A day out in Greenwich

Today we got the DLR to Greenwich. I've only been to Greenwich park before (we live within walking distance, so it's nice to walk there when it's sunny outside). Today we checked out the street markets and had a look at the clipper ship Cutty Sark. It's really cold outside, it's hard to believe it's almost April! We were freezing after a couple of hours of walking around, so we decided to finish our little Greenwich trip with hot chocolate and lattes at Starbucks.

Shopping

My mother and sister are here now! So far we've been to a vegetarian restaurant, strolled around Covent Garden and Soho looking for vintage/second hand shops, they've visited Brick Lane (when I was working on friday) and yesterday we headed out to Stratford for a veeeery long shopping day in Westfields.

View from DLR in Canary Wharf

We went to Victoria's Secret to buy some body lotions and stuff.

I've been looking for a mint green jumper for spring/summer, and I found this one in New Look. I also bought a pale grey one.

Today we're planning on going for a walk, maybe to Greenwich. It's quite cold, only 4 degrees and cloudy, but it will be nice to get some exercise and fresh air (as fresh as it gets in London).

#edinburgh

It's only about 5 months left until I move to Edinburgh to finally start studying! It's scary and exciting at the same time. Scary because I've never been there before, I have no idea what it's like or what to expect. I don't know anyone in Edinburgh, it's far from London and I don't really know that much about the school or my course. Is it the right course for me? Will I like Edinburgh? Will I manage studying in english? Will I even understand Scottish people? Will I make friends? I guess it's normal to feel like this. It's also really exciting though, I'll finally get my degree and after that I can start working towards a real career. I really hope I will love the course, the teachers, the school and feel like "YES, this is what I really want to do!". I'll (hopefully) make lots of new friends and I hope I will like Scotland. It looks like a beautiful place and I've never heard anyone say anything bad about Edinburgh.

Here are some pictures I found on Instagram when I searched #edinburgh.

Gruffalo

All the supermarkets here have started to get filled up by easter stuff, chocolate eggs etc. When we went shopping in Sainsburys today, I decided I wanted to get something. Easter eggs, bunnies and the usual stuff are a bit boring, so I bought a Gruffalo instead! Isn't he lovely? Almost too pretty to eat.

Almost.

Nude

I don't have too many bad habits, but biting my cuticles is one of them. I've done it for aaaages, and I've tried to stop it many times without success. Last year I managed to stop for about 3 months, but then started again. Now, I've decided. It's time to quit. I've bought some "Stop and Grow" (willpower in a bottle!), cuticle cream and new nail polish. I've found that I'm usually more successful when I paint my nails and try to make them look pretty than when I don't paint them. So, now I'm ready to kick this habits ass, wish me good luck!

Nailpolish from L'oréal no. 102 Macaron Noisette

See! Ugly cuticles. And it can also be quite painful. Time to stop!

Oz The Great & Powerful

Today we went to the cinema in Westfield to watch Disney's new blockbuster; Oz The Great & Powerful.

We watched it in 3D and we both enjoyed it. I haven't seen the original movie (or read the books) so I had no idea what the movie would be about. I thought it was a good movie though, and the special effects were pretty magical. I also have a girl crush on Mila Kunis and she is looking goooooood as per usual, so that was an added bonus.

After that we decided to head back home...

 View from the DLR, Canary Wharf.

So, how is my vegetarian week going? Why, thank you for asking! It's been a good week. I don't particularly miss eating meat, and I don't miss drinking milk either. I actually prefer the non-dairy alternatives, especially the hazelnut milk. Today I bought two more different types, hemp milk (which is meant to be the best alternative) and an oat drink (Swedish!). Who knew there were so many alternatives to milk? I had no idea until now!

Today will be a "cheat day" though, as I've got this bad boy waiting for me in the freezer:

 

 Ben & Jerry's Core Dough-ble Whammy. 

It's the first time I'm trying it (I haven't had ice cream in aaaaages, I can't even remember the last time) but something tells me I won't be disappointed. Chocolate ice cream, fudge and cookie dough. 

