What Sarah Kate Says

Last month I shared my goals for the month of May and I have to say that because I'd published them it really did make me try a lot harder to keep to them. You can read about how successful (& unsuccessful) I was here:  http://whatsarahkatesays.blogspot.co.uk/  . So I have decided to continue the experiment into June as well. Step on my fitness Whilst I made a good start in May I really need to up my game from now. I have a holiday and friends wedding later this year that I'd like to be in better shape for.  More seriously I could be facing a surgical procedure later this year that will disrupt my fitness programme so I want to squeeze as much benefit out of the coming weeks as I can. 30 bags in 30 days Cleaning was one of my May goals and one I had mixed success with. I've done some reflecting on why that would be and part of the reason is we have let the house fill up a bit too much...clutter creep I think you call it. So having watched a fab

At the start of the month I shared with you my three personal improvement goals for the month of May: 1. To blog more consistently 2. To practice what I preach when it comes to my cleaning routine 3. To increase my fitness In the hope that I would be more likely to do what I blog, I promised to share with you my progress (or lack of) at the end of the month. So how did I do? To blog or not to blog? Well I am pleased and a little proud to convey that I managed to consistently publish 2 blogs a week this month. I feel like I have finally got a routine that works well for me. It has allowed me to find a good balance between blogging (what I want to do) and working full time (what I have to do). To clean or not to clean?  Mixed success on this one sadly.  I started well, sort of went a bit lazy again, saw the dust piling up again and then blitz attacked the house like a mad woman.  The house is not a terrible mess or dirty, so I chose to concentrate on bl

The work/life balance is a constant battle of good versus evil. The evil part of me wants to sit watching YouTubes and recorded TV programmes all evening, but the good part of me knows that if I don't get certain small jobs done that evening, the next day will most likely suck big time!  Sounds a bit melodramatic I know, but I find if I do the following four simple tasks before I go to bed every "school night" I am on to a winner the next day. My mood is better, I feel more organised at the start of my work day and it helps me keep a clear head for the challenges the work day will no doubt bring. Clear up after dinner: Something it took me  a surprisingly long time to get into the habit of doing.  As a moody teenager I'd always "harumph" at my Mum's insistence on washing up after every meal, but now I work full time, as she did, I finally understand how much this small task can improve your mood at the start of the next day.  If faced with a mount

I was looking for ways to take control of my vanity desk. The space I use in the morning to get ready was getting out of control, so I decided to switch it up a bit and get some new storage solutions to see if they could help tame the beast! Makeup was easily taken care of with some neat plastic drawers (not anything fancy, but functional), makeup brushes were neatly decanted in a pretty floral plant pot courtesy of an Ikea trip, but I still had nearly half the surface taken up by styling equipment. A hairdryer tangling with the straighteners, weaving with the curling wand - it was very frustrating and was making me take longer getting ready that it should. So I once again popped on to good old Amazon and came across a thing called a "Styling Station". It has surprisingly transformed my space! It enables me to keep all three of my frequently used styling tools safely tucked up in this thing and it frees up so much space on the rest of the desk.   Wires are ke

Being an absolute tea and coffee fiend...and British...yellow teeth have been a constant companion for me throughout my adult life. What I used to consider a "Hollywood Smile" was never something I thought could be achieved by someone who does not frequent the dentist (I know naughty). Despite using whitening toothpaste products I've noticed in the last couple of years the yellowing is getting worse and harder to shift with normal tooth brushing.  So I wanted to try something that would be fast and easy to use and did not involve pouring bleach products into a gum shield and walking round the house like Rocky Balboa.  So again following some good ole YouTube research I decided to give the 3D crest white, Supreme Flexfit Whitestrips a go. Sadly they are not available in stores in UK, so I had to order them online.  They are quite expensive for something I'd never tried before, but had free shipping so I took the plunge.   You get 28 strips in the box which is

I've been blogging for a few months now and thought it would be nice for you to get to know a little bit more about me.  I was scanning my bloglovin' feed the other day when my eye was caught by a "Life Tag" post and I thought "Why not?". So here goes.... 1) What is your favourite colour? Blue 2) What is your favourite number? Eight - no idea why, just looks a friendly number. 3) What is your dream career? Full time blogger - who knows maybe one day... 4) Where do you see yourself living when you're on your own? By the sea (not sure which country though) 5) What's your favourite way to travel? By train 6) What do you do in your spare time? Too much watching of YouTube videos to be honest! 7) What is your favourite clothing store(s)? Cos and Marks & Spencer 8) Who would you like to see in concert? Snow Patrol, Muse, Madonna - my tastes are a bit eclectic. 9) What's your favourite tea blend?  Yorkshire Tea 10) Do you collect

To help me achieve one of my May goals (see post linked here:  may-goals-2016.html ) I needed something to keep me organised when it comes to blogging.  As previously shared, I have a Plum Paper planner which I love and use for every day life organisation, but to incorporate blogging into that as well was making it messy and harder to utilise.  So I decided to look for an alternative that I could use as a focus for all things blogging. After scrolling through Etsy I came across a shop called SkandiDesign which caught my eye with a small but beautiful range of stationery products and prints.  I was instantly attracted to the marble effect cover of the weekly planner and decided to go for it. It's not a huge planner, which I like a lot, as feel I can slip this into my bag to plan on the go. After all you never know when inspiration will strike for a blog post. After only a couple of  weeks usage I'm really pleased with the  quality and internal layout.  It'

Amazon link Despite the weather doing its best to ruin summer before it has even begun here in the UK, I had to drive through snow to get to work the other day, I thought I would share with you my sunglasses.  Basically because I love them! I have always purchased quite cheap and cheerful sunglasses, convinced that it was more economical as they would surely get all scratched up in the bottom of my bag.  That was until I stumbled across a You Tuber called "Light by Coco" who is a steadfast minimalist.  She shared her compact and very practical Folding Wayfarers by Ray Ban.   As I've previously shared my shopping ethos had begun to change a while ago, whereby I started to look for quality rather than quantity.  So why not apply the same to sunglasses? Their compact case is perfect for any handbag and keeps the glasses in tip top condition.  The folding mechanism feels sturdy and is easy to use.  Above all else when unfolded and worn the Wayfarer style is

I thought I would share with you my personal goals for the month of May.  Whist I try to be quite organised with my life (mainly so I don't forget anything) I am very poor at setting myself goals and have always been.   I used to hate it at school when you'd have a session with the Careers Counsellor. That awkward 15 minutes where you tried to think of something to say.  I really had no idea what I wanted to be and I don't think I'm alone on that score...am I? Whilst my career goals are a lot less important to me now I do want to ensure my personal life has goals.  My overall hope is that I am healthy and happy.  I have decided that the main key to ensuring that continues is to ultimately aim for balance in life.  After having delved into and lost a good few hours on Pintrest on this subject, I believe the best approach for me is to set myself no more than three manageable goals each month: Goal 1 Become more consistent with blog posts - Being fairly new