Costa vs. Starbucks

Coffee in London isn't that big of a problem, there are so many beautiful independent cafes that you could have coffee from a different place every day. But when going to airports, or shopping centres, or smaller English towns you have to make a choice, Costa, or Starbucks?

I'm a little biased because my flatmate works at Costa, so when things expire on a Monday she brings them home for us to have. I may have had one too many chocolate twists. When I look for good coffee I go for Costa, because they only use their coffee once to make espresso shots. Whereas Starbucks uses theirs more than once, so the coffee is weaker. But if I'm going for iced, or sweet, its Starbucks all the way. 

I think the Costa food is slightly better, especially when looking at their fresh baked goods. Starbucks does have amazing carrot cake though. The Costa tea is better, but they don't entertain you by spelling your name incorrectly on the cup.

It's really a toss up. I tend to go to London City Airport and they only have Cafe Nero once you've passed security so I never get coffee there. What I love about Costa and Starbucks is that they complete each other. What one is lacking the other has. I want a Frappuccino on some days, but on others I just want a Mocha Latte. I guess I'll never be one of those people that order the same things over and over again. I just need to mix it up a little. My best compromise is to alternate between the two. But if I need coffee for my 9am class, I know I should go to Costa. I'll have Starbucks as my afternoon pick-me-up. 

Here's the Costa website: https://www.costa.co.uk/

Here's the Starbucks website: http://www.starbucks.co.uk/

(They are listed in alphabetical order)

Graze

An English company named Graze focuses on making snack food which is healthy, has a low calorie count and is different from the things you can find in stores. I signed up for Graze because I knew that the first box is free. However I have now become pretty loyal, trying out their breakfast range too. I only took photos of the breakfast box I got because I always eat the nibble box too fast to take any photos. Nibble box is the name of the ordinary snack box. 

Each box has 4 sections, which then contains little plastic squares holding your snack or breakfast. On the website you can choose which snacks you like most, and which ones you don't want to ever receive. The boxes generally cost 3,89 pounds per box. But if you get your friends to sign up you can get a 1 pound discount on a box, or you can donate that pound to the Graze school of farming. Which then helps children learn to make sustainable futures for themselves. 

Overall, I love the Graze products because I spend ridiculous amounts of money on snack food, and I am never full. If you use my code you can get your first Graze box for free and try out some of the snacks yourself! 

Here's the code: XZ1WN1C

Here's their website: https://www.graze.com/uk/products

Delilah

On Friday I went to Nottingham to visit two of my close friends from high school. Upon arrival we went to lunch, and Katie suggested a place called Delilah. From Nottingham station you have to walk towards the nicer part of the city or as I called it the "suburbs". This place is really nice especially for lunch.

Walking in, it looks like an organic food shop but upstairs on a balcony there are tables for you to enjoy your food there.Depending on what time you arrive you can make you order at the bar below and pay while doing so, or a waiter will approach your table. I think one of the main reason I enjoyed this place was because there was a lot of light, and some how you had the comfort in knowing that all the food was well put together as well as looked after carefully when grown. 

I ordered the same thing as Katie, a roquefort sandwich with red onion chutney and pine nuts. It was incredible. They served 3 sandwiches made with toasted baguette and the onion chutney was on the outside so you can taste it even more. Tatiane ordered a potato raclette type dish which was served in a bowl with small new potatoes and a lot of cheese and ham. Everything smelled delicious and of course we all devoured our meals. 

I might have to drag them back there the next time I visit them because I ate so well. 

Here's their website: http://www.delilahfinefoods.co.uk/

The Diner

The Diner is a really cute American style restaurant, you can also go there to play pool, or just drink. You don't really have to go there at meal times because they serve a set menu at all times of day which is really good for me because I'm always hungry. They have a few different branches but most recently I went to the one in Angel. 

I have had their milkshakes, and they're really good, but recently I tried their Root Beer Float. That is a drink with Root Beer, but with two scoops of vanilla ice-cream as well, because the ice-cream interacts with the fizzy drink really well creating a sort of milkshake consistency. Their french toast is incredible, but sadly not as good as the one at The Breakfast Club. However it's also yummy because they drench it in maple syrup here. I love their burgers. 

With my Float I got a cheese burger and it was amazing. All the layers fit together perfectly and I had a bunch of mouth watering bites. I tend to have a big problem with burgers, the yummier they are the more I get of them all over my face and hands. I had a really good time there, and my friends spoke in Swedish with the waitress which gave me a more homey feel. Also, the five of us fit pretty comfortably in the booth we were given, and the table wasn't too wide so we didn't have to scream across it to let our friends hear us. Overall, it was a good and quick meal, I think next time I just want to go there for a drink and let the ambiance of the place soak in. Here's their website: http://www.goodlifediner.com/

Vintage Tea-House

Its very common in English culture to be surrounded by tea. Originally I think people drank it to keep warm but now everyone is accustomed to it. Generally you drink tea with milk and sugar here, and I had never done that before arriving in the UK. Tea for me is to drink when you're sick, its supposed to warm you up to make you feel better. Here the tea culture is very different, and a great cup of tea some how always comes with a good dessert. 

At the Shoreditch Vintage Fair there was a tea room set up on the lower floor. The two rooms set up with ordinary cafeteria tables were covered in floral table cloths and decorated with vases of flowers as well as the occasional sugar bowl and milk jug. Everything was super cute, and all the cakes looked incredible. 

