Spring Madness

So much has happened this Spring that I haven't had time to properly blog. I'm hoping to start dedicating more time to blogging at the end of the month once my life settles back down again.

So the biggest news is that I have officially moved to Northern Ireland! I have a part time job working for Her Majesty's Passport Office and I'm settling in well. Jonathan and I are enjoying living together and spending much more time with eachother. We're enjoying having a tasty home cooked vegan dinner together in the evenings and cuddling up with the duvet on the sofa and a film.

Here's some posts from my instagram over the last few weeks..

• We constructed our first Ikea bed! Jonathan was obviously pretty happy about this...
• The new member of the family! Meet Reginald, known as Reggie to his friends. He's a little albino gerbil I felt sorry for after all his brothers were sold in my local pets at home. This little guy was on his own for months but thanks to a friend who works there who had an old gerbilarium cage she was able to give me the little furry face has a new home! I'll be bringing my two girls, Florence and Clio, over in two weeks, though they'll be in separate cages as I'm not prepared for baby gerbils! I can't wait to have our little family all together including Jonathan's two bearded dragons Moz and Marr. 
• Jonathan turned 24 last month so we decided to spend the day at one of the local National Trust properties, Castle Ward. It's a stunning location and it was such a beautiful afternoon that we tromped around the grounds and left the actual house for another time (there's a big secondhand book and record event in the autumn we're interested in). 
• I've been training for my first 5km which is this Sunday!! The event is Race for Life and raises money for Cancer Research UK, if anyone wants to sponsor me please go to my justgiving page. Thankyou! :) Jonathan and I are hoping to find a 10km event in the autumn and are aiming to run the Bath half marathon next year, fingers crossed!
• We had some gorgeous weather recently so here's Jonathan at Victoria Squares viewing platform in Belfast. 
• Leaving for work face.
• Lorde inspired make up.
• At the end of March I went to Birmingham to see Interpol with my good friend, Davy. It was a fun night with a tasty meal at Las Igaunas followed by a band I've wanted to see since I was 14! 
• Jonathan's been so supportive recently with all the changes in my life, I'd be lost without him. He's a very special dinosaur! 
• One of Jonathan's birthday presents from me... a HUGE canvas map of Middle Earth. I wanted it to go above the fireplace but it seems I may have ordered a tad too big! Still it's a great piece for our living room.
• I went to my first Magic the Gathering prerelease event for the new set, Journey Into Nyx. I chose white as my main deck is a green/white midgame deck. I ended up doing really well coming 7th out of 24 and even beating Jonathan! I've met some really ace people down at the club where we play and Friday Night Magic is part of our weekly social life.

Phew! We're heading back to England this weekend for my 5km, dental surgery (boo!) and my 24th birthday so I'll probably still be a little absent until we're back. I have lots of things planned. I hope you're all having a wonderful Spring and thankyou for your patience. 

Love always,
Amy xx

My vegan journey

Homemade garlic and oregano bread with wholewheat pasta and roasted vegetables.

I've been wanting to do an post on how my journey into veganism has been going. I've now been fully vegan since Christmas and I'm proud of my progress so far. I still really miss cheese and eggs and bacon sandwiches but it'll take a long time until those cravings past - and I'm pleased to say I haven't caved! I'm going to split this post into a few sections to make it easier for me to be focused and not repeat myself.

Porridge made with water, dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, desiccated coconut and pumpkin seeds.

Food and cooking. 
I've always enjoyed cooking and baking, it's just something that helps me relieve stress and anxiety. For years I got lazy with my cooking, I was never a fan of ready meals but I did use alot of pre-made sauces and wasn't too bothered about my health. Since becoming vegetarian last year and now vegan one of the things I wanted to accomplish was eating healthier and looking after my body. I've been plagued for years with illnesses and problems with my health and I just want to help my body anyway I can. So I'm always doing my research and I'm learning to incorporate a wide variety of vegetables, pulses and fruits into my diet to get as many health benefits as I possibly can. Since becoming more health conscious I've also dived back into cooking from scratch, which is cheaper and quicker than I first thought, as a way of knowing what good things are in my food. I now know exactly what is my food, I add little to no salt and there are no preservatives in my cooking. I already feel generally more energetic (which is a big thing for a girl with chronic fatigue!) and little, niggling problems I had with my health have disappeared.

Black bean and vegetable chilli with rice and soya yoghurt. 

Yes, I miss some foods but I know I'm looking after myself. I'm also doing my bit to help provide sustainable food sources for future generations (the meat industry is not sustainable with global population growth) and everything I eat is cruelty free. To conter with my helping animals I'm also trying to buy more things that are fair trade and ethically produced. This also includes trying to buy more locally sourced food where possible, I can't wait for my Mum's garden to explode with goodies during harvest season! My Mum has noticed food bills in general have dropped since she's trying to have more vegan meals for weight loss reasons and although sometimes buying something seems expensive they last for several meals making them cheaper in the longrun. Now, I don't want to be one of those vegans who preach all the time and I've been assured by my family I'm not, but I do want to be an advocate for healthy and nutritional diets. To do this adapting more vegetarian or vegan meals into your life is the best way, so why not try having a vegan day once a week? You'll be suprised at the wealth of delicious recipes to try! :)

Vegan vanilla fairy cakes with sultanas. 

