32 by 32: Marriage

I started thinking about approaching 30 and I started reflecting on my life, where it was going, what had happened so far and how did I see the next ten years panning out? I started thinking about this probably much too close to actually turning 30.

A couple of my friends and I were having a chat about all of this, and chatting about our thoughts on turning 30 - what it meant to us, how we felt and how achieved we were for this time in our lives. A couple of us decided to do a 30 things we wanted to do before 30 list. I wanted to extend mine out to 32, and do 32 things before I turn 32. Two reasons, the first being things I wanted to do I wasn't ever going to be able to do before 30 with having a wedding in the middle to pay for. And second, 32 has always been the age I thought of as the scary grown-up age.



One of the things that was on my list was to get married. As readers of this blog will know I have been very happily married coming up to two years now. D and I met each other as high school students and started dating when we were only 17 and 18. We got engaged at 26 and married at 28, and it is without a doubt one of the best things I have ever done with my life.

D and I have put a lot into our relationship, spending four years of it living in separate countries. As so many relationships facing long distance difficulties can do, we didn't grow apart but instead grew even closer together. We made a point of ensuring we were in touch and spending time together where we could. This laid the most solid ground for a wonderful marriage, which we have been lucky enough to enjoy now for two years nearly.

Marriage has always been an important step I wanted to take in my life, and I knew that when I married I wanted it to be a partnership, a friendship and the most valuable thing in my life, which it has become. I wanted a partner in all parts of my life, someone who really understood and accepted me for exactly who I am. Someone I could travel with, see the world with. Someone I can laugh with and joke with, and cry with, someone I can grow with. Someone to share my passions, and someone to hold my hand through everything. I found that, and so much more, in my husband. I am biased, but I'm also pretty sure he's the best man that has ever walked on this earth. AND.... he's pretty hot. Marriage means partnership, acceptance, fun, pure love, support, warmth, growth and happiness.

The first thing on my list was a success.

1. To get married.

Awards season 2016 - Favourite Looks

Golden Globes

Eva Longoria, Alicia Vikander and Jenna Dewan-Tatum

Oscars

Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan and Alicia Vikander

BAFTAs

Julianne Moore, Saoirse Ronan and Annabelle Wallis

Grammys

Kacey Musgraves... and not a lot else!

I think Ailicia Vikander's Louis Vuitton dress for the Oscars was my favourite award season look overall. I loved how different and bright it was, though I am a little biased as my bridesmaids wore this colour on my wedding day! She got a lot of flak for the shape of the bottom of this dress, and to be honest I think I would have also preferred had it just run down smoothly to the bottom, though I still think with this pillowy, billowy effect she still blew everyone else out of the water. With Saoirse Ronan's emerald sparkles coming in a close second. 

Book Review: The Girl on the Train

I picked up this book on a recent work trip to France - I thought it was a great opportunity to really dedicate some time to it, with some flights and some layover time to really keep a fast pace with this much-hyped thriller. Another push to get it read as part of my Spring reading list was that the film is due to come out in October, and stars Queen Emily Blunt, ruler of all mankind. 

This book tells the story of Rachel, a depressed alcoholic whose life is in tatters. She takes the train to work everyday, and in the process of so doing, manages to weave her way in to the lives of a streetful of neighbours. Dark things ensue. (Trying not to give spoilers!) This book was doing the rounds of Booktube and Goodreads and newsletters and there was a lot of buzz surrounding it. It was comparable, in my mind, to Gone Girl, which I had loved, so I was really looking forward to reading it. 

I thought the plot of the novel was well paced, and that the story had enough information, and enough gaps and holes, that it kept the reader engaged and interested. However, as we started to approach the end, it became somewhat predictable. I worried that I had missed something everyone else hadn't, as I certainly didn't think it was as mind-blowing or as unexpected as everyone raved it was. The main characters of the novel were a bit of a bugbear for me, I thought they were all horrid. As lost and as much of a mess as Rachel was, I just found her so irritating that I didn't sympathise with her in any way. Unfortunately, character development wasn't a highlight of this novel at all, I didn't feel like Rachel's character really moved on, even after the twists and revelations came out. 

I enjoyed the writing of this book, and I thought the author did a good job of transporting the reader to this quite dank, dark, miserable everyday English life. The novel felt grey and rainy, and as dark and depressing as it was meant to be. I would recommend this book, I think, but probably after some other books (definitely read Gone Girl which does a hell of a better job of this genre). I hold out more hope for the film!

