The Pro's and Con's of Being Me

Today was the last day I had to go into uni. I have two assignments due in a few weeks so I probably will go in to use the library, but no more classes.

Today was the last day at work. Elation and joy were but two of the emotions I experienced walking out. A desire to be wearing an extra scarf was another.

As it turns out, Wednesday was my last netball game. We are through to the last round, so will probably win the cup, but I'll be in Manchester for the game so will miss it! Not cool.

So, in light of those changes, and the magical holiday I embark on in a mere 11 hours and 37 minutes, I'm going to do a Pro's and Con's of Being Me!

CON

Oh Annie that's a chunky smoothie! Needs a few more seconds on setting 4 I think!

Thanks, really helpful.

You can tell I'm still fuming.

PRO

Got to eat this apple!

How perfect is it! What am I snow white? 

My skin is quite pale at the moment so maybe...

CON

I'd like to tell (possibly re-tell) a sad tale, from the island of Makarska, Croatia.

I had suspected my body of having succumbed to a dairy allergy for a while, so had laid off the dairy for a week or so. Felt pretty good. Which meant I was most likely allergic.

I thought I'd throw caution to the wind and have a nutella ice-cream, just to triple check!

A few scoops later resulted in me sprinting back to the boat to use le toilette. 

I know, I know TMI, (we all do it), but it 100% confirmed I was now allergic to chocolate, I mean dairy.

For the rest of the afternoon I was blowing, I was in such a bad mood that I had taken to kicking my thong (flip flop) along the pavement in front of me, much to my mums (Joni's) horror and shame.

Everywhere I looked was croissants and milkshakes and fruit salad with YOGHURT, the ultimate insult.

Such was my level of grump that I knew I would have to be pretty sensible and prepared for any future travels.

For Scotland I've packed ample food for the bus (banana, apple, dairy free choc bar, salad stolen from work), all my breakfasts (porridge, and I have a plastic bowl to take), some gluten free crackers, and some Oat'Nana Pucks!! See above picture. YUM.

Recipe here.

PRO

I get to eat Oat'Nana Pucks.

And say Oat'Nana Pucks.

PRO

Sarah got me hooked to the best podcast, The Minutes. I've definately talked about it on the blog, but it's Patience from the Grates (an Australian band) and Mel Buttle (and Australian comedian) just using words. It's really hilarious, and I tweeted them and they replied! 

Please enjoy this video of Mel impersonating her parents.

I'm no mathematician, but I believe that's 3 Pros, and 2 Cons.

Pro at life!

See you after Scotland!

I may live-tweet Scotland so have a gander if you're on it:

https://twitter.com/olaannie

xx

P.S. Just realised 4 out of 5 of those were food related.

P.P.S. Just got Pinterest! What have I been doing with all my spare time until now?

http://pinterest.com/anniedziad/

I Forgot!

Apologies to Marthe for leaving out this Fred Astaire-esque picture from my previous post!

Great photography, great modeling, great umbrella, just all round great!

Enjoy.

I Love Rain

Before I even start this post I just have to say, I am blowing!! As my last post says, Sarah and I went halves in a blender that only worked once, I finally got round to getting a new one today, and it doesn't work!!! Not at all!!! I foolishly put all my smoothie ingredients into it without checking, and got so excited at the thought of the cool, crisp banana and blueberry goodness, but no. I must have done something really bad in a previous life to deserve this, like turning down the pages of library books or the like.

Anyway. Before you get worried my life does actually have more meaning than a blender. Just.
The last 2 weeks since my last blog post have gone really fast, a lot of stuff has happened in between now and then so I'll uh, fill you in.

The first suprise was on Tuesday the 12th, when I received a loan I was expecting from my Australian uni. A good one. To celebrate I went for one of my famous adventures. I'm practically the Famous Five incarnate. Minus four.

I digress:

Wednesday Adventures: Camden / Primrose Hill / Angel / Hampstead

Soy Mocha from Melrose and Morgan in Primrose Hill

The cake display at the very famous and prestigious Ottoleghi in Angel. You know I got one....

The sun trying its best in Camden, taken whilst walking along the lock, or 'Little Venice' as it's known

My future home! All the houses in that square are coloured, Primrose Hill is the best

Cactus at Folklore in Angel. I like it and was hoping my Mum could tell me what it's called...

My lunch at Maison d'être: goats cheese, pine nut, portobello mushroom, red onion relish and greens salad, and a peppermint tea!

The view from my bench at Hampstead Heath! I ate my Ottolenghi cake and read my book, A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian, which I got for £2 from Mary's Living and Giving Shop in Primrose Hill (Mary as in Portas: famous UK fashion stylist).

