feeding the ducks, baking cakes, drinking champagne, eating too much.

Been super busy for the last few days, as it was my little sister's 18th (she's 18 going on 12)! So we went to the Blue Planet and hung out with the fishies, ate lots of cake, drank some very nice champagne and went to the Bistrot Pierre and ate our bodyweight in food. Lush.

For the sake of not having a ridiculously image heavy post, these are a brief snapshot of the cake and champagne bit HAHA! All the images are on my Instagram. The cake was chocolate with a white chocolate ganache filling and icing, decorated with fresh rasps and blackberries (blackberries go even better than strawberries with chocolate, try it!!) It also had sparkly candles but my mum made a right mess and the 1 had already fizzled out before the 8 was lit! If anyone wants the recipe, I might put it on anyway but if I forget/cba, feel free to ask. It went down really well.

So then we went to the Bistrot Pierre! Its like our 'family favourite' place to eat. There's quite a few across the UK so you should try it if you haven't, and the deals are really good, like 2 courses for £9 something before 7pm. And the food is mega to be fair, for a chain restaurant (the food snob in me is wincing), its definitely authentic french cuisine!

For my starter I had a whole roasted garlic bulb and fresh artisan bread. This is amazing and even though I regret it when I wake up with garlic mouth the next day it's worth it every time. Then I had the sous-vide and pan fried pork, with a mustard and leek cream and black pudding. This is pretty rich and I always want it but then end up getting overfaced and leaving a little bit. The black pudding is PROPER, like you can taste blood even after a mouthful of wine! Nevertheless dead tasty. It came with the best daupinouse potatoes ever, which we got loads of free helpings of. oops! Then I had some sorbet but that was literally because I was so full I needed something to help my digestion lol. If you go, I recommend the apple tart, its beaut. After the meal we went to Piccolino, where I used to work, and got some free prossecco off my lovely friend Josh who works on the bar there...friends in the right places *wink*

In case anyone is interested in what I wore across this weekend of excitement, here is a picture of that also!

Day: Topshop leggings, Topshop boob tube (both last year), AllSaints shoulderless cardigan (last year), AllSaints Bonny boots. 

Night: Allsaints Ember Ashby jeans, Topshop Premium platform sandals, Topshop Premium silk tasseled cami (both last year).

Oh and my little nephew H (Harry) paid a visit, so we went and fed the ducks. 

And in other news...

Well, apart from drooling over pastel kitchens, I have, like I said yesterday, been trying to sort my life out! In the greatest sense of the word! Things over the last 12 months haven't gone really very well for me and I've had a few personal life disasters, which is partly my fault and partly the fault of others. I pretty much considered dropping out of Uni last year, but here I am going back in 2 weeks to do a masters (am I craycray??) I just can't wait tbh to get back into education and the full swing of things and researching etc. It's really fulfilling and I know this isn't the kind of thing cool hip bloggers blog about but I make no apologies guyz. 

Also, my finances for the last year have been a bit up and down, as in I've been rich when i've had my loan and poor when i'm waiting for the next installment!! I managed to save loads of money from my loans over the last two terms of uni, but this summer (with my mum getting married and birthdays, nights out etc) has written all that off and i'm back down to less than £200. Because you don't get financial support for your masters (although I am extremely lucky to have been awarded a scholarship), you are out there on your own in terms of living costs. Although I was growing up more over the last year anyway, I've kind of hit the ground with a thud in terms of realising income isn't disposable any more! 

I've decided though that this is a really good thing in terms of getting back to basics and a less material life. Don't get me wrong I am like the poster girl for consumerism/capitalism and i'm not gonna shed all my worldly possessions and go and live in a Convent, but i've just finally realised whats important. So in order to make more money, i'm selling a lot of my stuff on eBay, especially my mountainous collection of never-been-worn Ugg boots and some other stuff such as my Alexander McQueen skull ring. It's stuff I never should have bought and just did cos I was bored and didn't like my life and tried to make myself feel better by buying lots of nice things etc.

I am really looking forward to selling my stuff, even though I know I won't make a profit on any of it, I think it's gonna feel really cathartic. Once it's gone, it's gone, and I will make a little money to put in my savings (depleted from said shopping addiction of my twenteens) and I can just get on with life and forget about all those stupid things I never used anyway.

