Gem and Jo Take on Fitness

It's something that a lot of people really dislike the sound of. However, as people who recently started, we are here to share with you a couple of ways to make exercise sound more appealing.

If you just scoffed and murmured "yeah, right" to yourself, stay with us for just a moment. We know a ton of bloggers share their fitness and lifestyle tips, and we're no different. But, and there is always a but, we think that we have a slightly different attitude towards fitness.

We've decided to make this a bit of a segment on our blog, mostly because there is just so much to talk about and if we made it one big post people would be 700 years old by the time they finish. So instead we are going to discuss, topic by topic, how we've started bringing some exercise into our lives without dramatically changing everything we do. Sound too good to be true? Stick with us and you'll see what we mean.

To kickstart this little segment, we want to start by saying we are in no way disputing what any other blogger has to say about fitness, lifestyle or anything else to be frank. As a blogger you know that the nature of the business is that everyone has a different opinion. It's the reason the blogging world is so successful. So, feel free to share your opinion with us, but please don't lecture or create a space for negativity within these posts. We want to create a place for people who don't want to change their entire lives just to become a little healthier, for them to be able to freely share their thoughts and progress. And for that to happen, positivity and motivation is a must!

Like everyone else on planet Earth, we've been told time and time again that exercise and a healthy diet are seriously important if you want to live a long life. Recently, we feel that the 'super fit' lifestyle is being shoved at us from every direction. There are so many videos, channels and instagram accounts dedicated to girls and guys showing off how fit they are. Fair play to them and their dedication to total body fitness and to their ability to create a community through which they can earn a living. However, not everyone has the ability to become that fit, or to do 70 reps of squat jumps (Gem can do around 10 and then feels like she'll puke up that pizza she had for lunch). Some people have limitations, and that can be obesity, an injury/ disability or the fact that they just don't know where to start. We're here to tell you that you don't need to let them limitations...limit you, for lack of a better term.

All you need is some determination and a pair of runners ('trainers' for y'all Americans). What we want you to do is get out and go for a walk. Start simple. Now we're not talking about a stroll around the park. You need to get your heart pumping, get some sweat breaking. If you feel you can jog, do it for a few minutes then slow back down. Walk for a little bit more and then try again. Wanna know the important part? The part that will get you back walking/ jogging the next day and the day after that?

Let yourself feel pride in that fact that what you just did was an achievement! No matter how far you went, how long you ran. You feel that pride and revel in it! You did good, you made a start and you should be super proud!

If you feel like you're just not ready to go for a walk or jog, start smaller. When you walk up the stairs, lift your knees a little more. Google how to do a squat properly and use it in everyday life. When you take washing out of the machine, squat down and back up again. When you get dinner from the kitchen cupboard, squat down. Feeling brave? Set yourself a targets and stick them to the fridge. Use this one if you're stuck for inspriation:

• Open the fridge: 5 squats
• Stairs: 3 squats at the top and bottom
• Waiting on washing machine: 3 squats followed by 3 lunges, 

These are some easy ways to introduce exercise into your daily life without it taking over completely. Another thing we've done? We've started with exercise, and yet we've made hardly any change to our diets. We feel that if you try to change everything at once, it's a lot harder to succeed. So maybe a diet change will come to us eventually. For now, we're happy eating some chocolate and doing some exercise.

And please remember that we are not professionals in this area, just some girlies looking to motivate. You should always consult a health care professional before you make any major lifestyle changes, especially if you suffer with health problems. 

Make sure to keep an eye out for our next post in this little segment, we'll be talking about the fashion that motivates us to keep on trucking. 

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Irish Music

To celebrate Seachtain Ná Gaelige (pronounced: shocktin nah gwail-i-ga) or Irish Week, we have decided to be good Irish folk and share our favourite Irish music with you guys! We know when you hear the words "Irish Music" images of fiddles and dancers with their arms super-glued to their sides probably sweep into your head, and while that kind of music can be a good bit of fun, there's more to Irish Music than that. So throw down your fiddle and bodhrán (pronounced: bough-ron), and let us share with you some of the Irish bands that we have been loving!

