food?

Ooh this is a difficult one. I’m really not sure; crisps are definitely high up there for snack comfort food!

8. What series are you currently watching?

Z The Beginning Of Everything – It tells the story of Zelda’s marriage to F Scott Fitzgerald. So far it is quite good, although it is not painting F Scott Fitzgerald in a very good light haha.

9. Who are your three favourite YouTubers?

I follow a lot of YouTubers who cover various topics from makeup to veganism. It’s hard to just pick three, however if I had to I would say currently my three favourite YouTubers are Helen Anderson (makeup & fashion), Kate Flowers (health & veganism) and the SacconeJolys (family life).

10. If you could only use three makeup items for the rest of your life what would they be?

Oh it would definitely be concealer as my skin is always blotchy and red and my mascara and brow kit to make my eyes more prominent.

Well that’s it for now, until next time peepes, I hope you enjoyed this post!

Love Carina xo

3 WAYS TO STYLE A DENIM DRESS

Published on August 20, 2017March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hey guys,

Before summer disappears I thought I’d share 3 of my favourite ways to style my denim dress for sunny days. I had searched high and love for a denim dress that would look good on me but was never satisfied with any I tried on. Then finally one day I was browsing a charity shop and discovered this beauty! It fits well and suits my bodyshape. I would say the only problem is that when sitting down it is a little too stretched for my liking and so if I’m sitting for a while I will undo the two bottom buttons. Anyway lets get to it;

Outfit no.1:

Top: Primark, Bag: Primark, Shoes: New Look

Outfit no.2:

Top: Primark, Bag: ? , Shoes: New Look, Sunglasses: Camden Market

Outfit no.3:

Blouse: Topshop, Shoes: Primark, Bag: Primark

I love the versatility of a dungaree dress! It can be dressed up or dressed down and worn for so many occasions.

Hope you are all having a nice weekend!

MY GARDEN BEFORE & AFTER

Published on August 16, 2017August 26, 2017 by simplycarinaxo2 Comments

Hello friends,

The other week my parents came over for dinner and brought me a little present. I’d been saying for ages that I needed to de-weed the garden and so they showed up with a little trowel and my own cute gardening gloves! The back garden almost looked like a little wilderness and I couldn’t wait to tidy it up! So on a sunny day off I got my fingers dirty and took out all the weeds!

After a good two hours of gardening, here are the after photos; from a weed infested garden, to a tidier, cleaner looking back yard! Although surprisingly tiring work I enjoyed myself and can now enjoy soaking up the sun again on nice sunny days!

All that is left to do now is the front garden!

Love Carina xo

HOLIDAY BLUES!

Published on August 11, 2017August 11, 2017 by simplycarinaxo3 Comments

Hello my beautiful readers,

I have been dreaming of a holiday for ages, the need to get away for a couple of days really gets to you esppecially when working 19 days in a row with no days off as I am at the moment! However I finally have something to look forward to now at the end of August! A mini getaway with my best friend Emily and perhaps a few others if they decide to join us. Just before she set of on her honeymoon interrailing Europe we booked our tickets for the Lindesfarne festival!

This will be our second time going to the Lindisfarne festival together; last year we wnt for the first time ad it was the first festival experience for the both of us. The Lindisfarne festival is a small new (this year is only it’s third year) local festival in one of my favourite places (a stunning coastal plot of farmland overlooking the beautiful Holy Island in Northumberland). Holy Island (see photos above) was were I had my first every job as a waitress in the holidays. I used to stay on the Island when working there so it was like a holiday for me even though I was working. I love the place; it it idylic, peaceful and just holds a speacial place in my heart. Thus it was without question a great descion for the Lindisfarne festival to be our first festival experience. As it is a small scale festival you can walk from your tent into the arena within minutes and there weren’t any overbearing crowds. It was a great first festival experience and I’m hyped to be going back again this year! Let me share some photos from last year:

The festival didn’t have any famouse artists playing, more local and smaller talents, but it was nice to discover new people; for us the highlight was Molotov Jukebox and meeting the artists afterwards including Natalia Tena (Tonks from Harry Potter/ Osha from Game of Thrones). Their music was bizar but upbeat and happy and got us all dancing with smiles plasterd on our faces! Loved it! Comedy was also offered there as well as the Sanctuary a wellness tent with holistic treatemants and the like. On our second morning we participated in meditation followed by partner yoga which was hilarious and great fun, even though my back killed afterwards from lying on the uneven ground aha. We treated ourselves to a massage afterwards and then continued to enjoy the music, views and general atmosphere of the festival. Not long now till this years festival and I can’t wait!