My photos of the Ottolenghi cake aren't very good, my iPhone no longer focuses. But for the record it was an orange and almond cake and it was so moist and dense and delicious. AH. Yum.

Wednesday night I got to meet Marthe's sister, who I had heard so much about! They're ridiculously similar, they have the same glasses, have the same way of saying things, are both don't mind humouring me when I tell a bad joke! The only difference is Marthe's sister is nicer*.

On Thursday I made some frittatas, recipe here, for the freezer. Not that exciting until Sarah whipped out her DSLR for me to use! They were very tasty, as good as they look!

I went out in Clapham on Saturday 16th with Joni and Sophie to celebrate quitting my job! Woo! I quit for various reasons, not wanting to get up at 4:30 in the morning anymore etc etc. I have one more shift left this Thursday then I'm Audi-3000. No pictures from Clapham but I think that might be a good thing.

The next day was St Patrick's Day! We (Joni, Sophie and co) went to Waxy's in Piccadilly Circus, a famous Irish Pub! We stayed for a few hours, left because it got crazy busy, pulled Sarah and her bff Cass out of the line (truly sorry once again) and carried on. Sarah, Cass and I bailed to go to Honest Burgers. So yum. It was also a nice opportunity to meet Cass properly, she is Sarah's bestest bud and is over here on a working holiday for a few months! We're going to T-in-the-Park festival with her, and she'll no doubt start to feature in le blog.

Beef burger, gluten-free bun, the best chips you'll ever eat.

The week just gone was fairly standard, it was my last week of uni classes! I had to say some goodbyes which was really strange, I'll especially miss my Creative Non-Fiction buddies. All except one.....

Went out on Wednesday night with a friend from work and the netball girls, became well acquainted with a toilet cubicle and fell asleep on the night bus home, but drinks were only £1.50 so it didn't even matter!
Perhaps as a direct result of that I've had a cold since then and have been feeling a little flat.....

ZING!!!

That's not really me. 

I just laid out my new training gear. If I'm going to be jobless, uni-less and netball-less, I figured I may as well hit that gym! See my Instagram for a look at my super rad inspirational poster I made when I was on self-imposed house arrest yesterday to cure my cold.

Another thing. It's like 0 degrees and snowing here again. I was FROZEN today. Spring is (not) sprung!

Sorry for this picture overload, but these last three are from mine and Marthe's Saturday adventure. We went to the Wool exhibition at Somerset house, Covent Garden and Soho. Such fun!

Bear made out of wool...

The Lindt Big Egg Hunt in Covent Garden. The easter-egg hunt was for ages 3-12. Ridiculous.

Home!
The floor at Stanfords, a big travel book shop in Covent Garden, is a map!
Please excuse my Cons, they need a wash. Also they're a size too big I'm not a giant.

So up and coming:

TUESDAY: I was asked if I'd like to interview the British Writer Michele Roberts at the North London Literary Festival, clearly I said yes! It's organised by my uni and I'm excited and nervous!

WEDNESDAY: Netball game, possibly our last one (it's down to the cup: knock-out round)

Comedy and Quiz at the uni pub!

THURSDAY: Last shift at work!

FRIDAY: 11am bus to Glasgow baby!

Many pictures of sunny (hah) Scotland to come!

XX

*Totally joking, just checking if Marthe reads this! If I get a punch on the arm I'll know.

Back on Track

Hey guys. It's been a while! I've tried to go back and remember all the stuff I've done since my last post, a month is a long time though so I've just done my best! I'm at what you'd call a lull in the trip. Not boring, not at all, just sort of "in between". Christmas and New Years is gone, and I've got heaps of things planned for the next four months but the last 6 weeks or so have been mainly working, uni work and not having much money! Just like a normal student!

So, probably the most exciting thing since my last blog was Marthe's 21st Birthday! It's a big deal in the Netherlands too, and we celebrated it with aplomb. Look at my Instagram photos of cake (Ellie is truly a kitchen witch, in the Hermione way), the birthday girl herself, and some great pictures of the night- Sarah the genius got Marthe a disposable camera to document it! Such a great idea. Please admire the pics of me in a large oversized clown bow-tie. Just because.

21!

We've booked almost all of our Scotland trip now, leaving on Easter Friday, working on the accents etc etc. Very excited.

Also, Sarah and I bought a blender! More on that later.

So, to bring it to the present.

On Thursday I had to go the Australian Embassy to vote, as WA was having an election. It wasn't that exciting, but here is a snap of what I looked like (the lift took ages):

And I found the fact there is a whole floor dedicated to wine in the Australian embassy really funny.

