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Exploring Adventures at the Seaside

I spent my first day living by the seaside exploring. I should have been unpacking. But it will only be sunny for so many days now that we are heading into winter so I gave myself consent to forget the bags and boxes still stacked up in my room and to head out and see where I ended up. So that's what I did. I drove a little bit and then saw a sign saying 'Beaches', so that's where I headed. And quite a beach it was.


I have known I am moving down to the coast for a while and yet only today, with my feet in the sand and the noise of the waves, did I realise that I'm pretty lucky really, to have been forced to come and live in such a beautiful part of the country.

Saturday STRESS Sessions - No Style, Just Stress.

Hi guys!

Today I officially moved house. And it was the Day From Hell. I was a hot, sweaty mess all day from cleaning, packing, loading the car, driving in a boiling hot car that doesn't have air conditioning and then unloading a car. Oh and I made a CRACKING first impression with my new housemate by locking myself outside with my phone, keys, handbag all inside, then having to bang on the doors and windows like a maniac until he heard and came to see which particular axe murderer was trying to get in to see my panic-stricken red face mumbling words like "So sorry", "You must think I'm a madwoman", "Thanksthanksthanks". His comment - "Yeh you need to have your keys on you". How To Make Friends with Your Flatmates #101: FAIL.

So anyway. What I'm trying to say is that today there was sadly no style in my life whatsoever but I have at least accomplished a successful move on my own involving a 200 mile drive, and to my amazement, also fitted all most of my life possessions in a Toyota Yaris (the old version, with the teeny boot).

I am completely exhausted and my room looks like a disaster zone so will leave it at that for now - hopefully I can make up for my sorry excuse for a blog post as soooon as possible!

Thanks for reading! JAM x

p.s. If I don't write beforehand, on Monday I officially embark on my life for the next 6 months in a food manufacturing environment, wearing a hairnet and steel-capped boots and maybe even a high-vis jacket and hard hat. We might be entering whole new meanings for the word 'style'!

Breakfast for Dinner

Tonight the flat is empty. I have a beanbag to sit on. No table or chairs or bed or sofa or ANYTHING. This week is going to interesting to say the least! Anyway, I am also on a using-up-the-food mission before I go and tonight was inspired by a phenomenon which I'm sure is an American thing - Breakfast for Dinner.

What's the phrase - "it's all in the presentation"??!! It looks horrendous, I'm not proud.
I have read various tweets, read blogs and watched vlogs of people across the pond cooking up eggs and bacon and sausages and waffles in the evening and when I looked in the freezer and found some veggie sausages that needed eating, along with eggs in the fridge and wholemeal English muffins in the cupboard, I knew it was my time to experience this concept!

Saturday Style Sessions - Moisturise, Moisturise, Moisturise.

Hi guys! Today's Saturday Style Session is inspired by the fact that this week in the UK, the temperature plummeted and we were all immediately reminded that winter is on its way, and with that comes not only coats, scarves and chai lattes but also moisturising. Big time.


Sunny holidays & UV rays excluded, I tend to find that winter does a lot more daily damage to my skin than summer. The cold and wind dries out my face and I get cracks in the corner of my mouth. To prevent this nastiness, I thought I'd let you know the top 5 things I look for in my face creams and which I use and love.

Grandma & Grandpa's Garden of Goodness


This weekend I took some of my furniture to store at my grandparents' house (sob). They live in a traditional Suffolk thatched cottage that is over 400 years old and utterly dreamy. Beams and wonky floorboards and door frames so low that I have to fold in half to fit through and steep stairs and mysterious cupboards and perfect.

Saturday Style Sessions - DIY and Nails (both types..)!

Hi guys!

This weekend I have the pleasure of sorting ALL my furniture, clothes, kitchen equipment and general bits out to start getting ready for moving out of the flat. We are taking things off walls, Polyfilla-ing in the holes, painting over the top, taking beds apart - you name it! OOTD therefore is not very glam but does feature the amazing leggings I got the other week from Gap (which are proving to be as comfy, warm and awesome as I had hoped).

Pink shirt from H&M, black vest top also from H&M, the leggings from Gap and Converse trainers! Also rocking the Revlon Balm Stain again.

Clean Eating - SOUP!

Hi guys!

I mentioned in Saturday's post that I wanted to try eating 'cleanly' this week (after too many sweets, fizzy drinks and rich foods on training all of last week!). So yesterday I plodded off to the supermarket and bought [whatfeltlike] the whole vegetable aisle in the supermarket ready for fresh, tasty goodness for the next few days.

Today's kick off menu started with Cheerios (a flying start...! But I need cereal to start the day well. Fruit is not enough). I had a banana mid-morning and some Twinings Pineapple and Grapefruit Green Tea (which I'm LOVING) and then for lunch had two hard boiled eggs, three Original Ryvita crispbreads anddd a massive Tupperware box of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and carrots. This isn't too different from a normal lunch for me - I tend to always have a pile of veg with whatever I'm eating and actually love it. To satisfy the (major) sweet tooth, I had a low fat cherry yogurt and then mid afternoon I gobbled an apple.

This evening I got my Jamie on and whipped up a GOOD, CLEAN, GREEN soup. Onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, courgette and broccoli all whizzed together with bucket loads of cumin. My first soup of the autumn and I'll have PLENTY to eat later this week of freeze for lunches.

I even cheffed it up with creme fraiche and black pepper!

Saturday Style Sessions - Seaside and House Hunting!

Firstly apologies for the slight delay in getting this blogpost live - have been travelling around the UK because I'M MOVING HOUSE - ARGH! I am off to work for six months on the south coast, by the seaside! I have therefore been visiting this weekend with J to find somewhere to call home from end Sept to beginning April. Had I had lots and lots of money, I would ideally have found a one bed flat right by the beach and in town etc BUT I do not have said money so have settled for a really nice, clean and modern shared house with other 'professionals' (baha I'm professional..?!). Once we had found a room for me we then got to work having a little holiday by the seaside! We stayed overnight last night and then drove back this morning. Outfit of the day plus other sunny, beachy holiday snaps for you below - no photos from today because it was CHUCKING it down so we just hit the road. Such a shame I'm moving down for the freezing winter months but I'm still romantically believing I'll be able to take strolls along the beach on crisp, clear days (we'll see whether this materialises...!).

Black jeans from Tesco (as before - DON'T judge!) , top from Warehouse, black cardigan and jersey snood from Gap. Clutch because we went straight out to dinner from the beach!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains


Rendezvous 040
Honey 001

Rendezvous on the lippies

I recently bought two of Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, in 001 Honey and 040 Rendezvous. These were a GOOD buy. Lipglosses can be sticky, hair-attracting disasters and lipsticks sometimes feel like too much (for me, anyway) so these have found their own perfect spot in my makeup bag somewhere inbetween the two andnowiwearthemeveryday. After application they feel like you're wearing a lip balm but the stain remains for several hours after the balm has worn off. Both of the colours are bright and yet not fluorescent so perfect for day to day wear as well as nights out. It does feel like you're using a fat colouring crayon (hence Clinique's Chubby Sticks, I suppose!) but they are very easy to apply even for non-makeup artistes extraordinaires (me).

All in all I have nothing bad to say about these lip heroes - I might even have to pop back down to Boots and broaden my collection of colours...!

Would be interested to know if anyone has used both these and the Chubby Sticks and can therefore compare? At two for £10 (when I bought them), these are a bargain versus Clinique but would like to know the differences and whether the Chubby Sticks live up to their hype?

Thanks for reading!
JAM x