Back with a Bang

Thoughts...
 Ok, so it's been a while. The past few weeks have been a busy mix of back to school revision, crazed baking, and flat hunting and I admit I have fallen behind in my blogging. For those of you still out there who haven't given up, thank you. Today has been a particularly happy one as not only have I completed my final essay of the academic year, but my boyfriend and I have finally managed to secure ourselves a flat. If everything goes to plan we move in next week, I cannot wait!

A lot has happened in the past month so rather than boring you with huge paragraphs of writing, here are a few choice pictures of what I've been up to.

I've discovered Snog frozen yogurts, which I love. My favourite toppings are strawberries and oats

My grandmother has lent me her car so that I can practice my driving with my dad. Longest drive so far: Reading to London - 3.5 hours!

My baking escapades have included a chocolate-nut cake, above, made using no flour, and a Dolly Varden cake which consists of a spiced fruit sponge sandwiched between two layers of plain sponge.

A Cream Tea at Café Concerto

Hunting for elephants on the Southbank, look out for these around London! For more info click here

Don't forget to go out and vote tomorrow!

April Showers

Thoughts on the Day...
Urgh, I'm feeling pretty rough after having too many drinks at lunch, followed by watching Arsenal lose horribly to Barcelona. So I will try and keep it brief. Driving lessons are going well, slightly terrifying at times but really good fun. The weather today was lovely and sunny and reminded me that eventually it will be hot again, I cannot wait for summer.

...Musings

Buns & Bread: For the first time in my life I gave up something for lent: bread. That's right no sandwiches, wraps, pastries, pancakes or waffles for me. It actually wasn't that bad but as a consequence I have gone on a bread eating frenzy since Sunday including tucking into Hot Cross Buns that I made myself. I forgot to take a picture of then so instead you can enjoy a picture of Easter Eggs.

 A Day Out in Kew: On Bank Holiday Monday I visited Kew Gardens for the first time in my life, and I absolutely loved it. We took a picnic lunch and it was just a great day out. Despite the price (£13, £11.50 concession) I highly recommend it, especially if you take a picnic and visit on a quite day.

 

 

Motors & Macaroons

Thoughts on the Day...
The Easter holidays are finally here and I have just a few pieces of work to do which leaves me loads of time to do whatever I want. On Sunday I baked a Dutch Ginger Cake for my dad which is still going down well and last night I upped my game and attempted Macaroons. It was actually relatively straight forward, although I did manage to make a huge mess. I made four flavours: banana with a rum cream filling, chocolate with a peanut butter cream filling, strawberry with a lemon cream filling, and pistachio with a plain cream filling.

Although they're not perfectly round, and some of the colours didn't come out properly I'm pretty proud of myself.

...Musings

 On the Road Again: When I was 17 I took one driving lesson and then didn't bother again. Now, thanks to my dad's constant pushing and kind donations from family, I have bought ten lessons, the first of which I had on Monday. It was really good fun! Who knows, in a month or so I could be taking my test.

 

A journey home: So I went to get the Bakerloo line home the other day and to my delight a train was pulling into the platform as I got there. I ran up to get on the front carriage and realised, all too late, that I had unwittingly run into a carriage full of drunken Southampton FC fans, who then started to dance, cheer, and bang on the windows until the train reached Marylebone where they got off. There then followed a period of blissful silence until, we pulled into Baker Street and this time we were ambushed by a group of schoolchildren who had no sense of personal space and fell and leant on those of us who were sitting down. The school children got off at Piccadilly Circus which meant there was enough room for a random supporter to come sit down next to me and ask me if his breathe smelt as he blew beer and onion scented fumes in my face. Of course I said he was fine and gave him a thumbs up before getting off at Charing Cross. I walked to the overground and got on my train thinking that the rest of my journey would be wonderully uneventful. That was, until, a woman decided to sit practically in my lap, squashing me against the window for the rest of the way home.

Work, Work, Work...

Thoughts on the Day...

I am trying hard not to get snowed under with work at the moment. Due to all the dramsa of the past few weeks I have gotten a bit behind with work, at the busiest part of term time. I've spent the whole day revising for my 期末試験 (end of term test) and I was meant to hand in an essay last Thursday which I am yet to write, and I have never missed a deadline before. Couple that with still not feeling 100% and you have my life at the moment. Roll on the Easter Holidays....