I had high hopes for adventures on Sunday (yesterday), after skyping my parents (was Mum's birthday) I got myself ready and went to Pimlico, on the Victoria line. (Just a side note, the Victoria line goes SO fast! Honestly don't even worry about finding a theme park for an adrenaline rush.) So Pimlico for the Tate Britain, a really good art museum full of both old and contemporary art works. My favourite was a haunting painting of Lady MacBeth and her daggers,

...and a humorous set of photographs by Keith Arnatt of dogs and their owners from the 1970s.

Well worth a browse. My plan was to the walk along the Thames and visit the mixed-reviewed Tate Modern (supposed to be phenomenal, my Dad hated it), but due to an extremely stupid wardrobe choice for the day, a dress, tights and a light jacket, I was freezing!! Instead I went to Oxford Street and had a coffee at Flat White, delicious. Then Sunday was ruined beyond all repair when, after ONE use, the new blender stopped working. I just sulked for the rest of the day, which is what anyone would have done.

And then today started off terribly! I woke at 6:30 not really knowing what day it was, and I should have been on the 5:27 tube to work.... I had the worlds fastest shower, got to work by 7:30, but due to my haggard appearance and obvious tiredness, boss just let me go home. I felt really bad, but then I realised.... adventure round 2. This time wearing sensible clothes. After going back to bed until 1pm (for those that dont know me [hello readers from Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Latvia], that is very out of character, so I must have been tired), I went into the freezing, snowing London air for a mosey. After a slight hiccup when an ATM short changed me, I had lunch at Honest Burgers. Best ever. I got the chicken, so delicious, and the gluten-free buns are much appreciated. I walked up Tottenham Court Road and explored Bloomsbury! So nice! The lovely Russel Square beckoned, I appeased it's call,

and I walked past a super rad building:

I then went to all the parts in Bloomsbury from my London Style guide, it's a very peaceful and serene area, quite close to the madness that is Oxford Street. If anyone is in London (come and visit), I'd recommend taking an afternoon to stroll to Bloomsbury, it's only 10 minutes away! Bloody love London. I got another map from Ben Pentreaths (oh hello book yes I would like to own you), visited the School of Life,

who Phillipa Perry has a collaboration with, and went to, on my mothers suggestion, the People's Supermarket.

It's an unusual place, it's run "for the people, by the people", all very hippie and socialist, but is basically a fight against the Asda's and Tesco's (Woolworths and Coles). It's an independent store that stocks organic and independent produce, and if you work there got four hours a month you get 25% off! Good deal I think. So that was cool, I had to rush off to get to netball training:

Yes I know what you're thinking. Annie, why didn't you go to any of the London Coffee Guide Shops? You have 100 to get to shouldn't you have made the most of the free day?

Don't worry, I went to three. Store Street Espresso, Reynolds and Lantana. Yum! I got a soy mocha from SSE and Lantana, both Australian cafes, and a biscuit from Reynolds. This is the best task I've ever assigned myself.
[Also never fear, I'm not going to come back looking like a biscuit as I had this for dinner].

Soy Mocha- Store Street Espresso

So my plan for the week: Skype with the beautiful Jacinta tomorrow, netball, uni, a few cafes, work, Sunday is St. Patricks day and I'm going to suggest the quiz at the uni pub on Wednesday night. Liz, Marthe, Sarah if you're reading this, are you in?

Much love, sorry this was so text heavy, and one last Happy B's to my mum. She's 28, for anyone wondering.

XX

P.S. I think you'll have noticed these pictures aren't the best quality, my iPhone no longer focuses. So sad. Poor thing has got me through a lot.

P.P.S: got some new pens for my diary. Day 269!

Bananrama

This is my first post that on just food. How that is true I’m not sure! The blog will be getting a bit of a makeover, in a good way. I’m planning on adding lots of details on my travels for reference for future travellers and will be writing more about food. Just so my future career prospects soar you know.

I have recently become very interested in nutrition, weird food like kale and qunioa, and superfoods (spirulina, I’m looking at you). The main reason is thanks to this lady: My New Roots. Really amazing food blog full of recipe ideas, I had this for breakfast, this for dinner, and plan on making this really really soon!

However, before we get all high and mighty and wholegrain, I think we should stop and smell the nigella seeds. A round of applause for Ms Lawson and the very ground she walks on!

As my mum’s cookbook collection is right next to our kitchen table, and considering my inability to eat without reading, I’ve read How to be a Domestic Goddess cover-to-cover countless times. My eyes widen over the gluttony and sugar, and I’ve made quite a few recipes from there! One of them I repeated for Marthe’s 21^st on the weekend, banana bread!

The recipe is available here online for those who don’t have the book (please buy it, even just for the hilarious and well written introductions to the recipes).

