♡ Non Valentines Day... Stuff ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

So originally for this weekend my plans were to go out into London two days in a row... but on the Friday night I sadly contracted a bug and was up most of the night vomiting my poor guts up (sorry too much information there...) and so in the end I was only able to go and spend a day out in London with Charli.

A small confession... I've only celebrated valentines day like twice in my life and other than those two times I've never really had much interest for it except for the history behind how it was created - unknown fact about me no doubt but I do like history... thanks dad. So I actually booked the day off work so I could meet up with Charli! I've only met her twice - both times at MCM Expo last May and October - and I love this girl to pieces she is seriously such an amazing human being and we had been meaning to meet up for the day since...... ok yeah last May and we've just never had the chance to until now!

The weather was absolutely disgusting that day and honestly the day before... the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! Luckily my coat has an extremely massive hood that makes me feel like I'm from Assassin's Creed. As it was Valentine's Day I did decide to be rather pedantic and wear red clothing... well black and red clothing and in all honesty my outfit actually turned out rather well! Oh I've put these two pictures up below because in the first one are the clothes I wore whilst in the second picture are the boots I wore instead of the ones in the first picture... in honesty I shouldn't have worn boots because my feet became extremely sore after a good 6/7 hours ;uuu;

So I met up with Charli in a coffee shop in Chinatown just outside of Leicester Square station, where we proceeded to warm ourselves up with a delicious cup of coffee (I had a hazelnut latte) and had a chatter. Then we headed over to Little Korea just on the other side of Chinatown (towards Piccadilly Circus) for some lunch as we were both rather naughty and had skipped on breakfast that morning... oops. Small confession; I had never eaten in Little Korea before until that day and I regret never eating in there previously because the food is extremely tasty at good prices. Charli and I ordered a soup each, she had fish cake soup and I went with a spicy soft tofu soup, and then we proceeded to share a few dishes between us. We ended up with tempura soft shell crab, kimchijeon, kkanpungi and vegetable gyoza in the end with a couple of side dishes of pickled beansprouts and pickled cucumber... needless to say we were both pretty full by the end of the meal!

After food we headed over to the market where the purikura machines are located. This was the main thing we wanted to do together as we haven't got many pictures of us two and it honestly feels like tradition to me that whenever I'm in London I just have to go and do purikura for memory sake. It ended with about four pictures of me pulling faces... that seems about right to be honest.

Next on our list was going to Covent Garden and despite the fact it was only a ten minute walk away... rain started to downpour at this point so we took the tube. It's silly I know but we were dry and that was the main point for us. I love Covent Garden as a whole because it's got the historic market, the theatre and lots of shops whilst having plenty of restaurants/coffee shops around so you're pretty much sorted for spending a day in that area in particular. The best thing about Covent Garden to me is the Moomin shop and Laduree because the Moomins are from my childhood and Laduree has the most gorgeous sweet treats to offer and their macaron selection is honestly to die for. Sadly this time around we didn't go into the Moomin shop but we did squeeze into Laduree for a box of macrons. I also wanted to go into the Godiva chocolate shop next door to get a box of chocolates for my mam as it's her favourite chocolate ever.

Also I found out that they've recently opened up a Shake Shack in Covent Garden! Shake Shack is an American food chain famous for burgers, shakes and frozen custard and holy crap I was so happy to have one finally open up in London - don't ask me why it's just somewhere I've always wanted to go when I visit America in the future. So yeah, Charli and I purchased a Concrete Jungle frozen custard which was a vanilla custard with marshmallows, banana and smooth peanut butter mixed it and honestly it is one of the most delicious things ever. I had this preconception that it would be sickly sweet (and I really do hate overly sickly sweet things) but it wasn't? It was such a gorgeous blend and just... ugh amazing! Definitely need to go there again in the future!

