Soggy Saturday

Yesterday I met a friend at 9am to hit Tottenham Court Road. Well, specifically to go to T.K.Maxx and attempt to find a handbag and shoes. I failed in that respect, but did manage to find some underwear, and then some yummy shoes in another shop. One of the pairs was bright green (and match the nail varnish I am currently wearing!)

Following my early start, I returned home to get some uni work done and eat some lunch before helping to collect food for the Foodbank in Vauxhall. It was amazing to see how generous some people were. I'd heard stories, and figures and descriptions of tonnes of food but it was quite something to see so many items donated. It did continue to rain throughout the day... this required Starbucks on the way home to defrost and make the joints in my fingers work. It was half helpful...

The evening consisted of dressing as a clock, dancing a lot, drinking lychee mojitos. The rain was unceasing and I returned home with numbers smeared down my face, and my feet bleeding from my painful shoes.

A soggy Saturday, and from all I can tell, Sunday will be too. Despite that, it's been good. Perhaps I need to go get some work done though.

Too much babbling, not enough philosophising.

Go jump in puddles kids, make the most of the 'drought' we're supposedly suffering from.

Much love from Miss Rambles. Aha. x

Napping Nightmare

For the first time in nearly three years I have become submerged in the trial that is the student revision, and exam period. A-Levels were quite a long time ago for me, yet I distinctly remember the sleepless nights and hibernation that occurred in an attempt to secure good grades. Fortunately it paid off, but y'know, they aren't quite so important any more, and instead I have a degree to contend with.

Now, I'm not trying to say that the first year of a degree is the end of the world, but, being the geek I am, I like to do well. It's come as a bit of a surprise therefore, that I once again find myself in that position where I am aware that I should be working ALL THE TIME. I'm not good at that. I like being social, I enjoy shopping, and coffee, and sight-seeing, and well it's my birthday soon too, and exams and essays are seriously hindering this.

Anyway, today I got up early and worked all morning, had a late lunch around 3pm and decided I wanted to read a book about dragons and elves rather than more literary theory on Roland Barthes. A worthy decision I'm sure you'll agree. So, equipped with tea and a good view of the City from my window, I opened my book. A few pages in I began to get drowsy, and not long after, I conceded that a nap was just going to happen, whether I wanted it to or not. 

Total mistake.

Awaking over an hour later, my hand imprinted on my face, a headache twisting my temples, and eyes blurred with confusion, my overwhelming thought was REGRET. This is not the first time such a napping nightmare has occurred, and I have reason to believe it won't be the last. Such is the life of a student.

So, after wasting a large amount of time, I am continuing to plan an essay...long into Friday evening. This most definitely hinders the desire to go and be sociable, or, make a nice dinner for that matter. And on that note, you have my advice: avoid napping at all costs. It's a temptation that totally ruins your day. 

Trust me, the desire to sleep is not equal to headache and blurry eyes. I just don't know how cats manage it!! xo

Shopping Spree

With the arrival of student loans, my desire to shop has increased ten fold. And it was already pretty high.

Do you ever have that period of time where you know you need to buy things but you put it off because you can't really afford to? Well, that's been me for the past six months. The result is that I am desperately in need of a large number of things.

Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my sense of logic, and have bought other stuff instead. 

Recent purchases include...

and these...

As well as another dress, and jumper, and underwear, and stationery and a number of other ridiculous things. 

Woops.
xo

A Sunday of Delights

I returned to London yesterday afternoon, and with quite a flourish managed to come last in the Pub Quiz I was at in the evening. The shame, the shame. Anyway...

Sundays are normally one of my favourite days of the week. They tend to involved going to church which I love, and that in turn also involves seeing friends which I love too. Mix in some coffee before, or dinner after and that's a good day right there. Today was a delight though.

This morning I met a friend for breakfast in Bethnal Green, and we went to Columbia Road flower market. I've been meaning to visit for ages, but until now have yet to find the motivation to get up early on a Sunday morning. I'm sure you understand. Anyway, after getting trapped behind a locked gate (oh the joys of uni security) and then getting a tad lost, I was finally able to meet Lizzie. We sat in a very cute cafe, eating croissants and drinking the best coffee I've had since leaving London three weeks ago. Then we poked about in the most exciting shops, full of books, vintage jewellery and designer clothes, before fighting our way through the stalls of flowers. I was so incredibly restrained to not buy anything, but they would've been ruined by the time I got home tonight.

