Healthy, Fit and on my way to Happy

Over the past few months I have been struggling with my life balances, not taking time for myself or my family, causing myself unnecessary distress, and overall putting my health and wellbeing in jeopardy because of a decision I made at 16. My career choice.

Over the past few weeks, I have been particularly overwhelmed with the amount of tasks I need to complete in a day and how little time I have to complete them, I feel as though the saying "not enough hours in the day" describes my life wholly. However I have made the decision to start looking at transitioning myself into a happier and healthier lifestyle, including my work environment, finding myself work that offers more life balance and equilibrium into the equation.

On that note I though it was time to post some updated fitness pictures, I feel as though my workouts had slumped as of the last few months and I have really been making an effort to eat better and workout more and I think that little by little the results are showing. I am almost 2 years into my health lifestyle journey and although I don't weight myself, I am 4 dress sizes down, have a lot more stamina and endurance and overall a lot more confidence. It hasn't been easy, but it has definatly been worth it.

Please come back again for more health, beauty and fitness related posts and leave any request in the comments for posts you would like to see.

Thankyou again for reading 

Jessica xxxx

waffling on about healthy breakfasts

I love waffles....there I said it, I love them, but they can be unhealthy if you buy them out at a cafe, full of sugar and covered in chocolate. 

My solution to this was to buy myself a waffle maker...and I love it! 

This is been my go to breakfast when I have some time in the morning.

Waffle recipe:

1 cup wholemeal SR flour

1 cup skim milk

3 teaspoons raw sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

mix all together, pour into waffle maker in serves (this easily makes 3)

and your ready to roll:)

I like to put any spare waffles into snap lock bags and refrigerate them

and keep them for days when I don't have as much time to cook a full breakfast, so I can grab them with some fruit and go.

I like to serve my waffles with sliced banana, sliced strawberry and a side of lightly roasted coffee.

I also like to put other fruit on the side, whatever is in season, todays choice is mandarin.

Please excuse the football mug, the fiance is a big AFL fan

P.S You could use this recipe to make pancakes in a frypan just as easily, same taste, different texture:)

Thankyou again for reading:)

hopefully you enjoy this yummy healthy breakfast idea

Jessica xxx

5 promises to motivation....

The past year has been a year of change for me. I got engaged, I went on holiday, I got my first REAL job, I bought a house and moved out with my fiance and I graduated university..... but inside those UPs I've had a my fair share of downs too, my workout routine has slipped, my healthy eating became harder, my job is challenging and at times too overwhelming while also being unfortunately an hour away from home, shift work is difficult, I have a never ending supply of housework with minimal time and wedding plans I haven't looked at in months.

I have found that the last 5 months of my life in particular have really drained me of motivation, for work and particularly for my healthy lifestyle, and although I haven't resorted to fast food, I have been getting slacker and slacker with my exercise routine and my portion sizes, snacking more and eating unnecessarily large amounts (not to mention my ridiculous amount of coffee intake). So i thought today would be a good day for a slightly more wordy post, about how Im getting back into the swing of things.

1. Finding more time for myself; Over the last few months I have been very work and family focused, always working and cooking for someone else. I have made it my first goal to spend some time at least once a week on myself, whether it be reading a book, or a blog, or just laying in bed for an extra 30minutes on my day off, it is important to find time for yourself. Along with this I think it is super important to find time for my relationship too, have a least 1 date night a week and just ask each other how the others day was everynight, tell the other how much you love them, otherwise they tend to get neglected in everyday life.

2. Finding time to workout; I am a nurse, so i do a lot of shift work, I'm also only a graduate nurse so i find myself with sometimes the worst shifts and weekend work and rotating around hospitals. It makes it difficult to find time to workout some days, as even when Im at home I am often exhausted, or have endless house work to do. I have made it my second goal to do at least 30-60mins of working out 4-5days per week if i can, as working out gives me such a good feeling that is disappointing to lose. If you want an updated workout routine, leave a comment below:)

3. Dont punish myself if I have a bad day; We all have bad days, whether it be my eating, or my not working out or even a really crappy shift at work, I need to learn to give myself a break, because Im human and we all have bad days.

