Skinny Mint : Update 2

I'm gonna make this one short and sweet.....

So I'm now on day 22 and I can't believe how much of a difference I'm seeing. The bloat has gone and my belly fat has reduce significantly (with the help of exercise of course). I thought maybe the whole energised feeling would subside after a while but no, I'm still feeling awake and cleared headed every morning and just generally in a better mood.

I had a good clear out of my clothes on Friday afternoon. Now we all keep those items if clothing that we love in the hope of one day being able to "get back into them" don't we? Well some have gone and some I can actually fit back into WIN!!! I now have an organised wardrobe full of clothes that fit me.

To sum up my progress so far, I went into this teatox 11st 1lbs and when I weighed myself last night I now weigh 10st 7lbs so I have lost 8lbs so far. Again I'd like to reiterate that I have also been eating more healthier and exercising. I have 6 days remaining until the end of my teatox and cant wait to see the end result.

I'll be back at the end of the 28days to show you my end result :)

Not giving up

I feel a little bit sad writing this post but at the same time excited of what is to come. I'm just gonna come out as say it and then I feel i need to explain....

I am hanging up my bag making apron for the foreseeable future. 

There I said it, it's out there now! It was never an easy decision to make and of course nothing of this nature is ever final. It's something that has been in the background niggling at me since last Christmas. 

As I've said many times before, Bagladee for me is more of a hobby than it's ever been a business, I did it because I love to sew and I've revelled in the whole process of teaching myself new techniques and realising that I could actually make a good quality bag that could rival some of the best! Life has changed since the start of Bagladee and so have my priorities. I enjoy my day job since changing just over a year ago and everyday is unpredictable and busy which I love. I've started eating healthier and exercising regular. We still have much to do in the way of decorating our beautiful home and I just want to let go and relax and enjoy life in general with Chris (Mr.B). 

I could write a list that goes on for miles of all the things I would like to do in place of the time I would be sat making bags. I just feel that now is the perfect time to stop and take stock of everything and do more. 

I will still keep everything going in regards to my blog, Facebook, twitter, Instagram and my website. I don't want Bagladee to just disappear, you will just see a lot more things about me and my life. I'm going to spend more time developing my brand of gingerbread men as they are so popular with you all. So you can expect some new little bits in that sense. Maybe I'll even get round to making myself a bag! Ha ha.

Way, way back in 2008 I started this blog and opened my Etsy shop and since then I've had the most amazing support and encouragement from you all. For that I cant thank you enough! I never thought for one minute that Bagladee would have become such a huge part of my life and the new friends I've made along the way. As I have no idea where the road is going to take me I'm hoping that you'll join me for the ride.

I've spent the evening tidying up my studio (as always it looks like a tornado after I've finished a bag) so now its all ready to be decorated and ready for a new chapter.

Skinny Mint : Update

So I am now on day 10 of the 14 day Starter pack of the Skinny Mint teatox. I thought that I wasn't going to like it to be honest, as I said before I'm not really a 'herbal' tea drinker, I love a good cup of builders tea or you are mostly likely to see me with a cup of coffee in my hand.

I have to say that I am really enjoying the morning boost tea, I love the taste and even more so I love how energised I feel since starting the teatox.

I am definitely not a morning person, I start my day job at 7am and it always takes me about an hour and a couple of coffees to get me into some sort of cohesive state and sometimes I can be, shall we say 'a little moody' or sharp until at least mid morning. God I sound like a right moody cow....I'm not like this everyday I'd just like to add :D

My usual routine would be to get in and log into the works system then go make a coffee. I've now replaced this with the morning boost tea and boy what a difference. I've felt more awake this week than I have in quite sometime, I've also felt more cleared headed, less fuzzy and overall generally in a better mood and state of mind. So for me the morning boost tea is a winner for sure.

The night cleanse tea however, I still cannot get away with the taste, I'm not saying its awful its just not my thing. its very gingery and has peppermint in it too, I really don't like peppermint tea :( but I've been persevering with it to see what the results are. It does make you feel really relaxed and sleepy which was a nice bonus, its really helping me wind down before bed.

Please remember that while doing this teatox I am exercising too, I try to fit in x2 40min sessions of Zumba a week but I'm not dieting I'm just trying to eat a little more fruit and veg. I have been losing a teeny bit of weight here and there over the last couple of months but when I weighed myself this week I had actually lost 2lbs!!! Am I seeing any difference though? YES!! I am no longer feeling bloated and have lost an inch or so from my waist and I have noticed my muffin top has reduced. And one of my work colleagues asked me today "Have you lost weight?". So this evening I have gone ahead and ordered another of the 14 day pack to complete the full 28 day teatox. I'm interested to see what difference doing the whole course will be.

They only recommend that you detox 3 times a year with a break in between each detox but you can however still carry on drinking the morning boost tea. If I find that after I complete the teatox I'm starting to become lethargic again I think I will invest in a pack of just the morning boost.

I've even managed to persuade my Mam to try it too, so it will be interesting to see what results it has for her. I will pop back in a few more days or so and let you know how I'm getting on. Would you be interested in seeing some before/after photos or not? 

Oh yes and I would just like to also add there has been some sewing going on here at Bagladee HQ but I will tell you ball about that later. 

Skinny Mint

I don't usually post about this sort of stuff but since we have booked our Summer holiday to Portugal I have been more concious of how unhealthy and unfit I had become over the last couple of years. I used to be really active when I was younger going to dance class and competing in competitions and even though I stopped competing at twenty I still kept active with aerobics and running.

