February 13, 2013
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been living in London for more than a month already, it’s begun to feel like home so quickly. Tourists have already been asking me for directions, which I muddle my way through the best I can. In all seriousness, I love pretending like I’m a Londoner. It felt far too big at first, especially in comparison to Amsterdam, but getting to know the smaller boroughs has made it accessible. I’m rather in love with both Camden and South Kensington. My friend and I stumbled across the cutest little cafe in Camden the other day, Yumchaa, and we’ve already decided that it’s going to be our study spot. The Camden market is loads of fun, as well. Despite the horrid weather lately, we spent hours wandering the market and getting free samples of mulled wine ;) If anyone has any other recommendations for fun things to check out in, I’d love to hear them!
This is my first time wearing actual pants in ages! I don’t know what London is doing to me! But seriously, I do think the London cool girl style is rubbing off on me, at least I hope it is. I’ve been rather obsessed with velvet lately, and especially with this turban that I made the other day. Tutorial coming soon!
The Camden Lock Markets
Topic: London, Outfits | 7 Comments
January 29, 2013
This past Saturday, I went on a day-trip to Oxford and the Cotswolds. A two hour bus ride later and my friends and I arrived in Bourton-on-the-Water, a charmingly small town in the Cotswolds. After wobbling our way through what remained of the ice and snow on the ground, we came upon the heart of the village, which seemed to consist mostly of tea houses– not that I was complaining! The bucolic image was further enhanced by the first sun that England has seen for days.
After an hour wandering through the town– and grabbing a spot of tea!– we headed off towards Oxford.
Once we got to Oxford, we had a bit of free time to grab lunch, so naturally we went to the market. It’s getting to be a habit now! After some delicious soup, we joined back up with our group for a tour of Christchurch. We got to see the Dining Hall that the Great Hall in Harry Potter was based on and had a look around the college. The gardens and grounds of the university were my favorite– they were just so quintessentially English!
Honestly, I fell quite in love with Oxford. I’ll definitely be heading back there at some point– hopefully for grad school in a few years!
Topic: Photography, Travel | 6 Comments
January 19, 2013
This is what happens when I go to London– I start dressing about as stereotypically British as possible. I guess I’m trying to blend in? It doesn’t help that my worldview of England is informed almost entirely from BBC period dramas. I’m such a hat person– I got this one when I was in Sweden in December. It’s a vintage “Kitty’s of Stockholm” brand!
I started classes this past week– so far, so good! I’m taking a Shakespeare class (I figured I had too!), a literature class called ‘literature and place,’ a class on British youth culture from the 60s to today, an art class, and a theatre class that requires us to go see a play each week. For our first play we saw “In the Republic of Happiness” at the Royal Court Theatre. It was definitely an… experience. I enjoyed it immensely, but I feel like it could use a bit more explanation. I just love how accessible the theatre is in London– I’ve managed to narrow down my must-see plays and musicals to four ;)
I feel like I’m an old hat at this whole study abroad thing, so hopefully I’m not getting ahead of myself when I think that I can balance classes with seeing plays, music, exploring London, and traveling!
I haven’t done much shopping yet in London, but I can’t wait to check out all the charity shops and markets. My friend and I headed down to Portabello Market yesterday to watch a cooking demonstration and peruse the market, but most of the stalls were snowed out! We still had a great time exploring the area and I can’t wait to go back when it gets a bit less chilly. I thought London was supposed to be warmer than Amsterdam!
Topic: London, Outfits, Photography | 1 Comment
January 14, 2013
Long time no see! Sorry about that– it’s been rather hectic in this neck of the woods. I’m back in Europe for my second semester of studying abroad, this time I’ll be spending the next three months in London! It was absolutely lovely being home for the holidays, but it felt far too short. So far, the city has been absolutely amazing. I haven’t gotten much time to explore on my own yet, but my study abroad program took us on a bus tour the other day which was a great way of seeing the sights and getting oriented. London is so much bigger than Amsterdam, so navigating the city is proving to be a bit more challenging. I miss being able to bike anywhere I needed to go within a half an hour!
Hopefully I’ll be finding “my” spots in London soon. I’ve been scoping out cute cafes in the hopes that I’ll find somewhere that I’ll become a regular (they knew my name and drink order back in Amsterdam– probably means I drink too much coffee!). And with any luck, I’ll be volunteering at the V&A! Now I just need to work on my British accent and I’ll be all set ;)
ps- Of course I listened to this song on repeat during my flight over
Topic: London, Photography | 2 Comments
December 23, 2012
I love Starbucks during the Holiday season– they’ve got red cups, gingerbread lattes, and cranberry bliss bars! I was definitely missing out on this treat this winter, so I figured I would make a gluten and dairy free version myself. They’re just as delicious and surprisingly simple! And they go perfectly with a cup of coffee :)
Cranberry Bliss Bars
Recipe adapted from 3sisters
Cookie Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
-1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
-1 1/2 sticks softened margarine
-3 eggs or 3 tbsp ground flaxseed + 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp water for a vegan version
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp xanthan gum
-3/4 cup cranberries
Frosting Ingredients:
-1/2 package (4 oz) Tofutti dairy free cream cheese
– 2 cups powdered sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-3 tsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all cookie ingredients, adding the cranberries last, and pour into a 9×13 inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
While the cookie is baking, mix up your frosting. Whisk together the cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon juice first and then mix in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Once your cookie is cooled, add the frosting and sprinkle 1/4 cup dried cranberries on top. Chill before slicing.
Topic: Gluten & Dairy Free, Recipes | 2 Comments
