Hi, Were Selling the House...

So we have been living in Wimbledon since we moved to London which was 8 months ago now (I know, where does the time go??) and we moved into an unfurnished home - when I say unfurnished I mean they left a  big mirror and that was it. So it cost a lot to set everything up and finally get settled then I received a phone call from the landlord saying they are wanting to sell when our contract is up at the end of July.

There are pros and cons to this - obviously moving is hard work and not the most fun thing to do plus you actually have to find somewhere else to live but we are all taking it in our stride and looking at it as a new chapter in our London lives! We live quite far out really, Wimbledon is just gorgeous and really safe but its taking us all an hour or more to get into the city centre for work each day. Were also looking at it as a new networking opportunity - when the girls were in NZ I really realised just how few people I do know in London out of work so I'm making it my new mission to join some clubs etc and start meeting new people and moving out provides us with a great opportunity to do this. Were going to move individually and this way we will meet new people and then have flat mates AND friends, not flat mate-friends so we are already doubling our social network right there!

I am looking at moving to an area called Islington, its only 15 mins on the tube from work and has a great feel to the area. Its funny cause even non-dodgy parts of London feel a bit dodgy in comparison to Wimbledon so just have to get used to the actual feel of the city I guess. Also I can save around £150 a month if I move which would be amazing - thats my student loan payment and extra savings each month right there! We are going to move out at the end of June instead of July as were all doing some kind of traveling in July and it just won't work for us moving then.

We've really enjoyed living in Wimbles and it was great having each other for support in the early days - we will still have each other of course we'll just be living with new peeps! So exciting times ahead, my one year anniversary in the UK is fast approaching so I'm excited to celebrate that and have a Kiwi treat day at work! Lolly cake anyone??

Food, glorious food!

 

 

 

 

OK so my no sugar diet month in preparation for getting back into my summer clothes for Portugal is not going as planned entirely - I have decided to call it a low sugar month but this post may prompt you to think otherwise... My cousins got me a voucher for a chocolate making class at Christmas so I finally got along to it last Sunday and got to make and take home 25 gourmet chocolate truffles (is anyone else's mouth watering as they read this....) given the hungover state I was in as a result of the night out Kristen and I had had the night before I was just in making mode and not sampling mode! It was a really fun class however out of 35 people I was the ONLY person who was by myself and the teacher pointed it out quite clearly a few times much to my dismay - 'Right, everyone has to team up for the piping exercise (insert pointing finger at Steph here) I will come over and help you since you are by yourself (remove pointing finger and replace with the whole class staring at me)... total Bridget Jones moment but hey at least I had the guts to do it by myself... and I got double the amount of chocolate as everyone else since I didn't have to team up!! Boom! Incase your wondering I took them all in to work which is clearly major for me to share such beautiful chocolate...

Also wanted to include pictures of the mini banoffee pies I made for my friend Emma's birthday at work - so cute!! The caramel turned out amazing!
SO the first two weeks of my sugar cut back were going great until today clearly but one naughty day is allowed, especially for banoffee :)

Heres the link for the recipe I used - I added a bit more biscuit and butter for more base and also put the banana on top of the caramel after it had cooled but its personal preference how want to present them. I did this because I had to make it the night before and the banana would have gone brown by the following day so it was easier to slice it and add it before serving - enjoy!

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/150160/Banoffee-pie

Traveling in Europe - £1 flights? Yeah - right!

So over the years I have heard passing comments of £1 last minute flights to Europe from UK etc and when I was in the process of moving a few people kept saying oh its so cheap to go here and there etc but to be quite honest, its really not. It costs a small fortune every time you want to go away and you have to book really early in the year - the girls were going to book Croatia in February and the tours they wanted to do in July were already booked. I have had to book Portugal and Turkey all in one month and its left me skint as. Turkey is a bit more because its a tour - I vowed after Top Deck to never do a tour again just cause I like to do my own thing really but in Turkey you have to be on a tour to get into the ANZAC ceremony + I think its safer to be on one in Turkey.

So one week in Turkey is £500 for the tour, £160 for flights then you need around £40 a day spending (I'm there for 8 days so thats £320) and there you have £1000 for 8 days. SHOOT I haven't actually sat and wrote that all out, thats heaps!!!! But def the most expensive trip I'll do this year.

Portugal - were going over Easter and taking an extra day so we'll be away for 5 days, flights were around £220, accommodation is a gorgeous self catered apartment which turned out cheaper than a hotel - I think that was around £150 each. So you can go away for 4-5 nights for around £350 but then as well will need around £50 spending a day. Sounds a lot but when you pay for transport, at least one meal out a day booze and food for your other meals etc it all adds up. 

Sometimes its frustrating cause we have long weekends and I want to pop to Europe for them but I just have to be reasonable - I could do it but then I would have no money for living in London and its no fun being cooped up all weekend cause you have saved all your money to go traveling so its all about finding the balance and what works for you really. I think after those trips I will be up in Chester and Scotland a few more times with my family this year, possibly a trip to NZ and then I will do another week away in October somewhere exotic! Will be great to go somewhere in October as another fashion week will just be finished and it will be a great time for a mini-break!

Crewe / Chester

 

 

 

 

 

After a crazy few weeks I booked to go up to Crewe for the weekend and have some quality family time. Its always great having a mini break from the city especially when you get lots of cuddles and giggles from your gorgeous baby cousin - we gave him a lemon to suck on at lunch (the things we do for entertainment) and I can't remember the last time I laughed that much - and he kept eating it, bless!! I arrived earlier on Friday than I normally do so it was nice to get a Friday night in as well. My cousins wife Sarah had to go through to Chester on Saturday so that worked out perfect as I got to see my UK foster parents (U.Rob and A.Sara) and we had such a nice lunch at a cute cafe - jacket potatoes and creme praline lattes mmmm. I made burgers for my cousins Sat night then Sunday we met up with my other cousins for a big Sunday roast at a gorgeous wee pub - I have not eaten that much probably since I had an expandable stomach when I was a kid - We ate round 3-4pm Sunday and I didn't eat anything till 10am the next morning and even that was a struggle -  I think I injured my stomach!!! Needless to say Im on a detox this week... 

Best part about coming home on Sunday night was Kristen had finally arrived home!!!!! She had been on a 3 week holiday in NZ and it was the first time in 7 months we had been separated so it was great to see her and a great excuse to open a bottle of red on a Monday…. were planning on heading out and causing a bit of havoc this weekend!