Saying all this, I am one of those people who goes to extremes without realising it. Like, I am responsible now in that I'll think, 'hmmm, I could buy those £200 boots, but that's basically a sofa/pair of curtains so if I save it it's gonna be an investment in my future'. This is fine, but I've become so obsessed with the whole settling down, growing up, having my own home thing. I am basically like Charlotte from Sex and the City. Like, I AM her. It got to the point where the other day I was considering buying a coat off eBay for £80 down from £250 (great bargain obvs), which I need for this winter, but I literally thought in my head 'I won't ever have enough money for my kids to go on school trips if I buy stuff like this!!!!!' 

PSYCHO HOUSEWIFE MOMENT

So yeah, I am having a bit of an existential crisis when it comes to life/money/my future. I think it's the whole finishing Uni thing, like where other mates are trying to cling on to their student years and have as much fun as they can before they enter the real world, i'm trying to fast forward to my late twenties with a 3 bed terrace and kitchen bunting (I am Charlotte). I think I just need to get a grip really and enjoy my early twenties, finish the MA then start worrying about saving for the kid's packed lunches....

The Bake-Off is back!!

Is anyone else LOVING the Great British Bake Off at the moment? I am! It isn't the twee, cheesy, we bake-bread-from-fresh kind of affair a lot of people would imagine, it is simply pure hilarity, and a combo of great baking banter, delicious produce and aesthetically pleasing kitchen areas. Firstly, the cake related banter from Mel and Sue never fails to make me chortle in mirth; the programme is almost a parody of itself. Incidentally, Sue Perkins was featured in Tatler's list of coolest lesbians this August just passed! What a woman. 

Then we have the scenic surroundings of Harptree Court, where the Bake Off is filmed, which is enough to make any anglocentric baker shed tears of patriotic joy. Even when the rain is lashing down upon the tarpaulin of the Bake Off marquee, the ambrosial surroundings complete the image of a truly British competition.

And finally, the baking arena itself: the shades of pastel! the co-ordinating smeg fridges! the KitchenAid mixers! the plad tablecloths! the oh-so-british bunting! It is literally a domestic feast for the eyes. Beautiful Kitchens Blog, I am in agreement with you that the Bake Off kitchen is an inspiration to all homemakers (real of wannabe like me) to celebrate your kitchen and make it the most beautiful room in the house!

If you haven't been watching and you're a fan of all things British, interior design and maybe a bit of tart decorating, this is definitely something you should tune in to. Get involved and get baking...or maybe just fashion some pastel checked bunting for your kitchen?

busy week of manicness

I have completely neglected my little blog for the last week or so..feeling rather guilty. Bad Blogger!! 

Anyway i've just been working loads and trying to generally sort my life out...a) I need the money and b) back at uni in 2 weeks so need to get in the organised frame of mind! I am the least organised person ever so deffo need to get my head in the game before I embark upon postgraduate education (woo woo!).

Not really been upto much else, these are the highlights of my life since I last posted on here!

weirdest most temperamental weather ever; losing my Barburrito virginity (pulled pork yummy); getting back in the running shoes and trying to lose weight/prepare for the half marathon; generally sorting my life out (everybody get a filofax, they are amazing and best New Year's resolution ever I feel naked without it now!).

Also, it was my best friend Emily's geburtstag on Sunday so we went out on Saturday night and had a whale of a time! It's so nice to see her when she's back from Uni in Birmingham, we really are like female soulmates haha!! I forgot to take some cool instagram photos of us doing shots but these two pictures basically sum the night up!! We also played the Jurassic Park drinking game, which was hilair.

DO A SHOT WHEN:

-The word 'dinosaur' is used

-Richard Hammond says 'no expense spared'

-Dr. Malcolm's chest is exposed

-Samuel L Jackson is smoking a cigarette

-Dennis is eating/drinking

You get the picture. Anyone else know any good classic film drinking games/have any more suggestions for reasons to shot during JP?

Anyway I have work this afternoon, but I promise to do a proper post tomorrow with some exciting stuff. I'm loving the Great British Bake Off atm so will probably pay a little homage to that somehow!