Welcome Back: the Reboot

I haven't written in a while, partly because I've been wrapped up in moving 250 miles north and settling into sixth form, and also because I have been reconsidering my blog's direction.

Over the Summer and particularly the last few weeks I've come to realised how much I enjoy cooking. Without fail, each week I've tuned into the Great British Bake-off, spent Monday evenings cosied up with Lorraine Pascal and then Nigella in their respective half hour slots of culinary indulgence. Anyone who follows me on instagram (@EleanorMay_C) will have seen my numerous snaps of my experiments, although God knows now I am suffering from the off-puttingly poor lighting in our temporary kitchen.

So my plan is, along with continuing to post up some of my usual musings, to focus on the heavenly world of food -what I've cooked, eaten, seen and experienced. I've got a lot of dishes saved from Summer to share, so with a bit of luck I'll be able to keep you all entertained.

Until then... enjoy! xx

...And it all ends

Well that was a stunner of a couple of weeks. I've seen Team GB pull in the most medals in over 100 years; cheered on the fastest people on land and water in the planet; covered my eyes at death-defying acts and in all, like 80% of you, have been very proud to be British.

On Friday, I headed down to Weymouth to watch both the men's and women's 470 medal race. The weather was utterly gorgeous, if a little light of breeze, and everyone was walking around with a huge smile on their faces. I'm not too sure if it was the 'oh-my-god-we-actually-got-tickets' atmosphere or the sun, but the crowd sure were basking in it. I was really impressed with the efficiency and cheery attitude of the many volunteers who made the event run so smoothly.

As we settled down on the slope of the Nothe -which currently has several Ben Ainslie related names such as Ben's Nevis, Ben's Bum and Big Ben - I couldn't help but feel smug as the screens showed a tour of the Weymouth Sailing Academy Center, where I went for race training in April.(Cue lots of of talk on "oh yes I've been there. Yes the training hall is rather large isn't it?")

Despite the light wind conditions, the two main races were exciting, helped by the coverage on the screens, and by our use of binoculars. In both events Team GB won a silver. As the men's team, sailed by Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, crossed the line, they celebrated in typical British style by capsizing the boat and lighting a flare. The two golds were secured by the Australians for the men's, and by the New Zealand team in the women's. 

I managed to *just* snap a photo of the two British teams passing each other inbetween the races. The women's boat was sailed by the lovely duo, Saskia Clarke and Hannah Mills.

Aside from a slight mishap where I realised that I was wearing a t-shirt saying "Paris Je t'aime", I managed to keep myself looking pretty patriotic, right down to the nails...

Oh, and I also managed to get sunburnt. But that's because I am a pale person not used to sun, haha!

And then that was it. With a final medal sweep during the weekend, the London 2012 Olympic Games... ended. The closing ceremony was incredible; it had to be without the support of an anticipated nation. It celebrated 50 years of British music, all linked together with a subtle theme of Shakespeare's The Tempest. From digitally reconstructed musical legends to real life performers being transported in, the show sparkled. But as I watched I had to hold back tears as I screamed "Don't hand the flag over! Don't extinguish that torch!!" 

Truly though, I am proud to be British. Putting the seemingly pointless two-week gap aside, I am now looking forward to the Paralympics (why aren't the two events shown together??) and I hope that Channel 4's coverage will be as good as BBC's has been.

But until then... Good evening Mr. Bond. This has been the Queen.

Packing!!

I haven't really blogged over the last few days, as I haven't done much except packing. Lots of it. A couple of days ago, I was watching the Sex and the City movie and laughed as Carrie Bradshaw stated her apartment was packed up in "38 boxes". Pah! Sister, the contents of your wardrobe would take up 38 boxes. Our house is on box no. 44 and aside from a few empty bookshelves you wouldn't know anything was missing. Got to say though, one advantage of not having a walk-in wardrobe is that clothes do not need to be packed. They stay nice and happily in drawers and on hangers and don't budge. That will save me one hell of a headache!