Life came along and got in the way....moving house, busy making bags, busy changing jobs at work, decorating....well I could go on. I'm going to put my hand up now and say for the last 4 year approx I have done not one ounce of exercise, nope nada nothing!!!! Which would be OK if I watched what I ate....I didn't and ended up a stone and half heavier. Now to some that wont sound very much, but I've always been slim and I felt heavy. Its all about the way we feel rather than what we weigh right?!?

So.....I started back on Zumba on my WII twice a week and started trying to eat a little healthier. I started to read about different types of detox regimes on the internet, and was almost ready to try "those wraps" (very expensive) I'm sure you know which ones I mean until I read up about Skinny Mint. Skinny Mint is a 2 step Teatox which you drink for 28 days. There is a morning boost tea which you drink every morning before breakfast and then a Night cleanse which you drink every other night after your last meal.

The 28 day teatox is £32.90, I know sounds expensive for tea right, yeah thats what I thought, but I read some of the testimonials and thought I'm gonna give it a go. There is a 14 day starter pack which retails for £17.90 which is the one that I went for, I was a little dubious that I would like the taste of it so the starter pack seemed like a good way to go.

Here goes......

My pack arrived on Monday so my first day started on Tuesday. I had one of the morning boost teas as soon as I got to work on Tuesday morning, the tea bag itself smelt gorgeous and I was pleasantly surprised that I really liked the tea. I'm not normally a fan of fruit teas but this seemed really easy to drink. I then had one of the night cleanse teas just before going to bed, this one was very different, I couldn't really tell what the tea smelled of, it kinda smelled a little pepperminty. My other half complained that he thought it smelled awful but then he says that about most things lol anyway I did drink it and it was fine, I could taste peppermint and ginger, both of which I don't mind, the tea was palatable but I have to say I preferred the morning boost. So its now my third day and I have to say that I've felt a lot more awake since drinking the tea, my mood has improved on a morning (I'm usually a right grumpy sod) and feel like I have more energy. As I have only had one of the night cleanse teas I cant really comment if it does have an effect. Although it made me really relaxed for bed and I found myself drifting off to sleep the moment I put my head on the pillow. So far, so good.

I'm just about to go and make a night cleanse tea now so I'll end my post here. I'll come back in a couple of days and let you know how I'm getting on.

There are some links in this post to the Skinny Mint website, they're also currently having a sale on if you were thinking of trying it.

Night my lovelies.....x

Duolingo

One thing that I wished I'd learned more of when I was younger is languages. I envy other countries who learn a second language from an early age. 

When I was at secondary school we had the choice of learning French or German. I was one of the lucky few who were given the chance to learn both but sadly when I left school for college I didn't carry either on. I sometimes wonder if I'd have started learning them sooner in Primary school would I have carried it on later in life?

That aside I do remember quite a bit of French and when we have been in France I have known enough to get by. German however...I barely remember a thing, well I can count to 100, tell you my name and that's where that talent ends. 

Since starting to visit Portugal for holiday I've really wanted to learn Portugese. I've picked up a couple of phrases from holidays and even bought some CD's to try and help but it never really seemed to sink in. Recently I have discovered Duolingo and I am really enjoying it. All of the levels are varied and it's almost like playing a game which keeps you interested. Because the levels are in bite sized chunks it makes it really easy to learn in my lunch break or when I have a spare 5 minutes. 

I'm hoping by the time our holiday in September comes round I will have learned enough to really test my new skill. And then maybe by the time we get to emigrate over there I will be fluent 😉

Have any of you tried Duolingo? 

Fighting fit

At last I feel like myself again!! Yipeeeeeee!

I am rubbish at being ill ha ha just purely because I refuse to actually admit that I am feeling under the weather and will try to carry on doing everything I think I should be doing. Most likely why I ended up so run down in the first place!!

Well that was my plan until my body had other ideas and I ended up vegged out on my bed for the whole of the week. Apart from watching the first and second series of Falling Skies (and starting on the third) I did sew a little, funnily enough it was things that I just hadn't gotten round to like sewing these gorgeous grey buttons on our mustard cushions. We bought them quite some time ago (ashamedly I think it was about 8 months ago) as a contrast to the grey wall we painted opposite the sofa (chimney breast wall) and I kept saying I will do them at the weekend. Ha ha how many times have I heard that before!!

Now I'm back to my usual self it feels fantastic. But I am still concious not to push myself too far in case it happens again. We're having a pretty slow paced weekend but still trying to pack lots in to fully enjoy the bank holiday weekend. Right I'm off to make a coffee and plan out what we're going to be doing today.

Have a fab weekend :D xx

If I were...

....to make a bag for myself this is probably what it would look like. Although I didn't pick this fabric, my customer did, I love it!!!! Its a perfect combo for Summer.

To co-ordinate with the silvery grey flowers in the pattern of the main bag I chose a silver grey lining with a leaf pattern....

And now I have mastered the zippered pocket (as mentioned on my big To Do list) here is another, on the other side of the lining is a slip pocket perfect sizing for popping your mobile phone in.

 And hidden away inside the zippered pocket is a surprise everytime....this time turquoise polka dots!!

I'm really loving making these new style satchel bags and cant wait to make one for myself.......if I ever get round to it lol :D