As we both had other plans for the day it was a bit of a short trip, and though we could've happily listened to the busking cellist for a long while, we unfortunately had to leave. However, I think I might've found a new favourite place to hang out. 

The rest of the day I spent drinking tea and reading whilst waiting for friends, and then a huge starbucks social with friends from church before heading to church itself.

I've got plenty that's filling my brain so I'm going to read and journal and head to bed for an early night. I'm looking forward to the arrival of friends tomorrow as they return to uni. Hurrah for good things, and hurrah for sunday.

Delightful.

During the Hail

"March winds and April showers, bring forth May flowers"

I won't lie, the sky has been a little bi-polar the past few weeks, what with icy winds, torrential rain and the odd outburst of glorious sunshine. It's made spending time outside an adventure in itself, and I've successfully managed to destroy two umbrellas in the space of three weeks. 

Still, it's leant me some time to do some reading, and some chilling, both of which I don't do that much of. And, as I hear you scoffing at my lack of reading, let me qualify that...I read a lot. But that's because my degree makes me. (And don't get me wrong I love the learning, geek that I am!) But, it's not the same as picking up any ol' book that you find on your shelves, and hiding away with dusty pages and a cup of tea.

So, that's what I did these past few weeks. Whilst it hailed outside, I've been working my way through a number of books, mainly about dragons and magic, and elves and dwarves. What can I say, I like fantasy. It's been pretty delightful.

Unfortunately imagination isn't reality, and I've had to break into the real world on occasion. Fortunately for me, that's not too difficult when there are lots of friends to catch up with and new cafes to try.

Yesterday I went to a new deli, about 15 minutes from where I live. This place opened a few months ago, and as they have bunting in the windows, I rather expected to like the place. I wasn't disappointed. Armed with vanilla chai, a friend and I whiled away a couple of hours, pausing our conversation to buy some earl grey and marvel at the cuteness of the cafe. Everything was really reasonably priced (one of the benefits of not being in London!) and the staff were so friendly. Made me want them to sit down and join us. 

Anyway, following my lovely morning of civilised tea and chat, I joined some other friends for lunch before heading home (in the rain and hail I might add). Today I paid my respects to Nero and got some work done in there, following a trip to T.K.Maxx where I ogled their handbags and debated buying half of them. 

I was very restrained you'll be pleased to know. Anyway, the tiresome task that is packing needs to be done as I head back to London tomorrow. I love home, but living in that tiny-box-harry-potter-couldn't-fit-in room, has stretched me to my limits. 

I'll be sure to note any interesting people on my travels tomorrow, and write about my appalling performance at the pub quiz in the evening. For now, I'm going to ignore the looming deadlines and exams that require my attention, they along with the hail can remain outside of my thoughts. 

Love and nuzzling friends.

xxx

VICTORY

It might have taken seven months to the day, but I finally got the answer I was looking for. I think it's safe to say that justice has been done. I might have squealed when I got the email. Yayayayayayay!

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

When I have the time and the inclination, I love a good bit of cooking. Today I spent my time attempting to crack on with the mountain of Uni work that I need to get done. Inevitably that gave me the time and inclination to want to cook, so armed with half the spice cupboard I began and it was pretty delicious. 

Here's the recipe...

Ingredients

2 Sweet Potatoes

2 Tins of Chickpeas

2 Normal Potatoes

2 Carrots

Some pepper (pick a colour of your choice)

A few mushrooms

An onion

Tomato Puree

Garlic Cloves (the more the better!)

Coriander

Paprika

Cumin

S/P

Any other herbs you might want to throw in

Balti curry paste (because I'm a bit of a cheat really)

3 Veggie Stock Cubes

Essentially, peel and dice all of the veg so that it'll all cook at around the same time (hold back on the peppers and mushrooms or they'll go soggy). Also, I sauteed the onion and garlic first. Throw all the veg in a big pot, and begin to cook, then add about a tea spoon of all of the herbs. Mix up the stock, add that to pan and give everything a really good stir. At this point it'll look pretty strange, but don't worry it does come together eventually.

Pour in one tin of chickpeas, and then split the second tin so you have about 2/3 of the tin left over. These you need to mix with a potato masher - they thicken the sauce in a bit of a miraculous way. Add all of these to the pot, spoon in a couple of dollops of balti paste, and a whole lot of tomato puree. Stir the pan and have a good taste, then add a whole heap more spices.

The curry needs to take a while to reduce and for everything to get nice and soft so don't be afraid to add more stock, or at least more hot water if it's boiling away. Once the curry has come together more as solid mass than lumps of vegetables, you are ready to gobble it all down. Mmmm.

