laurel bee

In food,

Summer BBQ & potato salad recipe

We've been so lucky this past week to have had some truly fabulous weather, and my housemates and I thought it would be a nice idea to have a summery BBQ one evening (well, it was my idea really, but they did go along with it rather spiffingly).

As the evening rolled around, Katie and I set off on the hike to Tesco to pick up all the bits and bobs we needed. Armed with a wedge of shopping bags, my trusty backpack and our extensive list, I felt a bit of a throwback to my primary school days when I'd come home from school and go to the shop with my mum and brother to pick out things for tea. We picked up burgers and sausages (veggie ones for me, of course) with bread rolls, our favourite crisps (salt and vinegar Kettle Chips), couscous, and ingredients for my potato salad (recipe below), as well as some Pimms, lemonade, and strawberries, oranges and mint to go in the drinks.

I thought it would be nice to have some veg in there too, so I had the idea to make a potato salad, as I've always loved them at BBQs I've been to in the past. While I'll admit it is a pretty simple thing to make, I'd never done one before so was quite pleased when it turned out alright. You can find the recipe for what I made below; all of the ingredients I bought from Tesco.

Simple summery potato salad

Ingredients

1 bag of baby/new potatoes

1 small tub of cherry tomatoes

1 bunch of spring onions

1 small packet of baby corn

1 packet of coriander

Mayonnaise

Method

1. Wash the potatoes and chop them into chunks.

2. Put the potatoes into a saucepan filled with water and bring them to a boil, along with the baby corn. They should take about 20 minutes to boil.

3. In the meantime, set about washing and chopping the rest of the veg.

4. When the potatoes and corn are done, chop the corn into smaller slices and put them both onto a plate to cool for a while. Once they're cool, throw all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix them up.

5. To finish it off, drizzle some mayonnaise over the mixture to bind it all together, and mix it again.

Since we don't actually have any (usable) patio furniture, we brought Katie's desk outside along with the wooden chairs from our dining table. I think the three of us looked quite funny sat outside on our weed-filled patio with lovely indoor furniture - basically the opposite of Joey and Chandler in Friends.

The weather has been so lovely recently, and having a BBQ was a great way to enjoy it. Katie and I have been talking a bit recently about how we feel guilty if we stay home when the weather is so nice, but this was a perfect way to stay home and be comfy and yet still make the most of it.

In lifestyle,

The big 2-1

For those of you reading who don't know me personally, I turned 21 last week, on the 8th June, which means that I can legally get a pilot's license for a gyroplane, apply to adopt a child or supervise a learning driver. That's not to say that any of these will actually have any kind of effect on me, but I can now legally drink in Dubai, the city my parents live in, which means that visits home from now on will be a lot more fun. Bring on the brunches!

Sadly I was quite ill last week, so I spent most of my actual birthday cuddled up on the sofa underneath my favourite blanket (which just so happens to be my housemate's - thanks Katie). My housemates and I had a Harry Potter marathon instead of the trip to Topsham we'd originally planned, but anyone who knows me will know that a Harry Potter marathon is pretty much my idea of the perfect day anyway, so I wasn't complaining too much. Starting at midday, after some exciting card and present opening (more on that later), we managed to get through the first three films before Cari came home from work. In the evening, we got ready to go out and vote in the General Election and go for dinner at my favourite place, Nando's (in case you're wondering, my order of choice is the beanie wrap, lemon and herb, with halloumi and sweet potato wedges). When we came home, my housemates put some candles on the M&S Percy Pig cupcakes that my mum had ordered for me and sang happy birthday - and of course we caught up on that night's episode of Love Island (our current guilty pleasure TV show).

Although my mum lives abroad, she still managed to make it really special for me by sending lots of cards and small presents in my suitcase when I came back after Easter, and by sending the cupcakes, a chocolate champagne bottle from Thorntons and some lovely colourful helium balloons in the post. The balloons came in an absolutely enormous cardboard box, and my housemates and I had just as much fun playing in the box as we did with the balloons! My lovely friends Kirsty and Abi who are both on a year abroad at the moment also sent me some gorgeous 'letterbox flowers' - a bouquet of flowers that are flattened into a long, thin cardboard box that fits through the letterbox - which was the most wonderful surprise.

