Easy as 1, 2, 3...

So, I'm on my 4th day in to the Marine Diet and I'm still alive, which is a good start!
Though, despite what the title of this post may be, it certainly hasn't been easy so far. I'm always just a little bit hungry, even after finishing my minuscule meals. I haven't felt full in 3 days, dammit!

Day 1

Breakfast: 3 eggs, scrambled

Lunch: 3 eggs, hard boiled 

Dinner: 3 eggs, soft boiled

Also known as Egg Day, this has certainly been the hardest day so far, as far as I'm concerned. Don't get me wrong, I love eggs but 9 in one day? I was naive to think it would be easy but you really do get sick of them by dinner time. 

I'm not a massive fan of scrambled eggs but, for breakfast, when I'm in an early morning rush trying to get ready and out of the house in time for work, they're the easiest option. Except when I make them. I accidentally cooked them for too long so they took on an almost rubbery consistency and I didn't have time to remake anymore. I won't pretend they were enjoyable, they weren't but it was all I was getting till lunchtime so I chowed down and downed a pint of water in an attempt to fill myself till midday.

Lunch was 3 hard boiled eggs I'd ready made the night before. Everyone at work knows about my diet and have been asking questions about it all morning, mainly giving me sympathetic looks teamed with comments such as, 'Ooh, I couldn't do that,' or, 'But don't you just want a biscuit?' OF COURSE I WANT A BISCUIT. Not a lot to report about hard boiled eggs, they weren't interesting but I was starving and wolfed them down. Stomach was still rumbling after I'd finished though.

Dinner was 3 soft boiled eggs which was probably the most enjoyable meal of the day, it was nice to have something warm and relatively tasty to eat. When I was little, my Mum used to make me soft boiled eggs which she would then sort of cut up in a mug and then bind them with a tiny bit of butter and I loved them, so this is what I did tonight (I know butter is cheating but it was literally the tiniest bit to bind the eggs together!)

Day 2

Breakfast: Grapefruit 

Lunch: Fruit salad

Dinner: Steak, Celery, Tomatoes & Cottage Cheese (or, in my case; steak, celery, peppers & mushrooms)

Woke up feeling very hungry but looking forward to something other than eggs! Ended up probably wearing more of the grapefruit than I ate as the juice squirted out every time I plunged my spoon in but the tang of the grapefruit made a nice change to rubbery eggs.

I made my fruit salad the night before and I was genuinely looking forward to it by lunchtime. I'd crammed my Tupperware box full of strawberries, peaches, clementines, grapes, blueberries & raspberries and I relished every mouthful. After lunch, my stomach had stopped rumbling which was a welcome feeling.

I'd literally been looking forward to dinner all day, what's not to like about steak!? I don't like tomatoes and, as far as I'm concerned, cottage cheese looks like baby vomit so I substituted these with sweet red peppers and a large, flat mushroom. I grilled everything, apart from the celery obviously, and it almost felt like a normal meal, hurrah! Went to bed a few hours later relatively satisfied. 

Day 3

Breakfast: Grapefruit

Lunch: Fish, salad & spinach (Chicken, salad & spinach; I hate fish!)

Dinner: Lamb & salad

It's finally the weekend so I sleep in till about 10am, a few hours later than my weekday wake-up time, so I wake up hungry with only a grapefruit waiting for me in the fridge. Rather than shovelling it down like the previous day, I can actually relish each bite whilst watching catch-up television in bed, this isn't so bad!

I need to hit the shops to buy things for my upcoming holiday and aim to be back in a couple of hours to prep and eat lunch. How wrong was I? Shopping ended up overrunning due to the shopping centre being super busy and, after nearly passing out in the Boots queue whilst stocking up on holiday toiletries, I needed sustenance and fast. I nipped into M&S to fight with the middle-class at the deli fridges whilst I looked for plain chicken and spinach leaves. To my horror, M&S had ran out of plain chicken so I chose the lowest calorie option they did, a sweet & smoky variety seasoned with chillies, herbs & peppers, grabbed a bag of baby spinach and dashed for the checkout. I did feel guilty for eating seasoned chicken but as I munched down on my leaves and protein, I instantly felt better.

Finally home, dinner was lamb & salad which I was slightly dubious about as I'm not the biggest fan of lamb. I made a hearty salad of lettuce, rocket, cucumber, spring onions, peppers, carrots, celery & radish and grilled my lamb. Turns out, plain lamb isn't so bad! 
Later on, I was utterly starving so ended up munching on grapes which, whilst eating between meals is forbidden, I figured was better than a bag of crisps, right?!

