Smoggy London

London was covered with smog drifted in from the Sahara desert.

I had planned for it to be my running day but I was warned not to because of the high risk of pollution. It won't clear until Friday so I had to do an indoor workout instead. I haven't stepped foot outdoors but I did open a window to test the air. It did smell a little funny but I wasn't sure if it was because a neighbour was burning something but better to be safe indoors than anything affecting my health outdoors. I'm sure it isn't as bad in my area but it was rated at Level 10 in North-West London. Other reports say it's at Level 7 in Greater London. But no matter how you look at it, it's still pretty high and best avoided.

Creep away smog, creep away!

Naked in the rain? Absolutely not!

I went to the gym yesterday - got to keep up with those goals you know! Spent a good hour and a half working out and I was in no rush like I usually am. Hopped into the shower and just when I was finishing off, one of the staff members was yelling out that there will be a fire drill any time soon and we all had to get out now. Whaaaat?!

She carried on - "Ladies!! I have dressing gowns out here for you to put on. Don't get changed! Don't get changed!" She probably saw my feet frantically trying to get into some jeans.

Hell no was I going to out without getting dressed. Was she nuts? She had managed to get some warning beforehand which I was grateful for. Imagine if there was no warning. Though I would still attempt to look somewhat decent before I would be urged out. Fire or no fire, I refuse to run out naked!

A gold medal would have been given to me for the time it took for me to get out of there. When I came out, I saw they were rushing out the poor women from the swimming pool. It was raining outside when I left the building.

So imagine standing outside in the cold, in the pouring rain, completely naked with all but a dressing gown on. It was definately a close call!

Lions and tigers in Kenya!

Very often I like to look at travel destinations - this is more than likely wishful thinking on my part. It would be a dream for me to travel the world. Who wouldn't?

So here I go searching safaris and I stumbled across this very very catchy tune. Lions and tigers in -------------> KENYA!

I played it very briefly yesterday evening and now it won't get out of my head. Woke up in the morning hearing it too. It's like someone pressed the replay button! So hypnotic watching the animals dance! For your enjoyment too :)

Running better in morning or evening?

I know. It's been a while since I've blogged about anything. No excuses.

It's a lovely sunny day here in London. I've been staying indoors waiting for my brother's parcel to arrive so while I've been doing that, I've been lazing about.

I haven't been to the gym since.....probably the end of last year. And when I say the end, it means most likely before October. Though I had my excuses with working full-time here and there and the huge fact that the gym was too far away. I feel I've been lacking.

So today - I've been influenced by the good weather and have decided to put myself back on schedule to get fit before my holiday in about three weeks. I'm a bit unsure about travelling into central to use the gym there so I may just do daily jogs outside in the early mornings or late evenings.

Just did a little googling search to try to find out if it's better to run in the early morning or in the evening. Nice little debate there. I found an article on Running Times which suggests running in the evening is easier and our lungs work better around this time. Morning not so much - but wouldn't that mean that you put your body to work harder in the mornings? Looking at everyone's preferences in the comments below of the article, evening or nighttime runs are most popular.

I used to run in the mornings and had no problems with it. Though I was never a morning person. I've never tried running in the evening. Perhaps I might try today and see how I feel. Better start getting fit or I'll never get myself into it!

Birchbox and Itsu's Miso Soup!

I received my Birchbox beauty box today - my last final one ever! I've decided not to re-subscribe because the products I get seem tinier every time AND they decided to get rid of the cute little Birchbox bags they usually have the products in. How sad. It's their first anniversary so good for them! But with these beauty boxes I've been subscribing to, I now have a mountainful of beauty stuff left, right and center! I was suppose to sort all my beauty products today but have been somewhat occupied elsewhere. I'll do it in a while - promise!

The thing I love about Birchbox is that it really isn't all about beauty products. They always have a bonus little thing going on - which always tend to be food stuff. I do like food stuff. Food stuff pleases me! So for January's Birchbox, I received Itsu's miso soup in a sachet.

I thought I'd enjoy it right this minute as I'm writing this. There was an Itsu by the University I used to go to and I remember one time I got a miso soup from there - I was very very thirsty. I got there just before closing time so took my miso soup away to enjoy. Think it might have been one of the very first times I'd tried miso soup. I had it and it was so so salty. I was sure it wasn't suppose to taste like that but I consumed the lot of it anyway. I was thirsty afterall. All the other miso soups I've tried since were never that salty!

