Recent Eats and Goodie Bag Treats

Has this week absolutely galloped away with you too? I can’t believe it is finally Friday and the sun is out!

 

I’m not going to sugar coat it, I’m so ready for the weekend.

This week has been intense and while I do love my job, I’ve covered one murder trial and three deaths by dangerous driving in just three days. I am usually able to switch off but last night and today the weight of grief in those courtrooms alone has been feeling heavy. The four people who lost their lives – two separately and one double death – were around my age. It makes everything hit home when you see parents like yours sat weeping in the public gallery. Looking into the eyes that those who have caused the tragedies and seeing nothing – no remorse, sorrow or any emotion.

It makes me want to gather my loved ones in a room and tell them how much I care, how deeply they are a part of my life and how wonderful they are.

Luckily, I’m celebrating my mum’s birthday with my family this weekend so I can do just that!

Away from the darkness and into the light. There may have been lots of sadness this week but there have been some very delicious meals.

 

Total 0% Greek with cacao nibs, raspberries and frozen cherries. So, so good.

 

Sweet chilli pork sausages with salad, apple and sweet potato mash – of course fried onions and feta had to be added!

 

Lunch on the go! Coffee, tuna in mooli ribbons with edamame and a salad with cous cous, chickpeas and lentils.

 

The most adorable post-workout eats: poached egg expertly cooked by James, fruit salad. Toy Story cutlery.

 

The best avocado I’ve eaten in a while, salad, haddock, sweet chilli and mango jam and sweet potatoes with feta.

 

Another lunch on the go put in to a plate. Carrot, lentils, chickpeas, seeds, cous cous, salad with a honey marinade. Yum!

Now I know it is almost two weeks since Write This Run (I can’t believe how quickly they have flown by!) but I haven’t shared the goodie bags with you, despite repeated promises.

They were filled to the brim with goodies, including Clif bars, coconut water, maltloaf and a voucher for Chobani, but I wanted to show you the other things I received. I thought all of the items were carefully chosen, perfect and very generous.

 

I’m saving the running socks for a very special occasion, I know Stellina will be jealous of the Chobani laces, the GU gels are great to try and I can’t wait to give the Gatorade recovery drink a go too! Oh and deodorant is always appreciated

The WTR love continues this week, not only has the amazing team behind it, Liz and Laura, launched a running retreat but Philippa of Skinny Latte Strikes Back linked to my blog post about her talk today.

Uplifting thoughts – perfect right before the weekend! Hope you have a great one.

* What’s the best thing you’ve received in a goodie bag?

* How do you switch off from difficult news?

I’m usually pretty good at not getting too involved but this week doing that has been quite a challenge.

 

WIAW: Better Beleaf It

There are lots of leaves in this post. And lot of greenery.

I am having a massive salad obsession at the moment – there seems to be almost nothing that I won’t pair with it! We’re going through bags of spinach like it doesn’t grow.. out of the ground. Yesterday I ate almost half a family pack sized bag of the stuff straight out of the packet like the leaves were crisps.

My life has also been improved greatly since I tried putting apple in my salads. The crisp crunch of apple plus hot veggie burger is something I simply cannot beat right now.

Some might say I should think about turning over a new leaf where my diet is concerned (groan) but I am too happy to stop!

Let’s WIAW!




These are my eats from Sunday. We woke up relatively early and went for a hot and sweaty walk/run along the harbourside. It was absolutely gorgeous but our legs were really stiff. We walked for the first mile, ran for four and a half miles, then walked for another mile home.

When we reached the flat I was more than ready for some breakfast!

Breakfast

Breakfast: Total 0% Greek yoghurt, chopped berries and cherries, cacao nibs

Yum! I can’t get over how eating out of a sundae bowl makes breakfast seem like dessert.

After eating, we went for a big shopping trip. We were both pretty hungry when we got home and I got lunch cooking straight away.

Lunch

Lunch: Nut cutlet, apple, spinach, cucumber

This was absolutely delicious. It was the first time I’d eaten a nut cutlet and I’m glad we have more left in the packet because it was great, especially when paired with the crunchy braeburn apple.

I went on another quick walk in town to see if I could find anymore free magazines at the shops (I love all of the own brand magazines like the Boots and Waitrose ones) but sadly we were all up to date.

Snack

Snack: Cherry bakewell slice, black coffee

I’d picked up a gorgeous slice of cherry bakewell from our local food company and dug in as I read the papers and supplements. James made me a fab coffee and it was so good I requested another one minutes later!

I think it looks kind of like Guinness with the creamy top! The coffee was from Two Day Coffee, a great supplier in Bristol. The flavour is great and tastes so fresh. Plus James is a pretty dab hand with his coffee machine too

A few hours later, it was time for dinner.

