We’ve all been there… year after year we make a resolution that for one day we are so determined we will complete. Whether it’s giving up smoking, tackling a Dry January or changing your lifestyle in the aim of having a body like a Victoria’s Secret Angel. Bye bye 2015!
“New Year New You”
January 1st is the day I feel most motivated to complete it and I really persuade myself and all my friends that I will. But I feel all of your pain when the struggle hits and you feel like you can’t go on any longer.
This main struggle supposedly happens every year on January 17- National Failure Day. The day we stress and bought our first 2016 pack of cigarettes, ate the WHOLE of the Cadburys Milk Tray and chucked back shots after shots of tequila.
Read more: Happy New Year! My highlights of 2015 and some 2016 ideas for you
If that’s you, I hope you still gave it a good bash until the 17th. If not 2016, maybe next year? And for those of you still powering through to Feb… Well done you! I’m very proud to say I am one of the contenders this year.
How to keep your New Year’s Resolution?
Make it fun!
It will be so much easier if it is something you know will enjoy doing or actually get some sense of reward out of i.e. learning a new skill or fulfilling something you’ve been wanting to do for ages.
When you’re pressurising yourself to lose weight for example and getting angry when you are too tired for the gym, it will just make you want that chocolate biscuit you’ve been craving even more! When you go to the gym and try classes that suit you and your timetable it is more fun and easier to turn into a lifestyle change. Don’t bother with the 5 am run if it’s not for you!!
Just ease into it. Don’t think about the end product of some celebrity’s body, because 1. it is probably impossible to achieve and 2. it will stress you out more.
That is exactly what I have done this year, I’ve ditched the ‘Get fit’ and ‘Learn to cook‘ resolutions. I hate exercising excessively- I just can’t deal with the aches and pains, and I don’t particularly enjoy cooking! But I do believe I gave it my best bash in 2015! I just will always prefer to be the dinner party guest.
Read more: Recipes for sweat treats, eating healthy and snacking lightly
For me 2016 is a year for doing more and seeing more of London- the capital city I have now lived in for two years… yet barely even seen any of it!
I’ve made myself a bucket list of things to do, yes the typical tourist hot spots but also things my work colleagues have been raving on about and things I’ve always wanted to do but never got a chance!
So it’s time to actually appreciate my home city and tick off this checklist:
- Cahoots bar √
- Secret cinema
- Secret bars
- Climb O2
- Sky Garden √
- Sea Life
- London DungeonsGo inside Buckingham Palace
- China Town √
- Hampton Court Palace
- Beigel Bake
- Kew Gardens
- Hampstead Heath
- Royal Ascot √
So far this month I have drunk Vera Lynn cocktails in a 1940s bar, drunk prosecco on the rooftop of the Walkie Talkie building and munched on crispy duck pancakes in China Town.
Things to do in London
After living and visiting London all this time I am still so shocked I’ve never even seen China Town or walked through it. I obviously knew it existed somewhere central but I didn’t realise the whole streets were actually kitted out with special themed architecture! Love it! Bet it’s wicked there on Chinese New Year.
If you haven’t been already Sky Garden is awesome. The 360 view of London from the top of the Walkie Talkie is absolutely amazing, giving you visual hot spots of The Shard, London Bridge, Canary Wharf and the London Eye. Plus you get to have a play around in the indoor jungle garden. Yes we acted like kids getting pictures in the bushes.
One of the things I love about London is all of the quirky bars you hear people saying they’ve visited and the opportunity to get a delicious cocktail within probably just a 20 minute walk from wherever you are standing! Cahoots is one of the best bars I’ve been to. Hidden in Kingly Court just off Carnaby street, you follow the Underground sign to take you down into the secret hotspot, where you feel like you’ve gone back in time.
Not only are all the staff fully dressed in 1940s get ups but they are all in character too, putting on accents whenever they talk to you! The drinking den has reverted back to its roots as an air-raid shelter and everything in there- from the bathroom’s radio station to the stack sof sandbags- is reminiscent of post-war London. I definitely recommend having a visit.
Woo and more good news! Tickets are finally booked for mine and Effie’s 2-year discussion of wanting to go to the Royal Ascot Ladies Day Races. Yes it would be cool to see the queen but really we are much more excited about the hats!!
Read more: Why I loved London Fashion Weekend
Let’s hope February is another fun month of experiencing more of London and ticking that checklist of!
Love Leeanna xo
Fashion, beauty, lifestyle closet 