24 hours and counting..

This weekend couldn't have come any sooner! This time tomorrow, Tom will be arriving to see me for the first time in 2 weeks. I can't wait.

This was written on the wall of the art school but was 

actually backwards and I instantly had to take a photo

to reverse it and send it to Tom.

(I know! BOKE!)

I'm not usually bothered by the whole long distance thing and not seeing each other for a max 2 weeks but being as exhausted as I have been this week, it's been really hard. So as a treat I've agreed it was my turn to cook dinner and I'm making a special feast. On the cards is Mussels ala Greg (my mate in my class Greg told me the recipe!) served with Linguine! Noms. I really hope it goes well.


I've never cooked fish really other than the old salmon in the oven thing. So this is a big thing for me. I've even phoned round different fishmongers to get the the mussels and need to phone at 8am to get them kept aside for me. 


Sleeping seems to be a problem for a lot of people right now. I don't know exactly why. It must be related to the lacking in daylight and everyone starting back at uni/school/work after festivities. But to be honest, you'd think after a month being back to a routine, you'd be okay. But obviously not. I think I need to take some advice from Faye Cavania who wrote a brilliant post with a bunch of tips on how to get a good nights sleep. If you're struggling you should definitely check it out. 


After my parents coming up on Tuesday I've been on a bit of a birthday present search but I've come across a few things but they aren't really things my mum and dad would buy for my 21st which is a shame! Why can't I concentrate enough on looking at jewellery? Here's some stuff I've had my eye on recently.. 

1 - Aztec Scarf, £55, Alice By Temperley 

An absolutely beautiful scarf with an obscene price tag. 

2 - Fish Eye lens for my Nikon D60

Not totally decided on one but this is one I've seen, need to look around. 

Any of you guys used a fisheye lens for a DSLR? 

3 - Zero Japan Teapot, comes in various sizes, from around £26, PekoeTea

If you've read my last post you'll know I'm back into my tea big time and this beauty can be used for loose tea aswel so it really appeals to me. 

4 - Heart Print Playsuit, out of stock, Lipsy

I'm so disappointed this is out of stock because it's absolutely lovely. It seems I caught on to the playsuit craze a little too late as I only bought my first one the other day and totally love it and how good I feel in it. I'm on the prowl for a new one but all the nice ones are all out of stock! Any suggestions where I might find some nice ones? 

This semester one of our briefs is to create an iPad sketching app, but before that we need to gather loads of research and create a video of people we know who sketch and what they like about sketching and how they sketch. Today my group filmed our first interview and we were interviewing an old school friend of mine from home, Cathy. I hadn't seen her properly for months so it was absolutely lovely. After spending an hour setting up to film 5 minutes worth of interview, we went for a hot chocolate and a catch up and ended up gossiping for about 2 hours. Got to love a good old gossip. 

Over and Out.

x

Null Pointer Exception

I hate the fact that I just named this post Null Pointer Exception but I can't get away from Java and my inability to code correctly. 

so pretty.

So this weeks been pretty rubbish in a way but totally not rubbish in other ways. 


Rubbish things - 
I am completely exhausted.
Regardless of being exhausted, I'm not sleeping.
I miss Tom a ridiculous amount. 
I can't code and can't learn quick enough. 


Not so rubbish things - 
My mum and dad came to visit yesterday.
I'm going to paris 3 weeks today. 
I get to see my lovely boy on Saturday! (But only for a measly 24 hours. Boo) 
I went to the Chinese Supermarket today.


When my parents came up yesterday I had just finished making an amazing batch of soup. It was curried parsnip and sweet potato, my mum tasted it ans was finally able to see evidence of me becoming a lot more domesticated since going back to uni. She was very impressed. It was great to hear that from her because she's quite the domestic goddess to be honest. 


They came up to try and help me figure out what to get for my birthday and ended up dragging me round jewellery shops for ages. Still no luck but I came away with a bunch of jewellery catalogues and some small ideas.. I wish I had an actual thing I really wanted but I just can't think at the moment. Mum's totally dying to get me some jewellery though. 


On Monday I came into class to be welcomed by Clare saying she had a surprise for me, turned out it was a tea infuser for the tea I had bought last week but was unable to drink without an infuser. It's amazing! It's a little house that says tea on the roof and you just fill it with your tea and then let it brew for 5 mins. In the time it took for it to brew I managed to catch some great photos of it. 

i love it :) 

I think it's probably quite sad how I get so excited about this but the definite highlight of my day was going to the chinese supermarket in town with some mates in my class. All I wanted was some guava juice (which is the best thing you will ever drink!) and maybe a packet of noodles. In the end I spent £9.50 on noodles, juice and chilli sauce. Nightmare! Oh well, It cheered me to the max. 

nom!

