Hello lovely readers, I hope you are enjoying your weekends! Mine has been mostly spent working, things are so busy for me at the moment which is a good thing but does have it’s down sides. I’ve struggled with feeling over whelmed at times and daft situations such as my broadband connection going down has had me feeling very frustrated and upset. I could have done with hiding myself away in that chill out zone pictured above, alas the best I could do was some yoga and meditation at home! But overall there have been lots of great things, one of which was meeting up with my old uni friend Zoe!
We met at Tea Sutra in Newcastle, and as you can see from those pics it has a very relaxing vibe – just what I needed! I tried some cherry sencha green tea and kuricha green tea. I loved how the tea came with a little hour glass so you could time the brewing correctly! Zoe and I did our MA in Community and Youth Work together over 4 years ago and although we have kept in touch online it was the first time we’d met up since then. Zoe is a fabulous foodie (check out her blog!) and treated me to some goodies she knew I would like:
Chocolate chip peanut butter cookies and matcha goodies from Hong Kong! She clearly knows me so well, those cookies were amazing! I’ve saved a couple in the freezer so I wasn’t tempted to eat them all in one go.
Eat
I have to say this has been a cracking food week. It feels like I’ve eaten some really delicious meals, here’s my faves:
Homemade sweet chilli turkey burger with avocado and red pepper in a lettuce wrap
Wild pacific salmon with stir fried veggies and Thai red coconut curry sauce (this was utterly gorgeous, definitely to be repeated!)
Quinoa lentil salad with tahini dressing
Porridge with an egg whipped in, mango and full fat coconut milk
Treat lunch from Pret – Super Salad with hummus and quinoa, apple celery green juice
Mexican bowl with black bean chilli, organic blue corn chips, avocado, greek yoghurt
Cherries, quinoa, greek yoghurt and hemp seeds for breakfast
One of lots of green smoothies – this one containing spinach, pear, grass fed peanut butter whey protein powder, maca, greens powder
Move
Workouts this week:
- Monday – Gym 3,2,1 workout 1 hour
- Tuesday – Yoga and hula hooping 20 minutes
- Wednesday – Gym 3,2,1 workout 1 hour
- Thursday – Davina cardio box 30 minutes
- Friday – Metafit 30 minutes
- Saturday – Rest
- Sunday – Spin class 45 minutes
I usually go for a run on a Thursday but I had things on so opted for some old skool Davina first thing. It was actually a great workout and fun to do something different for a change!
Wear
I ordered this necklace from Applelatte on Etsy and I just love it! I’ve been wearing it all week.
It’s been a cold week so most of my outfits have been layering it up. This included a vest, stripy tee shirt, long length cardigan, jeans, two pairs of socks and a scarf finished off with big boots. I have to admit I am longing for the spring now!
Love
As much as there has been some really shitty times this week, there has been just as many great things. At the beginning of the year I started to use this ‘good things’ jar so when something good happens I jot it down on a post-it and then at the end of the year I’ll have all those lovely memories to look back on. On Wednesday I got a call from my Doctors to say that my blood test results show that I have ovulated for the first time in several years. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while you’ll know my history with hypothalamic amenorrhea and although I have had a period recently I hadn’t ovulated. Now I have! I cried tears of joy let me tell you. We aren’t seeking to start a family or anything, I just want to have a properly functioning body. The weight gain, some choice comments from others about my size, everything to get to this point is worth it for knowing that my body is healthy for me! Obviously that went in the good things jar. Also…
Kicking off a project working with girls in schools and it starting really well // meditating for myself // celebrating my Sister and Dad’s birthday last night // huge fruit and veggie grocery shops and finding kabocha at Waitrose // first sessions with fabulous clients // James being an amazingly supportive husband, even we we argue and fall out // peanut butter flavour protein powders
Link
- I was blogger of the week over at Get the Gloss! Read my full interview here.
