Polka dots & stripes

 
outfit 1 - skirt: pop boutique, jumper: h by henry holland at debenhams (currently half price in the sale, snap it up now!)
outfit 2 - dress: h&m, cardigan: m&s

Just two recent outfits - how complimentary to each other are they though? My wardrobe is like a capsule wardrobe really, everything can mix and match because I like to choose patterns and colours that go together. Some might say this is 'boring', but I know what I like and buying things that go together makes more sense money-wise! I used to impulse buy things that I could only wear with one other thing and then not have a clue what else to wear it with. Now I am much more sensible with what I buy. Plus I think it's nice to have a signature style. 

Less than a week to go until my 10K race...I meant to get out for a run yesterday but I came down with a really bad sore throat and aches all over and literally could not move from the settee. I ended up watching Frasier, Sunday brunch and 3 episodes of the Big bang theory because I could NOT move to even change the channel. Luckily it wasn't such a bad channel to be stuck on! Anyway, having a rest day was a good idea and I took today easy in work as tomorrow I am going to London for a CILIP branch & group forum meeting, exciting! I felt so grown up when booking my train tickets and selecting 'business' as my reason for travel. I swear I am still a 17 year old inside but don't tell anyone, sssh! 

Also: how the hell is it May tomorrow?!

Running up that hill

Well, I did manage to keep one resolution for the month which was go running often throughout April. I didn't however keep up with the blogging, running kind of took priority over it. My love for running has been reignited though and I've decided to enter a 10k run in Sefton Park which is in just under 2 weeks. I am half scared and half excited. I know that I won't beat my time for the Manchester 10k last year, which came in as literally just under an hour, but my aim is simply to finish it. Then, I am going to enter the Mersey Tunnel 10k with my friend Emma. That is in June so I am hoping I can train enough to get a PB for that, although it is apparently quite a hard run through the tunnel as it can get quite warm and stuffy down there.

I've been tracking my runs using Fetch Everyone and my Garmin, it is so useful as you can see your average pace for each run and you can see how from the beginning of the month I have sped up from 6.36/km to 6.01/km. It also predicts what time you would run different distances in based on your pace, which is what makes me think I am not fast enough to go sub 1 hour yet. You can get a bit tied up looking at too many stats and things so for this race I am just aiming to finish! 

I have also decided that before I am 30 (so, just over 6 years) I want to run a marathon. Obviously I will try to run a few half-marathons before that. At the moment though, even running 6 miles seems like a huge effort although I can feel myself improving with each run. The human body is really amazing and I know that I *can* do it, it's just whether I can find the motivation and dedication to run 26.2 miles. 

Does anyone else have any races planned for over the next few months? Is anyone else on Fetch Everyone? Add me! 

White rabbits

shoes - clarks

dress - topshop

cardigan - red herring

necklace - hobbs (via Rachel Phipps blog giveaway)

Long time no see! I seem to go through fits and starts with blogging where I can blog every other day for a whole month and then disappear for a whole month. Oops, sorry. March has been pretty busy in work as everyone has been using up their annual leave before the end of the financial year and I have been on a few courses & conferences too. I'm the secretary for the CILIP north-west committee and we held our member's day in March which was really good but kept me very busy. I also had to use up my annual leave myself and we spent some time doing the garden and got a bit carried away with perfecting the garden wall. It looks ace now! Now that the clocks have gone forward too I feel like I have so much more energy and time so it may well be spent blogging. 

I eventually got round to spending my Topshop vouchers on the dress above, of course I am drawn to anything polka dotty. I also received the Hobbs necklace through a blog giveaway by Rachel Phipps. I had been eyeing it up in Hobbs but at £49 it was a bit expensive for costume jewellery for me. So when I saw Rachel giving one away I was so excited! I couldn't believe that I won too. It's a really weighty piece and I love bows on necklaces so it will become a classic in my collection. 

I also finally had my hair cut! I hatehatehate going to the hairdressers and the last time I went was about last May. I had quite a lot off then but it had got into a state. Since moving I've been meaning to find a decent hairdresser in Liverpool and a few friends had recommended the Andrew Collinge Graduates on Bold Street so off I went a few weeks ago and had my hair cut by a lovely chap called Michael. I think part of the reason that I hate going the hairdressers is how awkward I feel amongst the perfectly groomed ladies and I always feel like they are judging me for not wearing fake tan and mascara (which I know is probably silly but still, humour me). However, I was really at ease at Andrew Collinge Graduates so I've booked in for another trim in May! I am trying to keep my hair regularly trimmed to avoid that horrible frizzy haired look when my split ends become untameable. 

My resolutions for spring are to 1) blog more and 2) run more. I went for a run this afternoon and am blogging now so I have already done better than March so far! Does anyone else have any spring resolutions?