A Small Hiatus

Without really meaning to I appear to have taken a little break from blogging. My brain is struggling to work as of late and I am finding that it is dried up and pulls zero inspiration from anything productive or even fun.

Even now I am not really writing this with any idea in mind other than the fact that I feel I have been neglectful which just won't do. I am also currently toying with the idea of just producing a baking/cooking blog as most of my posts now-a-day's seem to be about food. However I am loathe to drop the hauls, favourites and other chatty bits as I enjoy writing them.

So in Cara's life recently, the following has happened:

• I've lost over a stone after some serious calorie counting and a different attitude to the whole thing. I've still got some to go but...progress. This also means I have dropped a dress size which means more shopping
• I have been asked to stay on at my job for another few months, which is very good news because I don't actually mind going in every day even if it is a bitch of a commute
• We have re-signed to our house for another year which means no moving/packing and this will be our third year in the house which is a record for me as before I seemed to move every 2 seconds
• I am only TWO, yes two, essays away from completing my English Literature degree after a six year hard slog
• My brother and girlfriend got engaged which is the loveliest news in the world and means I will soon have a sister-in-law 
• I am getting more excited than ever about Glastonbury in less than 100 days, and will be praying for sunshine as we get closer

I'd say that in the grand scheme of things, it's all looking pretty great right now, especially with spring just around the corner bringing my birthday along with it. I'm coming to terms with the fact I will be 27 slowly, but with a good feeling.

I will try harder to bring more blog posts to the table. I think I had a small slump as I wondered in fact if anyone at all was reading but I was cheered by a chance meeting with someone I had only meet once before on a night out. She greeted me by shouting 'Pourable Sunshine!' which made me feel very sunshiney indeed.

If you haven't already do go and have a look at Pourable Sunshine's Cookery channel. We put some time into the video's and would love to know if there is anything you would like to see being baked.

And that's all really - I now have a guilt-free conscience and you have a little something to read on a Wednesday afternoon. It's a Win-Win really.

C x

Lesser Spotted London

A little look around at some of the history right on London's doorstop! We ventured out to soak up some of the secret bits of London that you might walk past on a daily basis. Let me know in the comments if you know any more!

Click on the picture to link through...

C x

Touchy Feely

So there I was out in Dalston in a bar with all my friends. We had been dancing pretty hard to some old school classics for a few hours and decided that at 3am it was time to call it a night as we are getting older now and apparently have no stamina.

We all made a start towards the front door when the most vile thing happened. Some man thought it would be appropriate to run his hands down my body and grab my arse. Not just a pinch either, this was a full on assault. I turned around and shouted at him and we tried to get him kicked out but to no avail.

My question is this. Why do some men think that this is acceptable behavior? What gives you the right to make me feel grimy and disgusting? Do you really think that I am going to turn around and beg for more?

I had been round a friend's house previously with no intention of going out (I'm easily persuaded when alcohol is involved) so therefore I was in leggings, a cami top and flat pumps with my hair pulled back. I was in no way dressed provocatively or looking for attention. So why on earth do I have to suffer this gross invasion of my personal space?

To make thing worse this isn't the first time it's happened. I stopped wearing low cut dresses on nights out a long time ago because men used to think it was ok to grab at my breasts and laugh about it or make some lewd comment. THIS IS NOT OK. I should be able to go out with my friends without feeling like I have to change what I want to wear just in case I get molested by some guy.

Perhaps you are thinking "Oh she's overrating, she should be flattered" but nothing about this is flattering. It makes me feel cheap and as much as I have tried to shrug it off and say "Oh well it was just a grab" I realised that I feel strongly enough about this that I needed to write something down, And if everyone who has been grabbed at against their will just said "Oh well" then nobody would say anything any more and it would become acceptable.

I'm a confident person, I called him out on it, but he still managed to make me feel small. I wonder if he knew how much this had affected me he would be sorry?

Really the point to this post is just to highlight that even if you think something is a joke, or you are feeling a bit randy or touchy feely, maybe just think about it for a second. It might still be playing on that person's mind several days later.

C x      

Lack of Inspiration

I have been a little bit quiet on the blog front this month. No special reason, I've just been a little stumped when it comes to blog post ideas.

Once again I wish I could tell you about all the fun and interesting things I have been doing but really it is just a case of me working late, drinking on the days I'm not working late and sitting in bed eating fried chicken at 3am.

