What's in my gym bag? Feat. HEY! HOLLA*

I've recently been getting back into my gym routine and I know how important it is to bring the right things to the gym so you're not carrying unnecessary weight. Who wants to carry a massive heavy bag full of stuff after an arm workout? Not me that's for sure!

Most days I go to the gym before work which requires me to bring a change of clothes, make-up, my lunch, a hairdryer and everything I need for my working day. In this situation I usually carry a few bags to spread it out but I'm going to show you what I bring on an average day where I don't have to rush off to work afterwards.

I put all of my things into my Hey! Holla canvas 'Off To The Gym' tote bag available for just £18. I absolutely adore the design of this bag and the slogan suits me down to a tee. The bag is sturdy and very good quality.

The most important things in my bag are my iPhone 6 plus, iPod and headphones and their respective arm band holders. I go to the gym alone so without headphones I simply cannot get through my workout! I've been loving the Zombie, Run! app for iPhone recently so I've been alternating music with that app to encourage me to change things up a bit.

I also take snacks. I often take a nak'd bar (sometimes a homemade one!) or a banana to keep me going for the journey home, I will then have something more substantial when I get back.

I always bring a gym towel with me. Mine has definitely seen better days, perhaps I should purchase a new one? This was purchased on eBay, I simply use it to wipe the machines down.

Deodorant is a must, I don't have a favourite, anything will do.

The next thing I always have in my bag is a bottle of water.

Last but not least, a lock for the lockers! I bought this one when I first joined the gym nearly 3 years ago and it's still going strong.

I haven't included my gym outfit, but that's because I head to the gym already wearing this so it's one less thing to carry.

Hey! Holla also have a variety of other designs. I also really like the YO!GA gym bag, also £18. Hey! Holla also have a range of gym towels, hair ties and some homeware gifts so it's definitely worth checking them out.

What are your gym essentials?

*I received this Hey! Holla gym bag free of charge in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please see my disclaimer for more information. 

June 2015 Glossybox

It doesn't seem that long since I reviews the May Glossybox but the June one seemed to come so fast this month. This month's box was the Festival Edit and was full of products you could take to a festival. I'm not heading to any festivals this year but loved trying out these products regardless.

MONU Spa - Rosewood Reviving Mist - Full Size £11.95
I own a few MONU products, all from Glossybox so I like trying out different things from the brand. I'll be honest I'm not a fan of this MONU spa Rosewood Reviving Mist scent, anything rose scented isn't really for me. I did however spritz this on my face one afternoon when I was sitting in the garden and it definitely left me feeling refreshed. I haven't yet tried it to set make up, but that's also something you can use this product for.

Glossybox Flash Tattoos - Full Size £6.50
I've seen these Flash Tattoos everywhere recently and they're totally on trend and would be great for festival fashion. I'll be honest, I can't see myself wearing the Glossybox logo tattoos, but I tried one out for the purpose of this blog post. These were super easy to apply. The other ones would look great around your wrist paired with a few bracelets.

Halo - Fragrance Free Wipes - Full Size £1.20
This is another great festival essential. The Halo wipes come in a handy travel size pack containing 10 wipes and is great for your handbag. I love that these are fragrance free as I'm not overly keen on using heavily scented items on my face. These wipes are a decent size and good quality and great for refreshing your face or removing make up after a long day.

Kueshi -Anticellulite Booster - Full Size £14.55
This Kueshi Anticellulite Booster claims to tone your skin and fight off dimples. Massage into your legs twice a day and have summer ready legs, great news if you plan on wearing shorts to all the Festivals or throughout the summer season. This cream is lightly scented. I haven't really got cellulite so I can't say for sure if it gets rid of it, but it did leave my skin feeling really soft.

Essence - Gel Nail Polish - Full Size £1.71
This Essence Gel Polish is a lot cheaper than I expected it to be! I received the colour prince charming which is an aqua green colour. I think this would have worked a lot better if I had the gel base and top coat to go with this and I would really like to try more colours and see if it makes a difference using all 3 coats. The polish took ages to dry and I kept chipping it so this isn't a product I would use if you're in a rush. This is available at my local Wilkinsons so I might pop in and see if I can pick some more colours up.

To sign up to Glossybox, visit them here.

Arla Protein Review*

Summer is basically here and one of the first things that crosses my mind is keeping healthy and getting back to a regular gym routine. One of the things I struggle with is finding snacks that fill me up and replenish my protein sources after a work out.

