fashion - AnnaTheApple

July 8, 2015September 18, 2020

Rants and Raves #15

How the weeks are flying by! I know it’s such a cliché but everything is just moving so quickly. And with another week I have another set of rants and raves…

Rave: I entered a competition with Brooks a while ago and forgot about it. If I remember correctly you had to talk about why running makes you happy and upload a photo of yourself “running happy”. I didn’t win but they did send me a consolation prize.

A very nice Brooks t-shirt. It’s made from wicking material but it’s not a ‘proper’ technical t-shirt if that makes sense but it’s still good for short runs, gym visits or just general wear. It’s lovely and soft and fits nicely.

Rant: My gym has been renovated which has just been *so* much fun trying to find an area to work out in that wasn’t a building site. Though I can understand their issue as it’s open 24/7 so it must be hard to do any sorts of improvements without closing the gym.

But anyway, they’ve created a new door system to get in and out. Before it was like a caged turnstile. Now it’s like something out of Star Trek.

You type in your code, one part of it opens, you step in, it closes before opening the next part. There is about two very long seconds where you fear you’ll never be let out. What a way to spend the rest of your life…locked in a glass cage with only your own sweat smell to comfort you.

Rave: Speaking of the new gym renovations, it has meant that we’ve had loads of new equipment and weights. Including a proper stepper machine! I was quite excited as previously we’d only had that annoying step machine that when you put your foot on each step it sinks down. I tried it once and it was awful. I just didn’t get on with it as I couldn’t work out if I was meant to do shallow little steps or big deep steps. The real step machine however is far better.

It’s actually like climbing stairs and you can get a good rhythm. Great for the glutes and legs! And for towering over the gym and people watching 😉

But I honestly have no idea what this new machine is…

On closer inspection it looked like a rowing machine, but upright…very strange.

Rant: Hot running! Though it is nice to be warm when you’re doing your warm-up…oh those days not so long ago I was standing in the car park in my tiny shorts absolutely freezing doing my leg swings while people were coming out to their cars wrapped up in coats and scarves looking at me like I was mental. But it does make for harder running.

Sweaty, uncomfortable and harder efforts for the same speeds…it’s tough! And even more so when you come back to the office and find…

NO cups for the water machine. I did consider putting my head under the water release bit and drinking that way but I thought perhaps this wasn’t proper office etiquette, even if it was past normal working hours 😉 Luckily they had another one in another corridor that I had to hunt for in my heat-induced delirium.

Rave: Pretty purple Nike capris! I’m clearly a bit obsessed with capris right now. I don’t tend to wear them running as it’s too hot but I love wearing them to the gym.

These are really comfortable and nice fitting. Normally I’m not one for crazy patterns but I just love the colour! I can’t remember where I got them from, otherwise I’d post the link as well.

Rant: Dropping your hair dryer on yourself while blow drying your hair is painful. And further proof of the accident prone idiot I am.

And also gives the impression that you’ve been mauled by a small animal. Very painful burns from the grating in the hair dryer!

Rave: Alfie just makes me smile every single day. This is him not wanting to get up one morning.

I reckon he thinks he’s invisible if he can’t see me 😉

Rave: I’m very excited about being sent these 33Shake products. I haven’t tried them yet as I’m waiting for a good time to test them out on (I have the perfect event in a week or so to give them a good testing – but more on that soon). I was sent three All-in-One Shake blend which are ideal after hard sessions as they contain great ingredients like hemp seeds and flaxseeds, natural antioxidants (which I’ve found I really need after hard sessions!), protein, and anti-inflammatories like turmeric and green coffee (oooh er!). They’re 100% natural, meaning no additives, no preservatives, and nothing manmade.

I was also sent Chia Energy Gels which will provide energy during a hard workout. And again contain all natural with a blend of carbs, proteins, Omega-3s and antioxidants.

So I’m fairly excited about testing these bad boys out!

What are your rants and raves this week?

