Health

Recover from Your Workouts to Bounce Back Faster

October 5, 2021 JayneLeave a comment

A good workout can leave you aching. This is especially true if you’re trying to get fit after being inactive or you want to step up your usual routine. When you’re sore after a workout, you might be reluctant to get back to it and do your next workout. The thought of just walking up the stairs or carrying your groceries home might be hard to face, never mind doing another workout. But you can take some steps to recover more quickly so that you can get back to your workout routine. If you want to get back into it quickly, try these steps for a fast recovery.

Image from Pixabay – CC0 License

Treat Aches and Pains

If you’re feeling sore and achy after a workout, you can do some things to treat those aches and pains. You might find it necessary to take an OTC painkiller, but there are also various other options you can try first. You could try using CBD patches, which offer you a wearable way to use CBD. Or you could take a long bath or shower to help relax your muscles. An ice bath could also be helpful, and you can use hot and cold therapy to treat your pain too.

Keep Moving

Sitting still after a tough workout might be tempting, but it could end up making you feel more sore. Your muscles could get stiff if you stop moving, so the best thing to do is try to stay active. This doesn’t necessarily mean jumping into another intense workout. A gentle form of exercise will help you to keep moving without putting too much pressure on your body. Stretching is a great way to help your muscles to recover, which also makes yoga a good choice. You could also go for a walk or perhaps go swimming if you want some light exercise.

Image from Pixabay – CC0 License

Refuel

Don’t forget to give your body what it needs after you’ve had a good workout. Dehydration is common after exercise, so be sure to have some water or another refreshing drink on hand to replenish your fluids. It’s also helpful to ensure you’re getting the right food to fuel your body. You don’t need to add extra calories after a workout, but you can time a meal or snack so that you can have it after you’ve finished exercising. And if you’re not trying to lose weight, make sure you’re getting enough calories throughout the day.

Take Rests

It’s important to get plenty of rest in between workouts. If you push yourself too hard, you could find that you don’t have the energy or drive to keep going. You could also end up injuring yourself if you’re not careful. Having rest days should be a key part of your workout routine if you want to be able to stick to it. You’ll soon run out of steam if you don’t allow yourself to recover.

To bounce back faster from your workouts, take these steps to help your body recover and allow yourself to heal.

Interiors

Is Your Bathroom Top of the Trends?

September 26, 2019 Jayne1 Comment

How did you choose the colour scheme, fixtures and fittings for your bathroom? Did you plan a bathroom that is comfortable, cosy and designed to your own taste? Or were you led by trends you spotted in the shops or on social media? If you’re in the midst of planning bathroom makeover, maybe you’ve been soaking up what’s in style to help you plan what your future bathroom will look like?

Whether you’re planning a bathroom makeover or have the bathroom of your dreams already in place, how does it measure up against the biggest trends of the past, present and future? Let’s take a look.

The New Trend Predictions

According to experts at The Times, autumn/winter interiors for 2019 are all about darker tones, bold hues and eco touches like bamboo furniture and houseplants. These all make for a perfect storm look in the bathroom. If you prefer things a little less dramatic, you might have fun with Pantone’s tipped trend for 2020 – all things nautical. According to the colour specialists, the interiors sector will immerse itself in all things sea-related next year.

The nautical look is a perfect match for bathroom spaces and there’s never a shortage of beach hut emblazoned blinds or lighthouse, seagulls or anchor printed fabrics or accessories. If you’d like to avoid nautical decor tropes such as red, white and blue stripes, there are lots of great looks in stores to help you head down a path that’s a little less well-trodden. Choosing seashells, coral and seaweed prints will introduce some beautiful relaxing colours and give you interesting patterns and shapes to work with.

Trends Getting Love Right Now

Hands up who follows an unhealthy amount of interiors accounts on Instagram? Having inspiration at your fingertips can be a great thing when you’re planning updates in the home, but can you guess which looks and features people are hitting the like button for right now? And more importantly, have you channelled any of these trends into the design of your bathroom?

Harvey Water Softeners recently analysed the top twenty posts on Instagram across five different bathroom trend related hashtags to uncover the biggest bathroom trends. Top of the trends were classic choices like white tiles, dual sinks, hanging plants and freestanding oval baths. Also clocking up the likes were geometric tiles, circular mirrors and luxurious rainfall showers.

