spring time pub times.

i enjoy that polyvore set making is no longer a procrastination activity.

inspired by my outfit on wednesday night, when i celebrated the end of uni FOREVER. unfortunately i do not own most of these items, BUT OH WHAT I WOULD GIVE FOR A KINGFISHER BLUE BLAZER. i do, however have a gorgeous stella mccartney imitation necklace, moto high waisted skinnies and a white cropped blouse (bought for a fiver at a vintage clothes sale on campus...then majorly adjusted for frill minimisation). i also have a floral envelope clutch, my favourite handbag of all time, which i bought at portobello road markets.

check my style skillz beetches. 

pushing forwards.

musings in the marks and spencer underwear department on a very slow and hungover day

with most feelings or experiences, when experienced for a set duration, they come to a head and culminate in some sort of expression or occurance.

with pain, you snatch your hand away from the hot surface, say 'ow', get your burn treated and eventually it subsides.

with happiness, you smile and laugh.

with sadness, there is a process of grieving. 

but when i miss you, it just keeps going. i'm not grieving, because we are both in each others lives. but i'm not happy, because we are not in each others lives the way i would like for us to be. i'm just stuck here, in this same place in my head and my heart, with no real change or relief, as the missing feeds forward and forward into more missing.

500 days.

the life of brian.

"Who threw that stone?!"

This picture is up on my wall at home. This movie will always remind me how awesome i) my Dad is ii) the British are. 

the essence of the thing.

That's right, I did it. I finished a book. Though I will admit I had to skip a few chunks... for reasons which will follow.

The Essence of the Thing, by Madeline St John


The book appealed to me because, like almost everyone, I've been through a relationship break up. It's not an original concept I know, but the novel still appealed. The story follows twenty-something Nicola through the weeks that follow an unexpected end to her long term relationship with lawyer Jonathan.

I appreciate the short chapters and the conversational style, as there were times when it was effective at emphasising a narrative or a concept without it being outlined for the reader in what would have been a more patronising manner. The blurb suggests that the short chapters are reflective of middle class pretence, and I can appreciate this too. That none of the other characters but Nicola are really predominantly focussed on her break-up also emphasises the perhaps self centered, busy-body attitude of the London-ite middle class 'status' families she is (for some reason) friends with.

Generally however, the story disappointed me with its pace, its reasoning, its perspective and its character...Sorry Ms St John. I was given no reason to believe that Nicola and Jonathan would have even been a couple, and a happy one at that. That Nicola manages herself so gracefully and modestly throughout her turmoil indicates that she is not stupid, or shallow, or unreasonable. But for her to have been involved for so long with a man so apparently emotionally void really confuses me. Also, for Nicola to be transformed to a blubbering wreck of woman to a proudly single and defiant one over the space of one night in a night club (with two fabulous gay guys; complete with montage makeover if it were a movie, I'm sure) is a depressingly stereotypical and lazy way to give some illusion of progression.

If I was a guy, I think I'd find the book a little offensive if I'm honest. Jonathan is portrayed as a shallow, dull, selfish, and irresponsible man; the stereotypical 'bad guy' in a relationship break down. I was hoping that this stereotype would be diffused throughout the story as we perhaps found out why or how he had adopted this attitude. But no, he continues to be a dull and lifeless sod until the very end, when (randomly) he starts to beg for Nicola to come back- this is where I had to stop reading. Anyone who has gone through a horrendous breakup, and thinks that they can identify with this story obviously needs closure. People don't just become dicks overnight because they are men. There is reasoning and explanation behind every relationship breakdown. I'm not saying that it can never not 'be someone's fault', but this was an extremely one-dimensional perspective of relationships, people and particularly men.

So much about the book seemed completely unnecessary (maybe this was supposed to add to the 'realistic' tone; that we were literally just watching a series of events unfold), and yet so many necessary explanations seemed to have been completely forgotten.

Oh, also.: I don't know when the book is set but everyone talks like it's 1945 ("Whizzy!"). It was published in 1997 and there is no indication it was set in a different era to this. Upon then reading that the author is Australian, and then noticing the number of pointless 'Oh look, we're in London' references, it's just all very embarrassing to read.

No thanks, please avoid.

iron and wine.

simple.beautiful.

easy vegan dahl and curry.

Today was my turn to cook. I live in a house with 4 friends, and just next door is another house where another 5 of my friends live. We all take it in turns to cook for each other, and today was my turn. About 3/4 of us are vegans, so we all cook vegan, which is a lot easier and tastier than it sounds. I myself am not a vegan or a vegetarian but I don't really eat meat unless it's offered to me. I've never cooked it, and 95% of the time the thought of eating it repulses me. Anyway, this is what I cooked tonight and it went down a treat.

Dahl:
Blend up a tin of tomatoes/ 6 fresh tomatoes with a generous chunk of ginger. Heat some oil in a pan and add a teaspoon each of fennel and cumin seeds. When they start to crack, add the tomato paste and then a couple of tins of lentils (or chickpeas, whichever you prefer). Leave it to simmer for at least 10 minutes (I had this simmering while I prepared the rest of the meal, as follows...). If spinach is in season, add it just before serving and stir it in nicely. I also used a dash of tumeric.

Mixed veg curry:
Heat some oil in a pan and, again, add a teaspoon each of fennel and cumin seeds. Chop up/ crush 2 cloves of garlic and other chunk of garlic and add this to the pan when the seeds crack (if you like, a chilli pepper would go nicely here too, but my housemates aren't too keen on spicy food). Then add a white and a red onion (chopped relatively finely), and fry for a few minutes until soft. I add a few spices here: tumeric, garam masala and chilli powder.  Then add your veggies. I used two carrots, half a broccoli, and half a cauliflower, but you could really use any veg,  whatever is in season. I also added in a few spoons of concentrated tomato paste at this stage. Then add watered coconut milk with the veggies (about enough to half cover them all) and simmer away until all the water is gone.

Serve both with rice!

I also attempted vegan onion bhajis last week but it didn't work too well. They were gorgeous but just didn't really stay together very well...I think it would work best with eggs, but I'll keep experimenting with other bits.