Dinner

Dinner: Haddock, sweet potato mash, feta, avocado, asparagus, spinach, cucumber, tomato with balsamic dressing

Feta and sweet potato is an incredible combo, plus I love mashing with the skin on. You can see how much I was looking forward to this dinner because I took the picture when steam was billowing from the plate! I was really excited to have the haddock, I haven’t been able to find the one I love (frozen bake in the bag from Sainsburys) for weeks but they had it when we did our weekly shop. I stocked up!

After dinner, I went for another little walk to post some letter and when I returned, I was hungry for a little snack before bed.

Snack

Snack: Half (!) a pink lady apple and peanut butter, plus more scooped straight from the jar

I bought a pack of quite frankly huge Pink Lady apples the other day and James and I split one. I jazzed mine up with some very drippy peanut butter and enjoyed a few scoops from the jay. Yum!

This was fun to eat and satisfying, a great combination for me! I then read for an hour or so before going to bed.

I’ve been trying to reduce my sugar intake, especially at night and this was a hard day but I’m glad I did it. For years, I’ve been enjoying something super sweet such as chocolate, fudge or halva, right before bed as I read. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but because I’ve been doing it for so long, it helps me nod off. However, I really, really want to break this habit! I don’t need a great big whack of sugar before bed and I’m sure it can’t be doing me any good.

* Do you have any food habits you would like to break?

* Apples in salad is my favourite right now – is there anything else I should try?

MIMM: Coffee, coffee, coffee

Good morning and happy Monday you lovely lot! I hope you had a brilliant weekend with lots of sunshine and smiles – I know I did!

Last week was pretty hectic for a number for reasons, mainly because of this lady:

That’s right – I was at Her Majesty’s service on Friday, covering her visit down to Cornwall. There were lots of Union Jacks, bands, God Save the Queens and fun. The best part? Watching the Queen arrive at a tiny island, St Michael’s Mount, just off Marazion in Cornwall.

Here she comes…

And off she gets.

Honestly, some days I have to pinch myself about this job, it is so unreal sometimes!

One of the funny things that happened on HRH’s visit was that it started to rain heavily as she enjoyed a tour of the castle at St Michael’s Mount. We (the press) had a little walk uphill to meet her and got very wet and cold. After grabbing as many umbrellas as possible we waited for the Queen to come out and guess what – sudden bright sunshine!

Anyway, other than royalty, let’s have a look at what I’ve been up to over the past few days..

‘Royal’ Friday

I’d driven down to St Ives the previous night, as I was covering an engagement at the RNLI with the Queen early in the morning. I woke up relatively early and went for a walk around the town.

Feeling patriotic prior to the royal arrival..

Such a pretty place!

I totally went down on to the beach, even if it was mainly rock! There were also some pretty sights in the town when it came to food:

But I somehow managed to hold off for a hotel breakfast with my colleague. They actually had quite a good selection and I tucked into natural yoghurt, fruit and tried prunes for the first time.

The prunes were ok, it was quite a shock to find they had stones in though! Luckily my breakfast and adrenaline held me over until there was a free moment at St Michael’s Mount, where I had the best flapjack I’ve ever tasted. It was crammed with nuts, seeds and fruits – delicious!

I was in an amazed blur for the rest of the day, which was probably a good thing as I had to drive 200 miles back to Bristol. When I reached home, James had done everything – washing, cleaning and washing up. He’s such a keeper!

He also treated me to some gorgeous salmon, which I had on a bed of fresh salad:

James had also saved me a slice of bakewell tart (my favourite) from Boston Tea Party and I was very excited to eat it!

So good! The cake helped me power through the last few hours of the day, unpacking and sorting, which I fear would have been a real struggle otherwise!

Saturday

We meant to go to Parkrun but I was in a mega deep sleep and James didn’t want to wake me. Still, when I finally woke up we did go out for a 5k just the two of us. It was hard, we were both feeling it and on the way back something weird happened. I tried to sprint too fast downhill like an idiot to wake up my legs and ended up pulling a muscle in my neck. It was absolutely horrific, the pain went from my neck to my stomach and made me feel sick and dizzy, so I did something I’ve never done in a run before and stopped.

The walk home was painful but I stretched it out and rubbed it and the agony did subside. Just my own stupid fault, it is fine now.

Breakfast was amazing, end of.

I had grilled pork and leek sausages with salad, apples and cucumber. This was actually a pretty brilliant breakfast and totally hit the spot. I usually stick to super sweet for breakfast but I’ll definitely try a meaty dish like this in the future.

We did a little bit of walking around town and had lunch before returning back home. I did some more chores and unpacking before cooking up a frankly delicious dinner.

Oven roasted veggies on a bed of salad (there was lots of salad consumed this weekend!) with grilled salmon. So good.