What do you look for in sports nutrition, whether that’s before, during or after?

Where do you buy your workout gear from?

June 10, 2015September 18, 2020

What I’m loving lately…

Today I have a bit of a random post with some bits and pieces that I’m loving lately.

(FYI none of the products mentioned below were sent to be reviewed or that I got anything in return for – I’m just giving general opinions on things I’m loving!)

Hello Fresh: I know I keep harping on about it, but I’m still going strong with Hello Fresh. Only cooking for one now (start the violins…) means I can plate up two meals and not worry the next day. I try and plan it so I always have that spare meal when I’m going running or know I’m going to be late home for some reason. Very handy to then just get in and microwave my already prepared dinner.

A really tasty meal I had recently was a risotto with prawns and asparagus. SO good.

I never normally buy prawns as they’re quite expensive and I never think to make risottos so this was quite the fancy meal for me! I also like how it uses seasonal ingredients.

Another noteworthy meal was a chickpea and butternut squash curry made with coconut milk.

The portion was massive but perfect for my hungry appetite! What was good about this meal was I could easily freeze the second meal so didn’t need to panic about eating the other portion in a certain amount of time.

Birthday present to me: As it’s my birthday in a couple of weeks my parents asked what I would like…so I said money towards a DNA test. Yes, you read that right. My parents were a little shocked…But keep reading, it’s not like that! 😉

I first heard about it in the RunnersWorld magazine and my interest was instantly peaked. It’s basically a DNA test which tells you your fitness genetic profile: DNAFit.

My swab that I sent away

Yes, yes I know, sounds a load of hogwash but it’s a genuine thing. I went for the slightly less expensive test which would tell me:

Power and endurance potential
Post-exercise recovery speed
Injury risk profile
Recovery nutrition needs

I’m not expecting any real eye-opening discoveries here because, let’s be honest, I know my own body pretty well. But I’m intrigued as to what my genes really say about me. I’m pretty much expecting a high injury risk result and more of an aptitude towards endurance than power…but we shall see I guess. What it will give me is an idea of really how best I should train and how many recovery days I really need. Or at least confirm what I already know. Perhaps a waste of money but frankly there was nothing else I wanted for my birthday. I’ll share my results when I get them through.

New foam rollers: Check out these bad boys!!

No these are not props from Fifty Shades of Grey as someone in my running club said 😉 They are foam rollers! The ball is about the size of a tennis ball so the cylindrical one in comparison is also very small. Handy travel sized. I’m a big fan of foam rolling and I’m sort of deflating my usual tennis ball by using it too much (and this makes Alfie sad…) so I thought I would splash out for something a bit more exciting and, er, aggressive. I’m using with caution though. They’re great for my calves and bum.

Bargain fitness gear: Fitness clothes from Tesco (UK supermarket)! These leggings were a bargain (£8!) and fit SO well. They are very comfortable and I think quite flattering. I’m all over cheap and good quality gym/running gear!

Random 5: And on the subject of running gear…I won a competition at the Hackney Half Marathon! In the race village Brook’s had a chalk board which was about why you’re thankful for running and the most inspiring ones (or interesting) would win some Brook’s goodies. Always keen to win free stuff I put my message on there…and, amongst a few others, won!

Mine says “Thank you running for all the cake”…seemed fitting, you know? 😉 My friend, Karen, from the running club also won (hers said that running helps her “escape from the nappies” as she’s a mum of two youngsters).

The prizes arrived this week. I didn’t really know what I’d won beforehand but we had to give our clothing and shoe size so I hoped for the best. In the package there were a pair of trainers, capris and a T-shirt. Not too shabby, eh!

Ravenna Trainers:Infiniti capris:

Short-sleeved running top:

The top is a little big on me though which is annoying but the capris are WONDERFUL. The trainers are also very cool looking. I love the colours!

Standing desk: And my standing desk is still going strong. I’m on a new project so had to switch to a different office but my set-up is still pretty good.

