Three Ways to de-stress

Stress at work can have serious implications for both your career and your personal life. Problems can easily pile up and become a major headache, but there are simple tips that can quickly make the situation seem more positive. Taking a step back from a stressful work environment can help you to see how to make small changes, which will have a big impact on your everyday life in both the office and at home.

1. Learn to Say ‘No’

One of the most regular complaints made by people that are stressed at work is that they just can’t say ‘no’, even when they are already struggling with a workload. When you find yourself taking on more than you cope with, remember that there is always the option of asking colleagues or even friends and family for help. If no avenue is open to you, it’s simply time to just say ‘no’. Even the most demanding boss will understand if you calmly explain where you’re struggling.

2. Dress With Confidence

Often a simple change can make a big difference and a boost in self-confidence can do wonders for your stress levels. If you feel like you’re in a rut at work, try a change in style to kick-start a change in attitude. The elegant Ted Baker dresses are a great way to create a stylish office look that will have you feeling ready for anything in no time.

3. Take a break

It’s important to get away from your desk at least once a day if you work in an office, so make sure you schedule a well-deserved break. Take your lunch away from your desk to take a break from pressures of work, get a change of scenery and clear your head before a busy afternoon. 

4. Manage your time

Set aside some time at the beginning or end of the week to divide your workload into manageable chunks. Creating a schedule for each day is a great way to manage your stress levels, as it will help you to prioritise the most important tasks. Get this vital work out of the way early in the day will give you a greater freedom to work at a pace that suits you. 

This is a sponsored post :)

Simply Beach

I doubt many of you know, but I have a secret obsession with all things lingerie... It's mostly due to my larger than average *ahem* assets, but I've always loved buying new bras and undies, it's more of a treat for me than buying clothes even. But when your size isn't found in normal shops, it's a little bit more difficult which is why I love finding out about new online lingerie shops. So I thought I'd bring my little obsession onto my blog a bit more and start featuring more lingerie, explaining underwear and mentioning my unmentionables.

The boy and I have just decided to book a little Summer holiday so I've had sun, sea, sand and swimwear in my head ever since we decided to head to the beach! So when Simply Beach got in touch and asked if I'd like to review some of their products from their brand new lingerie department, it was like Christmas had come early.

I picked out a nautical inspired, striped bikini (a little bit out of my comfort zone!) by Panache. Now, I don't expect anyone to have to see me in it in my current chubby state, but I've got a couple of months to tone up and this will now be my incentive to lose some weight.

This is the Panache Lucille Bandeau bikini, the top is £30 and the bottoms are £16. I haven't really ever worn a bikini outside the house before, but this one even manages to make me look alright! The top is well structured like a bra and will definitely hold everything where they are supposed to me and compliment a curvier figure. The bottoms are also flattering and comfy, I just can't wait to wear it on the beach! I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who is curvy but wants to wear a bikini.

I also ordered a Gossard Super Boost Lace Plunge Bra to test out, I've worn it a couple of times in the past week and it is easily one of the comfiest bras I've ever worn. It doesn't make my boobs look enormous but it does give a great boost to cleavage, plus it doesn't have the standard thick straps that usual +DD bras have so it looks a bit more elegant! It's £28 and worth every penny in my opinion.

I also opted for the Gossard Ego Boost Plunge Bra which I was worried would give me cleavage that would have someones eye out, but I'm actually quite disappointed by the results. My boobs definitely do not look like the woman's below that's for sure! I'm not sure whether I need a different size (thought the lace bra above fits perfectly) but there just seems to be too much bra, not enough cup and far too sturdy straps... Not one I'll be wearing on a regular basis unfortunately. The bra is £34 and is available on Simply Beach.

I'll definitely be going back to Simply Beach and I'd recommend that any girlies with DD+ boobs do too! Click here to go to the site.

Apologies for the extensive post about underwear, I've set up another blog just in case you guys aren't fans, just let me know what you think!

Charli

Since the rain has been endlessly falling, I've been dreaming about going on holiday, living at the beach, running through fields of corn, wearing floaty dresses, eating ice cream and general summer type things. Instead, I'm sat on the settee watching The Hangover wrapped up in a duvet... I have been looking at holidays though, does anyone have any suggestions for good little holidays?

I've also been adding a few pieces (where my bank account allows...) to my summery wardrobe and lusting over pieces online that are on my wishlist... A little brand called Charli has just launched their first transactional site which is proving very tempting, their lookbook isn't helping either, I want to be that woman draped in jersey on the beach! One day...

Have a look on the Charli website for super simple jersey, perfect pieces and gorgeous separates.

Front Row Society

Front Row Society are a very interesting little online community, every piece of their collection is created by their open community of artists. Anybody and every body can vote online to decide which pieces will make it in, not only that, all of their products are ethical, everyone wins!

I love the community and fashion democracy feeling about this site and their pieces, it makes you feel like part of the collection and the collective. They very kindly sent me a scarf so I too could be part of it, I chose the Elusive Dream scarf by Stefano Popovski, a computer animator who has taken inspiration from his lucid dreams for his designs.

I love the deep blues, reds and black combined with the pale pink, it creates a schizophrenic feeling to the design. Plus the silk feels lovely! I'll definitely be wearing this in summer both round my neck and my head.

For more information, visit their website. Their website is currently down but their Facebook page is full of goodness.

Manchester Blogger Meet Up

From left to right: Nicola, Florrie, Charlotte, Sarah, me and Amy

In a moment of frustration at work I decided to organise a little impromtu blogger meet up to distract myself from silliness, I posted a cheeky tweet to see who was up for it, sent a few emails and a Manchester blogger meet up was born!

The lovely Nicola, Florrie, Charlotte, Sarah, Clare, Rebecca and Amy made it to the meet up, we lost a few due to illness and Manchester Fashion Week. I have the good fortune to work for a handbag site (MyBag.com if you're interested!) so I bagged (totes jokes pun) us some accessories to have a play with including The Cambridge Satchel Company, Lilifi and Louis Quatorze! 

We started off the day with tea (or for the non tea drinkers) and cake in Sugar Junction in the Northern Quarter which is a super cute cafe full of vintage crockery and tablecloths. After a catch up, we headed over to the Lomography store in the rain to have a little lesson on how to use the cameras and more importantly play with them!

The lovely David gave us a talk on the cameras, very patiently waited for us to get a bit less giddy and then let us play with lomo cameras! We'll be getting the film prints back in a week or two, I can't wait to see them and show them to you!

If you're a Northern blogger, I've already got another meet up in the pipeline so get in touch if you want to be involved!

Twin Peaks

I'm in the middle of an epic blog catch up at the moment (watch out for plenty of posts this week!) and I'm keeping myself entertained by re-watching Twin Peaks. If you haven't seen it before, it's an American cult TV series all about a weird little town called Twin Peaks, it's full of murder, love and detectives. But one of my favourite things about it is the casino/brothel that they visit in it, the girls' card outfits inspired a shoot I did for uni and I totally want to make myself one! Maybe it's time for a little casino vacation...