I'm moving!

I have had this blog for over a year now and I have really enjoyed it! Whether people are reading or not, it's nice to be able to post about my life, my loves and my adventured. I have enjoyed developing my style but I feel like I have reached the end of my time on Blogger. I have kept the same name and my same blogging identity but I have now moved to Wordpress. Here I feel I have more control over the way it looks and it instantly looks more professional. I would absolutely love it if you would take the time to visit my new blog and follow. I have also created an account on bloglovin (if you don't know what it is, check it out! You can follow all your favourite blogs, including mine ;) in one place) so search my new URL and follow on there for regular updates.

Here is a link to my new blog

Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading my blog and I hope to see you all over on my new one! 

Much love 

Meg 

xxx

Morocco!

I've been back over a week but I've finally found the time to share some of my experiences and photos from my holiday to the Atlas mountains in Morocco. We were only there for a few days but it was amazing! Sometimes this can still be in the rainy season but we couldn't have asked for better weather and the scenery of being up in the mountains was breathtaking!

We stayed in Richard Branson's hotel Kasbah Tamadot which was stunning! We were staying in one of the 'tents' which were the most luxurious tents I've ever seen. We had a balcony with the most amazing view and a private hot tub as well as the 3 main pools. The whole place was so beautifully decorated.

On our first full day we went on a hike up one of the mountains just opposite our hotel. There was no one else around except a couple of locals with their sheep and the higher we got, the more serene it felt. One of the most incredible things was that we could be standing in the intense heat surrounded by greenery and basically see deserts in one direction while the snowy mountains where people were skiing was only half an hour drive behind us.

The next day we went into Marrakech. We visited a palace and an old Jewish university and then just spent the afternoon wondering around the markets and taking in the atmosphere. While it was an amazing place, we were all happy to go back to the calm of the mountains.

On our last day we decided to go off exploring on our own. From our balcony we could see a river and then another mountain with a village on it so we decided to try and get up there. It was instantly clear we weren't meant to because there was no path and there was obviously frequent rock fall. Once we climbed/fell down we waded through the river and met some locals with their sheep who, despite their lack of English, showed us a way up to the village. We met a woman up there (also with very little English) who brought us into her home, introduced us to her family and made us tea. It was a very special experience! 

I hope everyone had a really lovely Easter and it's not too bad going back to school/college/work! 

x x x

Day of Hiking

Where is my life going??! It's 3 days until the Easter holiday and then I'll have 1 (very short) term before I've finished my first year at music college. Crazy!

Anyway... today I went on a hike with my friend Aaron. We both come from Winchester and used to do a lot of walks around there together but obviously it's been a lot harder now we're in London. Today we both finished college at midday so we decided to get the train out of London and try a new walk. I have really been missing the countryside recently!

We got the train to Box Hill and did the Box Hill circular in the North Downs. The website warned it was 'strenuous' and it was not lying! It's about an 11 mile walk and we've done longer so we thought we'd be fine but it was ridiculously hilly. We would go up a long steep hill then wind back down it and then back up again and wow do my legs hurt! But hey, Monday is leg day after all! I used runtastic to track our walk and I did 28,000 steps, burned 970 calories and walked for about 5 hours- not a bad day of exercise.

It was such a pretty walk and the views were incredible (the photos really don't do it justice!) It was getting dark by the time we got to the final view point so didn't properly get to see what I can imagine is a really beautiful view. We are definitely going to do it again maybe with more people and go earlier in the morning so we can take it slower, stop at a pub for lunch and reach the final viewpoint in full daylight.

It's been such a long time since I posted (again) where I've been so busy and not really had anything interesting to post about but I am on holiday for the next 3 weeks so more will be coming I am sure! I am off to Morocco at the weekend which I am super excited about. I will do a blog post when I am back with lots of photos and I am sure some great adventures but be sure to keep up to date with my instagram (@schmegg_) where I will be posting lots of photos throughout the trip.

