BUZZING FOR THE OSCARS 2016

 

It's finally Oscar Sunday (even though by the time we watch it it'll be Monday, but hey) and therefore my favorite day in February. While in other years we have gone all out in terms of food and Oscar Bingo, this year (and I blame this on my Uni peeps) it was all about the films and who is going to win. In a way this is obviously what it should be about, but this year we raised the stakes a little and created our own Oscar pool, with money and all. SO IT IS ON! I think I have never seen that many nominated films before the ceremony, hands down. I will list some of my favorites down below. Anyways, everyone in our group obviously wants to win and prove that we know what's going down in Hollywood and sometimes that ain't pretty. So let's all hope I will be the glorious winner of 20 quid (and therefore beat my teacher, who is also taking part) haha.

Meanwhile, we are obviously still very excited for the food opportunities. 

 

I am OBSESSED with these popcorn cakes/balls- for tonight, I will make the slightly easier cake version on the left side. Loving the sweet and salty combination. You can find the recipe here.

If you also want to create your own last minute Oscar pool, here you go.

My favorite Oscar nominated films this year are:

Honestly, the first 40min of the film are pure WTF. But then this weirdo of a film just starts to grow on you (and this is coming from a strong disliker of action films haha)

I have been looking forward to this film for what felt like ages. Brie Larson so deserves that Oscar!

Just a great film and so impressive coming from a first time director!

Everyone (!!!!!!!!!) needs to see this film. I LOVE IT SO SO SO MUCH and I want it to have 2356 sequel babies.

Why I am excited to move to Birmingham

Now that I got in to BCU and will actually seriously move to Birmingham in the fall, it is terrifying to think about all the things I need to do. Figure out storage over the summer, finding a new flat (!!!!!!), getting all my stuff there, settling down once again. Every new place obviously also has its perks, and here are some about Birmingham. First of all, the train to London only takes about two hours, so that is really exciting! Seeing some of my English friends on a more regular basis is something I really look forward to.

A big part is obviously discovering fun new restaurants, bars and pubs. Buzzfeed is a surprisingly good guide for new and exciting things, such as 18 Cocktails Every Brummie Must Try, 19 Birmingham Brunches You Must Try Before You Die and this one about street food.

How yummy does all of this look? I wanna eat everything.right.meow.

And as much as I will be missing the Highlands and the beautiful Scottish landscape, there are other pretty places in the UK. Birmingham is not really that close to a coast, but not too far away from beautiful Welsh beaches.

And one of my favorite areas that is quite close to Birmingham is the Cotswolds. I mean, look at this! Cannot wait to go and see this for myself.

How beautiful is this?

So yes, I am also a little excited to move there.

Current obsessions

1. Snapchat

I have always been slightly confused by Snapchat, but I guess it just takes some tutorials by obsessed friends and some fun people to follow, and I cannot stop using it. Not so much creating stories, but stalking others and following the live city stories and events!


2. Zoella

This girl is seriously everywhere in the UK- she's a YouTube vlogger that has over  8 (EIGHT!!!) million (MILLION!!!) followers, released her first novel, has her own beauty line, and she was in the Band Aid 30 track of this year..- oh and she is going to be made in to a wax figure at Madame Tussaud!!! She has two channels and I really prefer her 'More Zoella' one, where she just films her days and you follow her along.. One Sunday not too long ago I got stuck and watched almost every video. She has been quite open about her anxiety and her flaws and of course she still has a lot of haters (cause the internet is also full of mean people), but really it is hard to dislike her. She seems to give a lot of people inspiration and support, which is nice.

3.  Pretty Little Liars

I have been following Lucy Hale on Instagram for a while now, mostly because of her amazing hair- so I couldn't escape the PLL references. I started watching it just to see what it was like,and afterwards I skimmed through wikis to find out who A is and read a ton of spoilers. And guess what, I still couldn't stop watching. So here I am, 40hours later and halfway in to season 3.

