My New Blogging Venture

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Lemonade blog!

I just thought I would introduce myself and explain a bit about why I have chosen to start this blog, and what I want to achieve from it.

My name is Deborah, a 35 year old Mum and part time care Assistant. I have an interest in natural health and beauty; I am a level 2 Reiki practitioner and I also sell natural skincare and make-up which is available to view HERE.
I am a plus size lady therefore I am interested in plus size fashion! I am also trying to lose weight at the moment with Slimming World so I will be sharing some recipes too.

I have always been a great believer that anybody can achieve their dreams, and that if you are unhappy with your life you have the power to change that. I still do believe these things, however, my bad health is really testing this theory. I have lupus which is an auto-immune disease, and this is making life very difficult for me at the moment. I have also suffered with my mental health for a long time, learning many coping techniques over the years, and I hope I can pass some of this knowledge on to my readers.

That is why I wanted to start writing this blog; I want to inspire others to achieve their dreams, I don’t want anyone to feel alone, I want people to learn to love and take care of themselves. Whatever obstacles life is throwing at you, wherever it is you want to be, we can do this!

We have all heard the saying ‘when life throws you lemons, make lemonade’ right? Well here I am making my own lemonade.. the Lemonade blog!

Deborah x

 

Advertisement

Betty Hula at the Living North Christmas Fair

I was lucky enough back in December to win
£50 worth of Betty Hula products of my choice
from their stall at the Living North Christmas
Fair at York Racecourse.

This was my first time visiting this event and I
have to say it was pretty amazing! You could
literally get ALL of your Christmas shopping
from here, all in one day! And that is exactly
what I intend to do this year as I enjoyed the
experience so much. There are hundreds of
stalls from different companies and I didn’t
even manage to get round them all.

Betty Hula’s stall was lovely and bright and colourful (see the picture on the right), and it smelt absolutely amazing!

There was a lovely lady managing the stall who happily told me all about the products and helped me choose the products I wanted. The great thing about this company is that they do not use harmful chemicals which I think is really important; I have been more aware of using less chemicals since I was diagnosed with lupus. The scents are inspired by Hawaii and all smell really good, but I went for the lime and mango.

The products I chose were; Hand Wash, Hand Cream, Body Moisturising Cream, a Bath Oil Tea Bag, and of course The Secret Wonder Oil (both the large bottle and the small roll on).

I have to start with the hand cream because this is the first anti-bacterial hand cream I have ever come across. How amazing is that!!
I work as a carer so I was super excited about this. And not only is it anti-bacterial but it smells gorgeous and leaves your hands feeling lovely and soft.
At under a fiver this hand cream is very affordable and great value for money, so it is perfect for work or just to pop in your handbag when you are out and about.

The hand wash I absolutely love too. I have honestly never had such a nice hand wash before, the glass bottle is really cute and looks fab stood on the sink. This too left my hands feeling really nice and soft after washing, and again the smell is beautiful. Personally I think it would be nice if a refill was available as it seems such a shame to waste these pretty glass bottles.

The body moisturising cream felt really luxurious to put on made with shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil. It is non greasy and quickly soaks into the skin. It leaves your skin feeling beautifully soft, and that lovely lime and mango scent lasts all day!

Betty Hula’s Secret Wonder Oil is a beautiful blend of oils and essential oils. The lady I met on the stall that day said it could be used on absolutely anything! Personally I have found it to be a lovely massage oil as the smell is so relaxing, and it also really softens the skin too. I love the fact they have produced a tea bag for the bath; it really is a treat to relax your body and mind after a long day.

Overall I am very impressed with this brand. They use quality ingredients and the products are great value for money. I personally would recommend them for gifts, and there are gift sets available on their website HERE.
I am looking forward to trying the other scents and will be looking out for new products (Dear Betty, please can we have a shower gel? hehe x).

Deborah x

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Friday Has Started early at Littlewoods!

Littlewoods has started early with their black friday deals! There is currently 40% off selected fashion. I couldn’t resist having a sneaky look, and I have put together some of my favourite plus size items to show you!

I love this Lace Bardot Top by V at Very Curve.
It is usually £32, however you can grab it now for just £19!!

The look in the picture is perfect for any parties over the festive season; black skinny jeans and heals.

Unfortunately for me I cannot wear heals so I would team this with some pretty, flat, ballet shoes. I do think the gold goes well with this outfit though, don’t you?

Click here to buy now!

Next up is this really pretty Cross Back Cami Top by River Island Plus.
This is perhaps my favourite find actually. I love the detail on the back!
I also think this top would be very flattering as it doesn’t cling so it won’t show all those lumps and bumps!