 Delorentos

These guys are probably one of our favourite Irish bands. With their great lyrics and super catchy indie pop melodies its no wonder that these guys are so popular in Ireland. Their latest album is just great and if you get the chance to see these guys live, go! (that's an order, not a suggestion). Check out their song 'Forget the Numbers' and we swear you'll be hooked. 

All Tvvins 

If you play Fifa, you've probably heard the genius that is All Tvvins. These guys haven't even released their first album yet and have already gathered a growing fan base abroad and in Ireland. We have had their song 'Darkest Ocean' on repeat!

Two Door Cinema Club

We have always been big fans of Two Door Cinema Club. Their brand of indie pop is so upbeat it just puts you in a good mood!We have loved their last two albums and with rumours of new material on the horizon we can't wait to hear what they come out with next. Check out their song 'Something Good Can Work', it'll forever be our summer song. 

Otherkin 

Looking for something a little bit heavier, look no further than Otherkin. Another band that hasn't released their debut album yet but seem to be gaining fans by the minute. If you're into The Strokes or The Hives you are sure to like these guys. 

Bell X1

Honestly there isn't much that we can say about these guys except that they're great. A little poppy at times and a little rocky at others. While we haven't heard anything new from these guys in a while, they have started touring again which is just awesome. Check out 'White Water Song' one of our favourites that we think is often overlooked!

These are only a few of our favourite Irish bands. Honestly we could probably write an entire book if we included them all (in fact there's an idea!). 

Have you heard of these band before? Give them a listen and tell us what you think? We'd love to know. 

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Monthly Music

Who doesn't love some good tunage? Honestly we don't think life would be much fun without some really good music to rock out to. Whether it's helping us to get out of bed in the morning, making our commute to work a bit more bearable, or getting us pumped up for a night out, we need some seriously good music to get us though the day. Here's some of the songs that we have been playing constantly this past month.

Beck- Dreams 

Just in case you didn't know, Beck's music is awesome. Seriously he's some dude. We have been loving this song lately. It's just so upbeat and fun. We dare you to try and be in a bad mood and listen to this. Honestly we don't think it's possible. Also if you enjoy yourself some Beck be sure to check out his version of  Bowie's Sound and Vision, it's simple amazing. 

The Jungle Giants - She's a Riot

This song just screams spring (okay not literally, that would be kind of scary). The Jungle Giants are always good for some upbeat tunes and this one is no exception. We love sticking this on in the car and singing along at the top of our lungs (that doesn't make us weirdos does it?). 

Catfish and the Bottlemen - Soundcheck

A little bit heavier than the first two picks but still just as good, we pretty much love anything Catfish and the Bottlemen put out. This is their latest single and we have been playing it non-stop. It's just a goodie.

Tame Impala - The Less I Know the Better

The Rhyming scheme in this song is just lovely. Take a listen and experience it for yourself. 

Saint Motel- My Type

You may have heard this song in few ads lately, it seems to be just about everywhere. But who cares, it's brilliant. super upbeat, fun and honestly makes you want to dance (even if you are incredibly bad dancers like ourselves. Honestly we look like we're going to break something). 

We have been loving these songs over the past while and we hope that you guys get a good kick out of them as well. 

What songs have been rocking your boat lately? We would love to know!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Talk TV (Spring 2016)

While we are quite the little busy bees recently, we love to kick back, eat crap and watch some telly. Who doesn't? It's nice to relax every now and then. In fact, we feel like most people don't do it enough. We're always rushing around and looking at our phones. But let's face it, that's life these days. Who are we to try and change it. So lets sit back, eat chocolate and popcorn and watch telly while also tweeting about the tv show and what we're eating.

