BRAIDS!

Braids are everywhere, get involved gurls!

Dundee. One City, Two days.

Sights, Eats and Liquid Treats.

I traveled up to Dundee, Scotland last Tuesday to visit two of my closest friends, both called Anna. One lives in Dundee (who we are stayed with) and the other in Aberdeen. Both girls have been there 4 years and are in their final year of studying. This is my first trip to Scotland and is well overdue. After my 12 hour coach from London I was feeling both mentally tired and physically energetic, so after meeting the girls off my coach we headed straight for some food. Usually down south I avoid our local Weatherspoons but on this occasion we thought we would give it a go for some cheap grub. Amazingly I had a veggie burger and cider for £4.99 which was pretty tasty and afterwards we went back to Anna's flat and relaxed for the evening.

DAY 1.

The following morning the three of us got up and went for an explore around the city. In typical Scottish fashion, it was raining so we went to a local Museum and Art Gallery 'The McManus' (free entry). We spent an hour or so wondering this wonderful building and touching up on Dundee's local history.

When the rain had died down, we wandered off to the local charity shops to see if we could find some bargains. I found they were so much cheaper than at home and each seemed to have a small home section with great value furniture.

We came across a lovely little Vintage Shop 'RARA' (http://www.facebook.com/RARA.vintage.dundee) run by a young girl from Glasgow. It is a great little place with a whole range of 50's-80's clothing with reasonable prices and I found myself a lovely Lyle and Scott jumper for just £20.00.

Feeling and hearing our tummies rumble, we decided to head for some lunch. We ended up choosing Duke's Corner, a student friendly bar and restaurant which hosts all different types of music events, with DJ's, live bands and even shows a film on Monday evenings. I had a Mushroom Burger (two burgers in two days, not like me!) which was delicious! There was a range of delicious dishes on the menu all for £5, including my burger and Anna K's choice of veggie Haggis. Our stomachs full, we headed back to Anna's flat for a cup of tea.

Later on in the afternoon we went for a long stroll along the riverside, past a few small parks and back to the city centre via lots of small cobble stone roads. The city was very peaceful and we all were feeling so relaxed. As the evening crept on we met some of Anna's local friends for a drink in 'The Art Bar'. I was trying to learn some of the local slang as we checked out a few more drinking locations. What I love about Dundee is that it seems to have a great pub culture with a different, trendy pub at every corner.

DAY 2.

In the morning Anna K. left us for Aberdeen, leaving just Anna F. and myself.

Once again we woke to rain so we started our day at 'Sensation Science Center'

http://www.sensation.org.uk/Visitors/Whats-On_257.html. I felt this was mainly aimed at children and young students but we still had a great time exploring its hands-on experiments and we also watched an interesting show about planets. 

For lunch we treated ourselves to a posh lunch at 'Marco Polo Restaurant' who offer a great 2 course lunchtime menu for £6.95 which was really yummy stuff.

http://www.marcopolocuisine.co.uk/lunch-menu.html

We had planned to visit a local beach but the weather sadly didn't clear up by the afternoon so we decided to take a trip to the local cinema, this only being a bus ride away. Anna, who admits isn't too good with buses asked a local guy for directions. Annoyingly, he directed us to the wrong bus so we had to get off and walk for about 30 minutes before finding the cinema. Luckily it hadn't eaten into 'The Hunger Games', our film of choice.

We both really enjoyed the film and two hours of thrilling teen action has made me want to watch the follow up film.

We then met a friend of Anna's in 'Netherend' pub which was nice, it had a cheap food menu and holds a good pub quiz on Thursday evenings for £2 per person I was told.

We ended our evening with episodes of Father Ted and Family guy at Anna's flat.

Sadly, the following morning I had to wake up early to catch my coach back to London. I enjoyed Dundee, I only wish I had prepared more for the rain and stayed longer for more beach and pub fun! x

Recipe of the Week # Vegan Blueberry Muffins

Recipe makes 12 yummy muffins in 30 minutes!

Ingredients:
10z Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
5oz Brown Sugar
175ml Soya Milk
5oz Soya Butter
1 egg substitute (no egg or cider vinegar)
7oz Blueberries
12 muffin cases and a baking tray
An oven

Make

*Pre-heat your oven to 180oc.
*Mix together soya butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
*Gradually add in your flour and the soya milk and baking powder.
*add the egg substitute and the lemon juice.
*Gently fold in the blueberries.
*Put the mixture into the muffin cases so they are about 3/4 full.
*Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until they are cooked through (check with skewer)
*Cool for a few minutes then enjoy!

Perfect for a birthday, tea party or just to treat yourself. <3

Dream Pop

Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife andA.R. Kane (to whom the term has been attributed) began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost exclusively used in the United States. An "all-star" dream pop collective named This Mortal Coil were known for covering obscure songs mainly from the 1960s and 1970s.

