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Priyanka xx

Is All This Cake Really Going to Make Me Feel Better?

Cake.

 

It is becoming a common interest to me for some reason.

 

I really don't understand how I believe cake, burgers, chips, Nutella, crepes, salted caramel, brownie and well.....junk, is going to help me conquer anything at all.

 

In fact, instead of comforting me, I think all this is stressing me out even more.

 

This over load of calories makes me feeling like I haven't achieved my fitness goals in the slightest because I have simply sabotaged my self time and time again.

 

I would direct this issue primarily towards the need to feel happy.

I usually associate 'good memories' or exciting times around particular 'meal' (which probably was unhealthy) but tasted really good. Now, every time I feel a little down, I do back to these 'guilty pleasure' foods in hope it will help me feel better.

 

It usually works unless I keep doing it (every other night or so) during the week. This is because I also exercise and this completely counteracts all the will power I put into my work out.

 

Now, yes all this is a mental issue and something that has been striking my attention again and again just over the past few weeks. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to indulge once in a while but I really isn't alright to draw attention to food for comfort and happiness because that is simply not how the world works.

 

I hope you all have been hearing about how the NHS are planning to inject more money into mental health  issues and I am very passionate that every single person in the world will one day have access to advice help and understanding from other people around them and professionally because it affects so many people all around the world.

 

If fact either yourself or a very close family member/ friend will at least once in their life be affected by a mental issue, be mild or serious. I want to be able to be honest on my blog and encourage others to raise awareness, share stories and be able to share advice because we are all in this together.

 

I also was encouraged by Jack's Gap Video on this issue of not being afraid and being able to express our worries and concerns regarding mental issues.

 

I hope this is encouragement for everybody reading this.

 

Thank you.

 

Priyanka xx

New Years Resolutions 2016

  

New Year = New Me

That's what we all say don't we? But if we stick to it or not is a completely different question.

I tried not to overthink my New Year's goals this year so that I don't procrastinate over a 'fresh start' or 'one chance to get it right' sort of vibe.

1) Work out with more enthusiasm

Instead of working out to 'be skinny' I want for my workouts to have purpose, make me stronger, more muscular and mentally challenge me by pushing some boundaries every day to help improve my fitness levels.

2) Work smarter not harder or longer

Instead of working for hours at my desk, procrastinating and wasting time without actually learning anything I want to be able to work efficiently for short bursts to time (so I don't have a chance to worry or become bored) and maximise the quality of learning I do in a given time frame.

3) Laugh harder and don't be so hard on myself

I have recently found that because Im always worried about work I forget to actually have fun. sometimes I feel so contrained by work that I forget to laugh at the little things in life. This year, however stressed I may become, Im going to laugh harder at my own little trip ups and at the little incidents that may occur. 

4) Go to sleep earlier

I often find my self in a bad mood not wanting to talk to anyone simply because I'm still exhausted from the night before. 8 hours sleep minimum is my new shout for energy.

5) Stop feeling like I need to impress people or be perfect

Nobody is perfect so I am going to stop trying to be. Instead I am going to focus on things that are really important and become confident simply being myself.

One of the best things I have ever learnt is KISS- Keep It Simple, Stupid!

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Priyanka

How To Be Attractive

Its been a tough week. Why should I lie? One of the main on going concerns that I have at the moment is that I watch people. Observe actions, interactions, body language and friendship groups. I see some girls who seem very pretty, confident, out going and fun to be around... and sure they attract many boys. I've found myself stuck trying to look perfect all the time, fixing my hair and looking in the mirror in every odd chance but now I realise that I'm only wasting time. After a little closer observations of the girls and getting to know them I've found that they aren't all really that 'pretty' or aren't any more beautiful than any other girl. What makes them attractive is their confidence.

 

Surely you have to have something to be confident about to actually be confident, right?

 

The answer is actually no. I was watching some of 'those' videos on YouTube and found that actually a stunning personality is actually what most boys are more attracted to.

 

Confidence is not about being perfect. The most confident people in life are able to be confident in spite of what really isn't perfect about themselves. The people who are the most attractive are the ones who don't allow the things about them physically to throw them off their game. They accept it and go on to be an interesting, fun, passionate and life loving human being.