Here's some of the tv shows we'll be watching in the coming weeks!

Total Divas

Source: hulu.com

We are seriously addicted to this show! The drama, the bitchiness, the crazy outfits! Ugh! We love it! Our friend Megan introduced us to this crazy world and we could not thank her more. If you haven't watch this one and love the likes of the Kardashians and ANTM, you need to get on that. It's good we promise. 

Hawaii Five-0

Source: imdb.com

We'll admit it, the reason we started watching this was for the gorgeous island it's filmed on but then we saw Steve McGarrett's face and we were hooked. In fairness his whole body is to thank for our continued viewing. It's a crime show, but with a few odd twists and turns. Definitely worth the watch. 

100 Code

source: amazon.com

This one is not for the faint hearted! It's another crime show (we like these alot) but it's set in Sweden. Now, if you're not into subtitles and the odd foreign language thrown in, then you probably won't enjoy this one. But we love that we're learning a little Swedish when we watch this. Educational! An extra to this show? The theme song is brilliant! Definitely watch this one, but it's one of those that needs to be watched from the very start. You definitely won't be able to pick this up along the way. 

Lucky Man

source: celebrityworldwide.com

A bit cheesy, but sure who doesn't love a little cheese. It's created by Stan Lee and this is the one for all you Marvel lovers out there! The story revolves around a cop in London who comes across a magic bracelet, sounds a bit crazy, we know but don't let that turn you away. This one has all of the mystery of a crime drama with a little superhero flair thrown in. Also James Nesbitt's accent is just lovely.

There ya have it, the tv shows we'll be indulging in while we wait longingly for the summer!

You watch these? Let us know in the comments or recommend some more for us!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Are Back

Well Hello there Stranger! 

So after a long and well deserved break from the blogging world we are back and ready to jump right in!

For a while there we were pretty swamped with work. We're trying to figure out how we fit into the post-college world and it proved difficult for a while. There are a lot of responsibilities and expectations that no one told us about. 

In the last 6 months or so, we've graduated, gotten full time jobs and have started Masters Degrees, along with trying our best to have some fun in what little spare time we have. And so blogging took a back seat, which is sad because we really love it! Hence the reason we're back!

So to ease us back into this bright, friendly world, we've filmed some new youtube videos. You can check 'em out here. Despite what you might think, our youtube videos are less work than a blog post. Taking the pictures, editing them and then trying to think of something witty and unique to say can be a little draining. Plus we all know that sometimes when you try too hard at something it can end up being horrendously difficult to finish it. But don't you worry your pretty little heads, we will have plenty of blog posts up soon enough!

For now, enjoy these pictures of us graduating with our Undergraduate Degrees!

This is our friend Patrick, and yes, we did pose like we were in Hogwarts. Wands and everything.

Until next time. 

Gem and Jo's Travel Tips

Summer for us means travelling. Whether that is hitting the road or hitting the sky, summer is the time when like to get out there and see the world. So with that in mind we decided to share some of our travel tips.

1. If you're jetting off to somewhere that has a different climate to the one that you've come from, wear a convertible outfit. This is an outfit that can be altered slightly to suit loads of different weather. Our favourite is a cute dress that when worn with tights would suit our colder Irish weather, but when worn with sandals is perfect for hot sunny weather. Tights and sandals are super light and don't take up much room in your carry on bag.

2. If bringing checked luggage,don't pack too much into your carry on bag. You don't need seven books, four outfits and three pairs of shoes for a two hour flight. Bring what you need and any valuables, and leave it at that. Airports can get very busy and you don't want to be breaking your back lugging around a massive bag.

3. If you're stuck for space in your bag, buy toiletries in the place your're heading. You can pretty much buy shampoo, conditioner and shower gel anywhere. Unless you're super picky about your toiletries there is no need for these things to take up weight and room in your bag .

4. If you're heading somewhere sunny bring sensitive cleanser and moisturiser with you. The sun, sea water, and chlorine can wreak havoc on your skin and make even the most robust skin sensitive.

