Rants and Raves #23

Hello! It’s the middle of the week, hurrah! I’m working from home tomorrow so it kind of feels like Friday, but only in that I get a bit of a lie-in tomorrow rather than 5am for the gym. Woop! I’m seeing my Physio again tomorrow so I hope to have another post about my injury (oh the long-standing saga that it is, I’m sorry) another day. But for now, I’m ranting but mostly raving.

Rave: Workout clothes. I can’t stop buying them. It’s becoming an issue. To be fair though, other than food, I really don’t spend my money on much else. Forever21 is my go-to place for good quality and inexpensive gym clothes. Though I do like treating myself to Fabletics some months.

I bought the below ‘muscle tee’ from Forever21 which fits amazingly. It’s perfect for my strength workouts as my arms are nice and free and the side slits help keep me cool. It says ‘No Days Off’. Not true, but still cool.

Forever21

I bought another muscle tee, a crop-top, a crop-top sports bra and two pairs of Nike Pro shorts (not from Forever21 but Zalando). ENOUGH NOW, ANNA.

Rant: Planning my weekends is so tricky at the moment. I still haven’t moved. My solicitors said it could be this week but then who knows. It depends on some enquiries… This is annoying as I’m meant to be seeing my uni friends in Cardiff this Saturday but now I don’t know if I can or not. In fact, we’ve had to rearrange the whole thing because I was going to give one of my friends a lift back and can’t guarantee it anymore. *Sighs*

I’m also just living out of boxes and reluctant to buy any sort of extra condiments or bulk purchases (which I like to do to with items I use regularly to save a bit of money).

Boxes

I’m not using my downstairs toilet anymore because it’s a great place to put boxes (especially food items and crockery) so Alfie can’t get to them. As you can see, my Hello Fresh boxes are very handy!

And I have nowhere to work when I work from home as I sold pretty much all my furniture (I live life on a bean bag with a £5 Ikea side table). I’ve had to use my kitchen to work in. For my standing desk obsession it works quite nicely.Standing desk

Rave: Speaking of Hello Fresh (yes, I know, I’m obsessed)… I finally received the hallowed Recipe Journal. My parents, who also still get Hello Fresh, have two! I introduced them to it first! Anyway, I have one now and it’s already almost full up.Hello Fresh recipe folder

It makes me really proud how may recipes I’ve done (I’ve had 23 boxes – each box contains three recipes). I love it! I eat so many different foods each week and it makes life so much easier cooking a meal and then having another portion of it for the next night.

A few weeks ago I had a lovely warming Mexican broth…Hello Fresh Mecican Broth

With a good dollop of soured cream. Yum.

If you fancy £25 off your first box I have a referral code ZVUM4A (which would also give me £12 off my next box). I’m not affiliated with Hello Fresh, I just love them.

Rave: I’ve recently bought some BCAA formula, AminoX, to help with me at the gym. It isn’t a stimulant but rather it’s designed to support my strength workouts and recovery. It contains essential amino acids, L-Alanine, Taurine and L-Citrulline.AminoX

You just mix one scoop with water and give it a mix. Don’t do what I do and shake it in a bottle vigorously as when you then go to open the lid, it explodes like a foamy volcano. Gentle stirring is required! I got the green apple flavour and it’s really yummy, though luminous green. I can’t say I feel a huge difference but I am lifting heavier weights than ever before – though considering how often I go to the gym and focus on this, that’s not surprising really.

Rant: Alfie’s Halloween costume came last week. Obviously too late for Halloween…and actually too small. For a fiver though I’m not upset.

Dog halloween costume

I’m wondering if I can cut the sides a bit and see if he could fit. He may never forgive me though.

Rave: This ice cream.

Oppo ice cream

It’s called Oppo and has the fabulous tagline of “Eat like a whale, look like a mermaid”. I got the salted caramel flavour. The ingredients are far better looking than Ben and Jerry’s and so are the nutritional stats for 100ml:

  • Energy (Kcal): 77.3
  • Fat: 3.8g (saturates: 2.8g)
  • Carbohydrate: 7.6g (sugars: 6.7g)
  • Protein: 3.2g
  • Sodium: 0.1

I’m a volume person when it comes to eating (more food = better) and will happily admit I ate the entire tub in one sitting, which was around 400 calories in total. That’s comparable to a slice of cake. Though cake always wins in my eyes, this was such a nice treat for a Friday night.

Rave: I saw this picture on Jamie Oliver’s Instagram…him with Orlando Bloom.Jamie and Orlando

Be still my beating heart. I have such a crush on Jamie Oliver it’s ridiculous. I just think he’s so lovely. And I used to be obsessed with Orlando Bloom during his LOTR days. It’s like a dream come true to have them side by side in a photo… *sighs*.

Who’s your celebrity crush? Who did you fancy when you were younger?

What’s your favourite ice cream and ice cream flavour?

Do you cook from scratch every evening?

18 Replies to “Rants and Raves #23”

  1. I love Rants and Raves Day!

    Are you at the waiting to exchange bit? You get some leeway between then and Completion…N was quite unusual with his (completetion was two days after exchange), but even with that, he still had a good week to sort out actually moving. And you should be able to say “I need a week to sort out moving out after Exchange”. Which reminds me. We must book a boiler service, as Mum had a horror story about someone who moved into the local estate when I was small.