 

That is ultimate confidence.

 

I have found that you should never give the power or status to people to walk all over you and you should never feel the need to justify anything you do because that is when you give up all your power. You should own it. Love it. Its doesn't matter what other people may think of you. Others throw negativity and criticism when you have something that they don't.

 

Nothing is more attractive nor beautiful than someone who is confident and unstoppable even when there may be a million reasons to be insecure about. That's the person others fear and believe they cannot even compete with.

 

So, walk like you deserve to be there and own your ground.

 

Priyanka xx

Why It's Important to Spend Quality Time With Yourself

Over these past few weeks my life has been incredibly exciting, action packed and exhausting but I'm not complaining one single bit! I love physically going out, visiting my friends and well doing things instead  of sitting at home staring at my phone just to kill time.

Every day matters. We are all given the power to change someone's life and every time we wake up we can make a difference to our own lives if we choose to do so.

Personally, I always feel that I have to constantly be doing something or I begin feel guilty about not doing something practical with my life (this process is not sudden but seems to progress during an aimless day) - does any one else feel like this?

One thing that I have discovered is of course I can change my life and channel all my energy towards my grand goals, so that I live with the minimal amount of regrets, but I can't and should not sacrifice my happiness in doing so.

All that this really means sometimes I just need to CHILL and let loose.

So what I did was sit out in my garden, give my self a mini pedicure, paint my nails (which chipped within a day), read my magazine, feel my legs going red and then realise that sunscreen would be a good item to grab from upstairs - oh, sometimes I'm a total genius -but I really did enjoy my self doing it.

Why Is It Important to Enjoy Spending Time With Yourself?

You can do what you want to do!
You don't have to invite a friend around all the time since being by yourself  means that you don't have to ask someone what they would like to eat or drink nor do you don't have to share an earphone when watching a film. Selfish? No, its just good to do things by your self sometimes.

You learn more about yourself
Well, you heard my little life story above so you can see that it is true. Being alone means that you can think about your beliefs, your values and assess your life - although overthinking things is never good for anyone.

You feel more grateful when doing fun things alone
I feel this one is very true for me! If I watch a hilarious film by myself I'm more likely to laugh much, much more that if someone was there listening to my ridiculous laugh. Also, if I buy and eat something really tasty by myself I'm more likely taste the food better, eat slower to savour the food and enjoy it much more than if I kept saying, 'this is so tasty!' to express it to others.

You don't have to be exhausted by the end of the day
You can sit in bed or outside and simply fall asleep instead of going out and staying there for a good 6 hours.

You feel more energized when you get back to a normal working day
At the end of the day when you have committed time to yourself, you are the person which should have benefitted and enjoyed yourself the most, right?  By allowing your self pleasures, I believe that you will feel rewarded for your hard work and therefore become more motivated to do other things.

These are the things that I feel in my life and I am certain that not everyone feels guilty for sleeping most of the day then watching  hours of TV, followed by hours of scrolling on their phones and then repeat the same process until the end of summer, but I would feel guilty.

I really hope that you find things that are common to your own life here, do you spend enough time with your self? How do you like to relax?

Priyanka xx

Vapiano Great Portland Street

A couple of days ago my friend and I went out to eat at Vapiano, which is a 5 minute walk from Oxford Circus Station, after it was (very) heavily recommended to us by her cousin. The way she described the pasta there to us completely sold it so we decided a trip to the restaurant ourselves was needed to really understand.

 

Fine.

 

We used navigation from my iPhone to actually get there.

 

But that's only because I'm a little bit oblivious when it comes to directions. If we didn't, I don't know how long we would have been walking around in circles asking strangers where it was. That's no good now is it?!

 

When we first walked in, the man at the front counter asked if we had been to Vapiano before, and as we hadn't, he gave us a card (like a credit card) and explained that we can go to any of the stations to get food and the bill is put onto the card, which you pay for at the end.

 

There were stations for pasta, pizza, salad, sides and a bar for drinks and desert. I choice to have the  Carbonara pasta which was bacon, onions and egg in cream sauce. I usually don't like pasta very much but believe me this was really tasty (and very filling)!

