A little chat

Hi guys

Things have been a little crazy at Basecamp here lately. I am getting zero time for blogging at all! However, be assured this is very temporary and I am already working on my plans for next year.

Please bear with me as I take a little time off to finish off some major projects going on, spend quality time with loved ones, reflect on this year and return next year.

Love C x

October Favourites 2015

So October is upon us, it has visited, frozen us, scared us, entertained us, thrown us back in time by one hour and departed. Here's all the things I was loving in October:

Primed and ready

Favourite beauty product: 
I recently purchased this primer from Max Factor and I have really been loving it. It gives a really smooth finish to the skin before foundation. I tend to do my makeup on the train on weekday mornings, and this has firmly come as part of my morning routine. I put this on first thing as soon as I get on the train, then take 5 mins to scroll through Instagram and let it all settle in.

Favourite music:
I found a band I could really fall in love with this month. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats released their self-titled album back in August, but it didn't come on my radar til this month. It is phenomenal. Nathaniel (I'm guessing that is the lead singer's name) has an amazing, husky, rusky voice with so much soul. The album is a perfect blend of new and old styles, and has a couple of great, catchy tunes. S.O.B is the first single to be released from the album, while my favourite is the first track I Need Never Get Old.

Favourite TV show:
This month we have been getting back into The Americans, watching the second season. We watched the first season a few months back, and really loved it. It is fast-paced and gripping, and I love me some historical fiction. I would recommend a lot!

Favourite movie:
The Martian, for sure. Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, space. Has it all. See my review posted earlier in the month.

Favourite book:
Shock of the Fall - I enjoyed this unsettling book quite a lot, review to follow - stay tuned.

Favourite article:
I read a great article in National Geographic this month, which talked about the recent discovery of a new species of human ancestor - which has been named Homo naledi. I found it fascinating that the discovery of these bones in South Africa has changed the face of human evolution once again, reminding us how far we have come and how small we are.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/

Favourite new recipe:
The rugby world cup featured heavily in our house this month. Poor Ireland. But during one of their Sunday games, I had family over and made this epic Guinness stew. We won that day. I am not saying we won because I made the stew, but when I didn't make it we lost, so...

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-and-ale-stew/#xmYX5E80dDViFwBV.97

Favourite moment:
Getting unexpected praise for a good job on an article at work. When you work hard and it's noticed, there is no better feeling.

Favourite random thing:
Autumn walks have delivered this month, keeping me and my pup very happy, in nice scenery, wrapped up and dry. Plenty of colourful changes. Love this month.

Learned this month:
Losing your way, giving up on any goal nomatter how small, makes you feel pretty shitty.

Most proud of this month:
The start of the month, I was very very focused on everything.

Looking forward to most next month:
Visiting Oxford and seeing my brother :)

Slimming World weigh in - Week 12

Well hello there, stranger.

No, it's me. Yeah, we used to be friends, SW. Til I cheated on you with every bad food in the world.

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, and really that's an excuse I've been bandying about. I have been awful. I haven't followed the plan, I haven't been exercising, I've been going out. I've not been taking care of myself. Which really isn't cool.

So I fully deserved the 2lbs on that I had last week. Slip ups happen, only this week isn't going too much better. There's a lot of stuff going on as we try to secure a mortgage to build our house at the moment, and I've really let the slightest thing get on top of me. Which is my main issue, and probably why I ended up overweight in the first place. I need some kind of intervention! Send help, and fast.

This week's loss: +2lbs
Total loss in Christmas challenge: -2.5lbs
Aim for next week: STS at this rate!

Recipe post - BBQ pulled pork

Halloween is the epitome of autumn. It's often chilly, dark and there's a magic electricity in the air. Ghosts and ghouls lie around every corner waiting to pounce. So.. don't go out. Stay inside, by a cosy fire, put Strictly on and enjoy this absolute treat of a meal - which isn't too sore on the purse either. This recipe is free on the Extra Easy Slimming World plan, and the wholemeal roll to serve is HEB.

Ingredients:

Sauce doing its thang

• 1.5-2kg pork shoulder, all fat removed
• 5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 500g passata
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp sweetener
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2  In a small bowl, mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Fat removed, waiting for sauce

3. Once ready, pour over pork joined in a deep baking dish, well lined with tin foil. Make sure all of the meat is covered.

4. Cover the entire tray with tin foil, leaving space between the foil and the top of the joint. Slow roast for approximately 3 hours (check packaging for exact cooking time required).

5. Once out of the oven, shred with forks, the meat should come apart quite easily. Stir in among the sauce on the tray. Serve with wholemeal rolls (HEXB) and a crisp spinach salad, seasoned and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

This recipe was originally for a slow cooker from the Slimming World website, however I have adapted it for a shorter cooking time in the oven. I am SO ANNOYED with myself that I forgot to take a picture of the shredding and the finished product. It really looks (and tastes) great. 