4. Honey roasted chickpeas 

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 This is a staple that one of us makes almost every day. Ridiculously easy and SO GOOD.

All things BACON

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Aw Bacon, my one true love. Maybe you remember when I made those Chocolate Beer Battered Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Frosting. And it was ah-mazing. The combination of chocolate and bacon is ridiculously good, but the frosting is unbelievably good. 

Recently I stumbled upon this recipe, for a chocolate pound cake with bacon bourbon frosting. UM, NOOOM?! My flatmates are just as obsessed with the sweet and salty combination of bacon and...anything, really. So I made this cake for them when they submitted their dissertation. The recipe is not the most difficult, but it does take quite a while to make and I am probably the messiest baker in the land, so I don't even want to talk about how the kitchen looks like right now. OOPS. But the cake is amazing, let me tell you.

The recipe calls for two baking pans that are the same size, and I didn't have that- so I had to use one bigger and one smaller, round one (see picture). Oh and I also used whisky instead of bourbon, which turned out really good too. It looks quite different to the original different, but I guess that happens when you use slightly different ingredients. Anyways, this calorie bomb is SUPER SUPER yummy, and will send you in a delirious sugar shock that is well worth it.

Thanksgiving.

A little late yes, but oh well. This was our Thanksgiving (inspired) dinner last week. We have never had that many people over for food,but it worked out fantastic. Everyone brought a dish, we made turkey and even though we were worried about not having enough food, it was (of course) way too much and we had leftovers for days! I really can't say how nice it was to have so many friends for such a nice dinner.
And to make it proper legit, my new American friend (haha) was there as well! She is doing exchange at my Uni at the moment but her actual University is St. Edward's, my future exchange uni! It feels good to know that I can cling to her when I am in Texas, haha. Speaking of Texas, it is scary how close it is getting! My passport arrived safely with my new visa in it, so thank god that is sorted out. Veeeery slowly I am thinking about what to pack but I am still very involved here in Edinburgh, so I don't really want to think about leaving. I don't know why I am feeling so weird about going away, god knows I have been away longer! 5 months is really not that long. Anyway, two more weeks to go here in Edinburgh and that means one essay, two exams, packing my room up, going to the christmas market and other shenanigans. Let's do it!

This week...

...is going to be so exciting!

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For my exchange semester in Texas I need another (my third one now) J1 visa, so I have to go down to London for another interview (as if they didn't already have my fingerprints). Julia is going with me and after the interview we are going to the Harry Potter Studios in Leavesden- I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

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Then on Wednesday we are going to watch both the first and the new second Hunger Games film in the cinema- this calls for loads of popcorn!

And on Friday some of my friends are having a Christmas party (yes, ridiculously early)- so it's all gonna be Christmas jumpers and nommy food. Yay!

Urban Daddy {travel apps}

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I would like to introduce y'all to my favorite app when I am in the States- UrbanDaddy.

Whenever you don't know where to go eat or drink you just pop in a couple details and it will give you amazing recommendations for bars or restaurants in your city. The funny thing (and my favorite bit) is that you can add extra information, for example that you are with your friends or your boyfriend or whoever really! The search bar is like you see in the picture, so you can add what you want (drinks, food, burgers, sushi.. and a lot more choices) and answer one more question: And what else..?. That could be 'I am broke', 'somewhere with a view', 'someplace where famous people hang'... and so on, I think you get the drift. 
First of all it's really fun and instead of just wandering around the city searching for a good restaurant, you get really good recommendations instantly.
I have used it various times and every time (!) we found a place that was really. good.

It is a US only app so far, but should you be over there, download it and try it!
It's amaazing and you don't feel like a tourist who doesn't know where to eat out- yay!

New York trip {a very lazy day 3}

So it was Sunday and it definitely felt like it.
We got a super lazy start because we hung out with the boys on the roof top the night before- I think for a couple more years I definitely will enjoy hostels and the people you meet. Not just the snoring ones, but the amazingly fascinating ones with stories that make you want to travel so much more.

