Look lovely with fresh air, fitness and fun
After another week of following the suggestions on www.looklovely.net I have been trying to spend the weekend getting out and about. There is a page on looklovely.net called ‘out and about’, with the idea that everybody needs to get out and do things.
There are several reasons why it is important to get out and about. I think it is essential for mental health as well as physical wellbeing.
If you stay at home and read, listen to the radio or watch television, you might have a stream of new ideas, but could be missing out on interface with other people.
I really enjoy going for walks in interesting place. Fresh air and fitness are always good, but it is nice to go for a walk that includes something different.
Saturday started out as a bright and sunny day, so I suggested to Wonderful Husband that we should make a visit to Tide Mills, as we haven’t been there for over a year. Tide Mills is the site of a 19th Century tide mill (no surprise) and village. The last residents were forcibly removed from the village in 1939, and the houses are now little more than foundations.
It is a very interesting place, and the site was renovated a few years ago through collaboration between English Heritage and the Probation Service. There are now information boards that tell the story behind the ruins.
After having a look around Tide Mills we walked along to the edge of the harbour, and out onto the quay. It was rather cold and windy on the quay, but we were rewarded by seeing a seal swimming in the bay. I have never seen a seal off our coast before; I have only seen seals from the Scottish coast in the past.
On the quay looking toward the lighthouse
The sun was very bright and only the wind served to remind me that it is still winter here. We only walked about 8000 steps in total but it felt further because of the cold air.
I pottered around the house in the afternoon, enjoying the company of Wonderful Husband.
In the evening we went to the cinema to see ‘It’s Complicated’. The whole film is totally unbelievable. Meryl Streep has 2 grown up kids with flashy cars, she lives in a big house that is beautifully furnished and immaculate, she runs a food business yet has the time and energy to produce delicious meals at home, her ex-husband has a sports car – and there’s more. Even the tomatoes in her vegetable garden are perfect. However, I just soaked it up. The film has some very funny moments (it is a comedy) and there was one point where Wonderful Husband laughed so much he thought that he was about to pass out.
This morning I have been to church twice – one for the parish Eucharist and two for the Pilgrims’ service with my friends’ 2 little boys. I felt refreshed and renewed, ready for another week.
Add comment February 7, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: church, look lovely, looklovely, walking, exercise, cinema, fitness, fun, fresh air, saturday, movies, meryl Streep, eucharist
Theatre Outing – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
At the weekend I had a chance to go out and actually look lovely. I have been following the suggestions on www.looklovely.net and there doesn’t seem much point in trying to look lovely if I never go anywhere.
So on Saturday Wonderful Husband and I went up to London. I wore the Paul Smith shirt that I bought in Durham last year together with black trousers and red shoes.
We met friends and had dinner at a restaurant in Covent Garden, and then walked to the Novello Theatre.
It was cold, but at least it wasn’t raining.
We saw ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ with an all black cast, starring James Earl Jones. As usual I was worried that the others weren’t enjoying it, but they did. Wonderful Husband said that he preferred it to ‘Streetcar named Desire’ (which we saw at the National Theatre a few years ago with Glenn Close as Blance du Bois).
Friend John did remark that he’s never known a play where the title is included in the dialogue so many times. He’s right – the character Maggie (like Maggie the Cat) keeps saying that she feels like a cat on a hot tin roof.
The performance was sold out, which I always think contributes to a good atmosphere.
Afterwards we walked to Holborn Underground station – a bit of exercise, so I’m in the groove for looking lovely.
We stayed overnight with our friends and enjoyed a healthy salad based lunch before heading home.
Add comment February 3, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: cat on a hot tin roof, diary, drama, Durham, exercise, fashion, friends, fun, London, look lovely, looklovely, Paul Smith, play, shirt, shoes, theatre
Starting another week with Look Lovely
I am trying hard to keep up with the suggestions on www.looklovely.net
I got a bit behind last week, but spent time with friends. I always feel lovely when I am with friends, so I think that balances things nicely.
On Sunday I went for a walk in Alexandra Park, around the Alexandra Palace. Despite the cold we walked about 7000 steps. Not quite the recommended 10000, but not too bad.