I walked through London earlier today, and when I say London I mean the center of it all. The hell that is Oxford Street. It wasn't actually that bad at 8.30am, there was still some ducking and weaving, but there were no shops open at that hour so there was less agro than normal. Anyway, I was walking through Oxford Circus heading toward Piccadilly with a Starbucks in one hand and my mobile and cigarette in the other and I thought, 'Oh get me, people might think I'm a proper Londoner',until I ruined it all because I'd forgotten to plug my headphones in and the incredibly helpful Google maps lady told me to 'turn right at Regent's street' and I lost all credibility because only a non Londoner would need Google maps to get them from Oxford Street to Piccadilly Circus. Unless you just happen to be utterly crap at directions like me. The illusion I'd created was shattered by this point though and I thought to myself 'well it can't get worse, I might as well be a legit tourists and take some photos'. I tried to resist the urge to tell my fellow commuters I do in fact live here and they shouldn't judge me.

I've also been watching The Riot Club trailer on repeat because those boys are just too good to look at and well... why not? Other things I like to do in my spare time include:

• Eating burger cheese slices
• Getting lost in Buzzfeed
• Questioning why as of late I keep going out drinking without eating first resulting in a whole load of toilet bowl hugging
• Watching my cat stalk flies
• Doing anything but blogging really

Things I should be doing in my spare time:

• Going to the gym or in fact doing any form of exercise that doesn't just consist of getting up to turn the TV on
• Churning out blog posts at an alarming speed so you can all share my joy in life
• Going to the bank to sort my finances 
• Being proactive in enjoying London and all it has to offer

I'm hoping that this is just a brief lapse in creativity but I need to find it soon because my course has started again and it requires me to write stories. If they need me to write a story about procrastination I'm the girl for the job. Or I might just have a sleep. 

C x

Notting Hill Carnival

So in the 3 years I have lived in London I have never once been to Notting Hill Carnival. I have always been out of town and so I miss the fun and revelry! But this year we were around and so with glee we headed to Westbourne Park to join the madness.

We started off by walking the streets and stopping every so often to appreciate the sounds of reggae music and the smell of jerk chicken.

We ducked and weaved our way through the crowds - the amount of people is unreal! We had missed most of the procession as we didnt arrive until later but we still saw some of the floats, music and colour that the festival is famous for.

 

 After queuing for 45 MINUTES for the toilet we met another one of our friends before grabbing some jerk chicken and dumplings which set my mouth on fire but was so very tasty.

We headed down the streets finding one of the many speakers pumping out music and had a bit of a dance under the cloudy sky.

We danced into the night before heading to a pub in Kentish Town for a friends birthday. It was quite a crazy day - with SO many people. I did spend a large amount of time worrying about my bag but it was interesting to see the atmosphere and in general how people tend to react with each other. There is always a lovely people spirit at events like this.

C x

Thanks for the Office, but no thanks

I must be the only person in the whole world who isn't happy about the fact that I now have my own office.

I mean don't get me wrong - it's the dream right? When you finally move into your own office it means you must be important enough to have one. You have all the space to put your own stamp on it and you can get on with your work without office chatter or any distractions.

Which would all be fine apart from the fact that I go crazy if I don't talk to someone at least once an hour. It actually freaks me out. Perhaps I just really like the sound of my own voice but something is wrong with me because I hate being on my own so much that I will call Leigh sometimes, not to say anything, but just so I can assure myself that the world hasn't turned into zombies and I'm the only one still alive.

I think I might have a mild case of Monophobia. Add that to my Ornithophobia (phobia of birds) and I am a bit of a mess in general.

I just love to be around people. This is why I could never go travelling on my own, because the times I'd have to be on my own would be horrific! What on earth would I do? I'd probably start talking to myself and that would be both boring and slightly crazy.

Put me in any social situation and I will thrive, I'm not shy, I will talk to anyone. Leave me in a room on my own for over an hour and I will start to panic. Even now I haven't spoken or seen anyone in about an hour and a half and I'm trying to type this post quickly so I can go and find someone to talk to.    

So whilst it's all fun and games being able to play my music and eat fish without smelling out the shared office, I wish there was someone I could share that with. Not to mention that working at a school in the Summer Holidays is already so quiet and I'm at one end of the school when everyone else is at the other makes me feel quite nervous. Also I swear this school is haunted. Maybe the ghosts can keep me company!