Packing hasn't been too bad though; there have been chocolate-filled group packing sessions with Bridesmaids, and I have been kept company by all our fabulous athletes on my TV screen. :) This is good as for much of last week, this was the outside world:

I also hit the cinema with my lovely friends Sophie and Katie. We went for pure, crude humor and opted for Ted. The one problem is though, that if you have the trailer for Ted on muted when someone's (in this case Katie's) kid brother is in the room (PLEASE do not let anyone under the age of 12 see the trailer with sound!) they will want to see it. This applies for all under 10's.

Tomorrow though, the excitement starts back up again, as I am off to Weymouth for the women's 470 sailing medal race. Saskia and Hannah are guaranteed at least a silver, so good luck and maybe we'll see another gold! In the meantime, I've painted my nails in an appropriately patriotic way, hehe.

It took all day, but I still managed to find time eat a gorgeous slice of caramel and apple tart... not *quite* so in keeping with the healthy Olympic image...

Little Fashion Dreams: June/July Haul

Okay.. I've bought a few pieces, both make up, accessories and clothes, over the last couple of months, not to mention a new iPod (hehe). So I thought I'd write a post showing you what I've bought.

 The day before we went to Cornwall, I had a last minute dash around town to pick up some new clothes, all optimistically summery (for a week that rained constantly!). I was in desperate need of new tops (still am tbh...) and shorts. I have to say, it is IMPOSSIBLE to buy shorts that aren't totally slashed or hotpants, unless you head for the 40+ shops and buy linen trousers... In the end, after trying on dozens of shorts, I managed to find these two -a high-waisted floral pair, and some pink hotpants, both from Parisian -and to avoid any camel toe I just went up a size for safety! The shirts and the shorts were all available at New Look when I bought them, and the tee (which I wear waay to much!!) is from Next.

 Next time I went shopping, I had just bought an iPod, and had a few other things that I wanted to get later, so I only let myself get a bikini. Why bikini top sizes are always in dress sizes I will never know, but I was really happy to find that this little baby from Dorothy Perkins fit :)

 At the airport, I caved into my need for a new pencil eyeliner and got Benefit's BADgal in grey. Duty-free airport shopping all the way!

I had been planning on buying myself a new school bag, although I wasn't expecting to find it in Northern Ireland, not least because shopping was not on the agenda (see what I got up to here: http://eleanorslittledreams.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/busy.html) But on the way back from a morning walk along the marina, TK Maxx called and I found this shopper from Edina Ronay for a crazy saving. So that's me sorted for a while.. until more funds come in, that is!!

Round Up: And it all begins...

Whoo! Who's been caught by the Olympic Fever? (who hasn't?) I caught it full on watching our incredible (and crazy) Opening ceremony. Those rings! The Queen and Bond! Rowen Atkinson! And of course, the beautiful caldron.
I have just been watching the women's synchronized diving: incredible. Why oh why did I never learn to dive? Mind you -six years of gymnastics with a difficulty with jumping backwards suggests that diving is perhaps not my sport. Then of course there's the sailing: I've been tuning in and out because as far as I am aware the finals don't start until around the 10th of August, but I'm pleased to report that Ben Ainslie has so far got two second places, and everything else in Weymouth is looking promising.
Watching the volleyball has been inspiring too -I feel ready to join a club now! Of course, the real appeal of it is that gorgeous Australian beach-side ideal, but I'm sure I can manage...

Generally though, the last couple of days have been pretty quiet. I've had fun making healthy, yummy meals for myself, although I've fallen badly at the hurdle(s) of snacking.
For yesterday's lunch I made a Moroccan-style houmous, falafel and mango chutney wrap:

Its super quick and easy to make (although feel free to go all-out and make your own falafel, houmous and chutney if you want). Simply spread on some houmous -I used a peppery, Moroccan-spiced one- onto your tortilla, crumble on some falafel, chop up some gem lettuce and dollop a teaspoon or two of chutney. Wrap and eat! The falafel tastes even nicer heated up.

Later, I took my Grandma's dog out for a walk around one of our postcard villages. When we stopped for our customary up of tea at King John's hunting Lodge, my Grandma and I tried a 'lumb'. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it -it's exclusive to King John's -but it sits somewhere between a muffin and a scone, with possibly a hint of crumpet about it...

