A Foodie New Beginning

Being healthy is pretty much on everyones mind in january, whether it is a new years resolution (although I'm not a big fan of those) or simply eating too much over the holidays (big fan of that!).
Now, I am not generally a person who eats a lot of rubbish, I have phases where I eat pasta almost every day which is partly because I'm probably lazy sometimes and cannot be bothered thinking about what to cook after a long day at uni. but also partly because sometimes I just fancy the same thing for a few days in a row.

Since I started university and moved out this has been getting worse, I'm still eat relatively balanced and I cook for myself which I know is something many students don't manage to do, but still I wanted to try and introduce a bit more freshness into my daily diet, you know, to gain all those vitamins you need so desperately when trying to study.
I spoke to my mum while I was home over christmas and after I told her what I usually eat, she suggested to have a salad with my meals more often, as it is easy to prepare and there are so many different varieties, Im also a big salad lover. I had though about this before but living by myself kind of made me think that making a main meal and a side dish just for myself would kind of be a waste. However, I came to realise that this really isnt true and definitely doesnt require much more time than just making one meal.

I have since started to have a salad pretty much every day which not only makes me feel better because I know that it is beneficial to my health but is also a great way to create some nice recipes. its often those simple things that make you feel a lot better about yourself and this has definitely helped me.

Some of my favourite ingredients for my salads are: lettuce (naturally), tomatoes, avocados, cucumber, goat's cheese, mushrooms

As you can see, good food was a part of my life even during revision, which I think is one of the most important times to eat healthily as your brain needs all the energy it can get.

Magdalena.

A New Life

so here goes my first post for this amazing project, I am super excited but also a tiny bit (hugely) nervous but that's one of the many things new beginnings can do to you I guess. the great thing is that they're always worth it in the end so I am ecstatic (and that's a word you don't use lightly) to begin this new journey with my blogging girls.

in this post I would like to speak about a very particular new beginning that has recently happened in my life. you might have read my little bio on our contributors page (if not you can still do so after) and know that I am originally from austria but am now living in the UK. I've wanted this for a long time so when I finally did it it was all really great and overwhelming for me and it's only now, four months after my move, that I'm starting to reflect things a little bit. now it's perfectly normal that moving to a different country can be hard, but in this post I'd like to especially talk about six things that make it more than worth it.

independence
now that's a given, obviously you cannot rely on anyone but yourself when you move to a different country by yourself. now, that might and probably will come as a shock to the system at first (unless you're already a pretty independent person before the move, which I wasn't) but that shock will soon change into something great. I feel very proud of myself for taking this step, I feel proud because I managed to find myself a place to live, I got myself into university and I am living and loving my everyday life.

people
there's two parts to this really. firstly there's obviously the many new people you meet and I'm saying that even though I'm not the most outgoing person there is, I'm by no means extremely shy but it takes me some time to trust people, but I've still found some lovely friends here and can't wait to find more.
then there's the not so obvious part, the people you leave behind, it's those people like my family and closest friends who make me realise how much I mean to them and how much they mean to me. without them this wouldn't have been possible.

experiences and activities
I've been into football for a long time and I used to play it back in school when I was the only girl playing with about 15 boys but I really enjoyed it anyway. last year I decided that when I go to university in the UK I would join the football team there and so I did. I'm part of the beginners team and everyone there is so great, I've met some amazing people and it's the best form of exercise I could ever imagine. definitely something I wouldn't have done without the move.

new places
I have always loved traveling. and even though since I've been here I've not really seen that much, I have still managed to visit some places I hadn't seen before (mainly thanks to my boyfriends family as they have a car to take us places). I also really enjoy my occasional weekend trips to wales, it's just nice to keep moving.

food
this is a controversial one as food surely wouldn't appear on most people's 'pro' list when they think about moving to the UK. for me this is a different story. not only do I love to discover the delicious bits and bobs this country has to offer, but I also love the culinary freedom I have now that I live by myself. the downside is obviously that I have to pay for it myself but I'm getting pretty good at budgeting these days so that's a challenge I'm willing to accept. especially when it means sunday lunch with my boyfriend every now and then.

university
this is probably my main thing here, after all it's the reason I made this step in the first place. It is also the thing which reminds me almost every day that taking this step was the right decision. whenever I'm in doubt (and yeah, there's days when I miss home, obviously) I look at my books are go to lectures and I feel great because this course and everything I'm learning makes me incredibly happy and excited about the future. I know not many students feel that way and my coursemates often look at me funny when I say 'I'm loving it here' but that doesn't really bother me. I do love it and it makes me happy.

Magdalena.

Who's Hobby Is It Anyway?

Having a newly focused attitude each year is something I enjoy working up to and planning.  The last few years have had quite a few big changes thrown in for me - 2010 I first moved in with my best friend, 2011 we took the attitude of "why wait?" and got married.  January 2012 we decided we'd be ready to buy a house, and by April we were moving in with our first mortgage.  Last year we wanted to expand our family, but not in the kids way since we've both fulfilled our desires on that front, so we bought a couple of pugs, happily knowing that now our team is complete.  That makes this year unusual, in that the focus I choose won't be a single massive event.

Pastel Decorating Inspiration

The new year is the perfect time to redecorate and with my partner and I finally moving in together this month, not only am I excited for this new phase in our lives, but I'm also thrilled at the idea of a fresh slate as far as decorating goes. In my last place, I was very limited as to how much I could decorate, as I had just moved out of home and buying all the furniture and other jazz you need to set yourself up with left my decorating budget more than a little sparse! This time around though, all the big stuff is taken care of and I'll finally be able to spend any extra money I have on making my new house a home. Now, I know pastels and florals aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I thought I would share with you all today my pastel decorating inspiration in case you have redecorating on your mind this new year as well.

 Loving the mid century coffee table and "lamp" in this picture!

 I love hanging plates! Praying my landlord doesn't mind a few holes in the wall!

 Insertpastel pink  KitchenAid Mixer here and you have my dream kitchen paraphernalia.

 Mid century style furniture and pastels are a winning combination in my opinion!

What I would do for a pink lounge!

 Thinking this very well could be my dining room if I get some cute mismatching chairs from op shops!

What do you think? Have these pictures got you all inspired to redecorate this New Years? I love how things like a simple throw, nice cushions and a bunch of flowers complete the looks above. Do you have any renter-friendly tips to help me bring colour into my new home? Any suggestions would be welcome right now, so I'd love for you to leave some below :)

Cheers to New Beginnings

I hope that you’re excited to read this post because I cannot express with words how excited I am to push publish on this post. I might actually wee myself. Some realness for you there.

So our theme this month is new beginnings.

That can a mean lot of things and it can be quite daunting if you think about it. It’s a lot of pressure. Like when I was at school and I opened a new exercise book to start writing in it. Talk about expectations. You look at the page and it’s all clean and new and unmarked and you feel like you can do anything and be anything with this new page. I mean c’mon, it’s yours to do what you want with.

Even though you know two weeks later the book will resemble a natural disaster zone and will probably be a food diary simply by the stains on the pages.