Weetabix with CHOCOLATE?!

http://www.weetabix.co.uk/products/cereals/chocolate-weetabix If you haven't tried it already, I completely understand; I too was extremely sceptic. In fact I was beyond sceptic, I wasn't having any of it. Weetabix was good enough, so very very good! Don't ruin it! But oh my goodness, was I wrong.

Yum Yum and Yum are the first words that come to mind. 

Earlier this year I was diagnosed with iron deficient anaemia, and recently I have stopped taking supplements so I'm making a really big effort to keep my iron levels as high as possible. I did my research and found that the highest iron content by far for a cereal is Chocolate weetabix at 5.4mg (30% of RDA). So I decided I'd give it a go. There's no going back now, I have discovered a gem! I like my weetabix quite mushy and with warm milk it has the taste of chocolate ready brek. With cold milk it's like chocolate milkshake. It's so good. It's got plain chocolate chips in it too! It would be too sweet for my breakfast, but it's now my daily supper time snack and it definitely gets me through the day! I'm excited for tomorrow's already! 

Another gem I've discovered is a childhood favourite for me. I remember eating these biscuits when my little sister was a baby. I bought these once again due to their added iron. They are a guilty pleasure of mine, and rediscovering them has made me oh so happy. I don't know what it is about them, but they're just a little bit addictive! 

xoxo

Oh My God, Oh My God You Guys!

I'm continuing my resolution of becoming a constant theatre go-er with last night's oh so very girl Legally Blonde the Musical. I've spent the first part of my student life desperately trying to limit spending and save my pennies, but after settling in I'm taking a new attitude that it should be more about choosing where I put my money, into things I really want, and what I really want is to go to the theatre!

This song, which has been whizzing round my head again and again and again, gives a pretty good impression of the whole 'feel' of the musical. It is full of cheesy, girly goodness. Had me smiling and giggling right from the get go. 'Oh my god' was one of my favourites but basically all the songs were catchy or funny and normally both.

I was very very similar to the film (only put to music) but that added to the enjoyment I found! It felt familiar but new and exciting at the same time. The title role had a Reese Witherspoon look to her as well and she was fantastic. Ray Quinn (Warner) had moments of brilliance and really suited his part. The role of Emmet (Iwan Lewis) was my favourite, he was really good, with Paulette (Niki Evans) a close second - she always got me giggling. I can't forget to mention Brewser, stealing the show of course; such a cutie (he's the dog, if you haven't seen the film).

It was a great feel good musical. Just made everyone smile: even my dad enjoyed it. The magnum at half time was so yummy too. It'd been far too long since I'd had a magnum. They didn't have any white chocolate ones but still so good, and such an important part of a theatre trip: the ice cream! 


I'm just watching the film now and reliving the songs in my head! Here's another gem to wet your appetite! 

xoxo

Basically Disney

I don't try and hide my love for a bit of Disney magic. Last year, me and my sister took our first (very long awaited) trip to Disneyland, and were not one bit disappointed. Mickey Mouse photo was a highlight. He was such a flirt! My obsession with red and white polka puts Minnie Mouse right up there with my favourite people too.

Channel 5 has bought a new opportunity to re-live all sorts of Disney fairy-tales every week! It's so good, and so addictive. Modern day fairytale characters are stuck in the modern world and they can't remember who they really are. If you're not hooked already, you will be.

The story flicks between the past and the present, the fairytale land and the modern world. Jennifer Morrison comes straight from House to help save the day alongside the most adorable little boy. I've described it as Heroes meets Gilmore Girls since it's got so much excitement and it's full of surprises and cliffhangers whilst still having a nice small town feel with great characters.

The Cinderella story and the Beauty and the Beast story were some of my highlights, and tonight's episode exploring the life of little red riding hood was particularly gripping. I wont spoil it for you!

It is brought to us from the creators of Lost which I'm sure will tempt many people. I'm still to indulge into the world of Lost but after seeing this masterpiece the creators can come up with I will definitely be sitting down one day and surely watching the whole of the Lost series at once. Everyone who watched it is sure I'd love it, and I'm convinced I will too.

