I don't know about you but I'm already bored with the magazine articles, TV adverts and general internet chat about diets and exercise regimes that you should start now to get all fit and fantastic.
This morning alone I opened both of the Sunday supplement magazines to be confronted with new fangled diets that I should be trying. So taking a break from my under the stairs office project....I promise to get back to interiors and up cycling blogging tomorrow i just wanted to say.
ENOUGH.!!
I too want to start the New Year in a much healthier way, but when I read some of these articles and the diets they are suggesting I panic. You practically need a degree in Chemistry to understand half of them, the ingredients they suggest you incorporate into your diet will never be stocked in my local Somerfield and if you have time to make and bake your own Granola you can't be my friend!
So here is my summary of top tips to start the new year in a healthier way.
1) It's not rocket science and my clever Brother has always said " MOVE MORE, EAT LESS"
I don't think this means you suddenly have to deck yourself in Lycra and start running, or embarrass yourself trying to keep up with the fitness bunnies at the local Zumba class.Maybe just go for a walk every day, walking at pace can be just as good. Instead of coffee with a friend catch up on the gossip while you walk.
2) CUT out the sugar or really really cut down.
I am a real advocate of this and there are lots of books and websites at the moment that are talking about this, i have learnt a lot from Sarah Wilson who has a great blog about cutting out sugar and top tips on doing it and a website 'I quit sugar' .I learnt the benefits of this last year when like Sarah I was suffering from Thyroid problems. Stopping the sugar made me much much better. It can however seem very daunting so don't worry if you cant do it 100%.
Basic changes can mean the world of difference:
Don't add extra sugar in your tea and coffee.
Cut out all fizzy drinks
Try not to eat processed foods they have loads if hidden sugar. Yes that does mean anything from the ready-made meal section!
Of course don't eat the obvious sweet things,cakes sweets etc. etc. Check labels on things some things that they say are healthy i.e. cereal bars are full of sugar. Don't be fooled.
I know, I know easier said than done but believe me I was so surprised how easy it was to do and after a week or so I didn't even fancy eating sweet things any more, in fact they made me feel a bit sick.
3) Cut down or out the alcohol.
This is not going to make me popular I know but someone once told me to think of a glass of wine as a think slice of processed bread smothered in butter. They have just about the same calorific content which is alarming. There is no point suffering Ryvitas all day only to ruin it with three glasses of wine a night= totally pointless.
4)Don't save the kitchen disco for parties.
Crack up the music and have a bloomin good boogie, my girls love it when we do this. One Direction is the album of choice at the moment. Ten minutes of dancing around and singing into my potato masher and its as good as a workout!
5) Under no circumstances purchase a celebrity fitness DVD.
I am sure that just watching these can be bad for your mental health! I'm also certain most "D- list" celebrity's are packed off to fat camp around June time to gain those extra pounds and look rubbish in a bikini on holiday. They then can be filmed losing the weight for their fitness DVD released just after Christmas and make a few pennies doing it.!!! We are not suckers, you have had months of one on one personal trainers and dietitians helping you. If we buy the DVD we wont have time to do it as we all have a life and if we do the exercise's you suggest in the confines of our living rooms we will knock pictures off the walls and have to move all the furniture out.
6) Do not buy a soup maker, juicer, smoothie maker, George Foreman grill or a monthly subscription to a wheat grass delivery.
None of the above will be used after about two weeks and will take up lots of space in your cupboards. !! Blenders and food processors that you already have can mostly do what these gadgets claim they can do.
Anyway enough from me I am no fitness or health guru just wanted add a sprinkling of common sense to the New Year fitness and diet craziness. As you will see from this photo frankly I was born Bikini ready!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over and out.
Lynne x
Happy New Year to you all.
I hope you all enjoyed the celebrations last night. Great friends, soggy fireworks and some bad Dad/ Mum(me) dancing made for a great night this end.
Its time to start thinking about taking the decorations down, not one of my favourite jobs but putting those Christmas tree lights back neatly with no tangles will save hours of stress next Christmas !Its time to start getting back to painting up some of the lovely pieces of furniture that are taking up space in my garage. With the school holidays very little gets achieved.
2014 I feel sure it's going to be an interesting year, I hope that the craze for up cycling and re-purposing things around the home will continue to gather pace .Lots of the things that I predict will become big interior fashions over the next year are so easy to achieve at home and this is what excites me. I'm hoping that i can pass on some of the top tips to you over the year.
Interior wise a few things I'm predicting......