Oh. My. God.

10 Things you must give up to move forward

Papaya

I don't know what happened but England has suddenly turned SUPER COLD, I swear it's like Siberia here. It must be the wind, because it's only about -2 degrees but it feels like -30. What happened to the +12 last week? No idea. I've also managed to catch a cold. My throat has been sore for days now, I'm sneezing and the lack of exercise makes me feel like climbing the walls. The only good thing about it is that I get to sleep in.

My snack this morning! Papaya, must be full of vitamin C? Hopefully it helps to get rid of my cold.

Sunday

This has been a very lazy weekend! I've spent most of it inside watching tv-shows online, cooking/baking and playing guitar. I've decided to eat vegetarian food next week, so this is what my basket looked like in Tescos. Lots of fruit and vegetables!

 

Decided to try to bake vegan bread. The recipe described it as "The Easiest, Simplest Vegan Bread Ever", but despite this I think I managed to screw it up a bit. The dough wouldn't rise as much as it should have... oh well, it tastes very good anyway!

Ta-daaaa!

Vegan bread with avocado. Om nom nom!

I also made vegan (well I cheated a bit with some honey) pancakes with banana, blueberries, mango and peanut butter. Yummy!

I'm noticing this is turning into a food blog, which is a bit boring. I'll try to mix it up a bit from now on!

I just found out that my mum and sister are coming to visit me in a few weeks, 26th of March to 4th of April! I'm so excited!

Dairy Free

Ok, so Andrew went a bit bananas in Tesco and came home with even more different types of dairy free milk products. It feels like Christmas morning! I'm really excited to try them all, especially the hazelnut and coconut.

Coconut milk, rice milk, almond milk and hazelnut milk

Fog

Good morning London, you're looking awfully grey and foggy today. 

But it's Friday, so I'm happy! My day started with a killer workout, I love working out in the morning. I always try to wake up at 7 so I have time to work out before I go to work. Sometimes I feel like just sleeping instead (if I wanted to, I could sleep until 9) but I always force myself to wake up and do it anyway. I never regret it, it's the best way to start a day! Now I'm all bouncy and ready for today, I've just finished my breakfast and I'm almost ready to go to work.

Look what Andrew got for us! He hates the taste of soya milk but went and bought it for us after I told him I want to stop eating meat/dairy products. Aww!

I'm still eating meat and I'm not going to suddenly go completely cold turkey (he he), because I feel like I need to learn more about what I can and should eat before I can do that. Otherwise I'll go on a vegetable diet and die of malnutrition within 2 weeks. But it's a good start, and I'll continue to phase out more meat and dairy products as I go along.
Baby steps!

 Time to go to work!

Vegan

Yesterday I watched a video called "101 Reasons to Go Vegan" that I found on my sisters blog, and I was also talking to a colleague of mine who is vegan and he sent me a link to another great video, "Best Speech Ever" by Gary Yourofsky. Both are quite long, about 1 hour, but they're definitely worth watching. I'm seriously considering becoming a vegan, or at least vegetarian to begin with, after watching them. There are many reasons why I want to do this, the ethical point of view being the main one for me. As they say in the videos, is there really a "humane way" to kill an animal? I don't think so. Also, I believe meat and dairy is unhealthy and we're not meant to eat it. It's difficult though, because I LOVE meat and cheese (steaks, chicken, halloumi and feta cheese..mmmm!).
I don't know if I can stop eating it, but I want to try.

You should watch the videos too, they're eye openers!

Best Speech Ever - Gary Yourofsky

101 Reasons to Go Vegan

My dinner tonight, a salad Andrew got for me. I love these "pick and mix" salads from Sainsburys!

Miami

 The sun has been shining in London today! Finally! It's been grey and cold here for too long, maybe spring is finally here? I hope so, I can't wait to put away mittens, scarves and winter coats. 

I found a picture on my iPod today, taken when I was in Miami ages ago. I really need a holiday right now, I wish I could just snap my fingers and travel from my desk to Miami Beach in a second. I've tried 3 times now. It's not working.