Life Lately #3.

Happy Sunday and Happy St Patrick’s Day to any Irish folk out there!

I thought I’d come back with another Instagram round-up post to show you what I’ve been up to for the last few weeks. I adore my camera and I love how wonderful the photos turn out when I use it but Instagram is just fantastic for snapping quick photos throughout my week and I really like being able to share them with people straight away.

In the past few weeks I’ve been to visit Tom a couple of times, I’ve been out with my uni friends, sorted out my house for next year (so exciting!), written another essay – this time on the endings of Great Expectations and Ruth, been to the hospital, been shopping (oops), eaten a lot of delicious food, been to the theatre, baked a cake… I am developing an addiction to hot chocolates and I already have a lipstick and nail varnish addiction. It feels good to have my essay done, hopefully I’ll do well in it! Visiting Tom is always lovely, it’s the perfect time for me to relax with him and forget about all the stresses of daily life.

So here is my life in photos for the last few weeks (it’s pretty food heavy!):

 

These just smell of spring | Chocolate croissant bread and butter pudding | Pancake day!

 

 

Taramasalata love | Hot chocolate and almond croissant (the best kind) | Lasagna lunch

 

 

Brunch in London | Film night pizza in front of The Hobbit | Snowdrops heralding the spring

 

Daffodils | A spot of afternoon baking | Dressed for a neon themed birthday night out!

 

Afternoon tea with Grandpa | Romeo and Juliet at the theatre | Breakfast

 

Favourite speedy pasta | Pink | Orzo in a wok

 

 

Feeding my addiction 😉 | Eggs for Sunday brunch | Essay writing with Poppy

 

Delicious avocado on toast | Cheeky rhubarb and vanilla ice cream | Mini Revlon haul

More… | The loveliest cafe – Notes in Covent Garden | Spaghetti with sun-dried tomatoes and red onions

I only have one more week of lectures before a three-week break for Easter and I have to say I absolutely can’t wait, lately I’ve been so tired that the holidays sound like a God-send! This Tuesday it’s my sister’s 17th birthday and I am baking her a triple layer chocolate cake with caramel buttercream (if all goes to plan anyway!). We’re going out for dinner too which should be fun. Then on Sunday Tom is coming back for a week’s holiday, the following Tuesday (the 26th) is my birthday 🙂 I have plans with friends for cocktails and dinner which I’m so looking forward too, I haven’t seen some of them in months. Then on the 28th Tom and I are celebrating our five year anniversary which feels amazing and somewhat astounding too!

What have you been doing in the past few weeks?
Do you have any time off at Easter? Any holiday plans?

 

 

 

This Week #7.

I probably say this pretty often but I honestly can’t believe how quickly this week has been. It’s just flown by and before you know it, I’m about to begin my third week at my new university! I am pleased to report that so far so good. I’m really enjoying the course, I have some great lecturers, I have already read some very interesting texts, and on top of that I have met some lovely people. Although this semester comes packed with at least four assessments (which I am soon going to start planning!) I am feeling extremely positive about this new stage of my life.

This week I have been quite busy, I’ve been to the physio, to the hospital, to a new choir, and to London! The hospital went well on the whole, I have been discharged from CBT, she basically said that it can’t help me much as I already do it all for myself haha. I will be writing an update about all things health-related for you sometime soon as there are a few changes. London this weekend was just wonderful. I took the train down on Saturday morning and I navigated all of the complicated tube line closures which can be irritating but I was pleased with myself for finding my way around it all without panicking 😛 We spent most of the evening snuggled up watching Quantum of Solace followed by Michael McIntyre which was just what I needed after a tiring week!

Stewed plums and Greek yogurt | My favourite courgette spaghetti | Pre-lecture reading

Physio leaflets | Conker collecting! | Curling up with Poppy

Spicy aubergine and tomato with noodles | Baking inspiration | Jamie Oliver’s Pregnant Jool’s Pasta

Field mushroom Welsh rarebit | Apple cake 🙂 | Discovering Marlowe’s Edward II

Burgundy nails and Edward II on the train to London | Noodles | Mini smarties treat

Meerkats! | Roast dinner perfection | My blackberry brulée success

Here’s hoping this week is as good as the last! It’s a little less busy which is a bit of a relief, it should mean I can get ahead with my reading too, I’m doing really well so far. I definitely want to bake this week as I didn’t have time to last week, any suggestions? I’m currently thinking peanut butter cookies…

If you have Instagram too then you call follow me @loveliveandlearn to see my photos as I post them!

What did you do this week?
Do you enjoy autumnal activities like collecting conkers?
Favourite Sunday dinner?

This Week #3.

Firstly I have to say that I’m sorry I haven’t been posting very much this week, it’s not from being super busy but more that I’ve been feeling pretty exhausted most of the time and just haven’t had much to write about for you! I tried writing one post but it all sounded like such a pointless ramble that I ended up hitting the delete button. I don’t want to be one of those bloggers for whom blogging is about numbers (views, readers, comments…) and therefore just post rubbish everyday for the sake of posting. I only want to write you quality posts worth reading!