Dessert had to be the final Chobani left over from Write This Run (I definitely didn’t take more than one home with me…).

I’m so upset I can’t find these anywhere near me, they are so good! I do feel I gave this last one a fitting send off though

I may have to order some of these online, that’s how good they are!

There was another treat after dinner as James had bought me my very first cake pop!

This was Victoria Sponge and it tasted very nice. The sprinkles were super cute too.

We settled down for the evening and watched To Rome With Love, the Woody Allen film. It was the usual Woody Allen combination of funny, surreal and touching. I definitely recommend it!

Sunday

We went out for another run! I was so happy to go out with James again as it is such a treat not to run by myself! This time no injuries but it was hot and sweaty. We managed four-and-a-half miles and realised my dream of running on the other side of the harbourside (there is a gorgeous woody trail run that I’ve never gone to before but always wanted to).

After showering and breakfast, it was time to head into town for more shopping and chores. I was happy to go to the charity bookshop and drop off a few book I’ve read or have been sent and will never read (I often receive books to review for my job).

Yup, Gone Girl is gone. I read that book in two days flat and it was definitely exciting!

Lunch was another fab combination involving salad and apples. And my first ever nut cutlet.

The nut cutlet was a frozen one from Sainsburys and I totally recommend it, it was delicious. James had his in a burger with hot sauce and said it was great like that too!

More shopping after lunch..

This is the place my dreams are made of. It is our local food co-operative and sells the best stuff. And cake. We spent the usual ages in there, with me trying to buy everything and James making me realise we don’t need every single flavour of Nakd bar, Raw Food balls or halva. (You guys know we do really, right?!)

So I call this post ‘coffee, coffee, coffee’ and don’t mention the stuff until now? Well there was lots of coffee consumed over the week and Sunday was no different. James makes the best coffee at home using the machine and I may have asked him to make me multiple cups on Sunday!

I love how it looks like Guinness with the head!

Our day finished relatively early as I was shattered! Up early today and a busy day ahead. Hope you have a fab one!

Big thanks to Katie for hosting MIMM as always.

Write This Run Conference 2013 – Part Two

After two sets of inspiring and motivating talks, I was ready to grab my laptop and start blogging right away but there was something more pressing – food!

We enjoyed a great bbq out on the grass and it was lovely to sit and enjoy the sunshine.

There was also some gorgeous Chobani up for grabs – I went crazy for the cherry flavour:

Of course I needed to find out lots of information from the Chobani man.. because I’m really interested in the product

Then it was back to the conference room for more talks.

Bloggers and Vloggers

Philippa Moore, award winning blogger

• Read Haruki Murukami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (totally agree, love this book and the author!)

The A, B and Three C’s of Blogging:

• A – Authenticity.

“Letting your blog reflect who you are, not being afraid to share with the whole world who you really are. Write about your passions Don’t pretend to be something you are not. Celebrate who you are.”

• B – Boldness, Bravery, Balls

“It is about being prepared to take risks. You don’t want to be one of the blogs that blends into the background. It is ok to make mistakes.”

“The best way to achieve your goals is to make them happen. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, approach brands or blogs you would like to work with.”

• C – Connection

“Engage with your readers – engaged readers are far more likely to come back.”

“Spend 50% of your time writing and 50% connecting.”

• C – Character

“Would you read your own blog?”

“You can’t be brilliant every day and every day can’t be brilliant.”

• C – Content

“Have a message and a purpose.”

“Make your blog as readable as possible.”

“Have a little nugget people can take away from each piece of content on your blog.”

“Make your content:          1. Findable          2. Shareable          3. Manageable”

“Don’t forget to:          1. Spell check          2. Edit          3. Proof read.”

“It takes time to grow a successful blog, it is more than ok to start small.”

• “Create a point of difference – what is special about you?”
• Diversify
• Evolve
• Put out that best content
• Value yourself
• Do YouTube/Podcasts

“You’ll reap what you sow.”

“It is putting a piece of yourself into writing and sending it out to the world. You just write the best content out there and be proud of yourself. Be positive, be generous, be kind.”

source

Laura Fountain, blogger and author of The Lazy Runner

• Blogs are like Eastenders – a long story and short episodes

Each post should do at least one of the following:

• Inform
• Instruct
• Entertain
• Motivate

Be your own editor:

• Pitch ideas
• Commission/reject
• Give a brief, wordcount, deadline
• Edit and proof read

“Build it and they will come. Build it well and they will come back.”

source

Stuart Amory, personal trainer

How to win at Twitter:

• Make your goals public
• Think of tips
• RT relevant information
• Ask questions to your followers
• Use YouTube to share videos
• Share your day – let people know what you are up to
• Interact with followers
• Tweet in the morning so it is the first thing your followers see when they wake up
• Host competitions/ challenges
• Be positive