So thanks for my own space, but give me an open plan office any day!

Is it just me that suffers from this? Or is this a common thing?!

Excuse me whilst I go and find someone to talk at.

C xxx

A day in the life of....

So I've had a few people saying that they really liked my more honest approach to my life in my 'The Perfect World' post. It's always nice to get some positive feedback, especially when I ummmed and aaahed over whether to 'shatter the illusion' by posting it online for all to see.

I thought I might try and write a few more on how my life actually is rather than how I wish my life could be.

A prime example of this and one that shows just how lazy I actually am - a make-up artist friend of mine has invited me to an event on Tuesday to hang out with models. My first thought...'But I'll miss Big Brother!' wasn't exactly what my first reaction should have been (and yes it's still on and yes I really do enjoy watching it). I've basically turned into this boring woman in her twenties when instead of going out and whooping it up around town I would rather slob on the sofa. Every year I make a resolution that I am going to do more in London but I'm not sure why I bother. I make the same resolution about learning to drive and losing 2 stone but it's never going to happen, especially when I plan on winning the lottery so I can hire a driver and I'm never going to lose weight when there is fried chicken in the world.

This week I have actually been busy - I went to my friends house for drinks and a microwave meal on Monday, I worked an event on Tuesday, Wednesday is pub quiz night, Thursday I'm going to Wimbledon and Friday I am travelling to Bath. I am knackered though and all I want is to sit at home and watch reruns of Friends. I'm honestly so tired that I keep going to the toilet, resting my head against the wall and having 5 minute power naps. The tiredness might also have something to do with the fact that I drank 5 large glasses of wine at this event last night and got home late. I also threw up a little bit in my mouth on the way home, which meant I had that horrible burning sensasion in my throat for the whole hour and 20 minute journey home. To treat myself this morning after the horrible ordeal I bought a can of full fat Coke but upon opening said coca cola I realised it was in fact Vanilla. Vanilla! Why do they even make this crap.

So now I''m trying to keep my eyes open at my desk, whilst drinking a drink that's worse than Pepsi (and that's saying something) and contemplating how I can make it through the rest of the week without a)seriously damaging my liver b)ending up with massive bags under my eyes and c)not eating any of my 5 a day and living on microwave mac and cheese meals because they are convinenent. Fuck it - I might just go all out and get a kebab wrap on the way home instead. At least there will be lettuce and cabbage in it....

Ladies and Gentlemen. What it's really like to be a girl in her twenties living in London.

C xxx

Street Feast

This weekend my friends and I hopped on some public transport and made our way over to Dalston for the much anticipated Street Feast.

Street Feast is a food and drink event that takes place in the evening (5-12pm) and has a variety of different 'restaurants' and a couple of bars that serve pint sized cocktails, ciders, wine, ales and beer. If you arrive before 7pm it's free entry and after 7pm it's £3.

As soon as you walk through the gates you are hit by the aroma of delicious grub, a lively atmosphere and a unique setting. There are seats, tables and fire pits spread throughout the open air venue (although there are covered sections).

The biggest challenge was deciding what to eat!

There' s a Pizza Pilgrims Pizzeria, a B.O.B's Lobster shack selling clam bake and Lobster Mac & Cheese and Smokestak pumping out the glorious smell of barbecued meat.

If you fancy Indian you only have to look as far as Rola Wala and Spit & Roast has you covered for all your Pulled Pork needs. In my eyes the piece de resistance was the appearance of Anne Mae's Mac & Cheese, which I first tried last year at Glastonbury and have been a worshipper of ever since.

Four different Bars sort out the thirst you will have worked up from all the food and you can either try the Gin Store and Cocktail shed or sample the cider from the pop up stall.

There are several different areas to the venue including a lovely area upstairs which is covered in pretty decoration and offers a view on the festivites.

As the evening drew in we sat and chatted surrounded by the bright lights of the Yard.

We had a brilliant time, we ate lots and drank more. It is currently running for 20 consecutive weeks in Dalston Yard from the 16th May - 27th September so if you are in London pop along because any excuse to eat scrumptious food is a good idea!