After mooching around Covent Garden for a while - we went in the Disney store, Apple store and Whittards - we headed into Starbucks for a salted caramel mocha. In all honesty most of the day we spent eating a drinking and that is just fine and dandy with me! On the way back to the station we popped into the MAC store and Charli purchased her first ever lipstick (first lipstick?! GOSH) and I purchased my first ever MAC lipstick for my ever growing lipstick collection. I got the colour 'Ruby Woo' and it's the most perfect dark red I have ever laid my eyes on. I haven't actually got a picture of the lipstick yet but I'll probably take one soon and post it on my instagram!

Finally Charli and I parted ways (boooooo) and I started to head home and by the time I got to Liverpool Street station I started to feel queasy. Normally I have a pretty strong stomach but I had been feeling rather off all afternoon and I instantly knew something wasn't right as soon as I found myself dashing for the toilets and throwing up. Sorry too much information I suppose there...

But thus started the journey of the weekend from hell for me. Like I said in my opening paragraph, I had intended on going back out into London on the Saturday for Sharan's birthday but alas I had spent the Friday night puking my poor guts up and barely got any sleep so I had no energy and looked like complete dogs doodoo. I guess that teaches me for working with children... I'll hopefully get to see Charli again either before expo in May or just a little after... I guess it depends on our schedules and money situations as she is saving for Japan whilst I'm saving for China! I had such a fun day though despite being sick in the end and it was a much needed day away from home and work.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

♡ My Best Friend Came to Stay Part I ♡

みなさん、こんにちは! 

I love this remix of Arashi's 'FACE DOWN' and Perfume's 'SPRING OF LIFE' (｡♥‿♥｡)

My best friend Sapphire is staying down with me for a whole week! It's a nice change because I always tend to go up north to stay with her... but now it's my turn to host and have her around hehehe ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ)

She arrived last Saturday afternoon... seriously though I thought she was meant to be arriving around 4pm but the satnav was apparently being a bugger and so she arrived around 3pm instead ( ꒪Д꒪)ノ after a slight panic attack she soon settled in and we spent most of the evening comparing recent buys / wishlists etc. On Sunday we didn't do much either... Sundays tend to be really boring in both of our households so we went to Tesco's to buy some sushi and drinks to devour that afternoon. The weather has been freezing cold here so we stayed huddled up under our duvets for the rest of the day to stay warm gah!

On Monday we decided to go into Chelmsford to have a day outside and be nosy... also Sapphire did want to buy some new clothes because she likes clothes (not good with reasons) Chelmsford isn't that great... most of the shops are extremely overpriced as well as many of them closing down etc. Here's a nice picture of us two together (ﾉ´▽｀)ﾉ♪

We even went into HMV to see if there was anything decent we could get in their blue cross sale... this failed miserably! The good thing about that day was buying some nice (and cheap, cheap is the best) accessories and nail polish from Primark, some more nail polish from Boots and getting a soy caramel cream frappe from Starbucks!

We didn't even stay in town for some lunch... because of the bitter cold wind and gloomy weather we just decided to get some snacks from Tesco's and head off home again. I hate how much we have to pay for the buses now... £6.30 for a return whilst a single is £5! Swear down that is daylight robbery... I feel so outraged by it all as well as have more determination to pass my driving test!

Yesterday we headed into London! I had an appointment early in Braintree so we headed straight to central from there... it costs an extra £4 from Braintree and we go straight through Chelmsford *MORE RAGE EMOJI'S INSERTED HERE* 

We managed to get into central around midday and headed straight for Japan Centre because I know Sapphire wanted to have a mooch around as she's seen their stalls at expos etc. I managed to buy some nice goodies - which includes some reduced Hello Panda because the boxes were damaged... hey I'm not complaining because cheap food as well as some apple pan and green tea pan! I also managed to buy some ingredients to make certain dishes that I love so I'm pretty chuffed about the visit to Japan Centre! Oh and I got a couple of cans of flavoured milk, particularly melon milk and strawberry milk because they're my favourites ヽ(；▽；)ノ

After Japan Centre we headed over to Starbucks because Sapphire needed a coffee hit! As there is a huge HMV near Trocodero we went in there to see if there was anything worthwhile in their store as that one was going to close down... mission failed again as everything we actually liked was horribly overpriced! So we mooched over towards Chinatown where we did even more food shopping in the two supermarkets followed by drooling over the most adorable cakes in the windows in the bakery! Swear down that I'm going to purchase a couple of these on Friday...