Running Experts

source

Rebecca Randell, Gatorade nutritionist

Race day tips:

• Sip liquids with breakfast
• Avoid liquids 30 minutes before race
• Eat 2-3 hours before race – try something high in carb, low in fat
• Eat foods you know and have tried before – “don’t do anything on race day that you haven’t previously”

source

Karen Weir, running and triathlon coach

Tips for better running:

• Squeeze and lean (your butt and forward)
• Aim for high cadence, 3 strides per second
• Land with your foot under knee under hip
• Lift your heels – up and in is best
• Have elbows at a 90 degree angle – back and down then forward

So much useful information! I know there is a lot to take in, I tried to put it all into easy to follow bullet p0ints but I hope it wasn’t too boring or much like studying!

With all of the tips and tricks at the ready, we headed off on a run with Scott Overall, who gave a talk about his journey to becoming an Olympian. All I can say is I am now even more confident I will never compete for Great Britain (or even Bristol!) in running – a sub-5 minute mile isn’t good enough in some quarters!

Can you see me at the back of the group? I’m in my teal Nike top!

It was great to go out for a run with some of my favourite bloggers – catching up with the lovely Mrs B and Kat while enjoying Hampton Court and a 5k run was so awesome. I usually run by myself or with James when I can bully him into it, so going out with a group of others was a real treat. It has made me think about joining a running club too – watch this space!

Kat is in the blue top while Mrs B is rocking purple!

The scenery was gorgeous.

After the run, it was time for some more meeting and chatting. I was so happy to hang out with Beki, of the great Miss Wheezy blog. She is as bubbly, fun and friendly in 3D as she is online – if you haven’t checked out her blog then do so now!

We posed for a picture just before jumping in the car home. Please excuse the big hair – I forgot a hair tie for the run like an idiot!

Hope you enjoyed my recap, I’ll fill you in on the goodie bag details in a further post to save this one from being wayy too long to read!

Write This Run Conference 2013 – Part One

As I drove through the stunning grounds of Hampton Court Golf Club, I really wasn’t sure what to expect at Write This Run. I admit I was a little nervous – the last conference I went to was at 10 Downing Street and I managed to tip a glass of water all down some dignitary’s leg while trying to balance notepad, wineglass and canapé.

Well, WTR was awesome. There was no drink spilled, just great information, great people and a run with an Olympian. Oh and a fab goodie bag, which I’ll fill you in on in detail.

I’m going to split my recap into two parts, as it is quite lengthy – here is part one!

You’ll notice that the pictures in my recaps are a mix of ones I took and those taken by Jeff Beasley, the official photographer for the event. You can find a gallery of conference pictures here.

Social Media and PR Experts

Carys Matthews, Online Editor for Women’s Running and Men’s Running

• “Social media is the easiest way to promote and share your content.”
• “Your audience wants to be inspired. Your audience wants to be motivated”

On social media you should:

• Encourage reader interaction
• Inspire
• Educate
• Remain positive

When you start out on social media you should think carefully about:

• How you write your bio
• What picture you use

“If people do start to retweet or share your content it is good to return the favour.”

Twitter rules:

• Don’t tweet or post too much – think quality over quantity. Too many posts are irritating.
• Have patience – you are not going to build a big following overnight.

Pinterest:

• Make it easy for your images to be shared on Pinterest, this will encourage others to read your blog.

On what and what not to post:

“If you have to think twice about what you want to share, it is probably best that you keep it private.”

Fraser Sim, PR and social media expert

PRs work with bloggers for:

• Influence
• Trust
• Content
• Link building
• Target markets

“Content is king.”

PRs look for:

• Appropriate content
• 2-3 posts per week
• High traffic
• Page rank
• Comments
• Subscribers

“If you are posting regularly and it is appropriate, you will end up with a high traffic. PRs want 10,000 followers.”

Most important:

• Consistency of blog
• Honesty and integrity
• Talk to and build a relationship with PRs – introduce yourself if you think you would work well together

Rhalou Allerhand, journalist and blogger 

Rhalou’s entertaining talk covered how she went from being unfit, overweight and depressed working on a porn magazine to becoming a runner living up in Scotland with chickens.

• Write at least 300 words per blog post so it is recognised by Google
• To come up in a search for a product/event/subject, mention it by name in the first line then 3-4 times in the post
• Saying ‘yes’ can lead to amazing things

“Be positive and it will come back to you in waves.”

Inspiring stories

source

Donna DeWick, overcame progressive degenerative nerve disease to compete in the USA Paratriathalon Championships

“If you have a body, you are an athlete – Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike.”

“You might not be no.1 on a podium, you might be the kid who is picked last for a team but that doesn’t stop you from going out there and doing it.”

