What I eat in a day...

I am a lover of food; I love preparing it, I love eating it, I love photographing it. 90% of the time I eat what I consider to be healthy, I rarely eat crisps, sweets etc but if I do eat anything sugary it tends to be cake because damn does my mum make a good carrot cake. Of course, with school its hard to maintain a particularly exciting meal plan, usually sticking with the same thing for breakfast and lunch. I figured you wouldn't want to see my sandwiches so I decided to do this on a Saturday.

Here is my day in food:

Breakfast:

Dorset Cereal Simply Nutty Museli

Alpro Almond milk

Strawberries

Nectarine

Grapes

I am actually lactose intolerant but have decided, even if I wasn't, I would still drink almond milk. Its a lot better for you and tastes so much nicer in my opinion.This Dorset Cereal is my absolute favourite muesli, or even cereal, ever. Its not an exciting cereal but man its delicious.

Lunch:

Homemade humus/houmous(?)

Toasted Ciabatta

Asian Coleslaw

Guacamole (which you can't see because the avocados were too ripe and looked funky)

Houmous: 1 tin of chickpeas, a teaspoon of Tahini (you can use peanut butter), 1 tablespoon of olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, 1 clove of garlic, salt and pepper: put it all in a liquidizer and blend until smooth
Asian Coleslaw: cabbage + carrot grated with soy sauce, honey and ginger
Guacamole: Avocado, tomatoes, chilli, lemon, garlic

Snack:
A Nakd bar*

These are great, they are so natural, with just dried fruit and nuts and taste amazing. They give me so much energy and I can last with just one of these. I got mine directly from Natural Balance Foods, a website that stocks energy foods, and blummin tasty ones at that. I got sent a selection of flavours which is great because I can try them all-so far Cashew Cookie and Pecan Pie are my favourite. They are also dairy free which for me is a win!

Supper (tea?):
Cous Cous (with pomegranate, harrissa paste, pistachios etc)
Lamb
Guacamole
Salad
Roasted pepper and tomatoes

These are my favourite kind of meals, much lighter than other wintery meals and, in my opinion, a lot more flavoursome. I think this food is more summery which makes me sad as it reminds me that we are actually in October...
I would also in the day, eat many pieces of fruit and 3 cups of tea but I didn't think pears were that interesting to photograph.
What do you eat in a day? What is your favourite meal?
Katie x

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Currently: Listening: Ben Howard-The Fear//Reading: Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald (ahh it will forever be my favourite)//Loving: My bed//Lusting: half term to come quicker

*I was sent these products to review, all opinions however remain  my own

Room Updates

My room had been looking a little tired, everything was similar to how it had been 2 years previous and, for someone who needs constant change, this was annoying me. Some features had also become impractical such as a desk that resulted in my doing all my GCSE revision on the floor due to it being too small, a chest of drawers that had one functioning draw and a pile of clothes that had no where to live. 

So the transformations began.

Mirror: found on gumtree, painted white
Drawers: Local pine furniture maker
Lamp: Ikea
Bowl: Tiger (£1-I wish I had bought more but I was going on the train after)
Jewelry bowl: Ikea
Camera: Fujifilm Instax 8

 For anyone with limited space or pedantic problems about room space, this is the perfect solution. I have mine drilled onto the back of my door so it takes up virtually no space.
Rail: Ikea
Hangers: Ikea

This area may require a little more explanation:
So this is where I spend 90% of my evenings, so I relish in it looking nice. A lot of the pieces you see in this area have been collected such as the motivational quotes (made by Alice), the K (made by a friend) and other little bits. I have pinned a clip up to hold papers in which I have found incredibly useful. I also went through a phase of printing every photo I took so ended up with hundreds and no idea what to do with them. I decided in order to display them and not damage my white walls, I would pin them up. Under my desk I keep pointless bits; make up packaging, magazines; things I don't really know what else to do with.
Lamp: Ikea
Desk: Ikea
Drawers: Ikea
Green boxes and file: Ikea
Chair: Gumtree (painted blue)
 K candle: Oliver Bonas
Little pegs: John Lewis (Christmas craft section)

Full room tour (a little out of date)
Post dedicated to my memory line

I hope maybe this has given you some room inspo or, if not, you got the satisfaction of looking around someone elses room-I love to be nosey.
I now need to shower as I have a party and am still in my pyjamas. Ahh
Katie x
Currently: Listening: Ben Howard-Conrad//Reading: Just finished Gorksy-Vesna Goldsworthy//Loving: Museli// Lusting: Piercings

