Hifi bars and cashback

Morning all! I vanished again, but I'm determined to keep this going!

Today, I'm going to talk about my diet savers - the slimming world hi-fi bars.
Over the past two weeks I've really not been well, and while being bedridden my boyfriend has had full reign over the kitchen and what I've been eating, which means that my diet has suffered. Over the past two weeks I've put on 1lb (I know that's not much, but when I wanted to lose a stone by september it's certainly dented my confidence).
The only thing keeping me on track is my hi-fi bars. To make sure I still had my healthy extras, I've been using them as a snack with a glass of milk, and they have certainly kept me on the diet mood and left me with  little sugar to alleviate my cravings as well as not joining the syns in the rest of my meals.
I love these things, you can only get them from group (and I'm really glad I stocked up as I ended up missing a week) but they are delicious chocolatey sugary morsels that have been keeping me on track from the beginning. If you've never tried them, they come highly recommended from me!

In other news, I've just started using an app called 'checkoutsmart', it has a lot of cashback deals alongside some bonuses just for submitting your reciepts and try it free products. I've had it about 2 weeks and have already saved £10 off my groceries! The last try it free was the new birdseye chicken inspirations, and the chargrilld fish inspirations (neither of which are likely to be good on syn balance, but like I said, I haven't been cooking). The tomato and basil chicken is amazing, and I would definitely recommend it to those who haven't tried it!
This week you can get a free bottle of Volvic touch of fruit 750ml from Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose! (Unhelpful for me, I don't have any of those stores nearby, but if you have one, go get it!) You get your money back quickly after submitting your reciept, so far it's never been longer than 24 hours for me!
There is a 5% charge to cash out your account if the amount it less that £20, but once you hit that mark you get every penny!

If you get the chance, I would definitely look into it. It's been fabulous for me!

Quick and easy Syn free noodles and broth

It's a recipe today!
My boyfriend and I felt lazy last night (and I'm currently ill so I definitely wasn't cooking) so we just threw together a quick broth with noodles, and it was amazing, so I thought I'd share the recipe we used.

Now, this was just thrown together in a haphazard kind of way, so the measurements aren't exact, and you could easily change this.

Serves 2
Syn Free on EE or Green!

1 beef stock cube made up with water
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Mixed herbs
1 yellow pepper, chopped up
1/2 onion, chopped up
Spaghetti (we would have used noodles if we had them)

First, place a small saucepan on medium heat, and pour in the beef stock, chopped pepper and onion, and allow to cook for a few minutes. Add mixed herbs and light soy sauce and allow to boil.
Cook noodles according to instructions in a separate pan.
Once noodles are done, add dark soy sauce to the stock mix and stir through.
Serve noodles between two bowls, and add half of the stock mix on top.

This left us with just a little broth in the bottom of the bowl, enough to taste and flavour but nothing too soupy, and with all the veg easily accessible on the top of the spaghetti.

It's a simple recipe, but we really enjoyed it so I thought it would be worth sharing!

If you try this, do leave me a comment! I've seen I've got a few page views, so if you do see this, please leave me a comment to say hi, I'm generally curious about who reads my blog.

Have a good evening all!

August Freebies

For anyone interested, the freebies list monthly list has been updated for the women's monthlies that I buy each month for my dissertation (and Harpers Bazaar this month as I wanted it's cover freebie)

This month, the freebies added up to £12.43! So that's not bad. I've not got over £300 worth of freebies in my stash (I dread to think of how much I have to spend on all these magazines) but that's not a bad collection. This includes my subscription to the Discovery Club from thefragranceshop, so from now on I'm going to keep track of the spend alongside the freebies. I'll have to see if I can find a widget or something.

Seen any good freebies anywhere? Do let me know, I'm always after anything that can get me something I love for a smaller price :D

Holiday update!

My holiday is booked! Yeah, that happened quickly, but now I'm having a fantastic time preparing for it! 