The essence of the music is a focus on ethereal textures and moods, rather than on propulsive rock riffs. Breathy, high-register female vocals or almost whispered male vocals are usually the means of lyrical delivery; lyrics are generally introspective and existential in nature. Cover art tends to consist of blurry pastel imagery or stark minimalist designs, or a combination of these two styles. Overall, the 4AD record label is the one most associated with dream pop, though others such as Creation, Projekt, Fontana, Bedazzled, Vernon Yard and Slumberland also released significant records in the genre. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_pop

Dream pop has been around for decades but I think now in 2012 we are all starting to appreciate the soft cords and sweet melodies of artists such as Bjork (photo above, right), R.E.M, Verve, Ladyhawke, Röyksopp, Sigur Rós and The Smashing Pumpkins just to name a few greats who have been around for years. Dream pop is my favourite music of the moment, I have been discovering some great new artists such as Grimes (Photo above, left), First Aid Kit, Bat of Lashes, Atlas Sound and Little Dragon with their bouncy, happy beats which can send you into a little jig around the house or out to greater things. It's feel good and uplifting songs are sweet to the ears, and I am seeing lots of new girl bands and female artists shining through Dream Pop. So you go girls, and check some of these lovely artists out before the Summer Festivals begin.

 The xx

 Goldfrapp

 Little Dragon

A song for April:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3iAoxHb8B8&feature=youtu.be

Happy Mothers Day Mums

Yes I am 22, yes I made this myself and yes these are all recycled cards and other bits and pieces I found amongst all my other things. I hope you made something nice for your mums.

London Fashion Weekend 23/02/12

 My top 10 of everything London Fashion Weekend 2012

10. Discount Elle Magazine 

At £1 per issue at London Fashion Weekend, this was an amazing bargain buy.

9. Somerset House

No need to say much, a real beauty.

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/fashion/london-fashion-weekend

8. Getting Papped

Yes getting papped whilst walking around Somerset House, checking out all the great boutique shopping and getting your photograph taken is just a great boost and then searching the web for your picture after!

7. Getting Style Tips from Fellow Visitors to Fashion Weekend

Yes all around me I was surrounded by a amazing dressers, you can learn so much from the style all around you. Some of the most fashionable people you will just bump into in the toilets.

6. The Catwalk

Watching the catwalk is not like anything I have ever seen before. The lighting, music and intimate atmosphere adds to the unique fashionable experience. You truly get up close and personal with the models, clothing and designers with the helpful introductions and hand out guides, not to mention the celebrity who hosts the show. 

5. The Relaxation

I felt Somerset house was so big and spacious you never felt like a sardine, with mini pop up cafes to grab a  

 cappuccino or a bite to eat it was very relaxing, a stress-free way to shop and catch up on the up and coming fashion fevers.

4. The Late Night Outdoor Lights and The Big Screen

Sitting outside for some fresh air or to pause the shopping was lovely to soak up the lighting all around you. Somerset House was really lit up and there was a giant screen on the side of the building displaying shows from Fashion Week, interviews with celebrities which was really interesting and felt like a mini insight to what had gone on the last few days.

3. Taking Photos of Everything and Everyone

This is a favourite hobby of mine anyway, but taking fashion related photos is a great way to learn about style and I find it just so interesting. I love capturing other peoples styles and finding ways to incorporate fashion I discover and to make new looks for myself.

2. The Holly Fulton Show Bag

Well this was really amazing, full of little beauties! This wonderful bag included Lavazza Coffee, a Toni and Guy voucher, Galaxy Chocolate, Broadway Nails Impress Nail Set, Elizabeth Arden 8 hour Cream and lots lots more....

1. The Pricetag

OK so this may be a little rubbish for a number one, but I think the cost for the 5 hours of living London fashion was a give away. I went for shop & the lot ticket which included entry to the catwalk show, show bag and all the shopping for about 40 English pounds, you can't put a price on love.

Recycle your old cards

We all receive 10's of cards every year for birthdays, Christmas, sometimes if we are lucky Valentines, Easter and other special dates. These cards stay warm in our hearts for maybe a week or two then most of us just throw them away, some recycle (which is good) and others don't. I find the cards we receive have lovely designs, patterns, handmade artwork, photographs and can end up eating away anything around £2.50 each and more and I feel its time for some re-use, re-love treatment.


My favourite card distributor Paperchase : http://www.paperchase.co.uk/


I think its time to mix it up, cut them out, piece them together and make some new magical cards.

My Project for this weekend will be making a lovely mothers day card using old cards hidden away in my drawers so watch this space and give it a go!

Try these wonderful places:


http://www.greencardcompany.co.uk/


https://secure.eco-craft.co.uk/