- Good Mood Food – How food can affect your state of mind – my article on the Zeo blog
- GIVEAWAY for a 6 month supply of Together Health Multivitamins
- Weight loss, not hating my body and a fresh start with food – thanks again for all the supportive comments on this post!
- Recipe for green tea infused polenta with greek yoghurt, honey and flaked almonds
- innocent smoothies and their Chain of Good
- The best gym wear under £20
- Armadillo’s response to the NHS Eat Well Campaign. When I saw some of the adverts I turned the air blue – seriously WTF!
- I failed, I gained 15 pounds and saved my life (or something) on Paleo for Women. Stefani never fails to utterly inspire me and by god did I need to read that post this week. Awesome stuff.
How has your week been? Do you ever just have one of those weeks? Give me an eat, move, wear, love or link from your week!
I’m sorry you’ve had a rough week, but I’m so glad things are getting better on the health front! Congratulations! Hope next week is better!
Thanks so much Sarah, this week so far so good!
day know when i scrolled do to the photo of you in the stripy top I actually said ‘wow’ out loud. looking really really lovely and healthy! x
Oh thank you so much! That is so lovely of you to say, especially right now that is super appreciated :-)
Looking gorgeous Laura- your body must be liking the balance you have struck right now!xx
Thank you so much Kara, that means a lot!
That’s such exciting news! On top of all those tasty dishes, you must feel incredible :)
That’s great news on the health front, Laura! So pleased for you. Love that necklace and I really want to try a green juice from Pret – I keep seeing them advertised everywhere, you can’t seem to escape from Prets in London! x
Haha, there’s only really the one in Newcastle so I do like to visit!
That is so good about your body! Healed healthy happy bodies are precious things! May this week be a better week filled with more healthy happy news!
Thanks Kezia!
WOOOHOOOOO for healthy bodies, they are the best xx
Thanks Lara!
Woweeee you look amazing! Great outfit also ;) and congratulations about your good news – it’s such a shame people give negative comments (always makes me wonder why they bother reading) but it seems like you are going from strength to strength right now! xxx
Thanks so much Pip! I agree but I think some people just want to be negative, I feel sorry for them really ;-)
I have to echo earlier comments – you are looking beautiful! I love your outfit! Your meals are yummy as usual and congrats on ovulating (sounds weird to type!).
Haha thanks so much Rach!
Love the layered look :)
When I’m stressed (alot of the time I am!) the littlest of hiccups send me into a tizz as well.
I know I am young and while I have not interested in even ‘thinking’ about reproduction issues I can’t wait to have my body functioning like a healthy womans’ should. I’m so happy for you :)
Thanks lovely :-) I think it makes you appreciate that part of your body so much more when it’s taken away from you x
soso happy for your good news :)
Awhhh Laura that is so amazing!!!! Brought a smile to my face on this horrible dreary day! :)
You look fab as always – stripes and jeans definitely suit you!
I love Tea Sutra, such a relaxing place and such a large menu. I love going there after the gym sometimes for an iced tea :)
I definitely have those kinda weeks sometimes where even the little things just wind you up so much when looking back, it really isn’t worth all the emotion! This week I felt like I’d been hit by a bus and my heart was aching which had me really worried and everything just seemed all too much because of it and because I was stuck at home under a blanket. Glad I’m through it but looking back I really should have just chilled out because I think my body was just asking me to slow down a bit!
Thanks Nicky! I bet it’s lovely to pop in there after the gym, such a lovely atmosphere :-) Hope you are feeling a bit better this week, I definitely think quite a few people have had a rough time of it over the last week or so xxxx
Loved your interview on GTG! Was *almost* as though we were chatting over a cup of tea! Have also been really curious as to what this Metafit business was about; they call it HIIT in the states which is why I was confused, still, I think I’d like to give it a go! Hope next week is filled with more of the good things! Laura xx
Thanks Laura! Haha glad that interview came across like that :-) I think Metafit is a bit of a brand name, but yep it’s basically HIIT work, which kills you ;-)
Excellent news on the health front Laura! Tea Sutra looks so cute! Loving the look of a lot of the food here, especially the quinoa lentil salad!
