Farewell 2015, Hello 2016

Hello Dolls!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas day and do not worry about "I think I over ate" as it is the holiday season, LIVE LOVE AND LAUGH A LITTLE!

I think it is only mandatory I reflect upon my 2015 and make some wise decisions about the upcoming new year..Decisions...Not Resolutions mind!

Well, now I am sat here wondering where do I start..I mean it only makes sense to start from the beginning of 2015, right?!

January - March 2015: The year started off with a lot of procrastinating! I had exams in mid January but did that stop my friends and I from venturing around in Birmingham trying out new cuisines? No it certainly did not. Especially that one Sunday...at 11pm. The beginning of the year was truly blessed. I had wonderful company around me and an array of adventures. My fitness journey at this time as going splendidly as I was finally closer to the body I wanted. I even got my belly button pierced which made me really happy. As I was still part of my University Pakistani Society, not only was I busy studying but also was involved in the organisation of a star studded charity dinner and dance. As an avid dancer, I, yet again, graced the stage and danced for the event. It was a really memorable night. So this quarter of the year taught me, it's okay to cut a little slack every now and then to laugh and enjoy the company and environment around you.

April - June 2015: Come Easter time and once again it was time for exams. I was starting to become extremely stressed at this stage as I had 8 exams and a lot of coursework to do. Yet again I found myself being whisked away to restaurants by my friends. I really can't say no to food! At this stage, I found myself in extreme agony due to a wisdom tooth that was growing. This was so inconvenient as it made it very difficult to revise. But I soldiered on and did what I could. I sat all my exams, Then forgot all about them as the academic year was over mid May. Now it was time to enjoy the last remaining days with one of my best friends and whom I consider my elder sister, as she was getting married in the summer and moving abroad. It was nice to spend time with her and the rest of my friends who were graduating. This quarter of my year taught me to always make time for those I love and care about. Even if its a simple message saying thinking of you. 

July -September 2015: This, by far, was the toughest summer I have had. It started off really well. I spent a week at home for Ramadan and then managed to find myself a summer placement assisting a PhD student on his research project. Therefore, I returned to uni. I was in labs all day while fasting and living alone. This however wasn't as tough as I thought it'd be. I actually like living alone...when I have friends nearby to visit! On the 3rd week of July I attended my friend's (from earlier) graduation. When I really care about you, I will put a lot of time and effort in.There was no way I was gonna miss her graduation! It was wonderful to see her graduate. I had to stop myself from crying. But that was it for my happy time. Towards the end of July I found out I had to retake two exams. It was two exams I took on the day I had the worst dental pain and was generally unwell. I'm not one to sit and mope. I accept what is what and plan my next step. I actually started revising the day after. Luckily, I was granted full uncapped resits as I had extenuating circumstances. That wasn't even the worst part. Two weeks before my retakes, I suddenly came down with an infection. I won't go into too much detail but it was my kidneys and had slowly started becoming systemic. I was hospitalised. I had never experienced such pain before. I had never cried so much before. Yet, there I am in hospital and all I can think about it I need to revise and pass my exams. My education is very important to me. But in that moment, I made it more important than my health. Alhamdhulilah, I eventually recovered with just a week to revise. I had to wait till September to find out my results and if I made it into my Masters year. I did. I passed! I also had two Pre-Reg offers - Lloyds and Wexham Hospital. I chose to accept Wexham. The timing could not have been more perfect! This summer taught me, be ambitious and never give up. There will be obstacles, but you let them pass and plan your course of action to reach your goals. It taught me, to never work too hard that I compromise my health. 

October - December 2015: October started with a lot of self consciousness. Since my hospitalisation, I wasn't allowed to gym till I was fully recovered. At this point I was really weak. I slept a lot and had very little energy for even a walk. I was eating a lot of junk too. I gained weight. A lot of it was my kidneys reabsorbing water after the shock my body received. Because of society, because I felt everyone was thinking "My hasn't she gained weight" I became really body conscious, I hated my body to be honest. I hated looking in the mirror. My closest girl friends were abroad now as they finished university. I felt very lonely to be honest. It was not a good month. Come November, I got the "You're fully recovered now" from the doctor, I knew it myself as I started feeling much better! I started to attend gym again. By this time I learnt to love my body. I told myself, I am not returning to gym to become skinny. No, I am returning to become a better version of what my body is now, to stay healthy and boost my immune system. My diet still needs a bit of work though! Oh well, small steps! I turned 22 in December. 22! It was a good celebration where my friends from home came down. I have been friends with them for 11 years. They're two girls who I love to bits. I feel much more like an adult now. I will be graduating soon and starting work. A new chapter awaits! The final quarter of the year taught me some things are blessings in disguise. To love myself. Things take time. Nothing happens overnight. Count your blessings and keep smiling. 

