Our documentary {The Lost Garden}

This is our last project of the semester, a short documentary.
I am so proud of us, I really like the way it turned out. And these people in the video are the sweetest, they were so welcoming and so helpful. If you should ever go to Penicuik, go and help them out!

Happy Birthday Julia!

Someone is turning 25 today and we are ALL SO EXCITED!!! (mainly me because we get to eat CAKE) Without Julia I probably would failed a lot of my assignments, exams and other projects, would have been in the wrong room all year long, would never know what to do, would never catch my bus on time and would not have a job (true story)!
You are an indispensable part of my life here and I am so glad we met ♥

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Things that drive me crazy... {about Scotland}

1. People trying to queue EVERYWHERE

2. Single glazed windows

3. Edinburgh people who cannot decide what side of the pavement to walk on

4. Taxi drivers who speed up when they see you crossing the street

5. You cannot buy alcohol in store after 10pm.like ever.

6. Royal Mail. It is the crappiest mail delivery company in the world and my rage for them is infinite.






As much as I love Edinburgh and living here, there are various things that drive me nuts. There are probably many more but I will leave it to those.

inhale... and exhale

This last week was so busy, jeeeez I am glad that is over. Finished this essay today, first time where I was not sure if I would. Politics are really not my thing and critically evaluating something like that? Nooo thank you. I kind of liked it in the end because I wrote about Kony 2012 and Occupy Wall Street. Anyways, the next two days I can breaaaaathe. And then start my next essay, and our video project and and and...I am just waiting until 2nd May, which is the day of our exam. And that means I am done with second year! Insanity, it feels like I just started and now I am halfway through my degree.
In a way I am glad my course is 4 years long.

Otheriwse, what would I do next year?
No clue.

Edinburgh for film lovers {a small guide...}

Why did I not think about this earlier? Films are the reason I am here, so let's see what Edinburgh has to offer in terms of films...

via Cameo

Cameo
The Cameo used to be an independently owned cinema but has been bought by Cineworld recently. They said nothing would change and so far nothing really has, which is nice to see. The most expensive ticket is 5.80£ (concession), so that is alright!
I have a membership for this one, which was 22£ for a year. You get 3 free tickets, free membership screenings, cheaper tickets and ladida all that stuff... Julia and I checked in our first free ticket for the Lord of the Rings marathon which was about 13£ for students, so that already made the membership worth it! Once a month they host a film quiz which is seriously so hard that I probably know one right answer the whole evening- fun nevertheless.
Slackers Club is a cool thing they do as well. If you go in to the Cameo (as a student) and get your slackers card, you can go to one free screening every month. They advertise the screenings on their Facebook page.

via fb

The Filmhouse
This is a proper small and cute independent cinema. They pretty much don't show Hollywood mainstram films. Their actual cinemas halls are very beautiful but sometimes a bit too tight in terms of leg room. 
I have a membership for this one as well.  I only paid 5£ back in September because they had a special offer for students. It is usually around 30£ which I find a bit too much. Howeverm, you do get 1.50£ off tickets, loyalty points, % off stuff you buy, invitations to special events and so on. Until recently they were probably the cheapest cinema here in Edinburgh, but they have raised them just couple weeks ago. They have a nice cafe with super yummy cake and other food. No popcorn or that sort of stuff. They also host a film quiz which I liked better than the Cameo one because I actully knew some answers! Sometimes I find the people who go there a bit snobby, but usually it's pretty fun.

via x

Vue (Omni Centre)Vue Cinema is right up my street, which I love! 5 minutes walk to the cinema is pretty much a dream come true. Unfortunately they have pretty high prices and all that other annoying stuff that comes with chain cinemas. But they have amazing seats, even better VIP seats and all sorts of films.
I have signed up for their newsletter where they sometimes advertise competitions or raffles and last year I won two tickets to see Pitch Perfect earlier than everyone else. That was pretty cool, so no complaints there.
Also, if you have to buy a drink at the Vue: Go to their "basement" and the vending machine there only charges 1£ for a coke. Or just go to Tesco beforehand and hide your snacks in your bag.



There are several other cinemas, but these are the ones we mostly go to. I love when we get stuff for free and so far these cinemas have been great!

Dreaming of Austin... {travel inspiration}

I found these fantastic pictures when I was looking at Airbnb. Recently they started doing Neighborhood guides and they are absolutely brilliant. There are only a few cities so far and Austin is one of them. I CANNOT WAIT to walk through these streets and live in this super cool city.

all these pictures are from airbnb

          

Check the Austin guide out over here and to view the neighborhood that my University is in, click here.

HAPPY NEWS! {Texas, here I come}

sharing my good news

So yesterday was finally the day that certain e-mail came. The email said this:

Dear Joyce

Thank you for your exchange programme application. I am pleased to inform you that you have been successful in gaining a place and you have been selected to apply to St Edward’s University.

This email is not an automatic acceptance to your exchange institution. In order to make your application to St Edward’s please see the attached information.