Over and Out.

x

Success!

After posting that last post last night, I sat and deliberated over what the hell was wrong with it.

I figured it out. I was being an idiot.

Me, being a 'computing student' I should know what bit should hold HTML and what bit should hold CSS. Obviously I wasn't thinking straight though, I woke up this morning and tried it once more and finally succeeded. I'm well chuffed.

What do you think of it? Any suggestions? Is the logo too big? On my flatmate, Cassie's computer it opens up and overwhelms the page but on both of my screens it comes up normal sized. Whats it like for you guys? Would appreciate the feedback.

Over and out.
x

Banter, baking and birthdays.

Today has been my first day in the last week or 2 that I've actually not had any plans or essential work to be done, it's been pretty cool. Well, cool in a way that I can sleep and kick about without having to do my hair or anything and watch stuff online. Not so cool when I start attempting to fix things on my blog and fail miserably. 


I added a typekit and tried to embed it in but it's not working at all. No idea why, it should be working, but it isn't. You guys used TypeKit before? If so, fancy giving me a suggestion with what I've done wrong? I really should get back to what we had to do last year at uni and relearn how to make a website! I managed it before, it's just all left my head somehow. 


Anyway, this week has been blog-less for no good reason to be honset. I think I've been busy but looking back at my week I'm not too sure what I've been doing other than my usual boring java work and kicking about with the flatmates.


One thing I know I did this was was to have a random but yet amazing night on Thursday with my mate Clare. Our plan was just to head to Art Society for an hour or two and then finish our java to be handed in the next day. It was our first experience of the art society as we'd heard they were doing a printing night so we thought we may aswel see what it was all about. It was a right laugh. We got chatting to everyone and got a couple of free drinks there and got pretty hyper while attempting some lino printing. I'd done it before but Clare had been wanting to try it for a while. Check out what we did - 

I did a bike, but used way too much ink

Clare made a lovely wee cupcake! 

After Art Society we went back to try get some work done but Clare was on a mission to make me go out to the union. Turns out it was Neds & Nerds night so we had a run about trying to find things to wear and we were pretty damn successful! 

please mind the stupid face, 

but it's too funny to not post. 

All in all, it was a damn good night. 

It's been good being back at the flat. I love my flatmates and can't wait to move into our house next year. It's going to be ace. 

Mattress fun in the hallway at 3am. Great fun. 

Cass took photos while we all looked like idiots! 

Cass and I mucking about last night.

We also had a bit of a mental bake sesh last weekend.

It resulted in a carrot cake, 

an attempt at red velvet cupcakes,

and banana and chocolate cupcakes. 

NOM! 

My aim for the next week is to actually start listening to a french speaking cd to get a bit refreshed for heading off. I hope I actually get round to it. I seem to be getting really really good at avoiding doing stuff at the moment. It's terrible. 

It's my 21st birthday next month and I've been so distracted and not managed to arrange anything to do with all my mates in Edinburgh, it's a bit of a shame. Hoping it'll all come together and we'll all just head to a pub and catch up. I'd be happy with anything as long as my mates are around me. Anyone from Edinburgh know where I could head? I was thinking Lebowski's, a brilliant white russian bar which is pretty spacious so it could accomodate for a random amount of people turning up. Other than that, no other thoughts.. I used to be so good at arranging things! 

Over and out.

x

Help..

Okay, this post is a bit of a call for help. Well, not help, just pointers and advice. 


So has anyone ever been to Paris before? 
If so, where did you go? 
What did you see? 
Go to disney? 
Any little shops you came across you'd recommend? 
Or, any restaurants? 
How much money did you need?


So as you know, we're heading to Paris in.. 36 days. I'm on the lookout for things to do and places to visit. Also advice on how much money to take, we're going for 4 nights arriving at like 9pm first night and leaving like 9pm the last night. Turns out theres loads of bloggers which do exactly that, they recommend things to do. Thing is, i can't afford things that cost like 100€. One thing I know is I'm trying to find a branch of Ladurée which is a renowned Parisian Bakery which has been selling the legendary french macaroons. I've never had one but hey, I'm heading to Paris, may aswel! They look beautiful. 

