Do Early Mornings Really Make a Difference...?

I've never really had a sleep pattern before, I usually would sleep in till whenever I wanted or got up super early to get a flight, if I even got to bed at all!

Now I'm just a bit (ahem) older, I don't have the resource of energy to see me through and felt like I was in a state of perma-drained for the past few years, zombie-ing through life waiting to get back into bed again.

A change in diet helped somewhat, cutting out dairy made me feel a little more awake but never fully, giving slight bursts of energy that ended in me a fed up slump afterwards.

I decided enough was enough, and kicked myself to make a change for the better, this however meant setting my alarms earlier each day and going to bed early even if it meant lying awake as the hours went by. Eventually it began to settle, I'd be able to get to sleep a little quicker and woke up feeling a bit less drained and aching for sleep every morning, instead hopping into the shower and starting my day at 7/8am every morning, even tho I usually don't start work until 12/1pm.

This meant my mornings were nicely spaced out, plenty of time to eat a large breakfast while checking out the latest posts, have a long shower and blow-drying my hair without rushing, even doing the dishes and cleaning up the flat leaving me with a lovely clean space to come home to after a shift at work.

It also meant that I was fully awake by the time I left the house, rather than yawning on the bus, I felt more accomplished with what I had done already that day.

Best thing was however, I felt much happier, much more confident and secure in myself.

It is hard to change your routine so drastically, especially if you had no routine to speak of beforehand, so here are my handy tips and tricks for getting yourself in a routine of better sleep and better mental health.

First things first, get yourself to bed earlier even if only by half an hour each day working it towards the best time for you to hit the hey.

I get myself to bed between 11-11.30pm every night to ensure I get at least 7 1/2 to 8 hours sleep every night.

I set my alarm for 7am and 7.30am every morning, making myself get up if I feel awake enough or giving myself an extra half hour as a treat even if it just means an extra half an hour of cuddling time,  but try not to switch off your alarm and just go back to sleep as it'll be harder to get to sleep earlier that night, breaking the pattern and leaving you feeling worse.

Pop on some Fair Trade Foot Lotion from Lush, this peppermint filled lotion will leave your feet tingling and cooling, refreshing and comforting you from the feet up.

It's also great if you are on your feet all day for soothing any aches and pains, plus it'll leave your feet smelling sweet and feeling soft as a super amazing bonus.

Pop a little on before you get into bed, and pop on some fresh cotton socks too to let it soak in overnight, but also to keep your bedding free of any bright pink lotion streaks!

I love to light a candle before bed, especially if it smells amazing too, candle light and lamp light leaves the room dark enough to get your mind ready for rest, but leaves it light enough to enjoy a little bit of reading before sleeping.

It's best to not look at screens before you sleep, as they overstimulate the brain and makes drifting off that much harder, but it's especially the colour blue that keeps you awake hence the addictive designs of Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter!

When we moved in our room was painted blue, but we promptly got rid of that with a more calming raspberry red colour and sleep has come easier ever since.

My last read was this Tina Fey autobiography, I prefer books with shorter stories in before bedtime as it makes it a little easier to put down since each chapter is different, this was perfect for that but I also love David Sedaris for some quick dry wit in short story form before slumber.

Any books that keep flowing may get me too addicted to put down and keep me staying awake for longer, so I recommend books like these to give you a little down time before sleep.

If you are lucky to live close to a Lush Spa, these are the stores which stock the Dream Time Temple Balms, a little life saver when it comes to bouts of restlessness and insomnia.

A very popular product jam packed with lavender, ginger, chamomile and jasmine that you pop onto the temples before sleep, making the body relax and sleep come easier.

It can be tricky to get as it does sell out quickly, but each tub does last quite a while as you only need a small amount of the oils that melt when you rub your fingers over the balm.

The lavender and chamomile is what helps to soothe you and send you to sleep, but the ginger is warming and helps to soothe aching tired muscles.

It's also full of Sandalwood, which is used in aromatherapy as an anti-depressant, so it can help you to wake up feeling chipper after a long restful nights sleep.

For only £4.95 a tub it's worth stocking up if you manage to find them in stores.

Ever got up in the middle of the night dying of thirst? 

I always keep a large bottle of Evian on my bedside table to take a gulp before bed, if I ever wake up thirsty in the middle of the night, and especially for a large gulp in the morning to help me start the day with a little hydration.

It's better for you to drink fresh water first thing to kick start your body, and has a lot more benefits to it than coffee or tea ever will.

I usually have a cup of tea about an hour or so after waking, but always a rooibos tea which is caffeine free and much better for the mind and body.

I started off by changing to this routine for one week, it got much easier over time and I felt better and better each day.

I did have one day however when I didn't, I went to bed at 1pm and had a bit of a lie in the next morning, and I felt like absolute hell. Instead of the chipper and productive person I had been all week long, I felt utterly miserable, lethargic and unable to find the energy to do anything that day, wasting away a whole day off.

Since that day I have pushed myself even more to keep to my routine, even on my days off or after a late night, I'll set an alarm for the morning and even if I don't jump out of bed if I'm not working, I'll catch up with life on my iPhone, cuddle my puppy, and still be up for the day by 9.30am.

If you decide to change your routine then take it at your own pace, work yourself into waking up half an hour earlier week by week till you get to your goal time, jump into the shower to fully wake up and keep yourself fresh, and feel great at accomplishing more every time you get an extra 30 minutes in which to do so!

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Hello Harriet Kitten Nails...

Everyone knows I'm quite the cat lover, from my collection of kitsch cat vases to my finger tattoos that say 'LOVE CATS', so when I discovered the amazing Etsy store for Hello Harriet I was just a little over excited for the entire range available.

