It goes without saying, if a cocktail is easy to make and in my hand quicker than I can say Mr Freeze, I’m drinking it!
This Panacea cocktail is just that. Continue Reading…
I played hockey (briefly) in School with Mike’s sister Kerry but I had never met Mike until his wife Rebecca and I got chatting at the School gates and over on Instagram.
Many of you will recognise him from his days as a professional rugby player. He has a wealth of knowledge because of his background in fitness and I trust him when he gives advice on nutrition and workouts.
As I say so much on the blog, I enjoy meeting professionals in the field of sport and wellbeing because they have an insight into a world I only know a glimpse of. I love to learn and you can learn a great deal about moving forward in your own fitness journey after reading what Mike has to say. Continue Reading…
If you spend more than five minutes on my blog you will know that travel is a huge part of what makes me tick, that along with my family life, prosecco, coffee, fake tan and box sets.
When you break down my happy places into little parts they will, when put back together, resemble a puzzle packed with stories about experiences which have shaped my life and my career.
So, when the chance to add to my travelling experiences came along I was delighted to be spending some time in Alicante Spain. Continue Reading…
Stephanie and I have memberships at David Lloyd and we love to train together.
I think it stems from a similar interest in workouts that are based on fun and often high intensity. See more on my instagram.
We are both in a postpartum frame of mind so gaining a positive attitude towards our bodies is at the centre of our training.
This is good when we workout together for encouragement and accountability.
Over the course of the past few months we have pushed and challenged each other in sharing our circuits with one another (as well as sharing our soundtracks!) Such a fun friend to have!
Stephanie makes us gym girls her protein banana bread and post workout bites from time to time which is so generous and just delightful to have with coffee, especially for me, when I finish my work upstairs in the cafe at David lloyd. Continue Reading…
I often get asked “Ah, so you blog about art?” which I know would make most sense, I am an artist after all. However it didn’t come naturally for me to blog about other people’s art or art theories two years ago.
What came naturally and still does feel right in this space is leading you into my own day to day life which inevitably fits with my theme of “placing importance on the everyday”. Fitness , food, family, wellbeing and life stories are the main leads in my daily life.
Last night I had the absolute joy of attending Belfast late night art. Have you visited art in Belfast recently? I mean , more than just the Ulster museum. Saying that I adored the exhibit which showed my MFA tutor Willie Doherty’s film included in The new past exhibition.
The first Thursday in every month the art galleries in Belfast open their doors for anyone to visit and see the latest exhibits.
Can I take a second to tell you that I have had three babies, two house moves and a whole lot of breast milk on my tops over the past eight years. For me, to be able to actively leave my house with the intention of going to an art event, UNACCOMPANIED , is a really big deal. Continue Reading…
I have been hunting Ian and his expertise down since the blog started over two years ago!
Ian and I played hockey for the same University and when I met my husband a few years after Uni it turned out he also knew Ian from playing Ulster U21 hockey together. Continue Reading…
Photographs by Jayne Lindsay photography at Pineapple studios Belfast
This detox was set as a challenge (my husband’s idea, not mine) for personal reasons not related to weight or to body image.
If you want to see before and after shots of me then see my postpartum posts here and here.
Basically I wanted to feel better and to give my body a chance to cleanse after what feels like a year of drinking wine whenever I want, consuming a bag of fruit gums or sports mixture every other day. Or at least that’s what it felt like.
I just wanted a change and with most things in my life, I tend to go all in or not at all.
I wanted discipline and I wanted to see how it felt waking up on a Monday morning not having had even one glass of red wine the night before while watching Luther .
Side note – have you watched Luther? It is the scariest darkest programme I have possibly ever watched. The main character is played by Idris Elba who is just gorgeous. Perhaps that is what keeps me watching rather than the intense storyline that I tell my husband keeps me addicted!?! (I have a boxset blogpost here if you are like us and watch them from start to finish then have NOTHING left to give but a gapping black hole where your box set once lay). Continue Reading…
Welcome to the “Five minutes with…” feature on my blog. A showcase for raw talented folks in the fitness and wellness industry.
Claire started out as a follower of my wellbeing instagram account which I later merged into my business one to keep everything a bit more streamline. Her ability to run marathons fascinated and impressed me!
Furthermore, like me, Claire has three young boys so we instantly bonded and haven’t looked back!
Claire lives in Scotland but the beautiful world of social media keeps us in touch regularly, if even just to send each other pictures of our Friday night wine and box set in front of the tele, or, to cheer each other in our fitness journeys.
Enjoy the inspiration and fun Claire oozes with her practical and honest approach to life. Continue Reading…
Running my own business was never at the forefront of my life’s ambition. It really wasn’t. Art College was a great fit and teaching seemed like a fun occupation so I sort of ran with all of it.
Until teaching was no longer a passion or indeed an option. Then I had to get creative and start to open my eyes to what on earth I would do after I finished my Masters in Fine art.
I want to say my business has been running for eight years but really I shuffled along paying more for childcare than I was earning at the start of this venture. So it is only in the past three years (possibly since launching my first website) that the ball has rolled more than it has had to be pushed.
I grew so much in the early days- I talk about them here, and continue to grow with every podcast I listen to, painting I under price and fellow business mentor I meet.
My love for sharing information and encouraging other people has been in my bones and I love that my business, and in particular this blog, allows me to extend from my art in your homes to helping you ( albeit on a minor scale) with all things wellbeing and business.
My postpartum body is a topic I didn’t think would become such a part of my blog but the lovely thing about this space is that I don’t have to adhere to sponsorship deals in order to get the “right content” or to say a certain brand a million times over.
I can follow my audience and showcase my own journey so you in turn get to know me, a little bit about my family and my business. Continue Reading…