Love Carina xo

MY CURRENT CRUELTY-FREE & ECO EVENING SKIN CARE ROUTINE

Published on July 31, 2017 by simplycarinaxo7 Comments

Hey guys,

I have been wanting to blog my Cruelty-free Eco Skin Care Routine for quite a while now and I’ve finally got round to taking some photos and being organised again. I hope you enjoy and can be inspired to start in-cooperating your own cruelty free eco products into your skin care routine!

Firstly I want to introduce you to an amazing eco friendly cleansing pad hack which my best friend Emily told me about! I love it – it’s fab! Instead of using cleansing wipes or cotton pads which only add to our piles of landfil rubbish that can’t be recycled why not use Organic Nursing Pads which can be washed and reused time after time again and will save you a fair bit of money in the long run too! I find the nursing pads are gentler on my skin in comparison to the harsh chemicals on cleansing wipes which I used to use all the time!

Now as for my skin care routine, I’m feeling great knowing the things I ma now buying are cruelty free and mostly vegan too. In this blog post I am using products from the Bodyshop (a brand that doesn’t test on animals and which is mostly vegan bar products like the honey range) and BalanceMe (a brand that doesn’t test on animals and aims to be as natural as possible) just going to put it out there, I very often don’t use products the way they are designed to be used; eg. I might use a toner as as a makeup remover instead of using it as the last step in my makeup removal cleansing routine.

I begin taking my makeup off with the Bodyshop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner. I love this toner. It is gentle on my skin, works well at removing makeup and leaves it feeling fresh and bright. What’s not to like?!

The Bodyshop Tea Tree Clearing Foaming Cleanser is what I had originally bought to remove my makeup before using the toner, however even two pumps of the foam doesn’t go very far. It doesn’t wet the nursing cleansing pad well enough for my liking to efficiently remove makeup and just kinda disappears. Thus I use it after the toner to just remove the last dregs of makeup.

Next I use the Bodyshop Vitamin C Energizing Face Spritz. I’m not exactly sure it energizes my face, however it is very refreshing especially on a warm summer morning and I feel gives some hydration to my just cleansed skin.

Now these my next two products are testers I received in a magazine and I love them!!! I really want to repurchase them but they are on the pricier side of things although then again they do stretch quite far too. Both the BalanceMe Restore and Replenish Face Cream and the BalanceMe Wonder Eye Cream smell amazing! They really do smell like the natural ingredients that they use, which I love! I massage the eye cream onto my skin first and then follow with the face cream. I find they are also absorbed quite quickly into the skin and leave it feeling very soft and refreshed! If you haven’t tried any BalanceMe products yet but don’t want to splash out the big bucks, definitely keep you eyes open in magazines for testers!!!

Well that’s my evening skin care routine for you! I hope you’ve enjoyed it! Let me know of your favorite cruelty free/vegan products in comments below!

Love Carina xo

MY VEGAN MONTH REVIEW

Published on July 19, 2017July 19, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hey guys,

Firstly, I am so sorry that I have been MIA recently! I have now finally got the internet back and will be trying to get back to blogging regularly again!

As you know I spent the last month being vegan. I really enjoyed the challenge and only caved once to have a nibble, literally a teeny bite of an egg and of a teeny bite of a slice of salami. However although I managed pretty well I did miss certain things, or rather a month without was fine, but a forever without stresses me a little aha. Thus I have decided for now to allow myself the occasional exception, eg. 1 croissant a month and a dippy egg or something.

You may think well that’s not being vegan and no, it isn’t being 100% vegan, but you know what, I am still proud of myself for the changes I have made so far. Leading a mostly vegan diet is still making a bigger impact on my health, the environment and animal welfare than if I hadn’t made any changes at all! I used to eat a lot of meat and dairy and I do hope that I will eventually become 100% vegan, just not right now.