I am now starting to feel more like myself. Its been a happy and tough year. Not that I ever show to anyone. I always wear a smile on my face no matter what I may be going through. Try it. Smile more. It's how your perception which dictates your life. YOU can choose to be happy or to dwell on things that make you sad. Dpn't get me wrong, I have my sad days too. Some times you do need a good cry, but not everyday. 

So, now that's my life story of 2015, what to expect from 2016 and the rest of the years to come?

1) Continue Gym and Dance

2) Eat healthy but not fall into silly food diets/trends

3) Stay in contact with the girls 

4) Continue smiling and be happy

5) Love myself more

6) Love someone else? Haha!

7) Never give up on my goals

8) Continue building memories

There's more but they're staying with me.

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read my little reflection. I hope your 2015 was good and if not then use it to learn some lessons from. After all, you learn from experience, incidents and mistakes. May you all have a blessed 2016. 

Until next time,

Anastasia xo

My 22nd Birthday!

Hello Dolls!

A long awaited post! Sorry for the lack of posts, unfortunately nothing exciting has happened for me to write about and I have been busy with my Masters year! 

However, on Saturday, I turned 22! I was dreading it to be honest. I graduate soon and start my job in late summer. Turning 22 just made it feel more real that I am..I guess in a sense an adult now!

I had a busy packed day and was on a budget for my outfit too (thanks to Christmas shopping and what not!).

Firstly, my best friends came to stay and as we absolutely adore weddings we could not say no to free tickets to the Asian Bride Live Wedding Exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham.

My! What a beautiful event it was. We were lucky too as we arrived just in time to watch the catwalk featuring designs from Soltee, Sharons Couture and Kahaani London to name a few!

 There were some beautiful stages and decorations on exhibit too. It really did make me want to get married there and then! I absolutely love attending wedding fairs and whoever I marry will be lucky (because it is me duh) but also because I am well aware of what is out there and how I would like my wedding. But that's confidential info for a blog post one day in the future.

Now, onto my birthday outfit! As it was my 22nd, I wanted to wear something different as I tend to wear dresses pretty much all the time. So i decided I would like to wear a jumpsuit. However finding a jumpsuit which complemented my curvaceous body was a tiring job. However, luckily after trying on nearly 20 jumpsuits, I found the perfect one. A glitter culotte jumpsuit from Forever 21. However, attaining this jumpsuit was not easy. I ordered it online and within a few days I had received an email stating it had arrived at my local store. So, I got extremely excited and popped down to the store. However, when I arrived I was informed it wasn't there. Long story short, I waited 45mins (It was hard to stay patient!) as they searched. Due to the long wait I had, the assistant gave me 25% of my money back. Now...as a student...any money saved is a YES moment! 

Jumpsuit: Forever 21

Blazer: Dorothy Perkins

Shoes and Clutch: Dorothy Perkins

I knew I wanted to go for a more sophisticated look and so I then went on the hunt for a blazer to complement the jumpsuit. I wanted to add some contrast to the outfit so I was searching for a red blazer. I decided to pop into Dorothy Perkins where I found the red waterfall blazer, black heel and red clutch all on sale! Another student YES moment!

As for makeup, I very rarely have a full face of make up. However, it was my birthday so that rule went out of the window. Firstly dolls, I have to tell you about my new favourite make up brand. KIKO! Rumour has it their make up is made in the same factory as MAC. Even the packaging is similar to MAC. However, the make up is half the price and quality is the same, maybe even better in my opinion. I am not some qualified make up artist nor do I like spending too long with my make up so I did whatever I could and wanted. 

Thank you for reading. Apologies for the photo qualities!

Until next time,

Anastasia xo

Need an event planner?

Hello Dolls!

Long time no read! Don't worry I have a few exciting Eid posts coming for you soon.

In the mean time I thought I would let you know that I am starting a small event management erm business, I guess to put it one way!

Whether its a milestone party, or a dinner and dance, a small wedding or even a product launch, event management is something I really enjoy. I love the build up to it, the hard work that goes in and then to see it come together. 

I have experience in planning and managing events such as parties and charity events.  

If you have a budget you are working on then I can help you out. 