So......after my experience with Itsu - which I never visited again since - I thought I'll give this one a try now. It wasn't salty and was just the way miso soup is suppose to taste. It's cloudy in the cup and I'm loving the amount of seaweed in it. Best part is always the seaweed. Itsu - you haven't disappointed!

December wins!

I got a bit lucky this December :) [sorry the sizing and the positioning of the images come out funny - I can't figure out a way to make them the way I want them to be]

 

Japanese yums and Peter Pan

I managed to bag free tickets to see Peter Pan: The Never Ending Story at Wembley Arena yesterday. Was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. Got the tickets early in the morning and the event was for the evening. My sister and I had planned to visit Winter Wonderland down in Hyde Park but that had to be postponed. I wonder if I'll ever find the time to go down there as plans have a way of changing!

We did a little shopping and browsing down Oxford Street. I was good - hardly spent a penny! Later on, I dragged my sister to this little Japanese bakery called Yaki Restaurant tucked away on a side road from Oxford Street. We wandered down Goodge Street and found my little gem I've been dying to meet for ages. Straightaway I ordered what I've been after: Taco-yaki!!

Taco-yaki are little soft dough balls with a piece of octopus inside. They were to die for! Delicious!! One of the best things I've ever sunk my teeth into! It came with brown sauce (wasn't too keen on it but could hardly taste it when you're too busy enjoying the deliciousness of the taco-yaki) and mayo sauce. Beautifully done and I'm definitely going back for more!

I finished it off with some salad and a yaki aloe drink. Bliss! One of my new year's resolutions must be to try new food all the time!

Fast forward our evening. We found our way to Wembley Arena for our dose of Peter Pan. I don't think I was expecting as many children as there were! Far too many for comfort (constant kicking of a small child behind where I was seated!)

I have to admit it was a good show and there were many parts of the show that I wasn't expecting - like the crazy dog on stage. A lot of dancing, singing, acrobatics and stunts. I particularly liked the crocodile (who wouldn't?!) But I think overall, theatre really isn't my kind of ideal enjoyment but well done to all the hard work they put towards a brilliant show for the kids - I know they loved it!

I've taken a few pictures for your pleasure ;)

 

Merry late Xmas everyone!

A tad bit late but as per usual, I'm pretty much late for everything. So ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!!

My christmas was good this year - plenty of food :) definitely most important! I wore my dinosaur onesie christmas day and boxing day - very cold in the house so I had something to warm me up. Family have come and gone so it feels like christmas this year didn't last very long. I'm very disappointed with the lack of a white christmas. One day it will happen (or so I say.....to myself.......every year........)

I won't be setting up an alarm in the morning. Feels like ages since I've slept in and I deserve a massive lie-in. No more half four in the morning wakes!

Turkey leftovers for tomorrow. So many leftovers. Though I'm quite happy knowing I won't have to cook for awhile. Won't last long!

Chocolate sticks

So...I tried those little chocolate sticks I got from Brussels. OMG - it was delicious!! It's so fun twirling the little stick in hot milk and watching all the chocolate melt from it. I really have to go and buy more of these. I heard they stock these in shops around here but I haven't seen any yet.

These really are lovely and great to have in time for winter. Mmmmm....melt in the mouth...

October wins!

I've slowed down a bit on my comping lately - mainly due to work. So any win is really a bonus :) and a nice surprise!

Here are my October wins:

 

I'm rather intrigued by the steamcream I received. It uses natural ingredients fused together by a shot of steam. It's very lightweight and excellent for hydration. It smells typical of cream but not in a bad way, and the consistency is not very thick with a nice creamy texture. I'm pretty happy with my little wins!

Milano cookies taste so gooooood

Pepperidge Farm describes its cookies as "deep rich chocolate, exquisite cookies".

They sure are exquisite.

I almost ravished the whole packet. I bought them while they were on offer. I'd just take one, nibble on it, then take another, nibble on that one, and then one more, nibble on it, just one more.............and soon I've devoured the whole lot. And I don't regret it one bit - just so satisfying!