Ombre or dip dye effect used on soft furnishings as seen with Bluebell Greys Teal Paintbox cushion £70.00 and Marks and Spencer's with their Padova Peony Footstool
This effect can be so easily achieved with some Dylon fabric dye for hand use. I will be blogging about the best and easiest way to do this over the coming weeks so watch this space. I made a duvet cover using blue dye and it was super easy and i think very Designer Guild styleeee.Cheap to do and maximum effect.
Exposed light bulbs and light fittings with an industrial feel are another trend that I think will continue to grow though 2014. Graham and Green have an amazing selection of these lights.
They look fab but very similar ones can be made by buying the bulb holders from specialist stores for around £3.90 and then buying the coloured flex, again I will blog about this and let you know where all these parts can be bought and how to do it. Here is one i made....
I went for a sensible Grey flex cable as I was practising to see if it could be done but next time I may go for a bright pink ...crazy! I will also show you how to make table lamps using old jars, love this one made from a cookie jar.
Blue Walls, Farrow and Ball's downpipe has been everywhere for the last year or so and whilst i feel in the right property can look amazing its time to make way for BLUE!!
I am loving the following two:
Marine Blue absolute matt emulsion by Little Greene.
Stiffkey Blue 281 by Farrow and Ball
2014 could be the year to go blue!
So much to tell you all, there is what we can make from old pallets, up-cycling furniture projects, garden tips and interior inspiration. So stick around for the ride and sign up for Love Nellie's Daily Dose to be delivered to your inbox. I can help you get creative and save £££££££ achieving fantastic style around your home.
Right is there anything even vaguely good on television tonight? If you need me I will be in front on the fire in my onesie !!!
Happy New Year to you all x
This time of year is fraught with stress, finding the end of the cello tape, remembering which cupboard in the house you have hidden the children's presents ,worrying if the turkey that you have ordered is going to fit in the oven etc. etc. The last thing you need is the sudden realisation that you have forgotten a gift for Great Aunt Edina, fear not though everybody likes Hokey Pokey and its so easy to make and takes just minutes. It's a good solution to the problem as most people have all the ingredients in their cupboards so no need to dash out anywhere.
Package it up in a funky tin or cellophane bag all tied up with a home-made label and nobody will ever know you forgot them, on the contrary you will look über thoughtful!!
So here goes.
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 tsp baking soda
Method
- 1. Grease or line a baking tray.
- 2. Combine the sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan and over a medium heat bring it to the boil, stirring constantly.
- 3. Boil for 2 minutes, again stirring constantly.
- 4. Stir in the baking soda, whipping the mixture up quickly.
- 5. Spread the mixture onto the greased baking tray.
- 6. Leave to harden and as soon as the mixture has cooled break it into pieces and place it in an airtight container.
- 7. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over the pan of hot water until smooth.
- 8. Dip each piece of Hokey Pokey into the chocolate and place on a sheet of baking paper until the chocolate has set.
My top tip.
When making Hokey Pokey it is important to pay careful attention to the sugar/golden syrup mixture, making sure that it doesn’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pan. Equally important is getting the mixture into the greased tin as quickly as possible once the baking soda has been added. The slower you move, the harder it is to work with. Store the Hokey Pokey in an airtight container as soon as it has cooled and set otherwise it will start to go sticky.
Personally I would be very happy with some Hokey Pokey on Christmas Day!
Over and out
Lynne xx
We have all just about mastered the art of paper chains by the time we leave infant school but there are so many other Christmas decorations that you can make with very little skill and a tiny dose of effort. The giant paper snowball is easy peasy and would look great hanging in windows in clusters or over the dining table all ready for Christmas Lunch.
It really is very easy to do all you need are quite a few circles of tissue... I had about 40.I just folded the tissue paper up lots of times so I only had to cut the circle once. Then popped a staple in the middle of the circle to hold all the sheets together. Next step is to fluff out half of the sheets one way and the other half the other way to make a ball shape. Tie cotton around the middle and viola ! You can also tie them on to one long string and make a snowball garland.
Another idea that's also super easy and looks amazing are these tissue pom poms.
These can be made really large for impact and grouped together in the corner of the room.
So that's your challenge for the day, no skill required and a great way to entertain the kids. Get busy with it!!!!!
Lots of Love
Lynnex
Not long to go now until one of the most important meals of the year.Personally I think that it should be made law that Christmas lunch has to be a BBQ so that I can delegate it to a man! Most ladies at this time of year are in need of a spa break and lots of sleep having spent weeks shopping, organising, wrapping and the thought of glazing carrots while wearing your Christmas jumper is almost too much to bear.
But fear not I have stumbled across a few top tips that may mean that a stint in post festive therapy is avoided and better still everyone leaves your house thinking you're a domestic goddess. He goes...
1) Gravy.