“Do not run from fear, run to your goals”

source

Kevin Betts, mental health campaigner who ran 52 sub-4 hour marathons in 2012

“One thing I have learnt from being a runner is I have heard people say ‘I should probably do a marathon on day’. My answer is ‘no you shouldn’t’. If you want to do it then go and do it.”

• Kevin did 52 marathons in one year, 27 on treadmills to raise awareness of mental health after his dad committed suicide.

“What makes it so hard is because people say it is so hard. An Ironman is really hard. It is all about perspective. When people tell me I can’t do something I say ‘I can’. I want to impress people so I can tell them about why I do it.”

• Kevin visits schools to help young people become aware of mental illness and to teach them about goal setting. He received an email from a teenage girl thanking him following one visit and telling him his talk stopped her from taking her life.

“If I can inspire one teenager by running a few marathons… Hopefully people will see I am a normal bloke but I push myself really hard.”

 

Mimi Anderson, ultra ultra runner and multi world record holder

“At the age of 36 I couldn’t stand the shape of my legs and someone say ‘start running’. I had no idea how to run. I went to my local gym and started running on a treadmill. I then discovered that people ran outside – I presumed everyone ran on treadmills.”

• Mimi ran a couple of 10ks and half marathons before her friend signed them up for Marathon de Sables – a 250km race.
• She has since ran on six out of seven continents and holds several world records.

“If you are only training the whole time you can lose the motivation. I sometimes go out and I won’t have my watch on or I’ll go running with my friends.”

 

Part two – with advice from bloggers, running experts and of course all the deets about the goodie bag coming super soon!

* What’s the best blogging advice you’ve received? 

* Have you ever been to a blogging conference?

Write This Run was my first but I’m definitely going to go to more in the future!

WIAW: Weekend Edition

I love sharing two days of WIAW, a bonus edition if you like. It doesn’t happen that often because my eats are usually quite similar from one day to the next and I don’t want you to fall asleep mid-post.

This weekend, however, I actually ate quite differently for me – including a dinner for breakfast and a breakfast for night time snack! You’ll also spot my food from Write this Run, enjoyed sat out on the grass in the beautiful sunshine.

Before I get cracking, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the lovely Jenn for her brilliant hosting duties!

As mentioned, these are my eats from the weekend, starting with Saturday. Our little hamster, Flake, passed away in the morning so I wasn’t hungry for breakfast pre-burial (sorry to be morbid!). I grabbed a coffee on our walk home and it was around 1pm when we felt able to eat.

Saturday

‘Breakfast’: Moroccan spiced veggie burger, spinach, tomato, cucumber, apple

This was my first ever salad with apple in and it was so good! The crisp crunch complemented the spicy burger perfectly. I felt surprisingly full after too, the chickpeas in the burger did a great job of satisfying me.

We walked into town then met a few friends for drinks at a nearby pub. I had an apple juice there, which was lovely and refreshing.

On the walk back I was ready for lunch and shared a Clif bar with James.

‘Lunch’: Half a peanut butter crunch Clif bar

This has to be my favourite flavour of Clif bar so far, I loved the texture a lot more than the previous I’ve tried. We walked home and as soon as we arrived I got cracking into dinner.

Dinner: Grilled salmon with sweet potato and feta mash, spinach,asparagus, fried red onion and tomato

I’ve been trying to get out of a salad for dinner rut (let’s face it, I’ve been in it for years!) and this sweet potato mash certainly helped. I simply boiled the potatoes then added feta and mashed it all together. So filling and tasty.

Although dinner was fab, I was really looking forward to dessert – a slice of cherry bakewell from Boston Tea Party.

Dessert: Cherry bakewell slice

Oh my goodness. Way too good to share!

A few hours later, my stomach was rumbling so I grabbed some dates and peanut butter before bed, plus a few spoonfuls eaten straight from the jar. Yummy!

Snack: Dates and peanut butter

Sunday

I had to be up very early for a long drive to Write This Run and knew I’d want to exercise before sitting in a car for more than two hours, so headed to the gym first thing for a session on the cross trainer. I was hungry when it finished and more than ready for breakfast.

Breakfast: Total 0% with frozen cherries and cacao nibs

I’ve been trying to eat less sugar and this combo has gorgeous flavour and crunch without anything added. It is super filling too, plus the yoghurt turns into fro-yo in places thanks to the frozen cherries. It certainly wakes you up!

When I reached the conference, I made a beeline for the coffee and felt a million times better after it. My stomach was rumbling a little through the first speeches and I was so ready for our lunch – especially with the gorgeous smells drifting from downstairs!

Lunch: Two BBQ sausages, salad, mustard

My first BBQ of 2013, made even better by the fact I was sat at a conference full of my favourite UK bloggers, on the grass, in the sunshine.