So, my first three days haven't been so bad but I'm always verging on starving and by the time it gets to 9/10pm each night, I'm knackered but I guess that means I get more sleep than I usually which can't be so bad for the eye bags, eh!
Stepping on the scales, I've also lost 5lb in those 3 days which is definitely spurring me on to persist with this ridiculous fad diet.

Mission Skinny Bitch

I haven't posted on here in forever and I've been looking to get back into my blog for a while but had no inspiration for anything to write about.
But, thanks to an unfortunate knock I took during England's opening World Cup group game against England, I haven't been able to visit the gym in the run up to my summer trip to Barcelona.
Whilst I would normally lose some weight and tone up before my break via healthy eating and numerous gruelling gym sessions a week, thanks to that pesky injury (a soft tissue injury and various torn ligaments, to be precise), doctors have me on a strict gym ban till my ankle is healed.

Whilst I would never promote fad diets, nor have I ever been on one, I realised drastic action had to be taken and a friend had previously undertaken the Marine Diet and found great results with it, losing up to half a stone a week. That sold it enough for me despite the horrendous meal plan it sets out!

I'll be posting various updates over the next two weeks, beginning Thursday, letting you know how it's getting on. I just hope I can muster some humour for the final posts rather than the irrational mood swings being hungry tends to gift me!

I just have to keep thinking of the bikinis packed in my suitcase to power me through :(

You can see the week plan below and mock/cheer on my ridiculous effort for a last minute bikini body!

Day 1

Breakfast: 3 eggs

Lunch: 3 eggs

Dinner: 3 eggs

Day 2

Breakfast: 1 egg or grapefruit

Lunch: Fresh fruit salad

Dinner: Steak, tomatoes, celery & cottage cheese

Day 3

Breakfast: 1 egg or grapefruit

Lunch: Fish, tomatoes, spinach & salad (I hate fish so I'll replacing any fish elements with chicken!)

Dinner: Lean lamb chops, tomatoes & salad

Day 4

Breakfast: 1 egg or grapefruit

Lunch: Green salad & tomatoes

Dinner: Eggs & dry toast

Day 5

Breakfast: 1 egg or grapefruit

Lunch: Fish, tomatoes & salad (chicken!)

Dinner: Lean ham salad, tomatoes & spinach

Day 6

Breakfast: 1 egg or grapefruit

Lunch: 3 eggs & dry toast

Dinner: Steak, celery, tomatoes & cottage cheese

Day 7

Breakfast: 1 egg or grapefruit

Lunch: Fresh fruit salad

Dinner: Lean lamb chops, salad & tomatoes

Black coffee, water or pure lemon juice can be taken with each meal. 

Eat exactly what is stated where amount are stated. Where they are not stated, eat as much as you want.

Do not eat between meals. 

No dressings or sauces, only vinegar is allowed. (Though I think vinegar is vile, so that'll be no extra flavour for me!)

Do not use this diet more than four times a year. 

There should be a loss of up to 1 stone, variations of the die will have a major effect on the amount of weight you lose.

Weigh yourself at the beginning and at the very end of the diet.

I'm Jumping On The Disco Pant Bandwagon..

Every girl seems to own a pair, whether they're the real McCoy or a clever high street dupe, I'm talking about the disco pant. 

If you fancy a booty like Sandy from Grease or you're a fan of all things high shine, these leggings are for you. American Apparel offer the original, and arguably the best, disco pant on the high street but they're pricey at £74 so many have turned to cheaper alternatives with mixed reviews.

Disco Pants, American Apparel, £74

Now, I've tried many a pair of these leggings and none of them have come close to the originals. I would have already splashed a whole wad of my hard earned cash in American Apparel if only I fit them properly, I'm currently in between a small and a medium so I've vowed not to buy any until I can fit into a small! 

I thought I'd have to live without a pair until I slimmed down then I happened to stumble over a pair of Primark dupes. Now, I know what you're thinking, Primark's bargain pair at £16 could never live up to the much hyped pair from American Apparel. I thought this too but I took a pair into the changing room anyway, not holding out much hope only to be drop mouth shocked.

Disco Pants, Primark, £16

I've compared these to American Apparel's version and there are only 3 minor differences: the button is slightly different, the material is a little thinner and there is no reinforcing material in bum but for £58 less, you really can't grumble!

