NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL

Yesterday morning Emily and I went to a BodyPump class before meeting up with some of the other girls to hit up Notting Hill Carnival. 

Helena had very kindly brought some glitter and butterflies to adorn our hair and faces to get into the Carnival spirit! 

We'd packed some snacks and drinks (1litre of gin and tonic for Em and I!) so we wandered around listening to music, dancing and watching other people dance... 

We splashed out and had some champagne.... Unfortunately, it feels less classy when you're sitting on the side of the road next to a giant bin! 

After Jo and Tom had eaten, we grabbed some more drinks before heading off to Gav's, part of the Carnival that we had all enjoyed in previous years. The music was great, but it was packed. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get many pictures of the crowd or carnival atmosphere. 

We had such day, I was quite glad to leave around 6ish though, rather than staying on into the night like previous years! We were so lucky with the weather, it was hot and sunny, rather than the pouring rain the day before! 

I love the Carnival and have such a good time each year. Everyone is out to have a good time, and we end up seeing lots of friends from school and uni, plus some D list celebs!! Roll on next year! 

QUICK AND SWEATY INCLINE WORKOUT

This morning I completed this quick incline workout on the treadmill before work. It really got me sweating, but wasn’t boring at all! You had to concentrate on counting down the 15 seconds so I didn’t really notice how hard I was working and the time flew by!

Mins	Incline	Speed
0-5	1	light jog/warm up
5-7min	increase by 0.5 every 15 seconds	increase by 0.1 every 15 seconds
7-9min	Hold top incline	Hold top speed
9-11min	decrease by 0.5 every 15 seconds	decrease by 0.1 every 15 seconds
11-12min	1	sprint
12-14min	increase by 0.5 every 15 seconds	increase by 0.1 every 15 seconds
14-16min	Hold top incline	Hold top speed
16-18min	decrease by 0.5 every 15 seconds	decrease by 0.1 every 15 seconds
18-19min	1	sprint
19-22min	1	brisk walk/cool down

 

I then completed 3 sets of ab moves on the powerplates including 2 different types of plank... working towards my plank challenge.

The workout was the perfect pre-work session and took me about 30mins total.

Last night, friends and I went to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. We queued up outside about an hour before to buy the £5 gallery (gods) tickets. The evening’s performance was Cinderella, and proved to be very popular, we were worried we might not get in. Luckily we managed to get a great place, right behind the Orchestra and on the railings (very important when standing for a long period of time to have something to lean on!)

We snuck a picnic inside to enjoy before the show... right as I took this photo of us and our contraband, an announcement was made about not taking photos. Whoops!

It was such a lovely evening, and the music was beautiful. We particularly enjoyed ‘midnight’ with the gong striking 12!

ISLE OF WIGHT

On Friday, a group of friends and I headed to the Isle of Wight for the weekend. The weather forecast said it was going to be a scorcher, so we were excited to get out of London and be by the sea.

Our drive down was pretty uneventful, with average traffic and an easy ferry crossing. I was glad to have packed some snacks for the car, including GNOSH dips ( I am obsessed with the Beetroot and mint, the Black Bean, and the Babaganoush flavours), breadsticks, a chicken satay quinoa salad and some chocolate chip cookies, as we didn’t make it to the house until 9.30pm.

On Saturday after a well needed lie in, we headed down to the local beachfront to pre-order some cooked lobsters for the following day. At £25 for 2 large lobsters, it would be rude not to!

We were then ready to hit the beach. We headed to a fairly local beach and set up our towels on the walkway (the tide was pretty far in making the sand wet on the actual beach). Nick, Anna and I all went for a dip, the water was quite cold until you got used to it.

We met up with some of Anna’s friends on the beach and around 3 o clock we made our way to the pub on the beach, only to be told they had just finished serving food!! So annoying . We hot-footed it over to another beach to try to get some lunch from a crab shack, and luckily it did not disappoint. Emily and I shared a crab salad then had some delicious ice-creams in chocolate dipped cones.