After I finished my lunch, a man from Chobani came round offering us yoghurts. I try to eat no more than one portion of dairy a day (I was diagnosed with an allergy when I was younger) but I couldn’t turn down a chance to try a new yoghurt. Especially not when it was cherry flavoured!

Snack: A cherry cho

How was it? Gorgeous! I may have grabbed a few more to take home

The conference finished with a 5k run with Scott Overall! Hang on, I’ll just repeat that in case you missed my opportunity to boast. So, I ran with Olympian Scott Overall. I didn’t quite manage to keep up with his super speedy legs but it was great fun.

I grabbed a Nakd cocoa crunch as soon as I reached my car.

Snack: Nakd cocoa crunch

My journey wasn’t supposed to take that long but traffic on the M25 meant I sat in the car for hours – and became very hungry! An emergency biscotti helped hold me over.

Snack: Biscotti

Do you like my triple snackage?! As soon as I reached Bristol it was time for dinner! I must admit I fell back into the trap of salad – it is so quick and easy.

Dinner: Haddock with sweet chilli jam, spinach, asparagus, cucumber, tomato, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing

You’ll notice I didn’t include the pictured avocado on my list because it really wasn’t ripe and way too tough to eat, which was upsetting.

A few hours later I was hungry and had a huge craving for peanut butter. It paired perfectly with a Jazz apple

Dessert: Apple and PB, plus more scooped from the jar, grape juice halva with sultanas (unpictured)

I grabbed most of a packet of halva for some super sweetness before bed too. It totally hit the spot!

* Have you had your first BBQ of 2013 yet? What’s your favourite thing to BBQ?

I love BBQ potatoes and pineapple is pretty delicious too!

Is an under ripe avocado the biggest food disappointment?

Few things rival it for me!

MIMM: A conference, a coffee and a funeral

Today is going to be marvellous. Oh yes it is! Not only is it vaguely sunny outside but I picked up a free coffee to have with my breakfast this morning. Free coffee and sunshine – what more could lift a Monday morning?

I’m also feeling so happy to be joining Katie‘s party today! I have been part of MIMM since the day the lovely mum-to-be started it and love getting involved – we all need a little positivity when we have a week of work ahead, right?

Before I recap my weekend I have some sad news to share with you. As regular readers will know, my little hamster Flake had been getting older and frailer over the last few months. He became very weak last week and passed away, snuggled into me, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The little guy has been a huge part of my life for the past three years. He’s been on holiday with me, seen me through graduation, three jobs, three homes and being single to finding my boyfriend.

He’s actually the namesake of this blog – we used to sit together and share a slice of his favourite coffee and walnut cake and both things are pretty important in my life.

I am very sad that he has gone but I know it is for the best, he stopped eating and drinking for the two days before his death and looked so frail. It is a great comfort to me that he passed away warm and safe, snuggled into me on his favourite part of my chest.

As you can probably tell, there were lots of tears this weekend but some fun too – here’s what happened.

Saturday

Flake passed away just before 5am and we went out in the morning to bury him. I’ve never buried anything before and living in a flat we had to seek out a location – then carry everything to it.

There is sometimes humour in tragedy and I smile now thinking about how worried I was that we would get stopped by someone and have to explain why we were carrying a suspicious looking sealed yogi tea box and a trowel through the streets of Bristol, furtively peering at patches of grass and checking that noone was watching.

After the ‘funeral’, we grabbed a coffee and I made us some lunch.

This was my first ever salad with apples in and it tasted delicious! I had it with a Moroccan spiced veggie burger, a combination I will definitely be repeating!

We then headed off to the pub for some drinks to celebrate a friend’s birthday and visited the Pieminster shop on the way home. James bought a lovely looking chicken pie and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the funky packaging.

It wasn’t just treats for James though, I picked up this gorgeous slice of cherry bakewell from Boston Tea Party. Delicious doesn’t even cover it – I love the serious amount of jam and strong almond flavour.

Did I share a single crumb? Hell no!

As I was slicing sweet potatoes for dinner, I was confused to find this:

Has anyone seen that before? Is it a white potato disguised as a sweet potato? Or a bad sweet potato? Answers on a postcard please

I went for a walk round the shops before dinner and picked up a few little bits to cheer us up. We had been talking about the Coke marketing campaign and how we would never be drawn in by it…

Yeah, I caved when I saw these two next to each other on the shelf – it was meant to be!

Sunday

I had the most amazing time at Write This Run and can’t wait to let you guys know all about it! I’m planning a full recap post because there is so much to talk about. All I can say is if you get the chance to go to one of their future events, take it! I will probably see you there!

To sum it up in a sentence (and whet your appetite for my recap): inspirational speakers, motivation, brilliant information, beautiful setting, fab food and awesome swag!