Make it before and freeze it, then just defrost it on Christmas morn and heat it up. Jamie Oliver has a great recipe called 'Get ahead gravy'...job done!
2 ) Lay the table the day before. Then your all ready to go.
3)Buy then BIN them after. This cuts down on the amount of washing up you have to do. I know, I know not very ecologically friendly but if it keeps you sane I say go for it. Usually a well-meaning relative will offer to wash up. They never do a good job and just get in your way when your trying to cling-film the stuffing that nobody has bothered to eat and pop it in the fridge!!!!
4) That leads me on to my next point.. just because every magazine since October has had a sprouts and pancetta recipe if your family hate sprouts you don't HAVE to serve them. If nobody likes Christmas pudding go crazy and have ice-cream bomb instead. Nigella's had a tough few weeks so thought I would feature one of her more proud moments, this ice cream cake could be made using whatever chocolates you like ( maybe even Quality Streets all chopped up for a Christmas feel?) and then decorated with glitter, mini trees etc. I have made it loads and it's always a winner and can be made well in advance of the day.
Cook what you know people like, there will be less waste and you wont be left with that horrible why did I bother feeling as you scrape countless scraps in to the food re-cycling bin.
5) Bamboozle people with your table decoration details, I always think a little thought into how your table looks goes a long way. It's all in the detail as they say. Here are a few ideas that are simple and should only take a few minutes.
Another idea i love it the gingerbread man place setting.. so cute but does require some baking skills although I think some leading supermarket bakers may have packs ready-made to help you.
You can't go wrong with the use of an old-fashioned cardboard luggage label with someone's name written on attached to a little treat, maybe each persons favourite chocolate bar, a bag of pic and mix or a spring bulb or house plant planted in an old tin.
Right then that's me done. I still have wrapping to be done etc etc etc etc etc... it's a case if keep calm and carry on !
Thanks Lynne x
Competition is fierce, the creative juices are flowing. Any thing sold in a jar is now out of stock in the local Co-op which can mean only one thing.. its Jam Jar Tombola time.!!! Who will win the competition for most original creation made using a jam jar at the Christmas fair.
So in a public service type way I thought I would pass on some of the fantastic ideas that I have come across and share with you my entry !!!!
Kate ( age 5) and I have turned a jam jar into a kiddie hand-wash bottle. We have glued a monster to the bottom of the jar, filled it with slime ( aka antibacterial hand-wash from Tesco's), Spray painted the lid of the jam jar with some fantastic spray paint that turns things to stone and then popped a Dymo label on reading 'Monster Hand-wash, Kill those germs!'...... what do you think, are we in with a chance?
Here's kind of how I did it.... easy peasy!
I came across some other fantastic ideas which made me wonder why we ever throw jam jars out, the possibilities are endless. So people when you finish your jam or pickled onions, STOP think and get creative... its kind of addictive!
Thats all folks.... will report back with who won and the most creative idea. Have a great weekend. x
I'm really not sure how it happened but my diary is telling me that the school holidays are imminent. I have therefore gone into slight PANIC mode thinking of places to go, things to do etc. to amuse the little ones. Thought I would share after all what do they say' a problem shared is a problem halved'! So for now here are a few things to book.. I will post some ideas of things to make very soon.
1)Giffords Circus a fabulous family show, featuring Teeedy the clown, Ukranian acrobats, wire walkers, dancing horses etc ect all with a vintage circus theme. Sounds fantastic go online to book tickets . The shows run thought the holidays across the country.
2) Roald Dahl museum is a great place to go with children above about 6 years old, see the writing chair and writing hut where Mr Dahl wrote all his stories.
pic of chair
and if you really have the Dahl bug then Matilda the musical or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be a fab day out to London.
3) Festivals...
The Lollibop festival is on in August and has a whole host of amazing kid friendly acts on... who wouldnt want to see Rastamouse!!!
Bestival is another slightly more grown up event but for those kiddies that love music and a bit of glamping then it could be a winner. Personally I think the Bollywood Field sounds a hoot!!
5) The Lego Hotel
Why not take a trip to Legoland and then pop and see Windsor Castle, if your lucky the Queen may even ask you in for tea. The new Legoland hotel is now open so there is no need rush hope and end the Lego fun!!
Now there's a few ideas to keep you going..lets all pray for sunshine all summer!
Enjoy this weather .
Lynne x
It would seem that for once we have been lucky with the weather at a time of year when usually our sport is rained off. This week I have been lucky enough to be out and about at Henley Royal Regatta, races and an armchair supporter for . Fear not though Claire Balding is not my new best friend and i have not overnight become a sports fan. ( wowzers this photographer is good she looks great!?)
If I am really honest one of the things I love about being at these sports events is checking out the various fashions and having a good giggle a the disasters.