When I first heard about Arla Protein a quark product from Arla Foods, I couldn't wait to incorporate this into my pre and post workout snacks. The handy 200g pots are ideal and don't take up too much space in your gym bag.



Arla Protein pots RRP at an average of £1.25 for a 200g pot. I think this is a great price for a product that packs in 20g of protein per pot! That's the same amount of protein as 5 egg whites. Not only do these give you a good protein hit, the Arla Protein is fat free and low in sugar. It is made with all natural ingredients including quark which is a natural dairy product.

These pots are available in raspberry, blueberry and strawberry. I tried all 3 and they were all absolutely delicious. My favourite was the blueberry and I enjoyed eating this with some fresh blueberries and a sprinkling of granola for a bit of crunch.

The Arla pots are thick and creamy and taste really delicious. Usually with fat free products you can taste the artificial sweeteners and they aren't that nice but with these pots its a real treat and if you're trying to avoid Aspartame then these are a great option.

So, if you’re looking for a new pre or post workout snack, try Arla Protein today. Find it in the yogurt aisle nationwide at all major retailers. You can find out more information on the Arla website here.

*The Arla Protein pots were provided free of charge in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

Lush - Phoenix Rising Review

I absolutely love Lush products. The last time I reviewed them on my blog was Halloween! I've had lots of Lush products since then and never thought to review them so I thought I better change that.

My friend Kelly bought me the Phoenix Rising Bath Ballistic and I couldn't wait to try it and relax. the scent of this ballistic is like nothing I have ever smelled before. It has quite a strong spicy cinnamon scent which I loved and was very relaxing to breathe in.

The colour of Phoenix Rising is a deep purple, but what surprised me was when it fizzled through to the center bringing out a lovely green colour. The water was left purple with little flecks of glitter. These don't transfer onto your skin.

Phoenix Rising contains Shea butter which was very apparent when I got out of the bath. My skin felt so soft. this is one of the nicest ballistics I have tried in a while.

What is your favourite Lush product?

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Courgetti Vegetarian Bolognaise Recipe

I love trying new recipes as you may have gathered by now judging on the content of my blog! One ingredient I have always wanted to use in a recipe is courgette spaghetti, or courgetti if you prefer. I think in America these are called Zoodles, correct me if I am wrong.

I've experimented with a few different ways of using these 'noodles' and one of the first recipes I came across was on Loved by Laura's blog a few months ago. You can find her recipe here if you are looking for inspiration. Her recipe was really yum and I especially liked how the courgette tasted with tomatoes so I decided to use those in my recipe.

I got a spiraliser for my birthday after wanting one for ages and I am so pleased with it! You can also do this recipe by finely slicing the courgette if you do not have a Julienne peeler or spiraliser.

I decided to make a Quorn bolognaise, substituting the spaghetti for the courgette noodles. It turned out really great and it was actually really filling and I didn't miss the pasta at all. This recipe is vegetarian but the Quorn can be substituted for beef mince if preferred. For my recipe, please read the below.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 large Courgette (shredded into noodles)
500g Quorn Mince
1 Onion

1 Carton Passata

1 Clove Garlic or Garlic Powder
A sprinkle of the following:
Basil
Oregano
Mixed Herbs

Firstly chop the onion and fry off in a pan until browned. Then add your frozen Quorn and the tomato passata and the herbs and let it bubble away for 15-20 minutes until the Quorn is cooked through and the flavours are infused.

Whilst that is bubbling away, fry your courgette strips in a separate pan. I coat mine in low calorie spray to make them healthier. After about 5 minutes they should be cooked, serve them with your bolognaise mix! Top with cheese if you like, Parmesan goes 'grate' with this.

It really is as simple as it sounds. The courgetti is out of this world and it really does feel like you're eating pasta. This dish is really light and a great way of dropping the calories and carbohydrates you'd usually have in pasta and I absolutely love it. I even took some to work cold the next day and it was delicious even then. The courgette spaghetti/noodles reheat in the microwave quite well too without going wet and soggy.

Let me know if you have any courgetti recipes, I'd love to try more!

10 Day Green Smoothie Challenge with Super Naturally Healthy*

I recently tried the 10 Day Green Smoothie Challenge over on Super Naturally Healthy which is run by Holistic Health Coach Kezia Hall. She is all about helping you live that healthy life your have always dreamed of whilst still loving food and eating cake - Sign me up now!

