Banana bread obsession

I have come to realise that an update on last weekend is and considering that another weekend is almost here, I guess I need to get my writing in gear…

Last weekend included a lot of last minute change of plans which didn’t make for the most productive or fun filled weekend but sometimes that is needed, I guess. After a much needed lie in and a relaxing Saturday morning, I headed out to Clapham Junction for lunch with Rosie at the Birdhouse. I have mentioned their amazing banana bread in a previous post and having endlessly talked about it, we decided to cave in to some cake goodness. Having got to the Birdhouse, there was quite a wait for a table; the café isn’t huge and clearly we are not the only ones that are a fan of the place! Having eventually found a seat, me and Rosie both ordered corn fritters, smoked salmon, avocado and yogurt which was delicious. The combination of the foods was simple but oh-so-good and even with the corn fritters being fried, didn’t feel too unhealthy therefore for dessert we of course had banana bread. After a lovely catch up and with our bellies overfilled with delicious food, I headed off to Westfield to find my brother a birthday present and spent my last gift vouchers on the Fred Perry barrel bag that I’ve been coveting. I got home quite shattered and had a lovely me-evening with a long bath and a Sherlock catch up.

Sunday may have been my laziest day on record. I spent most of the morning watching rubbish telly on the sofa. Eventually I got myself up and out of the house to do my weekly food shop. My afternoon was rather domesticated; it was spent making the most delicious beef stew I have ever had (even if I do say so myself) and doing laundry and various household tasks. Having made plans for the evening, I had to head out into the freezing cold to Camden Town. The evening was spent in Bar Solo which was a bit surreal; being in a bar on a Sunday night – with really loud music and only a handful of people, sitting and chatting. I had a lovely evening but returned home shattered and already dubious about Monday.

And now another working week is almost at an end (thankfully)! Although I’ve had a busy week, it has been super slow and I was incredibly glad when Edita asked if I wanted to meet up after work today. We headed up to Notes in Covent Garden for a drink and a much needed catch up. I mentioned Notes before too; this was my first time going there in the evening and I love it even more than in the day. It offers a cute, café feel, is relatively quiet and easy going and you have a choice of wine and coffee! 

What more could you want?!

That’s it from me. I have a busy weekend ahead of me, so hope to fill in on that soon!

Night night

Muah

Roo xx

A different kind of post: online dating

Due to peer pressure, the excitement of getting a shiny new phone and the complete state of boredom, I decided to check out some dating apps. Having spoken to Rosie about my findings, she thought it a great idea to write a post on it. So, although completely different to what I usually waffle about, here goes my post on online dating…

Having heard plenty about Tinder, I obviously had to try it (both Natz and Rosie were adamant on this!) which was a bit disappointing. Aside from the sheer entertainment of being encouraged to vainly judge people (or in one case just a stand-alone penis), I didn’t want to start all the conversations and clearly neither did some of the guys so it all stayed a bit stagnant. Considering I can make random conversation with almost anyone, this was a little disconcerting. I also tried Lovoo which I was going to delete within half a day of having because a) it feels more like a dating website, with chat requests, likes and kisses all to be sent (not a fan of the endless kisses) b) the guys were creepy, cheesy or just plain weird and c) it paid no attention to my age filters. I did end up chatting to a couple of guys who seemed quite nice and therefore came up with some observations.

Firstly, I realised that age is incredibly important to me. And frankly, it’s a little strange what difference a couple of years can make. As a general rule, I wouldn’t want to date anyone younger than me (I’m 22) and ideally wouldn’t date anyone older than 30 but would be willing to be with someone who is up to 10 years older than me. I was chatting to a guy, whose profile said he was 30 and we got on really well. We spent a couple of days chatting and in spite of having very little in common actually had a surprising amount to talk about. Eventually, age came up and I found out he was 35. Clearly this is far too old for me. But it did get me thinking that if he were 32, it would have bothered me less and I probably would have liked to meet him; it’s funny that a mere 3 years can make a huge difference on whether you like someone or not! It works the other way too. I’ve been chatting to a lovely guy who is 20 years old. Again, we have had long conversations but again, although slightly less so, the age gap bothered me. I do generally believe that girls are more mature than girls (I’m sure this is not a generalisation and can be scientifically proven) and although he seems mature enough, I have noticed that when chatting to L, my attitude is a lot more joke-y, less serious and is a lot like conversations I have with guy friends.

Speaking of friends, living in London can make it hard to meet people. I know I’ve been incredibly lucky with the friends I’ve made since moving out and am very aware that not all people in London have been so lucky. Therefore, I genuinely believe that some guys (and gals of course) do just want to meet new people. Others of course claim to want relationships, want to date or just want casual sex (true fact: my first chat request was a guy asking if I was looking for a submissive guy: bleurgh!) As mentioned, I tried the sites out because of boredom and curiosity: I am not looking a relationship or to fall madly in love (I am not much of a relationship-person to be honest) and have absolutely no expectations of any of the dating apps. I have chatted to guys who clearly want casual sex and are very honest about that fact. Obviously some girls would find this off-putting and run away. I find the honesty refreshing. I think a lot of guys on at least some of the apps (Tinder?!) are looking for something casual but just aren;t up front about it. If a guy or gal says they’re looking for casual sex, at least you know 100% where you both stand. Equally, I find the guys who say they are looking to find a relationship and/or settle down very unsettling. I don’t know how honest the guys are being and whether or not they are just saying what they think a girl wants to hear. But not wanting a relationship myself (and certainly not wanting to settle down) I feel like I’d be wasting their time by continuing to chat to them, when they could continue their search for someone who wants the same thing as them.