Taps of all different colours are apparently catching the eye, with gold taps, black taps and silver taps all named among the top trends. Similarly, gold and black-framed mirrors also made a mark. Black bathroom fixtures are most definitely enjoying a moment, with black shower doors and towel rails also proving popular.

If you fancy heading to the dark side, you’ll find black bathroom fixtures and fittings such as sinks, radiators, shower hoses and basin mixers at the Bathroom Discount Centre. Recessed shower shelves are another lusted after feature along with glamorous marble or floating sinks. Those looking for an instant update may want to try popular and pretty boho rugs, practical pine shelves or woven baskets.

Best Ever Bathroom Trends

We’ve looked at what’s next for bathroom design, but do you have a favourite trend from the past? There are plenty of traditional looks that have stood the test of time and if you’re decorating your home to put it up for sale, adopting styles and trends that appeal to the masses can be a smart approach.

Dunelm recently dug into the best and worst ever home decorating trends and highlighted a lot of love for many interiors trends that lend themselves to bathroom spaces. Among the most loved trends here in the UK are en suite bathrooms, wet rooms, freestanding baths, LED lighting, and underfloor heating. Stripped wood floors, shabby chic furniture and vintage revival items are among the other enduring trends that would look right at home in the bathroom.

Can you take a guess at the trends of past decades that were the least liked? Unsurprisingly, many of those surveyed said they weren’t fans of fluffy toilet seat covers (33%) or had an aversion to avocado coloured suites (33%). Putting carpet down in the bathroom was also a pet peeve for 29% of respondents.

So, how does your bathroom fair when it comes to trends past, present and future? Is your bathroom space top of the trends or in a league of its own when it comes to popular colours, fixtures and features? Is your sense of interior styling more on-trend than you thought or are you happy to find that your own unique approach in the bathroom is what’s made it the perfect space for you?

Home

Bath or Shower?

February 10, 2014May 21, 2014 Jayne2 Comments

When it comes to bathroom furniture, everyone has their preference. Husband and Sausage love to wallow in a nice, deep bath while I prefer standing under a hot shower after a long day. I’m a huge fan of the traditional roll-top bath with big brass taps, while Husband likes the sleek lines of an ultra modern suite. In an ideal world, we’d live in a house big enough to have bathrooms of our own, to suit our needs (and I wouldn’t have to pick up soggy towels and empty shower gel bottles, either!).

I wondered what my blogging friends had to say about their ideal bathroom, so I asked around and this is what they told me:

Angie from Cakes, Photos Life said: “I love a shower, always makes me feel clean and refreshed. Husband on the other hand refuses point blank unless none available, a full bath every morning. I have a basic bathroom but would love an ultra modern large power shower”

Helen from The Crazy Kitchen said: “I prefer a shower, hate having a bath & only like white suites with no fancy scalloped edges or gold taps! I would love a wet room or walk in shower….”

Laura from Tired Mummy of Two said: “I would love a large deep bath but tend to have showers most days”

Mummy is a Gadget Geek said: “My ideal bathroom would have a bath that’s great for reading in, mixer taps with a shower attachment so I don’t need to stand up to wash my hair, underfloor heating and a heated towel rail full of snuggly fluffy towels. More modern than traditional but as long as the water is hot and the bath is relaxing I’ll be happy!”

Charlotte from Winegums and Watermelons said “My ideal bathroom would have a shower and a bath. A nice big bath to relax in (maybe with the spa jets?) and a power shower for when I need waking up. Underfloor heating and tiles, definitely not carpet!”

Aby from You Baby, Me Mummy said: “My ideal bathroom would have underfloor heating and a heated towel rail. I would love a rainforest type shower with the massive showerhead and a free standing bath – obviously with an amazing view!”