It was my first time on the Isle of Wight, it was so nice to enjoy it in the sunshine and appreciate the amazing views.

We sat on the beach for a while longer before heading home, via the supermarket to pick up some fizz and snacks to enjoy on the balcony before the sunset.

It was lovely to enjoy the last of the sunshine and chat with Anna’s granny (whose house we were staying at). Can you believe she is 87, and still so active!

We drove to Cowes for supper, it was the last night of Cowes Week so it was pretty busy. We managed to get a reservation at ‘Number 3’, a small, family run restaurant. It had a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and some desserts, written onto a blackboard.

We all decided to take advantage of the fresh fish available so started with crab mousse and smoked mackerel pate. Nick then opted for a steak, while Anna and I chose Halibut and Emily went for Sea Bass.

We all really enjoyed our mains, and decided to share the Salted Caramel and Eton Mess icecreams for dessert. So delicious, and just the perfect sweet ending to our meal. Anna also chose two great bottles of Sancerre to enjoy with our meal. New favourite wine!!  

After supper and a drink in the marina, we head back to the house for a couple of rounds of cards and a few glasses of red wine.

PLANK CHALLENGE

On Wednesday I tried a new class at the gym called willPower and Grace at my new gym. I’d love to say that I’d been recommended the class and wanted to try it out, but reality is that I forgot to bring my trainers to the gym and didn’t want to miss out on a work out entirely.

The class was billed as ‘anew kind of class, that frees your mind, improves your flexibility and boosts your cardio system’.

It sounded great, and I thought it would be a mix of yoga and cardio moves. Which it was, sort of.

However, it was all focused around my very worst move... THE SQUAT.

I’m not sure why, apart from my obvious lack of flexibility in my hips, but I am terrible at squats. They get my legs shaking like nothing else! We mixed in a large number of squats of different varieties, many I hadn’t tried before. We usually did sets of 16 before holding a balance. It had me really breaking a sweat!

With about 5 minutes to go before the end of the class, the teacher exclaimed ‘that’s it for the cardio’-(cue gasps of relief) ‘now for the plank challenge’.

I am terrible at plank. Maybe even more terrible than I am at squats.

Unfortunately, things got even worse when we all had to get in a circle, with a stopwatch on the floor and see who could hold if the longest. As predicted, just after a minute had gone, I dropped first. I stretched out then got back into plank position, and repeated this until the teacher said stop at 3 minutes!!

I was so impressed by the girls that could hold plank for a full 3 minutes without a break. I have therefore challenged myself to try to improve my plank time from 1min, gradually over the next couple of weeks! I’m hoping that by the beginning of November I will be able to hold it for 2 and a half mins.

I actually went back to the class again last night, and whilst I found the squats slightly tougher with burning quads from the previous day, I enjoyed the class a lot more. Plus, it was a slightly longer class that included a lot more yoga stretching at the end. I will certainly be trying it again next week!

NOMA @ CLARIDGES

Firstly, I just wanted to share with you how excited I am to be featured on Ashley's blog today in her 'Marathons and Moderation' feature. Welcome to 'Heatlhy Happier Bear' readers!!

The week before last I was lucky enough to have a chance to try Noma @ Claridges for an 8 course tasting lunch. Noma has been awarded the 'San Pelligrino Best Restaurant in the World' award two years in a row. The original, in Copenhagen, is pretty difficult to get reservations at, especially combining it with a weekend in Denmark. So when Claridges announced that Noma would host a pop-up restaurant during the two week Olympic period, friends and I jumped at the chance to try it out.

The first hurdle was actually getting a table. Three of us sat at different computers trying to book tables of various sizes. Finally we managed to get one for 8 people for lunch. Our second hurdle was that we had to pay the £200 cover charge up front.. cue a friends credit card and a £1600 hit... and the table was ours!