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Catching a breath

This is not the first time I've written this or any post. Nor is it the second, or the third.
It has been so long. I have forgotten how to rhythmically type out my voice in a way that doesn't make me want to vomit in self indulgence. Its all self indulgent and narcissistic.
I like lists, they keep me concise and to the point, something I am teaching myself to be.
So, here's a list.
A list on why I am struggling to write*:
1) Time: its a lie, if I was desperate, I would find time. Although, I have spent 40 minutes trying to write and being unable to do so. And now I feel sick because I am wasting time.
2) Pressure on myself: "If I have time to write, I should have time to do extra French vocab or wider reading about the Russian Revolution" "I shouldn't have time to write"
3) Its too dark to take photos: It's not. You finish at 12:10 on a Friday and the sun is shining, take a photo.
4) The self indulgence: This is a real problem that has been swarming my mind. I don't want to bore people with the woes of my life, its not interesting, every time I sit to write an 'updates post', I get past "I started sixth form" then delete it all, it feels repulsively narcissistic**
5) Quality: None of it is good enough, I am unable to produce a single post I am happy with
6) Definition: I know what I want my blog to be, I just can't bite the bullet to take it there
7) Does anyone care?: I mean really, does anyone care if I have changed something in my bedroom, or if I bought a new top
8) Normality: I want to produce something different, do something different.

Even that anti-self indulgence list was self indulgent.
I thought time would heal this wound, apparently its leaving it gaping.

At least I will have something up on my blog, it won't seem quite as scary next time.

Katie x

*by write I mean blog but I don't like the word 'blog' for writing blogposts, ok
**I don't mean other peoples, I mean writing about my own, I enjoy reading other peoples pointless life updates, I do not enjoy making others read my own
***by saying "does anyone care" I am not fishing for compliments, no amount of reassurance will quell these fears, its a self confidence thang

Collecting parts of myself

I have a Peter Rabbit gift bag under my desk filled with meaningful rubbish; tickets from Paris, London, days out with friends, photobooth strips from any available opportunity (we love a good photobooth), quotes drawn on dark days and 101 postcards, either collected or gifted. In all honesty, its a bag of rubbish, but its meaningful, rather pastel rubbish that with holds my favourite memories and little parts of me that make up an odd paper representation. For years I have come home and put every momento inside my purse into this bag, thinking, one day I will display this all to remind me of this or that.
And, I finally got round to taking it out of its exceptionally aesthetically pleasing bag and stringing all the bizarre little things for the world to see.

I bought both the twine and the pegs from John Lewis and pinned a string up on my wall, pegging all the items to it.

Not only when I am working away on my desk next year, caught in the wrath of Sixth Form, can I look up to see reminders of my favourite people and happy moments, but it also pleases me immensely because of just how aesthetic it is; the pastel colours, maybe a little over used but still looking wonderfully Pinterest in a jumbled way.
Maybe I hold too much of myself and too much love in these pointless pieces of paper but it makes me happy to collect little things like this.
It also makes a lovely bag to look through.
Do you collect tickets and pieces from special days?
Katie x
Currently: Listening: nothing new//Reading:Still trudging on with The Picture of Dorian Gray-its only 177 pages but has taken me a good month to read, I guess because its for school//Loving: Tea//Lusting: Dungarees

Edinburgh 2015

My final summer adventure consisted of a rather complicated train journey up to Edinburgh to check out the Fringe Festival and simply explore. I was accompanied by my friend Maddie which was awesome as she lives in Oxford and we don't get to see each other very often.
We pre-booked 2 festival events and decided we would spend the rest walking around, eating and soaking up the atmosphere.

Another lifestyle post, far too long with far too many photos however I wanted to include our itinery simply for my future recollection.
1) We walked around Edinburgh in the rain looking for a cafe, ending up in the New Town, far too hungry.
2) Ate cake and drank 'boutique' tea at Eteaket where the tea was unusual but delicious, the interior cool and minimal and the cakes, expensive, a little too sweet and tasting slightly of the plastic dome-sorry I am a cake critic.
3) Walked through the New Town to George Street to see a photography exhibition-good but the photos were a little too small
4) Wandered round, popped into Zara (heavenly) and explored
5) Walked to George Square-fantastic food stalls, an amazing vibe and very photogenic.
6) Watched Best of The Fest which was amusing, horrifying (due to audience participation), and good  fun then ate the lunch we bought before from a Thai stall.
7) Went in the wackiest photobooth in an old caravan with mad props
8) Got expensive (it is a Capital city, what did I expect?) drinks from Peters Yard, a very suave Swedish cafe, minimalistic and all. I drank my 3rd coffee of the day-I don't normally drink coffee.
9) Went to the Fruitmarket Art Gallery by the station, the exhibition was awesome, kind of derelict and cumbersome but in a very beautiful, calming way-if that is possible. They also have a very good book shop.
10) Went to H&M because it is my new obsession then realised we were late and sprinted to the Assembly hall
11) Watched Traces which was AMAZING-kind of an amalgamation of acrobatics, dance, circus all in a modern, dark, edgy show-it was brilliant and well worth the slightly pricier ticket.
12) Bought food from Sainsbury then ran up the mound to watch the sun set and jumped on a bloody busy train back home.