Adventures in Brussels

I went to Brussels for a day trip yesterday. We started off badly and missed the eurostar. As we got towards the escalators leading towards the eurostar, the glass doors automatically shut. The lady tried to stop the doors and wanted us to run up there to catch it - which we most definitely would have done, but it was too late. We still had 5 minutes before the train left the platform but we were refused entry. Grr! Instead, we had to wait two hours for the next train. Therefore, we already lost our two hours of exploring. Double grr!

Eventually we were on our way. There wasn't much on my list of things to do: beer, chocolates, waffles (what else am I expecting of Belgium?) We wanted to take the Metro to reach different areas for exploring and so queued up in a long queue at the ticket office. Took a while and when it was our turn, the ticket machine decided to conveniently break down. We were already not impressed with the turn of events!

The day did get better and we managed some wandering. Visited Grand Place, saw Tintin lookalikes, couldn't find the Moof museum I had in mind, oohed and aahed over the teeny weeny buildings in mini-europe, and popped into a few shops. Time passed pretty quickly.

I tried Belgium fries - I assumed they were quite popular because of the crazy long queues. They were nice though. Unfortunately I had a little too much and my stomach was too full to fit any waffles in. I had to cross waffles off my list. Chocolates were far too expensive for me to buy any but they very pretty to browse. I did get a couple of those chocolate sticks. I first saw them in a Chinese drama I was watching and thought to myself, "Oooooh, that looks awesome. I want to try that!" So I'll give it a try at a later point.

I really wanted to try beer in a bar but it didn't work out as those I was with sadly do not drink alcohol. I need buy some though so I guess that'll make up for it!

Here's my tiny little haul I managed to bring back with me (tried to make the image bigger but it won't let me):

 

I've started comping again :)

Yes, and now it all begins once again. I've begun entering competitions again in the hope that I win something big. I think I started again at the beginning of September and I've had three little wins so far: tickets to London Fashion Week catwalk show (which I've posted about previously), McCains chips (which I have yet to receive still) and Equinox Kombucha teas which I delightfully received in the post today.

I think I'll have to start posting up all my winnings to give me a boost. I'm still aiming for a television or a pretty Ipad - now, wouldn't that be lovely?

Postie drunk on my Baileys?

I received my small sample of Bailey's Chocolat Luxe. Sounds delicious so I'm looking forward to trying it out but I won't since it's getting late (and I bet you all say - when it's late, it's even better!). I need to treasure my beauty sleep - too much working at the moment!

Anyway, I received this little treasure in the post and it made me think back to the last sample of Bailey's I had sent to my house. It was during christmas and I think they had this new Bailey's hazelnut one or something of the sort.

I was NOT happy.

Some little devil had opened up my post and proceeded to drink my little Bailey's bottle. Adding further insult, the little devil decided it would be hilarious to return the bottle in it's packaging and deliver it alongside the rest of my post.

I never did try that Bailey's :(

London Fashion Week: Palmer & Harding

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Palmer and Harding's catwalk show as part of London's Fashion Week. It was my first time going to anything of the kind and it was pretty amazing. The stage was beautifully set with with scaffolding and we had front row tickets (plus goody bag - who can forget the perks of going to such a show!)

I wasn't aware of the usual arrangement so I just sat for enjoyment. The models came out and walked around the scaffolding....but not for a particularly long time. The show ended with the models standing in a row at the front of the stage where photographers were given more than enough time to take photos. The designers were around to take questions and the audience mingled with drinks.

I'm quite fond of the last photo I took of two models having a talk amongst themselves. Captures a little something.

Siro-A

I went to see Siro-A perform last week. They have been compared to the blue-man group but a Japanese version. I've heard that the blue-man group are amazing so I was expecting something good to come out of this.

Siro-A are a group of six men who perform through dance, mime and puppetry using astonishing visual effects. I knew it would be absolutely new and different for me - which was mainly the reason why I wanted to go. Most likely because it contained a lot of electro soundtracks which I'm not at all into. But it being totally out of my comfort zone, I felt a need to go see it.

It was exhilarating and out of this world. Smile.

It completely hit my expectations and the performance was amazing. Even though it was a short hour and a half (ish), it seemed far longer and I couldn't believe how much they fitted into that small space of time. Siro-A had so much energy on stage and they involved the audience as much as they could. It was brilliant.