Overall rating - 2.9/5

Dream Destination: Food tour of India

India is one of those places that I imagine you can drink in the colours, smells, flavours, spices and sounds and get drunk on it all. It's a place that I have a very romantic image of in my head, and a place I would really, really like to visit.

However, there are a lot of reservations in visiting India. D is not very keen on visiting somewhere with such a bad track record on women's rights and with such social injustice and poverty. And I completely see his points. I have heard from people who have visited India that it is actually quite an upsetting place to visit, with lots of problems with begging and generally western tourists being a little ripped off by locals. And then there is Dehli belly....

However, with all that being said, I saw this trip on the Intrepid Travel website, which I thought looked really fun. I think if we did decide to visit India, it would be a trip like this we would take.

From Intrepid Travel

Why India?
In the same vein as Japan, as as China before that, India is appealing to me as it's somewhere so foreign - the like of which I have never visited in my life. Asia is vast and different, and this is just another face of Asia I would like to get to know.

Major cities/attractions:

• Delhi: This tour takes in Delhi, India's capital city. This trip affords visitors trips to the bustling Delhi markets, and visits to ancient mosques. 
• Taj Mahal: This white marble monument is high on my India list, adn this tour takes you there and affords you time to explore the English gardens.
• Goa: Time to visit the exotic beaches and gorgeous seafood restaurants.
• Mumbai: The crown in India's business crown, Mumbai is one of the bustling must-sees of this country.

Taj Mahal

Getting there?

Travelling in October from Dublin-Delhi, then from Goa back to Dublin will set you back about £500 per person.

Getting around?

This tour takes care of all the travel and getting from place to place, and covers internal flights, metro passes, private shuttles, taxi and train.

How long do you need?

This tour lasts 15 days, and has stops in eight locations, which is a busy trip but long enough to get to see all these places. 

When to visit?

Between October and March seems to be the best time to visit this country, though it is so vast that weather systems can be very different in different cities and at different times of the year. 

Non-negotiables?

Goa

Goa and Taj Mahal.

Reading Routine 2016

I spend a great portion of my spare time reading, it is definitely my number one hobby - as you can probably tell if you read this blog with any regularity! I love reading books of all kinds: fiction, non-fiction, history, biographies, all sorts. I also love reading magazines and have spoken previously about Readly - the Netflix of magazines! So fitting in all I want to read on a weekly basis can be a challenge. I will separate this out into books and magazines, to give you an idea of how I try to make sure I make enough time to read everything I want to.

Books
I have spoken about my approach to selecting titles before on this blog - I set a seasonal reading list well in advance. This means that I can take a look at the genres and lengths and fit them into a typical 13 week season. I like to make sure that I have a good range of genres and book types and lengths, this allows me to follow a heavy history book with some light chick lit, for example. So once I set my seasonal list, I put dates beside these based on how long I think it would take me to get through. These dates are then put into my planner and I aim to work with those dates to get through all the books I need, giving more time to heavier books, longer books or classics, and less time to more frivolous and shorter works.

I curl up at the weekend, Saturday afternoons usually on the sofa with a coffee and a blanket, and that's my favourite reading time. In comfy clothes in my own house. During the week, I get about 45 minutes - 1 hour of solid reading done each morning on the train. I always read my book on my morning commute with my coffee, I feel most energised and really enjoy the journey to work.

Magazines
This is a little more complex. This is where my inner planning nerd and my book worm personality meet and they have a huge geeky party, and nobody else is invited because nobody else wants to bloody go.

I have a good few magazines - both monthly subscriptions and weekly - that I have on my Readly app, as well as additional subscriptions the the weekly Economist magazine, its bi-monthly sister publication 1843 (previously Intelligent Life, but recently rebranded) and the monthly National Geographic magazine. I have a set list of magazines for each week, that usually looks something like this (I counted five weeks in my April planner, but this would be over four weeks in months with four, for example):

Week 1:
Weight Watchers magazine
Delicious magazine
Good Housekeeping
Paris Match
Hollywood Reporter
Economist

Week 2:
Olive magazine
National Geographic
Women's Health (UK)
Rolling Stone
Paris Match
Hollywood Reporter
Economist

Week 3:
1843 (half, as this is bi-monthly)
Lonely Planet magazine
BBC Good Food
Paris Match
Hollywood Reporter
Economist

