Pre-birthday a.k.a excuse for cake

Hiya !

Today I officially turn 22. One of the plus points of celebrating in the UK is that I get to remain 21 for an additional 7 hours !! *oh-gawd-I-can't-believe-I'm-so-old-already !!* 

I wish I could come up with something funny or witty to post about this belated coming of age 'event', but words just seem to elude me today. 

A huge thank you to all of you who've made my day wonderful. Here are some pictures of a pre-birthday do that I had. Friends, black forest cake and a night of laughs are the best gifts a girl could ever wish for ! 

I was in the mood for some cooking so ... Spinach and ricotta tortellini, basil tomato salad sprinkled with bits of blue cheese and artichoke hearts ... and urm ..that little shriveled up piece of meat is cod btw ( I'm a novice cook... sorry mum! ). I did a cost estimate at the end of the day ... and guess how much all these came up to ? £1.20 tops !! 

There you have it. Frozen black forest cake. Anything to satisfy my craving for cream, cake and chocolateee.. 

And since a lot of you asked for this .. urm. ... concrete evidence of imminent murder ... *cough*  You know I really meant "Obligatory Cake and Birthday Person Picture " right ... ? 

Alrightie ! My assignments want to spend some lovely birthday one-on-one time with me so you really can't say no to stacks of paper screaming for your attention ... 

Toodles !

xoxo,
Jo

Sheffield

"I want the pink one !! " followed by an excited little giggle. 

Captivated, I turned around and my breath caught at the sight before me. Blue skies, red brick buildings, adorable little girls, and a splashy jumble of BALLOONS ! 

The city is full of little surprises that come at you when you least expect them to. I remember it was an exceptionally tiring day of lectures and info overload, so I decided to walk through the city center just to get my mind off school. I love the way the city center is always bustling with people, young, old, busy, relaxed. People from all walks of life.

The sky has been sunny this weekend, and as I walked along to the gentle caress of the breeze running its fingers silkily through my hair, Sheffield soaked itself bit by bit into my every pore. 

The pubs here have cute names ! 

This one is the Frog and Parrot ... why those two animals I wonder ... 

The perennial red phone booths make for really sexy photo props ... 

Pigeons here are really used to humans and they don't flit away when you go near ... I like this shot of a live pigeon stomping on a stone sculpture of a bird. 

" Hah ! I'm alive ! I flutter, I poo, what can you do o' ginormous bird creature ?? "

I also made a new friend ! Since he didn't have a name plaque anywhere in sight, I took the liberty of naming him myself ! Say hello to Ryder the Wooden Horse and this is me ... hoping not to break him. 

How can an entry be complete without a picture of yours truly 'reading' =p But oh, it was awesome weather to be out reading today. 

I just want to snuggle in with all these impressions, happy laughter and colours. This weekend has been wonderful in the way of discoveries and sometimes I guess all it takes is looking in the right places. =) 

And before I forget .. Happy Father's Day ! I hope it isn't too late to wish you daddies out there ! 

Update Numero Uno

First off, I've taken the last post off because I think I need to learn how to keep my thoughts to myself at times but I deeply value the comments and thoughts that you left for me. :) 

The sun is starting to peek out from under its slumberous state here in Sheffield. I guess this year Mr Solar decided to sleep in a little, and feeling in a generous mood, I say the guy deserves a break after a few billion years of being at it. Breaks aside, the sky is finally BLUE again ! Just the way we were thought way back in Kindergarten ! 

Strictly for illustration purposes, the sky turned from this : 

(There's just something so ... mysteriously romantic about the grey, overcast sky though ... like an eccentric, moody artist given to spurts of genius and sexily frustrated tantrums .. wokay, I'm not making much sense am I? ... moving on ! )

to THIS : 

* the person behind the lens duly apologizes for injustice done to the breathtaking awesomeness of this particular setting and solemnly promises to learn how to take better photos in the future *

Soo.. what this means is that now there will be more chances to frolic in the sun, snap more pictures to keep you guys updated and start honing my 'photo taking' skills. :) 

Oh yes ... if I ever need proof that I'm my mother's daughter ... I cooked Fusili Aglio Olio with Cumberland Sausages and juicy Cherry Tomatoes the other day !!The last time I checked I still have all 10 fingers, and 10 toes, I didn't set off any fire alarms, and it's actually edible! All those years of stealing-food-in-the-kitchen, watching mum cook paid off ! At least dying-from-starvation can be taken off the list for now. 

Settled

Hi all,

So sorry for the lack of updates lately. Things have been chaotic the past week, but hopefully things start looking up this week on. I'm already in Sheffield, and boy is it a beautiful city ! I'm living smack in the middle of the city centre, so its a very advantageous place to be because shops are a stone's throw away, and by shops, I mean BOOKstores mainly, although there are lots of boutiques and eateries scattered everywhere, most of these are things I can hardly afford on a student's budget :) 

I wish I took more pictures, but the weather has been horrid the past week, rainy, cloudy, moody, COLD, so I have a very limited number of pictures for you guys. 

This is so mummy doesn't think I've been starving. I made this the second night I arrived : Broccoli and mushrooms in Bovril. Simple, hot, satisfying ! 

Last night's dinner (or rather the first time *in my life* I cooked! I know, I'm a sad specimen of a female ) Feeling rather 'adventurous', I grilled sausages, fried an egg with lotsa onions and herbs, and my 'main' dish was brussel sprouts and onions in a ratatouille based sauce. Nothing like home but still absolute yums ! 

Sorry about the lousy picture quality, was too hungry to get the camera set up so I just snapped a picture and bon appetit-ed away ! = P

That's about it for today. It's a beautiful Sunday morning, I've just finished with my laundry so it's time to go explore ! See ya !