Show us yer teeth!

As soon as I walked into the cosy little salon, I was greeted by the brightest, widest smile on the prettiest face! It was Danielle, founder and owner of La Belle Blanc Smile Clinic. She instantly asked how I was and made me feel so comfortable, handing me a form to fill out and telling me about the treatment. This was my first time getting my teeth whitened, and I was really excited!

Society tells me to change my body? I say change your attitude.

So just as we’re all getting over the fact we have to make our bums perkier, jawlines more defined, try and miraculously remove our cellulite and have no trace of a roll whatsoever when we sit down/bend over, there’s yet another thing we have been told to change about our bodies – yasss! Oh to be a woman in 2018!

Scrolling through Twitter and watching Snapchat stories, the same ad popped up twice in the same day telling me “how to get rid of hip dips”… amazing! Just what I wanted to do! Not. Now, if you’re anything like me you’ll be thinking, “what the hell is a hip dip!?”. Let me tell you, it’s basically the shape of a woman’s pelvis that causes indentations in her hips. So in other words, something we can’t change. It’s where the skin is attached to part of your thigh bone and causes a wee indent due to your body structure. So, something completely natural. Hips dips can be more or less prominent depending on what clothes you wear, the width of your hips and the shape of your pelvis as well as the distribution of your body fat and muscle. So, something you can’t change. And yet we are being told to get rid of them. HOW is that meant to make any woman feel comfortable about herself?

This article was aimed at woman, so for the record I am going to speak about this from a woman’s point of view. I completely understand that men also feel pressures and worries about their appearance from society, but because I can’t speak from a male perspective, this post is solely focussed on women.

Four Hours in Amsterdam… and Boogie on the Boat!

On Friday 6th April the Forth 1 team took almost 800 listeners took a voyage from Newcastle to Amsterdam on the biggest party of the year – Boogie on the Boat!

I had just finished the breakfast show with Grant on Clyde 1 on the Friday morning and so I headed straight down to Newcastle from Glasgow after my 4am rise (hardcore) with my boyfriend, Callum who was DJing on the boat so I was really sleepy by the time we boarded the King Seaways, but because of the excitement of the party, the anticipation of heading to Amsterdam and of course the brilliant (and very loud) crowd we were with, I could only manage a wee 20 minute nap! After a few drinks, we headed down to Deck 9 where the bar and dance floor are to meet everyone on the boat and have the welcome meeting with the one and only Boogie, Arlene and Marty from Boogie in the Morning! It’s always great fun and the best way to start the party. Breakfast and dinner on the boat are in a buffet style and there is loads to choose from, which is amazing for a total foodie like me and perfect for lining your stomach for a night on the sauce (and not the Heinz kind)!

Why you need wide leg trousers in your life

As the Meghan Markle craze continues to sweep over us, one thing that has us all wanting to be her is that wardrobe! From classy knee-length dresses (probs the only length you’re allowed to wear as a royal) to French berets, everything she wears, we want. Her style is timeless and she has an aura of effortless class with every fresh look. Something she has been wearing a lot recently are wide leg trousers, even wearing them on her recent visit to Edinburgh with her husband-to-be.

A must-have this spring, these trousers create a gorgeous silhouette and are really flattering on every body shape. For one, I am petite at 5ft2 (and three quarters!) and never thought a shorter girl like me could get away with an extra wide trouser leg, yet I was so wrong! Because of the way the waist pulls in and the way the leg flares out and down to the ground, the style actually makes my legs appear longer. 

My Food Intolerance Test Results

I never needed him to tell me that eating McDonald’s every week was bad for me, even if I didn’t want to hear it, I expected it. But I definitely didn’t expect him to say that my body was intolerant to four of my favourite foods; milk, cheese, hazelnuts and sugar cane. My first thought was “oh my God!! I can’t have Nutella! Or pizza! Or macaroni cheese! It’s almost Easter…! HELP! I CAN’T EAT AGAIN!”

I was calmed by Kyle, food tolerance expert and nutritionist from FIT Scotland who performed the test, who explained that it was simply an intolerance I had to these foods as opposed to an allergy, which is really important to note, as an allergy is very serious and can leave the person who is allergic in a condition where they need to be hospitalised because of the reaction they take. It triggers the immune system and affects multiple organs in the body. An intolerance is how your body reacts to certain substances, so although it’s not necessarily good for your body and can cause symptoms that are uncomfortable, you may be able to eat small amounts of the offending food without trouble.

Let me choose six symptoms; Bloating, headaches, tiredness, water retention, skin problems and anxiety. 

Red Alert! Hot pieces for V-Day round Glasgow

It’s that time of year when love is in the air, things are heating up and the world is full of heart-eye emoji’s. You know I love to shop local, and I’ve found some gorgeous and affordable pieces round Glasgow and the surrounding areas that will make the perfect Valentine’s date night outfit or a perfect gift for that special someone.

Fit for February! Five Fun Ways to Get Fit in Glasgow

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to “get fitter” like so many of us, but you’ve not quite managed to stick to that promising gym schedule you made at the start of January (hollllaaaaaaa, I hear ya), or if the thought of a gym scares, intimidates or what’s more likely bores you, then here are some alternative ways to keep fit and more importantly have fun around Glasgow and the surrounding areas.

Let’s face it, we all want to make a healthier change to our lives, and exercise definitely makes me feel better about the amount of McDonald’s I eat a month! Hopefully some of these ways to burn those extra calories appeal to you more than a gym environment if you just can’t stand machines, gym classes or standing next to someone who looks like an insta-worthy squatter when you can barely lift the bar on it’s own (me!)…

January trip to Portavadie

When driving the winding roads to get to Portavadie, you will be stunned by the breathtaking Scottish scenery that surrounds you. Snow-topped hills like iced buns proudly protect the hidden gems of nature underneath, evergreen trees stand vibrant against a sapphire sky and lochs mirror these views creating a spectacular scene. On the road up from Tighnabruaich, you come to a little parking spot beside a large cliff where a viewpoint lies – and what a viewpoint it is. We were so lucky that after being knee-deep in snow for a fortnight with blizzards and ice-cold sleet showers that on that January day, the Scottish sun was shining and although the air was fresh and nippy, with temperatures of 3 degrees, the drive was beautiful and there was not a cloud for miles. Cold, crisp winter days have always been my favourite.

What to keep in your Emergency Winter Car Kit

Wow! What a day and night on the roads around Glasgow and the West. Today at Clyde 1 we were inundated with calls from you all telling us of roads that were closed, icy, snowy, slippy and everything else in between! So thank you for that. As much as I have access to lots of travel information around our local areas which includes maps, data and cameras to build up a picture of what is happening round Glasgow and the West, it’s impossible to stay on top of every single road and especially on days like today because of the sheer number of problems on roads that are usually running well or that are very small. So I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting Grant and I know what was happening this afternoon as well as telling George and Cassi this morning, your calls and tweets really help to piece that big travel jigsaw together!