Week 4: 
Total Film
BBC History
Ideal Home
Rolling Stone
Paris Match
Hollywood Reporter
Economist

Week 5:

Fast Company

Cosmo Deutsch

Wanderlust

Women's Running

Paris Match
Hollywood Reporter
Economist

I tend to read these with a flask of coffee on my commute home, and for an hour or two in the evenings during the week. It's the perfect time to read magazines, as you jump from article to article and it is great for the end of a long work day when your brain is a little frazzled. I also read magazines when I first get into bed, which is one of my favourite times of the day - when D and I cuddle together for 25 minutes and spend time winding down reading our own little things. It is the most relaxing time of the day, for sure. I sit at the start of the week and I will schedule when I will read each magazine in the week, to make sure I can fit them all in.

So there you go, that's my reading routine and how I try to make sure I fit it all in. How do you approach your reading lists? I would love to hear from you :)

Book Review: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

As part of my 32 goals that I have set myself to achieve before I turn 33, I have pledged to read ten classic books. I have a series of goals to reach and a good few of them have a lot to do with reading! Quelle surprise. My track record of classic fiction prior to undertaking this challenge was woeful. I never had spent much time reading classic literature, presuming them above my station, too challenging, and a little bit daunting.

I couldn't have been more wrong. This is the first classic I have read since I started this blog, but it's the second Charles Dickens novel I have read as part of the challenge having read Great Expectations in 2014, and I read A Christmas Carol prior to this challenge.

I was, of course, familiar with the storyline of Oliver Twist prior to picking it up as it is one of those stories that just seems to seep into our collective conscious! I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this book, though, even though I had expected to enjoy it, I really, really loved it. Charles Dickens's writing is among the best I certainly have ever seen, and among the best this world has ever seen I would guess.

His characters are so well rounded, complex and interesting. I particularly love the way Dickens writes about Victorian London, in a way I have never read before and the way he transports you there works so beautifully and translates so well to screen.

His portrayal of women at this time was incredibly interesting, giving the reader a feel for how women fit into the society of the time, the irony being Nancy turns out to be the heroine of the piece. He jolts the reader back to reality when Nancy's fate is decided for her. Women take a back seat in Victorian England, whether you have something worthwhile to contribute or not.

I will defintiely be picking up more of Dickens work in the future, Oliver Twist was the fifth of my classics challenge, so I am half way there. I watched Oliver! following reading this book, and I am definitely interested in the BBC series which I can rent or buy to stream on Amazon, I believe.

Overall score - 5/5

WW - Week 1

The first week of my new Weight Watchers plan is complete, and it is safe to say I am still getting to grips with it all. I really am enjoying it so far, and was delighted when I stepped on the scales to a 2.5lb weight loss! Especially as this spanned Easter, and while I gave the majority of my eggs to D, I did indulge a little... tis the season!

Meals this week included some salads, of both the fruit and vegetable variety, and my favourite dinner this week was probably the sesame turkey meatballs in chilli noodle broth, which I have featured on the blog before. For those of you following the Weight Watchers plan, this meal has 14 SmartPoints.

This incoming week, I have some busy weekend plans and a pretty straightforward week following that, so I will continue to get to grips with everything and learn the ropes. The main differences I find in this and Slimming World is that bread is a lot kinder on Weight Watchers than on SW! As is wine, which is welcome :) However, things that had been free before like pasta and rice are definitely more heavily 'penalised' on WW, so that is taking a bit of getting used to.

Week's loss: -2.5lbs
Total loss so far: -2.5lbs
Goal for this week: 1lb

Movies of March 2016

March has been a pretty hectic month, so we were glad to get a couple of cinema trips in to get a couple of new releases, plus a couple of older films that we watched for the first time, and a golden favourite that isn't a first time watch, and certainly won't be a last.

London has Fallen 

This should have been a CGI-fest comaprable with that of San Andreas, which I loved. It. was. not. It was a pretty shameful display of under-par graphics, storytelling and script writing. London is a grey old place, too. 

4/10 

Oliver! 

Having recently read Oliver Twist I am keen to catch all the TV and film adaptations that I can for this book. This was my first port of call. I love old Hollywood a lot, and this quaint little musical is a lovely example of it. Some catchy tunes involved and the old Hollywood feel. Didn't like the deviation from the book though, and I'm really sorry, but the little kid playing Oliver annoyed me a bit. 

