DIY Turban Headband

Inspired by the style of Amy (The Little Magpie) who is just a-m-a-z-i-n-g I thought I would try out the turban headband trend.

I was on a mission to find a specific colour which I just could not find online and to be honest didn't want to spend £10 on so I reverted to youtube to find out how I could make one. 

I found that it was super simple and you can make one from a T-SHIRT?! So I trotted to Primark, spotted the EXACT colour I wanted and spent less than 3 english pounds on this glorious find. 

The method is super easy and I have attached some photos below. You will just need some scissors, a t-shirt of your choice and your bare hands.

 1. Cut the hem of your t-shirt off and then measure about 6cm (personal preference on width) vertically on the t-shirt and cut horizontally across the t-shirt.

 2. Now make a figure of 8.

3. Fold one side over to meet the other side.

4. Your finished turban headband should look a little something like this. You could sew it in place if you like but I didn't in this instance as it is fiddly and I just wanted to make something easy and simple to wear on holiday without paying online prices!

How to be a breakfast queen - Smoothie Bowl Recipe

This month I have been LOVING smoothie bowls. Inspired by the recent acai bowl trendy thing to do for brekkie I have conjured up my version which is much less expensive and more accessible than frozen acai puree bases.

Ingredients

                                   

Base

- 1 Banana

- Handful of frozen mango

- Handful of frozen raspberries

- 2 Tablespoons of oats

- 1 Tablespoon of greek/natural/any yoghurt

- Almond/Coconut Milk - personal judgement

- Nut butter (Optional as I put it on top)

You want your base to be quite thick so liquids are limited but down to personal preference. I make mine like almost a melted ice cream and achieve this by using banana for creamy goodness and frozen fruits.

Toppings (Basically any old thing you can find in your cupboard)

- Goji berries

- Pumpkin Seeds

- Almond/Peanut butter

- Desiccated coconut 

- Strawbs 

- Flaked almonds

This list is defiitely not exhaustive - there are lots of different things you can put on top but these were just things I found in my cupboard - accesible CHECK.

Method

1. Blend, blend, blend. I use a blend active which I find works great but sometimes struggles with frozen fruits as it isn't as powerful as the Nutri Bullet but it's much more affordable.

2. Empty your smoothie into a bowl and start decorating - this is the fun part! Make your breakfast pretty and guaranteed you'll have a happy day ahead of you. Well that's my motto anyway... 

.... and I'm back!

It's been a whole 8 months since I last blogged on here due to the stresses and pressures of third year which inevitably took over every aspect of my life but alas! Third year is over, I am no longer a student, I've had a month of recovery and I have my life back. 

So, what have I been up to in the past 10 months? I'll give you a brief round-up of the best bits *Whips out 'One Line A Day' diary*


NOVEMBER

Sam whisked me away on a surprise weekend to Chester Zoo and Manchester where we had a fabulous time and enjoyed to fancy schmancy cocktails in The Alchemist.


DECEMBER

 The season of festivities and a hell of a lot of food thus my fave season of all! Sam and I visited his family in Cambridge just before Christmas and for new year we stayed in The Double Tree Hilton Hotel by Tower Bridge in London. London was fab, we didn't do the touristy things this time, we just spent some quality time together sampling burgers, you know the drill by now. We also went up the Shard on January 1st and it was an incredible view of the London skyline by night - not quite Empire State (sorrynotsorry) but beautiful just the same.


JANUARY

The start of my final semester at Newcastle University and dissertation. Need I say more?



FEBRUARY

February was also an intense dissertation month filled with many stressful days, sleepless nights and bucket loads of tea! However, for Valentines Sam and I went to watch 50 Shades and had a lovely meal at Jamie's Italian in Newcastle which was a lovely break from hard work.

MARCH

 I only went and achieved the impossible - I handed in my undergraduate dissertation, a remarkable moment where I felt a great sense of achievement and completely proud of myself as in first year I dreaded the 'D' and all through third year I never thought I would see the day my dissertation was bound and complete.

Then I cut my hair short which I now regret #girlprobs

 At the end of this month to celebrate the end of my dissertation Sam and I set out on a Scandinavian road trip to Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Unfortunately I had pneumonia on our trip and was hospitalised for 3 days therefore our road trip didn't go quite to plan but we managed to get to Norway for a day after a loooong drive through Sweden (8 hours) thank you Sam! I guess that means we will just have to go back to hike the Pulpit rock in Stavanger.

WATCH OUR VLOG HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZD7FfdMc-8

ARPIL

This month was pretty dull as I was just writing essays #thirdyearlife

MAY 

FINITO. 3 YEARS OF UNIVERSITY DONE. WAIT, WHAT?

It is hard to express into words how I felt once I handed in my last essays on university.  I expected immense happiness and relief, I had essentially completed the impossible and deadlines were now a thing of the distant past but I what I actually experienced was immense sadness. I cried, I felt completely lost like I had no purpose. I am a person who loves to learn and I discovered that I actually like to work towards deadlines, feel a little stress and be challenged academically. It didn't help at this time I had no job and little money - it is SO daunting not knowing what you will be doing next week, next month, next year and where your next £ is going to come from. These feelings came without warning and well and truly smacked me in the face, so I used this time to do some serious 'Life Admin' and binge on Greys Anatomy.