C xxx

Wine & Cheese & Quiz night

Last weekend Leigh and I hosted our first (of many I hope) Wine, Cheese and Quiz night. I had been given a couple of quiz books for my Birthday and as a group of friends we do rather enjoy a quiz. We asked everyone to B.Y.O.C and they all stepped up their game and in the end we had 17 cheeses! We actually ended up with a couple of doubled up cheeses which was fine by me.

Leigh and I provided crisps, dips, quiche, bread, pickled onions and 2 melted Camemberts and then we were provided with a large loaf of tiger bread, baguettes, grapes, Port sault, Caerphilly, Brie, Wensleydale with cranberry, Smoked cheese, Edam, Cheddar with garlic and chive, Smoked sausage cheese, and Boursin.

We all tucked in, with the Cheddar being the surprising favourite and the melted Camemberts not far behind that. We managed to polish off both. In fact we managed to eat practically all of the cheese and drank all of the wine that had been bought along for the occasion too, although I have a distinct lack of wine glasses as they keep smashing so I gave my remaining wine glasses to my guests and I drank my wine out of a mug!

We left the cheese on the sideboard whilst we played several quiz rounds. We had some incredible cheese themed team names, such as, 'Your team may be Gouda, but this one is Feta' and 'I used to work as a cheesemonger, but I camembert it any longer', and they got more creative the more wine that was consumed.  We also kept stopping every so often to nibble at a little bit more cheese, it's quite addictive! I wish I had got more pictures but to tell you the truth it all went so quickly it was quite impossible to.

Say Cheese!

We sent everyone home at around 1am, wishing them all very pleasant cheese filled dreams.

xxx

My Birthday!

As usual I like it best when my birthday is spread out over as many days as possible and this year has been no acception to that. Normally in the 6 months up to my birthday it is all I can go on about but this year I have been strangley quiet about the whole affair. This might have something to do with the fact that I have no entered in to the slow and steady 30's hill and the only way is down. No more can I say I am in my early or even mid twenties. I am 26. Oh the horror!

Now that I've added just a hint of melodrama to the post I can continue. This year I decided to join forces with another friend of mine who is also on the slippery slope and we chose the Monopoly Pub Crawl as the best place to begin. As my birthday was on a Monday and his on a Tuesday we decided to do it the Saturday before, inviting about 80 people and knowing that only 10 where going to turn up at best.

If you havent ever done the Monopoly Pub Crawl it really is great fun. This was the second time that I have attempted it, making your way round 26 pubs from 10.30am - midnight and drinking 13 pints (you have half pints at each pub) this is not a challenge for the faint hearted. Its almost impossible to keep to the time limits and last time we made it round 20 of the 26, feeling satisfied with out attempt. This year we wanted to try and beat our previous record however.

You can download the route here (we went for the quickest way, not the in-order of the board way). It's such a good experience but you do have to be prepared to move quickly, you can't really sit around or you wont make it round. Rather than bore you with the repetition of - we went to a pub, we had a half pint, we moved on - here are some fun pictures of the day!

We made it round 21 pubs in the end and went and got a chinese at 12.30am to celebrate!

***

On my actual birthday I woke up relatively early and opened all my presents :) My parent's got me a digital photo frame and some kitchen ceramics. My wonderful boyfriend bought me this gorgeous necklace which creates little rainbows if it catches in the sun and its just perfect.

I took the day off work as I think its the one day that I shouldn't have to work but as luck would have it the rain decided that it was a good time to show up and so my previous plan of a picnic went out of the window. Instead we spent a couple of hours uploading pictures on to the new photo frame before moving on to the very important baking of the birthday cupcakes. If you are a avid reader of my blog you will know how much I love to bake but I decided it was my birthday and I was going to be lazy so they were made courtsey of our good friend Betty Crocker.

Once they were iced and had cooled we packed some up and headed into town and Oxford Street so I could do a little bit of shopping before Leigh took me out for dinner at a yummy pizza place called Pizza Pilgrims. They serve wine in big carafes and I had a black pepper salmi pizza and Leigh had spicy sausage.

After that we went to go and meet my close friends for a few drinks, blowing out of a tealight (nobody had candles!) and general merrymaking. It was quite lovely.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated with me one way or another, and to the woman at the pub who ID'd me on my birthday so I got to hand it over with a "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY" cry. Also thank you for thinking I look young enough to get ID'd, you made my night.

xxx