I hope everyone has a fab week x x x

Bircher Muesli

It's already the third month of the year- where has the time gone?! It feels like I've blinked and am suddenly nearly at the end of my first year at uni! Crazy! Anyway... onto something relevant. I'm going to share with you one of my favourite breakfast recipes. Almost all the preparation is done the night before so it is great when you're in a rush and it is super delicious and healthy.

The night before:

1. Make up oat mix. I like to make a big batch of this and keep it in a jar but you can just mix it together as you need it. For a large jar I use about 400g oats, 5 tablespoons chia seeds, 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, chopped dates and dried cranberries.
2. Put the amount you want into a bowl or small jar (I do about 3 heaped tablespoons) and grate in half an apple.
3. Cover in coconut milk (or normal/almond milk is fine) and mix.

Leave in the fridge overnight 

In the morning:

1. Top with fresh fruit. Berries are great! 
2. I also serve with a dollop of coconut milk yogurt. 

Of course you can mix this up as much as you like! I have tried loads of different bircher muesli recipes and use my favourite bits from each. I don't like the taste of cows milk and I love the extra flavour that coconut milk gives. Try using different seeds and dried fruit and try out different toppings.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe and please let me know what you put in yours! 

Lots of love x x x

I'm Doing a Week Detox!

I told myself that I was going to try and post every Monday but of course I failed on week 2! It's Tom's half term and my reading week so I've had him up in London over the weekend and until this afternoon which is why I haven't got round to writing anything.

I've come home for a few days for my week off to relax and hopefully get lots of practise done. I don't have a gym or pool membership down here and don't really have anywhere local so I'm hoping to get in a good morning and evening home workout. It's only me and mum at home this week so I'm hoping we'll also eat quite healthily because my diet last week with Tom (as always) was not the best. I really need to get him into healthy food but it will take a lot of work!

My plan is to use this week almost as a detox because I feel like a lot of the progress I had made in my body and mindset, I lost over the last few days of not exercising and not eating well. I want to try and eat really clean and start of each day with a good workout and make sure I end each day with a more yoga/stretching based workout and some relaxing meditation so I can really get in a good head space and start next week on a blank canvas. I have just downloaded the Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Workout guide. I tried one of the week 3 workouts at the gym with one of my dancer flat mates who has been working through it and I honestly haven't sweat so much in my life! It was such a good workout that I can do with the weights at the gym or in a busy week, can get away with doing at my flat. It's a 12 week program with an extra 4 weeks pre-training. I was working it out with my calendar and if I start the pre-training next week and take a few weeks off while I'm home over easter (because I won't have gym access and won't be able to do workouts as regularly) then the program will finish the week I break up for summer- perfect!

My plan for next week is for 3 days to get up at 7 and go to the gym to do one of her set workouts and then a short swim and for the other 2 days to get up at 7.30 to just do a longer swim. I will continue to give myself lie ins at the weekend and stick to just doing a more relaxed home workout and stretching.

I am going to try and do a cumulative post over the next 4 days or so at home to show you what I eat and the workouts I do as well as to keep me accountable and more motivated. This will hopefully go up at the weekend so keep your eyes peeled!

Wish me luck! x x x

Places I Want to Travel to (well some of them)

Lying there every evening looking up at my painting of Paris, world map and pin board of travel photos on the walls above me, it's no wonder I spend so much of my time dreaming of all the amazing places I want to visit! I can't actually think of a country I don't want to visit so I will try to narrow it down to my top 10 and they are in no particular order because that would be far to difficult! Please please let me know if you have visited any of these places in the comments and tell me EVERYTHING about it. Enjoy!

1) India  Isn't this somewhere everyone wants to visit? The vibrancy and colour and culture and bustle. There is incredible architecture both old and new including some of the world's best hotels but for me it's the every day community that attracts me. When I go abroad, of course we do the touristy attractions but I love going and meeting the local people and seeing and experiencing their culture (I think I got this from my mum). I just think you only see a very small part of the country by sticking to the tourist path and you'll never really understand the country. I want to walk through the markets smelling all the amazing spices of every colour. 