We were hungry by this point so we then headed over to Misato's where we were immediately seated as there were only two of us and there was a seat by the window free! I love Misato's because they're so friendly and you get your money worth and quite possibly more because their portions are beyond epic! I ordered the chicken katu teriyaki with rice and even had enough money left over for a portion of some inari sushi （*´▽｀* ♥

After food; we headed over to the market near the purikura machines because Sapphire wanted to oogle all the cute things and possibly buy something... but after seeing all the prices we BOTH decided against spending money on something that we could find online for like 1/3 of the price (_ _ll) so we then went and had a session on the purikura machines upstairs and I haven't been since Emilia came so I felt slightly awkward doing it after so long... weird I know!

We've had a really nice couple of days to be honest... we've spent today relaxing as we've had no plans to meet anyone or do anything. Tomorrow we're not going out during the day but we're being treated to dinner with Sapphire's mum and her partner Ed which is really sweet of them! They needed suggestions on where to go and they liked the sound of the Tutti Tuscan Grill restuarant that is about a fifteen minute drive from my place (〃￣ω￣〃ゞ 

I'll be writing another blog post over the weekend as Sapphire is here until Saturday and we have more plans to fufill! Keep your eyes peeled （　´∀｀）

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

♡ Friend Date! ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

On Wednesday; I went and met up with my school friend Frankie, who I have known for almost 12 years now (crazy shit) and we spent the day in Chelmsford town centre doing some shopping, having some lunch and just a general catch up as we haven’t seen each other since New Year’s Eve. It's nice to see her because I can be myself around her without judging me and she understands some of the situations I have been in because she has probably gone through the same thing. Also we can have a good laugh and take the piss out of people without actually saying certain things (like names etc)

ANYWAY ( (ﾐ´ω`ﾐ)) we met up at Starbucks for a nice coffee - something I have not had in a really long time - and I actually had a medium sized Chai Tea Latte and in the end I wished I had ordered a small because the actual size of the cup as well as the sweetness of the Latte was overwhelming and I actually couldn't finish the drink (つω`*)
We mooched around the shops in High Chelmer, going into La Senza (so I could find out about the job going on in there) and then Republic (for eyeing up and wishing of lovely clothes) followed by Boots - where I felt I had bought the whole makeup counter because I had run out of every makeup source possible and the last time I bought things like that was back in January... so much makeup was needed ヾ(･ω･*)ﾉ

As it was around 2pm at this point we headed over to Prezzo for a delicious lunch. Frankie and I shared a bread board where there was tomato and pesto bread, mozzarella and garlic bread, ciabatta and music bread with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to dip the bread into. I wanted something filling yet healthy to eat and when reading the menu I had noticed that there were calories put next to the food and I couldn't resist eating a pizza! I chose the QUATTRO FORMAGGI which had gorgonzola, goat’s cheese, grana padano AND mozzarella cheese on... I was in a cheese heaven ヾ(×× ) ﾂ and I had a side ceasar salad and the whole calories for the meal was 800 - it seems high but it was all I ate for the rest of the day and I couldn't even finish the pizza.

After lunch, Frankie and I went walking about again to burn off our food (we weren't overly full but full enough you know?) and walking through an ally way to get to the main high street I saw a Banksy still street art with some cruddy written quote above it and I suppose I just couldn't resist taking a picture!

More shopping was involved as I needed some books for my Japanese studies and Waterstones had a pretty large collection - for once - and so after much deciding I chose Berlitz's Japanese in 30 Days (with a cd) and Essential Japanese, the Oxford Japanese Dictionary and a Japanese for Busy People workbook - they had other books from the "Busy People" range but I chose the workbook and have decided to get the other two when I am next in town!