I've been to Paris before but I was 14 and just went on tour buses and to Disney. So I don't remember anything that stands out in my memory except from meeting Goofy. Thats not to say that we're not going to Disneyland this time. Tom has never been to Disneyland ever or even Alton Towers! Poor boy. It's such an experience. (A childish one at that but yeah..) So we're pre booking tickets for a discovery pass to a day between Disney and Universal which will be ace. But we've got 2 other full days and an evening to spend seeing Paris. We need inspiration. 


Other than Paris chat, the last 24 hours have been rather stressful. As a student, getting a flat with your friends is vital and my flatmates and I have been hot off the mark for looking for a big house to share and we found one. It's a 9 person town house with 3 floors and a basement with a den in it! It's beautiful. We put the holding fee down today and just found out they're kind of screwing us over with the deposit. They didn't tell us we had to pay the first months rent, an admin fee AND a deposit. It's a nightmare. But hopefully it'll get sorted out tomorrow. Check it out, it's not the clearest of photos but this is it on Google Street View. Gutted the trees are in the way, but check it out, we have columns at the door!

It's also got an old school spiral staircase all the way up it!

I'm so happy! 

We move in in July. 

Over and out.

x

Stumbled upon..

I've been getting tad distracted lately. All I can blame is StumbleUpon. If you fancy checking it out or already have an account, you can follow me on there to check out some of the links I've been liking recently. It's a great way to procrastinate but not the best way to start a new semester! Silly me.


Here's just a handful of some of the things I came across on it.

I absolutely love this last one. It's to the point and beautifully blunt. 

Other than stumbling, I've not been doing much this week except from being extremely domesticated and making soup and knitting. How quaint! So far this week I've made some beautiful home made mushroom and philadelphia soup, some yummy chicken enchiladas for the flatmates and some curried parsnip soup. I'm pretty proud. I also came across this local fruit and veg shop that sells 'Soup Bags'. Basically in a soup bag theres a recipe, which rotates weekly and all the ingredients needed for the soup in the recipe. This isn't just the veg, this is the veg, the spices and the stock for 4 servings of soup. Not only is it a great idea, it's a bloody bargin! It's only £1.95. I've been raving about it all day to folk in my class but I'm so happy I found it. My aim for eating healthy at uni this year was to make soup for lunch. So from now on, at least once a week I'm hoping to pop down and get a soup bag. 

Slowly but surely it's getting better..

Nom, chicken enchiladas! They were a hit with everyone too.

Finally I'm going to leave you with the most random toilet graffiti I've ever witnessed... and if you're curious, it was in a Tesco toilet, nothing in anyway related to Scottish Power!

Over and out.

x

Paris!

So just a quick post to express my extreme excitement. We're actually going to Paris! Booked the hostel and the Flights today. Going 23rd to the 27th of Feb for both Tom's and my birthday. His is the 22nd and mine is the 27th. Which means on the day of my 21st I will be waking up in one of the most beautiful cities ever. We've got a 9pm flight home so I'll have time to go birthday shopping in Paris (If I have any money left after Disney that is!). 


So happy. 


You can check out the hostel we're staying at here. It's looks pretty nice and the reviews are ace. 


40 days and counting 


Over and out. 
x

A new year, a new you?

I personally don't feel new years resolutions are what people need, they just need willpower. I feel like I shouldn't be saying this as I have no willpower but to be honest, I've never seen the big deal with resolutions, yeah you want a new you and to feel better about yourself, but the date shouldn't have anything to do with it! I have been aiming on doing better with eating and being stricter with general health and fitness but it's not a resolution, it's just an aim.


I have a few aims generally but they are just small.


- Get a tutor for computing.
- Re-find my creativity!
- With said creativity, learn how to knit and get better at baking.
- Start a new hobby. I think I might look into Roller Derby. My friend Clare is well into it and it sounds like a right laugh and it's meant to be great exercise.
- See more of my family.
- Go to Paris as planned for my 21st next month.
- Stop being so silly with money! (She says after saying she's going to Paris!!)


Okay, so some aren't necessarily gonna happen but I can at least try. Have you gone for the Resolution approach or are you just choosing to be a bit better than you were before? Everyone seems to have a different view on it. All I know is I'm happy that I have at least attempted one of my aims!

My aim is to get Tom's mum to teach me how to 

make one of the beautiful headbands she makes. 

(See my newest one I received in the next

picture down!)