2) Vietnam  A couple of years ago I visited Bali, Indonesia with my family and that was without a doubt the best holiday I've ever been on. I couldn't get over how green it was and Vietnam looks the same. Exploring rainforests, climbing through rice fields, relaxing on beautiful beaches- what's not to love? Being a largely Buddhist country, there are incredibly beautiful temples and ancient cities and a lot of cultural history. Truly beautiful!

3) Marrakech, Morocco  I still remember the first time I found out about Marrakech. I was about 12 years old and we watched a clip from a Jamie Oliver cooking program in food tech where he was in Marrakech. I remember being completely entranced by the hussle and bussle and the amazing colours and I remember almost being able to smell the food in the market through the TV and ever since then it has been one of my top places I want to visit! This Easter I am going to Morocco with my parents and I am so so excited. We are staying in the Atlas Mountains and will be visiting Marrakech as well as going for walks through the beautiful scenery. I will definitely do a few blog posts of this week because it will be amazing and I'm sure I will get loads of photos so keep you eyes peeled for that in April!

4) Safari in Kenya  Okay I'm going to admit it... all my life I have had a strange, unnatural obsession with giraffes... like seriously my room is full of pictures and models and cuddly toys of them and as a child I had a whole sticker album just of giraffe stickers. I just think they are the most beautiful and fascinating creatures. Whenever we go to the zoo, I always spend about half my time with the giraffes and for my 7th birthday I got to go in and feed them and it was AMAZING but I have always wanted to see them in their natural habitat. I just think the nature of Africa is so much more grand and impressive than that of England and a Safari seeing all these incredible animals would be a great experience.

5) Zanzibar  Did anyone else read The Wreck of The Zanzibar my Michael Morpurgo when they were younger? It was honestly one of my favourite books as a child and it was back then, reading the descriptions of the pristine beaches and shimmering oceans, that I decided I had to go there! Sadly I haven't (yet). It is a small island of the coast of Tanzania known for it's beautiful, turquoise beaches and white sand- paradise!

6) Northern lights  I feel like this is another classic that is on everyone's bucket list so I'm sorry for not being original but I just think it is something too incredible to miss off. I still can't get my head around the fact that this is created naturally?! 

7) Santorini, Greece  Santorini is a beautiful island of the South coast of Greece with a huge lagoon at it's centre. It has the traditional Greek style of little white and blue houses on hill sides over looking crystal clear waters. Santorini is probably most famous for it's beautiful sunsets. I visited Crete a lot as a child but I have never been to any other Greek island and I feel like I'm probably missing out. I love the relaxed feel of Greece and how important and close families are. 

8) Great Barrier reef  I do a lot of scuba diving so of course the barrier reef is one of my top places to go. It stretches for over 2,300km off the coast of Queensland, Australia and is home to over 600 species of Coral. I love the bright colours and amazing fish and I have always wanted to swim with whales. When I am underwater I feel so at home and I could honestly stay there forever and be happy and where better than the world's biggest and most diverse reef to do that?

9) New York  My parents and sister actually went to New York a few years ago when I was on a music residential and I am still bitter! Not going to lie, the main reason I want to go is for the shopping (obviously!) It is just so big and bold and busy and modern. I want to see amazing shows and shop in huge stores and go out with friends at night.

10) California  This was never really top of my list until very recently. Me and my boyfriend were both quite stressed out by work and we started thinking about our holiday and somehow came on to planning all our holidays for like the next 10 years and he mentioned how he wanted to do a road trip around California and his dad had said that that had been his best holiday he had done. I love the idea of the freedom and spontaneity of driving, being able to go here we want, when we want and for however long we want.