 

The chefs make the pasta in front of you, asking what shape of homemade pasta you would like and if you would like any additional spices.

 

The unique part about this was that all of the staff were Italian or at least looked as if they were!

I really enjoyed my dinner there and would recommend it to everyone to go and enjoy, especially because it's such a reasonable price, and simply as an alternative to the usual Nandos.

 

Which food places in London would you recommend?

 

Priyanka xx

Starting the Day With a Fresh Thing or Two in Mind

The morning is the one of the most important times of the day. It's not about rushing to the kitchen for your beloved cup of tea, neither is it truly about eating your breakfast and then running out the door even though these are things that we have to do eventually whether we like it or not.

Since my exams have finally finished and two and a half months of a summer and fun has arrived, I'm going to take this as an opportunity to re-wire my mind so that it can not only be an action packed summer but one in which I can become the best possible version of myself within.

During the past few months I've been trying out a few different things so that I can become less stressed and use the highest possible energy into what really matters in my life.

So without further ado, here is my morning run:

Try not to hit snooze
 I know this one is practically impossible. No in fact it's very, very close to literally being impossible. However, we're all in this together! It's simply mind over matter - you need to get things done, why delay something when it can be done quickly so you can do other (hopefully more exciting) things with your day?

Life hack:
- Set one alarm off 5 minutes before you usually do (mentally allowing yourself to snooze it).
 -Set your alarm off when you wake up (lay in bed letting it ring several times, knowing you have to get up- and now!)
-Set one alarm after 5 minutes (you should not delete this one and is ONLY for over runs in case something happens (like you feel extremes symptoms of laziness or fatigue and you don't get up on time)

Do what you would begin to do and then go down for your tea
I usually wake up, wash my face, put my clothes on and then run down for my cup of green tea with a squeezed slice of lemon (my continued obsession is here for y'all to read and laugh at).

Go back up finish something else and then write in a journal
I like to finish doing my bed and then write in my diary. Diaries don't have to be time consuming or excessive, it can take you no longer than several minutes in the morning, especially when your in a rush.

Go for three subheadings:
- Gratitude (everything in your life at the moment which make it worth living as well simple things like the presence of a healthy family that we always take for granted).
- Refection (what was things you did yesterday that were awesome and the things that could do with improvement).
-Today's goals (what are you going to do today and how its exactly going to happen).

Bullet point all these down on a page and that's it!

BUT writing it down is a complete waste of your time if you're not truthful about what you write and if you are not really going to do any of the things which you say you are going to do- you might as well not have written it down in the first place!

Now you are free to make breakfast, rehydrate your system and get ready to kick you day up  backside
I won't go into the typical 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' because the fact stands that is really and truly is. I drink a lot of water (1.5 litres this morning- but it was a good day) and then that's me pretty much sorted to put my makeup on, pack my super healthy salad and get out the front door.

Ladies (and gentlemen) sometimes that's exactly how is done.

Priyanka xx

Things I have learnt during Secondary / High School

 

Umm yes.

 

This is my year 6 class photo. Its one of the last primary school photos before all went to new schools, to start new lives, make new friends and make memories.



 



 

 

Its really strange (and scary) to think about how much I have changed since the age of 11 and all the amazing memories I have made with my new friends since then. Here are some of the things that I have learnt from being in secondary school  sorry but 'High School' just sounds way better!)

 

1. In the UK schools (as far as I know) don't have huge lockers that you can decorate like in American movies.

 

It sucks.

 

A lot.

 

I spent all of my time in the last year of Primary School dreaming of the ways that I was going to decorate my locker. I don't have any older siblings to tell me how it was actually going to be like - and the best part is then being stuck with a tiny bottom locker for the rest of the years. Great.

 

2. Your friends can change often.

 

Some of the first friends I made in year 7 I loved. I thought that we were always going to be friends and that we were stuck together. To be honest some of them I don't even say 'hi' to never mind hang out with.

 

3. Confidence is key.

 

I find people so intimidating sometimes (especially on a bar hair day but that's another story) but really sometimes you just have to fake it to make it so that you actually start believing I in yourself. Its not possible to stay quite during all those long, boring hours of school and expect to enjoy it. You have to push the boundaries, participate in class, discuss things with other people and share you opinion and the you will already be interested in learning and socialising.

