Adam Marc Williams: Review & Giveaway (OPEN)

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to have a photo shoot with a wonderful new photographer, Adam Marc Williams. His website is here. I decided to invite my mum along with me because not only are we really close, but I thought it'd be so special to share a day together having our pictures taken. With me having little brothers and being away at university, I very rarely get to have time alone with my mum, and felt that a couture photography experience would be something we'd both remember forever. We are so pleased with the final results!

I do have a great giveaway for you, but I'm going to tell you about my experience and show you some pictures before I do! Adam's studio is in a great up-and-coming part of town, in a converted mill. We arrived, spoke through our outfits, had our hair and make-up done and then proceeded to have various shots taken in various poses. I know both me and my mum were a bit worried about looking wooden or feeling uncomfortable in front of the lens, but Adam was so great. He gave us lots of direction and really helped us ease into the photographs. As you can see from the top picture (which is my favourite), he really managed to capture the essence of our relationship and create some really beautiful pictures that we can keep forever.

He totally puts you at ease and helps bring out the best of your features in his beautiful photographs. 

Adam has kindly offered to give me the opportunity to give one of my readers a free photoshoot (with hair and make-up styling) and a ten image digital folio, usually worth £595!

You don't have to bring your mum, you could bring anyone along - your partner, your dad, your friend, anyone.  The entry form is via rafflecopter, the only mandatory options being that you must be a blog reader and you need to leave your email address. I'm so excited to share such a great experience with my readers, and having tried it myself I know how much fun you will have!

The giveaway will run from one month, ending on the 22nd of June, at 12:00 am. Adam's studio is based in Manchester and so applicants would need to be able to get to Manchester.

 Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beauty: Super Facialist Rose Calming Creamy Cleanser

I'm all for cream cleansers. Once I've taken the bulk of my make-up off, there's nothing I like more than swathing on a creamy cleanser, seeing it tug the last splotches of make up from my face. I had high expectations from the Super Facialist range as so many people claimed that the products were fantastic and had worked wonders on their skin.

Una Brennan set up the Super Facialist brand, drawing on her seventeen years experience as a skincare therapist. She wanted to create products that 'work with the skin, not against it'.

I love how sleek the packaging is, even when I'm squeezing the last dregs out of the tube it still looks brand new. As we all know (because I love mentioning it apparently!) I have really dry skin, so when I buy a product that is specifically for hydration, I have high expectations. So far, the only cleansing wash I've found that manages to leave my skin feeling moisturised is the Neal's Yard Rose Facial Wash, post on it here.

Worst case scenario with a cleanser: you wash the last of it off and your skin is left feeling like someone has yanked it back from your face and secured the stretched skin with pegs. No kidding.

Luckily this cleanser manages to avoid that pitfall, but I wouldn't say my skin feels moisturised after using it. Beautifully buffed and super soft, yes... but moisturised, no. I'm not sure that it is something I'll be desperate to replace, but I'd definitely re-buy it. It leaves my skin feeling really smooth and clean.

Overall, it does a good job. It smells lovely and it really feels like it effectively removes all traces of daily dirt and grime. It gives my skin a softness that I rarely get from cleansing washes, and it also does a good job at keeping my sensitive skin nice and calm. As the 'Creamy Calming Cleanser' it does what it says on the tin.

If you've got normal - dry skin I'd recommend you try the  Super Facialist Calming Creamy Cleanser, and I've got my eye on the Miracle Makeover Facial Oil!

Have you tried any of the Super Facialist products? What are your skincare faves at the moment?

Life: Sunday Dinner Gorilla Style

For many people, the thought of Sunday dinner brings up memories or thoughts of grandparents slaving away at the stove, mounds of food on the table and frequent questions as to whether the food is hot enough whilst it scalds your mouth. Unfortunately for me, having never really lived close enough to my grandparents to indulge in this Sunday tradition, my thoughts of Sunday dinner have no such recollections.

That's not to say we don't do Sunday dinners well in my family. My mum makes a mean chicken roast and although she gets a bit flustered, everyone always ends up with groaning bellies and rosy cheeks from one glass too many.

I really do think that Sunday dinners are one of the best things in the world! Matt and I often make our own, although granted it is no longer a weekly tradition for us. A few weeks ago we decided to head to one of our favourite places, Gorilla.

Gorilla is a great little haunt. It's built into the viaduct arches, meaning it has incredibly cool arched ceilings, and a cosy feel that's less stuck-in-a-time-warp and more come-join-the-clan. It always has a really great atmosphere, the staff are fantastic, and they make some mean gin cocktails in the gin parlour upstairs.

So, we headed there for Sunday lunch with rumbling stomachs and the promises of a traditional roast dinner making us salivate.

Matt opted for the beef roast after hearing that all of the crispy pork with crackling had been gobbled up (devastated), and I went for the chicken because to be honest it is one of my favourite meats! Unable to wait until our dinners came, we also indulged in the delightfully sticky chicken wings, and the naughty (but bloody good) sourdough bread and beef dripping. The roasts are only £12.50 which I think is great value for the amount of food you get, and the fantastic atmosphere and service.

In the true spirit of cheat day, I also washed it down with one of their malted vanilla milkshakes... okay, I had two. They're that good.