To discuss further drop a comment or message me please (daintdoll@gmail.com)Bear in mind I do charge for event management depending on size of function

Right now I am primarily focused on West Midlands area as that is where I am based currently.

Until next time dolls!

Anastasia xo

Summer Looks Featuring Purchases From Forever21 & BooHoo

Hi Dolls!

Apologies for the absence! I am back with a post featuring four new summer purchases from two of my favourite stores.

The first look has to be my all time favourite summer look right now!

Blush Playsuit from Forever 21
Hat from Forever 21
Serena Nude Cut Out Heels from Public Desire
(Worn with nude tights)

This is my must have summer dress. A beautiful wine colour and made out of lace, perfect for sunny day.

Wine Lace Dress From Forever 21


My next two purchases are from Boohoo.com. I loved this skirt so much I ended up ordering it in both colours! It can be worn casual for a day time look or even worn as a night time look. 

I am actually wearing nude tights but blends with my skin!

So dolls, that was just a quick post on my new summer purchases, feel free to leave any comments or questions below.
Head over to my instagram @Anastasias_blog for more outfit updates :)

Until next time,

Anastasia xo

My Story

Hello Dolls!

I'm back with a new post and this time I thought I'd tell you my story and motivation for fitness. 

So let's start with when I was a young child. As a young child, from age 6-8 I spent a lot of time in and out of hospital. The reasons for this were due to being underweight and malnourished because I just simply would not eat. To this day, we do not know why I was like that, I just struggled to eat and simply had no appetite. This was just the start of my...not officially, but almost can be called eating disorders.

After the age of 11, the total opposite occurred. There was a lot going on in my life which I won't reveal to you but I started comfort eating as a way to deal with stress, sadness and essentially just being bored. At first, with most cases, you do not realise you are doing this. I wasn't eating large amounts of fried foods or junk, it was just eating large amount of food. What we do not realise is that even eating large amounts of healthy food can be a disadvantage, as it all adds up end of the day. 

During my childhood, I was a very sporty girl. Taking part in sprints, sports day, netball and basketball. However, as the years started going by and I started comfort eating, I gradually lost my stamina for it all.

It was during my first year in uni I decided to sort this. I have never been obese or anything, always maintained a normal BMI but was just unfit and unhappy with my body compared to girls I would see and the silly media. So I decided to sort out my diet. Cut out unhealthy fats, carbs and sugars. In terms of my diet, I try to eat as clean as possible. Clean eating doesn't mean boring food. You can still enjoy the same foods but swap unhealthy ingredients for better ones, such as white bread for brown or Wholegrain bread, white pasta for spelt pasta. I stick to high protein low carb diet. Although, I enjoy a cheat meal once a week and chocolate is my weakness! 

Now for fitness, I joined the gym properly April 2014 and became dedicated going every day. Before this I struggled to go because, believe it or not, I used to get anxious just being, feeling like I didn't belong. However now, gym is my second home. I do a mixture of cardio and weight training. However I hate cardio so don't do it as much as I could. I used to be unhappy with my body but now I am happier :) 

All these lifestyle changes are good for your health too. Reducing risks for cardiovascular disease and diabetes for example.

I'm doing this for me. To be fitter and healthier.

Follow my instagram @anastasias_blog for my food diary :)

Until next time,

Anastasia xo

Countdown To Summer Beach Body!

Hello Dolls!

Sorry I have not been posting for a while!

I am back and this time more focussed on food and fitness :)

Just a short post updating you...

I have kept up with my gym routine, six days of weights and one day of cardio and I, along with others have noticed a difference. I will keep you posted about this, photos to follow soon.

I just thought I will let you know of my dietary plan for time being. I am attempting my best to eat clean with high protein and low carbs. So here is an idea of my daily menu:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs/omelette and baked beans, green tea

Mid morning snack: Banana

Post workout: MyProtein impact diet whey protein shake

Lunch: Salmon, sun dried tomatoes and tartar sauce on whole wheat tortilla OR brown rice with peas and sweet corn, chicken and salad

Mid afternoon snack: Dates/Actimel/Apple

Dinner: Chicken and boiled veg OR Bunless Lamb burger, beans/salad 

 

I have started to get into the habit of meal prepping. This is such a good thing to do as it actually stops you from eating junk during the day as you have food prepared already. It also is really useful for days you have a packed timetable and no time to cook.  I have to admit I have a cheeky chocolate bar every now and then as that is one thing I am unable to give up! Do not come in between a girl and her chocolate!

So here's to clean eating, fitness and our route to a summer beach body.

Until next time,

Anastasia xo