It is called a Lumb after the old Scottish word for chimney due to it's height. It is cut into three and then toasted with cinnamon sugar, which caramelizes into foodie heaven... I only wish I could get my hands on that recipe...

As we left the tearooms, we were met by a wedding party leaving the church. My eye was caught by a stunning dress, and I shamelessly chased down it's wearer and got a picture ;)

It is available from the fabulous Vivienne of Holloway http://www.vivienofholloway.com/?gclid=COrDiMm3v7ECFUVTfAod60kAzA

Little Sporting Dreams: Football at the Olympics

On Wednesday I found myself hopping onto a train into Cardiff after being invited to watch the Women's Football by Maddy. We got there early enough to munch on some noodles at the lovely Wagamamma's, complete with a glass each of fruit 'n' veg juices. I've yet to master the art of chopsticks, but I managed to shovel in my prawns and tofu without too much embarrassment...

 From there, we made our way over to the stadium. We managed to avoid the handbag search by alternatively cramming a tonne of stuff into one tiny bag, and keeping the contents of a canvas bag in a clear inner bag. So, we were among the first people to get into the stadium.

After a couple of hours being deafened by the enthusiastic Welsh hostess, Great Britain vs New Zealand begun.

I was expecting New Zealand to easily beat Team GB, especially as the first ten minutes were played pretty close to our goal, but the first match yielded no goals. It did contain a few yellow cards, dished out pretty fast, and involved most of the crowd shouting "PASS TO NUMBER 15!" who always seemed to be in space.

Soon into the second half however, Britain scored; and to my amazement I found my arms punching the sky as I screamed in victory. Now that is crowd atmosphere! That was it for goals, which meant that Great Britain won the very first match of the Olympics. :D

Match two saw Brazil utterly thrash Cameroon 5-0. The playing was a lot more aggressive, but the dancing of the goal-scorers was great to watch, as Brazilian supporters brought the stands to life with drumming

Getting back was interesting... the queues outside the station were staggering and yet somehow, by tactical platform positioning, Maddy and I managed to grab the last two seats on the train home -no two hour standing sessions -phew!

Busy!!

I've had a really, good, busy week. Firstly, last weekend, I braved the mud and hit Devon for my sailing club's camping weekend. Luckily for me, I had camper-van access over a tent, and I actually remembered wellies, as the ground was a mud bath. The weekend was gorgeous -for most part sunny, and with a decent breeze. I got to try out Maddy's new boat, although we failed spectacularly on Sunday's races...

Then, I had my friend, Beth, over from California. There is nothing like having an old exotic friend over to help you reconnect with other old friends. We just had a total girl's week, full of shopping and catching up. On Thursday, we mixed shopping with Jimmy Spices, an amazing world food buffet. It's pretty cheap, especially on weekdays, but it is soo good! The stir fry's, made in front of you, are to die for. I decided to put my faith in the British weather, and bought a bikini too. When we got back, it seemed only natural to try out my bikini in Maddy's hot tub. :)

On Friday, Beth, my Mum and I hopped on a plane and landed in Belfast, so that my Mum could squeeze in some quality time with Beth's mother, Sain. We were lucky enough that the weather was on the turn, and I experienced Ireland in the sun (a novelty enough for England, never mind the rest of the British Isles...).

We also went to the Giant's Causeway, which was HEAVING with tourists. 

 Beth's little bro' Daniel was less than impressed by the walk to see a pile of hexagonal rocks, but we set him up as the photographer and he managed okay.

 The Giant's Causeway was made by the cooling of ancient lava, but I preferred the legend of the giant who threw the rocks into the sea to walk over to Scotland....

Before I flew back again I had time to laugh at Beth on her debut motorbike passenger ride. I'll say no more...

 And then it was back on the plane again!! I really am a bad flying partner; my Mother hates take off and landing, and I'll be sat there going "ooh look, we're really banking right over now! Gosh we're hitting the runway fast. Oh, I can see all the wires in the wing when the brakes go on...."