I now have a new yoghurt addiction too:

Hope you had the most wonderful weekend and have a great week ahead!

* Have you ever bought something just because it had your name on it? Any ideas what was going on with my potato?!

Look at the week

This week has been a big, crazy, hectic one. I am so excited for an early night and a lie in tonight, I’m feeling utterly exhausted. Work is intense, though still good but there seems to be a never ending list of things that need sorting. Last night, I forced myself to accomplish a few before bed and it felt so much better so I think I’ll be doing the same tonight.

I know I owe you a recap of my 10k on Sunday and I’m really looking forward to giving it to you, nothing like looking back over a race to cheer me up

In lieu of that, here’s a few snapshots from my week. I hope you enjoy, can’t wait to be back with you as usual soon!

Saturday

We went to Noa for some Japanese at lunchtime. Their miso soup was very seaweedy, just the way I like it!

They do great bento boxes too, this was teriyaki chicken with rice, salad and fruit salad. Love all the fresh flavours!

I’ve found my new, expensive habit. Medjool dates beat any other kind of dates I’ve tried before.

My slightly less expensive habit is lashings of chilli jam on everything. So good!

I enjoyed my last we are tea taster but was sad to see it go.

Sunday

As you can tell by my face, the race didn’t go too badly

I always love running with James.

My mum came down to watch, which gave me such a boost.

There was only one thing this fro yo could be used for..

..with sprinkles of course!

Monday

It was a Bank Holiday on Monday, meaning we didn’t have to go to work, so we headed to my home in the Cotswolds.

Flowers in the window..

..it’s such a lovely day..

.. and I’m glad you feel the same.

I tried to get a nice picture of Bob, my horse, but he had other ideas (don’t know where he gets it from!)

These ponies were only too happy to pose though.

Nothing like a gorgeous sunset to round off the day.

Tuesday

A long day of travelling equals a need for luxury early in the morning.

Work sent me to the beach in Cornwall for the day. Alas, I barely ventured out the car. For more than 9 hours.

I was excited to find a salad bar with all my favourites – roasted veggies, Greek salad and crunchy lettuce.

Wednesday

I don’t think I can accept breakfast any other way now. Yummy!

My week has been crammed with work but also looking after Flake, who is hanging on (literally) for dear life. It is awful to see him labouring for breath but he is not in pain and seems to appreciate lots of cuddles and love. I will be devastated when he leaves but also a little relieved too, I just want him to take a well deserved rest and not have to work so hard simply to be here. The way he has clung on has allowed us to have some quality time with him though.

Away from the doom and gloom though, I’m off too Write This Run on Sunday – my first blogging conference! Let me know if you’ll be there, can’t wait to meet everyone!

WIAW: Race Day

Boy oh boy I have SO much to update you on! I promise I will very soon, when everything calms down a little from my new job.

This post has to be super fast today so it is going to be all about the food – well, that’s what WIAW with the wonderful Jenn is all about, right?!




These are my eats from Sunday, when James and I ran the Bristol 10k. I thought it would be fun to show you what I eat on a race day. There are some things I cannot stomach before a run (peanut butter, fruit, dairy) so I’ve learned through trial and error what works.

Breakfast

Breakfast: Trek mixed berry bar

I haven’t found anything better than this pre-race. It doesn’t make me feel overly full but definitely fills me up and I have lots of energy for a while. Top marks.

The 10k finished at around 11am and I wasn’t overly hungry but I knew I should eat before lunch.

Snack

Snack: Half a pink lady apple, peanut butter (plus more scooped straight from the jar)

I shared a huge apple with my mum, who came down to watch the race. On the side I had some peanut butter, and a few spoonfuls straight from the jar as hunger suddenly kicked in – it always seems to when PB is around

We tried to keep moving as much as possible so got changed and went for a walk before lunch. When we sat down I was really ready to eat!

Lunch

Lunch: Tuna salad with green beans, artichoke, lettuce, tomato and eggs

Do you see the size of that piece of tuna? The word huge doesn’t do it justice. It was perfectly cooked too and so tasty. I wish I could make salads as pretty as this one!

I was completely stuffed after my massive tuna steak and we went for a walk around Bristol. A few hours later it was time to sit down and chill with a coffee.

Snack

Snack: Black Americano, mini blueberry bakewell

I love cherry bakewells so was very intrigued to try this mini blueberry slice. The verdict? It was gorgeous! Full of flavour and blueberries. I will definitely buy one of these again, I wonder how many it is considered polite to consume in one sitting?!

We chatted with our coffees for a little while before it was time for – yup more walking! We went shopping and had a great time showing Mum round Bristol.

As soon as she left it was time for dinner. I had a real fish craving despite my lunch and decided to go with it.