I'm off to Zante via Thompson, and I simply cannot wait! And so, I thought I would make a list of the things that I want to buy for my holiday. 

First, I want a beach bag. A bright one. I want something that I can throw my towel into and everything else I'll need for the beach or pool. The hotel isn't far from the beach, so it's not a big issue, but this is definitely what I want! 

Second, a new swimming costume. This is simple, I don't really need to explain it xD

I also want a new beach cover up, I don't want to have to wander from the hotel to the beach just in my costume. I might be more confident now, but I'm not 'that' confident!

Flip flops and sandals! I want both, particularly gladiator/roman sandals (I don't really know what they're called) and I'm hoping I'm not too late to go shopping for them. 

A maxi dress or two, it's going to be too hot to wear anything longer than shorts or a nice loose dress, so I want a couple of maxi dresses!

Some new tops, again, self explanatory.

And a pair of shorts and/or khaki trousers. 

There will eventually be more on this list, but as this is what I'm aiming for to begin with, I think I'll leave it at this. 

I'll be putting up images when I've got them!  

Weigh in and freebie hunt!

First weigh in today, I was working last week, and...

I've lost 4lbs!

I am thrilled, and with my holiday coming up, this is great for my goal. At the pace I'm going, I'll have easily lost a stone by the time I go to Greece! I cannot wait!

Anyway, onto the freebie hunt!

If you collect magazines, let me just give you a hint. Elle currently has a £1 voucher of Cosmo! For me, that's fantastic, I am collecting magazines for my dissertation, so any money off is fantastic!

So yeah, on page 373 of the September issue of Elle, you can recieve £1 of Cosmopolitan.

Short one today, but hey, I'm tired xD

Byes ~

Hiatus Over

Well, that was unexpected xD I didn't mean to vanish, this blog was actually my attempt to make myself have some consistency with my changing shifts and everything else going on, so I'm back again!

I'm on the hunt for freebies today. With my dissertation following magazines, I get a few from magazines, and I've decided I'm going to start putting on here so others can see it too.

This is just an update, so it'll start tomorrow or onwards.
Something like that xD

Subway Syns

Work tonight, and whoohoo, I get free food today! Breaktime and a meal is sometimes the best part of the job. But when you're on slimmingworld? It can be a little dreaded.

The breads are terrible for you. Terrible, but you can just fill up with all the salads! We even do salad bowls, with turkey and ham, or beef, or chicken, it's lovely! So many free options, so the bread can be a nice treat.

For 6 inch, the breads are as follows:
Italian - 9
Hearty Italian - 9
Cheese and herb - 11
Honey oat - 10
Wheat - 10
Flatbread - 10

Just make sure you find a free filling and some lovely salad. Careful with the olives, and the sauces. The sauces are likely to be terrible.

So if you're going to subway, make sure you're careful about it!

2 Broke girls

My. Favourite. Programme.

I've just finished the new season, and I love everything about this programme. From the bitchy girly relationship between the two main characters, Max and Caroline, to all of the supporting characters making the story interesting.

For those of you who haven't seen it, it's about two broke girls (obviously) who are trying to set up a cupcake business in order to make the most of hard times. It follows the relationship between the two girls, and their relationships and adventures. From sneaking into a movie after a robbery to stalking Martha Stewart at a fancy gala, there is always something to keep anyone interested.

The only downside I have for the programme is watching it with my father, there are episodes that can be a little cringeworthy with your father around (such as the episode revolving around tampons). But other than that, I'll watch it all the time.

Since finishing the newest season, I'm going to rewatch each and every episode and enjoy every second of it!

If you haven't seen it, you really should check it out!

Holiday planning!

So I'm hoping to go on holiday in September, with one of the best friends I've ever made! We met two years ago in first year of Uni, and she fast became my Uni daughter, and although she wasn't at uni this year we're as close as ever. And so, with both of us missing each other like crazy and really wanting to go on holiday, we decided to go together! 