My housemates also got me some really lovely presents which they gave me at Nando's. The first was a toy Baby Groot (see if you can spot him in the picture above), who is one of my favourite characters of all time, from Guardians of the Galaxy 2. They also got me a voucher for a local spa, a gorgeous tin of biscuits, and made me two hilarious homemade cards, filled with house jokes. We had an earlier night on my actual birthday, and I spent the majority of the next day sleeping and resting up as much as possible in preparation for my party on Friday night.

I've never actually really been one for big parties. I find them quite overwhelming to attend, especially when you don't know everyone, and I'd usually choose a casual evening at the pub over an actual party, which is what I did for my birthday last year. However, with this one being my 21st, and it being the end of our final term at uni, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to get all of my favourite people together for one last time before we all go our separate ways until grad week. My brother and his girlfriend even came down to Exeter for the night, so it was really lovely to have some family there as well as all of my closest friends.

The venue I chose for the evening is a really nice bar in town called Monkey Suit. They have two rooms upstairs that are available to hire for private events: a bar room and a club room, the latter of which I chose to make sure that we had plenty of essential dance space! The club room has a private bar, DJ booth where you can plug your phone in to play your own music, lots of wooden tables, chairs and cosy sofas around the edge of the room, and a dancefloor, complete with flashing lights and some lovely fairy lights too. God knows I'm a sucker for fairy lights. Monkey Suit do the best cocktails, and we were really lucky to have my friend Laura serving us that night, who looked after us very well. They also do a student discount of 50% off for the room bookings, which I thought was pretty incredible.

The outfit I wore is a black velvet playsuit from Urban Outfitters. Priced at £42, it was a little on the expensive side for me, and although I had decided to treat myself for my birthday, when I got to the till it turned out to be only £18 in the sale, and £16.40 with my student discount - an absolute bargain! You can't see from these photos, but it has a more open back with criss-crossed straps which is a really nice, funky touch, and makes the playsuit feel a little bit fancier. I teamed it with my trusty black converse of course - perfect for dancing!

All in all, I had a really lovely evening. It was so nice to be able to have all of my best friends in one room together, and to spend time with them all. The beauty of having a private room is that your evening becomes all the best parts of a good club night with none of the drawbacks - no queuing, your own music, fast service and all lovely people. My brother had a great idea to buy a bottle of prosecco to share, and he got all of my housemates to sign the cork, so I've got that to hold on to as a really nice souvenir. The whole night just made me feel so very lucky to be surrounded by such fabulous friends, and it really was the perfect way to round off the end of term for me.

It feels weird to finally be 21. Although I don't actually feel any older (let's be honest, who does?), I do seem to have an awareness that this is the real deal now (adulthood. I'm talking about adulthood). It's scary to think about the next chapter in my life - there'll be a whole new post on that which you can all look forward to - but whatever happens, I'm very grateful that this last one has been so full of joy.

In travel,

I left my heart in Lyme Regis

Ever since coming to Exeter, I've wanted to visit Lyme Regis. I had seen so many gorgeous photographs of it, pinned far too many blog posts on Pinterest and envied any friends who had already had the chance to visit. Lo and behold, as you've probably already read from my other recent posts, now that we've finished exams we've been presented with the perfect opportunity to explore as many places as we possibly can before we inevitably (sob) graduate in July.