The suggestion for Monday was to make myself a fruit salad. I used banana, kivi fruit and mandarin oranges, and it was very tasty.
- Fruit salad as per the suggestion on www.looklovely.net
Today (Tuesday) Look Lovely suggested applying a deep conditioner to my hair. I have put that off until tomorrow as today is not a ‘hair wash’ day. (I do mine every other day).
Add comment February 2, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: diary, exercise, fruit, fruit salad, hair, look lovely, looklovely, walking
Dark days but I try to Look Lovely
I have read that the last Monday of January is the most depressing day of the year.
This may not be true for Scots though, because this year the last Monday was the 25th, or Burns Night.
I went to my Philosophy Club on Monday night, and enjoyed an interesting conversation, so I did not feel particularly depressed.
Sunday was different though. I felt rather down on Sunday as it was a gloomy day and my house guests had left or were leaving.
I tried hard to catch up with the things I had missed from the www.looklovely.net suggestions the previous week.
I washed my hair brushes and I applied a deep conditioner to my hair.
Monday I dressed myself in brown trousers from Chico, the Marks & Spencer top I bought in Chester (shown in photo) and my purple Boden cardigan. I wore my purple Ecco shoes. This was a cheery outfit for an overcast day.
The advice on www.looklovely.net was to make time to relax, so after lunch I lay on the sofa and listened to ‘The Archers’ on the radio.
Today’s advice is to check my breasts. I shall do that when i get ready for bed tonight.
Add comment January 26, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: cardigan, Chester, clothes, daily outfit, diary, Ecco, hair, look lovely, looklovely, marks and spencer, shoes
Third Week of Looking Lovely
I have been attempting to follow the daily diary suggestions on www.looklovely.net for three weeks now.
Wednesday is ‘keep active’ day. My Mother-in-law is staying with me at present. She walks with a cane, and walks very slowly. When she is with me she likes to hold my arm while we walk, so I must walk at her pace.
On Wednesday morning we went to the Farmers’ Market in the pouring rain. This consisted of dropping her at the door of the Village Hall, parking, buying some fish from the fish man, then picking her up again.
We then proceeded in the car to Big Town where we walked (slowly) from the car park to the bank, and then back again. Spent the rest of the day inside. Incredibly, my pedometer says that I managed 11 minutes of aerobic walking!
Thursday’s advice was to try to pick up wardrobe basics in the January sales. I did buy a basic black skirt a few weeks ago, so I reckon I met that suggestion in advance.
Friday is ‘lifestyle’ day, with the suggestion to carry out a Random Act of Kindness. I took Ma-in-law to the cafe in Sainsburys for lunch. She paid, so I’m not sure that counts.
On Friday morning I attended my weekly Pilates lesson. It was nice to lie on the floor and concentrate on doing the exercises. I love Pilates.
Today I gave her garlic bread with her lunch, which she loves but I don’t. So maybe that is my Random Act of Kindness.
Add comment January 23, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: diary, exercise, look lovely, looklovely, pilates, walking
Slipping News
I have not got off to a good start with following www.looklovely.net this week. This is mostly because I am still trying to catch up after being away last week combined with a full schedule this week.
On Sunday a set of accounts arrived for auditing and I have not even opened the bag yet!
Monday I was still working on last week’s work. The advice for the day on Look Lovely was to relax while treating myself to a face mask.
I had bought a Dr Hauschka face mask in preparation for this treat. I arrived home from my evening meeting at about 9.30 and after careful cleansing and exfoliating with Liz Earle products I applied the face mask. Instead of relaxing I sat in my office typing while hoping that the mask was making my face look lovely.
On Tuesday I got up early and washed my hair in the shower. When I read the www.looklovely.net suggestion, it said to apply a deep conditioning treatment to my hair. I actually had bought one, but had forgotten to use it. Failure!
There was a reminder to wash my hair and make up brushes. I resolved to do that later in the day.
As I knew Tuesday would be a difficult day I gave myself a bit of incentive by wearing the In Wear skirt that I bought in Norwich in 2009. I teamed it with an orange Jaeger jersey that came from Stratford-upon-Avon in 2006 and my cute Duo shoes from Edinburgh (2009).
I had an early meeting regarding my work. That took up most of the morning, then I drove cross country to pick up my mother-in-law who is staying here for about a week. The journey there and back took 5 hours.