It’s nice because I can look out of the windows easily as they’re quite high if you’re sat down. My chair comes in handy as a shopping bag holder as well (and so no one pinches it as I sit down for lunch!).

And that’s all for now! For tomorrow’s post I hope to do a sort of summary of my marathon training, what I’ve learnt and the good and bad things. I guess I won’t know really how well my training has gone until the Big Day though…

Do you foam roll?

Where do you usually buy your fitness gear from?

Would you take a DNA test to find out more about yourself?

March 12, 2015March 30, 2017

My baby T-Rex and fashionable fitness ##HHCatwalk

OK I know, I know, weather introductions are boring and samey – but seriously, yesterday I almost left my coat at home!! This makes me so happy!

I got to wear just a T-shirt and shorts for my run last night and even finished still in the light!

Post-run selfie

What also makes me happy is going out on a school night to go eat stupid amounts of ribs with friends. On Tuesday night we went to a place called Rancho Steak House in Southampton and it was amazing. The whole day I was hungry (in my head I ’m pretty sure) and just couldn’t wait to leave work and get there.

I already knew what I’d be having – especially as I found out that Tuesday night’s were unlimited rib night. Ben and me shared a plate of cheesy nachos to start. The service was dreadful which was such a let down and so our food took ages. This meant I was ravenous so those nachos went down quite nicely, despite their rather unappealing presentation.

You can barely see the nachos under the melted cheese – Ben was in heaven

For mains, I went for the £14.95 unlimited rib meal which came with a side salad and chips which I subbed for corn on the cob (because I’m obsessed and chips would have filled me up – stomach space was all for the ribs).

Smothered in a delicious costa picante glaze

I was in rib heaven. They weren’t the best ribs I’ve ever had but they were pretty good. It was also great to know that I could have more if I wanted…which I did.

Half way through this portion I should have stopped as I was full. But the glutton I am continued and I was uncomfortable by the end. No regrets though – I was fully satisfied. I honestly believe there’s a baby T-rex inside me trying to get out.

I’m also loving that my mum and dad are getting into the whole Hello Fresh scene. They signed up after I raved on about it.

My mum cooking one of the recipes the other night

It’s great because I can compare notes with them on how things went and what he liked or didn’t as we’ll get the same recipes each week (though they get theirs on Tuesdays whereas we get ours Thursdays).

I promise I will do a Hello Fresh post soon, I just have a bit of a backlog at the moment!

As you might know, I run three times a week and go to the gym four times a week. Three of those gym seshes are purely strength focused (deadlifts, single leg stuff, squats, box jumps, core work…etc.) but the other gym sesh is what I call my “good for the soul” cardio. I love the rowing machine (is that weird?). Not as much as running but I just love the rhythm of it and can let my mind wander.

It’s usually the time I catch up on MarathonTalk podcasts as well. Usually I’ll spend 45 minutes on it and just row however I feel. I’m no expert and have no real idea what speeds or distances are good, but I enjoy it and see it as a good way to help my fitness without adding in another running session (which I’m loathe to do right now considering I’m being all gradual in my build up and remaining injury-free).

Speaking of fitness…as I’ve mentioned a couple of times now, the guys at the The Running Bug sent me some really cool Helly Hansen running gear to try out and to help spread the word that working out and looking good does not have to be mutually exclusive.

Leggings and technical fitted T-shirt

As I’ve said so many times, I like looking good when I exercise. So kill me. It’s no different from deciding what to wear to work or what to wear when I go out with friends. I want to look nice. It makes me feel happy and confident. And those two things are so important for when you’re working out. Whatever gets you motivated, confident and in the zone is worth it to me.

The Helly Hansen gear is honestly amazing. The T-shirt (above) is nice and loose fitting. It’s quite thin and slightly see-through so a white sports bra is best. It’s a great top to run in!

The capri leggings fit like a glove. They’re a good thickness, they move with my body and don’t slip down or feel too tight. They’re also great in wet weather!