I recommend if you haven't already discovered the delights of once upon a time, I promise it wont disappoint. It's on on Sunday nights at 8pm on channel 5 but we're up to episode 15 now and I'd strongly recommend starting right from the beginning to enjoy it to the full since it's full of twists and story development. Hope you love it too.

xoxo

Spider-Girl

I've always been a bit of a huge Spiderman fan, so with Andrew Garfield (Never Let Me Go, The Social Network, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) signed up, I've been excited for the new 'The Amazing Spider-man' for ages!

I loved the first 3 films with Tobey Maguire in the role, opposite Kirsten Dunst (the second one being my favourite) and upon first hearing that a new one without this pair was being made I was the least impressed. But when I heard Andrew and Emma Stone would be filling the roles, excitement started to brew. Great news, I love them both!

Given that my expectations for the film had grown to great heights I was pleasantly surprised the reality managed to surpass them. Andrew was of course perfect for the part, playing the awkward and geeky yet extremely attractive and loveable character just as it should be. The story felt much more intricate than the first, with clever depth into exploring how spider-man came to be.

The little boy in the opening was adorable! And looked the spitting image of Andrew, I was amazed. I felt much more emotionally attached to his aunt and uncle, with Sally field as Aunt May (I've adored her for years for the role of Nora Walker on Brothers and Sisters.) Although I wasn't quite as attached to the love story between Peter Parker and Gwen (Stone), since it lacked the history that there was in the original films, they do make just the cutest couple ever! 

What surprised me the most was the level of comedy! I was giggling to myself on many occasions, laugh out loud stuff! The music (always something I particularly enjoy in a film) was brilliant (composed by James Horner, who did the music for Avatar). Just the right amount of theatrical-ness and drama to it! It has it's sad moments, but film music for me often is at it's best at the sadder moments, full of expression and beautiful melody - helping to overcome the sadness of the story! 

I could just keep talking about the film for hours and hours. I'm still buzzing. With the days of Harry Potter sadly behind us, nothing quite beats and epic series film reaching the cinema! Already getting slightly excited for the sequel. If you like comic-book style action movies, this is a must see, but obviously you know that. I'll surely be seeing it again no doubt. It's managed to stay similar enough to the originals to keep spider-man lovers happy, but at the same time has created a new world.

Great storyline, great cast, great music, great great great. Go see it and enjoy!

xoxo

Some Enchanted Evening

Yesterday I was feeling spontaneous and given that it's my dad's birthday at the weekend I decided I'd take him out. I searched on the internet for events around where I live and came across South Pacific. I didn't know much about it or well, anything about it to be honest so I thought I'd just give it a go and booked a couple of last minute tickets for that evening! It was so exciting being so spontaneous!

I love all things musical theatre, so wasn't too worried whether I'd enjoy the experience. It's a Rogers and Hammerstein musical, and although I'm not a huge fan of their work in particular, that's simply because I've never really listened to much of it. I know it a little, with the Sound of Music to their names, and I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair from South Pacific being quite a well known tune.I loved the sudden oppurtunity to explore and learn their music more!

It was a really sweet story. Set in a war time, a story of love. Almost Casablanca-esque, it had that kind of feel to it! The sailors were hilarious and their rendition of There is Nothing Like A Dame was possibly my favourite number of the evening. A great cast of singers! Musicals are just so much fun! Full of good songs and good laughs! I loved it! Definitely have a listen to some of the music, it's feel good stuff. 

xoxo 

Cheesy Toasty Tomatoes

I've spent my years living in a world where the grill was broken; we lived an underprivileged life in which cheese on toast didn't exist. After 3 weeks of living out of a microwave and making tea for builders we have a new kitchen! Complete with grill. First order of luncheon: cheese on toast.

Of course, no one needs a recipe for cheese on toast, it basically explains itself, but I was so excited by the prospect I went all out.

A nice slice of wholemeal bread, topped with chopped baby tomatoes, tomato salsa (I used marks and spencer's jalapeño chilli salsa dip, which was a new find and delicious!) I then tore up a cheestring and layered the 'strings' on top. Under the grill on high, for about 3 minutes until the cheese was melted. Perfect!