 

You can see my ten top tips here.

 

4. You might be the ripest, juiciest peach but people are still going to hate peaches.

 

Its not possible to please everyone. Its hard to be clever, pretty, funny, confident, enthusiastic, creative and hardworking at the same time. You just have to concentrate all your energy in being the best version of you that you can be. Then everything else will fall into place.

 

5. Make every day count.

 

If you think about it you're spending at least 5 years of your life at the same school, so its a waste of time hating it (literally). Every moment should count towards something good, something positive, towards your future. Make friends that encourage you and influence you well instead of people you actually don't like being around. Its you life. Its you choice.

 

I hope some of these things open up your mind and help you survive school :)

 

I'm sure I would have told myself these things when I first started but I had to figure it out myself.

 

Priyanka xx

 

 

 

 



 

 



Tips to Get Better, Longer Sleep

My life would go nowhere if I did not sleep properly or long enough....or happily.

Have you ever noticed that if you cry yourself to sleep you always wake up in a bad mood?

Well here are some tips from my own experience that can ensure that you are fresh and ready for a new day and a new start.

1. Get into bed at least 30 minutes before you plan to sleep

This is so that your body can fully relax and unwind; all prepared :)

2. Put down your phone and any other electronics

You might have heard it before but my form tutor has told all of us (multiple times) that its a scientific fact that electronic devices keep you awake - we are all guilty of the endless instagram scroll and twitter feed.

3. Read a book.

I would recommend The Hunger Games but you know I'm a little biased. The point is that reading slowly shuts down your mind and the words on the page get longer until you can't keep your eyes open any longer.

4. Think of happy things

Ask yourself what the best parts of your day was, smile, think of tomorrows goals, celebrate your life! Clear your mind of any unhappy thoughts and make sure that you've finished everything you need to before you sleep so your stress free.

Even plan an exciting breakfast for tomorrow morning because it (and coffee) sure seems to get me up!

5. Stretch out your body.

You don't really realised how tense your body can get during the day, so moving around a little can help with deeper sleep.

6. Set yourself a 'bed time' so you know that you get at least 8 hours sleep

Now that your body is refreshed and relaxed (and that banging head ache is gone along with those under eye circles) you can go and

conquer

 the

 world.

Priyanka xx

A Sunday's Unwind...

05/10/14 Sushi from Costco

Sunday Funday.

I like that.

A lot.

After a week of school, work, revision, work, lack of sleep, stress and everything else annoying in this world (which includes walking to school in the wind and creating a mess of my newly washed, blow dried hair - as you can see I have been working on a solution for  here) a Saturday's sleep in and my Sunday Routine is the most relaxing and appreciated thing in the week.

Even after a week of hard work my dad finds that 'The whole house should not be sleeping until 9am' is the right statement to be making. How ridiculous.

My Sundays goes a little like this:

- I usually get up at 8am, hope that its sunny (that hope soon fades away as its no longer summer),  then get dressed, put on the washing and eat my hot apple oatmeal which I usually eat before my run for energy.

- As fast as I can, I start to hoover the house; I figured there are always ups and downs with living in a 3 floor house... I mean it take a damn hour to hoover it all.

- I'm always being told off for being late everywhere, but they don't understand it not always me. I get dragged into all sorts of things (mostly tidying up my little brother and sister's mess) so I'm mostly late to my '10 o'clock' run with my friend.

-I love running! It seriously wakes me up and clears my mind ready for another week at school. It is getting colder so it's going to get increasingly difficult to get me out and running especially in the gloomy drizzles.

- Once I get home I have the 'worlds longest shower', put on a facemask, dry my hair and eat (an exciting) lunch.

I usually do some art homework, get my bag and lunch ready and chill.

I can confirm that this is so much more awesome than it sounds, seriously.

Just imagine if no one came up with the idea of having a 'weekend' ?

What does your weekend usually consist of? Let me know :)

Priyanka xx

Things That Make Me Happy #6 Coffee

We all saw this one coming eventually...

