My Favourite Photos of Places and Food I love

                         
                     

Hey Lovelies,

Today is day 7 and Yes! I succeeded in posting on this blog for 7 consecutive days. Thank you for supporting me as usual. In a way, it was easier because I was on leave from work but I am back now. So, Tuesday is the new Monday to me, of course. As you can guess, I was so busy at work today and I had no time to take any new photos so I decided to check my precious stash of photos and share them with you. Many of them are either from my favourite places or food or little random bits that make me happy.. I am going to start with food...

                                                       
                                              Food and Meals that Make me Happy

I have already shared a post about this meal but this seriously makes me happy. It's  traditional British fish and chips with some veggies thrown in for healthy measures. I buy this from Giannis which is a small eatery near my office in London. It's a lil' pricey and fattening which is why it is reserved for treat time.

This is how I store my food for the rest of the week. I think Lunch is my most important meal because if I don't bring my lunch, I end up spending ridiculous amounts of money on it. I make my meals on Sunday, pack them into Tupperware and store it in the fridge. Plus it allows me eat more healthily. This is boiled rice, salmon and mixed vegetables. I also made some pasta with mixed vegetables. It is so filling and nice..YumYum.

                       

I can see you judging me because I know they are for babies. I love Heinz's Farley rusks which are given to babies with milk to introduce them slowly to solids and also to encourage their teeth growth as they can nibble on it. I had quite a few of these as a child and I still had some when my younger cousins were little so let's say I was never fully weaned from it..So, don't blame me. They are so yummy and the last time I bought these, the lady at Tesco said " How old is your little one?" in her bid to strike a conversation. Hahahaha...

I recently discovered this and I have been loving it all the way. It is Chobani's Yoghurt which is made from only natural ingredients and it is one of the creamiest and thickest yoghurt I have eaten. it is not necessarily the sweetest but it is definitely one of the healthiest. I eat this on its own or add it to my smoothie...double yum!!

Places and Nature Spots I Love

I still love coming down the bus to take pictures and sit down to edit them especially if they are unusual places .

I can do many, many bad things to lay my hands on these Chanel beauty products; I am kidding but you get my drift. This picture was taken in House of Fraser. I really love Chanel because it feels so classy and timeless. I don't own any of the products yet but I have used them courtesy of my cousins and a few testers I have got from their counters. But this selection in this picture just makes me plain happy...

                   

This lone hanging flower makes me really appreciate nature because it screams Spring/Summer in subtle way. I love how delicate the petals look and how the whole flower is hanging upside down from a brick wall..So calming and serene for me.

                   

I took this near Canary Wharf which is comparable to Wall Street in USA. All the huge business and financial firms all have impressive offices here. I took this on my way from a meeting there. I love how well sculpted this statue is and it shows so much strength for such an inanimate object...It feels alive to me..

                     

This was when the Sun was still my friend; right now there is no love lost between us because it has become too humid. I have always loved the mild Sun but this is no longer the norm in London right now. This picture was taken in early spring when the sun was playing the shy lover with us; perfect weather for long romantic walks with the cool breeze accompanying the gentle rays....Bliss

                   

This is one of favourite pictures of Big Ben. It looks so regal here and the lovely sun was doing great justice to all its great features.  I love how the tourists always look in awe of it and rush to take pictures when the clock strikes and chimes away...I think it is really beautiful and lovely to know it is still well admired after all these years....

This used to be my usual Bus Stop in Waterloo before I moved somewhere else that requires using the dreaded Underground/Tube. I love buses because it gives you a chance to see the scenery you may miss from using the Tube here in London. This ticket machine is very naughty because you din't get any change at all. If you are stranded and you need to get on a bus where you need to have bought your ticket beforehand, you would be forced to leave your change with this machine.. Thank God for contact less cards which you can use to pay for bus fares if you don't have your Oyster Card...

I'd leave you with one of my favourite pictures. This was also taken in early Spring when the flowers were just beginning to bloom. I love this tree because it still looks beautiful despite the absence of any flowers, leaves or bloom. Against the blue skies, it looks really special which is why it has a special place in my heart and makes me happy looking at it....I hope you enjoyed this post which was a little different to my other posts which have been all beauty related. My 7 day challenge is over and I have enjoyed the challenge thoroughly...I am writing a special post for Thursday so stay tuned....toodles....xxx

My Sunny Brighton Week

Hi Lovelies,

Don't be deceived by the title; the sunny weekend was not this past weekend at all. You all know how bipolar the weather in the UK is. The sunny weekend was the first week in June which incidentally was my better half's birthday week. 

