Sophs blog

London has the reputation of being very expensive, and don't get me wrong it can easily be very spenny, however there are ways to keep costs down and still have a good time. As someone who loves exploring London and who is constantly broke I have devised a few ways to make my exploration days cheap and cheerful.  1) pack a lunch This is essential to saving money. Firstly I always do since I don't know what gluten free food is available when I'm out for a whole day and secondly it's easy and cost efficient. Whether it be a sandwich, pasta salad or leftovers from the night before, bringing something with you can save a lot of time and dolla.  2) walk It always seems like the easier option to get the bus or tube, however check your distance as you might be able to avoid the tube fare and get some steps in on the fitbit. The other day I was in Camden and needed to go to Kings Cross and it turned out walking was only 5 minutes longer than getting public transport...

I've always associated Belgravia with Victoria Coach Station and whoever's been there knows how depressing a place that can be. However I went there today for a pop up exhibition on Frida Kahlo and ended up exploring the area and just in time for the Chelsea flower show and have been completely balled over with this place.  The exhibition I went to was at 141 Ebury Street which is just around the corner from the coach station. I would highly recommend going before it closes on the 16th of June. It is the perfect warm up to the Frida Kahlo exhibition which is coming to the V&A soon and I am pumped. This pop up is meant to replicate Frida's parlor; you enter a room covered in green flowery wall paper which makes a banging selfie and lovely depiction of what her living room might have looked like.  You then enter a room that is supposed to replicate her dining room. It's covered in electric blue and striking yellow and full of cacti, tiles and ceramics to re...

So I've written about these before, but they're just that good that I think they deserve their own post rather than being smushed as a side to burgers.  'Swimming Potatoes' or chips as we know them, are a world wide favorite and possibly my favorite way to eat potato.. a bold statement I know. Anyhoo, I've tried making chips so many times but it was only recently I was shown the best way to. 'Swimming Potatoes' is a Greek translation from my friend Melina and this recipe is from her- so basically this post is a little homage to her and chips.  All you need is: Sunflower oil, potatoes and salt  Method:  Cut the chips into match sticks, put in a deep saucepan and pour over the oil until they are submerged.  Turn on a low heat and leave them to cook for about half an hour. You will want to move them but don't so that they can cook evenly.  After half an hour move them around and cook for a further ten mins.  Spoon them onto kitchen pa...

After four years of uni i'm incredibly excited to be able to do a bunch of stuff that has no relation to my degree whatsover and feel guilt free about it. Every time I've come home and done bloggy bits or activities that aren't about my degree the guilt is so real, even if i'm on top of my work I feel the weight of uni bearing down on me (tad dramatic but whatever) and now I can finally do things guilt free. So at number 1.. Reading for Pleasure  I literally never have the time to read for pleasure except in summer and now all the books I read will only be for pleasure! Since I do English lit there's always stuff to be reading for the course, and even if you've read the core material there's extra stuff you can be reading (not that I'm that type of student but the options there ha).  Soo I've got a whole list of books I want to read and reread- I haven't reread a book for the fun of it in over four years so I am buzzed. My top three that I ...

As I sit in the garden writing this blog post, the sun is shining, I'm burning and i've got a cool lemonade in hand- what could be better than that ey? SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) can have a really big effect on your mental health, even without you realising, so when the seasons change and we're blasted with some sunshine it's no wonder that our mood improves. During the winter months it's important to take care of yourself and to do things that make you happy, but when it's sunny this becomes so much easier.  I feel like when the weather improves everything about us does too, our skin looks better, our mood is lifted, our diets improve and everyone around us is positive. In classic British fashion a fter the mini heatwave at the end of April it had to rain for like four days and my mood crashed big time. I was discussing it with my friend Mel saying I couldn't figure out why I felt so blue, and she said she was having the exact same day and...

One of my favorite activities is cooking with my friend Melina; we have a really similar taste for junk food so when we're hungover we make a pretty great team. Recently we decided to make burgers and boy oh boy were they tasty and 100% gluten free.  Burgers are really easy to make and not too spenny either and went perfectly with our homemade chips, blue cheese sauce and guacamole- i'm salivating just thinking about it. For this post I'm going to include recipes for all four elements of this dish so you can make it at home! For the Burgers you'll need: - beef mince meat - an onion (red or white) - 3 cloves of garlic - parsley - one jalapeno chilli - one red chilli - smoked paprika - garlic powder - salt - pepper - cumin - cheddar or American cheese - one egg For the blue cheese sauce: - blue cheese (we used st.Agur) - sour cream  - balsamic vinegar  - pepper For the chips:  - a big bottle of sunflower oil - p...

As one of London's busiest hubs its unsurprising that there's so much to do in Kings Cross. More recently I keep ending up here and think it's a really busy and bubbly part of North West London that's worth spending some time in, and what could be better than doing it for under £20?  Since I'm a student i'm always on the look out for free/thrifty things to do in London and excusing travel it's not that hard to find. So if you happen to find yourself in Kings Cross and want to explore it then keep reading.  1) Get cultured . Luckily, Kings Cross is home to both the British Library and the Welcome Collection. Both have free admission to the majority of exhibitions and are each in their own right historical gems.  The Welcome Collection boasts all things weird and wonderful in the medical arena and provides insight into things you wouldn't necessarily come across that often. Their current exhibition ' Somewhere in Between' explores sexual ...