Boo! Quick, Easy Halloween Treats (No Tricks)

Once again, apologies for my long absence. I've been going through a disheartened spell where I haven't been motivated to blog. Combined with being in my second year of college, and battling depression, it's hard to find the time and energy sometimes. However, I'm feeling a lot better recently and am looking forward to getting back into blogging!

Seeing as Halloween is tomorrow (where has this year gone?!) I decided to make a few quick, easy nibbles for if you've forgotten all about Halloween or don't have time to put on a massive spread. Most of these recipes are pretty healthy too so it's a win-win! Note: I'm no Nigella Lawson and am aware some of these snacks look like I was blindfolded whilst making them, but I tried my best. You can play around with the execution of these snacks and do what you want with them - I'm sure you're all a lot more creative than I am!

I had a quick look through Pinterest to get some inspiration but kind of added my own flair to these. I also asked my lovely boyfriend, Laurence, for some ideas as he's pretty good with this sort of thing. So, without further ado, here we go!

1. Halloween Nibble Platter

Cocktail Sausage 'Rotten Fingers' - this one is easy. Simply get some (cooked, unless you hate your guests) cocktail sausages - I used Quorn ones as I'm veggie but you can use any ones you want - dab some ketchup on the top of them to look like blood, and add a pumpkin seed to each tip. Alternatively, you can use flaked almonds to give the look of nails, but I didn't have any so I improvised. Voila!

Babybel Eyeball/Pumpkin - get Babybels. For the pumpkin, just carve out eyes and a mouth with a small sharp knife. For the eyeball, cut out a tiny circular piece of Babybel from the middle. Slice an olive and take one of the little olive rings. Place the olive ring in the middle of the Babybel over the hole you cut out, put the circle you cut out on top of the olive ring and add some black food colouring to make it look like a pupil. I dabbed some ketchup around the 'eyeball' to give the illusion of bloodshot eyes.

Devilish Eggs - Hard boil some eggs. Leave them to cool, or if you're lazy like I am, run cold water over them until they've cooled down. Tap and roll them once on the kitchen counter so the shell peels off easily. Peel them, slice in half lengthways, and scoop out the yolk. You can mix the yolk with mayonnaise or just fill them with mayonnaise, hummus or even guacamole. I don't like hard yolks so I just filled mine with mayonnaise. Sprinkle with paprika. Get a red chilli pepper and cut out little devil horn shapes. Stick the horns into the mayonnaise in the middle of the egg. Don't do what I did and slice the chilli pepper and then go to the toilet, unless you're into that kind of thing.

Severed String Cheese Fingers - Get a Cheesestring or any peelable cheese. Cut it in two halves. Slightly peel the bottom of it so it looks like it's been cut off. Get a knife and slightly round off the top so it looks more like a finger shape. Dab a bit of ketchup at the top and bottom to make it look bloody. Again, add a pumpkin seed or flaked almond for fingernails.

2. Crunchy Chocolate Apples

Use your favourite apple (I used Pink Lady apples as they're my fave). Melt chocolate of your choice - I used some popping candy milk chocolate and a couple of peanut butter cups. Melt the chocolate either in a heatproof bowl over a small pot of simmering water, or in the microwave - just make sure you take it out every few seconds and stir so it doesn't burn. Coat the apple in the melted chocolate and put on a tray. You can also stick a gummy worm to it if you want to make it look a bit funkier. Leave the apples to cool until the chocolate is set and dig in! I didn't have any wooden skewers or sticks to put in them but if you do you can just stab one through the apple before coating with chocolate.

So that's it! Like I said, they're really simple snacks and they don't take long at all to make. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go shove my face in the bowl of leftover melted chocolate and throw away those damn chilli peppers.

Until next time - have a good Halloween!

Relaxation in Rosses Point

In my previous blog I mentioned how nice it is to take some time out and treat myself whilst struggling with mental health issues. So, I was delighted when Yeats Country Hotel & Spa in Rosses Point, County Sligo, invited my mum and I along for a mother-daughter spa day. There's nothing like getting pampered and escaping from the trials and tribulations of life for a few hours!

I have been to the spa at Yeats Country Hotel before and absolutely loved it. Sometimes I do feel a bit intimidated going to a spa as I feel like I'm not a normal person half of the time but the girls at Yeats are so lovely and welcoming. We were greeted by Mary who showed us to the relaxation room, which was gorgeous and bright and overlooked the sea.