As you can tell from the picture above; my makeup collection now vast and wide with some pretty colours! I mainly stuck to a couple of brands because I know they won't cause my skin to break out (as I've mentioned previously about my sensitive skin!) and I would list them all but I need to write another blog post that is linked to something I wrote a couple of months ago (?)
Argh! I keep saying I'll write certain things but I just keep forgetting! Silly memory ヽ(ー_ー )ノ

We also went into Topshop because I wanted to see if a bag I had seen online - but sadly was out of stock - would be in the shop but alas again... no such prevail ; 3 ; but I did buy a couple of hairbands and some earrings for half price and a nice skull top! Also getting student discount in Topshop made the purchase a little better and made me feel less guilty for such frivolous items!

The last shop we went into before I had to go home (boo) was Paperchase because I had to get a scrap book for a project I am doing (might write a blog about it... not sure to be honest) and a bag for the presents I am organizing too! ヾ(*´∇`)ﾉ

I think I have covered everything... long blog post is long though (_ _") but oh well! Have a picture of my face to finish it off Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ A Grand Day Out ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

It is 12.25am here in London on the 8th of January and so I shall now talk about yesterday (2012.01.07) as I went into Central to meet up with my friend Jackie （〜^∇^) 〜 Below is a photograph of me in the purikura booth and I am wearing Jackie's fake glasses and I think they kind of suit me no? Also it shows my make-up for the day and I did originally have another picture but this one is better IMO (＊0＊;)

We met around 3pm - which is an hour later than we intended because I overslept and didn't wake up until midday OTL - and we met at the Korean Culture Centre near Trafalgar Square, I had to wait a while as Jackie was helping some people with filming and as I waited upstairs I noticed some familiar cut outs! SHINee boys indeed! Soon Jackie was finished with filming and so we then headed straight over to Corean Chilli as we were both pretty hungry and we had a tag-a-long by the name of Sasha n___n she was extremely lovely and I enjoyed hanging out with her today very much!

I got given (a very late) birthday and christmas present from Jackie! I wonder what is inside...

ALL OF THIS THAT IS WHAT! AHHH SHE KNOWS ME TOO WELL! I actually wanted to cry at the fact she got me the official Kim Hyun Joong desk calender! Now I have to decide where to put the lovely pictures on my walls! o(≧▽≦)o

My lovely and wonderful Jackie~

In Corean Chilli, I like to go in there even if it is by myself because everyone is so friendly and you always feel welcome. Also I get to try out my fail Korean on the staff and they help me when I get it wrong - and I always get it wrong. S O B S

I ordered their corean sweet chicken as I didn't want anything overly spicy today and this dish is just perfect with a touch of heat! I ordered a side dish of sticky rice as there is a lot of sauce usually left over and it's nice to put in on the rice, I also ordered an iced coffee as well... I'm never going without coffee!

After lunch, we all headed over to the purikura shop in the Chinese market next door to Corean Chilli and we had a lovely session of picture taking!

our purikura in the process of being decorated~

Ta-dah! Final product~

We all then headed over to the Golden Gate bakery for a slice of delicious cake! Sasha and I ordered strawberry mousse cake whilst Jackie had a cheesecake. I do love the cakes from Chinatown, they're not as sweet as English cakes which is nice for me .｡.:*☆ (⌒▽⌒)☆

After eating delicious cake; we headed over to Bubbleology for mine and Jackie's tradition of having bubble tea when we go out together. I ordered vanilla milk tea with coffee jelly again! It's so yummy and extremely addictive I tell you!

After that, I met up with a friend Chin for literally five minutes for a quick catch up and some hugs - hugs are always involved when Chin is around! After we all seperated, us three girls headed over to Trocodero and into a Panda shop, everything is just panda's there and I love it! In the end all I bought was a new notebook whilst Jackie and Sasha bought me a couple of pens - they want to dress me up as either a bunny, a panda or a cat I think... I don't even know anymore but I don't want to be dressed up :C

Anyway, this is an extremely rushed post but I'm exhausted now and it's 1.12am! Dammit. Oh well off to sleep I go! Goodnight everyone~

Thanks for reading!

xoxo