Today's trip to Stratford Westfields ...

I am sitting here sipping on a delicious Peppermint tea (with honey), feeling that kind of  frazzled feeling that you can only achieve if you have seriously shopped. I decided that today was the day that  i would spend a little of my Christmas & Birthday money, and attempt to bag myself a few bargains. 

TTN's Christmas 2013

Wow, HOW fast did Christmas go by this year?! Serious case of 'blink and you'll miss it'! I have had a busy week...... :)

20th December

My Christmas began with my monthly infusion (which although sounding weird, I do see as a good thing- I've been relapse free for 16 months now!). I then nipped into Spitalfields for a browse at the Christmas Market and get some much needed protein packed brunch at Canteen...

TTN Reviews: Ohso® Good for you chocolate

Can you believe that Christmas 2013 is nearly here?? WHERE has this year gone?

Although I seem to be ahead with present buying (2 more to get) and the tree is up and decorated (named Jasper), I completely forgot to purchase a advent calender! But, I am not too bothered as I am getting my current chocolate fix from the deliciously more-ish 'Ohso' chocolate bars.

Gluten Free food finds November 2013

I spend so much time eating food and snapping photos of anything particularly memorable but I haven't shared any of this with you!

So, over the past few months i have seen, bought and tried the following Gluten Free foods:

TTN Visits: Taste of Christmas 2013

Christmas. A foodie’s dream season. A time when you can eat plenty, go for walks (to the pub) and if you’re not eating food, spend time thinking about your next meal. Oh I hope I am not on my own saying all that!

Taste of Christmas was on this weekend. In its new home in Tobacco Dock. Being a short walk from my home plus receiving an email telling me that with a code I could get a free pair of tickets, it seemed crazy to not go along for Friday night dinner and drinks.

Liz Earle Christmas Star's

I love Liz Earle. I like to think of the products in the range as affordable luxury. Featuring good (and recognisable) ingredients that leave my skin feeling amazing- I have been an avid user of the Hot Cloth Cleanser for a couple of years now.

With this in mind, I am pretty excited that Liz Earle have come up with miniature Hot Cloth Cleanser with muslin cloth encased in a festive star! At £5.50, this wont break the bank and I think would be perfect for Secret Santa gifting or even as table presents for the ladies. 

Image from uk.lizearle.com

TTN Reviews: JAX Coco 100% pure Coconut Water

When I initially set out to change my lifestyle in the wake of my diagnosis, I went on a mission to find healthy and delicious foods that would not only satisfy my foodie nature but meet the requirements of my new diet (Gluten and Dairy Free).

Although I have reintroduced dairy (Come on Goats cheese and honey on Figs is the BOMB) one thing that has stuck for me is Coconut water and milks. Hydrating and uplifting i cannot get enough of the stuff and I am always on the look out for new coconut products- thats how I stumbled upon JAX Coco. One read of the website - I couldn't wait to try and emailed the lovely Julie who agreed to send me a sample.

Okay, so who or what is JAX Coco?

JAX Coco was created by 4 coconut water enthusiasts (Jane, Jason, Alex and Max) who wanted to make good quality coconut water more accessible to the modern lifestyle. Micro-filtered coconut water from the Philippines in (what the detail obsessed me can only describe as) gorgeous almost gift worthy packaging was the end result. 

The thing that i love is that Jax are a sustainable company who work with the Philippine coconut growers to offer decent prices and help to reinvest in coconut farms by covering the costs of replanting and maintaining the trees. FABULOUS!!

Sooooo after all that wonderful ness 'what the hell does it taste like Katie?' i hear you thinking

Must-have Make up kits!

Anyone that knows me will know that I have become a slight Tanya Burr addict. I think she is great. After watching a You Tube tutorial of hers I feel I could go out, buy the products she recommends and use them properly (as opposed to buying a make up item then being sat at home staring at it like 'what the hell to do i do now?')

I never usually ask for make up items but this year i have already put two items on my list....

The Bronze of Champions make up kit, Benefit £26.50
(image from benefitcosmetics.co.uk)

I would totally use this Benefit make up kit- instructions on what to do and products that I will enjoy using... plus its in miniature and you know how much a love miniature! The mascara alone is worth getting the kit for- so good!

Pro Pallette Eyeshadow x 4, MAC, £6.50
Image from maccosmetics.co.uk

New Time and New Clothes.... October 2013

Finally, the clocks have gone back signalling that winter is en route and being the romantic that I am, I’m envisaging long crisp walks, goblets (GREAT word) of red wine and warm snuggle worthy jumpers. (I’m sure the reality will be my hair being blown wildly all over the place, moaning about wet feet and freezing cold hands but a nice thought any how!)