Tips for first time Fringe Festival go-ers (like me)
- pack an umbrella/coat-its so unpredictable
- don't get overwhelmed by the fringe website-its manic, just pick a small selection of things you want to see
- don't over book-2-3 shows is more than enough for one day, otherwise it becomes hectic and exhausting
- Royal Mile is awesome during festival time, in a sort of tacky, touristy way-be sure to walk up it

Once again I have written too much but it feels wondrous to be back at my key board typing, after failing my 'summer blogging goals'.
Have you been to Edinburgh festival?
Katie x
Currently: Listening: Still in love with Tom Odell//Reading: Dorian Gray//Loving: Nectarines//Lusting: a tan and some jewelry.

Finding peace

Expectations create disappointment.
This is a phrase that I begrudgingly felt sort of defined my summer, through lack of planning, time, people, motivation, I reached August 7th feeling little content at the fulfillment of my 12 week holiday that was deemed to be the "best 12 weeks of my life".

It, along with a fear of Winter, Exam Results, growing up and expectations, had been getting me down for a while, feeling as though I had wasted my last chance at complete freedom and just hadn't made the most out of it.
I then found myself on the top of a hill in the wilderness of Northumberland with my closest friends as the sun melted away behind the expanse of rolling fields and my mind silenced.
It was after a weekend spent camping, eight 16 year-olds left to our own devices, doing things we all loved, getting 'back to basics'; collecting, firewood, walking, listening to music, chatting, laughing, eating barely-cooked food, taking photos. The boys had gone home and just the 4 girls remained.
We sat as the sun disappeared knowing that our two other friends were making a fire and cooking us supper because they knew how much we wanted to see the sun set.
"I feel so at peace" Hannah said to me.
And I realised that, in that moment, despite the irrationality that gnaws away at me daily, there was no where else in the world I would rather be.
I learned the importance of friendship; people who know you inside out, cook for you because they want you to see a sunset, lie in a cold tent until too late discussing our futility and don't care if you haven't showered in 4 days.
I also learned the importance of getting away, escaping the city, slowing the pace of life, living outdoors because I truly believe that is where we belong.
And finally, I learned the necessity of finding peace, with yourself and your surroundings. That the uncompromising hatred and pressure one places on themselves is destroying; that to live in the moment is the greatest place to be.
I, less than 2 days after returning, no longer adopt this golden peace but at least I know where to find it.
Where do you find peace?
Katie x

Currently: Listening: Glass Animals--Noah and the Whale--having a bit of a Hozier throwback (to last year haha)//Reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray--The Storied Life Of A.J Fikry//Loving: Going to the park in the evening//Lusting: Some new clothes// Wishing: The summer would never end

New Design

I have been meaning to change my blog design for a substantial amount of time but I got caught up with school then lost in the excitement of summer. I found myself a few spare days this week and decided to trial out some designs, came up with one I liked and decided to go for it.
For any of those who may be wondering, I purchased the basic layout on Etsy from this shop (its the Eze 2) as they are very good value compared to many others I have seen and offer a wide range of designs. I found it easy to install after some initial major panics and it didn't take long to get it how I wanted after a little assistance.

I then created my header myself and altered the colours, fonts etc of the layout to get it just how I wanted it, introducing some additional features such as the Instagram Follow me.
Blog headers are surprisingly easy to create and I would definitely recommend purchasing a cheaper more simple layout if you are confident with designing a header as buying a premade or custom made template can be jolly pricey.
There are also plenty of bloggers who are wiling to create headers for free (for example: Alice), I would say its just a case of looking around to see what can be found.
What do you think of my new layout?
Katie x

A week away

I and my family went away for a week to the North West of Scotland, it wasn't anything particularly extravagant but we had a lovely week, visiting places we had been before and exploring new ones. It was jam packed with walking (an attempt up Ben Nevis-we gave up half way up), cycling, visiting beaches, dodging rain showers, reading and playing scrabble.
I thought I would just show you all a selection of the photos I took when we were away because the photo opportunities were incredible, especially from the house we stayed in.
There are far too many photos, sorry!

is this too weird? I can't decide if its creepy or cool

Katie x
Currently: Listening: Of Monsters and Men-human--crystals//Reading: The Storied Life Of A.J Fikry//Loving: Coffee//Lusting: maybe a little sunshine??