These leggings really are figure flattering and will put a smile on any girls face, they slim your legs, hide your tum and give girls with even the flattest bums (this is me!) a shapely bum to be proud of.

Now whether you cover up with a peplum or flaunt your figure with a crop top, I can only say that the disco pant will now be a permanent fixture in my wardrobe. 

So girls, hot foot it down to your local Primark to find the best disco pant dupes the high street has to offer!

Graduation Day

So, last week the big day finally arrived, Graduation day! After spending weeks agonising over a dress to wear (it took no fewer than 3 lengthy and tedious shopping trips!), I finally found the perfect frock. It was way over my original budget but thanks to my Mamma & Papa giving me a bit of help, I practically skipped out of the shop after my purchase.

I was looking for something a tad more sophisticated than my usual night out attire which meant that the length had to be considerably longer.. Basically, my top priority was that it had to be knee-length, I'm supposed to be a sophisticated graduate after all! I finally settled on a digital print, Ted Baker number which looks so unusual thanks to the close-up image of sequins and diamonds. 

Dress, £159, Ted Baker

Thankfully Graduation went without a hitch. I managed to avoid all the people I didn't fancy bumping into again and, probably most importantly, I didn't trip on the stage or fall down the stairs after my name had been called, hurrah!

I suppose I should show you how I styled my dress up to cope with the freezing northern winter we're currently experiencing..

I was brave and slapped on the fake tan meaning I could go bare on the day, though I cast many an envious glance at the girls who'd decided on thick black tights to keep their pins warm! I paired my dress with a vintage belt to nip in the waist, a peachy pink blazer from Primark for a bit of extra warmth and nude heels to tie all the colours together (and make my legs look longer!)

Now, whilst my University robes made me feel like something out of Harry Potter for the day, the hat was a completely different matter.. I'm not a hat person at the best of times, I just don't think I have the face for them. So, as you can imagine, I wasn't particularly pleased at wearing a heavy, bulky hat with a tassle dangling directly in front of my eye line for the day. As soon as the the ceremony was over and photos were taken, it came straight off, needless to say!

For some reason, every parent wanted their son/daughter to have a photo with Sheffield's golden postbox (thanks, Jess Ennis!) creating a queue of twenty somethings shivering and grumbling at the need of a photo with a postbox..

Now, unfortunately for the Graduation night out with my fellow students, my bloggers mind went straight out the window in terms of my outfit. I forgot to photograph and there are no images from the evening that capture it! But thanks to the Topshop website, I can at least show you the mannequin images.. I can't link you to it as it's now sold out country wide (apparently!) but there are plenty floating about on eBay for a much higher price than the RRP of £48.

Playsuits and lace are two of my favourite things anyway but to combine this with the backless feature almost had me squealing with excitement in the changing room. It's not for the fearful though, along with the backless element it's also pretty short, so one for those confident about their pins!

Well, I hope you enjoyed a little snapshot of my Graduation Day and the outfits I managed to pull out of the bag for it! 

Back To School Fashion

It would seem that shirts, pleats and pinafores are well and truly back in vogue, just a couple of months after the nation's children have headed back to school in scarily similar ensembles to what's now hot on the high street. 

I'd taken a fancy to this playsuit when it was £42 full price in Topshop and I couldn't bare to part with my cash. Though, in hindsight, I'm glad I didn't as only a week or so later, it was part of their mid-season sale! 

And it seems I'm not the only one who loved this flower printed playsuit, Little Mix's Perrie Edwards was photographed wearing it to London's Rose Club to celebrate the band's single going to #1.

Like Perrie, I styled my pinafore with a collared top underneath. I chose a navy blue, lace Primark number which matched the waistband and buttons perfectly. I matched the beige collar with a pair of sky high heels from Miss Selfridge.

Playsuit, Topshop £20

Collared Top, Primark £8
Heels, Miss Selfridge, £38 (Old Season)

Whilst I've dressed this playsuit up, I like the fact that it's so versatile and can also be dressed down for daytime wear. Wear with a shirt and cute pumps for a relaxed work look or shopping trip outfit!
Now, if only my school uniform had been as cute and fashionable as this!

Merry Ciate-mas!

Please, let's not get off on the wrong foot.. I'm not one of those people that starts getting excited about Christmas in October. Give me until at least the end of November before I start hyping about the festive season.

But one thing I am currently very excited about is Ciate's take on the traditional advent calender. Whilst most people usually settle for tiny squares of, usually tasteless, chocolate behind their advent windows this year will see many girls opening up a new nail varnish each morning!