4. Ask for help; Another work and life related one, I am a very independent person, and I really don't like asking for help because I feel like I should be able to do it all by myself, but sometimes I need to just ask my fiance to cook dinner, or ask a colleague to shower a patient because like I said before...only human.

And lastly...
5. Stop comparing myself to others: This is something I think we all struggle with a little, we all look at other people and say I wish I had their life, or their body or hair or could cook they way they do. I need to stop doing this because I can only be me, and I should be happy with being the best me I can be.

So these are my 5 goals to try stay motivated in life at the moment, but just remember, YOU deserve to be happy and have every right to happyness and a fulfilled life, never settle for less and always strive to be the best YOU, not a second rate somebody else.


Thankyou so much for reading and I hope this inspired you to stay motivated

Jessica xxx

Snipping off the ends for new beginings

As a girl who is trying desperately to grow out her hair, it is a little heartbreaking to realise its time for a chop. My hair was looking a little worse for wear, as I have been neglecting it lately due to lack of time, stress and other pressures. My normal routine consists of at least 2 oil masques a week, left in overnight, and those days being the only days I wash my hair. But recently my routine has been; wash my hair whenever convenient and who cares how many days are in between....great routine right?

My hair has been feeling very dry and brittle lately, with a lot more fallout then I'm necessarily used to and baby flyaways that were never their before. So I decided last friday I would whip into the hairdressers for 30mins and get a trim.

My hairdressers, who knows me reasonably well, was horrified at the state my hair was on, normally soft, non-frizzy and easily managed, it was tangling, frizzy and just not manageable. After chatting with her for a few minutes I knew more than the 1/4 inch I was hoping for was going to have to come off, and a wash and a snip later, My hair is now about an inch and a half shorter than pre-hairdresser but feeling a lot better. My hairdressers also mentioned that my lifestyle factors such as lack of sleep and stress (oh the woes of shift work) could be contributing to my hair misfortunes and she warned that I needed to start taking better care of my body and my hair.

My hair is now feeling a lot better, although quite a bit shorter, and I have since done a oil treatment and reverted back to my old faithful mukti shampoo and conditioners, which are a lifesaver for my hair, available here. Hopefully now my hair can grow healthy and strong.



What measures have you taken to get your hair back into good health?
Any recommendations for good treatments or hair growth tips?



Thankyou for reading
have a fantastic day
Jessica xxx

poppies in pretty dresses

 On Saturday this past week I had the day off with my fiance for the first time in a little while(oh the life of a nurse), and we decided to have a date evening and this is what I wore.

I saw this dress in the shop and i was literally drawn to it, I showed my fiance and he stated that this is totally a "Jess dress" and i couldn't agree more.

This dress is made out of a scuba material and has elbow length sleeves, it sits just above the knee in a Aline flare, which is the perfect length for autumn winter. It also has this beautiful poppy print all over it that just stand out so brightly against the black and give a beautiful pop of colour to an otherwise bland look.

I wore the dress with knee high boots and a chunky black cardigan and natural hair. I really loved this dress for date evening and can't wait to wear it again.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend

thankyou for reading

Jess xoxo

healthy haircare

So as a girl who values and babies her hair, I can be very picky with my haircare.

Up until recently I would only use the most natural products on my hair, and while it did seem beneficial to some extent, my hair was often limp and lifeless, even after just being washed.

Now I have quite normal to dry hair and alot of it, and it is about midlength at the moment.

About three weeks ago I decided to try and take a leap of faith into some new hair products that i found alot of good reviews on.

Kevin Murphy is a BIG brand here in australia, and while not a cheap option, it is fairly natural alternative to higher end haircare.

The first thing you notice is that the shampoo and conditioner are both very thick and nourishing, the shampoo lathers well and leaves my hair feeling clean but not stripped dry while the conditioner moisturises without causing my hair to be weighed down.

The second thing you notice is the lovely smell, it is fresh and clean with a slight fruity undertone. The scent lingers only while the hair is wet and goes when your hair dries, so it will not interfere with your perfume for the day.

So far I am very happy with my choice in shampoo and conditioner and will continue to use them for the immediate future. I bought mine from adorebeauty.com.au with free shipping.

Whats your favourite shampoo and conditioner?

Thankyou for reading
Jessica xxx