Lifestyle | Life Lately

Before I start this post properly, I'd just like to thank everyone who has been reading my blog, commenting on my posts and following me since I re-launched BekyLou.com at the beginning of this new year. I've had an overwhelming response to my new layout and new posts and I could not be happier that it has all paid off. I know that towards the last few months of 2014 I was quite a bit absent from this blog and I do apologise from that. A boyfriend is never a good excuse, but I'm afraid that I'm going to be using that excuse. At the beginning of October, I met my current boyfriend and I've been very happy just to get to know him in my own time. I wasn't 'feeling' my blog and in all honesty my passion for writing posts had died for a bit. I wanted to make sure that when I wrote posts and published them for you all to read, I wanted them to be worth both my time and yours. I hope that I've managed to achieve that so far and with the help of my blog re-vamp, I hope that BekyLou is something that you will continue to read and enjoy. Now, wasn't this called a 'Life Lately' post? Here's what I've been getting up to whilst I've been gone!

Photos from Left to Right: 

Christmas Dinner with my lovely friends and work colleagues - As my group of friends at work are mostly Graduates, they were all going to be heading off home for Christmas. We all decided to have a 'Christmas Day' together before they all left. It was such a great day with Secret Santa, a 'bring a dish' Christmas Dinner and of course, board games! Definitely was the best way to say goodbye to each other before the break. I'm so lucky to have a group of friends like this. 

My Gorgeous Eltoria (Eltoria Secrets) started working with me. I work for Siemens Rail Automation (I'm sure I've mentioned this before) and as there are new projects happening within, I've been offered more training to backfill another colleague's role whilst she is working on those projects. Transferring into a backfill role for a couple of months means that my best friend and fellow blogger Eltoria is now working with me! After referring her for my current role and having an interview, we now get to see each other every day! For some this may be a bad thing, but I absolutely love working with her!

I spent a lot of money at Bicester Outlet Village with this beautiful girl. I've been wanting to go for so long and after realising we both had the day off just before Christmas, we took to the road with my sister and her friend in tow and came home with a lot less money than we went with! I managed to nab a gorgeous Michael Kors bronzer, some Hugo Boss goodies for my boyfriend and an absolute bargain of a Jack Wills coat!

Who can have a Christmas break without making Gingerbread Men? It's become my yearly tradition by the looks of it and they tasted delicious (at least the first time that I made them). 

This photo of my lovely boyfriend was taken as we were swapping our Christmas presents. Unfortunately, we had to give each other our presents a week before Christmas because he was going home to Leeds for the holidays to be with his lovely Mum, but it was just as special as it would've been on the 25th. I was definitely spoiled and I couldn't be happier. 

Clearly I'm loving my new darker lips! I took a lot more time to spend money on new clothes and makeup for work, with Eltoria starting I had to step up my game a bit when it came to my work attire.   I found a new love for Asos and Boohoo, so you can definitely expect a lot more Fashion posts in the future!

Then came Christmas eve and present swapping with Eltoria, we definitely know each other very well! She got me the coveted NARS Laguna, MAC Ruby Woo and a MAC eyeshadow in a glittery smokey grey (I forget the name) and a lovely E.L.F blusher and I gave her the Naked 2 Palette, NARS Orgasm, Benefit Benetint and Benebalm mini and a Benefit makeup bag. For best friends and bloggers, we don't half make sure we can get a good post out of our presents! 

This is my wonderful boyfriend. Don't worry, I've asked him if he's okay with me talking about him on my blog. I've told a couple of stories on here about my past relationships, one in particular and I have to say that this man has completely changed my whole view on men. Yes, some can be the worst people on the planet, yes I was unfortunate to meet one of the terrible ones, but this boy is the best thing that has happened to me and I really could not be happier. Three months in to our relationship and I know I've found a darn good one. I won't gush on too much, but he's become a massive part of my life and although some of you may dislike him from parting me with my blog for a while, he's also the one who has convinced me to get back into it and has helped me so much with my posts and my confidence for blogging again. 

He is also the guy behind picture number two. For Christmas this year (some of you may have read my 'What I got for Christmas' post here) he bought me tickets to see Les Miserable in London, along with a hotel for the night and a lovely meal beforehand. I was absolutely amazed that within two months he'd managed to figure me out so well and buy me an experience that I'd love so much. Les Miserables has to be my favourite musical and I cannot wait for 7th February to roll around! If you're also wondering why there's a key in the photo, he also surprised me with a wrapped up key to his flat. I've never had this much trust in a relationship before and I literally burst into happy tears when I saw what it was! 

Cocktails on New years Eve in York at Yates'. For the second week of Christmas, I travelled up to Leeds to spend it with my boyfriend and his lovely Mum. Obviously, I was really nervous on my way up - meeting your boyfriend's Mum for the first time is always going to be a nerve-wracking thing! I honestly don't know what I was worried about though as she is the loveliest person I could have imagined, I was made to feel right at home and we got on really well. For New Years eve, Jordan and I hopped on the train to York for a night out with his Uni friends. It was a really great night and even though the countdown at the Minster was a huge let down and we had to stay in a Hostel, it was a memorable night!

Back to reality and back to work. 2015 will be my year and I will get back into my healthy eating and fitness. Within the first week I'd already bought myself a Breville Blend Active and had smoothies everyday for work, had my first personal training session of the year and attended my first Boxercise bootcamp of the year. The first photo above is of my new healthy lunches - I now like to have chicken (with some kind of Nando's marinade or Fajita spice mix) with lettuce and peppers and also some pepper and cucumber for snacks. You can see my smoothie effort in the next photo! I love experimenting with new combinations of fruit!

I actually bought a recipe book. Okay, it may have been a recipe book for Students and I'm not a student, but if you're a fussy bish then you have to start somewhere. I've actually found some really nice recipes, one of my favourites being the Spaghetti Bolognese recipe that I featured a few posts back. I've had such a turn around in my way of thinking when it comes to what I eat and am actually really proud of myself for starting to try new things. The last photo above shows my Beef Stir Fry, something that, believe it or not, I had never tried before this new year. I really loved it and have had it a couple of times since. I feel like I'm changing my habits and I definitely think it's for the best. 

I am so glad that I had the time away from my blog. I think I've learnt to write for me instead of writing for everybody else and for once I'm incredibly proud of myself for the content that I am producing. I know it's only a couple of weeks into it, but I can see this really sticking. I have a real passion for writing my blog and I feel so much better about it all now. I'm so much more motivated and with the backing and support from Jordan and my parents, I know that I'll be a lot more confident when it comes to keeping my blog going and growing it into something that I know it could potentially be. I hope you all continue to enjoy my blog and continue to support me.

What did you do over the Christmas break?

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