I've not had the best week, or at least not the best luck. In my week of bad luck I've managed to


- Break a brand new charm my best friend had given me 2 days before!
- Burst my necklace for the 2nd or 3rd time in the last year!
- Got a chip on my windscreen and can't get it fixed as there's a huge chance the pressure of the repair will smash it and I can't afford a completely new windscreen at the moment.
- Whacked my face off my car boot.
- Got stuck going in a exit at Tesco and panicked so much while being boxed in by a bus and 2 cars. It was horrible and it all happened because I was rushing to pick up my brother!


NIGHTMARE.


Anyway, rant over. Good news is I've finally got back to Dundee to get back to uni again and I got my results back today, got 2 B1s and a C1. The C1 is bothering me as we didn't really have many hand ins for that module but I don't care as it's the least important one. Also, I came back to the flat to find my satchel! I've been waiting for it to come back in stock for ages and I managed to buy it on Monday and it was sat infront of my room door when I arrived in the flat today. Winner!

Not only is it beautiful but it smells SO good. 

I start back at uni on Monday to endure a 22 hour timetable with 5 days a week in at 9am! It's horrible, most of my other mates have like 6-9 hours in uni. But to tell the truth I'd rather my timetable than no classes and loads of reading and essays. I hate that stuff. Creative courses are the way forward. So anyway, I'm hoping to get a night out squeezed into the weekend with the flatmates before we all get to our new grueling timetable. Thank god we're all in the same class! 

Over and out.

x

Inspiring

I was checking out the New York Times 'Most Popular Moments of 2010' when I came across this beautiful image..

It's called a 'Ghost Stroller' and is a stroller thats been placed randomly in a street in Brooklyn which has been painted pure white with 3 coloured roses in it. No one has any idea who put it there, and why it's there but a lot of people have assumed it's there for a memorial to a child, similar to Ghost Bikes. Ghost bikes are painted white and chained to a fence near when a fatal bike accident has happened, like this one.. 

The 'Ghost Bikes' are the work of the New York City Street Memorial Project who paint and chain bikes all over the world as beautiful memorials to those who have been lost. The projects even started to make it's mark in the UK. This one is in Carlisle in commemoration for a cyclist called Colin Rae, an old cyclist who sadly lost his life in a collision with a lorry in September.

I think this whole project is absolutely beautiful and should most definitely be continued. The website even informs you how to install your own ghost bike if need be. I really hope this project continues to make it's mark to commemorate the poor people who lose their lives while cycling. 

You can read more about the ghost stroller, if you fancy it, here.

Over and out. 

x

2010 in Photos!

2010 was a great year for me and I thought I'd share it through the of photos I've taken.

January

I got my nose pierced, against my parents will! Ha. 

February 

I turned 20 and got the best birthday card

ever from Cassie. Love it.

March 

Our course had a 'tachebash! It was an amazing 

night. Winner. 

April

We took some 'conceptual' photos for Finlay's

birthday. Silly personal jokes all in one photo!

May 

Tom and I went down to London to go to his

cousins wedding. It was beautiful. They had old red

buses to take the guests from the ceremony to 

the reception. They took us a wee tour round the

city too, it was great. 

June

We managed to bag some tickets to the free Rage 

Against the Machine 'Thank you gig' in London. 

It was absolutely epic. Not only did we get to see

Rage, but Tom and I travelled down in style, our

mate drove us down in his old school VW camper. 

July

A group of us ventured down to the Wickerman 

festival. It was epic. Not only was it a great festival 

but a bunch of our mates were playing. Was so cool. 

August 

It was the Edinburgh festival. I didn't manage to see

a lot of it during the day as I spent my days serving

tourists and getting shouted at by angry people. But when

I ventured out the pub, it was fab. Saw so many amazing

comedians, even got to meet Jim Jeffries! We also

got to go to The Edinburgh Dungeons for the first time. 

To make it all better one of my best friends was one 

of the actors and he pulled Tom up and tortured him! 

September

We moved into the new flat. Along with the 

excitement of the new flat, it was also freshers

week. Oh the debauchery. This was only part of

our recycling pile! My dad also had a bit of a midlife

crisis and bought a canoe.

October

We had a fun filled Halloween.

November

It was a work filled month thanks to our final hand

ins and exam but I still managed to enjoy the 

amazing snow. Luckily it kinda kept us in the house 

so made me do work.

December

Well, December was one of the best months

of my year. It's been amazing. We had an early

Christmas dinner at the flat which went great. I

was in Edinburgh for the majority of the month too

so I've seen Tom so much. I've loved it. 

Bye 2010, you were a good year. Bring on 2011! 

Over and out.

x