We chilled for a short while as our aromatherapy baths were being prepared. The baths were so relaxing, the perfect temperature and the scented aromatherapy oils in them made our skin silky smooth and smelled amazing. We sat back in our baths and listened to the soothing music and got out after about an hour. I could've stayed in there all day!

Next, it was time for our treatments. I chose a facial and mum went for a back, neck and shoulder massage. I love getting facials, they always make my skin feel amazing and rejuvenated. My facial was just lovely, I loved the heated towels - so much so that I nearly fell asleep! If only I could get a facial every day. After my facial I had a lovely Indian head massage. I absolutely love head massages and this was heaven, I could feel all my stresses melt away.

For my final treatment I chose a nail file and polish as my nails were very chipped and in need of some TLC. I picked a gorgeous purple colour which was very hard because they had some amazing colours! I was tempted to get a different colour on each nail. Overall I was delighted with the end result, my nails looked fantastic and the polish lasted ages.

After our lovely pampering it was time for lunch. We were brought our food to the Relaxation Room which was wonderful, we didn't have to lift a finger! I had a delicious vegetable noodle stir-fry and mum had a sesame seed crusted goats' cheese salad which was to die for. The food was beautiful and the selection on the menu was really good, they do pizzas too. 

I highly recommend you go to Yeats Country Hotel & Spa if you ever find yourself around Sligo. It's one of my favourite spas, so friendly, relaxing and the food in the restaurant is great too so you can make a proper day of it! Thanks again to Yeats Hotel for such a brilliant experience.

Feel Good Friday - #WorldHealthDay

What a palava life has been lately. Laurence and I recently had to move apartments due to water damage - a.k.a the hot water tank in the airing cupboard leaking all over our apartment. Fun times. As they say, though, every cloud has a silver lining; think of all the calories I burned from lugging all of our crap up and down 4 flights of stairs!

Anyway, on that note (and seeing as today is World Health Day) I thought I'd do a quick post about developing healthy habits and my goals for this summer. I've gained quite a bit of weight since going to college and moving out, and after trying - and failing - multiple times to adjust my diet and exercise habits, I decided to quiz my mum about it seeing as she's successfully lost weight recently, and kept it off, whilst still enjoying herself.

 I've mentioned in a previous blog that I tried Slimming World, which worked for a week and then culminated in a massive binge. So it's bye bye Slimming World and hello a proper healthy lifestyle. My mum lives by the 80/20 ethos: eat real, healthy foods 80% of the time, and the other 20% of the time you can loosen the reigns a bit more and have something you enjoy. This sounds great for me due to the fact I'm in college and nights out/takeaways inevitably will happen - life stops for no diet!

It's week 1 of a new me, and it's a learning curve. There have been times this week where I haven't eaten as healthy as I'd have liked to. The big move inevitably put a spanner in the works - it's hard to eat healthy when you can't find any of your food! That being said, we made our own meals from whatever we could find, and didn't bow to getting a takeaway. I also had a night out but this time, I didn't go mental with drinks and unhealthy food, and that's a good enough starting point for me. 

Previously I tried to do too much too soon and ended up just binge eating because what I was doing wasn't sustainable. Now I'm fuelling my body with good wholesome foods, and listening to what my body needs. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm full, I stop eating. If I just really really want a bit of chocolate or a dirty pizza, I'll have it, but not as much as I used to, and not as often. 

I thought I'd share a few tips that I've learned - and I'm still continuing to learn, seeing as it's a whole new world for me (I sound like I'm in Aladdin). If you have any tips please do tell me them!

Snack, don't starve

Shock, horror: snacks are OK to have. Unless you're having a sharing bag of crisps, or ice cream, or pizza as a snack, snacking can be good. I prefer having 3 slightly smaller main meals and 3 snacks rather than 3 massive meals and no snacks. Some of my favourite snacks include Googly Fruits (organic freeze dried strawberries, like you'd get in the Red Berries Special K - amazing - you can get them from Molloys Pharmacies), oatcakes - my mum is a huge advocate for oatcakes - some fruit with peanut butter (Pip & Nut squeezy packs are my fave), or veggies with hummus.

Just a few healthy meals I've made lately: Goat's cheese and red pepper hummus tartlet, Quorn chicken and Halloumi salad.