Yesterday, I paid Stratford Westfield’s a visit and had such a lovely time! It’s been a while since I’ve spent time in a shopping centre but with all my favourite high street stores next to each other plus a delicious gluten free pizza for late lunch from Pizza Express- I do wonder why I haven’t being doing this more regularly!

My  most favourite purchase from yesterday has got to be these beautiful boots from Topshop....


DANCER Riding Boots £78. Image from Topshop.com



TTN Reviews: Vivid Matcha Tea Drinks

With the night and, what seems, the days getting darker- my body needs a serious boost. When the team at Vivid sent me some samples of their Matcha tea drinks, I couldn’t wait to try!

Must-have shoe alert!

At the moment I am off sick (picked up a standard going-into-autumn virus that's floating around) but one thing that has caught my eye, and made me feel a much better, on today's quick Internet browse....

'Juniper' mid heels, Topshop £48 (Image from topshop.com)

TTN Visits: La Bodega Negra, Old Compton Street, Soho

Good friends that The Boy and I hadn’t seen in 2 years (we are evidently bad friends), had finally managed to offer us a date to meet up for dinner that we could do. There was a small challenge ‘take us to a restaurant in London with a USP’ - that’s Unique Selling Point to the average person.

I spent ages thinking of somewhere that had something different but somewhere that would suit everyone. As you can’t book for tables under 6 at ‘Dishoom’- I settled on ‘La Bodega Negra’ and I was really looking forward to eating a Mexican hidden away under a sex shop façad!

TTN visits: London Fashion Weekend 2013

Yesterday I had, what can only be described as, a great day.

A/W 2013- The hunt for the perfect coat!

Right now, it's London Fashion Week and you can feel the buzz in the air! I am not the only person right now who is wishing that I had recieved the Wedgewood Teacup invite from Mulberry- I mean, come on, HOW cool is that!?! But, alas, my address was obviously lost in the post and so I shall be watching the show online avec a cup of tea in my very fashionable tracksuit bottoms. Ahem.

Anyway, as I still have a week to wait until I go to Somerset House for the London Fashion Weekend event (blog to follow on that, I am tres excited FYI), my thoughts have turned to what coat I will be purchasing this Autumn. My trusty black M&S coat has finally become too bobbly to wear in public after 4 years (now thats what i call great cost-per-wear!). Here are 4 coats that have caught my eye on the high street whilst browsing online:

Next £75 (Image from website)

One year on and 6 years to celebrate.....

As my tummy is super happy after it's meal out - I had to blog to you all!

It's been a while since I have blogged about something other than a food review (which I LOVE doing, if you hadn't guessed) so I thought I would let you in on what TTN has been up to recently....

Today is my 6 year anniversary with The Boy (aka The Guinea Pig) and I am very proud about this. Yes this means today featured lots of PDAs (Public Displays of Affection) on social media but hey, sometimes when something or someone is making you happy you do just need to shout it from the rooftops!

TTN Reviews: Nom Organic Oat Bars

Hey y'all - how are we? All good I hope?
　
Okay so this weke the team at Nom were very kind and sent me 3 flavours to try out- I do love a nice array of flavours :)

Gluten Free Lemon Angel Food Cake

I'm sure I'm not the only person who is very pleased that BBC's Great British Bake Off is back on the telly-box....I am a huge Mary Berry fan. She is so gentle and classy - exactly how I want to be when I get to her age!

I was so happy that a gluten free bake featured in the first episode- about time too! But the cake that really got my baking idea going was this beauty:

Taken from www.bbc.co.uk

TTN Reviews: Perkier gluten free Flakes

I was very excited when the lovely Ann from the Perkier food duo (Ann & Steve are the masterminds behind this funky company) very kindly sent me two boxes of Perkier gluten free Flakes range to try - Fruity flakes and Red Berry flakes.

TTN Visits: Honest Burgers, Soho

After a late afternoon shopping stint in the West End, there really is only one food that can suffice a shoppers hunger- a burger.

I have read very good things about Honest Burgers but every time I have been near one a rather long queue has meant I have gone elsewhere. BUT this weekend, folks, I got in! The queue for a table had a 40 minutes wait but the high bar stool area near the window was up for grabs with no wait time- so we took it!

TTN visits: The Happenstance bar

Just opposite the beautiful St Paul's is where you will find my latest foodie discovery….....The Happenstance (which means ‘something good that happens by chance’).

TTN Reviews: "Big Shotz" Vitamin & Mineral Juice drink by Shotz Health

Always on the lookout for new foodie products to try out- I was thrilled that the lovely team at Shotz Health agreed to send me a few samples of their Mango & Passion fruit flavoured ‘Big Shotz’ juice drink!

TTN Visits: Burger & Lobster

Hey Hey

Whilst I remember to, I thought I would post a little something about my visit last night to 'Burger and Lobster' (I went to the Bread St restaurant which is next door to One New Change).