Yep last week sucked for me! Congrats on the ovulation! X
Hope you are having a better week, I think a lot of people seemed to have a hard time last week!
What great news on your health! :)
So much of your food looks so delicious too.
I had a super stressful week too- I needed the weekend so much as I just felt things piling on top of me even more than usual- hopefully next week will be better for everyone!
Thanks Maria! I think a lot of people seem to have been struggling this last week or so, must be something in the air! Hope you are feeling more relaxed this week
So happy for you and the ovulating! I know how hard you’ve worked to reach this point! :)
Thanks for the shout out Laura, i really appreciate it! Thanks also for the tips for improving my blog’s format etc. You’ve been a great help so far :-) It was so lovely meeting up with you, especially after all the time that has passed! Let’s not leave it so long to see each other again ;-D Really happy to hear about your health progress! *Big hug* Take care hun xx
My pleasure Zoe it was lovely to see you and we will definitely have to make sure we see each other sooner rather than later!
Sounds very hectic! hope it calms down for you. What a lovely place to go for tea though, perfect timing :) My mum bought me and Ben some cupcake and we had to put them straight in the freezer…so much cake this week it’s unreal!!
Congrats on ovulating! What a relief! :)
Thanks Anna! What a relief indeed!
Amazing news on ovulating Laura – this is SO brilliant to read!
Thanks Claire xxx
I’m sorry you’ve had a stressful week :( I really empathise because I go completely nuts when my broadband goes down, and I don’t rely on it for anything other than my social media/blog obsession…I can’t imagine how awful it must be when you need it for business purposes as well.
Congrats on your hormones sorting themselves out though! That’s huge and I know how much it means to you – hopefully on that basis the good outweighs the bad?
Love a bit of old school Davina ;) I actually don’t have that DVD of hers, and I was disappointed with some of her more recent ones (Body Buff and Davina Intense were so easy they were a bit of a joke), but the latest one (Fit in 15) works on similar principles to Metafit and, aside from the weights portion which is a bit naff, I would definitely recommend it since it’s more of a challenge than her earlier releases.
Loving the salads here – I didn’t know Pret were doing green juices!
xxx
Urgh it was awful, I was due to have a Skype session with a client as well, stress city! I think the ovulating definitely outweighs the rest but I feel like my hormones are so wonky that it’s hard to appreciate that fully if that kind of makes sense! I’m glad you mentioned about Davinas more recent DVD’s cause I did consider them, the Fit in 15 sounds decent though!
Well damn! I like this post. And you look really good in that picture. Slim. Fashionable. And happy. It flows with your theme, KHGS. :)
PS: Where’s the recipe for your Quinoa lentil salad with tahini dressing? I want Becky to make it for my birthday!
Haha thanks Nicole, that means a lot coming from you if you know what I mean ;-) Oh the quinoa salad is so simple – just mix quinoa with green lentils then I added red onion and red peppers. The dressing is just tahini mixed with sweet white miso paste and some water to give it a dressing consistency. Utterly delicious :-)
LOL! I know what you mean:) And the recipe is perfect and has been forwarded! Thank you!
Brilliant news on the hormone/ovulation front Laura! We were all rooting for you so super glad to see it finally happened, hooray! Hope you week is less stressful, but well done on still doing little bits to keep you grounded .e.g. yoga/meditation (I need to do more of this when I’m feeling overwhelmed!)
Thanks Lucy! I’m off to a meditation workshop this evening so hopefully that will give me more skills to do it when stressed!
YAY FOR OVULATING! they should start making cards for that ;) your meals look scrumptious and I need to have some breakfast quinoa for dinner soon. xx
Haha, yes and having a period again ;-) One of my friends actually sent me a card when I had my first period bless her!