...Musings

Sport Relief: This Sunday I did my first sponsored run for Sports Relief and spent a lovely day running along the Thames in the sunshine with my dad and boyfriend. I was part of The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games team which even had it's own mascot - Foxy, who proved to be hugely popular!

I hope this will be the first run of many this year. Thanks to all those who sponsored me!

Pastry! I recently watched a program on BBC4 called 'Kings of Pastry' (watch it here on iPlayer till April 6th), it was amazing, I want to be a pastry chef! Ok, maybe not but I at least want to learn more about pastry work and cake decorating. I am struggling to find a course that won't break the bank, but I did pick up this great book at Anthropologie which is full of recipes that I want to try. 

 

Thankfully I have a month off at Easter to experiment in the kitchen so expect some pictures....

Goodbyes & Hellos...

Thoughts on the Day...

This is not the happiest way to commence this blog but the reason for my long absence is because my grandfather died last week. I won't go into detail except to say that he was a wonderful man, that lived a long & happy life, and if I can accomplish just a fraction of what he did I will be a very happy lady. 

...Musings

European Night: I was lucky enough to witness Arsenal's 5-0 victory over Porto last week; a thoroughly enjoyable game. Role on the quarter finals!

Presents: This weekend my boyfriend and I spent Saturday in Selfridges buying each others Birthday presents. He came away with 'Assassin's Creed II' and a new PS3 controller, whilst I selected a beautiful pair of shoes and Chloé perfume set; very happy!

  

It's been a while...

Thoughts on the Day...
I have let my blogging slip of late which means I am now left with a wealth of stuff to talk about and will, no doubt, forget to mention something. I went to the Royal Opera House last Tuesday to see the ballet. It was a performance of Romeo & Juliet; the costumes were gorgeous, the music was beautiful, and the surroundings were amazing. There's always such an interesting mix of people at ballet performances and we were surrounded by couples in tuxedos & ballgowns, and tourists in jeans & t-shirts. I came away feeling thoroughly cultured.

 

...Musings

Ladybird Cocktails: I have always been a fan of cocktails, but I have to admit I have never found one that I could drink over again without getting sick of it; they're either too strong on alcohol or too sickly sweet. But that was all until I went to Ladybird Bar for my birthday. We started off the evening with a strawberry & raspberry daiquiri and 'pornstar fluffer' both of which were served in giant martini glasses, and were extremely tasty.

However the highlight for me was the 'Alice in Wonderland', I couldn't even tell you what was in it, except to say that it was delicious. 

Chinatown Morning: I was running around town last Wednesday morning picking up a few bits for my mum's birthday (Happy Birthday mum!) and found myself in a weird place, Chinatown in the morning. Far from the usual gathering of tourists and locals bustling through, the place was empty except for a few shop owners and delivery vans, it was an oddly tranquil moment. The light was nice so I took a quick picture of the pretty lamps strung up to celebrate Chinese New Year. 

The Shard: I have been meaning to talk about this for ages. I am unreasonably excited by this construction project. I think this is mostly because I go through London Bridge every time I go home and so I have been watching the building spring up from literally nowhere. However it has gotten to the point where I make sure I sit on the side of the train that will give me optimum views of the tower. Whatever you feel about it, it will be an impressive structure, the tallest building in London. And most importantly of all it will be South of the river. For more information on the project click here. 

21 Years

Thoughts on the Day...

It was my 21st birthday on Tuesday which I celebrated by having a meal with friends and family at a Japanese restaurant. Inevitably in these situations you get people saying 'Wow, so you're really (insert age here) now' to which there is no other response than 'yes'. Of course the real reason behind this is because nothing makes us feel older than those around you aging. It's bizarre for me to sometimes look at my younger cousins or my niece or even people who were in the years below me at school and realise how much they have grown up. But for now I still don't mind celebrating Birthdays and will try my best never to say 'you're looking so grown up now!'

...Musings

Food & Drink: This week I have consumed enough food to feed a family of four, and enough drink to last a class of 15 year-olds a whole night. Highlights have been pizzas at Fire and Stone, cakes from Patisserie Valerie, beef stew and rice from Spinach & Agushi, and cocktails from Graphic Bar which were served in little paint tins.

Recipe of the Week: This weeks concoction was Coffee and Walnut cake, a favourite of mine. I altered the recipe I found slightly by using espresso rather than dissolved instant coffee, and using cream cheese icing rather than butter icing which I then flavored with more espresso, yum!