I have wanted to try out Burger and Lobster since it opened at its first location in Mayfair in 2012... I actually have never had a lobster dinner but have tried bits of other peoples years ago, so I was really interested in the idea of tucking into something as posh as a lobster and fries with friends.

'Searching for Sugarman'.... June 2013

Can you believe it- nearly July!

Today is the 26th June and it has been 1 year since I woke up with my first major relapse. Isn't it funny how we remember specific dates yet sometimes cant remember what we did yesterday? I look back on the 2012 'me' and i really feel for her- as right now she had no clue what was going on apart from that something serious was happening and she felt very ill indeed. Bless her.

But 2013 'me' is slowly kicking ass! I've only gone and been abroad!

3 weeks ago, packed with a suitcase full of H&M it seemed (so cheap and perfect for light summer dresses) I went to Corfu for a week of much needed R&R... and Vitamin D. I honestly cannot tell you how good i felt after 24 hours of being in the sunshine. If you have MS I strongly reccomend getting away somewhere sunny. After 24 hours I remained the most alert, clear headed, and energic than i have been for months. I ended up spending the holiday driving a boat, riding pillion on a quad and having the odd marathon read in the sun. Worth the money!

My food finds- April 2013

So as I stared at my empty fridge this morning, I was reminded that I really needed to blog to you guys about foods that have recently found their way into my shopping trolley...

TTN Visits: Dishoom Bombay Cafe, Shoreditch...

Admittedly a tad delayed, this small blog post is all about my visit to Dishoom in Shoreditch about 2 weeks ago.

Dishoom describes itself as a 'Bombay cafe in London' and it first came to my attention a few summers back when I read about its summertime pop up on Southbank and sadly didn’t get to go.... anyway, after 2 failed attempts to get a cheeky un-reserved seat in its Covent Garden site- The Boy and myself decided to try our luck in Shoreditch. (After 6pm you are advised to make a prebooking for tables of 6 or more FYI).

On arrival to the dimly lit but (in my opinion) highly authentic feeling restaurant, we were made to feel really welcome by staff and after 30 minutes of waiting (or should that be drinking at the bar) we were seated and eager to tuck in!

Hale & Hearty Quick & Easy Pizza Mix

This post is going to be a little review on my first experience of cooking something gluten free from scratch… Pizza to be precise. because to be honest I am loving that Domino's are offering at gluten free base option but at £13 a pop my purse does not love me!

Introducing Hale and Hearty – something about their packaging really pleases me and I like that they use a mixture of flours made from things I would no doubt eat in original form..

'Cause it's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me'...

As it is a Sunday, and I am feeling like the Queen of Sheba on my new mattress (best buy ever) - I thought I would blog to y'all....

It’s been a long time since i have seriously had a spend up, partly because i can’t bring myself to spend a lot of money on clothes (i know, this is most odd) and partly because the shops just haven’t been making me want to spend my money.... that was until the launch of ‘& Other Stories' on Regent street last week.

From the minds behind COS and H&M comes this, quite simply, amazing new store. In my opinion everything in this store is my kind of fashion - minimalist, contemporary, clean lines, and fabrics that you could wear casual or smart and with a dash of funky coloured items. You choose your own fashion story here and you are provided with plenty to create the foundations. WHY HAS THIS CONCEPT TAKEN SO LONG?!

'I belong to you, and you belong to me, you're my sweetheart'

Well, it’s nearly the end of another month and that means we are inching closer to longer, and hopefully warmer, days. This will also mean flashing some more flesh both at work and at play. However I am , for the first summer in many years, looking forward to wearing skirts and strap tops, and I may even purchase some shorts!!

Why am i feeling so confident? I have lost weight! Last time I blogged, I told you all about how I was taking control of my life by changing my diet. Not only do I feel clearer, more alert and more energetic... I am losing weight without feeling like I’m missing out on anything. I haven’t been weighing myself but 2 weeks ago I sneakily decided to jump on the scales and I could not believe what they told me...

'I wanna scream and shout, and let it all out....'

Well, Happy New Year to you!

2013. A new year, a new start. 365 days of newness awaited us all as of 1st January.

A new year was something that I was itching to get on and experience after a very turbulent 2012. So you would expect i would have made a number of new years resolutions, no? No I haven't. I want to make long term changes in my life, not ones that always fall at the first hurdle like a resolution always does- no matter how hard i try.

First stop for 2013: Gaining control of my life.

MS has an unfortunate way of barging in and snatching the reins from you when you least expect it. But I'm a stubborn individual who doesn't do sharing, and this body of mine is exactly that, it's MINE. Cue: Rocky style music.
Using my nutritional education and general love of the food industry, I am on a the slow road to changing and moulding my life,starting with my diet. Already I am seeing the results that I want to see i.e. Less and less episodes of symptoms.