So the three of us packed ourselves into Cari's little yellow car, Bobby, and headed for the seaside. Having grown up on a little island where you never had to drive very far to get where you wanted (my best friend and I lived on opposite sides of the island, and it took twenty minutes to get to her house - travelling at the speed limit of 35 mph no less), I've always enjoyed going for longer rides. Not that this was particularly long - after about fifty minutes we were there - but I loved the experience of driving through the countryside with my housemates, belting out our favourite cheesy tunes. It is also possible to get to Lyme Regis from Exeter using public transport, if you take the half hour train to Axminster and then catch a bus for twenty minutes, though it's slightly more complex than your typical ten minute train ride to the coast which was why we decided to drive on this day.

The drive was absolutely beautiful, speeding along wide highways and winding around tiny lanes, overlooking the rolling green hills and - eventually - catching that long-awaited first sight of the sea.

Even as we drove through Lyme Regis for the first time looking for a parking space, we could already tell that we were going to absolutely adore this place. The streets were small and windy, lined with colourful houses and kooky shops filled with knick-knacks, and littered with excited, summery tourists. After finding a parking space, we began exploring immediately, slipping into a couple of the shops to admire all of the gorgeous things we couldn't afford. We also found a fossil shop which was absolutely fascinating, filled with massive fossils of sea creatures that were millions of years old. Lyme Regis is famous for its fossils, so it was amazing to actually see some of the ones that had been found in the local area in person.

After the fossil shop, we couldn't contain our excitement any further, and began to head to the seafront. On the way, a little outdoor entrance to a theatre caught my eye (typical drama student, me) and we peeked in - and thank goodness we did, because it led to the most beautiful view over the sea and the surrounding coastline!

After finally having got a proper look at the seafront, we couldn't quite contain our excitement any longer, and quickly made our way down to the beach. Since it was a Sunday, the whole place was completely alive with people, helping themselves to ice creams from the charming little boutiques and enjoying the sunshine. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we loved walking along the front, taking in all of the sights - children playing in the sand, older couples sitting in their pastel beach houses, and, of course, the most wonderful array of dogs.

I felt so envious of the couples we saw who owned beach houses, and thought of how lovely it would be to retire somewhere as peaceful as this, and spend your days sitting outside on the beach, reading a book or watching the world go by. I also loved the the lamp posts, curling over into the shape of a fossil - the most charming, thoughtful touch.

We helped ourselves to three servings (one each, I'm not just super greedy) of fish and chips - a seaside essential - and made our way to the top of the Jane Austen garden where we found a bench to sit, enjoy the view and soak in all of the wonderfulness of the day. Jane Austen herself actually lived in Lyme Regis for some months in 1803/04, and used the town as a setting in her novel Persuasion. Close to the garden is the Cobb, which is the harbour at Lyme Regis, and stars in The French Lieutenant's Woman (to put it simply, Meryl Streep stood on the Cobb. Enough said). Considering how small and quaint this town is, it sure has seen some famous faces.

After sitting in the gardens for a while, enjoying our chips and chatting about how much we wanted to retire early so that we could move to Lyme Regis, we made our way back along the seafront to return to the outdoor area by the theatre, where there was a cool busker playing. I always really love listening to live music, and this was the most beautiful setting.

While we'd chosen to go right from the viewpoint area to walk along the beach, earlier I had seen a lovely little pathway to the left of the theatre that I wanted to go back to. There was some beautiful wooden fencing angling its way up the hill that I knew would give us an amazing view, and make for the loveliest photographs - always thinking about that Insta!

Next, we made our way back into the town to find a rather famous bookshop which, as English students, was a lot of the reason why we were so keen to come to Lyme Regis in the first place! The bookshop is called The Sanctuary, and also doubles as a B&B, so you can hire one of two rooms to stay the night, either overlooking the sea or the land. Everywhere you look, the shop is piled high with books. Spanning multiple rooms and floors, we spent a good hour or so working our way through all of the second-hand books they had. My favourite area was down the stairs, where they had a room with a low ceiling and comfy sofas, complete with a gorgeous record player and a huge array of vinyl records to choose from.