Book Review - Nora Webster

Nora Webster by Colm Tobin

Book 2 - Autumn 2015 TBR list

I have only previously read one book by Colm Tobin - Brooklyn - which I loved a lot, and I am really excited to see the film, which stars Saoirse Ronan and comes out this autumn. So I went into Nora Webster with high hopes and a lot of excitement.

Excitement is definitely the wrong emotion with which you should approach this novel, it's definitely a slow burner and much more a character-led novel than a plot-driven one. Which isn't a slight at all, just perhaps not the story I was expecting given Brooklyn. There is something magical about an author that can take you by surprise and not give you exactly what you expect, though.

Nora Webster tells the story of a middle-aged Irish woman, recently widowed and dealing with bringing up four kids in Ireland. The story is set in the 60s or 70s - the timing is never fully disclosed, and the reader picks up from the events that are unfolding in Northern Ireland on the characters' TV screens. We meet Nora as she has just been bereaved, and the best way I can think to describe her character is like when a bomb goes off in a movie and everyone's ears are ringing. Nothing gets in and nothing gets out. She's numb and doesn't know her place. The reader goes with Nora  on her journey of discovery.

Tobin's writing never disappoints me. His descriptions of small town Irish life are vivid, colourful and engaging. "She had known her all her life, like so many in the town, to greet and exchange pleasantries with, or to stop and talk to if there was news. She knew the story of her life down to her maiden name and the plot in the graveyard where she would be buried." Everything about this sentence screams rural Ireland. Everyone knows everyone else, and knows where they are headed - on a daily basis and in the grander scheme of things! I thought it was typical of Tobin's excellent ability to say an awful lot, while not saying very much at all.

The slow pace of the novel ties the reader in with the pace of Nora's development. Nora breaks from the claustrophobic network of people she has - including her husband's brother Jim - and joins a gramophone society, as well as a trade union. She starts to develop a taste for music, and starts to learn more about the music and about herself as a woman - her likes, dislikes, and her own opinions. I enjoyed the scene where Nora is talking with Jim and Maureen about Charles Haughey and Irish politics, something Maurice (Nora's late husband) would have discussed with him, while Nora busied herself making tea and doing what good wives do. Jim has to learn to cope with a woman having an opinion, probably for the first time in his life.

Overall, the writing was great - Tobin doesn't seem to get it wrong. I watched him do a reading of the book on Youtube, and it's worth looking at if you are interested, he talks about how Nora's character was based loosely on his own mother, and how some characters were lifted straight out of his past. He's a brilliant author and I really look forward to discovering more of his work. I wasn't as fond of the characters in this book, and as they are the main feature, I wasn't racing to pick it up each time I did. I think I liked it more in retrospect than at the time.

Overall score - 3.5/5

Work-life balance

Sometimes, it's unavoidable. You have that looming project deadline, when your colleague needs your help with something, at the same time you get an email asking for something urgently, but you get distracted by your phone blowing up and your husband is wondering why you aren't on your way home yet, because you had plans tonight. You feel like you're getting pulled in ten different directions, and in all reality not one of those things is getting the full attention it deserves. So how do you go about making sure all these things get done, everyone is happy and you keep your sanity? I am certainly no expert, and oftentimes I fail miserably. But here are my top five tips for trying to get the best work-life balance you possibly can.

1. Breathe and plan.
I am a big believer in planning, and plan a significant portion of my life! When you have a thousand requests and tasks in front of you, it can be overwhelming. The first 30 minutes of every work day are spent reviewing the daily tasks in my diary, adding anything that was leftover from the day before that I didn't get finished, and prioritising. Whatever is most urgent gets done first, and the rest follows. Be realistic with colleagues as early as possible, letting them know when you will be able to deliver something. Under-promise and over-deliver. Better to say you won't get it done before Friday, and find yourself able to deliver Wednesday morning, than vice-versa. If the day starts to look pretty heavy, review every task and move anything you can to another day. Nothing feels more overwhelming than 25 tasks on your list and no plan.

2. Do and break.
When I start each task, I set my phone timer for 25 minutes. In this time, I don't let myself get distracted by emails or phone messages. The next 25 minutes are for the job at hand, and it is surprising how much can get done in those 25 minutes when you are strictly focused. When the 25 minutes are up, I allow myself five minutes to check emails, add those syns to my online Slimming World diary, nip to the loo, make a coffee - those five minutes are to get odd things done so I can start the next 25 minutes fully refreshed and ready to focus on the next part.

3. Buffer zone
In the main, this is possible for me. I understand that sometimes, other employers expect a 24-hr on call employee. But the reality is that you are not contracted for that. Your client can wait, and the world will continue to turn. Your health, sanity and family are more important than living to work, and making your bosses' wallets fatter, with no benefit to you and at the expense of time with your loved ones that you cannot get back. Admittedly, I have a long commute, which is a perfect buffer zone, but everyone has some kind of commute from leaving work to closing the door behind them as they get home. Be that two hours or ten minutes, use that time to really distance yourself from the day. Listing all your tasks in a diary or planner helps, as everything is written down and not having to be kept in your head. Read a book, a blog, listen to an audiobook, a podcast, a guided meditation, do breathing exercises, listen to your favourite album, watch an episode of something hilarious on Netflix, waste away some time on Youtube... unless you are driving, then please look at the road. But you can do the listening ones. The point is to escape. Changing the scenery in your mind can work wonders as a distraction, leaving you ready to greet your loved ones when you come home with your full attention.

