Of veggies and spiders,

Spring is here and I've been gallivanting about London and nearby towns for the past week - a much appreciated sojourn from reading academic papers. My Anthropology paper is two weeks away so I'm pretty much out enjoying the wonderful weather ♥ I've also recently cultivated a habit of buying veggie groceries from the different places I visit, Asparagus from Portobello, Zucchini from Cambridge and Lady fingers from Coventry. The latter brings to mind how A brought her friends home yesterday and her Japanese course mate called it Okra....either an interesting cultural experience there or just a failed asian on my part. On the side note, independent living has seen me getting all jumpy over a ceiling spider (with whom I share a not-so-harmonious bathroom relationship with) and has since passed away due to suffocation from my dry shampoo spray, kitchen cleaning liquid and bathroom soap. RIP dear spider, may insect heaven be what you have always dreamed of.

Moving in,

The first week of moving is all about expectations and reality setting in - although my flatmates and I all come from different countries (and continents!), it's amazing how we can get along so well with each other and for that I'm truly thankful ♥ Administration wise, it was a huge headache. We had some trouble settling payments since all of us were international students and overseas transfers take time to get verified. Not surprisingly, it took a long while for us to get hold of our keys, which was such a pain for me and Yvonne as we arrived early January and had no place to crash. We also had problems with the heating system, and I remember that faithful night where we had to boil a pot of water to keep ourselves warm in the kitchen (winter woes). Later on, we also realized that our inventory report ridiculously states that the electricity gas meter was "too far high up to be read" which obviously warranted a lot of giggles from us! But such is the queer (and infectious) charm of Brit coolness, because here I am sitting by Mornington crescent station having a cuppa Earl grey tea at Costa coffee. Rewinding back, Yvonne meets me at the coffee place with her second hand pink bike she bought on Gumtree and we walk back to the apartment. As the other two girls arrived much later in London, we had to lug back an ambitious amount of cutlery, heavy kitchenware, pots and pans and whatnots back home in the winter cold all by ourselves - welcome to independent living.

But after all the hassle, the 'We finally got our house keys bitches!' moment was immensely satisfying, and the rest as we know it is history ♥

Captu(red),

Embracing the advent of summer with a new thrust of colour and the snip of my long locks, if you may call it long to begin with - you may not be able to see it clearly, but I redid my red subtle highlights. It feels like capturing summer blood on your hair, not necessarily wild. But free, yes free.

Christmas market,

I usually stay home for family gatherings during the december period and not travel out, hence it was my first time attending a Christmas market amidst the winter season. So, within the first few days of arriving in London, R brought me down to the Winter wonderland in Hyde park. Albeit the cold, the Christmas spirit was really heartwarming and the different cuisines were pretty alluring (not the prices though). While it sounds gimmicky, it was worth the trip down for the atmosphere and the mood in itself.

Tried mulled wine with Viking's blood and loved it - something tells me that warmth, wine and winter can never go wrong together. And amazingly after this shot, the angelic boy who posed for the photograph shoved a 'Tips' cup in front of us, nice one there lad.

Sauerkraut, German sausages and roasted potatoes for dinner, which was extremely filling if you ask me - cost us 7.50 pounds of yummy goodness. Our wonderful chocolate crepe cost about 4 pounds!

There were tons of games around like any good carnival should have - so we invested in this hoop game. Tried relentlessly to aim it into the bottle neck, it's harder than it seems really! Finally stopped after coming to terms on how we were just throwing pounds away, but it was quite fun seeing everyone's ialmostwonamillionbucks face (disclaimer: they were giving out reindeers)

Outdoor concerts and beer despite the cold, I'm loving it.

Tacky looking oriental pavillion that served chinese wok noodles

Soiled our shoes on our way out, but it was a night well spent even though it got really cold towards the end (the icy wind was just pushing it) Definitely worth a visit with your friends and family if you're into carnivals!

Winter wonderland 
Annual event 
Hyde Park, W2 2UH, London
More information here

Flower power,

The days are getting much warmer, for Spring has finally arrived! The peeks of sun rays are enough to make me sufficiently happy through the day, but I'm glad that the long winter is finally over ♥

Headed down to Portobello market today, as I'm having a short break in between my papers during exam season. Scored a few bargains as well as fresh vegetable shopping along Westbourne grove (such a dream). Gallivanting in Notting Hill was such a feast for the eyes, because the rows of terrace houses are simply gorgeous and there are plenty of retro vintage shops around to source out treasures. Riding on my Vitamin D high, I also brought home a pot of Begonia and she now sits happily on my window sill - love how her bright primrose pink petals matches my curtains! She also caught the eyes of tons of passer-bys enroute back to my apartment which sparked off a few interesting conversations on gardening, such a charmer for a plant really.