I've been taking part in a 'Go Vegan' week that the Vegetarian and Vegan Society have been running at uni, which has been so much fun! It's made me cook all kinds of new things, so I thought I'd share some of the recipes that I've learned. This vegan chilli is absolutely delicious and pretty easy to make, so I'd definitely recommend it.


Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of butter beans
• 1 can of sweetcorn
• 1 jar of tomato pasta sauce
• Tomato purée 
• Chilli powder
• Paprika powder
• Cumin
• Baby potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Spring onions

As you can probably tell by my lack of activity on here, I've been pretty busy over the past few months, so I have an awful lot to update you all on! First of all, I was really lucky last summer to go on holiday with my family to Thailand, so I thought I'd do a quick post on that. If you've ever considered Thailand as a potential holiday destination then hopefully this will be helpful for you, and if not then I hope you enjoy the post and photos nonetheless, and maybe tell me a bit about anywhere you've been on holiday in the comments below!

Flights

We did the flights to Koh Samui in two parts - one flight to Bangkok and then one from Bangkok to Koh Samui. There are only a couple of flights to Koh Samui each day as they like to limit the number of people who go there so it doesn't get completely overrun with tourists. Although the flight was only short, it was really enjoyable as we got served a Thai meal complete with noodles, fruit and cake. No in-flight entertainment of course, as it was a small plane, but I always love looking out the window on planes, so that was entertainment enough for me. Koh Samui airport is also really lovely - it's small, cute, half indoor/half outdoor, and they serve free food in the departure lounge!

Accommodation

The resort had two pools - one by the beach and one by the hotel - as well as a smaller one for children. The pools were really great; plenty of space for everyone and just a really nice place to relax in the day when it got too hot.

The pool by the hotel

Another great thing about the hotel is that it's got a section of the beach for the guests to enjoy. We really loved spending time on the beach as it was a little less busy than the areas by the pool and really close to the bar as well. The only thing I didn't enjoy so much about the beach is that there will quite often be local traders who will try to sell you things - they're extremely friendly and obviously I didn't mind them being there, I just felt bad having to say no to them!


The hotel also had a great walk from the rooms to the beach. There was a really lovely garden area with a little hut where you could sit and read in the shade, hammocks and plenty of palm trees. It really made you feel like you were abroad!


Finally, the poolside bar was absolutely fantastic. I feel bad to admit that my favourite meal there was the fried egg sandwich, considering we were in Thailand, but it was just so fantastic! They also had a buy-one-get-one-free offer on drinks between five and seven which was particularly popular with my me and my mum!

Local Area

There was also a really wide variety of dining options, from fancy restaurants to street-side food carts. Obviously there was a lot of Thai cuisine, but there were also other options. One night I had the most amazing pizza from an Italian restaurant! Close to the village, there was another little shopping area which was slightly more up-market. My mum and I grew to love this area, as there were buskers performing every night with a little caravan bar nearby, so we spent quite a few evenings watching people perform while sipping Margaritas!

Cuisine

Breakfasts in the hotel were particularly amazing as they had such a wide variety of food - did you know it's normal to have noodles for breakfast?! I really enjoyed having lots of fresh fruit while I was away, and discovered a new love for dragon fruit!


The pictures here show one of the traditional Thai nights at the hotel. There were loads of different options, from curry to spring rolls to noodle dishes and tons more! It was really great because you could watch your food being made and tell the chefs exactly what you wanted to have in it. My favourite Thai dish turned out to be Pad Thai, a stir-fried noodle dish that I liked to have with prawns. The hotel also did absolutely amazing prawn cakes!

Sightseeing

One of my very favourite parts about the day was visiting an area for elephant trekking! There was also a nearby waterfall that you could swim in which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me - there's something so liberating about swimming in a natural pool with a bunch of people you don't know who are just as excited by it as you are!


The elephant trekking was also a major highlight and something that I've wanted to do for a really long time. We got to trek for about half an hour through natural Thai landscape with an elephant carer, as well as feed the elephants! They're such beautiful creatures and I felt so lucky to be able to spend time with them!

Overlooking panoramic views of Koh Samui beaches and coastline

1. Join societies

2. Movie nights

3. Chat with your classmates

4. Join a sports team or gym class

5. Check out local pubs or bars

While you may not like drinking or clubbing, it's a lot easier to go to the student bar or a local pub with some of your friends. Pubs are much quieter, very chilled out and have a large range of non-alcoholic drinks. When you're hanging out with your friends over a plate of fries, you won't feel too uncomfortable if you're the only one not drinking as it's not nearly as obvious! 

And there you go - let me know what you think of my list and what else you like to get up to at uni when you don't feel like a night out!

A-level results came out a couple of weeks ago and a whole new lot of freshers will now be getting ready for university. I thought I'd take advantage of this super exciting time to do a little blog series in the lead up to the start of freshers week, which will hopefully be useful to some of you new university students out there!

Packing for university is an excitement and stress that I know all too well. It's so difficult to have to look around your room and sort out what you want to take with you, and what to leave behind. I'm sure there's tons of lists out there telling you what to take (check out my best friend's list here), so instead I just want to give you a short list of a few random little bits and pieces that are easy to forget about, but still extremely useful!

1. A doorstop

Alright, maybe you've heard about this one already, but a doorstop is seriously useful! Prop your door open as you're moving in and it'll be a lot easier for you to strike up a conversation with your new flatmates. As term goes on, you'll be grateful for the doorstop as it makes it so much easier to move between rooms in your flat! Just be aware though - some universities don't allow doorstops due to fire hazards, so make sure to check before you go breaking any rules. Another thing to remember is that doors in halls are usually pretty heavy, so make sure to get a really strong, durable door stop that'll keep your door firmly open.