With the sunshine out I notice that lots of people have thrown caution to the wind and headed out in the of skimpiest of summer dresses. So here's my view on what's looking good and some of the dresses that I think were just the ticket.
Youngsters out there be warned, the older ladies were ( in my humble opinion) much much better styled at all the events. You young uns need to make a note just cos its trendy does not mean it suits you and remember unless you have the same body shape as Cheryl Cole it is doubtful that you will look as amazing in the same dress as her!
Dip Dyed Maxi Skirts...
I know if sounds like a bad 1970s nightmare but they actually looked amazing here's one of my favourites from Coast. I think worn with a white vest top and thong sandals it would look perfectio.
Elegant Day Dresses.
Kim Sears wore this Zara Dress at Wimbledon and looked amazing. I love the fact that it hides the tops of the arms and is in such a flattering style. Rumour has it that it's now totally sold out... they seem to be trading on for vast amounts now!!
However this one is lovely too and is also from Zara.
Coral
This was defiantly the colour du jour!! Not a colour I would have ever chosen for fear of looking like someone who worked on the roads but i have had a rethink and this season it seems to work. Oasis has a lovely flattering one and its one sale and half price at the moment... it would be rude not to !!!
Nails and bags in coral are also a fab cheery summer look. 
Right so there you have it a whole three days of criticizing people 's outfits compressed in to a quick e-mail.! I think rule of thumb when choosing outfits to attend such events should be do I look more like Audrey Hepburn or Katie Price.... if it's the latter...... change into something else......QUICK!!!
Oh and the ladies in onsies at Henley... I hope you didn't get too hot!!!
Over and out, enjoy the sunshine.
Lynne x
As I sit here today whilst a filming crew film a Cake advert around me I thought i would list the things for your home that have inspired me of late. It will keep my mind off eating the models.....yummy.
1) Something to buy.......I spotted this new Company at Home show and I think it's genius idea. sold out of their first run of shelves and are now back in the workshop ..very busy.
Founded in 2013 Flash Bang & Wallop is the first of a series of hand-made furniture by Lee Stewart and Kailesh Parmar.who make the most amazing box shelves with leather handles to hang them up. They would look perfect with books or vases in or even in play rooms to store toys where you don't want a huge piece of furniture but have a space to fill. Such a clever idea yet so simple. I am predicting that these will become a huge trend.
2) Something to think about. Yellow... as in the colour for your home. Not often used as we all seem to have become slightly brainwashed into the Farrow and Ball colour version of the world but I think it's not used enough and is very cheery ! I predict paint pots of yellow flying off the shelves.
3) Something to make..... I think that old drawers lined with wallpaper and then popped on to your walls make amazing shelves. It's a really cheap way of repurposing something and making a design statement at the same time. You can also paint them to match your scheme or even decoupage them... the possibilities are endless
4) Something to grow.... Salvia is my plant of the moment. I love the colour and instead of using it in a boarder why not fill a whole container with it as I think it looks amazing.
5) Something to save up for!!!! - I saw these sculptures at Chelsea Flower show, Rachel Carter created sculptures but hand weaving willow. I just love these eggs if only i had a garden big enough and a few spare pounds!!
Have a good day everyone and more soon. I'm off to sample the cakes!
Lots of Love
Lynne x
It sometimes seems to me that the book will soon become a vintage design piece. Recently we have seen wallpapers designed to look like bookcases (crazy,does nobody own actual bookcases anymore) and most people have kindles rather than actual books, anyway I digress.
I have just spent a week with my 7-year-old who has just discovered the joy of reading ye olde fashioned books.I have been reminded that how easy and wonderful it is to lose yourself in a good story.
So next time you reach for the electronic tablet babysitter…forget angry birds and think more BFG or you may be pleasantly surprised how easy it is for a child of reading age to become a bookworm. Books don’t need charging,dry out easily without the need for a bag of rice if something is split on them and won’t break the bank.
Books that we love at the moment.
Mr Stink – David Wallams
Malory Towers- the box set.- Enid Blyton
The Magic Faraway Tree- Enid Blyton
Any of the famous five.. they are always fantastic
50 Shades - well just don't bother!!
To encourage reading it’s also nice to make a special place at home for your little one to read, it doesn't have to be difficult - a few comfortable floor cushions, a big squishy bean bag chair, or a teepee. Its easy to instantly create a fun space for fairy tales, adventure stories, and novels. A few pics here may inspire you…..
The book wallpaper can be found at one of my favourite online shops www.rocketstgeorge.co.uk well worth a look for design inspiration. Failing that Charity shops are full of books all looking to be adopted !!
Anyway happy reading all...
Love Lynne x
