My fun morning routine & the #neverendingstyle link-up!

Just a little bit of fun today. I made a short video (just under 4 minutes) of my morning routine, and then made it even shorter (30 seconds!) for a second video in comic vintage (you can see that one below). I hope you’ll check them out and subscribe to my channel!

I do love my morning routine…I never thought I’d be a routine kinda gal but for the past couple of years I just seem to have drifted into it. Although I didn’t include this part in my video, my morning always starts with a glass of water and when the weather is warm, I always drink it barefoot walking on the grass in the garden, because ‘grounding’ is super good for you. This is followed by feeding our three cats and dog, Myrtle, Shannon, Sadie and Luna.

Yoga

My video begins after all that though. It starts with yoga. Five or six days a week, I do about 20 minutes of yoga to loosen up my joints and ease my body into the day. I’ve been doing this for about seven or eight years now, and I can’t tell you how much it’s changed my life. I used to suffer terribly with backache and now? Well, I rarely suffer at all. And if I do, I know I need to just do a bit more yoga. It really is amazing. So amazing in fact, that I took a yoga teacher training course when I was 40. I didn’t do it necessarily to teach, I just wanted to further my own education into yoga. I wanted to learn more about it and the teacher training seemed like the best way to do it.

Meditation

After yoga, I meditate. I’ve only been doing this for about a year, but again, I can’t tell you how amazing it is to meditate. It’s incredible. It calms you, allows you to focus on your inner being and just helps you to become a better person. I usually do it for about ten to twenty minutes, but occasionally I might do a 40 minute stint. Some people say that they can’t meditate, that it’s too difficult to stop thinking. But that’s the thing, it’s not about ‘not thinking’. It’s about acknowledging the thoughts and then letting them drift on by. It helps put things into perspective too. So if you’ve been considering meditation, do it! You won’t regret it. If you’re unsure where to start, there are loads of YouTube videos out there to get you started. There is one simply called ‘Calm’ which offers a free ten-minute meditation every day, which I recommend.

Putting my face on

After yoga and meditation, I get dressed and put my face on! I’ve never been one to use foundation or concealer, but lately I’m realising that I need to start, because the sun damage from years of living in such a warm location is becoming really quite visible. In this video, I’ve just used a little concealer because I had no exciting plans other than working at home. There wasn’t any point in using foundation. I always wear eye shadow and mascara though. I feel quite naked without them!

After doing a little bit of research online, I recently bought a new set of make-up brushes by Spectrum which I love. They’re super pretty—like unicorns lol! I got them from LookFantastic. I’ve only used them a couple of times because I don’t want to get them dirty lol! I also bought the most beautiful palette of eye-shadows which I’ve only used once because I don’t want to ruin how pretty it is! I know, I know, I’m a nutcase!

And yesterday an order I made from Kiko arrived! I got three mascaras, three eyeliners, one lipstick and a face primer. All for 27 euros! Bargain, right? That’s one reason I love Kiko so much. Their products are lovely and so are their prices! I can’t wait for the shops to re-open so I can have a proper look around. In fact, I might even get an assistant to do my makeup, because I could do with a new foundation and a bit of advice. I’ll be doing another video about that haul next week.

Coffee

After I’ve got my face on (!), it’s my favourite part of my morning routine: COFFEE!! I love my Nespresso coffee, but I do try not to drink too much. I’ve got it down to two a day (okay, occasionally three). I’ve got a Krups Nespresso machine, which I think might be on its way out. I’ve already started dropping hints to Michael that it might be time for a new one lol. Since discovering my lactose intolerance, I now like my coffee black with one brown sugar. I just love that first sip…mmmm. It’s heavenly.

Dog walking and podcasts

Once that’s finished, it’s back upstairs to brush my teeth. And once Luna hears my electric toothbrush, she starts going nuts because she realises it’s almost time for her walk lol. She’s such a character. We usually walk for half an hour, stopping and chatting every now and again with other dog walkers. However, this is the time of day when I like to catch up with my podcasts. I’ve got so many I listen to though, it’s difficult to catch up on them all!

Currently, my favourites include Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner, Goal Digger with Jenna Kutcher, Do You Even Blog with Pete McPherson (he makes me laugh!), Think Marketing, That’s Not My Age with Alyson Walsh, Make Money Blogging with Sharon Gourlay, The Creative Penn with Joanna Penn and The Self Publishing Show with Mark Dawson and James Blatch. There are others too, but these are my current favourites. As you can see, there aren’t enough hours in the day lol! I’ve given you the links to their websites but they are all available on whatever podcast app you use.

Once we’re back home, I’ll find something to eat for breakfast before I get settled in to my cloffice and do whatever it is I need to get done for that particular day. Today I created these two YouTube videos and now I’m writing this post about my morning routine. I stopped for another coffee at 10ish, and then I made Michael some lunch (he’s working ten minutes away at the moment so can come home for lunch). I’ll grab something whenever I feel a bit peckish.

Also, if I’m not doing anything that requires deep concentration, I’ll grab my old laptop and put on something to watch in the background! I’ll admit it, I am a bit of a TVaholic! But we’ll talk about that another time 🙂 For now though, I would really appreciate it if you’d take just 30 seconds to check out my morning routine video, below… or four minutes for the one above lol…thanks, lovelies! And after that, please link up all your wonderful lifestyle and style posts to the Neverending Style Link-up below…

Last week’s favourite

My favourite from last week is Shelbee from Shelbee on the Edge, who is looking so freaking sophisticated in an outfit comprised of leather, leopard and snakeskin prints! Doesn’t she look gorgeous? That cloche hat is the icing on the cake for me! Although Shelbee is looking stunning, the subject of her post is quite a reflective one, in which she has realised some things about herself that are making her want to change. It’s a truly heartfelt post that I recommend you take the time to read.