We both took the week off from work to rest and spend time with each other and do some driving around to celebrate his birthday. I think it was the most relaxed week off I have ever had because I spent quality time with him, visited some members of my family, cooked different meals, drove to Brighton(and its lovely pier and beach), watched movies and had many lazy mornings. The sad thing about one week holidays is you enjoy it so much and just when you are settling in to enjoy it more, you are launched back into work rather grudgingly which was the case for me*le sigh*

*Note to self: Take two weeks holiday next time.
*Note to readers: This is a picture heavy post, so bear with me but I know some of you like plenty pictures :-)..I also have a few coupley pix of me and the BF.....but no PDAs, I promise...back to this post...

After enjoying a few lazy mornings of waking up late, we decided to dedicate a full day to driving to Brighton. The best thing about this week was the weather was absolutely fantastic In fact, without doubt, we can safely say that week was one of the best weeks of sunny British weather, honestly, we could not have chosen a better week. Unfortunately, our joy of welcoming summer with open arms were short lived as the weather has been back to its old tricks.

Anyways, we set off on our trip from Wimbledon to Brighton which took approximately one and half hours. The BF drove while i chatted and tried to get my camera ready for pictures. It was wonderful to just experience the beautiful country side especially small villages and towns which I had never even heard about. I felt they were all small closely knit communities because it seemed so peaceful and calm unlike some chaotic areas in London. As we approached Brighton, I could feel the soft sea breeze which was a sweet comfort because the weather, believe it or not, had begun to be unbearable hot (honestly, I could not believe i'd ever feel hot like this in the UK). 

Brighton is an amazing coastal town which is part of the Brighton and Hove City, to be honest, I think it may slowly be turning into a city in its own right. Its popularity lies in the fact that it has a nice pebble beach and the popular Brighton Pier which is a major Tourist attraction. We quickly found a parking lot and I could not wait to whip out my camera. Just as I mentioned in one of my blog posts, photographers usually end up taking many pictures of other people and places and have very few of themselves, that is the case with me. 





Of course, with growing technology and the help of tripods, you can still get many pictures of yourself but who wants to start hauling/mounting a tripod on the beach? Certainly not me. Plus, I am one of those photographzillas ( photography versions of bridezillas) who don't believe other people can handle their cameras or devices as well as themselves( hahaha) which is why I have very little pictures of myself but I got a good number of pix of the BF, the beautiful scenery and managed a few selfies. I was also conscious of enjoying the experience instead of concentrating on taking pictures because that can be very time consuming and distracting although I absolutely enjoy taking pictures.

We started off with the beautiful Brighton Pebble beach which was a wonderful beautiful calm water. There were not as many people as I expected given the sunny weather but I guess that's because we went on a weekday which is the best time to go in my opinion. We went right down into the beach because we wanted to feel the water up close and personal. 

Of course, the pebbles tried to prevent us from getting too close but we prevailed. Standing so close to the sea and enjoying the calm ripple of waves made me appreciate how wonderful the works of God is. It was really serene and calming. Of course, the seagulls were there rattling away..stay tuned for how cheeky one of these seagulls were...

We decided to get some food because I was beginning to starve and get dehydrated. So, we went to the popular fish and chips bar near the beach to get some. I got scampi and chips while the BF got the traditional fish and chips which I helped him polish off. To be honest, it was not that great plus it was flipping expensive(£12 pounds) for both our meals with a can of drink. Ridiculous!!. Anyways, we were hungry and had to eat it. 



Now, to the story of the cheeky sea gulls; we had seen signs warning us not to feed them( like I was flipping going to). What they forgot to add was how bold the seagulls were especially when it came to grabbing your very own food. Now, this cheeky Seagull found its way to a piece of log/stone stand opposite our table. Of course, my guards were up but I did not expect anything fishy or birdy in this case. Next thing, this smart bird took two furtive glances; left and right and SWIFTLY grabbed some chips off our table. 

I was in absolute disbelief at what just happened and guess what?its partner-in-crime decided to cash in on the jamboree and grabbed the fish off the plate..and away they both flew. It was funny and scary at the same time. Damn birds!! Everyone around was laughing including ourselves . The BF always logical, did the smart thing,  while I was still busy recovering from the whole incident, he quickly cleared up the plates of food straight into the bin before the whole seagull extended family returned for a family reunion at our expense. The good thing was we were already filled up so it was not too bad but a lil courtesy from those birds wasn't too much to ask, was it?...lol








After that indelibel experience(in my opinion),  we headed for the Brighton Pier which was really beautiful . There was a really nice view from there and loads of fun and amusement areas such as rides, games, more restaurant, shops, etc. A proper tourist attraction.