Alright. We started to make our way downtown to go the Highline but with food. Luckily Whole Foods was more or less on the way so we indulged and bought amazzzzing food. Sometimes I wish we had that store here in the UK but that would definitely ruin me.
Because we really felt like getting pampered we ended up getting a mani and pedicure (I might have almost fallen asleep during it, so good!). I love to do these things as I don't really do it when I am here in Scotland (or Germany), so it's really a treat for me.
Afterwards we were walking through the city somewhere around Madison Square Garden and we saw a sign for a psychic and a 10$ offer.
That Sunday was definately a weird one so we went to her apartment. Of course that 10$ offer was not on the cool stuff so we ended up paying 25$ each for a palm reading about our future. Jeeez that was cool. There is something goosebumpy about a stranger telling you stuff about yourself, that's for sure. She made some comments about stuff she could not have known, which was super cool. You don't really have to convince me though, she could have been a total rip off and I would have enjoyed it anyway. So yeah, career and love life all sorted out.

After this super enlightening experience we made our way to Shake Shack, because I have heard amazing things about their burgers. It was a nice and warm day so we headed to the one outside near the Flatiron Building. The line was preeetty long but the wait was actually alright. And it's so pretty with all the fairy lights! The burger was so so good and worth the wait!

New York trip {day 2}

On Saturday we slept in and then headed downtown for an early lunch/late breakfast. I will talk more about the places we ate in another post, but our food was so good and the restaurant itself was really hip aswell (The Smith, near Columbus Circle). And they had a photobooth in their bathroom!

Then we went to the World Trade Center site and visited the memorial. It is for free, they do ask for donations however. You can reserve tickets in advance online for a certain time slot. We didn't do that but the line was not too bad. They have so much security there, comparable to airport security.
To be honest I didn't really like the memorial site that much. I do like the two waterfalls where the towers used to be, but everything else... mh. Don't know. We also saw loads of people taking happy smiling pictures in front of the memorial pools and we kept thinking- what your message here? Yay you are standing where so many people died?

Anyway. It was super super hot there so we left and wandered of in to the super crowded Century 21.  We let some woman put make up on us, let the A/C cool us down and then decided to head over to Brooklyn Bridge.

Oh and I bought this super cool Iphone case

So as we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge the sun went down and we had those magic minutes with amazing light. A lot of other people had the same idea as us, as well as one guy who proposed to his girlfriend. I think everyone hated them a little bit because they were so stinkin cute... but anyway. On the other side we sat down at the waterfront and took some pretty cool pictures.

This skyline is one of my favorite things in the whole world... how can you not love it?

My favorite restaurant in the whole wide world

I guess everyone has a favorite restaurant. Sometimes it's in your home town, sometimes in a special town you used to live in. Obviously, when you travel you get to eat out a lot more than usual. When I was in New York as an Au-Pair, we ate out soo many times. It was fine though, we were never sick of American food and mostly always had enough money.
Double O was half way between my house and Miriam's house. So when we didn't feel like driving very far, we met up there.
It quickly turned into our favorite spot.

 

Maybe it was because of this dip that was served with the best bread before you order food (and it was for free!). Maybe it was because of the menu that had the most amazing salads, pasta, meat, fries, DESSERTS... I really don't know.
I love absolutely everything about this restaurant, the staff, the interior, the service, the prices (!)...
and now that I am finally allowed to drink alcohol as well.. the drinks are amazing. I remember one time I went there (by myself) just to have dessert and a cocktail. Haha

And this year I am going with Miriam again! I loved going with my Hostmom (who would pay) and gossip about the bartenders, but I am sooo looking forward to going with her and share the excitement with her!

http://www.doubleogrill.com/

1536 Rte 9 Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

(845) 297-7625

Cardiff trip {part II}

 The hungover had to be cured and we were craving American diner food, so we went to Cafe 37. It was so good, proper American choices, cheap and the Nutella milkshake-yuuummy.