And now being on the topic of wasting time… A friend of mine (you know who you are) who is on one of the apps has been chatting to quite a few girls but when asked whether he’s met up with any of them, he said no. When asked whether he is going to ask any of them out, he answered with the ever-elusive “I don’t know”. He says that he’ll only meet up with a girl if he really likes her as he doesn’t want to waste either of their time. Whilst this is very sweet (and I am sure unlike most guys’ approach) I am not sure I agree. I think the first couple of dates attach no expectations on anyone; you can meet and if the sparks don’t fly or if you don’t get on as well as you’d hoped, there is absolutely no pressure to keep contact and you can call it a day. Besides, if you agree to meet, surely both of you want to and therefore time’s not wasted?! Furthermore, I think I’d find it unsettling to meet up with a guy who I’ve chatted to for ages. First dates (or meetings) should be about getting to know each other. If you have chatted for weeks and know everything about each other by the time to meet, I think it’s quite an odd place to start and surely puts a lot more pressure on both of you to like each other. Also, both me and friends have been chatting to guys for a little while where the conversation just fizzles out. You may have things to talk about but I think the initial feeling of liking a person and wanting to get to know them kind of disappears if you just write and write and write (like I am doing now, of course).

So these are my online/app dating insights which I actually really enjoyed writing. 

To start a Saturday morning with a smile, here is a list of some of the worst chat-starters that I and friends have come across…

• Do your legs hurt running through my dreams all night?
• I've lost my phone number, can I borrow yours?
• I know gravity exists because I've fallen for you
• Heaven's missing an angel. She's you
• I bet your last name is Jacobs, because you're a real cracker 

And on that cringing note, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Muah,

Roo xx

Rushing around

First and foremost, sincere apologies for the lack of blogging. My weeks have been incredibly busy and immensely stressful and although the weekends have been mellow, I have been hibernating from the world a little.

In the past couple of weeks, I haven't done much aside from survived the working week! However in the in midst of it all, I did manage to find a lovely little cafe in Brick Lane, called The Vintage Emporium. It was a cosy little cafe with old fashioned (and therefore very comfy) furniture and because I went late Monday evening it was very quiet. I didn't stay there long and stuck to one cappuccino and left quite soon but definitely intend to give the place another visit.

The weekend before last, myself and Rosie decided to make a return to Birdhouse in Clapham Junction for the best banana bread that either of us had had but found it to be closed for the holidays (sigh). So instead we mooched around and came across Babel. We got there for lunch but rather than having a proper meal, decided to share a couple of starters. Most of it was delicious but as most of it was deep fried (prawns and calamari) it was ever so slightly too greasy for my liking. Nevertheless, I loved the interior and being there on a Saturday afternoon, it was really nice and chilled.

After a horrid week at work, I spent this Saturday morning in bed, relaxing, searching the net and generally being lazy. Eventually I got myself up and out of the flat to meet Rosie for a walk in Hyde Park and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. We even decided to grab a glass of wine each and sit by the river during our catch up.

After another walk, we each went back home for a couple of hours, before came over to the flat for some dinner and a night out in Wimbledon. Having both had horrid weeks, we both drank too much, danced just enough and returned home shattered but having had a great night! Safe to say, Sunday was spent recovering!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Muah

Roo xx

Happy New Year!

I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of days off work which were spent doing nothing impressive. I did some more shopping (far more successful and relaxing second time round), deep cleaned the flat, went out for some drinks with Natz and even ventured to Clapham Common which was disappointing. Everyone seems to have made a big deal of Clapham, so having never visited the place; I decided to trek up and see what all the fuss is about. And honestly, I just didn’t see it. It may have been the crappy whether, but I walked about, not finding a single café I wanted to sit and read in and so went home, underwhelmed to watch my new TV obsession (thanks to Steph), Sherlock.

Yesterday was of course the big end to 2013 and having celebrated several New Year’s Eves in central London, this year I decided to go for a far more mellow night in with some friends.  I had the best night! There was pizza, too much alcohol and great friends, equating to a wonderful night; reminding me that in spite of a couple of bumps in the year that was 2013, it has also been an amazing one, with plenty of changes, huge decisions and some amazing new friends, who I am very happy to have in my life.

I don’t really believe in New Year’s resolutions, so I am simply going to hope for a 2014 that is filled with friends, where my scary decisions finally pay off. Hopefully, the year will also prove to be more productive than the day I have had today, which was spent on the sofa, feeling rather fragile!

I wish I looked like this, this morning

Happy New Year, everybody!

Muah

Roo xx