As soon as I read the word pleased my heart stopped for a bit. I was in my pyjamas, about to make my breakfast. All alone in the flat. It felt just like when I read the email saying I got accepted at Queen Margaret. My first reaction always seems to be... 'wait what?'. Then I might have screamed and danced a bit. And then I called Julia, haha (who is going to New Zealand btw, saay what).

Because sharing these news is the best part!

I am so so so lucky- I know I still need to apply directly to the University, buuuuut my lecturer already kind of assured me that they 'owe' us. I hope this certainty won't kick my ass in the end, we will see. But for now:

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY TIMES!!!

3 sweet videos {and a surprise!}

I was a massive fan when Hart of Dixie started- I could not wait to see who Zoe would end up with. The 2nd season is not too bad. However, in one of the last episodes there was this, which took me completely by surprise and I loooved it!
Watch:


Another series I started watching recently because the rest of the world couldn't stop talking about it. So watch this-


Another surprise is this little video: I love her version of the song!


And another surprise for me: Sabine awarded me with the 'Best Blog Award'! Thank you so much!!!
I had to read the comment several times to actually realise what was going on.

nom! {Chocolate Beer Batter Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Frosting}

I love 2 Broke Girls- it is probably my favorite show at the moment. And ever since Max made the Beer Batter Maple Bacon Spring Break Cupcakes I was hooked! Love bacon, love chocolate & maple syrup and all of that in a cupcake? o m g

The best recipe I found was from here - instead of Guiness I used a beer called Hoxton Stout which the lovely guy from our local wine shop picked out for me. I don't like Guiness that much and he gave me a beer that was really nice, kinda dark and bitter beer but in the cupcake it tasted just fine! Also instead of the chocolate chips I used Cadbury Buttons.
The cupcake tasted so light (there is yoghurt in there) and not too sweet at all, it was amazing how well it went with the frosting and the maple bacon.
The only bad thing is that we were full after one, BUT then had to have another one... baaad idea. We all crawled in to our rooms to die a bit...tummy toooo full.
So maybe a tiny version of this would be best.
That will be my next project ♥

best said in a British accent...

Now, I did not say English accent here because I think the Scottish accent makes a lot of things so much funnier.
And just because I don't want weird search results for my blog, I am going to put these lovely words in to pictures.

1. best said with an English accent 2. I just want to yell this at the kids screaming at the playground behind my flat 3. Cheerio, what's not to love? 4. Best said by Ron Weasly 5. sounds best with that dirty scottish e sound

My Smash Book {summer at camp 2012}

 

I love Scrapbooking. The first time I discovered the arts&crafts store in New York, I thought I was in heaven. and I was hooked. My USA Scrapbook is easily worth 200$ but it is my master piece. It weighs so much and is so fragile that I can't bring it to Scotland, which makes me so sad! Maybe one day. However, I brought my Camp Scrapbook because it is smaller and lighter and I still need to finish tiny bits and pieces. This time I went for a Smash Book, because it already has the backgrounds included and you don't need to buy so much extra stuff. I bought mine in Target in the States, but you can also order it from Amazon or in Germany I bought one here: Scrapbook Werkstatt. There are various versions and everyone has different backgrounds. There is a "small" version, which I have and the big one is proper Scrapbook size (12x12). I also saw a tiny tiny one, which is SO CUTE! Anyway, it was super easy to do this one and I had leftover scrapbooking stuff so I was done in no time. 

So after the cut I will show you my favorite pages.

my top 3 videos this week

I never really thought I liked Justin Timberlake, but Mona is a bit in love with him and I love his new song 'Mirrors'- Julia and I watched this show late at night in the Highlands and could not stop laughing. Jonathan Ross and Justin just get drunk on Tequila and play mini golf- it's hilarious and Justin is so funny and charming!



A recent advert from Three, the mobile phone company. SO CUTE!!!



This is HILARIOUS, if you haven't seen it- WATCH IT! We all could not stop laughing.

my favorite Iphone cases

via csera

I fancied these Iphone cases even before I had an Iphone. So yesterday I just could not resist and buy my all time favorite one from csera (bottom left)- with shipping and everything they are around 17 quid which is insane, but the heart wants what the heart wants.
Since December I managed to collect a couple of other ones as well... there are just too many cute ones!

from left to right: River Island, Ebay, Primark, Poundland

Poundland has surprisingly cool cases from time to time.. and just 1£!
With the heavy cases I sometimes forget how thin and light my phone actually is, which is annoying. I guess I will just have to look for the perfect light case :D

Weekend {feels like spring}

a card from Curious and Curiouser

Portobello beach

A glimpse in to my weekend so far: Spontaneous trip to Portobello after uni on Friday afternoon and a cute card I bought on my small shopping trip this morning.
It has been so sunny and warm these last couple of days, I love it!
My hair is being a mess these days and so I decided to dye it again, just to bleach it afterwards haha - only the ends though.
Friday night ended with Channing Tatum in Magic Mike, just to explain the borderline p*rn picture down there.

Magic Mike

ombre hair

And tonight, we are finally going out again. After aaaaages!!!