4. Date night
Not exclusively for your other halves, scheduling 'date nights' with girlfriends, cousins, aunts, whoever it may be, is important. If you have a work meeting in your diary, you wouldn't not show up, and these meetings should be treated with the same reverence and respect. Scheduling this time in advance, like you would a meeting, means you are less likely to break it, or bump it off for a report that you've been working on. Planning something doesn't have to be expensive - a simple walk in the park or a coffee in the evening can take just an hour from your day, but it keeps you in touch with the people that matter and with what's going on in their lives. Not only will that be great for them, it will work wonders for your own mood and mental stress. Sharing is caring, people. And when it comes to making time for your special someone, this is a no-brainer. You've chosen to spend your life (or at least the current portion of your life) with this person, and that relationship needs attention, love and care.

5. Look after number one
You are no use to anyone if you are burned out and paying half attention to your relationship, your pet or your work. Creating a buffer zone between your day and your night is a great way of giving your brain the rest it needs. Then, when you get home, make a lovely meal, listen to some music, run a bath and light some candles, have a glass of wine, get lost in a boxset or a book, meet your friend for coffee, call someone you haven't spoken to in a while. Do what you love in this time. It will leave your head and heart ready for a great night's sleep. Get your eight hours, or as close as you can - I aim for at least four days of full eight hours sleep in the week. Eat right, move when you can, and enjoy catching ZZZs. They will mean you are ready to go to work the next day refreshed, fulfilled and happier, which will shine through your work and make you calmer, and more able to face the day ahead.

Movie review - The Walk (2015)

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Worst blogger ever.

I have been AWOL for about a week and a half now - work has been insanely busy and we have had some social commitments that have left me a little... fragile, let's leave it at that.

But we also managed to fit in a couple of cinema trips - and the first review I have is for The Walk, which we went to see in 3D a week or so ago. I am so glad we made the trip to a different cinema than our normal one to catch this in 3D... what a spectacle! The film tells the true story of Phillipe Petit's high-wire stunt between the twin towers in the 1970s. As someone who is scared of heights, I was grateful to watch this from the comfort of a cinema chair! The film is really broken into two parts - the first part dealing with all the preparations involved in 'Le Coup' (as it was called), and the second dealing with the actual event.

The movie does an excellent job of giving the audience all the sensations of height, peril and drama that you would expect at the top of the twin towers, with no safety net. It told the story very closely, and if you saw the documentary Man on Wire, you will see it all played out in the film. However, the film doesn't really give a rounded picture of Petit's character, which watching the documentary does. A very egotistical man, who is portrayed as a big dreamer and a bit of a hero. That being said, it wasn't something that bothered me, in particular - despite all (no spoilers here!) you see of Petit in the documentary, you're kind of on his side - just an observation.

I was wondering how the film would deal with the twin towers legacy. The towers were the iconic backdrop of NYC for so long, and were the making of so many stories, such as this. In a post-9/11 era, it's very hard to make a film where they have such a central role. The audience watches, listening to and watching how integral the towers were in so many lives, privy to a knowledge the characters do not have. It is dealt with subtly and in the most beautiful way.

The real star of this show was the movie-worthy-story and the jaw-dropping views. Go and see it, and see it on the biggest 3D screen you can find.

The Walk - 7/10

Readly app

So as you are now aware I have a long commute and I love a good read. Marriage made in heaven! Lots of time to indulge my passion. About a year ago now (maybe a little less) I discovered a magazine subscription app called Readly. A Swedish company, they offer a range of magazines (000s in fact!) for a fee of £9.99 per month. The great thing about this app is that you can have four accounts over five devices, meaning that other people in your family can also enjoy. We share our app with my brother and his fiancée, and in turn we have their Netflix login. So it's a happy arrangement! :)

Each person has a separate account, with their favourite subscriptions saved. So when you logon, just choose your own account and you are right into your subscriptions. You can sort these by 'recently released' - giving you the newest editions first - or by 'recently read' - so you can keep track of what you have read and what you still have to read that month. The great thing about this app is that you can download the magazine to your device, so you can read offline and just remove the downloaded content when you have finished, meaning you don't have lots of space used on your device unnecessarily.

My Magazines

Monthly subscriptions

 

Bi-weekly



Weekly



I love the speed, ease and portability of this service. And I don't have a tonne of old backissues lying around my house, but one tap and I can read all the back issues I like as well. What are your favourite reads? Have you ever had a magazine subscription?