Explorer of Life

Now, if you know me, you know I love a slow cooked meal. Gosh darn it, it's one of life's joys. Imagine this: you've spent a long, hard day at work and you travel home. You put the key in the lock, turn, and push the door open. Your senses are bombarded with the welcoming smell of slow-cooked food, ready for the taking. Smells glorious, doesn't it? I specialise in two slow-cooked meals: sausage, potatoes and veg, and bolognese, with the latter being a more recent discovery. It never dawned on me to make bolognese in a slow cooker. What a revelation! I'm yet to perfect my recipe, but I wanted to share my discovery because HOT DAMN it's good! WHAT YOU MAY WANT TO USE BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BECAUSE THIS ISN'T AN ACTUAL RECIPE: - Slow cooker - Mince (I opt for 250g of beef) - Veg (Just went for mushrooms because of my tiny cooker) - Passata (I find 500g is enough the amount I cook) - Tomato Puree - 1 vegetable stock cube - Mixed h...

Today is the day of Autumn Equinox. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer, and it's time to get super cosy. I'm currently writing this from the comfort of my bed with what I would describe as a cosy set up.   I have my mega cheap copper wire fairy lights on that I bought from Primark, wrapping around my many miscellaneous possessions.  I also have my £3 Asda- own vanilla candle lit. Now, call me an amateur, call me what you will, but I love a vanilla scent and it makes me feel cosy af. This is my first ever candle so please leave me alone and go away with your Yankee Candles that are probably called "Breath of Autumn" and god knows what. (I have nothing against Yankee Candles.) I'm wearing any old tshirt I could find, but super cosy bottoms by Little Blue House. I bought these when flying back from Canada and can not recommend them enough. They're brushed cotton which, in my correct opinion, is the ultima...

Despite having a jam-packed day of going through everything I own and then for some reason feeling like shit, myself and my friend ventured to the gym to try out our next experimental class: Zumba. But wait, were we sure? Did we read the title properly? No. Of course we fucking didn't. It wasn't just any Zumba, it was Strong by Zumba. Little did we realise what exactly we'd got ourselves in for. The Strong by Zumba website says of itself: " Strong by Zumba combines high intensity interval training with the science of Synced Music Motivation. " It's safe to say that we did not realise this. We died ever so slightly. Considering this, time during the class went pretty quickly- it had been 50 minutes just as we thought it would never end. There's literally no explanation regarding the class that I can give. The website says it all, and it was tough man. But do you know what? We got through it. We fucking got through it. And for the fourth class I...

Today I did my first yoga class. I didn't really know what it entails and I'd never done it before. It was an...interesting experience. I'm totally unsure of how I feel about it.  Let's start with my post-yoga research. Myself and a friend (also a yoga newbie) decided to take a "flow yoga" class. The "flow" meaning that in this practise the movements flow smoothly together. Yoga is meant to help benefit your strength, flexibility and balance. Now, referring back to my very first post (Gym Life Starts Now!), it becomes apparent as to why I'm unsure if I enjoyed it. I want to take part in activities where I feel more active like I've actually done something. Yoga does not suit my aims right now, although it may still be a class that I take part in now and then. My flexibility has always been lacking, and this was definitely proven when taking this class! It would be nice to improve upon this in the future, in which case, I feel yoga will...

I did my first spin class this evening. Fuck man. The following is the result: Now, in my family we don't just gain nice rosy cheeks. Oh, no! We like to take it up to 11. We like to make sure the world knows we're exercising, or blushing, or whatever the hell is making us turn red.  FACT: Charlotte goes red too fucking easily. On to the spin class part: it went pretty well. During the first half I struggled, but once passing the half way mark I settled into it and could cope with my imminent death of cycling. I pushed myself, but didn't go over the top- it was my first gym class and first time using a gym in over 6 years after all. If people were standing up and I couldn't hack it, I'd stay seated, pedalling all the while. I know I am gonna fecking hurt tomorrow and probably not be able to walk on stage for my graduation on Wednesday, but future me will (hopefully) thank me. Overall, I'd recommend a good ole spinaroo. As my spin-experienced a...

EDIT: The awkward moment when the preview of your first post is a picture of your crotch but you don't know how to change it. We're just going to jump straight in here: I'm going to the gym tomorrow. Now, this might be a normal sentence to the average joe, but for me, that is a pretty big thing. Having always wondered why people go to the gym when you can exercise a-plenty in the great outdoors, I'm surprised to find myself excited at the notion of gyming (am I doing this right?). My main reasons for going to the gym is to lose a bit of weight (as some of my favourite clothes have become uncomfortable due to my change in weight/shape), gain a bit of muscle and just get fitter in general. I don't know how much I weigh and don't plan to track this throughout the whole gym thing. I want to rely on my eye. I've always been a lover of my body but recently I've just not been feeling it, so I want to get to the point again where I look in the mirror at al...