Yours truly even decided to get a fake tattoo made from either henna or jagua (another kind of natural pigments but appears darker instead of brown like henna). Obviously, since I am already brown skinned,there was no point getting the henna which may be less visible. So, I opted for a cute little daisy flower with the jagua pigment.

 It was very painless and cost about £8 total and was meant to last for about 1-4 weeks. It has sadly disappeared after almost two weeks :-(((. I have always had these thoughts of getting a tattoo since I was young but I am not brave enough for the pain...am a total cornball. I loved the daisy tattoo while it lasted and it was like a lil' reminder of Brighton for me.

After Brighton Pier, we drove down to the other side and visited New Haven which was a beautiful place with a cliff and lovely houses and country side. We were exhausted and decided it was time to go home. The BF drove back while I took a nap; I was exhausted even though I wasn't the one  driving for any of the journeys. We finally got in around 6pm and had an early night.



The BFs birthday came and we had a lovely time; I am not going to bore you with all the details but one of the things we did was watch the final series of Hang Over which I loved although the movie received many mixed reviews but I think it was a good way to end the whole Hangover Series.



Then, I whipped up some food. I have been seeing some lovely food inspirations on blogs and instagram. I can't claim cooking is my favourite past time but when I decide to cook, I go all the way and try to make something different and creative.

 I made some Meat Kebabs, Mini Prawn Skewers, Grilled Salmon, Fried Rice and Jollof Rice. I also made some traditional Nigerian Soups; Ogbono and Egusi Soup which I am gradually becoming a an expert in preparing. Let's say this weekend was full of good food which I absolutely enjoyed; diet, fitness and exercise all thrown out the window :-)

Soon, it was time to go back to my flat after a long but enjoyable week and weekend. You can understand how lazy I felt actually returning to work. The consolation is I have sweet memories to draw upon when the going gets tough until I plan my next holiday. I had tons of fun writing this post up and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know how you spend any time you have off work...xxx

Have you entered the Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar Giveaway Contest? It is Open now and International...Check it out here

Have an amazing week ahead...xx

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Beautiful Sights of Warwick University

Hi Lovelies,
I hope everyone has had an amazing week. Mine was so lovely and filled with so much positive things and I feel blessed and thankful to God. I should have put this post up a long long time ago but I was just lazy and editing the pictures took a little longer than I thought. The pictures were taken in Mid April when I went for a Conference/Seminar which my office organised in Warwick University. I was very excited to go because it meant I was going to a new environment and also meeting new people. I had never been to Warwick University but I had heard many good things about it including how sound academic wise it is, so I thought it would be a nice chance to explore the grounds.

I only did very little exploring though because I and my colleagues were so busy organizing everything that we hardly even had time for any wandering. However, y'all know, I love taking pictures so I still squeezed out some time to get in a few pictures. We were only there for about 3 days and we camped in the student accommodation which I must say was very impressive because my hostel as a student in University of Manchester was not as nice as this :-). I don't think it was the typical student hostel though; it must have been the nicer ones which are usually reserved for conferences but it was en-suite with a nice bathroom, a fairly comfy bed and  a large wardrobe.

They kept turning their backs on me for these pictures..

The conference was basically around the Warwick Conference Centre. We also used a couple of halls such as the Ramphal building and Panorama Suites. I had a little walk around the university and took some nice pictures but I don't know the names of all the places, so if you attended Warwick or know their names, you can help me out by leaving comments below.

I was really curious to try this lil' Cafe but i didn't :-(

It was a very busy three days but I absolutely enjoyed myself and bonded with my colleagues which was very good. I also ate quite a lot because the breakfast  was super; in fact it was my favourite meal through out my time there. We also had the annual dinner which was quite posh but it was served in very small quantities. Hahhaa.

Best meal (Semi-English Brekkie) ever  throughout the conference

Annual Dinner Time; I was so stuffed by this time...

You don't want to know how many of these i stuffed myself with ....Bad bad me!!

I had a nice time and I hope you enjoyed the pictures. See you in my next post...xx. Before I let you go, Have you entered the Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar Giveaway Contest? It is Open now and International...Check it out here

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P.S. have a lovely weekend ahead. xxx