Don't let a 'bad' meal/day ruin your life

This took me so long to get a grasp on. Before, if I had one 'bad' food/meal, the whole day would then turn into a junk-fest, and I'd promise to 'start again tomorrow'. This doesn't work. I do advocate having a 'cheat' meal of some sorts if you're exercising too, but hoovering up every food in sight just because you had one slip up is not a healthy habit and it just leads to a vicious cycle. Now, if I have something unhealthy, I draw a line under it, realise I'm human and it happens, and carry on as normal. I don't binge, I don't feel bad about it, because why should I? My body is a temple *clicks fingers sassily*

By the way, I've put the word bad in quotation marks because I don't think calling foods good or bad is a healthy mindset, and you shouldn't feel guilty about eating something that's 'bad' or 'off-limits'. You do you. 

Plan, plan, plan

I'm a planner - I've practically started planning my own funeral already - so this kind of came naturally to me. There's nothing I love more than lying in bed planning my meals/meal prep for the next day, and yes, I'm boring like that. Saying that, I need to get better at converting my plans to actions, because I rarely actually use the plans I've written. I find a lot of the times I'll eat unhealthy foods is when I haven't planned, so I aim to change that. 

Get your walking shoes on

I know, I hate exercise too, but I've realised I only really hate the thought of it. I got up at 8 a.m. this morning and did a 5.3km walk with my mum, and I actually really enjoyed it. The hardest bit for me is getting up and committing to doing it, but as soon as I'm walking I get into the swing of it. I even ran for a bit! I ended up burning about 500 calories and felt great for doing it. Our walk took us an hour and 20 minutes because we had the dogs with us, but even 30 or 45 minutes a day would suffice.

Little changes give big results

You don't need to be running a marathon every day, or eating nothing but kale and avocado, or buying expensive supplements and gym memberships. All you need is a pair of walking shoes, access to Aldi or Lidl for cheap fruit and veg, and some willpower. Try some health challenges each day/week and see how small changes really do make a big difference! Here are a few examples of challenges to try:

• Aim to drink 2L of water 
• Make a healthy meal you've never made before
• Make a food journal
• Take a 'before' photo
• Eat 3 portions of greens in a day
• Try a new exercise
• Make a workout playlist
• Write down your goals
• Cut down on sugary food and drink 

Trying a few different challenges can switch things up and make things a bit more fun, rather than repetitive and boring.

Just before I end this post, I'm going to list a few of my health goals so that I can revisit this post and do an update.

1. Lose 18 pounds

2. Get fitter so I'm not making dying whale noises by the time I reach the top of the stairs

3. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day

4. Try and do a strength workout 3 times a week

5. Drink more water

6. Aim to eat fruit and veg at every meal

So there we go! I'll be posting updates every so often, and hopefully this is the start of losing some pounds and feeling healthier. Hope you enjoyed this post.

Something To Smile About: Trump Day Edition

Credit to my mum for the very clever hump day/Trump day witticism. It's time for another weekly 'things that made me smile' blog post. This one wasn't as easy to write as last week's one was because it's been quite a long stressful week. After coming back from a relaxing week off, college assignments and revision have taken over seeing as we only have 4 weeks until our Christmas exams. Eeek. Let's not even mention the recent American presidential election result.

Having said that, there were a few key moments this week that put a grin on my face. Without further ado: 

1. Standing on the balcony looking over the estate at the back of our apartment and seeing two dogs walking up the road together, side by side, and then both running into a garden as if they were best friends for life.

2. The fact we only have two Christmas exams and are finished on December 15th. Score.

3. Becoming Class Rep for my course, alongside my friend Oliwia. 

4. This week's free food finds from AIT's Student Union: lemongrass, courgettes, coleslaw, a lovely seedy loaf of bread, and some Tesco Finest stuffing.

5. Looking up at the stars with my boyfriend and having a deep conversation about life, the universe and everything in between.

6. Making a last minute decision to go to Lidl last night - and finding a wet, dirty €20 note on the ground outside.

7. Realising there are some genuinely really nice people out there who do care when you complain about stuff. Faith in humanity restored.

So there's just a few happy moments from my week - did anything happen to you this week that cheered you up? Let me know, and remember, keep smiling. :-)

Glammed Up For A Good Cause

If you follow my mum on social media, you may have seen the buzz around Jono's Journey. Jono's Journey is a GoFundMe campaign set up by my mum recently. Here's a bit of the background story: Jono is my brother, who has Asperger's Syndrome - a form of Autism. As well as this, he also has Kyphosis (a severe curving of the spine resulting in surgery to have titanium rods inserted into his back). His condition is worsening due to our not-so-wonderful hospital waiting lists, which means he's in constant pain, finds it hard to breathe and needs help with some day-to-day tasks. Despite all of this, he is one of the most optimistic people I know, and he's always smiling and laughing. 