This top is just £13 in the black Friday sale (down from £22)!!  Click here to buy now!

Another fab item from River Island Plus!

These Alannah Skinny Jeans are reduced from £52 to just £31, saving a massive £21!

River Island Plus seem to be producing some really trendy plus size clothing at the moment, which is great news for us larger ladies as being big doesn’t mean we don’t want to wear fashionable clothes like everyone else!

Personally I will be wearing these with trainers for every day wear, a more comfy look for walking round town etc. Oh I wish I had them now for my trip to York tomorrow!!
Click here to buy the jeans!  And by the way there is some gorgeous trainers going in the sale too if you are thinking the same as me!

River Island have done it again! I actually didn;t realise until I came back to it that this Dark Pink Suedette Biker Jacket I have picked out is also by RI Plus! And the best bit is that it is only £45!! You can save a massive £30 by grabbing this in the black Friday sale! WOW!

This jacket could be very versatile. You could dress it up on a cold night out, or, I’m thinking it would go nice with the above jeans for walks around town. What do you think? Either way, its lovely, and its fashionable. I’m liking it!
Buy this jacket here!

I hope you like my Plus size bargains ladies! Head over to Littlewoods now if you don’t want to miss out because I have noticed that sizes are already selling out!
Also the great thing about Littlewoods is that you can sign up for an account and spread the cost over the year without paying any extra interest! A great idea if you need a bit of help at Christmas. I have been a customer for about 19 years now and I recommend them. As long as you select the interest free option and pay at least the minimum payment each month you will not be charged any interest.

Have a great day, and happy shopping!

Deborah x

Don’t let a bad day be a bad week!

We’ve all been there haven’t we? Trying to be really good and stick to the plan, then something happens to spoil it all; either the cravings kick in and we find ourselves picking up the chocolate cake in Tesco or we have a day out and end up in Pizza Express… and then boom! We’ve blown it!

At this point we start beating ourselves up about eating the wrong things, about how fat we are etc etc. And then we start saying all the wrong things to ourselves, one being “I’ve ruined it now so what’s the point?” (I am writing this from experience by the way; this is a cycle I am trying hard to break for myself!).

Well there is a point! So what if you had the chocolate cake! So what if you had the pizza! We are only human! We are allowed to enjoy food and have treats just like the rest of them. The trick is to learn to put it behind you and carry on!

Take me for example. Yesterday we ended up with a takeaway for tea (and no, it wasn’t a healthy one), and I know tomorrow I have plans which are not going to allow me to stick to the plan – I am going shopping with my mum, we are having pork pies and mushy peas from the butchers, and then I am going out for a carvery for tea with family! It would have been far too easy today to say to myself “well whats the point? I’ve spoilt it now by having takeaway lastnight and with my plans tomorrow. Sticking to plan today isn’t going to make any difference”. But instead I have decided that every day sticking to plan counts and even if my plans stop me losing weight, sticking to plan in between may just stop me having a gain at least! Plus, Monday (weigh-in) is approaching really fast; it makes such a difference knowing you are gonna have to stand on those scales you know lol.

So come on now, we can do this!! It is really, really tough trying to lose weight. Don’t beat yourself up for treating yourself every now and again.

Deborah x

 

Vegetable and Beef Chilli

This as a family favourite in our house and so easy to make!

Syns: 0

You will need:
1 pack of 5% fat minced beef
2 onions (or one large), cut into small chunks
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2 carrots, diced
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 yellow pepper, cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cut into chunks
1 courgette, sliced
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 beef oxo cube
1-2 tablespoons of chilli powder (to taste)
2 teaspoons mixed herbs
Frylight
A splash of water

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 150.
Spray a large casserole pan with frylight and starting on the hob fry the onions, garlic and carrots for a few minutes, on a medium heat.
Next add the minced beef and break up. Fry for 5 minutes or so.
Add the peppers and courgettes to the pan and leave a couple of minutes.
Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, oxo cube, herbs and chilli powder, plus a splash of water. Don’t be tempted to add more water if the chilli doesn’t seem very ‘saucy’ at this point!
Place the pan in your pre-heated oven for an hour and a half.

Serve with a large helping of cooked pasta and top with 30g of cheddar (or any cheese you fancy) from your healthy extra A section.

(I used a bit of extra virgin olive oil instead of frylight as I find it easier to work with and tastier, this worked out at 1 syn per portion. I also added a splash of chilli sauce which I am unable to find the syn value for).