    Who’s your celebrity crush? Who did you fancy when you were younger?
    Rufus Sewell (swoon). Saw him on stage in Arcadia. Wow. Co-incidentally, my grown-up crush (Sam West) was in that too. Sam’s lovely – I’ve met him several times now.

    What’s your favourite ice cream and ice cream flavour? Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food.

    Do you cook from scratch every evening? I’m a bulk cooker-upper, other than for things such as macaroni cheese. There is an excellent gluten-free macaroni cheese which is my comfort food. Sometimes we get a kit, but mostly we do cook from scratch. We love Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food and Nigella Express. Lots of plastic tubs, lots of freezer space – and a fair degree of bulk cooking. Most things freeze extremely well. N does the most brilliant roasts, but we always seem to end up buying gravy, and gluten-free Yorkshire Puds. I’m really sensitive to wheat owing to (we think – it’s only recently been diagnosed) endometeriosis.
    Jane recently posted…Dulce et Decorum EstMy Profile

    1. Ah OK that makes a bit more sense than with the completion and exchange. When we did it for our current house it happened literally the same day, which is what I’m concerned about!
      Just Googled Rufus Sewell…. ahh A Knight’s Tale – he was so yummy in that. Not sure who Sam West is, despite Googling. But sounds nice!
      Sorry to hear about your endometeriosis 🙁
      I love my freezer. I freeze EVERYTHING. So handy.
      AnnaTheApple recently posted…Sole Softec Response Footbed ReviewMy Profile

  2. That ice-cream looks awesome, 400 calories for the whole tub too! That’s not bad at all really haha definitely wouldn’t feel too guilty about that, especially after exercising that day! I’ve just started reading the new rules of lifting for women by the way, I’m hoping to gather a bit of gym knowledge before braving it and going there – ahh!! But exciting!

    Hope you get to move soon, living off 2 items of furniture does not sound fun at all!!
    April xxx

  3. I have to admit, I don’t get the Jamie Oliver thing. I like him as a TV chef though, and he is very unpretentious which is always a plus. For LOTR, I was always about Viggo Mortenssen, while my sister was firmly in the Elf camp! My celeb crush when I was younger was somewhere between Vin Diesel and Keanu Reeves.

    Fave ice cream goes to pretty much any of the ice creams made in a local ice cream parlour called Orange Elephant. It is amazing! Anyone that ever comes to Devon in the summer must try it. It should be a law. Otherwise, I am a big fan of Ben and Jerry’s peanut butter jelly core, or their Oh My Apple Pie.

    We cook from scratch some evenings though I try to get some batch cooked stuff in the freezer at the weekend so we don’t have to do from scratch during the week.

    Enjoy working from home!
    Steph recently posted…Weigh in Wednesday 5: SurpriseMy Profile

    1. I admit, the Jamie Oliver thing is weird and quite rare. So many of my friends make fun of me about it.
      I get what you mean about Viggo, but I really just loved Legolas. When he did those cool archery tricks my heart just exploding 😉
      Ooh that ice cream place sounds good. I’ll bare that in mind if I head that way (after I’ve OD’ed on scones of course!)
      AnnaTheApple recently posted…Sole Softec Response Footbed ReviewMy Profile

  4. Argh how frustrating with the move! I hope you manage to have your weekend still.
    I don’t get the Jamie Oliver thing- I find him rather annoying and although his campaign about school dinners was good, I just don’t see the appeal. Each to their own!
    I do like ice cream but I don’t like having it with tea- I imagine the tea melting the ice cream in my stomach and stuff, and I do like a tea (herbal) in the evening, so although we sometimes buy ice cream when it’s on offer (any peanut butter one!) I rarely have it at home.
    That pumpkin outfit is hilarious! Very cute.
    Maria @ runningcupcake recently posted…A lovely weekend of runningMy Profile

  5. Oh my gosh I go crazy in forever 21 for their fitness stuff! Which is sad – because Im fairly certain every other girl is looking at the fashion clothes. Oops. Its just so cheap and cute! I do the same thing in Marshalls or TJ Maxx though 🙂
    Kat recently posted…Thinking Out Loud #60My Profile

  6. I love F21 for gym clothes, too. Such good value and with the amount of time that they end up crumbled in my gym bag or in the wash I can’t face spending any more! That ice cream sounds amazing – I’m not really much of an ice cream person at all but I keep seeing this and the Almond Dream ice cream on Instagram and I’m definitely tempted to try them. I used to love Elijah Wood from LOTR but do like that picture too! x
    LilyLipstick recently posted…Snacktime – PERK!ER Bar Review & GivewayMy Profile

    1. You can tell F21 is cheaper than bigger brands such as Lululemon or Fabletics in terms of quality – but it is fantastic value. I buy so many sports bras from them, but then I don’t have that much of an issue with needing support! 😉
      I haven’t heard of Almond Dream ice cream…sounds good.
      AnnaTheApple recently posted…Sole Softec Response Footbed ReviewMy Profile

  7. Healthy salted caramel ice cream, Jamie and Orlando and workout clothes? Haha we share similar loves lol. Hope your move gets sorted soon. I’m really hoping ours will complete before the end of the month so we can start the building work and get in sooner rather than later. It’s a pain when you’re stuck in limbo land though x

  8. Hey!! I’ve just started using Hello Fresh so far so good! Where did you get the recipe journal I’m looking everywhere for one?

    Thanks,

    Emma

    1. Hi Emma, it came with one of my boxes. I didn’t request it or anything it just appeared…I wanted one for ages too as I had so many cards! Finger’s crossed you get one soon 🙂

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