Often, people with Asperger's Syndrome have one particular thing they're extremely interested in - Jono's is Pokémon. You may think it's just a game you used to play as a kid, but for Jono it's a way to cope, to escape his pain and take his mind off things. Long hospital appointments don't seem so bad when you have a virtual reality to escape to. At this point, Jono is so good at the game he's ranked at number 3 in his age division of the best Pokémon players in Ireland. Due to this, he now qualifies to go all the way to San Francisco to play at the World Championships - no mean feat! 

Due to Jono's condition, he couldn't make it to America on his own without a little help. Because of money issues, my mum knew she just couldn't afford to go with him. It would absolutely break Jono's heart if he couldn't fulfil this dream, so my mum, on the advice of her friend, did something she never thought she'd do - set up a GoFundMe. We never ever thought it would take off like it has. The support has been absolutely overwhelming. The target was met in less than a day, and continues to keep soaring. When I read about the generosity of people, from all over the world, people we've never even met (as they say, "Strangers are just friends you've never met"), I started crying. Watching someone you love go through worsening pain every day is so hard, but watching them get the opportunity to live their dream is heartwarming, and I'm so proud of him. Because of all the wonderful people in this world, my mum and brother are now booked to head to the U.S. in August - and I couldn't be happier for them.

Many local businesses have lended a helping hand to the campaign - one of them is Sligo Hairdressing Academy, a hairdressing school located on Holburn Street, Sligo. They came up with the fantastic idea of running 'Jono's Journey Pamper Days', where you can get your hair done for a discounted price with the money going towards Jono's Journey. With prices starting from €8 for a wash and blow dry going up to €25 for a cut and colour, you can't go wrong! The work is done by experienced hairdressing students and is fully supervised, so don't let the name put you off - I promise you won't lose an ear ;-)

I headed along today for the first of the fundraising days to get a cut and a blowdry. It's not often I get my hair done so I was so excited to treat myself, and a haircut was well overdue. I was greeted by Frances, the lovely lady who runs the academy, who handed me over to David - one of the extremely talented students. He started by washing and conditioning my hair. I don't know about you, but getting my hair properly washed is one of my favourite things in the world. Then it was time to get cutting. I just needed a trim as I'm trying to grow my hair, and a restyle of my side fringe as it wasn't even a fringe anymore, just a flap of hair! For some reason my fringe grows like it's on speed.

I sat there looking like a potato with my wet hair and my hairdressing gown (you know when you go to the hairdressers and sit in front of the mirror wondering if you've always looked like an egg with hair?) while David quickly and competently trimmed my hair and got rid of all the straggly bits. He cut my side fringe back into shape so it swooped across my forehead. It's so nice to not have to keep shoving my hair out of my eyes or get a mouthful of fringe! David actually listened to how much I wanted off unlike some hairdressers who cut off too much and make you spend hours Googling 'how to make hair grow 10 inches overnight'.

Next it was time for the curls. I was looking for a wavey, curly look, so David decided to do some soft bouncy GHD curls. I used to have a GHD and this was one of my favourite things to do with my hair but I sold it *sob* so now I've become lazy and rarely do anything with my hair. I'm always a bit wary of anyone wielding a hair straightener near my head as I've had a few bad experiences of getting the tips of my ears burnt - ouch! I had nothing to worry about. David was so gentle and I didn't once have to duck under the chair.

The end result was gorgeously silky, bouncy soft curls. I was absolutely thrilled with how it turned out, and even more so that now, almost 10 hours later, the curls are still intact! That's so rare for me because my hair is quite thick so usually any wave or curl drops out after about 30 minutes. A truly fantastic job done by David.

I couldn't not show off my new hair, so my boyfriend and I headed to Sweet Beat for a smoothie bowl and then to Hazelwood for a picnic. Pics courtesy of Laurence! There's a bit of a photographer in him I think.

If you'd like to contribute to the campaign, or just treat yourself, you can find Sligo Hairdressing Academy here on Facebook, or call them on 086 400 9559. The next dates for the fundraising days are the 20th of June and the 27th of June. You can also check out Jono's Journey here. Thanks again to Frances and all at Sligo Hairdressing Academy for letting me come in and get my hair done, and for being so generous in helping Jono's dream come true.