Mini Mani Month Advent Calender
Selfridges, £38

Ciate has created the, "Mini Mani Month Advent Calender" which contains 24 mini varnishes: 17 best-selling colours, 4 caviar blends and 3 new glitter colours that are exclusive to the advent calender, not to be found anywhere else! 

At £38 it is more expensive than your average advent calender but in my opinion, and that of many other bloggers it would appear, it's totally worth it.

You can find the Ciate advent calender at Selfridges, both instore and online.
Will you be treating yourself to a mini mani calender this festive season?

Arm Candy

I was having a bad day last week and what does every blogger turn to when things aren't going right? Correct, retail therapy. So I bought this little beauty from Zara...

Handbag, £39.99, Zara

I've had my eye on this bag for aaaages, so it wasn't exactly a spur of the moment choice but I'm so glad I finally caved and purchased it! I'm a big fan of anything in tan, I think it's such a good colour for the A/W season as it can be matched with just about anything. Plus, I'm not a massive fan of black handbags, I feel some can look a bit harsh.

Unfortunately I haven't had much chance to show it off as the weather recently has been awful. Rather than a zip that stretches the the whole length of the bag, it has a flap that zips over the middle. Because of the rain I haven't taken it out much as I didn't want the contents of my handbag getting soaked, hence the generic website images!

I did manage to catch a fair weather day at the end of the week for a lunch date with my friend, so I jumped at the chance of taking my new bag out to play! And, as expected, my friend noticed, and loved, my new bag instantly!

So, I think it's safe to say that I think my bad day retail therapy fix was totally worth it? Either way, I love my new bag and expect to be showcasing it a lot more throughout the winter months (weather permitting!)

Scottish Antics

For anyone that doesn't know, I have a whole load of family that resides in Glasgow, therefore I'm often hopping up past the border for an impromptu visit. Sheffield can get tedious so it's nice to know I've got a little bolthole to run away to when things up North get to be too much!

So, I recently spent the week staying on the outskirts of Glasgow with my family and indulged in a few days off fabulous food and deathly vodka.

My cousin picks the best places for scran in the city and once again, she didn't let me down. We went to a cute little Thai place on Bath Street called St Jude's that offered delicious food and some of the most attentive service I've ever received.
I had chicken tempura with chili jam for starters, thai green chicken curry with jasmine rice for main and then somehow managed to squeeze in a mango and passion fruit cheesecake for dessert.. Fatty, I know.
And you know when you order water in a restaurant, you're lucky if you even get ice? This place went the extra mile with a half a fruit bowl in my glass! And it was constantly refilled which was a lovely touch. And we each got a fortune cookie with a bill, I love the little messages that come inside them!

Being in Scotland, a night out was definitely on the cards.. When in Rome and all that! We started off in a very student-esque bar called Driftwood, the drinks were cheap and the music was good, what more could you ask for? We then made our way up to one of Glasgow's most popular clubs, Garage, where there really was a room for every kind of music taste!

And the bar offered a speciality that would leave many English folk baffled.. A, "Bucky Bomb." Bucky (or Buckfast, to give it the proper title) is a tonic wine that is ridiculously popular in Scotland. Whilst it's not to my taste, I personally think it's vile, I can only imagine the taste is somewhat improved when it's sunk with Red Bull? I didn't try one so I can't really report back, but I wasn't willing to risk it coming straight back up and into a toilet bowl..

The day after provided a hangover of delightful standards which meant only one thing, I needed bad food.. And fast. And when in Glasgow, only something deep fried can cure a sore head and flipping stomach. My deep fried treat of choice? Why the pizza, of course. It may sound awful, I thought this to begin with, it's surprisingly moreish and the sheer amount of battered margherita goodness quickly sends any hangover packing.

Obviously I managed to fit in a teeny shopping trip in whilst in Glasgow.. Though on this occasion, I was on the mission for a friend's birthday present. But I did manage to find these Topshop dupes in Primark for the bargain price of £10! I already have them in nude so I was over the moon to finally find the elusive black ones too.

Hope you've had a lovely weekend and enjoy reading about my Glaswegian outings! xxx

Duty Free Goodies

For anyone that follows me on Twitter (@emmalouisewilso, for those of you that don't!) you'll know I've been home alone for the past two weeks, as my Mum and her boyfriend have been away sunning themselves in Bulgaria, lucky devils. I've spent the last fortnight tweeting the pros and cons of being by myself but I have to say, I'm so glad to have them back, I hated being alone at night!