So there you go! Trust me there were many more and it was VERY difficult to narrow down. Please do leave a comment with some of your best travel experiences and anywhere you really want to go to. 

Hurry up summer! x x x

Little Changes Make a Big Difference!

So here I am 2 days into being bed bound thanks to illness and boredom levels are getting quite high. I feel like I've exhausted the film library of Netflix and finished this months edition of vogue and my friend's are busy with lessons and rehearsals and evening trips to spoons. In my last post when I said I wanted to get more into blogging I was thinking more weekly rather than the next day but seriously, the boredom is real!

I know 1 month into my health kick I am hardly an expert in healthy living and fitness but I have honestly noticed such a difference in my mind and body from the changes I have made in this short time! I'm just going to share a few of these changes I have made and a couple of tips I have picked up on the way. I hope you enjoy and find this useful.

The first big change I have made is planning all my meals at the start of the week and doing a big weekly shop. I still pick up fresh food and essentials that I run out of throughout the week but having a plan and the ingredients in my house stops me from coming home after a long day and having to make a decision about food which tbh would usually be grabbing a ready meal or pizza. Planning also allows me to see days when I am going to be busy and in this sort of mood so I can make double the day before and just heat up left overs, it also makes my food cheaper because I can buy in bulk food that I know I will use lots and I don't throw as much food out. I am planning on doing a post on what I eat in a week very soon where I'll go into more detail and share some simple recipes.

Another thing I've started doing is getting up early. I used to be constantly tired and have no energy all day so I'd start going to bed earlier but it really wasn't helping and then one day my boyfriend pointed out that maybe it was from too much sleep. This sounded a bit ridiculous to me but sure enough since getting up earlier I have had so much more energy- he was right (as always!). My morning routine on weekdays now is to get up 7.15 and go swimming for about an hour. Not only does this mean I get up early and don't waste half the day, but I also get in regular exercise which trust me, I never used to! I don't like swimming at the weekends because the pool is so much busier so I do allow myself a bit more of a lie in.

As well as swimming 4-5 times a week and going to the gym twice a week I have also started doing a mini work out at home focusing more on building up strength. Bellow is a video by the blogger and Youtuber Niomi Smart which includes her workout routine which is what I tend to do in my room with a yoga mat. If you don't already know her then you should definitely check out her channel; I find her videos so motivating and her 'what I eat in a day videos' give me so many ideas and recipes. As well as this workout, I am also currently working through Blogilates' 30 days flat abs challenge which is slowly building up my strength.

I personally could never go vegan or fully vegetarian, largely because of my nut allergy and meat loving family and boyfriend but I have really been trying to cut down on meat and find protein from other foods. While I don't have a strict plan on how often or when I eat meat, I've realised from my meal plans that during the week is usually meat free and then I have it almost as a treat at the weekends. This also works because I only really go home at the weekends when my mum does the cooking with a lot of meat and my boyfriend (who would be appalled if I fed him for 3 days without meat) generally only stays with me at the weekend. Reducing meat has health benefits on it's own but it has also meant I have tried so many other healthy foods that I would never have cooked. My cooking has definitely got more interesting and varied!

The final thing I am going to talk about is the introduction of homemade smoothies into my life. I have always been a huge fan of smoothies and juices but shop bought ones have so many added sugars and preservatives that they end up not actually being that healthy. I recently purchased a Nutribullet and I now consume well more than double the fresh fruit and veg that I used to and so many more vitamins. My go to mix is 50% spinach, 1/2 an avocado, then filled up with fruit, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds or chia seeds and topped up with water. During the week I have this for breakfast pretty much every day after swimming and before uni and then at the weekend I like to have one as a light lunch in between a more filling breakfast and dinner.

I know none of these are new, break through tips but honestly being healthy isn't rocket science! I know as well as anyone that staying motivated is difficult but the basic principals are just to eat well and exercise- simple! I am so so determined to stick with this and watch my self get more and more healthy.

I can do this x x x