The gin parlour (upstairs)

Malted Vanilla Milkshake

Sticky Chicken Wings

Beef Dripping & Warm Sourdough Bread

Chicken breast roast, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, crispy roast potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

The food was, as expected, delicious. We'd already tried the starters before - they also happen to do a delicious burger and hot dog which I'm sure I'll share with you soon! The roasts were really top notch though, my only criticism being that I'd have preferred actual slices from the chicken rather than the breast on the bone, as it felt I didn't really get that much meat and it was a bit fiddly with the lashings of gravy. The vegetable was nicely cooked and not too soggy, and the Yorkshire pudding and crispy roast potatoes would have made any grandma/mother/etc proud! Matt's plate was well stocked with three huge slices of beef cooked to perfection, I'm telling you the melt-in-the-mouth meaty goodness is just about making me want to head down there again this Sunday!

If you fancy checking out Gorilla, for Sunday lunch or otherwise, here's their website, twitter and Facebook. They also have a lot of music events so you might fancy checking out their event listings. 

Recipe: Cranberry and Orange Bread | Clean Eating

Half my problem with sticking to clean eating is finding the right kinds of foods to snack on. Often I won't fancy digging in to some salads/vegetables. I'd been wanting to make some fruity bread for a while when this recipe came about. It's sticky, sweet and perfectly filling. Whilst the ingredient list may seem long, its so simple to make!

If you slice this loaf into 12 pieces, each piece will be approx 181 calories.

You will need:

80g Wholemeal Self Raising Flour
80g Oat Flour (you can make your own by blending the heck out of some oats!)
120g unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
250ml mashed banana (around 2 bananas)
120g Unsweeted apple sauce (you can make your own by stewing bramley apples)
125ml juice of fresh oranges (around 4 oranges)
2 teaspoons of orange zest
4 egg whites
2 tablespoons agave nectar
200g cranberries

Step 1. Sift all your dry ingredients (sugar, baking powder, bicarb, flours) into one bowl.

Step 2 - Add your bananas, apple sauce, orange juice, zest, egg whites and agave nectar into a bowl and mix it up until it looks like the image below.

Step 3. Pop your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients to create a mixture that's a bit like a cake mixture but a little bit thicker. When all traces of flour have disappeared, fold in your cranberries.

Step 4. Grease and flour a baking loaf tin. You could use a cake tin, but the loaf tins make it easier for you to cut it into portions!

Step 5. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees centigrade for around 45-60 minutes. Leave it to cool before you try slice it. Don't forget to pop on the kettle and have a hot mug of tea waiting, and dig in! 

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Fitness: No Weigh May.

Link!

I know, I know it's May 3rd today. Things have been so manic busy the past few weeks that I've hardly had time to sit down and think! Anyway, onto business.

It's May. As usual, April ended with me stood on the scales, feeling frustrated as I struggled to get past the apparent brick wall to my weight loss.  I've been going to the gym everyday (minus the rest day of course), I've been eating clean. Nights where we've been out with friends have been followed by days where I've been really good. To be honest I think my lack of progress is most likely down to the stress I've been feeling, but there is probably numerous factors.

You know, it gets really exhausting being so hard on yourself sometimes.

SO, I made a decision. I'm not going to weigh myself for a whole month. For some of you, this may seem like a fairly simple task, but for someone who has spent the past year and a half watching the flickering digits of the scales, it's a toughie. If I come out of May feeling a whole lot more positive, who knows - I may ditch the scales for good.

I've seen a lot of inspirational images recently, and am coming to realise that numbers on the scale don't determine how fit or healthy a person is - to some extent what 140lb looks like on one person who is really muscular, and another who isn't really opens the eyes!

I refuse to consistently be hard on myself any more  I really do think we live in a quick fix nation now, and so many people (myself included) expect instant results, and then become hard on ourselves when we don't see them. Instead of judging my progress on some numbers on the scales, I'm going to try a month where I simply judge how I feel in myself and not let that opportunity lie in some electronic device.

So, will you be joining me in No Weigh May?

Recipe: Roasted Pepper Homous | Clean Eating

Clean eating has its benefits. That's a slight underestimation perhaps, but in general, eating clean is great because you get to have so many snacks! Homous is basically a staple snack because you can pile it on top of anything, or just use it as a tasty dip. This recipe, like last week's Pepped Up Pesto recipe, is really quick and easy but 100% clean.

You need:

2 x tins of chick peas
3 x peppers
1 x teaspoon of oil / two squirts of low fat oil spray
2 x garlic cloves
1 x teaspoon of paprika
Olive oil - about 30ml
salt n' pepper

Firstly - you'll need to slice up your peppers, making sure they're coated enough oil. Then whack them in the oven and roast them till the skins are soft and they're almost breaking apart.

Once they've cooled down pop them in a blender with the rest of your ingredients (minus the water).

Whizz it up until you have a thick paste, then gradually add the water until you get the right consistency. Some of you might like it really runny, and others a bit thicker so it's up to you how much water you add!

Warm up some wholewheat pittas, pop it on some rice cakes... be creative and enjoy! This humous is really tasty, full of flavour and 100% good for you. It's really great as a snack or as part of a larger meal. Making basic products like this from scratch really makes you realise how bland store bought stuff is in comparison!

Have you ever made your own homous? What is your favourite snack?

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