You may now start writing...Good luck.

...And so it begins. Today was my first exam. A relatively late start, a lot of people finished already; bags packed, backs turned and heading triumphantly off into the sunset, following the glorious promise of three months summer holiday. For the past two weeks (since classes finished) I have been lazying about in the sunshine, eating icecream, cooking a variety of delicious foods, staying up late watching movies, talking...more or less forgetting it was exam time at all. Don't get me wrong, I punctuated my leisure time with short bouts of readings that I had neglected to do during the term time, but mostly only because the boy was round studying for law exams (much more scary and intimidating than the Maori society/language papers I was preparing for) and I had to find a way to occupy my time so I didn't become an irritating distraction.

I was hoping that after my first exam things would start to feel serious and I would be in the mode of studying...alas! This evening I am off to enjoy some champagne and live music, and tomorrow night I am going to a 21st to boogy in the balmy evening. carpe diem!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Hello from NZ!

Hello everyone! It's Hannah's younger sister Kesia here...I saw on her blog she was looking for people to be guest bloggers while she was soaking up the sun abroad and I thought it might be a fun way to procrastinate from studying for a while. Here is just a wee bit about me so hopefully it doesn't feel quite so much like a complete stranger is interrupting Hannah's fantastic blog.

I am currently studying at Otago University in Dunedin, NZ...

Although the studying life can be a lot of fun, I am counting down the days until my degree is finished and i can once again set off to explore the world...

I love the RAIN. 

Nothing makes me feel better at the end of a long day like closing the curtains and boogying like a mad thing.

I love experiencing things for the first time; cultures, people and walks of life that differ so much from my own. 

The three things I believe in MOST in life are: Food, Music and LOVE.

Anyway, that's probably enough for now- Exams are fast approaching and I really should get down to some study. Ciao!

An Ache in My Heart

I love living in the UK, don't get me wrong. I have had the most amazing 3 years and have been thoroughly spoiled. I have met amazing people and travelled all over the country. I love the pub culture - Sunday lunch and some football with a pint to finish the weekend. I love the big cities, especially London, Newcastle and Edinburgh. I love the accents, all of them, who knew they could vary so much? I love the history. I love how close you are to the rest of Europe - weekend 'Euro Adventures', how lucky are we?!

But, sometimes I miss NZ so much that my heart literally aches.

Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud

Only 219 days until I am on my way home...

Fancy Being a Guest Blogger?

I am so close to my holiday, I can practically feel the sun on my skin.

And I am so EXCITED!

10 whole days in Spain with the BF. Sipping sangria, eating tapas, reading, lounging about in the sun (oh please be sunny!), and just relaxing in general. Oh I can't wait.

 

This is where YOU come in. I am looking for people to guest blog while I am away as I'm not going to have access to the internet (shock horror!). 

If you are interested in being a guest blogger, here at From Me, With Love... send me an email at

 

hannah.sherwood@hotmail.co.uk

 

and we can most definitely work something out.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Love Me. x

Just a Little Crush...

I am completely hooked on these delicious smoothies. I am a little hopeless when it comes to eating fruit so smoothies are a great option for me and not only do THESE smoothies provide 2 portions of your fruit needs for the day, they also contain no additives what-so-ever. That's right, these delicious drinks are made of all natural ingredients!
Here are a few things that the Innocent team believe in.....

• Keeping things 100% natural
• Using sustainable ingredients, sustainable packaging AND sustainable production methods
• Sharing the profits - 10% of their profits each year go to charity!

What's not to love?! My peaches and raspberries Peace One Day smoothie had the following delightful ingredients.....

 If you haven't tried these already, go and do it! Super delicious and healthy! YUM!

10:10:10

So I realise I'm a couple of days late, and that it's no longer 10:10:10 but I want to bring the plight of the 10:10 organisation to light, as I think it's a really important one.

"10:10 is a movement of people, schools, businesses and organisations cutting their carbon by 10% in a year"

Here are some FAQ that the 10:10 website answered....

What is 10:10?

10:10 is about one simple idea: we all commit to reduce our carbon emissions by 10% starting this year, then work together to make it happen.

Who can sign up?

Individuals and families, schools and universities, small shops and global brands, film stars and politicians … almost everyone can sign up to cut their carbon emissions by 10%.