We're going to Zante! At least, thats the hope anyway. We definitely want to go to Greece, and if we can go to Zante then we'll be pleased as punch! We've got to look more into it, but at the moment, thats definitely the plan! 

Saving so far... Around £50 xD That's not a lot, but at the moment, that's all I've got. With my fortnightly pay checks I should be able to save, so that'll be fantastic. I'll get there! 

More information will be up at somepoint, just wanted to put something up there. 

I can't wait to go!

InstaGC

First off: I have pageviews?! Really? I didn't think anyone would look at this xD If you do read this, please leave me a comment, I'm generally curious about it xD

Anyway! Today, I'm writing about InstaGC. It's a site where you watch videos, do surveys and complete tasks to earn money. It's a fantastic site for me, you can cash out in vouchers, such as Amazon, for as low as £1, and I love it all. This is how I pay for birthday gifts and stocking up on Vanilla Coke Zero (I can't find it anywhere except on Amazon!)

InstaGC link! 

So far I've earned £102 on here, and that's by going on only every now and again since last October, and I've spoken to people who earn enough to support themselves from here. It's certainly worth a look if you have time to spare and want a little extra earning on the side. It's been fantastic for me, and it's meant that I can buy myself some extra treats without having to break the bank. 

If you're interested, take a look!

Discovery Club 7 review

My Fragrance shop Discovery club box arrived a couple of days ago, and I am ecstatic about this box. This quarter there are 7 fragrances, 5 for women and 2 for men.

The boxes are a subscription service, one that you can cancel any time, and costs only a fiver. There is always at least 5 fragrances, and I have loved the 3 boxes I received so far. Anyway, onto box 7!

The fragrances:

Female:
Prada Candy Florale - 1.5ml, £2.13 (based on 30ml bottle at the fragrance shop)
Agent Provocateur Fatale - 2ml, £2.33 (based on 30ml bottle at the fragrance shop)
Givenchy Dahlia Divin - 1ml, £1.48 (based on 30ml bottle at the fragrance shop)
Paco Rabanne Lady Million Eau My Gold - 1.5ml, £1.33 (based on 50ml bottle at the fragrance shop)
Ghost Eclipse - 2ml, £1.63 (based on 30ml bottle at the fragrance shop)

Male:
Lacoste Live - 2ml, £1.42 (based on 40ml bottle at the fragrance shop)
Givenchy Gentlemen Only Intense - 1ml, £0.94 (based on 50ml bottle at the fragrance shop)

That's £11.26 of perfume for the £5 subscription price, so I'm certainly happy, and some of my favourite perfumes were included. Alongside that, as always, they have included a £5 off voucher for each of the perfumes except for the Gentlemen Only Intense, which has a £10 voucher.

I'm a lover of Ghost, their enchanted bloom perfume is my current everyday scent, and so a chance to not only have a sample of Eclipse, but a fairly large one, is fantastic. It's a delicious scent and one I was already thinking about purchasing.
All of the other samples are interesting, Eau My Gold is a new favourite and the Fatale looks like it's going to be a fantastic one.

As for the male samples, they've been thrown into my gift/boyfriend box. I'm using these samples, specifically the ones I don't like, as add on gifts to birthday presents and such if they seem like ones my friends like. It's become a little calling card for my gifts, and everything I give now smells fantastic.

I am going to be documenting all of my perfume samples, and will possibly be reviewing each of these in the future, on another page. I have a large selection of perfume samples, from the one-use samples you find in magazines to the 1-2ml samples from this service and others.

Week 1!

Week 1; 22nd July

Well, I guess I've started my journey. I've finally returned to slimming world with a new goal! Since coming to uni, like a lot of students, I have gained weight. At the end of my 2nd year, I am now 5 stone above my target having put on at least 3.5 stone in the two years. So now it's time to make a change

So I thought I'd start documenting my progress! And here we go!

I'm hoping to lose a stone and a half by september for my holiday, and then I'll tackle the rest after that. 

Wish me luck!!