I've recently rediscovered cheestrings, a childhood favourite. As a student who doesn't use much cheese at all, they are perfect to keep in the fridge so I can have a little bit of cheese when I fancy, rather than buying a big chunk then having cheese everyday just to use it up! I can see this week is going to be cheese on toast week for me! Yum yum yum!

xoxo

Carrot, Pomegranate and Feta Rice

Here's a quick recipe for a colourful vegetarian dinner! I took my inspiration from BBCgoodfood, which is one of my favourite recipe websites! Have a look: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1973658/roasted-carrots-with-goats-cheese-and-pomegranate It's so easy to use and you can search for inspiration or just exactly what you were looking for. I'm a self confessed 'foodie' and although I've still along way to go when it comes to confidence in cooking I have about a gazillion cookbooks and I'm always picking up the food magazines. My favourite chefs include Donal Skehan,, Nigel Slater, Sam Stern and Sophie Dahl. 

You might have noticed I'm a vegetarian, although technically it's "pescatarian" since I still eat fish. It's been just over a year now since I gave up meat officially, although I've always been prone to a vegetarian style diet. Above all I just really didn't like meat all that much, and I love the variety and flavours you get in vegetarian food! Just look at that plate. So pretty! 

Ingredients 

4 carrots

1 pomegranate

feta cheese (amount on preference)

a few mushrooms

a few peas

Some broccoli 

about 50g rice

I roasted about 3 carrots in the oven, 180 degrees, cooked the rice per instructions with 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Fry the mushrooms, and steam the peas and broccoli. Remove the seeds from the pomegranate - you can just buy the seeds, which is what I meant to get, but the accidental purchase of the fruit instead was pleasantly simple! You have to be careful not to squeeze the juice everywhere as you go!) Crumble the cheese and mix all the ingredients together. 


Voilà! Enjoy. 

xoxo 

Tennis Tennis Tennis

My life has been take over. One word: Wimbledon. I always manage to forget how much I enjoy tennis until the last week in June arrives and I become some kind of crazy fanatic. Don't get the wrong idea; I'm nothing of a 'sporty' person. My most adventurous sporting activity of late was probably either my brief run, or a gentle country stroll. But there's something about Wimbledon. The tradition is so infectious. Pimms, Strawberries and cream, perfect grass courts and everyone in pristine white. It's just lovely.

Me and my sister took our traditional expedition down to London for the real life experience. We visited the famous Wimbledon club for the first time last year and enjoyed every second of the pouring rain, accepting the new tradition into our lives. We set up our tent around 6:00 on Tuesday evening, number 508 and 509 in the queue. A friendly American next-door had flown over especially for the occasion. So very committed. And with no tent, just pizza boxes to sleep on! Such dedication. 


After a difficult night sleep 5:00 brought the rude awakening. Normally a famed grump in the mornings, adrenaline and excitement fortunately took over and I was beaming smiles as proper queueing began. By 9:30 they started letting us in. We just went for ground tickets. The beautiful centre court was tempting, but we just wanted to wander about the place and soak in the atmosphere. 


The place was stunning. We caught a doubles match with the hilarious French double act Llodra and Clement, followed by a close match between Gulbis and Janowicz. You get so close up to the tennis, it's so exciting. The huge serves were scary though. I had to duck everytime one came our way! 


Of course the rain interrupted the day, and with a train to catch that was it for us. Rain aside, what a perfect day. A glimpse of Rafa Nadal and Heather Watson, as well as seeing Djokovic practising were some of the highlights! 


Every other day this week I spent glued to the television. Some edge of the seat matches what with Nadal getting knocked out, and a close call for Federer. Every night has been so exciting! I missed it today so much with the day off! The film Wimbledon had to suffice, and did a very good job indeed. One of my favourite rom coms! Bring on tomorrow, with more tennis tennis tennis.

It would be brilliant to see Andy Murray go as far as possible, but personally I'm rooting for Frenchman Richard Gasquet. I think he's just brilliant. He plays so elegantly, one of my favourite players to watch. Things are getting serious now, I'm expecting a day of great tennis.

xoxo