I love the brumble of the kettle in the morning, the bitter sweet smell that drifts in the air once the  water bubbles into the coffee; releasing the aroma and energy that bursts softly in the room.

Most of all, I adore the bitter but not quite sweet taste that sparks all my neurons; awakening and  breathing life into me and preparing me to be more than energetic to live the day.

Sometimes I put my unwinding, drifting dreams into my cup of coffee whilst other times I realise I spend too much time admiring it.

I think that this picture puts all my ideas and feeling about coffee into one photo: coffee comes from different, exotic parts of the world and by drinking coffee it takes me to so many places and inspires me to do so many new things with an open, active mind.

The fact is that any country you travel to, there must be a coffee shop somewhere, being there for someone who needs it.

I might get excited over coffee often, but there is a good reason - it's an act of celebration towards life :D

Take me to a coffee shop and you won't get rid of me.

Tell me you like coffee and that's all I'll talk to you about.

Drink coffee with me... you must be my best friend.

I am scared that by drinking coffee regularly it will stop affecting me and that it will merely be a drink rather than a stimulus.... is that really true?

Who else loves coffee mornings?

Priyanka xx

Spending Summer This Way and That...

Summer is nearly over.

What? That went way too fast for me and to be truthful its completely unfair that I spend ALL year looking forward to summer and making plans for it to play in fast forward.

I'm not going to give up though, I'm going to always make it sunny in my head all the time and nothing (not even the famous British weather) is going to dull my sunshine :)

So here are the exiting things I spend the last couple of weeks doing:

-Made a bonfire and then sang and danced around it (sorry neighbours)

-Watched The Fault in our Stars and came out with my 3 friends all in tears. I'm the sensitive, dreamy type that cries at movies and songs; keep that in mind.

-Drank lots of Starbucks and annoyed my mum by bringing home the plastic cup with my name on every time...more about that here

-Had the most amazing day out in Oxford Street and Hyde Park for my friends birthday which you can see here

-Had a proper picnic in the park ...twice!

- Ate colourful, way too pretty to eat but I'm gonna eat anyway macaroons

-Got my makeup done in mac

-Attempted to skateboard but ended up sitting on it being pulled by my friend

-Went berry picking and tennis playing

-Did way too much baking

-Went to Lake District with my family

-Used my new camera a ton more

-Had barbeques (the most summer-ish thing you have to do)

-Roasted marshmallows on the barbie (she says in a failed Australian accent)

-Splashed my cash in the New Look sales for summer clothes

-Wore shorts practically every day...yes, that makes me very happy 

-Bought a milk frother to make posh looking coffee :)

- Indulged in ice-cream after a long time

- Actually got tanned

-Volunteered at my local library

- Started to get my inspirational wall ready

- And the rest of the time I spent sleeping, eating, watching movies, reading 'The Maze Runner', being lazy, sleeping and dreaming...

Lets all wish that summer comes again soon.

How have you all spent your gorgeous summer days?

Priyanka xx

Things That Make Me Happy #4 Breakfast

Breakfast time... It's the motivation of my uprising from my (very) comfortable bed to my (also) comfortable kitchen.

I love breakfast. Its a statement and a fact. I'm not going to bore you with 'because breakfast is the most important meal of the day' even though it is true. If you start to make that little effort every morning to make something healthy and yummy to eat, you will start to feel a whole lot more fuelled and energized (I promise!) To be honest my brain does not work until I have satisfied my tummy and my mind in the morning... I am also proud to say I have never left home without breakfast (how is that even legal?)

Sometimes, I'm so sad that I plan the night before...but that's just me and I do it because it makes me happy :)

If you were to minus my Coffee Mondays and Thursdays from my routine, I would no longer have any motivation to get up any day of the week.

How do you like my oat pancakes topped with, bananas, berries, almond butter (my version of coconut almond butter from http://www.delightedmomma.com/2012/03/almond-coconut-butter.html), and not to mention to be drizzled with dark chocolate; because really who doesn't need chocolate in their life?

 

Happy Breakfasting!

