Nicola Tweed | Design & Lifestyle Blog

31 May 2013

Push it real good!

Oooooo baby baby!

Ok sexy fit sister tell me can you do one full manly push-up?? Be honest now, I'm not gonna judge you. Hell I have no place to be all judging judging because I can't do one myself, total blind one! If you've met me or know me at all, you'll know that these little twiggie arms of mine even struggle with a girlie push up. Seriously what the f*** is that all about, it's ridiculous and embarrassing and something that needs to be sorted out like as in yesterday!

There is nothing more gorgeous on a woman than defined + toned arms, you'll see my obsession for it over on my pinterest page. So I just don't know why I can't drop down and push out 20 for you right now especially since I know how great they are for strength building + toning! Why, why, why? Okay enough dwelling on the can'ts and more focusing on the cans (aren't you loving the Savannah CAN ad at the moment?).

London Fitness Guru Joslyn Thompson Rule of Fit Girl About Town created these awesome little videos to help get you from zero to push up hero in just 10 weeks! So I've decided to take on the challenge starting with week 2 from today (I'm a stretching queen so decided to skip week 1). And even better (and oh so scary) I've decided that I'm going to be taking a video of myself on day one and day seven of each week and posting it up on my site so you guys can join me in becoming push up heros.

Ok so I'm off to take on day one of week 2 and create my first ever vlog.....check back in on Thursday for the update. x

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30 May 2013

If I keep telling myself it will get easier I reckon it will...

Right now I'm sitting in our office with the sunshine streaming in through the windows, listening to a little KC and getting a back massage from this awesome pillow massager thingie (that my boyfriend bought in London). Lucky I am, yup yup! And I feel even more lucky and on the right track because I've just moved to a new town and everyone I seem to meet loves to exercise, just like me! BIG SMILE!

A couple weeks ago I was introduced to a morning trail running club and so far I've clocked up about 30 to 40km in just 2 weeks. I think it's brilliant considering I haven't run in ages!!!! Anyway today's post is about what ticks up in my head during these morning runs. Firstly I've got to say I've never been a morning person so positive thoughts are really non existent in the morning and so the first kilometer or so is probably my most challenging however this morning I decided to just tell myself that this was going to be the easiest and most enjoyable run ever. So whenever I got silly thoughts like 'this is f** hard' or 'oh no not another hill' I'd just replace it with 'I choose to believe that this is an easy run and I am totally having fun!' and you know what, yup you guessed it, I had one of the most enjoyable runs ever! And it was over in a flash!

Another trick I remember learning for one amazing running friend was to choose a song and try and sing it, in your head, word for word. It tricks your mind by making it focus on something that is positive and taking the negative thoughts of pain and tiredness away. Will be sure to sing a power KC ballard to get me through my next run. lol!

29 May 2013

Glowing Gratitude

Ok so it seems like every site, facebook post, book etc I read at the moment seems to banging on about Gratitude... Ya think this is a Universe smack down????? Uh huh!

So here's my glowing gratitude for all things beautiful in my life RIGHT NOW....

Time (and lots of it!) - Imagine waking up each morning and being able to have the time to browse your favourite blogs, making a delicious breakfast, sit outside in the sunshine, go shopping + read to your hearts content. Well that's me right now! (Jealous?) I've been unemployed for over 2 months and it's fabulous having all this time on my hands. When in my life will I ever have this time again??

This amazing + inspiring interview of Mastin Kipp - I've known about Mastin for ages but never really warmed to him until I watched this interview. I love hearing how the Daily Love got started, wouldn't it be awesome if Kim K discovered Sweat. Nourish. Inspire ;o)

Space + Sunshine - Beautiful morning hikes + permanent sunshine. I LOVE South Africa

Delicious Recipes + Green juicing - Apples + broccoli + ginger + lemon + avocado + bananas YUMMY!

My gorgeous + loving boyfriend.... Enough said

27 May 2013

Little Loving Challenge # 2

If you are part of my newsletter you'll know that challenge number 2 is about being authentically you...

First let's look at what it's not about.....

It's not about defining yourself by the career you have, or the sister/girlfriend/wife role that you play. It's not about apologising and justifying your actions. It's not about compartmentalising your life and only sharing tit bits with certain people. It's not about copying someone else's style/writing etc. It's not about putting yourself in a boxing ring and beating yourself up every time you make a mistake.....

What is about is....

Being open and vulnerable with everyone that you meet, sharing ALL your stories and trusting that you will not be judged. It's about laughing out loud + snorting if you want too. It's about knowing your strengths + building on them. Acknowledging your weaknesses and building on them. It's about surrounding yourself with positive + encouraging people that bring out the best in you.

And best of all it's knowing that you are worthy of love because 'You is kind. You is smart. You is important'.
Ahem Abileen!

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20 May 2013

Little Loving Challenge # 1

#littlelovingchallenges is a weekly feature on Sweat. Nourish. Inspire, designed to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone, test your abilities and grow into the person you want to be. At the beginning of each week a little loving challenge will be put forward to you and what I ask is that you be open to the challenge and feel free to share any struggles or aha moments that come up for you during the week darling!

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#littlelovingchallenges: No complaining

Complaining is a creative act. The more you complain, the more you attract things to complain about!

Look at it this way, if you are complaining about something then you must know that there is better out there but you are unwilling to take the risk of creating it.

In the Success Principles, Jack Canfield says "The circumstances you complain about are, by their very nature, situations you can change- but you have chosen not to."

So how do you stop?

Replace complaining by making requests + taking action steps towards your dreams.

When you find yourself in a situation you don't like, either work to make it better or leave.

Take a risk - find a new job, ask for a pay rise, work on your relationship etc...

So what have you been complaining about lately? And how are you giving up your complaints?

Let me know in the comments, darling.

Want more? Get FREE updates on the Little Loving Challenges here....

15 May 2013

Nourish + Inspire: Your blank canvas part 2

Me watching the most beautiful sunrise from the Hollywood Hills.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to do a little research on the perfect morning person, this is part two of my research, but you can read part one here.

The morning's seem to be getting better and better, with all the great habits I've been implementing: juicing + meditating + using my favourite body wash (Bodyshop's Hemp) and practicing gratitude, I am turning into a pro morning person(well almost). Kudos to me ;)

Early risers aren't just nicer to be around in the morning, they're also happier, healthier and more self-satisfied.

What I've learnt is that morning habits shouldn't be about the things that you have to do they should be about the things that you want to do. They should be the things that that you enjoy doing and that are meaningful to you. Polly Noble does a coffee enema first thing in the more before moving onto yoga as she says it's a brilliant tool in helping her stay as healthy as possible. Other successful women I know spend time talking to God, expressing gratitude, asking for guidance or even going for a walk with their dogs. Practiced often these habits can help you feel more in tune, more in flow, and more aligned with where you are going and with who you want to be.

Evenings should be peaceful and relaxing. The moment to switch off the T.V, put away the laptop and connect with your family and children. This is a perfect time for reading and writing and letting your brain relax. Watching T.V. or surfing on the interwebz stimulates your brain and makes it over excited leading you to lie in bed counting sheep and wonder why you aren't falling asleep?! And as you know these annoying nights can lead to a very grumpy you in the morning.

So basically the thing you need to realise is that if you make over your morning you can literally make over your life!

Encouragement for today

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