If I were an Actress

I actually was a jobbing actor for a short time but never with enough success to have been considering what I could wear on the red carpet.  But with the awards season in full swing I keep finding myself choosing outfits for the stars.  So I thought that I would share my styling choices with you.

I would love to see Nicole Kidman in a soft toned dress as she does pale skin against pale fabrics so well.  My 2 top options so far are this gown by Elie Saab,

Or this gorgeous Marchesa gown..

For Michelle Williams I would love to see her in something fabulous and reminiscent of the yellow Vera Wang dress from the 2006 Oscars.  So I have picked 2 very different looks, the first is this delicate violet coloured dress from Elie Saab which I think would look stunning on her.

The 2nd is this great dress by Oscar de la Renta which would be a fabulously sexy dress for her.

Amy Adams is stunning and I always love seeing her red hair contrast with colourful dresses, so my first choice would be this adorable dress from Carolina Herrera as the clash with her red hair would make a great statement.

But I also think she looks great in bottle greens so I have also picked this Elie Saab number which is probably a bit of an obvious choice.

Of course I have had thoughts about Natalie Portman's choices and it is taking me longer to pick her outfit especially as she is pregnant..  I would love to see her in something Black Swan Esq like these 2 Marchesa options.

But because of her baby bump I think she will be opting for something less fitted like this Emanuel Ungaro dress.

Or this beautiful Marchesa one shoulder gown however I am hoping to find something a little more spectacular.

Then last but by no means least...  Tilda Swinton, I know she is not up for an award but her choices are always so interesting that I just had to have a look seeing as she has already worn the Jil Sanders look which was an obvious choice for her.  So I have come up with this great number by Alexis Mabille.

I can't wait till the actual night to see what gowns will be gracing the carpet this year and will obviously be giving my opinions on the best and worst!

I got Outnet Mail

This morning an email from Outnet - Just In sprung into my inbox spreading a little bit of joy into my current world of Tax return boredom!  

I am checking Outnet regularly for possible outfit options for the many weddings that are happening this year.  One black tie, one seaside chic and a good old fashioned traditional English so I will be needing 3 spectacular outfits and if I find a few little extra gems along the way then all the better!

Today's find sadly fell under the gem selection and annoyingly out of my size range but I thought I would share them with you anyway.

First was this lush tangerine Alberta Ferretti dress which has a massive saving of £908 off the original price.  Tangerine is going to be massive this Spring Summer and as the Victoria Beckham option is out of my budget this looked like a great stand in especially if I could get my hands on some fab turquoise beads to wear it with.

Then I saw this cute Anglomania Cotton dress that would look adorable with a floral print wedge and a over sized sunhat.  But alas they had none in my size and then they sold out!

These shoes would have been mine (especially with £375 off the price) if I was a dainty 38 rather than a slab of meat 39 shoe size.  I love Charlotte Olympia shoes and I am going to keep my beady eyes out for another bargain pair...

Reach Bootcamps are great!

I am back from my Bootcamp and I have to say I loved it and am a total convert to bootcamps.  Yes it was exhausting, Yes every muscle in my body kills, but It was great fun and I feel like it was the kick start to my new fitness regime and highlighted easy things I can change about my diet so that I don't feel like I am on a diet!

I was the official blogger of the weekend so I thought I would pop in the daily diary I did for Reach:

Day 1:

"So the first day of what I have been calling torture camp has come to a close and I was expecting to be dead on my feet!  Yes I am exhausted and my muscles are shouting for me to stop, but I actually feel energised and really excited about what day 2 has in store for us.

Today the Reach training team really put us through our paces with shuttle runs and interval training in the grounds of the Abbey before lunch.  After lunch the fun continued in the gym with kettlebell training and spinning which for me was an absolute killer, but I never knew that you could do so many exercises with a kettlebell! As Lead trainer Richard kept telling us a kettle bell “is a gym in the palm of your hand”. 

I have to say that the highlight of today for me was when my team won on the rowing challenge, not that I am competitive! Actually I was dreading letting my uber fit team down as they were awesome at rowing, but with their shouting and encouragement  I did it till I felt the burn through my entire body and it was worth it!

We have just had a tasty meal and recovery class using foam rollers and I am now heading for a much deserved sleep... but dreading my 7. 15am start on a Saturday!" 

Day 2:

"Day two is over and every single muscle in my body has been used (and feels abused) , but thankfully the magical hands of Dylan, one of our Reach trainers, have worked wonders on the aches and pains of the entire group with his painful but fabulous sports massage. 

I have never worked out this hard for this long and bizarrely I am really enjoying it, every session is tough, and just gets tougher, but the trainers have a way of breaking the sessions up so that we are able to push ourselves to our limits.  I was dreading the 7.15am start today but it was actually an awesome session with medicine balls and just as we thought it was the end of the session they played on our competitive natures and set us against each other sprinting whilst carrying very heavy power bags, like sprinting isn’t hard enough anyway!

Despite the pain and the exhaustion I am feeling right now, I am having an amazing time and feel immensely proud of how much I have achieved so far and am genuinely excited about what is in store for tomorrow.  What has happened to me and when did I start enjoying exercise!?!"