Cook up some rice, and enjoy! xxx

A Degree of Worth

I'm currently making adjustments to an essay on Marx, his view of ideology, and how any text can be used to serve the ruling classes.I'm writing this in the context of homelessness in London, and the way in which it represented to the middle classes as a simple issue of finance.

This is exactly why I'm doing an English degree. 

Sleep Induced Post

It's nearly two thirty in the morning. All you're getting is a list...

I went to work, read for nearly six hours, got lost in a world of dragons and elves and then came home. My evening involved tea and sunset at the beach, followed by watching We Bought a Zoo. There was a lot of icelandic music and I fear the combination of dragons and iceland may have melted my brain.

In the morning I have a phone interview for an exciting summer adventure. Oh boy, my head is such MUSH!

Love xo

Realisation regarding TOWIE

As mentioned previously, due to a birth celebration, my friends and I had a civilised evening of cocktails and dinner, and then a not so civilised evening, going out themed as TOWIE. Now, for all of us this was a bit of a revelation when we realised that...

1. There is good reason we don't own, let alone wear, neon, tight clothing.

2. Fake tan that is 50p from Primark is always going to look bad, no matter the hope you have that it wont be a disaster.

I also discovered that although my ridiculously blonde eyebrows require a daily application of brow pencil, this is not nearly in the same league as that which is required when you're pretending you're from Essex. Also, fake eyelashes are a nuisance like no other.

So, with those realisations documented, here's a few ridiculous photos. 

In addition to the excitement of a TOWIE night, the past few days have been occupied with friends, work and family. Friday night me and the girls cooked a lot of duck, and made slutty brownies, a recipe we stole from The Londoner, which is incidentally, one of my new favourite blogs. Anyway, after essentially eating delicious heart disease, we watched In Time, with a bit of Justin Timberlake and then went to bed. Saturday I returned to the beach to begin my seventh season of work there. Yes, seventh. I'm not sure what to make of that, but there we go. Sunday was full of church and family, and today has been incessantly pouring with rain, so apart from a food shopping trip with the mother, I've been locked inside with a novel.

It may not be extravagant, but it's been a good couple of days. Anyway, I need to go do tedious things like wash up and write a to-do list. So, farewell for now, and in the meantime, enjoy drooling over the delights of my cooking!

Love xo

The Great Exchange

I have a feeling that this time last year I wrote a post marvelling at why Good Friday was ever called 'good'. For so long I could never understand why a man's death was a good thing, in fact, it seemed utterly barbaric.

But today, I get to celebrate the love of God that overcomes all things, and is lavished on my life with such generosity it has changed everything I am. 


‘The soldiers stripped Jesus and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him […] Above his head they placed the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” […] About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) […] And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.’ (Matt 27:28-31, 37, 50)


Jesus' death is remarkable, his crucifixion overwhelming, because he never deserved to die. As a man he was sinless and had done no wrong, as God, he is holy, perfect and powerful. The Great Exchange; that on the cross he exchanged his sinlessness for my sin, his perfection for all of my imperfections and in doing so, made a way for me to know him, with all of my sin and rubbish dealt with. 


Someone pointed out these incredible truths to me:

• Jesus was lead outside the city, so that we could be brought into the city of God.
• Jesus was stripped naked, so that we could be clothed in righteousness.
• Jesus' body was broken, so that we could be made whole.
• Jesus was forsaken by God, so that we could be accepted.
• Jesus was put to death, so that we could be made alive.

Good Friday is an incredible day. I look to the cross and see the love of God so perfectly displayed; a love that led him to His death, a love that welcomes me completely. Love that blows me away.

And what's even better is that Sunday is coming, for the Saviour didn't stay dead in the grave, but is raised to life, securing my hope in Him forever more. 

May you have an incredible few days lovely friends. I am off to marvel at this some more and enjoy dinner with friends this evening. What a weekend. I am just so, so blessed. 

From Waterloo to a Ghost Village.

Monday morning I was due to leave London but after it was discovered there was a fridge of food that needed eating before I headed back to the south coast, some friends were invited over to help me munch down the box of eggs I didn't want to go off. We enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast of fruit and american pancakes before leaving for Waterloo. My lovely friends helped me with the burdensome suitcase and such and it wasn't long before I found myself on the train to the coast.