My only slight sadness is they don’t have a mini pocket for a key.

I also received a technical vest. I love that it has a hole at the back (though this does mean wise sport bra choices). And like the T-shirt it is also slightly see-through.

It’s a mesh material so cool, breathable and quick drying.

I was also sent a hoodie. It’s a strange material – kind of a thicker technical material and is very warm. So ideal for either a very cold run or for just after a race or parkrun.

Appalling posing faces sorry – it’s so very awkward

I love that it had the thumbholes and it also has a fitted waist bit so hugs you at the bottom keeping you warm and doesn’t ride up. My only issue is the head hole is quite small so when I have a pony tail it tends to snag it down when I put it on (#longhairproblems).

And finally, my absolute favourite item (no wait the leggings are my favourite…second favourite), the jacket!

I adore the colour and it goes nicely with the other bits as well. It was brilliant during a very wet and windy run the other week. It’s comfortable and water-proof. The hood was a bit annoying in the wind and there’re no pockets again, but this doesn’t detract my love for it.

Helly Hansen has a great range of funky running gear and fitness apparel. It is expensive, I won’t lie, but unlike some brands that you pay more for you get really good quality. I can see these items lasting me a very long time and they’re already some of the favourite fitness clothes I have.

Also just so you know, if you Tweet pictures of yourself in your favourite fitness gear (tagging @therunningbug and using #HHcatwalk) one lucky person will be selected to win a very exciting Helly Hansen prize!

[Full Disclosure: I was sent the Helly Hansen gear for free as part of the Running Bug’s fashion fitness campaign. All opinions are my own honest ones.]

February 26, 2015

Rants and Raves #9

Spring is on its way. I can feel it. OK maybe not every day but it is definitely soon(ish…maybe…wishful thinking?) When I come back from the gym in the morning and walk Alfie (about 6.45am) it is LIGHT. It is also light on my commute home. This is progress!

So another week, and another line-up of my rants and raves. This week I really had some genuinely ranty moments. Poor Ben. But let’s start with a positive…

Rave: At work I like to have a mid-afternoon snack (between my lunch and my 4pm apple and banana, not that I’m a creature of habit or anything…). Usually it’s something from my graze box or a handful of pistachio nuts. I ran out of my graze box (I get it every other week) and I wanted something sweet but filling. I saw a pack of these in Tesco so bought them and I’m addicted!

They’re basically very similar to the normal nakd bars but they have this added crunch and more protein (5.5g total for 30g and 106 calories) which as a snack is really important to me as I want to be kept full and not reaching for something more afterwards (not that this always works mind you).

Rant: I have the lovely Kelly from my running club to thank for spotting this really infuriating detail of my next 10k race (Eastleigh 10k) I’m doing. Can you spot it?

The fact that the first 10 men will be award prizes but only the first SIX women. Er…what? I’m sorry but we’re missing four accomplished females here. It’s disgusting that there is still gender bias in races. Is the 7th/8th/9th/10th woman not as good as the equivalent placing man? What message does this give out to aspiring young female athletes? The argument of lack of money or that maybe more men enter the race than women does not work I’m afraid. Lower the number of prizes for men or raise the number for women. I could rant until I’m blue in the face about this one.

Rave: I did the worst possible thing: I let a strange man into my house when I was home alone. He asked all the right questions and spouted all the right things and I led him in – I’m that kinda girl 😉 No seriously, he was from Hello Fresh and his offer just sounded amazing and I was sold. I signed on the dotted line, gave my card details to him and boom I now have a subscription. I hang my head in shame…BUT I’m fully happy with my snap decision. Like I previously said, a proper post is on its way about what it is and what I think. Ben was somewhat surprised though getting in and seeing a strange man in the living room with me!

Rant: I saw a snapshot of The Sweaty Betty London Fashion Week catwalk advert on Facebook as I was scrolling through my time feed the other day and was shocked.

