Break For The City

Today me and the guy are setting off for the big city! Our capital city: Edinburgh. My Greek boyfriend has been living in Scotland on and off for nearly a year and a half and I have not taken him there yet. Shame on me! So, we booked some last minute tickets in a dirt-cheap hotel, which kind of resembles student accommodation - but got 4 stars on Trip Advisor, so can't be all bad! We aren't too fussed because we won't be spending too much time in the room anyway. There will be too many exciting things to see and do!

Booking a room the night before for a spontaneous trip really is brilliant. The night before last we were sitting up in bed discussing that our life was a little dull and that we didn't do enough during our time off. I get in these ruts sometimes and the best thing is to get up, shake it off and do something about it. Last time we did something like this we had such a fantastic weekend!

I also hope to meet up with my best friend for coffee or drinks, and catch up on some gossip. She is studying in the city so it will be nice to have a local to potentially show us some hidden gems. It is horrendous the amount of times we actually get to see each other during the year... 2012 will hopefully be different.


Any surprise weekends you guys have been on recently?

From here.

From here.

Weekend Tribal Rave

Last weekend we hopped in the car with only a change of underwear, sleeping bag and toothbrush (the man forgot his toothbrush...) for a tribal rave in the forest. About 30 of us rented some heated wigwam chalets for the night and rocked out under the stars (and torrential rain) around a camp fire. One guy brought his decks and as we are so far from civilisation we could blast it as loud as we liked and nobody would complain - and it was loud!

I sloped off to sleep at about 1.30am (I know I'm lame, right?) and didn't drink much. The upside of this when I got up people were sounding very worse for wear - one person actually in the foetal position. Oh how I love not drinking sometimes!




The little huts were so cute. This was ours (above) and it slept 4 people at a squeeze. Thankfully only 3 people stayed in this one so there was some space left for our bags. The mattresses were pretty comfy and there is a stream rushing past a few metres behind so we woke up to hear the running water. It was pretty magical! I would drive up here by myself for a weekend of (almost) no electricity and reading almost solidly.

I liked the fact that it was camping but you didn't have to rough it. The huts were warmed with little radiators, had sockets for charging mobiles or using a hardryer, hot showers in the communal block, a small kitchen to make dinner in and bacon rolls were served up in the morning from the campsite reception.

Definitely a fun weekend with nature!

Pop Pop Popping!

Me and the guy are big movie buffs. We generally watch around 3-4 movies per week and run out of things to watch fairly quickly. Last week I managed to find seasons 1 and 2 of Battlestar Galactica (fantastic series by the way) for under £15 so we are swiftly working our way through those - safe to say we are hooked!

I don't really snack on anything when watching films usually but last week I thought we should try and make our own popcorn. After several attempts (the temperature of the pan turns out to be very important!) we had enough to fill an American supersize popcorn bucket, most of which was slightly over-toasted... On our third attempt, however, we got perfect puffs which grew out of the pan like a possessed beast!! They just wouldn't stop popping! Safe to say we will be using a slightly smaller handful next time....

Find the recipe on one of my favourite health and fitness blogs - Fit Foodie Finds.


All images by me

Kitchen SPACE!

Following on from my previous recipe post (North-African Chicken - yum!).... let's talk kitchens!

When I can afford it and I move into my own small flat I shall relish having a kitchen all to myself. Sharing with 6 other students started as a novelty, but now.... well let's say I'm over sticky worktops and a seemingly constant overflowing bin. For now I can't afford the move (and I have to admit that where I am living now is worth me staying on an extra 1 and 1/2 years), but when I have to move out after graduation - I'll make the most of that extra control over my living space!

From here, and here.

Cooking is a pleasure for me, but the stress of untouched piles of washing up and someone's cheesy milk in the fridge does taint it for me somewhat. I tend to do my cooking quickly and get out of there as quick as possible. I would like my kitchen to be somewhere to linger, have conversations and maybe to sit on the worktop in my PJs on Sunday mornings drinking tea whilst listening to the radio.

Mostly I like plain colours - whites, grays, and exposed wood. But I do like a pop of colour or an interesting pattern here and there. Overall though - I think that your utensils and cookbooks should make the space! For example: I think the kitchen 3 is too plain so I would install a Moroccan-esque textile roller-blind, vase of flowers, and maybe a fruit bowl filled with in-season produce. Cheap but stylish - the kitchen will always look slightly different but reassuringly the same depending on which fruit and flowers you buy that week!

What does your kitchen look like? What essential elements should your kitchen have?

From here, and here.

On a more upbeat note I am going to put a lot of effort into making the student accommodation nicer for everyone who is living here. I don't want people to start moving out so I have to give them a reason to stay, yes? I bought a new bin, hung some new pictures in the living room and am in the process of ordering new plates and a chef's knife set (complete with magnetic strip to go above the kitchen sink). I'm excited to see the new additions and to be talking over the planned refurbishment designs... Exciting stuff!