I chose to have a slice of the Banoffee Cake as well as my own cup of tea. Every tea cup had a different floral pattern and the cutlery given was traditional metal spoons with delicate engravings. It reminded me of being a little girl again. One of the other great things of this pop-up fair was that there were so many different types of people, families, bloggers, and several people just out on a walk wanting to come in for a cup of tea or a cute little cup cake. 

I'm really looking forward to the next time they have a Vintage Fair in the Shoreditch Town Hall just so I'll have the chance to try another slice of cake, or maybe a cupcake! If you fancy some tea, or cake go to: mabelsvintagetea.co.uk 

Holland Park

When I was a child I frequently went to Holland park, I have gone to that playground at least 50 times. There were always so many squirrels and there's a section with peacocks, but not only that, my childhood friend Zoe lived near there so we would walk her dog in the park every time I went to her house.

On Tuesday, it was sunny and I had planned on spending the day alone therefore I went to visit the park. Walking through i got so many flashbacks of my childhood, especially of me running through the park with my friends. 

I think I sat at a bench for an hour just soaking in the good weather and happy atmosphere.

It was so nice to see people enjoying the sun. Even though in my opinion the English get a bit too excited when they see a ray of sunlight.

Overall, going to the park is a great way to spend the day outside without spending a lot of money, grab some food and a blanket and you're set for the day. I really hope it stays sunny for a while longer, I have way too many summer clothes.

Lichtenstein

On Tuesday the 16th I went to the Tate modern to see Lichtenstein's work. I really enjoyed it. I played a game with myself to see where there were flaws in his patterns and designs. It was nice that they divided the rooms by the different movements in his work. 

There was a room for landscapes and another on "art about art" which had pieces done in styles similar to other artists of his time. The exhibition took about an hour and a half to walk through. Some of the rooms were too small to see the works well especially because his pieces are all extremely large, so I didn't get to feel the full power of many of the pieces. 

His style was very repetitive and after seeing a few displays the interest of the viewer was a bit lost. I think his work would be shown well integrated with other artists of his time. The exhibit costs 12.20 pounds for students and about 15 for others. I don't know yet if I want to become a Tate member or not.

Below there's a picture of me with pop art make-up on based on Roy Lichtenstein's work.

Asos, Internet Phenomenon

I've become a huge online shopper over the past few months. Its really bad for me because I've become a frequent buyer so they email me almost everyday, and I always find something I like. Generally I only order from places that have free shipping because I like only purchasing a few cheap items. My two favourite English stores are inlovewithfashion.com and asos.com , both have a variety of products and they reflect on my style.
Asos actually means "as seen on screen". I'd like to think that since their a company with only an online market that their clothes are comfortable and they are true to size. My only problem with Asos is that they run out if my size really quickly. At inlovewithfashion both the s/m and the m/l fit me so its not hard to find what I like. Overall I should probably stop shopping since I already have a lot of clothes but its my addiction.

David Bowie Is...

On Tuesday I went to the Victoria and Albert museum to see the new David Bowie exhibit. It was really interesting, the displays were somewhat interactive and some of the displays had screens that changed over time.

The exhibition was sponsored by Gucci and Sennheiser. Sennheiser supplied audio devices for each visitor, the music or audio track would change depending on where you were standing in the gallery and which display you were looking at. Some of the tracks were just David Bowie's songs whereas others has clips of him speaking at interviews.

The collaboration with Gucci allowed there to be several displays showing the clothes he wore on stage when being his different alter egos. There were clothes from each of his tours. The Alexander McQueen union jack coat and the first outfits he wore as Major Tom, and Aladdin Sane. Each of Bowie's characters showed a different part of who he was and is. My favourite segment of the exhibit was the explanation Bowie gave on why he made an album in Berlin and what Berlin meant to him. He focused on the fact that Berlin made him lose himself and find himself at the same time. Having been to Berlin before I understood what he meant, especially because of all the historical context in the city.

I really recommend you go see it. It does cost 9 pounds for students and 14 for people without a student card but its worth it. He was just such an influential person, especially in the fashion and music world, it would be a shame to miss out.

Comic Relief, giving back.

The English are obsessed with the concept of giving back. It seems to clear their conscience in some way.

Anyway, on Friday night I watched the first 3 hours of the comic relief show. I didn't understand most of the gags, but there were some scenes that were really hilarious.

I would have like to see them actually shaving Jessie J's head, but you can't have everything in life. I hated the parts where the showed one direction in Africa, I thought that was almost them making fun of the situation. There was one slightly older woman who spoke about what she saw in Africa, and she spoke so well I think she touched many of us.

I enjoyed seeing how much silly little activities could raise so much money and awareness. Even teachers dressed up as whoopie cushions could raise an insane amount of awareness. The red nose idea is so cute too, it makes people of every age take part. I wish giving back to the community was part of our daily, or even weekly life.

I try to lend a hand when I can, because I know I am a lot more fortunate than many others. My family used to support an orphan in eastern Europe, and every year we send money to the woman that looked after me after i was born. She currently lives in the Philippines with 2 children and her husband. They used to own a shop but it got taken away because they were in debt to someone. She has serious heart problems and with the money we send her she is able to support her family as well as pay for her doctor.

Overall, if we are able to live happily we should try and help others to do so as well. Remember, you don't actually know how much you're helping and now much they need you.