So here just a couple of my Vegan meals from the last month:

Hope you have all been keeping well!

Love Carina xo

COOKING A 3 COURSE VEGAN MEAL

Published on June 17, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hello friends,

Yesterday my sister came down from Edinburgh for the day and so I had the whole family over for dinner at my new place, which was really nice!

I love cooking for people and so I had great fun making a three course vegan meal for my family.

For starters I made an avocado dip which we ate with a yummy toasted organic white loaf, topped with tomatoes.

Mains was a kinda curry using all my leftover veg such as carrots and bean sprouts. The curry wasn’t spicy as my mum can’t eat spice, however my sister, dad and myself sprinkled it with some chilli flakes which gave it a nice bite of heat.

And for dessert we had a scoop of Alpro hazelnut and chocolate ice cream with warm berries – mmm!

I love having my own place and I’ve really settled in now. It was so nice having the family over! Catching up together and playing a game with dessert. Codenames by the way is an absolutely brilliant game and I urge you all to get your hands on it!

Oh and I know it’s random but I spotted my first ladybird today! It put a smile on my face so I thought I’d share hence the seemingly irrelevant cover photo!

Well I hope you have a great day guys!

Love Carina xo

AM I LACTOSE INTOLERANT?

Published on May 18, 2017May 18, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hey peeps,

As you can tell from the title this blog post is about dairy, and by dairy I mean milk products, not eggs.

For years I have now been having stomach problems, some bloating but mostly sudden extreme stomach cramps which end in explosive diarrhoea (sorry for the visuals aha but just being honest). These stomach problems have built up such an anxiety in me that I now have a fear of travelling or being in situations where there’s no toilets about in case I get these stomach cramps which I can’t control. This is making my life very restrictive, like when I go to the theatre or cinema I need to have a aisle seat, and even the smallest 20min walks in unknown places can make my anxiety rise dramatically!

Anyway, I have been to the doctors twice and they started looking into things with a blood and stool test, but nothing was really found and then I went away volunteering in November and when I came back in December I moved house, so I’ve not been to continue the testing yet, but I really want an allergy/intolerance test! Yes I know I could lead a food diary and I have tried that in the past, but it’s soo difficult to keep up with and I’ve always given up.

For a couple of months now I have been reducing my dairy intake by substituting milk for almond milk and not eating much cheese or obviously chocolate (ass it contains too much sugar) anymore and I do think it has made a difference. For example, on Easter Sunday, I indulged in chocolate and in the afternoon/evening I got a really bad stomach. Another time I had broccoli cheese and half an hour later I was on the toilet for like 20 minutes aha. So although I have never been tested for lactose intolerance, I am pretty sure I am. My stomach is definitely better when I avoid dairy, so I am taking the plunge and going completely milk free, well mostly aha.

I am now sticking to almond or soya milk, both unsweetened of course to avoid unnecessary sugars, I use dairy free butter/a sunflower spread and I actually rather like the vegan cheese I’ve been using. However I will still occasionally have a croissant or a pizza, luckily shop bought ones are usually not covered in cheese so its not an overdose like it would be on a takeaway pizza or something. I will see how my stomach continues. I definitely think there’s other things out there that don’t agree with my gut either. I will keep you updated!

Love Carina xo

WEEKEND AWAY – HEN DO EDITION

Published on May 15, 2017September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hello guys!!

Let me firstly apologise for not posting in like 10 days, oops! I have just been so caught up in moving (although I’m still not in the new house yet), working, having friends visit and otherwise just being so exhausted that I’ve really not had the energy to concentrate on my blog. I still feel very drained of energy, but as it is currently quiet at work I thought I’d start this blog post and hopefully get it finished and posted for you this weekend! So onto Emily’s hen do!

What a fabulous weekend! Everyone had a brilliant time! It was packed with activities but also very relaxed and full of fun and quality time with Emily’s best Ladies!

Friday:

Emily’s mum Debbie, Kim and myself arrived earlier at the house to set up. It was such a beautiful house – very lux! Set in Coldingham just across the border into Scotland with sea views and 5 mins away from the beach!