We eventually made our way out of the shop with a sizeable pile of books between us, and finally made our way back to the beach to get a highly anticipated ice cream before we finally began to make our way back home, from a little ice cream shop called Mollie's that we'd spotted earlier on in the day. I chose a toffee fudge ice cream with a waffle cone and flake (of course), and we sat on the wall by the beach to soak up the last of the sun - the perfect end to a lovely day.

In lifestyle,

Poltimore Festival

In travel,

A trip to Teignmouth

Now that I'm well and truly finished with my degree, my friends and I have started to truly take advantage of our new-found freedom by properly exploring Exeter and the surrounding area in the few weeks we have left in this gorgeous city.

Next up on my list was Teignmouth. Just twenty minutes on the train from Exeter, a short while along from Dawlish, it's another easily accessible seaside town, perfect for a chilled out afternoon trip.

Located on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign (thanks, Wikipedia), Teignmouth has a lovely walking route along the coast overlooking the water. While it wasn't the loveliest day weather-wise, it was perfect for a good old walk, so we set off walking up and down the coastal path, admiring anyone brave enough to have ventured into the water.

After building up an appetite, we then went to find ourselves the perfect place to eat. Although central Teignmouth seemed fairly small - especially considering it was a Sunday when most shops tend to be shut - we stumbled across a lovely little place called The Lemon Tree. It seemed meant to be, since my favourite cafe back home in Dubai is called The Lime Tree! We both chose paninis (mine was cheese and chutney), which were served with tortilla chips, a side salad and coleslaw.

After lunch, we had another wander through the town, admiring the little shops and pubs, and wishing they were open so we could have more of an explore! We then made our way back to the waterfront again, where there was an old pier, complete with lots of little arcade games. Luckily at this point the sun began to come out for us again, and we enjoyed sitting out on the pier, watching all of the funny little pigeons and admiring the passing dogs, of course.

As we began to head back to the train station, after catching a whiff of a nearby fish and chip shop, we couldn't resist stopping to share a small bag of chips between us - for only 99p! A trip to the seaside definitely isn't complete without a good old fish and chips, so this was the perfect end to a lovely little afternoon. Despite the cloudy weather, Teignmouth was truly charming, and I was glad to have another place ticked off my list.

In books,

The post-degree reading slump

When I asked to write this article for my student newspaper, I described my idea as ‘a piece about transitioning back to reading for pleasure now my degree is over’, but I’m going to be honest with you. At risk of sounding overly dramatic, the ‘transition’ has been a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I’m a final year English & Drama student, which means I’ve done more than my fair share of reading over the past three years of my degree. Having to read at least one novel a week – not to mention secondary reading – can become pretty exhausting, so I never blamed myself when it got to the holidays and the last thing I wanted to do was pick up yet another book and read for pleasure.

As the end of third year loomed, my friends and I began to chat excitedly about the first books we would choose to read for pleasure at the end of our degrees. Like the typical English student I am, I planned a trip to Waterstones the week of my final deadline as a post-dissertation treat, eager to finally be able to choose a book of my own to read. In case you’re wondering, the books at the top of my list at the moment are Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (my first book of choice from Waterstones that week), Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan (one that I’ve admittedly had tucked away for a while).

When it came to the actual day, however, picking up a book and reading for fun wasn’t nearly as easy or enjoyable as I expected. After spending weeks agonising over the same 8,000 words and reading book after book for my final deadlines, my brain seemed to shut down. Instead of the blissfully relaxing reading experience I’d been hoping for, in which I imagined myself ploughing through the tens of books I’d missed out on over the past three years, my mind seemed to reject anything I tried to read for longer than a couple of minutes.

After talking to a few friends about my frustrations, it became apparent that I wasn’t alone in feeling this way. When trying to explain the experience to one of my course-mates I rationed that, after running a marathon, your body physically needs a rest – and that’s exactly my mind seems to have felt. For the time being, I’ve been slowly working my way through Dear Ijeawele, which is written in short sections and makes for an easier read than some of the longer novels I’d been eyeing up. Nevertheless, I’ve realised that it’s okay to take a bit of a break from reading after finishing a course – but the wonderful thing is that all the best books will still be waiting for you when you’re ready to come back to them.