Unfortunately I'd drunk nearly an entire caffetiere of coffee over breakfast and then bought an iced latte at the station as I had some time to spare. Needless to say I was quite hyped up whilst in the crowded little train carriage. The day was amazingly sunny and as I travelled west, a friend and I decided it was a good day to head to the Purbecks, an area of hills and beach and general astounding beauty. 

So, not three hours from being in East London, I found myself standing in an abandoned village on a military firing range, admiring an art installation and the beautiful scenery. It was a little surreal. We were in Tyneham village, a place that the army took over in the early years of WW2 as they had a camp there already. It's only open a few weeks of the year, and though we'd tried and failed to visit over Christmas, the day was perfectly sunny. We headed to the beach and discovered the most stunning cliffs and hills, with a sail boat sat peacefully on the water. There was no one around. It was made even more perfect by the arrival of what looked like a pirate ship. I was fairly sure I'd found myself in some sort of novel. We finally left after taking a billion photos and watching the sunset, and succumbing to the dalmatians desire to eat the biscuits we'd brought. We saw deer on our return through the forest, and I arrived back home still somewhat in awe. 

Now the last few days haven't been quite so picturesque, but they have been fun. Tuesday I caught up with my friends, most of which I've not seen since Christmas. We're all a little mad, have an unhealthy appreciation for cake, and have a slight ability to laugh until our faces contort into the most grotesque shapes. Needless to say, we had a good evening of dinner and cocktails for the Irish one's birthday. It involved a lot of squealing and excitement. 

Yesterday I drank about a tank of tea as I caught up with another friend, before heading to the girls' house for dinner and fun. The evening ended on their new trampoline, gazing at stars and recovering from hysterical laughter and screaming which is the obvious result of bouncing around in the dark.

Today I was meant to work, but considering it's reverted back to winter, I wasn't needed at the beach. I plan to achieve some of the things on my to-do list and read a bit of my book about dragons. 

Oh, and tonight we're going out, dressed as TOWIE characters. 

Sometimes, just sometimes, I have to laugh at the insanity that is my life.

Much love amigos. 

xo

Holiday Weekend

Following the beauties of my Friday night, I was dubious as to whether the rest of my first weekend of holiday would live up to my high hopes. Fortunately I have been pleasantly surprised and find myself still awake at this crazy time of night in an attempt to process and remember everything. There's nothing like a little blog blabber to organise one's head!

So, Saturday I got up rather earlier than I usually would but made my way to West London to meet two friends from home. The plan was the Natural History Museum but this was somewhat delayed by their getting lost, and so I continued the interruption with a latte in a cafe around the corner. After being reunited, hugging a lot and squealing a little,we made our way to the musuem, and spent a couple of hours being awed by the giant whale, the inside of a camel, and the incredible dinosaur's. It's a geeks paradise I'm telling you. Lunch involved delicious french sandwiches and pudding and a little more coffee in a rather sophisticated place. The food was divine but we definitely didn't succeed in the sophistication stakes.

Anyway, a short hop over to Leicester Square to collect some show tickets and then a wander past Whitehall to the Southbank Chocolate Festival. There was insufficient freebies at said festival so we bought some cookies and millionaire's shortcake and enjoyed the cooking wonders that were about instead. The rest of the day saw us head back to Leicester Square and enjoy a casual mojito at a bar which overlooks the whole of London. Another day of loving the city. 

Whilst my friend's went to see Les Mis (incredibly, incredibly jealous!) I went home, finished my essay, watched some House and got an earlyish night. Perfection.

Today conisisted of church fun, so some student teaching stuff, church, then drinks at a bar for about three hours. We spent time sharing our testimonies and it's amazing to hear the diversity in everyone's stories. Being a bit of a story geek, I've fallen in love with the grace that allows each one of us a story that details God's redemption. Each one reminds me how much God cares about us individually, how he values all that way go through, and has an incredible way of making all things work together for our good. Tonight I heard things that belong in a fictional novel, and not someone's real life, but all of it, the blend together and the variety of ways that God has changed people just blows me away. I love, love, love grace.

Returning to the east, I went to a friend's house for some dinner (mainly because he'd offered to cook me curry! Hurrah!) and then we chatted until near enough now.

The morning shall see friends descending on the flat for some scrummy breakfast and a bit of a prayer session before I head to Waterloo and travel back to the hometown. I seem to have crammed a lot into the weekend, and this post as a matter of fact, but it's good just to splurge a little. Here's to hoping that the supposed snow doesn't actually arrive this week, I've been far too happy about free feet in flip flops and the floral summer dresses being unpacked.

Blessings and hugs to one and to all.

Love xoxo