6/10 

Inside Out 

Not my first time and not my last time watching this. This is my third time watching this film now, and in my book it gets better with age. It's stunningly clever, heart-warming, funny, emotional and as a viewer you are completely swept up. And the soundtrack is immense. How this didn't win best picture... I don't know. 

10/10 

10 Cloverfield Lane 

I wasn't the biggest fan of the 'blood-relative' (as opposed to sequel) of Cloverfield, this film's predecessor. However this film was very, very good. It was a brilliant mix of tension, drama and you never quite know which way it will turn next. John Goodman was excellent in this film, and the ending sets it up very well for a sequel. I will take more of this, thanks. 

8/10 

Maleficent 

My first time watching this high fantasy Disney film, giving a warm heart to a previously vicious character. I really, really enjoyed this. I though Angelina Jolie (I'm still firmly #teamjen) played the part magnificently, and the picture was a beautiful spectacle. I have also added the soundtrack to my Apple Music playlist of movie scores, and some of the music appeared in my wedding video.. so a little biased. 

7/10

March Favourites

Favourite music:
March has really seen the Centenary of the Easter Rising in Ireland ramp up a gear. TV, radio and the printed media have been covering the event in depth and with a beautiful and mature reverence. I was introduced to a song called Grace in this time, which is an Irish ballad written about the wife of Joseph Plunkett, one of the rebels, whom she married in Kilmainham Gaol the night before he was executed. This cover in celebration of the centenary was recorded in the jail, and is poignant and touching.

Favourite TV show:
D and I have been watching Orange Is The New Black this month a lot. Always late to the party. We are really enjoying its subtle comedy and the depth of character development, while the storyline is a meandering wander, not a sprint - which we've been used to recently! (Following The Returned and Making a Murderer, I'm enjoying the gentle stroll)

Favourite movie:
10 Cloverfield Lane - reviews to follow...

Favourite book
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. (Again, full review to follow..)

Favourite article:
Elton John: The Bitch at Peace by Stephen Rodrick in Rolling Stone, published February 25, 2016. The singer reflects on his career and his meteoric rise to fame, its effect on his long-suffering partner, David, and the feud with his mother.

Favourite moment:
Going to my first ever Ireland rugby game and watching them beat Scotland!

Most proud of:
Making necessary changes and pulling together to get back on track.

And my promotion at work. :)

Looking forward to in April:
I am looking forward to spending a night with our closest friends, for some laughs, drinks and nice food. A spa weekend with one of said friends, to celebrate her getting married soon!

Shifting plan, focus and a little change in direction

This year got off to a roaring start, and I was full of beans raring to go. This momentum has definitely got lost along the way. When I'm off over Christmas, thinking and evaluating and making plans for the goals I want to set in the new year, I sometimes forget how easy it can be to just let real life get in the way of all my grand plans. Recently, things have been extremely busy with a big project and work, and I was away in France on business. Which sounds more glamorous than it is, I promise.

I had a few days off over the Easter break to take stock and see what was going right and what wasn't. And that's when I had a look again at Slimming World. The plan is fantastic, and as I might have mentioned I lost a substantial amount of weight on it a few years ago. My problem is, that I know it so well and so inside out that I was complacent. I also had little niggles about some aspects of the plan, like how much processed food was enabled and encouraged, and they need to haul their ass into 2016 on the technology front!

And last week, I took a look at the Weight Watchers website. I was really, really impressed with their online package, and the look and feel of their website and their tools was just fresh, new and a little exciting. So I made the switch (and was pleased to discover I had made a £7/month saving in the process).

The plan works on (newly-branded, I believe) SmartPoints. You have a certain number of points per day, depending on your personal variables. After this, you also have a certain number of weekly points available to you, for use on the days when you run over your allotted daily allowance. On top of this, you can also convert FitPoints, which you get for completing exercise, into extra points, should you need those. I find the way exercise is encouraged and incentivised much better than on SW, as with WW you are given a certain number of FitPoints to aim for each week, and broken down to each day. Also,  the app connects to your FitBit device, making tracking effortless and seamless.

Being on a new plan is benefiting me in that it has refocused me. I have to concentrate on what I'm tracking and how the plan works, which is keeping me engaged and on top of it. I love the technology integration, I love a gadget and this works very well. The app is just fantastic - take note SW. The cost saving of going with WW is a bonus too.

In the coming weeks and months, I will learn the plan better myself and I'll be able to share my thoughts and experiences (and losses!) with you all. For now, 2016 may start again. And I will check in next week with my week 1 update.