Originally published in Exepose.

In food,

Rabbit Vegan Cafe

Over the past three years of living in Exeter, I've been so lucky to have had the chance to experience some really lovely cafes, catering for so many different types of people. If you've read my 'about' page, you'll know that I've been pescetarian for almost nine years now (I eat fish, but not meat). This means that, more often than not, I'll dine from the vegetarian section of the menu - something which truly bemuses my housemate's boyfriend considering that Nando's is my favourite place to eat out (my go-to order is the beanie wrap, lemon and herb spicing with added halloumi and sweet potato wedges - trust me on this one).

Although vegetarian menus can often be quite limiting, Exeter's done well to branch out and has a wide range of options - from full-on meat restaurants to more obliging places with larger menus, and even a few veggie-only cafes. Nevertheless, I was absolutely thrilled when Rabbit opened in Exeter last year - an entirely plant-based, vegan cafe.

Rabbit, located on Well Street, is what I like to think of as the "sister shop" to Seasons, a vegan convenience store two doors down. Owned by the same family, as a result of Seasons' success, they decided to open up a cafe alongside the store in order to cater to a wider range of customers, demonstrating to people how vegan food isn't just all about salads - in fact, it can be pretty darn delicious.

Now, I must admit - it took me almost a year before I got round to making my debut trip to Rabbit (busy student life and all that), but believe me when I tell you that it was worth the wait. With an extensive menu, split between 'virtue' (healthier options) and 'vice' (what I like to call "vegan junk food"), as well as a range of homemade desserts and vegan drinks, I was absolutely spoiled for choice.

After a good ten minutes spent deliberating between the deluxe cheezeburger and the tofu dog, I eventually opted for the cheezeburger (partly because my friend Ashton did the same, and in that situation I always go for what the other person's having so there's no chance of food-envy.

And no food-envy there was, because let me tell you - this cheezeburger was absolutely AMAZING. Never have I had such an incredible burger, and to think that it was all entirely vegan as well was beyond me. Served with a side salad (and you get to choose your own dressing) and crisps of outstanding quality, the burger itself was described as a 'protein-rich seitan burger'. I'd never had a seitan burger before (after a quick Google I've only just found out that seitan is a type of wheat gluten), but it did not disappoint. I've always preferred burgers that are pretending to be meat as opposed to burgers made up of beans or veggies, so this went down an absolute treat. Sandwiched in with cheeze, onion, lettucce, relish and mayo, I would go back to Rabbit in an instant for another one of these bad boys.

After lunch I treated myself to a cheeky hot chocolate - again, all entirely vegan, of course. Complete with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallows and even Lotus biscuits, this really was the hot chocolate of dreams. The waiter had actually forgotten about my order until I gently reminded him (he was one of my friends, so it wasn't too awkward - usually I hate those situations), so he made it extra 'deluxe' in consolation, which was the sweetest touch.

Something I really loved about Rabbit was that the place had the friendliest vibe, and you can tell that everyone who works there really cares about serving good quality vegan food. There were vegan flyers and magazines on the counter-tops, and the waiters were happy to chat about their vegan lifestyles and make recommendations for their favourite items on the menu. Unfortunately, after my cheezeburger and hot chocolate I was way too full for cake, but if it's as good as it looks I can assure you it's fantastic (check them out on Instagram at @rabbitvegancafe to get a closer look).

All in all, I'd recommend this place to herbivores and carnivores alike. Whether you're interested in the vegan lifestyle or just out for lunch with friends, Rabbit has something for everyone, and at a fairly reasonable price, too. Definitely check it out, and you may even see me there - I've still got to go back for that tofu dog, after all.

Pages

Summer BBQ & potato salad recipe

The big 2-1

I left my heart in Lyme Regis

Poltimore Festival

A trip to Teignmouth

The post-degree reading slump

Rabbit Vegan Cafe

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