5. Check out if your hotel or apartment complex offers pool towel hire. A lot of places offer pool towel hire for a small deposit and this saves you the bother of bringing a huge beach towel.

6. If you're travelling by plane make sure to stay hydrated. That means drinking lots of water and bringing a nice moisturiser with you. The plane air can make you really dehydrated and you don't want to be arriving at your holiday destination looking and feeling like a raisin.

What are your travel tips? 

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Pretty Pictures

We are seriously addicted to taking pictures, but who isn't these days? We just love to whip out our phones or cameras and capture all those little moments! Here are a few of our favourite pictures we've taken recently!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Take on Pinterest

How didn't we know about this earlier? We had always heard people going on about "I pinned it to my wedding inspiration board" and we just never quite understood what they were talking about. Until now!

We joined Pinterest a while ago, but we hadn't got anything on there because we couldn't quite figure it out. Plus we had a ton of university stuff going on so we didn't have the time to really sit down and understand the ins and outs of the website. Now that we are exam free for the foreseeable future, we finally decided to fully understand the amazingness that is Pinterest.

We made a couple of boards, the usual stuff like Beauty, Shoe Lust and we even made one about the places we've travelled to! Granted the majority of those are in Ireland, but it's a pretty place so that's allowed.

If you want to follow us on Pinterest to keep up with all the stuff we're loving, the places we've been and want to go to and of course all the pretty shoes and dresses we find during our extensive online shopping sessions, our user name is @gemandjo. Or because we're super techy like that, you can click on the Pinterest Image in this post to go straight to our page!


Let us know if you have Pinterest and we'll follow back! You can never see too many wedding inspiration boards!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Little Apology

Good day lads and ladies. Today we are super sorry people. Sorry because we have neglected you. BUT! 

We have very good reasons so please don't chuck rotten fruit at us...

If you follow our youtube channel: Gemandjo Taketheworld then you'll know that we are currently in university. Alas, everything must come to an end and now we have found ourselves in the last few days of our undergraduate degree and with a ton of work surrounding us from all sides. 

So with that in mind, we hope you guys understand that we need to take a little time to finish our last few assignments and exams before we jump back on the blogging bandwagon. 

So, as we always say, until next time, 

(hopefully next time we will be exam free and degree holders...fingers crossed and somebody go tell nana to light a candle for us! ) 

Gem, Jo and The Versatile Blogger Award.

Well hello there! Today we're posting something a little different to our usual! It's a tag post known as The Versatile Blogger Award, and we were so excited to be nominated by Libby from Chibby Beauty, who is just the sweetest for thinking of us!

If you're not sure what the Versatile Blogger Award is, it's a pass-it-on kind of thing, where bloggers who were nominated, choose 15 other bloggers that they believe are worthy of the award and then they pass it on too. And in the post you tell your readers 7 things about yourself. Simple! 

For the awesome bloggers we nominate, here are the rules! 

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and leave a link to their blog.

2. Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.

3. Link to 15 bloggers that you have recently discovered or read regularly.

4. Let them know you nominated them for the Versatile Blogger Award

7 Things about Gem: 

1. I love crime tv shows, I watch nearly every single one of them. 

2. I have a prescription for glasses for driving but I hardly ever wear them when I drive. Oops. 

3. I've broken my ankle playing Badminton. And football. And when I was swimming. 

4. Related to number 3, I'm the biggest clutz to ever walk the earth. 

5. I won an award in Home Economics in Secondary school a week after burning the school kitchen down. 

6. In about 3 weeks I'll have finished a degree and I still feel about 9 years old.
7. I have the weirdest best friend. She also happens to own half this blog. Awkward. 