If you follow me on Twitter (@I_LoveLiveLearn) or on Instagram (@loveliveandlearn) then you may have seen that I took a day trip to London yesterday to visit my wonderful boyfriend, Tom. We had a really lovely day wandering around in the sunshine and eating delicious food 🙂 The rest of the week also involved some baking, the hospital, the gym and coffee.

Beautiful sunny morning | New Chelsea boots ❤ | Fresh pasta for lunch

Sleepy Poppy | Delicious chorizo and gnocci | The perks of having a sister who works in a cafe!

More perks | Pink accent nails | Love how my hair is at the moment 🙂

Caramel latte addiction | Almond croissant | Pesto pasta comfort food

Printed photos | Starting my scrapbook | Tom’s graduation page

Baking time | Blueberry muffins | Love getting to the gym again!

Off to the hospital again 😦 | Cheer-up chicken salad pitta takeaway | Starbucks treat

Picnic in Hyde Park with Tom! | First ever frozen yogurt = love | Noodles and prawns for dinner

Sunday street party | Lovely food plate | Dessert time!

As usual my week seems to have been focused around food which doesn’t surprise me. Lately things have been rather indulgent and as I start uni again pretty soon (two weeks!) I want to use the time before to eat a little more simply and cleanly. I will still be baking once a week though don’t worry 😉 With things changing so much around the place – my sister starting at Sixth Form, my mum starting a new teaching job and me changing uni – I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed. The house is a bit crazy and busy with people going in and out but it’s nice to have a new term starting. I have lots to do before I start, including heaps of reading, buying new stationary which I love, as well as organising my desk and folders in preparation… Here’s to hoping I don’t relapse as term begins!

If you have Instagram too then you call follow me @loveliveandlearn to see my photos as I post them!

London Town.

Hey hey lovelies!

For those of you in the UK isn’t it nice to finally have some sunshine?

The last couple of days have been just lovely, I’ve spent the entire time with Tom and I couldn’t be happier 🙂 Who knew I could love spending so much time with just one person!

On Friday I was up bright and early to get ready for a day trip to London. It was absolutely pouring with rain so by the time I’d cycled to the train station I no longer looked fresh and well groomed, I resembled a drowned rat puppy. It hardly mattered though, clothes dry, as does hair!

I love train journeys when I’m headed to something I’m looking forward to. Watching the countryside zip past is always fun and it’s the perfect time to read my current book (Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea).

Arriving at Kings Cross it wasn’t actually raining (hooray) so I snapped a quick picture of a building that has always intrigued me, does anyone know why it is decorated like that?

The main plan for the day was to visit the Science Museum in South Kensington. I’ve never been before so it was a new experience for me. It’s a great museum, there is heaps to see and to do with lots of interactive displays to discover. I particularly enjoyed the exhibition on space discoveries and travel, it was really well set up and I actually learnt a fair bit. The room titled ‘Who Am I?’ is fantastic too, it is full of various machines on which you can do quizzes and play games such as taking a test to see whether you have a male or female brain (mine leans ever so slightly female, no surprises there!).

One of the (non-scientific) highlights of the visit was a trip to the Shake bar…

I went for a scoop of blueberry ice cream and it was just divine. It tasted so creamy and decadent, I’ve never had an ice cream like it, so delicious!

Definitely go check it out if you’re ever in London and you enjoy that sort of thing, I think it’s a brilliant place to take children too as there is a lot to keep them entertained and it’s very educational.

After spending a couple of hours wandering around the museum we hopped on the tube to Leicester Square for lunch at Leon’s.

My lunch consisted of their chilli chicken salad and it was fantastic. I love Leon as it serves purely fresh, healthy food made that day in the restaurant. It’s definitely my kind of fast food!

For the remainder of the day we just wandered around various parts of London before going for coffee and then getting on the train home.

The day didn’t finish there though, we were then off to watch The Dark Knight Rises. I know action films often get slated for poor plots and things like that, and I can imagine some critics probably had negative things to say about this but I had a brilliant time. The cinema was absolutely packed and they had two showings on at the same time, the crowds gave the place such a great atmosphere. It’s a fast paced film and I just love some of the characters (Michael Cain will always be a favourite with me, ditto Morgan Freeman) so it’s a fab bit of entertainment.

All in all a really lovely day 🙂

Yesterday after a lazy morning we decided that, as we were finally having some fairly nice weather, it was a good day to go for a walk. We drove to a National Trust estate called Wimple Hall which has a lovely park (as well as an adorable farm which we didn’t visit). It was sunny and it felt so so nice to be out in the warmth, actually being able to enjoy the summer for once.

It’s been such a relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

Tomorrow I start work, if you’ve been reading my little blog for a year now then you may remember that I worked a children’s holiday scheme which focuses on arts and crafts. I’m going back there for the week and then a further three weeks in August and I’m quite looking forward to it. I like to feel like I’m doing something productive and it will give me a schedule (you know how I like things to be scheduled and planned!) .

Anyway I’m off to enjoy an evening of relaxing and an early night 😉

Have you been on any day trips recently?
Do you enjoy visiting museums and galleries?
How have you been enjoying the summer weather?