 

It was such a hot day. Jeeezus. Lying in the shade was seriously the only option.

 

We went out the night before, but there are only crappy pictures. Live Lounge offered 2-4-1 cocktails, ALL NIGHT! Saay what? Need to find a place like this in Edinburgh! Strange crowd though.

Anyway, the following day we went to the beach (Ogmore-by-Sea) and we went swimming- in Britain, keep that in mind. Never thought I was gonna do that! I got bored by just lying there at some point and offered my services in hot stone treatments. The crowd was pleased, lets leave it at that.

Happy birthday to me- {what we ate}

A little late, but this was my birthday cake assortment.
Raspberry Mascarpone Cupcakes (recipe here) and Oreo truffels (here) and other stuff I didn't bake myself. I have to say it's all gooooone by now, it was just too yummy!

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 ♥

Happy Friday! {Oscar ideas}

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Just because we are planning our little Oscar Party at this moment, I wanted to share some of our plans. Crazy people with no need for sleep, pizza, candy, popcorn and chocolate other amazing things are just the beginning. I found some pretty nice ballots and even drinking games, so the night should be fun! And I will hopefully FINALLY manage to make Maple Bacon Beer Battered Chocolate Cupcakes (just like in 2 Broke Girls).
Until Sunday I will be in the Highlands though, a little road trip with Julia... SO excited!

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Oscar Ballot, to download here x

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♥also I am writing on a massive travel guide post about Edinburgh- so stay tuned!

thanksgiving. or turturkeykey

 

And again, another day went gone. I must say, except for the icing everything went so smooth! It was so good, over far too fast and way too yummy. So I am sitting here with a tummy ache and so so tired. Watching the Thanksgiving Parade in NYC today made me a bit sad and just reminded me how much fun I had in America and how much I loved being there.

So tomorrow is my last media seminar and in a bit the whole semester is over. Insane to think about.

thanksgiving/ fatsgiving/ slapsgiving

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Now. Thursday is Thanksgiving.

I know I am not really American enough to celebrate it but anyyywaaay- we are in love with food (and bacon) so we are just gonna make a feast anyway. Turkey, cranberry sauce, carrot cake cupcakes, several potatoes, rolls, soup, pie, whip cream, strawberries, creamed spinach, bean casserole, cheese, chocolate mousse... if you think it stops there you are wrong- hahah

Now we all might end up with diabetes or a really high cholesteral level but I think it is gonna be worth it.

SO EXCITED!!!

Broughton Street

@Smoke Stack

I love my street. It is one of those that has the right mix of bars, shops and other stuff. Very busy on the weekends when everyone is out brunching, shopping or smoking outside a bar.


On Saturday we went to have breakfast at the Smoke Stack,which I can only recommend. Really fair prices and good breakfast. Nothing beats bacon and maple syrup.

@Bakehouse via flickr

And because we couldn't resist we stopped by the chocolate store on the way back. Coco Chocolate is the cutest little cafe with so much chocolate (they even have a chocolate school!) The brownies are too good and we kinda went to heaven.

Another super good cafe is the Bakehouse- they make amazing Carrot Cake (not too dry, just perfect!) and the piece is big enough to share. It is super comfy inside and they have this cosy corner with all the pillows. Everytime I walk by I just stare inside (my favorite thing is their cake display with the fairy lights).

@Treacle via tripadvisor

Oh and I almost forget Treacle. Super stylish bar with amazing breakfasts. Very hip people meet for cocktails on a Saturday afternoon while some (as in us) are having a hangover breakfast (until 5pm, genius!). Always crowded on weekend nights and basically never empty, which is insane. The cocktails are really good and they have very nice cosy leather couches, cool music. Love it!


There are so many more delis, restaurants and bars we have to try out but we are getting there... probably when we are done with Uni. Anyway, Broughton Street should not be missed!!!