7 Things about Jo:
1. I've gotten my hands stuck in both an ice machine and a vending maching. Yes I am that clumsy. 
2. I own over 50 pairs of sunglasses, all the same shape but in different colours, which is kinda weird since I now have to wear prescription sunglasses. 
3. There's a running joke in college that I am fantastic at parkour, when the reality is that I can't even do a handstand!
4. I am just about to finish my degree but I still have no idea what I want to do with my life. 
5. I love dogs and every time I see one I revert back into my five year old self
6. I am a tea-aholic. It doesn't matter what kind of tea it is, I will drink it, and I will drink it by the bucketful. 
7. My best friend thinks I'm the weirdest but she decided to be friends with me so that doesn't say much about her sanity!


Bloggers we nominate:
Now, we know you're supposed to nominate 15 bloggers but we have been so slammed with college work lately that we haven't even had a chance to sit down and do some good ole fashion blog binge reading. But, here are a couple of the blogs that we've been loving when we have a minute to breathe: 

Perfectfixations.blogspot.co.uk
Themixandmatchblog.com
missgeorgiee.blogspot.co.uk

madolynblackburn.blogspot.ie
evies365.blogspot.co.uk 

Thanks again to Libby for nominating us. If you haven't go check her blog by clicking here

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Water of the Week - Apple and Grape.

It is a gorgeous bank holiday Monday here in Ireland at the moment (it actually isn't raining for once!), so what better way to enjoy the little sunshine we get than relaxing with a nice glass (or pitcher) of fruit infused water! Today's special; Apple and Grape!

Here's what you'll need:

An Apple!

A Handful of Red Grapes. 

Thinly slice the apple and chop your grapes in two. 

Chuck it all into some ice water and you're good to go!

Here's why this combo is good for you: 

• Grapes are a great source of potassium. 
• Apples are a great source of immune boosting vitamin C
• Apples are a great source of antioxidants which help fight free radicals
• Grapes can help to reduce blood pressure through anti inflammatory mechanisms. 
• Grapes are great for keeping your hydrated!

What's your favourite fruity water to drink on a sunny day?

 Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Water of the Week - Flavoured Water

This week we've decided to do something a little different, and it wasn't because of the fact that neither of us happened to have any fruit in our houses today (that's a lie, we got a little lazy...oops)

The other day we happened upon something amazing, magical in fact. 

Flavoured water.

Don't rush to judge us now, we know that the general opinion of flavoured water isn't great but this one seems pretty good to us!  We picked up Tesco's Orange and Peach Still Water, just to try something a little different and we were surprised at how good it is!

It's seriously tasty and from the ingredients the only thing it contains is a little flavouring and some sweeteners. All the GDA information is in the green and it contains hardly anything! Check for yourself, here's the nutritional information for Tesco's Peach and Orange Still Water:

You can pick this 1 litre bottle up for just 40c! How good is that? You can also get it in a pack of 4 for €1.99 or you can go fancy and get Volvic's version for €1.45

You can pick these up from Tesco stores or you can order them online here

Have you tried this water or any other flavoured water? What's your opinion?

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Water of the Week - Strawberry and Lemon

And it's back! Water of the week took an unscheduled break last week, lets just blame it on someone else and not our inability to remember the simple things. It's all George's fault. Whoever George is. 

This week it's Strawberry and Lemon, a really refreshing and light combo. Perfect for this time of year! 

Here's what you need: 

Strawberries!

A Lemon!

Thinly slice your strawberries and lemons, don't forget to make sure the slices fit in your water bottle!

Chuck everything into some icy water and off you go.

Here's why this combo is good for you: 

• Both lemons and strawberries are go to detoxing fruits for when you're feeling a little unwell or generally want to feel better and healthier. 
• Strawberries are high in water and fibre content!
• Strawberry and lemon water is thought to have the ability to flush your liver of toxins!
• Lemon water is a natural digestion aid and can stave off hunger during a diet!
• Strawberries whiten your teeth while lemons help your skin!

What water are you drinking this week? Have you tried any other fruit infused waters?

Until next time,