I tweaked it a bit, took out the walnuts, rum and sultanas and added chocolate chips. Also mine only took 45 minutes in the oven, rather than an hour and fifteen, but as my mum always says “remember, a recipe is only a guide!”

All that remained the same afternoon I made it!

In closing, here are three tremendous Nigella quotes:

“I am not a chef. I am not even a trained or professional cook. My qualification is as an eater” (How to Eat, pg ix)

“You could probably get through life without knowing how to roast a chicken, but the question is, would you want to?” (How to Eat, pg 8)

(in reference to a recipe for Peanut Butter Squares) “You may think that seeing how the dough is made—just peanut butter, butter, and sugar—might put you off eating them. Sadly not. (How to be a Domestic Goddess, pg 223)

xx

Already?

Mates**. Another short break from blogging, but ONLY because I'm sort of just living life at the moment. My six main activities right now include uni, netball, work, going out, drinking coffee and procrastinating. And thanks to a few recent purchases (including an 8-day tour of Morocco, a trip Porto in Portugal [both in June] and a fur coat) the amount of going out is being drastically reduced! But, I'm still having a whale of time! 

Since my last post it has been Australia Day- very fun. We ended up being quite a large group of Australian / NZ's + 2 Dutch girls who, can I just say, blended in very well! Did some 2pm pre-drinking of chardonnay from a tiny owl decorated hip flask (an amazing Sinterklaas present from Liz!), then went to The Walkabout in Shepherd's Bush which played some seriously Australian tunes.  Nostalgia and homesickness set in for about 10 minutes until the novelty of seeing Southern Cross tattoos wore off, but it was still lots of fun. We then carried on to East London to a place called The Book Club which, while quite tame that night, is featured in my London Style Guide and would be a really cool place to have dinner. It's on the to-do list.

Apart from that I've done lots of coffee drinking, netball season has begun again, really enjoying it despite the cold outdoor games. And, as you can see from these photos, I mainly just drink out of small vessels and hang out in cafes. I know how to have a good time.

Acai and blueberry smoothie from Fix Coffee in Shoreditch.  And some cool street art in the background there.

Salad plate from Look Mum No Hands (a cafe my Dad would like!). That thing that looks like cauliflower cheese (and tasted like cauliflower cheese) didn't have any cheese...

Soy mocha from Shoreditch Grind. Cost me £3.25 because it was in Shoreditch, but I did feel cool even just being in the cafe.

Almond milk mocha from New Row Coffee. Genuinely the nicest coffee I've ever had. Amazing.

Lost this bad boy walking to the tube. Cancelled it, paid £10 for a new one, then found the old one............... hmm.
I gouged my eyes out for the photo, in case you're wondering.

This is in the main square at my uni at the moment, it's to encourage people to do a survey of the university, but I like to think it's for Valetines Day. Yes I'm going out, yes it's to an anti-Valentines party! Not that I'm anti-Valentines, I just couldn't choose between my 16 dinner offers so said no to all. Fairest way to do it really.

ALSO, exciting news. I got some marks back for the host of assignments I had to hand in after New Years, and for this food article and this travel article I got a first! Which is like an A or a High Distinction. Boooooyah.

Have been asked a few times recently whether or not I'm ready to go home, and while the answer is without a doubt no^^, I wouldn't mind some KitchenAid / ice-cream maker action, the kitchen here is just not rocking my world. When I get home I'd like to knock these up.

Up and coming events include a visit from Marthe's friend Vincent, a homemade cocktail night, another Move On's gig, organising a trip to Scotland, Marthe's 21st birthday (!!!!) and counting down the days until my next loan comes in....

Also, big thanks to Joni for buying my cake yesterday, and accompanying me to the National Portrait Gallery which I thought was fantastic!

SONG OF THE WEEK / MONTH:

 I haven't got one! I'm so out of touch with the tunes lately, please refer recommendations to my Facebook page or, if you don't know me, the comments section below.

INSTEAD here are some fun websites:

Made In Shoreditch

So, How Was Your Day?

Rap Genius

Enjoy

xx

**Have become super Australian of late thanks to listening to this podcast: The Minutes by Patience Hodgson and Mel Buttle, they just chat about life. Hilarious.

^^Except I do miss M&D a bit.

Finally...

I'm famous! A published author! 

Well sort of, the author and psychotherapist Philippa Perry came to our Creative Non-Fiction class last semester, and myself and Richard, one of my classmates, wrote up a short synopsis on the visit, and it's been put up on the Middlesex Literary Festival website here! Very exciting!

Also Philippa herself tweeted about it.

@josiebarnard I googled myself. Your students are so lovely! mdxfest.com/2012/12/15/phi… !

— Philippa_Perry (@Philippa_Perry) December 29, 2012

I'll just get my pen for those who wants autographs....

Annie xx