Is this representative of the target market buying these workout clothes? Where are their muscles? They barely look healthy. I’m not trying to thin-shame at all – I appreciate that slim people wear workout gear too and that you don’t need bulging muscles to shop at Sweaty Betty or to be healthy. BUT there were no athletic models at all here and just shows mixed messages about their company values. (For the full line-up check it out HERE).

Rave: I love films and I love the buzz around the award season, wondering who will win what. I also enjoy looking at all the beautiful stars dressed to the nines. However (and again we’re going to hit on gender inequality) I despise how most reporters will ask women “who are they wearing?” as one of their main questions. Not “how did you prepare for the role?” or “what was the hardest part of playing this character?” or something related to their actual ability as an actress, rather than the superficial quality of what they’re wearing. However, Reese Witherspoon refused to answer their questions about her dress but said “ask me about my role”.

She was championing the #askhermore Twitter campaign which is fantastic! Nicely done, Reese. For a funny twist on this check THIS article about how male stars react when asked similar superficial questions on the red carpet.

Rave: I believe it was Maria’s blog where I first saw these amazing marshmallow creations from Marshmallow Deli. As a surprise pressie for Ben for Christmas I bought two different marshmallow flavours. Due to high demand over Christmas we didn’t actually receive them until mid-January, but it was worth the wait.

I got him Salted Caramel Swirl (right) and Peanut, Choc Chip Caramel (left). Ben really enjoyed them. I tried both and preferred the salted caramel because the peanut one tasted similar to Snickers chocolate bar and I hate Snickers!

Another rave: This little face.

Just casually waiting at the top of the stairs. What would I do without him?

What are your rants and raves this week?

Do you get annoyed by gender inequality?

What snacks are you enjoying at the moment?

January 14, 2015

Rants and Raves #6

First ranting and raving post for 2015. So we’re supposed to get snow…? Or a massive storm? So far it’s rather peaceful and quiet this morning. Wouldn’t a snow day just be lovely? Unlikely though. Anyway, here are latest my rants and raves!

Rave: New boots! OK I got these before Christmas, but in the sale from Dorothy Perkins for £20 I think. I’m not a high heel wearer but I enjoy a modest ‘wedged’ heel rather than a pointy one (if that makes sense…).

They’re sort of burgundy rather than the brown colour they appear in the photo. I normally go for black so it’s nice to have a change. They’re very comfy and very useful for the current rainy conditions we’re being blessed with in the UK. Though I do take them off at work now I have my standing desk otherwise it can be a bit hard on my calves…

Rant and rave: A nice segue to my standing desk.

I won’t lie, it is hard to stand the majority of the day. I’m very much ready to sit down for lunch midway through the day. However the difference I feel when I walk somewhere after I’ve been standing compared to after I’ve been sat having my lunch is incredible. My legs are all stiff when I’ve been sat for an hour whereas my legs feel great after standing instead.

My boss asked how it was going and what my motivations behind it were. I told him how I felt more alert later in the day, my back ache had disappeared and my posture was improving. It shocked me that he seemed genuinely surprised that standing would be better for you than sitting and the health benefits involved.

Rant: Speaking of people being ignorant to health matters and fitness, sometimes I feel like shouting at people. OK not shouting, I’m not a shouty type of person. But I have serious face-palm moments when I hear and see some of the bewildering things people do or say on their journey towards health. A serial dieter at work asked “is tinned tuna fattening?”. I felt myself die a little inside. There are so many things wrong with this sentence. And then there’s the lady going on a liquid diet for a set number of weeks to drop pounds quickly. Or watching the TV programme Fast Food Baby and seeing parents giving their toddler takeaways every single day and walking past the produce section of the supermarket saying “we don’t need any of that!”.