 As we entered Claridges foyer there was a large map depicting where all of the ingredients from the various dishes were from. It was a bit of a teaser and had us wondering what exactly we were in for.

We started our meal with a glass of champers, and an edible plant?! 

We were instructed to eat with our hands and to eat all of it; plants, soil, grass and flowers. And it was pretty delicious. The vegetables were mini carrots and radishes, with Nasturtium flowers set in a dark emulsion of herbs.

Next up was something described simply as 'ANTS' on the menu...

The ants came in a kilner jar with cabbage leaves and a lemony creme fraiche.

The ants themselves tasted had a lemongrass/citrus flavour. When we spoke to Rene Redzepi (the head chef/mastermind of Noma) afterwards, he told us that the ants naturally taste like that, and that they had been carried over in big rucksacks from Brazil!!

Next up was a really interesting course, it was 'Afternoon Tea' with a twist. The scone was served with clotted cream and caviar. At first I was a little sceptical, but the savoury/salty combination worked amazingly.



The scones were served with a rasberry bergamot tea, very refreshing but not as good as the scones!

One of my favourite courses was the tartare of beef, served with juniper powder and a smear of tarragon. It was just delicious. Especially when served with fresh sour dough bread with two butters; a 'virgin' butter (only churned once) was so creamy, and an amazing goat's milk butter.

The following course was my least favourite of the day. Probably because I don't like Oysters!

The oyster was poached in buttermilk and served with samphire. It was cut into three to make for easy eating, something I was very grateful for as I ploughed my way through it!

Course six is definitely in the running for winner of my favourite course. It was an amazingly soft, slow-roasted celeriac, served with wild sorrel and truffle and squid ink sauce. It was just such a fantastic flavour, and unlike anything I have tasted before. Out of this world. How would you create this at home?!?!

The last savoury note was neck of lamb, slow roasted in peas, and served on a bed of hay. Unfortunately, the hay smell actually really put me off and reminded me of volunterring at a stables, eating my lunch in the barn, when I was younger. But other than that, the lamb was succulent and very sweet, served with roasted cucumber.

Our finale was walnut icecream topped with powdered cream and frozen berries. A lovely creamy,palette cleansing end to our meal, especially after the richness of the lamb.



We were served chocolate covered crisps to enjoy with our coffee. It was a great take on chocolate covered pretzels which I love. Can't get enought of the salty/sweet combination in desserts! Everything was presented beautifully, with so much attention to detail.

We were so fortunate to meet Rene Redzepi after our meal. Some of us got our menus and books signed. What a great way to finish up our experience at Noma @ Claridges!

Eating there was such a novelty, and it was a really fun experience. However, I think I have had better, 'blow your mind' dishes elsewhere, and the food unfortunately was not as good as I hoped it would be given how expensive the lunch was. I am so glad I got to experience it though! Plus it's a tick for the bucket list!!



INSPIRED

‘Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try’.

Anyone else feeling totally inspired by watching the Olympic athletes take part in their various events? I have had goosebumps more times than I can remember- probably during each and every medal ceremony that I have watched, i.e a lot. I’ve cried a couple of times, including when Mo Farrah won gold in the 10,000m, when Andy Murray won gold at Wimbledon, and when Jessica Ennis claimed gold in the Heptathlon.

I love the 'Greatness' NIKE adverts that greet me at the tube station on my way to work every morning, definitely a reminder to stick to my goals! If only they could be there all the time! 

I’ve been inspired to start swimming. I have watched the swimmers glide through the pool and wish I could swim a little bit better. Or a lot better actually. I realise this may mean needing to go to some adult improver swimming lessons. I don’t think my strokes are particularly effective or efficient, and I am certainly do not have the cardio fitness at the moment to plough up and down the pool. Nor do I own the correct attire- red and white frilly bikinis are probably not acceptable when doing lanes in a public swimming pool! 