When we got there we sorted out rooms, made some cocktails and then waited for our online shopping to arrive before tidying it all away and setting up a yummy buffet and drinks reception.

At about 8pm the rest of the hens and Emily the bride to be arrived and we toasted with prosecco and enjoyed some scrumptious fajitas! After food we played a reveal game where Emily got to find out what was happening throughout the weekend and we reminisced over some of our memories of us with Emily through a slideshow (here some of my memories)

Those of us who weren’t too tired then also made use of the hot tube for a nice soak before heading to bed.

Saturday:

Rise and shine at 8.30am for a yoga session led by me and a yummy smoothie bowl breakfast made by me!

At 10.30am we left for Potadoodledo, a pottery painting studio where Emily and I have been before, so I knew it was an activity she’d enjoy. Everyone had a great time getting their crafty fingers out!

We painted for about 2hs and then headed back for lunch before relaxing a little and painting our nails. In the afternoon we went for a short walk along the coast to St.Abbs which was nice although short as we had to hurry back to get ready to go out. When we were ready we got a taxi to Berwick where we had booked a table at a Lebanese restaurant and enjoyed some food before heading out for some drinks and a bit of a dance. I was unlucky however (probably due to a salad overdose) and was super bloated meaning I ended up having a peppermint tea whilst everyone else was sipping on cocktails haha.

Of course when we got back a couple of us made use of the hot tub again – bliss – sitting in the pitch black at 1am in warm colour changing water with a pint in one hand!

Sunday:

We had planned another yoga session but it did not occur as some were hiding in bed aha and some of us tried to make breakfast (pancakes) but failed as the pans there were terrible and just stuck, so it ended up being muesli with fresh fruit!

So it was a relaxed morning and we were so happy as the sun came out, the weather couldn’t have panned out better as we had beach games planned for this morning. Our first game was to split into two teams and we had 10mins to gather things from the beach such as driftwood and shells to then create and decorate and Emily out of sand in 20 mins. I was a really funny task and everyone had such fun. Afterwards Emily had to complete some tasks to receive her award – a picnic on the beach. We had rhymed together some pirate style verse telling her what to do, it included running up a hill and declaring her Love to Andy to the sea, being buried in sand and lastly having to run fully into the sea, all of which she laughed at and did without any qualms aha, so she earned a glass of prosecco on the beach and a tasty picnic.

Although it was windy it was soo beautiful and we had a lovely time next to the sea! The next activity on the list was a spa afternoon, so we returned to the house and started off with Pimms and a dip in the hot tub! Next we put on some face masks painted more nails and then played a game, Codenames to be exact, a really fun game I’d urge you all to try! We’d made it even more special though by creating personalised cards related to Emily, although that did make the game so much more difficult!

In the evening Debbie cooked a three course vegan meal (the whole weekend was vegan) and we all got ready for our last night which was bod girl themed, so we dressed up in our fancy evening attire and had a blast. The meal was scrumptious, the cocktails tasty and and the laughter hilarious as we played more games late into the night!

Monday:

So sadly Monday meant home day! We packed up and only had a brief stop to pick up our glazed and fired pottery before driving back to Durham!

What an amazing weekend it was though!!! Wish I was still there!

Love Carina xo

MOVING HOUSE

Published on May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Good Morning my beautiful readers,

I am finally moving house!!!!! Wooo!!! It feels like I have been waiting soo long, well it has been aha 2-3 months! A friend of the family bought the house next to hers to rent out and she said she’d rent it out to me. Well not me alone sadly aha, but at least I finally have an affordable place to live. It is a three bed house and she is renting it out as a two bed, so I will be sharing with someone, not sure who yet, but I don’t have to find the second person luckily.

The house was in good condition but super dated and so she was going to have it partially renovated, however as things started it turned into a full renovation and thus it has of course taken so much longer than expected. Luckily my friend was super easy about crashing at hers for another two months aha for which I am soo grateful!

Anyway, now it’s finally time for me to move in! Yay! The past two days I have been helping clean the house and starting move things into place, there is still a few bit’s and pieces that need to be done, but it’s liveable now. Woo! Once the house is completely done I shall give you a house tour of course!

For now here is a picture of some lavender I bought for the garden which I am also excited to start putting together!