I already have and love the Horray tote bag, and had been eyeing up many of their items such as their dresses which I'm sadly not able to invest in at £90, but for only £8 I could buy this set of 40 kitty nail transfers.

Each design was hand drawn by Hello Harriet with pencils, and used throughout the whole range of products, and each one is completely adorable.

If cats aren't your thing there is plenty of other options too, from pug nails, bunny nails, and even sloths with word transfers that spell out 'LIVE SLOW'.

There's also options for temporary tattoos, plenty of tote bags, iPhone cases, dresses and much more!

So now it's time to apply the transfers.

First things first, nail preparation.

I love Essie's nail base coats, you can pick them up at bargain prices from places like TK Maxx or online at fragrance direct.

I always start with 'Nourish Me' to add a bit of goodness into the nails and hopefully make them a bit stronger, I then top this with 'Rock Solid' which makes a great base coat.

To bring out the transfers on the nails a light colour is always best, luckily I recently picked up this Ciate Cream Soda, a light and delicate grey that is the perfect base to make those kitties really pop.

I painted on about three coats to keep them looking smooth and completely covered, especially as light colours can tend to look more streaky or not settle onto the nails properly.

To use the transfers cut them out as close to the kittens as possible, they have a range of sizes too so you can comfortably fit them onto all of your nails, it can be a little fiddly as they are quite small.

The main problem I had was trying to choose which ones to use as there are so many different and cute designs to choose from.

Peeling off the plastic can be a little fiddly, especially if your nails maybe aren't 100% dry yet!

Carefully peel them off while making sure you don't let the transfer get stuck to anything else as they are a little tacky to make them stick to the nails easier, but means you have to be extra careful when placing them onto the nails too.

Place the transfer gently onto the nail, ensuring they are getting placed on in the right place and position.

Press them down onto the nails to make them stick before the next step.

Using a sponge or wet cloth dab it gently onto the back of the transfer, this reminded me a lot of doing all those temporary tattoos as a child which obviously stuck with me into adulthood into some not so temporary ones.

After a few seconds the paper from the transfer will easily slide off the nail leaving the transfer behind.

When they are all done they may look a little bubbly, don't fret as this will sort itself out no problem with the final step.

Adding a top coat really helps the smooth out the look of the transfers, plus it helps the edges of the transfers blend in better with the rest of the nails.

I totally love the end affect of these, and will be flashing my kitten nails about as often as possible while they last.

They can easily be removed with nail polish remover when the time comes to say goodbye to the kitties, but with 40 transfers in the packet you can be adding kittens into your manicure for a while yet to come.

Are you a kitten, bunny, pug or sloth nails girl?!

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£150 outfit....

Sounds like a lot, especially to those who manage to pull off head to toe Primarni, or even rock some well selected charity shop finds, but these days £150 doesn't really go a long way.

I like to mix up my bargains with vintage or second hand, but I also have those few non expensive staples to see me through too.

With a little bit of savvy shopping, bargain hunting, and just general cheapskate-ness I managed to put together a whole outfit for £150, it would have cost me a lot more if it wasn't for hunting out the best deals available.

Sadly I couldn't do as thorough an outfit post as I usually would, but the weather was not on our side at all that day (despite my weather app telling me there was 0% chance of rain...) so this is a rather micro outfit post!

Great photo of Jake, not so much of me!

I can't be without skinny jeans, after spending some of the 90's and early 2000's looking for skinny jeans, back then they were no where to be found, I am quite happy that now so many types and variants are available.

My favourites are these Zara basic black jeans, not only comfortable in fit, but the added extra of the zips on the sides at the ankles making them easier to get on and off, without compromising that skinny fit.

These cost £30 and this is the second pair I've bought, after living in the first pair for the past year.

The biker jacket is about 40 year old, handed down from my uncle, to my aunt, and now to me.

It's very very battered, and no longer zips up due to all the zipper teeth falling out, but I love it so very much.

I get a lot of compliments on this jacket all the time, and I love how it has somewhat of a family history to it as well, it being the jacket my aunt was wearing when she came off her bike, she was okay of course but partly thanks to this very jacket!

Items like this are so very unique and sentimental, it's worth asking family if they have an amazing piece tucked away somewhere.

I use any opportunity I have to wear this shirt, I'm such a big fan of leopard print but it's so hard to find it done well.

It was in Topshop stores a while ago, priced at £42. I missed it in the stores but I doubt I would have shelled that much out really for one item.

I took to eBay as there are quite a few resellers of such items, especially if popular, and this plus it's red counterpart is on there a plenty!

In the end this shirt cost me £19.99, £22.98 with shipping saving nearly £20 on the original cost.

The red counterpart is available in some stores at only £14.99 too, so you can grab a bargain.

I wrote about this Leather Satchel Co. oxblood satchel when I first got it, and I still love it.

Handmade locally to me too, but available all over the country including online at ASOS, and of course their own online store.

It was from their online store that I picked up this bag at an absolutely bargain price of £60, they regularly have sales of their pre made bags at amazing prices, and as they are so well made you'll feel like you've nabbed an absolute steal for ages.

Check out their March Sale page, and keep checking back to find your dream satchel.

The boots are Bronx, available in a few stores but I got these at a bargain price of £50 instead of their usual £100 price tag.

I bought them online from ASOS.com and have well worn them ever since.

I haven't worn them for a while as the cut out design isn't so great in winter, and I found yesterday not so much in the rain either...!

This makes the grand total a little over £150 at £159.98 not including the shipping, but still for a full outfit it's not too bad at all.

I promise now the weather is getting better to try and do some more outfit posts, as I know they have been somewhat lacking the past few months, but I didn't think me in 20 layers would have looked so great!

Michelin Man Chic.

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