Day 3:

"Today was the last day of our fitness weekend and the early morning workout felt surprisingly normal until we were given the ‘Reach 300’ challenge. The ‘Reach 300’ consists of 50 reps of 6 different exercises and was a killer especially as myself, Jan and Mo seemed unable to keep count of our reps. At one point I was already 20 over what I was required to do!  

I hoped my inability to count in the morning might mean that the pre lunch session would be a little easier on me....No Way!  It was core muscle training in a massive way, which meant a crippling workout of power bag twists, boxing, bungee sprints and my personal killer... PLANKS.  

Close to collapse after the planks I was relieved when the guys introduced a new team game (my favourite bits of the weekend).  This game, now known as ‘Gem Wars!’, was a little complicated but once I got the hang of it my competitive side came out and I ended up tackling the lead trainer Richard into the wall which ended with a big dent in the wall and an even bigger gash on Richard’s thigh (that will teach him for making me do burpees).

After lunch we went into our last session of the day which was lucky because I was exhausted.  At the beginning of the session we did a fab rugby based work out using the rugby pads and different ball skills and techniques which lead us smoothly into a game of touch rugby.  Then they really pushed us for the last 40 minutes of our weekend with circuits using the rugby pads, balls and anything else they could find before making us do a running challenge.  

I have to say I found the circuits and running unbelievably hard as my legs felt like jelly but the gang and Reach trainers were cheering me on the whole time and I have never been so happy to finish a work out!

However the best bit of the weekend was still to come....Weigh in!  I lost 3 and a 1/4 lbs and trust me that 1/4 counts. I also lost 1 inch off my waist and 1 and a 1/2 inches off my hips!  I was so chuffed with the whole experience and have to say a massive thank you to Richard, Dylan and Sarah the Reach trainers as they were fantastic throughout, not only with the training and motivation but for putting up with mine and the group’s constant food and fitness questions.

Click this link to checkout the dates of future UK Reach Weekend.  Or you might prefer a warmer destination if so checkout their Portugal Fitness Holidays. 


For more info about my weekend and to see the gory pics checkout Reach's Facebook page.

Taking my mind off it..

So I have only 1 sleep until I head off for the weekend of torture.  So rather than getting myself all worried about it I  am imagining what I am aiming to look like by Summer.  I have decided I will look slim, toned and tanned (weird as I never tan) and wearing a fabulous dress like this Carolina Herrera one.

Wish me luck and i will keep you up to date on my progress!

Full of Trepidation..

On Friday I will be heading off to my first ever fitness bootcamp with a company called R4Reach and I am absolutely dreading it!  It is not that I don't want to get fit but more that I am terrified of the pain that I will be put through for 3 solid days.  I am also one of those girls who gets 'hangry', a term created by my boyfriend to describe how I get when I am not fed (hungry and angry).
This is an image by Tarelkin on ubersuper and is the best visual I can find to show what Hangry is...

When I am in this Hangry zone I am not myself and have been none to growl until food is presented or lash out if it is not, So you can understand that I am concerned for the well being of the trainers on this bootcamp as they will not only be the ones torturing me physically but they will also be the ones dictating the food!!

So in the run up to the newly named Torture Camp I am finding lots of things to take up my mind.  The first is choosing a wallpaper for my bedroom which the boyfriend has agreed to paint while I am on T camp a task that is proving harder than anticipated due to his polar opposite taste in wall coverings.

The 2nd is my favourite type of past time...  SHOPPING it maybe shopping for sportswear but it is still shopping. I figure if i am going to be tortured and starved  I may as well look fabulous whilst doing it!  So here are some of the outfits I am currently thinking about:

They are all from Sweaty Betty because it is a sports brand that allows for huge boobs and curves and If I can find the money I will be purchasing this outfit:

Reversible Flex Vest top its £50 and the bonus of this is.... it's reversible and figure flattering.

I would layer the Vest over the top of this Run Performance LS Tee so that I am reasonably warm whilst the torture takes place, it is £55.

I would then team this with slightly flared OM or Groove pants £55, as they are more flattering on the thigh and tummy than a straight leg sports pant.

I am not going until Friday but wish me luck on Torture Camp people....

http://www.r4reach.com/reach-fitness-breaks/

New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year.

I am finally back after an extended seasonal break and ready and raring to go.  I have re-organised the office to make room for my shiny new computer, booked in to boot camp to shift the Christmas weight, booked flights to Chicago and NYC for the wedding of the year followed by romantic city break with shopping!

Things still left on the list...

• Buy a new kettle (ours is dead as a dodo)
• Buy printer trolley for office
• RE-arrange lounge ready for new coffee table 
• Thank Andy and Hazel for the donation of new coffee table
• Convince Rich that February is the month for re-decorating
• Make loads of money to pay for re-decoration 

As you may have noticed one of my many new years resolutions is to be more organised and get things done!!!  2010 was the year of the list and the list seemed to get longer rather than shorter so this year I am going to keep the lists short and achievable.  I have an aspirations board for long term goals like BAFTA nominations and world domination, but on a weekly basis I will endeavour to complete my weekly tasks.

Fingers crossed I can stick to it!!