Reading up on some info after the show, I found out they performed at the Shanghai Expo to 30,000 people and they won the Spirit of the Fringe award at the Edinburgh Festival. At this point, I'm going "ooooooooo............."

If you happen to be in and around London, I definitely recommend these guys to you. You wouldn't regret it. They're still performing at Leicester Square Theatre up until the 13th October.

Your attention will definitely be captured.

Rush

I saw a preview of Rush the other day - a movie due to come out in cinemas next week. The film is based on a true story about the rivarly between James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the world of Formula One. There was a review I read just before the movie telling me how the film's depiction of the two characters were spot-on, however the action on the race-course were pretty poor. This appeared to be very true and I enjoyed the film to a certain extent.

I'm not a very big fan of motorsport and I hadn't even heard of these two characters before. But the movie's storyline captured me and it was one of those films that I really wanted to see. The movie theatre was packed and they insisted on I.D before I went in. Luckily I had no problems. Upon arriving right on time due to my other party's lateness, we were forced to sit at the very front. So there I was squirming in the front seat of the cinema screen with my neck at a crooked angle fidgeting throughout.

I love movies based on a true story (apart from the horror ones - that would scar me for life!). It relives the past and they have a tendency to link it to the real life events before the credits roll. This reminds me of Argo - I thought the movie was exceptionally good, and the resemblance between the movie and the actual event were so brilliantly close. These type of movies always makes me want to find out more when I get home.

Free movie screenings are the best!

Am I after something crazy to happen?

I'm wondering if I have some hidden wish to be robbed.

I'm having dreams of work. Bit of a boring job really - in an office dealing with monies. Both dreams felt so real - like it really happened. In last night's dream, I was working.

My colleague left a little early for our break - she didn't want to wait for me and seemed a bit irritated. So I finished off what I was doing and was about the leave.......when I saw two faces peering through the small window where money is usually moved in and out of the office. That freaked me out a little. They didn't see me but I could see them breaking the window. At that time I was in between two set of doors that lead in and out of the office.

I pressed the panic alarm and wondered if it was working. I looked back and they were climbing through the window. One man and one woman. The man was caucasian and looked in his late forties or early fifties. The woman was black and was a bit large in size, around her thirties. The images of what they looked like was so vivid. She had a little difficulty trying to get in and he gave her a helping hand. She seemed very capable as soon as she was in, like she knew what she was doing. Jumping up on her feet, she moved around the office....searching, and looking around.

I got a creepy vibe from the man. I pressed the panic alarm again but I still wasn't sure if anyone was coming. I quietly crept through the other doors, trying so hard not to make any sound. The man came towards the doors - it was as if he knew something was up - like I was there. His eyes darted through the other window which I was peering through before when I saw them come in. He had a very creepy crazy look about him.

I went and tried to hide somewhere. Anywhere. I could hear him saying "burglar, burglar, burglar" in a repetitive way. He was like the joker - just saying that one word over and over again in a sing-song. My heart was caught somewhere in my throat. Where could I hide so I wouldn't be found?

I woke up then. But his sing-song voice stayed in my head.

That was one uncomfortable dream.

My other previous dream was something similar but the people breaking in were like expert ninjas. They must have heard me come through the doors of the office and they all froze. I froze too and slowly backed out. Ran off to find security. They were gone by the time I returned.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just waiting for the day something crazy would happen.

Fishie fishie, in the sea

I'm having a grand time with beaches lately. I visited Bournemouth two days ago with a couple of friends where we built a big hole in the sand hoping to "dig our way to China". Obviously China never happened but the hole....well, we were pretty proud of it. We even leapt over it in glee.

Today I went Brighton with family. The boys wanted to do a bit of fishing since it's been a while since the last time. They were more successful this time round and caught over 35 mackerels. As far as I know, they're still going it as I'm getting ready for bed. My brother said - "...One was crying wen I dehooked it.. soo cute" That made me think he was the cute one.

So I've fishnapped 14 of their caught fish and stored them in my freezer for dinner time. Woo! Can't wait. I do love my fish!

Pay to snooze?

Hah! I just heard that someone created an alarm clock where if you press the snooze button, it sends a certain amount of money from your bank account to charity. Nice thought but I definitely wouldn't want to try this out. By the time I fully wake up, I'd be broke!