I read a lot of blogs, magazines, books and surround myself with a lot of similar people so health and fitness aren’t vague concepts to me, but I know that for some of the population today they are. I’m trying not to sound smug or like an annoying know-it-all because I know I’m not (hello, I’m the girl who’s always injured from running). But it makes me sad when people just don’t seem to have a clue and will always try the quick fixes to achieve what realistically takes a long-time to sort out. Lifestyle changes not dieting. You could say “well it’s easy for you to say” but I work hard in the gym, try not go crazy with my cake obsession and try to eat healthily most of the time – being healthy is not easy and perhaps there’s the issue.

Rave: My parents installed two web cams for their kitchen and utility room so they could check up on their dogs via an iPhone app throughout the day.

Surprise surprise when he checked midway through the day the three dogs were fast asleep all snuggled together. I think this is brilliant and very cute. A great way to check in on your house and see what your furry friends are up to. I’m pretty sure the same would be for Alfie as he sleeps like 16 hours a day! But I would love to nosey in on what he’s up to in a day.

Rant: More of a half-hearted rant really. This is Ben’s idea of porridge:

Not only does he submerge it in golden syrup but there are also a few teaspoons of white sugar in there as well. Oh his poor teeth… Thankfully he only has this or toast at the weekend as he never has breakfast in the week (*sighs*). I think I would self-combust on the way to work if I didn’t have breakfast.

Rave: If you read this blog regularly you’re probably aware that I adore BBQ sauce. BBQ ribs are probably one of my favourite foods (and why I’m so happy we’re going to Dallas as apparently they’re good there…). My latest easy meal (that Ben also enjoys) is oven-baked BBQ chicken thighs and drumsticks. I remove the skin (weirdly I’m only a fan of chicken skin in restaurants as they just do it so much nicer? More crispy and flavoursome) and coat it in BBQ sauce (sneakily add some kale) and oven bake it for 40 minutes or so. With it I have a roasted sweet potato whereas Ben has onion rings.

OK let’s ignore the fact that the main ingredient in BBQ sauce is sugar and you could say ‘pot calling kettle black’ and all that jazz with my previous rant about Ben’s golden syrup…but it just tastes SO GOOD. And there’s healthy stuff there with the kale and protein. Shhh.

Rant: At Christmas one of the presents both Ben and I got were selfie sticks. Funnily enough both Ben’s mum and my parents got us selfie sticks. So we’re now the proud owners of four selfie sticks. No one is that self-obsessed right?! As we got the selfie sticks as our table present (anyone else do that?) I tried to get it working so we could have a quick selfie before we ate.

Can you see how happy Ben is about this?

And that would be a fail. It has a little remote control to take the photo but it was just very fiddly and difficult to work out how to use.

I did think that our attempts were somewhat amusing, and trying to take a photo in front of a large window is never a good idea. Needless to say we haven’t attempted to try again. I am taking them with us on holiday though. Just probably not on any roller coasters… Hopefully this will turn into a rave at some point!

Rave: Nice people at the gym. I was at the gym the other morning going through one of my strength routines, just in the zone you know, and there was an older lady who was doing her own routine behind me. As I finished up and was doing some stretches she came over to me and said “Can I just say that you have such an amazing core!” Granted it was a bit of a weird compliment but it literally made my day. She told me she had been watching me do my thing and was impressed at how strong my core was. She asked my age and said she was almost 60 herself. I said to her that I hoped to be like her when I’m 60 because she was rocking out some tough moves herself! I think we both made the other feel pretty damn good that morning.

She told me she was a runner too and only a few years ago the doctor had told her after she had an accident she’d never run again – well, she said to him, she didn’t run beforehand but she was damn well going to now! She told me her 10k PB was 58 minutes – how amazing is that! Bless her heart she said mine must be 40 minutes. I loved her for that and did laugh quite a lot. Not quite I said haha!

What are your rants and raves this week?

Do you enjoy taking selfies?

BBQ sauce or ketchup? Ketchup is a mere pretender in my eyes 😉 but it will do if nothing else is available. Chips (fries) without a little sauce is a heinous sin!