There's no place like home | Days 79-90

Last time we spoke, I was in Germany and under the impression that the dreadful illness had passed. How wrong I was. It continued. I worked for a week, but my time away had gotten off to the worst possible start and my mind set was terrible. So I brushed off the dust, shrugged off potential judgments from everyone else, and made a decision that would benefit my health. I came home. I knew when I made the decision that I'd regret it on and off when I got back, but in the end I knew it was what I ultimately wanted. I've gone through my entire life making decisions according to what people would think of me and how they would react; it was finally time to make a decision for myself. So that's what I did. 
Since I've come home, I've felt infinitely better. I've seen a few friends, burned a lot of incense, had some wonderful bubble baths and generally cleansed myself of a lot of ill will. In response to CVs I sent out before I left for Germany, I've even had a job offer for "Bilingual Customer Service Assistant" at the international desk at a local company. I start on July 1st. So it's home sweet home and quids-in. There have been moments where I've kicked myself for catching that plane back, but I know it was the right decision for my mental well-being, so I don't regret it. The happy days have continued, and here's what's happened since I last saw you guys.

As before, that's all of my instagram snaps since my last post. They were all happy snaps, so why spare you the joy, hey? It's worth noting that they go backwards in chronological order, so from the bottom up you can follow me home from Lübeln to Salzwedel, to Berlin, to the sky over England, and back to sunny Somerset. It's actually hotter here than in Germany, so that's a one up!    Until next time,

Ort Hopping: Three Cities and a Village Later | Days 47-74

I'm back! Apologies where they're due, I know it's been almost a month since anything even touched this blog; exams loomed and everything got a bit stressful. But that's over. And I'm in Germany! I finished exams, and with them my first year of University, and now I'm at a job in Lübeln. Rather than post 30 full size instagram photos to catch you up, I'm going to put some mini pictures of everything I've put on instagram since the last post. Easier and fast for us both. Here it is!

So from the top down, you see me burdened with exams and longing for a night out; my beautiful big sister's 22nd birthday; booking flights to Germany; the Flat K finale (end of exams celebration); house-sitting for my sister (cat and wifi included!); leaving halls; and the last 9 are dedicated entirely to Germany. 
I stayed for a night in Berlin - as you can see! - before every train in Germany, a bus and a taxi to reach Lübeln. More on Lübeln later. I'm back in business!

Pies & College Tries | Days 35-40

The battle of the assignments is over, and 3/8 exams have come and gone. What does that mean? More revision! Not as exciting as it seems, right? Here's what I've been up to:

A Level History followed me to Uni

Last Essay knocked right out of the park

Reenacting Figlmüller's Viennese schnitzel with Libbi

Only 4 weeks left in this beautiful building

A trip to Pieminister was just what the doc ordered

Didsbury really is a sight for sore eyes

I have noticed that my 100happydays is slowly being overtaken by food, and it doesn't help that I've not had time for the gym for a few weeks. But unhealthy habits aside, with these assignments off my back, I've been able to put some more time into revision and the long awaited Locke review. So keep your eyes peeled - Hardy will be here before the week's out!

Locke and Lemonade | Days 25 & 26

Back in Manchester obviously means back at the cinema, so yesterday me and my sister went to see Locke. It's Hardy's new film, and consists of no less than an hour and a half of nothing but Hardy's face, with intervals of Andrew Scott's (Moriarty, BBC's Sherlock) voice. What could be better? Nothing at all, that's what.

Gotta love the smell of fresh cinema

Cloudy lemon-limeade for a cloudy day

More on Locke later though - a review is in order. Today I've not done much but started watching Suits [which is scarily similar to The Good Wife] and made myself a bout of cloudy lemon-limeade. I was trying to coax out the sun, but it didn't work. What did I expect from northern England?

Banana Pancakes on Easter Weekend | Days 21 & 22

Hello chiquitas! I hope everyone's had a wonderful Easter, or just a wonderful weekend if you don't celebrate. You probably know what's coming up... Food-filled happy days photos, that's what.

