A Playlist: Feel Good Friday

Happy Friday all you lovely people!

This week I have for you a very uplifting playlist so you can feel good this whole weekend, or if you're like me, until summer finally hurries up! 

I hope you enjoy, this is defiantly different from my last two playlists, it is jam-packed with some classic oldies that we all love:

You Make My Dreams Come True - Hall & Oates 

(My ultimate guilty pleasure)

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

Hey Ya - OutKast

Friday I'm in Love - The Cure

Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper 

Spring is so almost here and I cannot wait, 

Have a fabulous weekend 

Maddy x

Small Things To Change Your Life: Task #1

Hello all!

Today I'm here to talk to you about the simplest but one of the most important things one can do to make their life shine just a little bit brighter.

BREATHE.

It's as simple as that. Obviously, you already do breathe around 28,800 times a day but I mean really breathe. As someone who struggles with sleep problems and is a huge worrier, concentrating on my breathing as become a big thing in my life. It's subtle and silent. Nobody has to know that you're doing it. That's the beauty of it. It's not attention grabbing or embarrassing. It is simply breathing in and out.

When I'm stressed out or upset I normally clean or tidy up. It's an odd habit but it helps me to calm down so there we go. But obviously, if my room is already tidy or if I'm out in public I don't anything to organise. So breathing is my go to. In through the nose; out through the mouth. You all know how it goes. Below are four different techniques you can do for circumstances of stress, anxiety or the general for relaxation.

7/11

In for seven, out for eleven. An easy-peasy one that I normally try to do for around two minutes if I can. You can also vary the speed depending on your circumstance, but try and keep it as slow as possible without feeling dramatically out of breathe in between. 

300 Backwards

A more time-consuming one that is I would go to if I'm desperate for sleep. Start counting backwards from 300, breathing in at '299' and out for '298' and so on. This requires a lot of concentration and is generally quite relaxing. Also don't worry if your mind wanders whilst doing this: once you realise that you've stopped concentrating on your breathing, just bring your breathing back into the rhythm and start from the last number you remember thinking. 

Balloon Breathe

This is my favourite and one I've been using for many years now. Start breathing in through your nose and allow your tummy to expand like a balloon. When you breathe back out, let you tummy drop and make an effort to push slightly more air out than comes out naturally. This is a breathing technique used in yoga and is very relaxing. 

Figure of 8

This one is slightly more unusual but it works well for me. With the edge of a duvet or blanket/rug or even the tip of your pinky, begin moving this around the edge of your nostrils, coming up in the middle. Breathe in whilst going down and out whilst going up (or the other way if that feel uncomfortable to you). Again, you can vary the speed but a slow and steady speed is best. Also don't apply too much pressure to your nose otherwise that'll be very uncomfortable!

"Feeling come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor."  - Thích Nhất Hạnh

I hope this might help some of you and I hope you all have a fabulous Sunday!

xxxx

Maddy

Peanut Butter Goodness - A Healthy(ish) Cookie Recipe

I adore weekends. I mean, don't we all? The opportunity to laze around, eating good food and watching equally great films, without feeling guilty. Weekends are also a great time to catch up with your favourite hobbies. This weekend was spent catching up on vlogs and blogs whilst in the kitchen making these guilt-free beauties: my healthy(ish) peanut butter cookies. 

If the mention of 'peanut butter' makes your excited then these are the cookies for you. They are flourless and butter-less and taste yummy. 

(One thing to bare in mind: they are healthy so don't expect sweet, light cookies. Once you remember that, they are actually rather delicious)

The recipe is easy-squeezy-lemon-peasy with a few ingredients and a 30 minute chill before baking to allow you time to wash everything up… or take photos of your dog being quite frankly adorable 

What You'll Need:

two-thirds of a cup of oats 

two hundred and fifty grams of peanut butter (it's better if you use organic)

ninety grams of light brown sugar

one large egg

one half of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon

one teaspoon of baking soda

seventy grams of dark chocolate chips - optional but completely necessary

What You'll Have To Do:

Temperatures:

- 180C

- 350F

- Gas Mark 4

1. Toss together the oats, cinnamon and baking soda

2. Beat the egg

3. Mix the peanut butter and brown sugar with the egg 

4. Mix in the dry ingredients slowly and you don't want to over-beat the egg 

5. Pop the mixture/dough into the fridge for half an hour to chill 

6. Line two baking trays will baking parchment 

7. Scoop the dough onto the trays - aim for about 1.5 tablespoon sizes (I did mine much bigger and they ended up as monsters!)

8. Press down the cookies will the back of a fork to flatten them and get a rigid effect - use a spoon if you are going for a neater look

9. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool on a cooling rack 

and ta dah! 10-14 delicious cookies that are perfect for pre/post workout or just for guilt free snacking and are helpfully very filling. They also taste gorgeous when eaten with raspberries - something I just discovered on the way back to school.

I assure you, they are much better than my dreadful food photography and presentational skills- I'll be working on that! 

Happy baking and have a fabulous week into the new month - crazy how fast it's gone already!

Love and Cookie-Crumbly Kisses,

Maddy x

Going on an Adventure: A Walk in the Woods

Fortunately for me, my boarding school has large and lovely grounds which one - or two - can wonder around when a cooped-up Sunday becomes too stuffy and boredom strikes. Today was one of those days and my friend and I were those two. A walk in the woods to get some fresh ended up as an sun-set adventure and because we had a big giggle trying to work out where we had ended up, I thought I'd share our adventure with you.

B looking all deep and artsy

Luckily for me, I had a pair of trusty wellyboots on so the mud and wet was not an issue. However my friend B was wearing less sensible shoes for a winter's walk and so when the ground go into a marshy state, she looked for a route around. So, we left the path and wondered into the woods until we came across something very cool and wonderful. After discussion, we voted it was probably an old bridge that was taken apart, and the metal foundations were left. It was probably not the sturdiest of things to climb on, but ho hum, a little risk is always fun. 

Exploring! 

and catching my balance!

We kept walking and found a small pond and then reached a field where we managed to capture the amazing sunset. A lot of walking and climbing over fences that were there for the reason to keep us in the woods, we finally found our way back to school. 

Even though we were admittedly very lost, we had a lot of fun and saw some lovely things we wouldn't have seen otherwise. 

 Sometimes leaving the pathway you know and trust can lead to an adventure you never would have imagined. 

Have a fabulous week and find yourself an adventure,

All my Love,

Maddy x