2. Spare passport photos

Something you might not usually think of, but it's really helpful to have some spare passport photos lying around as you'll need them for odd bits and bobs like your new student card, a railcard if you get one (more about that later!) or perhaps some forms that you need to fill out. You can easily get passport photos done cheaply in places like shopping malls or the airport.

3. A drying rack

There isn't normally much space in university halls for hanging clothes and such, and you'll have to pay a lot of money to use the tumble dryer (I'd rather spend my £4 on food!), so a small drying rack is a great thing to have for after you've done your washing. You can buy them from any supermarket-type place - I got mine from wilko's - and lots prop up against the radiator to make drying clothes even quicker.

4. Extra money

Freshers week is expensive, there's no denying it. Between spending money on society memberships, stocking up on any essentials you may have forgotten to bring from home and partying your way through the week (if you're that way inclined), you're going to need a bit more money than you would normally need for your average week.

5. Photos

I'm not going to lie to you guys, university dorm rooms can be pretty bland. Make sure you've got a few photos developed to stick on your walls or pinboard and brighten up the place.

6. A tin of biscuits/chocolates

This one isn't completely necessary, but a great thing to have while you're moving in. It's a lot easier to socialise with new flatmates if you've got a bit of nice food to offer them! Go knock on the flat next door as well, offer them a biscuit and get chatting. Everybody loves food, so this one's a no-brainer. Those chocolates will be great for calming your nerves later, too.

7. Pack of cards

A pack of cards are essential for bonding with flatmates - they provide a multitude of fun. It's such an obvious thing to have but often gets forgotten, so make sure you've got some.

8. Fancy dress

University is full of fancy dress parties of absolutely every variety, so try to take as many fancy dress items as you can fit in your luggage! Seems a bit random, but you won't regret it when you've got a Where's Wally or Harry Potter themed fancy dress party at some point in freshers week.

9. Student railcard

This one's a little pricier, but definitely worth the investment if you haven't already got one. You're going to be travelling across the country to and from uni multiple times a year, so railcards can save you a lot of money. As far as I remember, it's £75 for a student railcard (age 16-25) which should last 3 years, perfect for the length of your degree, and gets you 1/3 off the price of normal train journeys.

10. Extension leads

And last but not least, it's easy to forget that there may not be many plug sockets in your new uni room, or at least not enough to reach your desk or bedside. Extension leads are easy to store, and super useful for all of your electronics.

There's obviously tons more things you'll need, but this is just a quick summary of a few useful things that would be easy to forget! Leave me a comment below if you've got any more suggestions, or need any university packing advice!

To cover the minion, we used yellow buttercream (frosting). A lot of people who've made cakes like this before have used fondant icing instead which does look really good, but I prefer the taste of buttercream and find it much easier to work with. It can be really difficult to get fondant/moulding icing to look just as perfect as you want!


However, we did use moulding icing for details like the arms, legs, eye and dungarees. Since these are smaller parts it was easier to manipulate the icing to look exactly how we wanted. Make sure you colour or buy moulding icing in yellow, black and blue for the different sections.

With the icing, make one white circle, one slightly larger grey circle and one small black circle for the eye. Complete this with a thin black band to go round the back of the minion's head.

Next, for the overalls, make four squares of blue - two long thin rectangles for the sides and two smaller squares for the front. You'll also need two long thin strips of blue for the overall straps, and a tiny little blue square for the overall pocket. Complete the look with small black buttons and, if the cake is for a birthday, you can even make their birthday number to stick on the overall pocket.





Next, make two yellow arms with little black gloves and two blue legs with little black feet to add onto the minion. These should be fairly easy to shape freehand, just try your best to make them symmetrical! If you find it difficult to keep the arms up, you can put cocktail sticks inside them to keep them upright. We used a chocolate button for the brown section of the eye and added a tiny little black icing circle as the pupil. Stick them on with either drippy icing or jam!



And there you have it! One beautiful birthday minion. Hope you liked this recipe, and do let me know if you decide to make your own minion!

Pretty much as soon as I arrived off the train, Steph dragged me straight off to Wagamama's. I've never been before but it's her favourite restaurant so I was desperate to try it out and I can definitely confirm that I am a new Wagamama's lover! The food is so great and makes you feel really healthy at the same time. I had the Yasai Yaki Soba, which you can see below in all its glory...


Of course, after stuffing our faces with Wagamama's, we proceeded to shop for a good couple of hours. If you know Steph at all, you'll know she loves retail therapy and I'm definitely not opposed to spending my time picking up some new bits and bobs (Primark and New Look are my favourites). After shopping, we spent a little time chilling out in a gorgeous little park area and then exploring the pier.



I absolutely adore the beach so I knew I was always going to love Bournemouth. The weather was super lovely and it was just wonderful to spend some time with one of my favourite people in such a beautiful place!




We spent my second day exploring bits of Bournemouth that Steph hadn't found before, mainly a cute little garden-y area just outside of the town.



And of course, you can never go to a pretty place on a lovely day without feeling the need to take a mini photo shoot, although I must admit I'm extremely camera shy! Find below the awkward results of Steph attempting to take nice photos of me...



After a few awkward photos and many many laughs, we just spent a bit of time wandering the gardens, having a good old natter and, of course, taking photos of many-a-flower for Instagram.



Finally, we rounded off the day with a good old pizza at Zizzi's, another one of Steph's favourite places. Pizza is pretty much my all-time favourite food, so you can only imagine how happy this made me! Zizzi's, of course, did not disappoint.


And that's pretty much it! My only complaint about the weekend would be that it was far too short. I would love to go back sometime and hopefully that'll be possible next year at some point. If you're ever in the UK and find yourself with the chance to visit Bournemouth, I would definitely recommend!

P.S. Steph also made a vlog of our weekend together; you can check it out here...


Enjoy!