JUNE 

A week of R&R in the first week of June in Tunisia which was sunny and lovely. Sipping pina coladas and eating pizzas all day every day. We also played with the Go Pro a lot which was great fun (we are adults promise!)

Now what's to come?

- My 21st eeek! I am OLD.
- Degree results and Graduation
- Many more trips and travels as Sam get's some new technological photographical devices to play with - a Nikon I believe? 

AND, I start my new job 15th June which I got by complete chance and I feel very lucky and fortunate to be going back to an organisation I love, NELC to complete the graduate scheme again with my BFF Danielle! So here is to the next chapter in my life in the graduate world.

THE WEEKEND POST #3

So it's back to Newcastle for my third and final year and back to the daily grind of studying (definitely not 5 hours a week) but all is not lost Newcastle hosts an a-m-a-z-i-ng food festival every first weekend of the month at the Boiler Shop Steamer. Not only does it offer the worlds best burgers, the most delicious desserts and some seriously top notch BBQ meats but the venue is buzzing with live music, filled with people and draped with fairy lights creating the perfect weekend atmosphere. 

My boyfriend, Sam and I are currently on a mission to find the world's best burger and the BBQ Texas Beef and Pulled Pork ones pictured below are definitely number 1 on our league table, closely followed by Fat Hippo (we definitely didn't have burgers the day before or desserts after.. promise)  so this is our idea of a perfect weekend and we would both definitely recommend to anyone visiting Newcastle.

Here are some snaps of the deliciously lush food we sampled, apologies in advance for any mouthwatering caused.

Summer Reflections

So, it's the end of another 4 month summer which could potentially be my last one ever!, one that has been filled with many interesting travels and changes in my life. So here are my summer reflections ...


1. I managed to secure the placement I worked towards for a whole year and it was an amazing experience where I gained vital skills and developed as a person. I am forever thankful and grateful for the opportunity NELC has provided me and the 12 week placement will hopefully be a big step in pushing me forward in my career path. (I also met some amazing ladies there - love to you all) 

2. I totally revamped and redecorated my room from something that was dark, drab and lacking a personal touch to a light bright white and duck egg blue chic room with lots of personal touches inspired by my travels. This summer has been filled with lots of positive changes and I needed to be in a positive environment in which I could work and relax in.

3. On the note of travelling - I jetted off to Rome spontaneously for my birthday with 7 hours in between booking and leaving. That is one more place ticked off my travel bucket list. AND I turned 20 in the most fabulous way with a special friend - what more could I ask for? 

4. Still on the note of travelling the Orcas reunited and we jetted off to Barcelona for a tapas and site seeing bonanza and I had a fab time - I love spanish culture and more importantly my favourite travelling friends

5. Yep - I am still on the travelling note, I also went to Rhodes with my BFF for a nice relaxing week by the pool which can only be described as perf filled with lots of Gelato. 

6. Ok - off the travelling note - I got a 2:1 in second year of Uni which I was super pleased with and all the incentive to work towards a first this year!

7. This summer has been filled with spontaneity and change and at the last minute I changed my whole dissertation idea, took on lots more work and managed to interview 13 amazing, intelligent and knowledgeable people about a subject I love (offshore wind) - boring to many - interesting to some .. ok maybe just me!

8. I fell in love with bike riding, beach trips and the general sea side.

9. I also fell in love with eating out.. all the time.. every day. 

10. And most importantly in a dramatic turn of fate I fell in love with Sam Ryder who I met on the first day of my placement. My perfect match and best friend who has made this summer perfect and filled with so much happiness. I have never felt more lucky and can't wait to make even more happy and hilarious memories with you in the next chapter of my life.

SO. Next chapter in my life, the last chapter in education it is a biggun - Hello third year lets see what you throw at me... 

Barcelona Photo Diary: Orcas reunited for a tapas bonanza

Yes I have gone on another holiday again, Yes it involved a shed load of food and selfies and Yes we are back, Orcas are back in full force after the first New York instalment in Easter of this year. 

This 5 day Barca break was the perfect ending to the best summer .. EVER. It was filled with tapas, cocktails, clammy-ness, Tegs (an australian hostel room imposter), site seeing, selfies, a short trip to A&E (guilty), selfie sticks, polaroids, rowing boats, and a very magical fountain (my fave).

If you want to see our vlog for this trip watch this space, its gonna be a gooden!

P.S Major thanks to my Orcas, the best travelling partners, the funniest girls, the fellow foodies, the selfie addicts and the sometimes sensible and mothering sides they have when I can't breathe and need A&E. 

HELLO BARCA

THE FOOD 

THE SELFIES

INFO:

We stayed at: Generator Hostel 

We ate at: Casa Tomasa, Foc, Jamaica 

We visited/ We did: La Sagrada Familia, The Ice Bar, Cable Car, Parc de la Cituadella (rowing boats), La Rambla, Magic Fountain, Site Seeing Bus, Parc Guell,