Life lately - My January highlights

It feels like only yesterday that I was writing up my 2017 highlights and now here we are at the end of another month. Unlike previous years January seems to have been surprisingly busy with birthdays, anniversaries and blogging events as well as a lot of time researching and planning for our honeymoon in Singapore and Thailand:

January de-clutter and shopping

January started with a much needed de-clutter and I've dug out my trusty Marie Kondo book for some inspiration. Her method may be a little extreme but it's certainly very motivating and I'm glad to have cleared out part of my wardrobe. Over the last few years I've gotten into a real style rut so it was good to throw out the old and to make some space for some exciting new purchases. Speaking off which I took advantage of the sales and treated myself to a gorgeous new navy Kate Spade Wallet and sparkly peach H&M jumper.

Treatment and blow dry at Rush hair salon
As a little treat I was booked in for a blow dry at Rush Westborne Grove just after New Year's. A relatively new salon I loved the sleek modern decor and the fact that the salon uses Kerastase products. There's magazines to browse whilst you wait and refreshments are complimentary too, with the Lindor chocolate going down particularly well. We started with a personalised Fusidose treatment which was designed to soften and add shine to my hair. As I was going out later that evening my stylist Jo then used a hair straighter to create a tighter look so that they could drop yet still maintain a curl.

Fitness and personal training
After a month of overindulgence and 2 weeks off at Christmas it wasn't the easiest getting back to the gym but as always having a PT really helped. If nothing else it forces me to go to the gym and once I'm there I'm usually happy to work out. We're continuing to work on my strength with a mixture of cardio and weights although with our honeymoon coming up I'd like to focus more on fat loss this month. I also did a park run in January and managed to achieve my fastest 5-10k speed to date.

Batch cooking with John Lewis

Towards the end of the month I was invited to a batch cooking class in association with John Lewis. Held at the Waitrose Cooking School in King's Cross, we made a simple but tasty tomato sauce, learnt how to use it to make a pizza and Shakshuka before putting our cooking skills to good use by making fresh pasta and Puttanesca sauce. I've never made pasta before but it was surprisingly quick and simple and tasted absolutely delicious too. For more batch cooking tips and all the recipes check out their blog post here.

Visit Madeira and meeting new bloggers
Since returning to blogging last year I've made an effort to share more travel content and last week I attended my first Visit Madeira event. The Barbican Conservatory made for a beautiful backdrop and we got to sample some delicious Portugese food as well as some Poncha cocktails which were strong but very yummy. We also learnt all about Madeira wine and how it was traditionally fortified on long sea journeys when the excessive heat would transform the flavour of the wine. Safe to say it's a new favourite and I've picked up a bottle from the supermarket already! It was lovely to meet some of the other travel bloggers at the event too.

6 months anniversary and honeymoon plans

And finally my favourite highlights this month - celebrating our 6 months anniversary. It's crazy to think that we've been married half a year already. I still remember the stress of planning a wedding and it really doesn't seem like all that long ago! We celebrated with a really lovely meal at London Steakhouse Co. as well as lots of prosecco and truffles at home. On a related note we've also finally decided on some dates for our honeymoon and I can't wait to explore Thailand and Singapore later this year.

For more photos and daily highlights you can also follow me on Instagram here. 
 

Have you ever been to Thailand or Singapore? What have been your highlights this January?

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Looking back on 2017 - my personal highlights and goals for the New Year 
Life lately - six November highlights
We got married - a quick catch up and life update
Life - December and January round up