But, on the plus side, my Mum going away always means one thing.. She brings me home a few fabulous Duty Free treats! And boy did she do well this time. 

First up, she bought me a massive bottle of my favourite perfume, Nina by Nina Ricci. I love the bottle, it's shaped into the most adorable pink apple and is a really girly addition to any dressing table. I'm a big fan of sweet perfumes and this one certainly does the trick!

Now this is the present I'm most excited about, my Urban Decay Naked2 palette. For so long I've seen bloggers posting about their Naked & Naked2 palettes but I've never been able to justify buying one for myself and now I don't need to! I love how with this palette you also get a little freebie.. A miniature tube of Lip Junkie, which I can't wait to try out. 

I absolutely adore Milka chocolate and whilst you can get in in the UK, you get so much more variety elsewhere in Europe and thankfully my Mamma knows this, picking me up a few different bars!

I love how you get such value for money when you hit duty free in the airport and I've been particularly lucky with the haul my Mum has brought me back this time..

Festival Fun

So, it's been a couple of weeks since I returned from Leeds Fest and I think I've just about recovered. I've gotten used to not waking up in a tent, drinking a can of cider for breakfast and I've shaken off the dreaded post-festival flu. Unlike the poor folk who went to Creamfields, we were very lucky with the weather, which considering I don't cope well in the rain, was probably in the best interests of everyone else.

Unfortunately I wasn't organised enough to take photos of my outfit choices for each day but I do have a small selection to show off what I packed. It's probably for the best I didn't take outfit photos each day anyway, as by the third day my body was breaking down, my hair was a state and make-up was minimal, so I'm probably saving you all a fright..
My festival essential is definitely a onesie and I chose a fancy leopard print one to take with me. It kept me cosy in my freezing tent at night and was perfect for lazing around the campsite in whilst coping with a hangover in the morning. The only downside? Being a onesie, going to the loo was awkward but there were more positives than negatives! 

Onesie, £16.99, New Look

As any festival goer knows, a decent pair of wellies is an essential if you don't want to destroy your clothes with mud, alcohol or whatever else is getting thrown about.. This year I finally took the plunge and invested in a pair of pink Hunter wellies and matching Hunter wellie socks (so fleecy and warm, definitely the best thing I packed for the whole festval!) and I absolutely love them. They're so girly and definitely worth shelling out the cash for.

Hunter wellingtons, £64.81, Amazon
Hunter wellie socks, last season £6.99, ASOS

The only day I have an official, 'Out Of The Day,' is for the morning and I set off and bear in mind, this photo was taken at 4.30 in the morning so I wasn't feel totally fresh. It also shows that I can't pull off a backpack to save my life, but I'm okay with this because backpacks aren't my thing anyway..

Scarf, Accessorize
Jumper, Topshop
Shorts, Topshop
Socks, Primark

So it's safe to say I'm extremely sad to be home and I'm kind of mentally counting down till next year. What's not to love about getting drunk for 4 days, sleeping terribly in tents and listening to your favourite music all weekend?

Did you go to any festivals this summer? If so, what were your festival essentials?

Posh Spice Turned True Fashionista

Only a matter of weeks ago, many took to their Twitter accounts to question why, in the fashion section of the Olympics Closing Ceremony, a Victoria Beckham piece had been chosen to feature alongside other, much more established, designers such as Westwood and McQueen.

Image from The Daily Mail

But boy did our Vicky do us Brits proud. Georgia May Jagger looked stunning in her metallic gold dress as she strutted round the arena alongside fellow models including, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. The dress fitted in seamlessly with the fellow designers' picks for the models, all dressed in gold to celebrate the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Image from The Daily Mail

Whilst many folk still appear to sneer Mrs Beckham's fashion credentials as merely another celebrity fashion collection this should all hopefully come to a stop after she showcased her stunning S/S 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week.
The effortlessly stylish collection, coloured in black, white and orange, combined a selection of dress, trousers, blouses, skirts and jackets for every occasion. Whilst a VB piece will cost you upwards of £1,000, they are classic pieces so you could definitely justify it as an investment piece you could wear again and again!

Whilst Victoria's past collections, and no doubt new collection too, have become firm favourites with celebrities around the globe, the lady herself is definitely the brand's best model. She's frequently photographed in her own designs and New York Fashion Week was no different and she hit the catwalk for the finale in a modified version of one of her own designs and looked as fabulous as her models!

Images from MTV

What do you think of Victoria Beckham's new collection, are you a fan?