What are carbon emissions?

Carbon emissions (more accurately greenhouse gas emissions) are the main cause of currently-observed global warming. They are released when fuels are burned in vehicles, homes, power stations and factories. For more on emissions and global warming, we recommend the Met Office's quick guide to climate change.

 On Sunday it was 10:10:10, and the organisation aimed to create the biggest-ever day of positive action on climate change. From sumo wrestlers in Japan who cycled to training, to 10,000 schools planting trees in Croatia and Russia, and hundreds of people in the UK sitting down to low-carbon Sunday lunches, this was truly an inspirational day!

The company I work for have been striving to cut down their carbon emissions this year and have been working really hard, so to say thank you to everyone we organised a low-carbon work lunch on Friday with produce purchased from a local farmers market...

...please excuse the poor photo quality - they were taken on a mobile phone and I was in a super rush due to hunger and delicious-food cravings...

Our lunch was absolutely delicious and knowing it was all grown/produced just down the road made it even tastier. We ate cheese, bread, salad and drank apple juice and home-brewed wine and cider (both were seriously strong!). Oh and we finished it all off with the most delicious fudgey chocolate brownie. YUM.

If you are interested in doing your bit for the environment, and getting involved with 10:10, click here for more information and to sign up.

Happy 10:10 everyone!

Lunch Boredom

I have a little dilema, and was wondering if you might be able to help? 

I have hit a wall when it comes to thinking up healthy, delicious, interesting, lunches for the BF and I to take to work. I know there are plenty of yummy options out there, but my mind has gone blank, and I seem to have lost all lunch inspiration.

This is not a good thing.

It usually means that I take peanut butter sandwiches to work, am so bored at the thought of them, that I go into town, spend far too much money on junk and regret it later in the afternoon when whatever it was I bought, has failed to sustain me throughout the rest of the day. Boo.

If you have any ideas I would LOVE to hear them! 

I'm happy to take a little time the night before to cook something, or whip something up quickly in the morning, I just need some wonderful ideas!

via - weheartit.com

Little Lion Man

On Wednesday night I saw the most fantastic band.

Mumford and Sons.

They were mind blowing.

I have so few words to describe the evening, it was that amazing.

Their musical talent, stage presence, charm, and passion created an atmosphere that buzzed, made my heart race, and at one point even made my eyes well up.

The clip below will never do them justice, but I want to share them with you today...

My Weekend

So. That cold. That one that I was going to take in my stride. That one I was going to use as a reason for some me time. That one that appeared out of no where.

Boy did it get me good!

And I wasn't strong, calm, and elegant in the face of it. Nope, not at all. I was a grisly mess. I demanded attention, ordered hot lemon and honeys left right and centre, expected my tissues to be topped up at all times....what a nightmare.

After feeling pretty rotten on Wednesday evening, things quickly got worse. No sleep on Wednesday night meant a tired, grumpy, snotty start to Thursday morning, and by Thursday lunch time, my nose was a continuous stream, my head throbbed, and work sent me home!
I took Friday off and due to a lot of lounging about, watching Sex and the City and getting a manicure/pedicure from the BF's wonderful sister by Saturday morning I was feeling much better. Oh apart from the HUGE coldsore that appeared sometime between Friday 10pm and Saturday 8am. (It really hasn't been my week...)

Luckily, I am on the mend and now only have to blow my nose once an hour, and have had a lovely, relaxed weekend which consisted of....

• Booking flights to NZ!
• Coffee at THIS gorgeous cafe on Saturday morning
• Watching the new Alice in Wonderland (seen it? what are your thoughts?)
• Sushi and cocktails at my FAVOURITE restaurant, D-Fly
• Winning Trivial Pursuit
• Hot Chocolate and Salmon Bagel at Moka for lunch on Sunday
• Buying SCRABBLE and playing all afternoon

I'm so pleased I'm feeling better and this cold didn't hang about, because although it was just a cold, I really felt miserable with it! Fingers crossed my coldsore will be gone soon too, and then I will be right as rain.

Busy week ahead, starting with a netball game with a new team tomorrow night - hope it goes well.

Off to have some home-made Mississippi Mud Pie for pudding, yum yum!

Hope you have all had wonderful weekends and haven't been dealt Autumn lurgies!

What did you get up to? x