 

Priyanka xx

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Prints and Photography

Yesterday my family and I went to a barbeque in Epping Forest and when I could escape, I dragged my newly qualified mini photographer (my little sister) with me into the woods to take some photographs. As you can see I only got my camera recently and its obviously taking me some time to learn how to use and jump into the world of blogging... but hey I'm getting there slowly but surely:)

...Whilst also learning the bothers of photo editing... 

 

Top: New Look Li Maya Printed Cami

 

Shorts: New Look Highwaist Denim Hotpants

 

Shoes: Clarks

(My favourite and most comfortable)

 

Nails: BarryM Gelly Hi Shine Nail Polish in Green Berry

(My most worn and loved colour this summer)

 

 

If you were thinking, yes I did go crazy in the New Look sales.

 

Do you have any photography/editing tips for me? How do you all manage your blogs?

 

Let me know :)

 

Priyanka xx

 

The Little Things in Life

 Finally school is up (for a little bit anyway) and a week into the Easter holidays..I am pretty much bored sick.

Its not even that, just being in the same atmosphere everyday, waking up at the same time everyday, showering at the same time everyday and doing the same thing (everyday) just stresses me out. I have been revising everyday in the morning for a few hours for my mock exams but I just cant seem to concentrate.

Even my mum has notices and she just keeps telling me to CALM DOWN.

So I figures that I have to keep myself occupies and happy through the week and make those little things really count.

Drawing a mind map of 'Things I Love' really helps, I know what makes me happy (which are ideas to help me out when Im bored and well miserable :D )

So I made a list of 'Things That Have Made Me Happy This Week' :

Sunday: The sunshine, jogging in the park with my earphones on, having a baking contest with my sister (that I obviously won) and having grilled halloumi skewers for lunch and painting my nails mint green

Tuesday: WATCHING DIVERGENT with my friends (since I made them all read the book and have been excited for months!)...and then having pizza :) Wearing my new jewlery and top that I got for my birthday, getting all dressed up and having coffee in the morning #igottaslightaddiction

Thursday: Re-watching Catching Fire with my brother and sister (since its my favorite film as you might know!)

Friday: Walking to McDonald's to buy a cup O'coffee (well actually a latte) and a magazine

All week: Reading Allegiant (oh my goossh its so unexpected...)

I know this all sounds a little bit stupid but really it has been making a difference to my mood by just doing some little things for myself.

Hey anyway, WE'RE WORTH IT right?

Priyanka xx

Frosty Window...

This week, as I sat delighting in my beautiful pancakes and sipping on my mocha (urm, I have a BIT of a coffee obsession...) I was called upstairs by my little sister to see the window.

And wow I was shocked. Hopefully the camera has picked up the beautiful patterns that we created by the frost because I really couldnt belive something so intricate could be created naturally. I just thought it would be lovely to share because I have never seen something that I have been in awe of ...on a window.Well, I guess it was all down to Jack Frost!

Priyanka xx

Simple Sugar Free Pancakes

Recently I have trying my best to eat healthily...but that doesn't mean that I don't continuously crave chocolate and feel the need to satisfy my sweet tooth!

I found a recipe for pancakes and decided to try it out and was amazed by how simple and healthy (no sugar!) it was but how darn delicious it tastes.

Ingredients for 2 servings:
-Oats (I used 2 packs of Oats so Simple)
-1 egg
-1 Banana (chopped)
-Almond Milk...which I guesstimated (I used Alpro but any milk will do)

Toppings :
-Melted dark chocolate
-Coconut shavings

Bled the oats by itself so it resembles flour then add the banana (natural sweetener), egg and almond milk and blend it until it is a liquid pancake mixture. Cooked them like normal pancakes adding any wonderful type of toppings and then serve! Simples.

What are your favorite pancake toppings?

Priyanka xx

Valentine's Day 2014

This is basically my Valentine's Day in a nutshell... I had a beautiful Lush bubble bath (you need to do things for yourself sometimes!)  and then went out for dinner with my family in a Spanish restaurant. I have NEVER had Spanish before so some of the tastes we quite unusual but very tasty, we ended us spending a whopping £80 on food but it was all worth it! Has anyone ever told you how delicious hot, crispy churros are dipped in chocolate? Well darling im telling you now - you have got to try some!

I also spent some quality time with my date...Ben and Jerry.

What were your plans for Valentine's Day?