Happiness · Holidays · Home

My Dream Shower

January 31, 2014February 6, 2014 Jayne1 Comment

As you may or may not know, Husband and I eloped and got married on the tiny, tropical island of Vakarufalhi in The Maldives. We spent two weeks living in a beach-side bungalow, surrounded by white sand, reefs filled with tropical fish and sea that closely resembled bath water. The island was as close to paradise as I could ever hope to witness and our accommodation was seriously swanky, too. My favourite feature was our bathroom – accessed through a door in the bedroom, it actually only had three walls; part of it was entirely outside! We had the normal bath/shower/toilet/sink combination, but then in the outdoor section we had a shower that, although closed in from prying eyes by a tall wall, was completely out in the open! You don’t know liberation until you’ve walked out of the sea, across hot sand and then stood completely starkers in your own private tropical garden having a shower under the sky!

Outdoor shower — Not hugely clear, but this is the view from the shower in our bungalow!

I’ve been a bit obsessed with ‘The Perfect Bathroom’ since then and Eau Couture have got some fixtures and fittings which come pretty darn close. I’ve accepted that, in a UK climate, I’m never going to get my open-air shower, but I do love the idea of a huge rainforest-style shower head which is less luke-warm trickle and more full-on waterfall effect! There’s nothing worse than a shower where you have to choose between allowing the water to get really hot but coming out like a dribble, or proper powerful jets which you can only ever have lukewarm.

I’m generally more of a shower girl, but that’s because our bath is too damn small to allow for proper soakage. If money were no object, I’d have a tub like this:

In fact, I’d probably never get out of the bath at all if I had a tub like that, however I’d have a fight on my hands as both Husband and Sausage LOVE the bath!

What would your dream bathroom look like?

Family · Happiness · Life

Something About Doors Closing and Windows Opening…

October 17, 2012 Jayne3 Comments

I can finally stop being cryptic.

That thing that I was feeling too superstitious to talk about? Well, it was a job. A great job. My dream job. And it involved moving home.

The position was as a Digital Editor for a new magazine with a major publishing company and it was based in the West Country. I didn’t know if I was suitable, but I applied for the job just for shits and giggles. But they must’ve liked me because I made it to the next stage and they asked me to do the second part of the application process, which was submitting a schedule for a weeks worth of content for the site and a full work-up of one day’s worth of posts and social media.

“This has got me written all over it”, I thought.

And I really bloody enjoyed it. It was stressful as I wanted it SO badly, but the creative process was amazing and I really got a kick out of it.

As I said, it would have also involved a relocation, so I spent hours perusing houses in Bath, imagining life in a new city, I even picked out a school for Sausage. In my head, I was there.

I sent it all off and waited. And waited…

When I started this process, Sausage was having a bad time at school and the thought of being able to whisk her off to somewhere new and change everything was really appealing. Then she started enjoying it, the tears dried up and she settled in and I started to have doubts about whether I could inflict this upheaval on her if it came to it. I concluded that no, I probably couldn’t.

I’d be asking so much of my family. Sure, Husband works for himself and could technically do it from everywhere but I’d be asking them both to move away from all of their family and friends, just for me. Not to mention that I’d be moving all this way, then working full time hours. It was too much.

Then, yesterday, I got this (this is an abridged version of the original email):

Dear Jayne

Thank you for your application for the role of Digital Editor. We apologise for the delay in contacting you with an update on your application and the outcome of your task. I am afraid that due to unforeseen circumstances this role has been withdrawn due to business reasons and we are no longer recruiting for this role.

We appreciate the time you have spent on your application and the task and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

We felt that you had good skills that would be suitable for a role with us and would be really keen to hear from you again for further Digital Editor roles or other positions that we may have in the future.

Thank you for your interest and we wish you all the best in your employment search.

BEST. CASE. SCENARIO.

I didn’t get the job. But not because I’m not good enough, because there is no job. This means that I don’t have to ask my family to relocate, I don’t have to cause them upheaval and I don’t have to make the decision to NOT do these things either. It didn’t work out, but I don’t have to feel like my confidence has been knocked. It’s not me, it’s them. And I’m fine with that.

My Bath dream may be no more, but I’m happy. And what’s more important is that Sausage and Husband get to carry on being happy too. I also have an interview for a local job which is something totally different to anything I’ve done before but I’m excited about it and it would be great for our family.

(On a different note, as you can see, my skills for digital editing are clearly BRILLIANT, so if you know anyone who’s recruiting, do let me know!)