Dinner

Dinner: Salad, beetroot, asparagus and fried red onion with haddock and sweet chilli sauce

So I just might be a little obsessed with the sweet chilli sauce if you can’t tell

James had cooked some sausages and although I didn’t fancy them I simply could not resist the amazing smelling fried red onion. It tasted fab with the asparagus and beetroot.

As I previously mentioned, it was Sunday and I knew there was only one thing we could have for dessert – sundaes!

Dessert

Dessert: frozen cherry yoghurt, frozen cherries, grapes, strawberries, cacao nibs, sprinkles

I loved eating the sundae and we are definitely going to make them a more regular thing. Finding a container of sprinkles in the cupboard was an inspired moment, it made the dessert feel like a real ‘occasion’.

We were all set to take our aching legs to bed early but our hamster, Flake, has taken a turn for the worse. He hasn’t been getting any younger and he suddenly deteriorated. We were up until really late slowly feeding him and unsurprisingly became hungry again.

Snack

Snack: Six dates, halva and peanut butter

You can times this plate by two! It was simply so good I had to repeat it

I was well and truly stuffed by this point and ready to sleep off the 10k and good food, which is exactly what I did!

* What’s your fail safe pre-race breakfast? Are sprinkles the best addition to desserts? 

I know Sam would say so!

Girl in the City

My time in London has been busy, hectic, stressful as well as interesting and fun. I have been really enjoying my evenings exploring the city by myself, although I haven’t been sleeping great and so am really tired!

James and I are running the Bristol 10k on Sunday so I knew I wanted to go for a run in my week here. I didn’t finish until 8pm on Tuesday but I decided to go out for an explore and see where I ended up.

Amazingly, I didn’t do too badly!

Tuesday

St James Park was so lovely in the evening sunshine.

Buckingham Palace was lovely to run past, I really enjoyed doing a few loops of the surrounding area.

It was so nice to be out in the park.

Especially with the gorgeous light! Then I started hitting the pavement and managed to navigate myself to Westminster.

Big Ben looking lovely.

I don’t know how that happened..

Wednesday

On Wednesday, I did a few exciting jobs in the morning. We went to the ITV studios and I tried not to look too starstruck as David Cameron, Carol Vorderman, and other celebs who I recognised but not by name strolled past. It was funny to see everyone made up and looking glam before 10am!

In the afternoon, we went to Kensington Roof Gardens for a press call. If you haven’t been, it is basically this amazing bar right at the top of a building in Kensington. The views were pretty cool but the luxe setting was almost better.

Would you believe I was on the top floor of a building in central London?

They had flamingos! They were cute at first and then I was able to get super close and they just looked a little odd.

Pretty pond – note the skyscrapers in the background!

They had a themed Spanish garden and it was just like being in the Med. It was actually sunny too.. I just needed a sun lounger and a cocktail. Sadly it didn’t happen!

I couldn’t resist one last gawp at a flamingo before we left. I also couldn’t hold back from grabbing some fro yo at the Yoo Moo cafe at Kensington High Street tube station.

I sampled every flavour – there was mango, chocolate, plain and strawberry in that pot. So good! I topped it with kiwi, mango, strawberries, mango coulis and dark chocolate chips. Yum!

After happily scoffing my fro yo, I visited the huge Wholefoods nearby.

It was a great experience and there were lots of fun products to admire but I didn’t buy anything. Despite this wall of temptation:

That’s the stuff my dreams are made of!

I also didn’t end up eating there as planned as I couldn’t find the hot bar and didn’t want a proper sit down meal on my own (though the restaurant did look fab). I walked from there all the way past Hyde Park and up to Piccadily to my frequent haunt this week..

Yup, I’m obsessed!

Thursday

Would you believe I didn’t take any of my own pictures on Thursday? I went to ZSL London Zoo to film their new male gorilla, Kumbuka, but didn’t take a single picture for myself. You can see some gorgeous shots of him here though and find out more about him here. It was so fun to watch him play but we were warned he likes to throw things so had to watch out every time he grabbed a clump of mud!

When I finished work, I had the nightmare task of moving all my stuff from one apartment to a hotel a mile away. In hindsight I should have got a taxi but you live and learn. By the time I finished I was starving and was determined to finally have a veggie burger from Wholefoods.

Alas, I was too late, but I did manage to grab a very tasty box of goodies.

 

What’s in the box of goodies? Tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, olives, walnuts, beetroot, pearl barley, carrot, tuna and raspberry basil dressing. Too yummy. I splashed out and treated myself to a fancy drink too:

 

Lovely and refreshing. I think being in London has really dehydrated me and I’m not drinking as much herbal tea and water throughout the day. My skin is already showing annoyance so I’m looking forward to getting back to Bristol and close proximity of a kettle again!

* What’s your favourite animal at the Zoo? Have you ever ran in a ‘foreign’ place?