Wagamama

It's the end of another Cambridge term & that means another trip to bring E home.

This time we stopped by at Wagamama to escape the cold snowy weather, and enjoy their huge portions & good food.

To begin with, we had a selection of Miso soup & Ebi Gysoz (vegetable dumplings for you & me).

I'm not a huge fan of Miso soup, but the pots they're served in, oh my they are brilliant.

I could base an entire architecture project on them if I was allowed...

Then we had our mains. I chose Yasai Yaki Soba (below). It was delicious. Although I love noodles so I would say that. The vegetables were cooked really well & I liked the mixture of flavours. Especially the ginger, which worked well with the ginger beer I was drinking.

Above is Chicken & Prawn Cha Han (although we found no prawns) & below is Amai Udon. From the empty dishes my family left, I assume they were also delicious.

As the portions are so big at Wagamama, we managed to have these 3 mains between the four of us with leftovers!

And there is always room for desert...

E chose Sweet Ginger &Apple Gyoza (above) & we all had a taste. It came with some custard which she seemed very pleased about & my favourite part was the cinnamon.

Although I think my dessert was better. Of course.

Raspberry natural fruit ice lolly. Mmmm. You could tell it was made using real raspberries, not just flavouring as there were little bits, my favourite!

To emphasise how odd it was to be eating an ice lolly when its snowing outside, I thought I should wear my mittens. Teehee.

Relax

I've been a bit poorly recently, so to try to achieve the speediest & comfiest recovery, here is a little relaxing inspiration from my pinterest board to help along the immune system.

Supersized Gooey Oreo Cookie

You like cookies & oreos?
I hear you. Here is the perfect way to treat yourself big time, a scrumptious supersized gooey Oreo cookie recipe, mmmmmm.

Ingredients:

• 225g of sugar (I used about half of soft brown & half of white caster)
• 125g margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence
• 225g self raising flour
• Oreos (about 5)

Once your oven is preheated to 180 degrees Celsius, your apron is tied securely & ingredients are ready to go, its time to start baking!

Add your sugar to your margarine & mix until they're one big gooey mess. Then crack & add your egg & vanilla essence.

Once you have once again mixed & created a gooey mixture, its time to add the flour. Your supposed to add it bit by bit as you stir, but I really don't think they taste any less delicious if you don't, plus that method is far too slow. Mix away!

Now its time for the luscious detail. Break your Oreos into eighths & add them to the mixture.

Grease a baking tray & spoon all the mixture out into your preferred shape. 

Then place your heavenly creation into the oven & wait for 10 short minutes until they're ready (the time you leave it in depends on how gooey you like them).

Be warned - this could be the tastiest cookie you ever eat.

With An Extra Day

This video is beautiful. I love the music, the filming, the voices, the conversation, the activities, the ideas, the creativity, the sun, the settings, everything.

Made by Gustav Johansson. What a genius.

If I had an extra day, it would be similar. Making more time for others, fixing the little things, reading more books, start new hobbies, relax more & appreciating the extra day in all its splendour.

Slipper Envy

Pinterest has created a shoe envy within me.

Every time I repin slipper shoes onto my style board, every inch of me is begging to grab my bag & race down to the shopping centre to buy a pair...

But for now, I have to resist that urge & settle with some drawings in my sketchbook.

To buy or not to buy?

Retro Rollerskating Rookies

Last Saturday, I spent my evening with these lovely people.

Equipped with 4 wheeled skates, bunches & a humungous will to go back to the 80's, we set our skiddy feet on the roller disco scene. 

Vicky (on the right) & I had been scouring the area for a roller disco for months. Literally. So as soon as she spotted this venue, we were there quicker than a lightning bolt...well nearly...

When we arrived, not long after it had opened, the place was already packed & music was in full flow.

Once we had got to grips with how to skate the old fashioned way, the games began. 

Stuck in the mud & speed skating were clear favourites - although this being our first time, none of us felt up to the challenge.

If you want to go down & try it for yourself, it's not far from Milton Keynes & only costs £6 including skate hire on Saturdays. 

For more details, you can find them here.

Mother's Day at Michaelhouse

My family celebrated Mother's Day a little earlier than everyone else in the UK. 24 hours earlier, so here I am to tell the tale...

So as to spend the day with my sister too, we drove to Cambridge.

We arrived a little early for lunch, so I had some time to set out my sketchbook in my sister's room & get to work (with the company of music & a cheeky slice of Angel cake of course!).

I then set out to meet the rest of my family for lunch, passing plenty of gorgeous food stalls & flower merchants on the way.

After reuniting, we made our way to my mother's favourite lunch spot - a bustling cafe nestled inside St Michael's church.

We arrived and were quickly whisked off our feet by all the delicious scents & smells. Everything is flexible there, you can pick what to eat & match it with your favourite salads or scones as you like.

There is usually a queue, but it goes quickly & is probably an advantage as otherwise you'll be panicking which dish to pick - they're all delicious I assure you. 

Whilst you wait, its the perfect opportunity to admire the beautiful architecture, even the lights are pretty & there is a great selection of artwork on the walls.

I chose the pizza of the day & added a selection of salads. The rest of my family all chose the same dish - spinach, pumpkin & feta cheese quiche. Being the greedy person I am, I had to taste their dish too & I can safely say they were both incredible. 

My pizza had a really good mix of flavours & the salads I chose were very tasty. The quiche was also very good, I hadn't actually ever had pumpkin in a quiche before, but it is definitely something I need to start doing!

Before leaving, we went into the church area of the building & admired the architecture.

After a little roam around the city, we headed off feeling toasty & happy despite the cold weather.

If you want to find out more about Michaelhouse, here is a link to their website.

Happy Mother's Day to my very own mother!

A Little Bit Of Abstract

 Abstract art is a huge part of my art coursework at the moment. So here is a little peek as to what myself (& my fellow art friends) are up to.

This is SM's work. Yes, he does end up looking like the hulk after every lesson...

I started a similar piece with purple chalk, only to discover purple is a terrible decision - our pack only has one shade of purple, I'm thinking about using red or blue for my next piece.

Abstract art can be a tad strange at times... but if you enjoy it, here are a few picks from Pinterest I find interesting.

I never thought I would get really interested by abstract art, but Pinterest is so beautiful, it's hard not to love it!

Cue the Music

Recently, I have been busy as a bee working away at my art coursework.

Being a perfectionist, this takes me a loooong time, and I mean hours & hours & hours...

So how do I maintain the patience of a goddess required for the job?

Music. Beautiful, beautiful music.

This is what my playlist sounds like at the moment (they're all links by the way):

• Bastille - 'Flaws'
• P!nk & Nate Ruess - 'Just Give Me A Reason'
• Passenger - 'Let Her Go'
• Can't Stop Won't Stop - 'Up And Away (feat. June)'
• Florence + The Machine - 'Dog Days Are Over'
• Bruno Mars - 'When I Was Your Man'
• Marina And The Diamonds - 'I Am Not A Robot
• Fun. - 'Be Calm'
• Young the Giant - 'Cough Syrup'
• Walk Off The Earth - 'Somebody That I Used To Know'

Mother's Day Ideas

For those of you living in the UK, mother's day is approaching.

Normally I am impressively late with gifts. My gifts tend to come days, weeks or (usually) months late, however for this occasion I have been incredibly organised. 

So to help you all, along with myself, I have created a small list of ideas in my sketchbook; voila!