The challenge which costs just £4.99 aims to get you feeling healthier after just 10 days. Every day for 10 days I received a new smoothie recipe to try and also other resources which motivated me and educated me to live well and live a healthy lifestyle. My favourite part was the resource section of the email which led to an interesting article or an exercise video each day and I really enjoyed this added extra surprise because it motivated me to stick to the challenge.

As soon as you sign up you receive an eGuide complete with 7 recipes to get you started and a 10 day shopping list to get you on your way to starting the challenge.

On Friday 22nd May, I received my day 1 email and smoothie recipe. The email is also packed with great tips and some motivation to get you going. There is also a mindset section which is a little phrase or top tip to change your attitude towards food and healthy eating.

The daily recipes are really easy to follow and if you've pre-bought everything on your shopping list then it can be prepared in a matter of minutes. There are also great tips if you don't like certain ingredients and some great ideas for what to swap it with.

Half way through the challenge on day 5 I was already feeling a lot healthier and had a lot more energy. I took my smoothies to work in the morning and they really set me up for the rest of the day.

The 'Chunky Monkey Cure' smoothie was my favourite, but you'll have to sign up to the 10 day challenge if you want the recipe!

After the 10 days were up, I felt great and wanted to continue my daily green smoothie routine. Luckily all the recipes are mine to keep so I can go back to my inbox and check them out whenever I am in need of a green boost!

Sign up now if you want to feel great too!

*I was invited to take part in the 10 Day Green Smoothie Challenge free of charge. All opinions are my own.

Thomas Sabo at Silver Tree Jewellery*

I'm always looking for unique jewellery pieces so when I came across the Thomas Sabo Jewellery range at Silver Tree Jewellery I couldn't help but eye up all of the beautiful unique pieces they have available in their new Spring/Summer collection.

I absolutely love the pendant charms available and I thought I would show you some of my favourite pieces. The charms I liked best were the Thomas Sabo Converse Charm Pendant which is in the sale for £38 and the Thomas Sabo Penguin Charm for £50. Both charms are silver and come complete with enamel stone detailing.  You can even choose to add Silver Tree gift wrapping at no extra cost.

If you like the look of these charms as much as I do, then you'll need a charm bracelet to go with it. I love this silver Thomas Sabo Charm Club Charm Bracelet priced at £45.

If bracelets aren't really your favourite jewellery piece, then why not look at the Thomas Sabo watch range. I love this Rose Gold Chronograph Glam and Soul Watch priced at £275.

All UK orders are delivered free of charge which is fantastic as you can get great deals from the comfort of your own home without having to pay for delivery fees.

So if you're looking for fun unique jewellery, then please head over to Silver Tree Jewellery. Not only do they stock Thomas Sabo, they also stock many other designer brands such as Pandora, DKNY and Vivienne Westwood to name a few.

If you need even more of an incentive to treat yourself to some new jewellery from Silver Tree Jewellery then use my discount code - BLG_XAWTK2HI4899 for 20% off your order. Unfortunately this discount code is not valid for Thomas Sabo, Olivia Burton and Swarovski but there are plenty of other brands for you to treat yourself from. What are you waiting for?

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please see my disclaimer for more information. All photos c/o the Silver Tree Jewellery website.

So...? London*

I've always been a lover of the So...? Body sprays so when I was contacted about trying the new fragrance range, I couldn't wait to receive my item. The So...? range was well loved by me and all of my friends back when we were teenagers and I have continued to buy body sprays from the range ever since, they almost feel nostalgic.

I received the So..? London fragrance which is a solid favourite of mine having tried all of the other couture scents in various stores. The scent is really unique to any other perfume I have used before and is fun and refreshing.

The perfume starts of smelling quite fruity and slowly fades throughout the day to a sweet scent.

The website describes the top notes of this scent as grapefruit, mandarin and apricot. The heart notes are jasmine, rose and violet and the base notes are described as sandalwood, vanilla and musk. The vanilla scent is definitely something that lingers on your skin throughout the day and I really like that.

The bottle design is simple but sleek, and I really love the outer packaging, it instantly catches my eye. I love that it is ombréd too, it has a very modern feel.

These perfumes are really affordable and have a long lasting scent so you really get your money's worth. They're a great addition to have in your handbag and it's nice to keep topping up your scent while you're out and about.

The So...? perfumes are available in many supermarkets and drugstores here in the UK, but for a full list, head over to their website. The 50ml Eau de toilette is just £9.99.

*I was provided with this perfume free of charge. All opnions are my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please see my disclaimer for more information. Thank you to Bloggers Love for giving me the opportunity to be gifted this item.