When I arrived here with MIL of course I had to sit and have a cup of tea with her, then it was time to get dinner ready. She always raves about my cooking (she only microwaves) so I could hardly get her a takeaway meal.
Wonderful Husband was working in the evening, and one of MIL’s complaints is that she is lonely all the time, so I sat and watched television with her for an hour.
Then the Sainsbury’s man arrived and I had to pack away the groceries. That left me a few minutes to watch Gok Wan with MIL.
We then had a Skype chat with Beautiful Daughter before MIL took herself off to bed.
I worked in my office for about an hour and a half – and still have a backlog. So no time to wash hair brushes.
This morning (Wednesday) I did wash one make up brush. Well, it’s a tiny gesture.
Add comment January 20, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: clothes, skirt, Jaeger, stratford-upon-avon, In-wear, diary, look lovely, looklovely, face mask, hair, driving, mother in law
Looking Lovely on the Move
On the third week of following the suggestions on www.looklovely.net I had a break from routine, by travelling north to visit a friend.
Last Wednesday’s advice was to ‘find an exercise buddy’. Oh dear! The friend that I visited is about the opposite of an exercise buddy. One of her more frequent phrases is , ‘Do have another piece of cake.’ As she is an excellent baker I find it hard to refuse.
On the positive side, I travelled by train in the snow, with one change south of London, crossing London on the Underground, and one change north of London. I must have burned some calories along the way, even though I only walked 4025 steps.
Thursday’s suggestion was to check fitness clothing for holes in embarassing places. I had already check my one item of fitness clothing, so I could tick that off the list.
My friend had to work on Thursday morning, so I went into Chester to have a look around the shops. Chester is one of my favourite places to shop, and there is a lot of ground to cover. I walked over 10,000 steps!
Shopping in Chester
The following day I read an article in the Daily Mail that said that a shopping trip can be the equivilent of a session in the gym. Wonderful.
Friday’s suggestion on www.looklovely.net was to book a hair appointment. The next one is already in my diary – and I am looking forward to it as my hair has got too long. There was also a reminder to buy a face pack for next Monday’s treat. I have one waiting already, a firming mask by Dr Hauska. I feel very virtuous.
Back home on Saturday morning, I weighed myself and find to my amazement (and delight) that I still weigh 128 pounds. Although I would like to weigh a few pounds less, I am pleased that I don’t weigh a few pounds more after my visit.
Add comment January 16, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: calories, Chester, diary, eating, exercise, fitness, look lovely, looklovely, shopping, walking
Fed up with the Snow but still Looking Lovely
My resolve to start a general fitness plan was reinvorced by the arrival of a new skirt. I ordered it from the Toast sale on 4th January (first day of the online sale) and was surprised when it was delivered late Friday afternoon. The reason for my surprise is that postal deliveries had been suspended because of the snow. My skirt was delivered by a courier company – a man in a van.
So I tried on my skirt and stood on a chair so that I could see what it looked like in the mirror over the fire place.
Now I know why there was no food waste over Christmas – I ate it all. Oh dear.
- Skirt from Toast, top by Jackpot, cardigan by Boden
So on Saturday I went to an exhibition at Earl’s Court in London, called The France Show. It was very cold on the trains , and walking to Earl’s Court. The show was interesting but the best part was I walked 12599 steps. I reckon the cold weather meant I burned more calories as well.
On Sunday I worked my arm and back muscles by clearing the snow off Wonderful Husband’s car, and moving the snow out of the drive and into the gutter. The muscles in my back are still a bit sore now, two days later.
Monday’s suggestion on www.looklovely.net was to relax for 20 minutes. My main task for Monday was to get the broken toilet fixed – we have 2 others but they are both downstairs and we sleep upstairs, so I was quite keen on getting back to having a working toi.et This task entailed picking up the plumber (he doesn’t drive), and then taking him to the builders’ merchant to buy parts. (This is what motivated me to get the car out of the drive on Sunday.)
The plumbing task took almost all day, and I had several other things to do, but about 5 o’clock I finally had time to relax for 10 minutes. My original plan was to pour myself a cup of coffee and enjoy it with some chocolate. On second thought, a double dose of caffeine might not be relaxing, so I made myself a cup of herbal tea instead. I then sat on the sofa with me feet up for 10 minutes, sipping my substitute tea.