  I have been inspired to give it my all. No more lame excuses as to why I can’t go to the gym, why I should have another drink (ok I will still keep coming up with excuses but they will be ‘post exercise’ gym drinks) or why I’ll get fit and trim another year. I am fed up of not being fit, and not having a body that I am proud of. This changes NOW.

 I have been inspired to try something new- to give different exercise classes a go, to play tennis with friends, to go for a walk rather than the pub, to learn to play squash, to sign up for a sailing holiday next year. I used to be intimidated by trying something new, especially something sports based, for fear of embarrassing myself. I am beginning to learn that its the things that we DONT do that we regret most. I've signed up to a new gym that offers a whole range of conveniently timed classes that I can try before, during and after work. I've signed up for a Kettlebell class on Monday lunch- I can't wait!

 I have been inspired to eat more healthily, and think about what I eat rather than mindlessly picking, or eating whatever we have at work.



hmmm IN'N'OUT burger!

   I have been inspired to make more of the city that I live in. London is a great place and I do not enjoy it to its maximum. All of the awesome things going on around the Olympics have highlighted this. I need to be a lot more organised and book things in advance, like the theatre, to get good deals and not miss out on things. Time Out is going to become a new must read!

 I am so upset that the Olympics are ending this weekend. What am I going to watch and talk about now????

LONDON OLYMPICS: NUMBER ONE BABY, ALL DAY, EVERYDAY!

Well done to Usain Bolt with his Olympic record breaking performance on Sunday night. We were all on the edge of our seats watching. I only wish that Tyson Gay had got third place over Gatlin, especially after the finish was soooo close!

I was lucky enough to go to the Olympic Park to watch some of the athletics on Saturday morning, including the 100m qualifying rounds! We saw all the big names, as well as the ‘also rans’! It was so exciting watching the heats live; they seem even faster in person than on the TV.

We were also lucky enough to see the Heptathlon long jump and javelin finals, meaning that we saw Jessica Ennis in her second to last 2 events. She got a PB in the javelin and came second in the long jump. She is such an amazing athlete, and performed so impressively at the Olympics despite the enormous pressure that has been put on her.

We were sitting right by the pole vault, which isn’t an event I have watched much of before, but it was great to see it up close. The athletes have to be fast, strong and so flexible. This is definitely not an event I would be any good at!

Another highlight of our Athletics session was that we got to see the Blade Runner aka Oscar Pistorius in his 400m qualifier. He is the first Paralympian to compete in the Olympic Games. There has been a fair amount of controversy surrounding his entry, with some people thinking that the ‘blades’ give him an advantage. Whilst I’m not sure whether or not this is true, he achieved the qualifying time and therefore was allowed to compete. He did look like he was struggling to keep up with the others in his heat, but he really shone during the back straight. Unfortunately, he was later knocked out in the semi’s. What he has achieved is amazing, however I do feel like he should have had to choose between competing in the Olympics or the Paralympics, and shouldn’t be allowed to compete in both!

Obviously you can’t visit the London Olympics without getting some stash! My cousin Rob and I went to the shop beforehand to try to get some nice tops, but ended up having to buy this random polo from a stall right by the stadium. I went back later and bought an awesome Stella McCartney Team GB running top.

On Sunday morning, some friends and I went to watch the Women’s Olympic Marathon race. The route was a 3 lap course around Pall Mall, the Embankment and around St Pauls. There we big crowds, despite the weather forecast. We managed to get a spot right on the railings by the water stations.

Unfortunately the forecast was right and we got thoroughly soaked.

 We cheered the runners past once, then bailed as we were all uncomfortably wet! I wish I had worn my wellies. I headed home to watch a lot more Olympics on tv from the comfort of my sofa!

I am loving the Olympics and will be so sad when they're over next weekend. I feel like I have had constant goosebumps, and have cried a couple of times, including whilst watching Andy Murray win Gold in the Men's Tennis finals against Federer, and when Mo Farrah won the Men's 10,000m. So proud to be British!!