Banana Pancakes in the making

A roast fit for a king

I've had a delicious weekend, that's for sure. Banana pancakes are my absolute favourite thing [and remind me of that great song by Jack Johnson - a super simple recipe kindly donated to me by my big sister which only has two ingredients. One egg, one banana. Mash the banana, whisk the egg into it, and cook like you cook pancake mix. Perfect. For our Easter Sunday we had a family dinner in a local railway station-turned-pub. They've got a cute old train carriage out back which they've converted into a restaurant area, which is really nice for a family dinner. The roast I ordered was actually a lot bigger than it looks in the picture [needless to say I couldn't finish it]. It's been a lovely, if very filling Easter weekend on my part, how was yours?

Glorious Food | Days #13 & 14

Another absence, another apology. I've actually started revision now (praise the Lord), so it's likely that these happydays posts will be every other day from now on. Anyway, the past two are both food related, guilty! I figured out today that in the past 12 days I've watch 95 episodes of The Good Wife... That, combined with study, means that food has been the prettiest part of my day. There's no shame in that, right?

Prep for spaghetti carbonara - healthy ingredients, right?

Nothing like a cheese-ham toastie decked out with salad!

I did think about taking a picture of the wedding going on in my halls today, but I thought that was a bit intrusive. On another note, I've been taking notes on Dallas Buyers Club ready for a review, so keep your eyes peeled!

Egg Free, Effort Free | Happy Day #7

Good afternoon! What a lazy day I've had. I'm aching seven ways to hell after the gym yesterday and I've got a nasty feeling that I'm in for a cold. So what's the solution here? Cake, obviously. But that means I have to leave the house... so maybe not. After racking my brain for a while, I remembered a recipe we tried in Vienna: Chocolate Microwave Mug cake. It's perfect for a lazy student like me - it's cheap, easy, and it's made of things you've probably got in your cupboard. Here's my photo for the day, and underneath is the [egg free] recipe!

The rather attractive result of our experiments in Vienna

So this is the kind of recipe which you can bend until it breaks. Some versions call for cinnamon, some vanilla, others mint. So here's what I used. 

...

In addition, you'll need 70ml of water and 2tbsp of vegetable oil. I'd advise not using olive oil for this recipe, it's got quite a distinct flavour and olive isn't exactly chocolate's life partner. The recipe I looked at called for a splash of vanilla extract. I'm inclined to think that it would be a happy addition, but I'm a student so I don't have vanilla extract lying around; that's why I added the Golden Syrup. The method is plain enough: you add the dry ingredients to your mug [flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, cinnamon], and mix them together with a fork until they're evenly blended. 

I also recommend putting the flour and cocoa through a sieve so that you avoid lumps

Next comes the wet ingredients [water, vegetable oil, golden syrup and/or vanilla extract]. I added in my water a little at a time, like you'd make a hot chocolate - this just avoids any of the powdery mixture floating onto the top of the mixture and making it lump. Stir this all together with a fork until the lumps are rare, if there are any. 

Now you just need to pop it into the microwave. My halls microwave is terrible, so it took about 3 minutes on full power to cook. However, this version says that a 1000 watt microwave will cook these to perfection in 1.5 minutes. I'd advise a minute, then a prod with a fork, then a further minute etc. until it's just how you want it. Be warned, even when it's finished, the top is glossy - don't let this fool you into thinking it's not cooking! 

See what I mean? It looks uncooked, but it's actually cake under all that shine!

Then you just need to garnish it and enjoy! Most people add cream or ice cream to this. In Vienna we topped it with "Schlagobers", which is essentially just thick cream. I'm a bit of a sucker for fruity pudding though, so I've added a dollop of raspberry jam to mine. What a perfect way to be unhealthy without even leaving the house! So have your cake and eat it too!
Until tomorrow, P.S. You should check out Libbi and Katie's instagrams; they were the head chefs for the Vienna masterpieces, I was just photographer.