Today is Tuesday, and www.looklovely.net suggests checking the condition of my bras. I decide to sort out my entire underwear drawer, but I ran out of time about half way through the exercise. I am so happy with the appearance of that side of the drawer that I will try very hard to complete the sort out.
Add comment January 12, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: Boden, bras, cardigan, clothes, exercise, look lovely, looklovely, skirt, Toast, walking
Trying to Look Lovely in the Snow
When it snows here it usually melts by the following day. Not so with this snow.
On Wednesday it snowed all day, thwarting my plan to follow the advice on www.looklovely.net to start a balanced fitness programme.
Yesterday (Thursday) morning Look Lovely said ‘check you have correct footwear for your fitness activity.’ Not problem there – I got out my hiking boots with Vibram soles. They are warm, and the soles do give good traction – just the thing for walking on the snow.
I put on my boots and I walked to the beauty salon and enjoyed a professional facial. I started having professional facials about 28 years ago. My idea of bliss. In the early days I could not afford to have them often; at my age they seem more of a necessity so I try to have one every month.
At the end of the facial my skin was very well moisturised. I re-dressed myself for the snowy wilds of my sunny seaside town and went for a walk along the beach.
According to my pedometer I clocked up 59 minutes of aerobic walking, so I am counting that as the start of my balanced fitness programme.
Today’s suggestion of www.looklovely.net was to decide whether I need a sports bra. I don’t think that I do, because I do not intend to take up any exercise that involves high impact (or bouncing) – at least not at this stage of my balanced fitness programme.
The exercise I took today was attendance at my Pilates class. In the course of the class I decided that the bra I am wearing today has reached the end of its useful life. I think that I bought it in Aberdeen in 2005, so I guess the elastic is about worn out.
So I have reached the end of my second week of trying to follow the advice on www.looklovely.net. Now I hope that I will be able to go somewhere this weekend and actually look lovely.
Add comment January 8, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: beach, beach huts, boots, diary, exercise, fitness, look lovely, looklovely, pilates, snow, walking
It’s hard to look lovely when it’s snowing
I am now in my second week of attempting to follow the daily suggestions on www.looklovely.net.
The advice yesterday was to make sure that you had warm gloves to protect your hands. I was certain that I had at least 3 pairs of gloves, so did not need to buy more. However, I wanted to do something active, so I decided to clear out the drawer where I keep my gloves.
I also keep tights and some sweaters in the drawer, so it was not a quick task.
I took everything out of the drawer, and had the bonus of finding a pair of purple shoelaces that I had just about given up for lost. I have a pair of purple shoes that came with orange laces, and I wanted some alternate laces for days when I did not want such a bold contrast on my shoes.
So, laces now found. I also found a couple of very old sweaters that I have put into a bag to take to the charity shop. When I say very old, I really mean comparatively old as I am a very frequent and enthusiastic shopper. I have not worn either jersey for at least a year and they are surplus to requirements.
And I found 8 – yes 8 – pairs of gloves. They are now neatly stacked up so that I can find them. There is even one pair that I have never worn.
So that counts as a real result for the Tuesday suggestion.
Today’s advice is to start a balanced exercise programme. I weighed myself on Tuesday morning and found I weigh 128 pounds while wearing winter trousers, 2 sweaters and boots. I am 5 foot 3 (almost) so I think that is a fairly good weight, but like everybody else I would like to weigh just a little bit less.
I think a balanced exercise programme is a good goal, and I had good intentions of going for a long walk today.
When I woke up it was raining, and I thought I would drive to the nearest mall (10 miles) and walk the perimeter twice and then treat myself to a latte – skinny, of course.
After showering and drying my hair I looked out the window and the rain had turned to snow. It didn’t seem to be sticking and it almost never snows here, so I continued to fantasize about mall walking and skinny latte.
An hour later it was still snowing – and it continued all day.
The furthest I walked was from the back door to the shed.
Add comment January 6, 2010
dressingmyself
Tags: exercise, look lovely, looklovely. gloves, snow, walking, weight
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