Clothing and Make-up. 
To be honest clothing was pretty easy for me as sheep's wool makes my skin come up in rashes so I tend to avoid it. The hardest thing has been leather shoes! I've found so many gorgeous shoes and boots I want but can't have because they're leather. It is great seeing more high street stores using PU plastic to make shoes and boots, it looks and feels like leather and I think it'll be great to see more styles on the shelves soon! I think it's much easier than it used to be to get animal friendly clothing. Again, same with the food I'm looking to start looking for more ethical sources for my clothing but it'll be a long journey and alot of research required.

Homemade Sweet and sour sauce with tofu and vegetables.

Make-up has also been a challenge, I've always been against animal testing for cosmetic reasons and I already tried to avoid brands I knew where known to be animal testers. Since being vegan more research meant I discovered more brands and was devastated to learn how big the industry was. Luckily, from March 24th animal testing for cosmetics in Europe has been banned for ingredients and products. I'm waiting a few weeks but I'm pleased to say any new products released here will now not be tested on animals, no matter the brand.

Vegan lasagne with tofu, spinach, tomato and vegetable sauce and a breadcrumb and garlic topping.

Family. 
My family have been really supportive of my choice with both my Gran and Mum taking elements of the diet side into their own diets. My Gran has asked me for recipes and my Mum looks forward to nights when I'm cooking. Even my brother has adapted to using the soya mince in shepherds pies without fuss. No-one has ridiculed me and I feel blessed to be apart of such an accepting and loving family. I understand it can be difficult for some people to understand and accept, and I have had friends outrightly disagree with me, but that;s their choice. I think the hardest thing would be as a teenager who still relies on their parents for food as it can be hard to be cooking several meals at once with a family but it is possible and maybe they will learn to enjoy vegan cuisine!

Vegan pancakes.

If anyone has any questions about veganism, recipes or healthy diets then please feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply.
To follow more of my vegan cooking/baking adventures follow my instagram: amehduck or my twitter: hovercrab . :)

Vegan chocolate brownies.

Remember what the dormouse said "Feed your head"

Yesterday was a very exciting day for me because after waiting over three weeks my Alice In Wonderland tights finally arrived! These are one of my many eBay bargains and as an Alice fan how could I resist? They were shipped from Hong Kong, hence the long delivery wait,  and I am so pleased with the product. The one problem I found is that as I'm 5'8 the tights are a little too short but I just about managed to get them up my legs! Anyone taller then me I'm afraid I feel your pain with buying tights and having to buy large or extra large! As a result if you see these advertised anywhere as 'one size', as mine were, and you're over 5'8 you probably won't be able to get them all the way up your legs which is a shame. ): 

I spent a while deciding what to wear with these beauties and settled on a vintage monochrome look to complement the tights without overpowering them. I did wear heeled ankle boots while taking the pictures but I can't walk in heels very long with my condition so I switched to flats when I went to the supermarket in the evening. I also stole another opportunity to wear my wig as I won't be able to wear it for a few weeks while I'm in Northern Ireland (I'm a little worried about it going out of shape or something in the suitcase cos of how full it usually is). Make up wise I went with grey smokey eyes (boots 17 collection) and a muted lipstick (boots natural collection) for a gothic feel to the ensemble. I loved how this worked with the wig and the outfit as a whole as it was striking without being overpowering. I adore this look so much and I wish I was able to go out more to show it off! 

Not alot else has happened the past few days. I went to the doctors today to discuss my asthma and he was wonderful and reassuring and I'm glad I have him on my side with all my medical problems at the moment. I start my CBT next week via telephone so going to really tackle the anxiety problems I have currently. I'm meant to be sewing at the moment as I have some projects to finish but I've been so tired this week I have hardly the energy to read half the time! ): 

Books I have read this past week: 

Patricia Cornwell - The Body Farm (4/5)

Patricia Cornwell - Potters Field (4/5)

Patricia Cornwell - Cause of Death (3/5)

Erin Morgenstern - Night Circus (5/5)

Currently reading: 

John Harding - Florence and Giles

If anyone would like to see other ratings I've given books or what kinds of books I read then please add me on Goodreads. My name is Amy Maries on there as it's linked with my facebook. I'd love to see what other people read so it'll be great to have some more friends. :)

I'm going to Taunton tomorrow with my Mum to get a new supply of henna hair dye from Lush (I use caca rouge) and probably pop into some of the shops there. I would have got some Tuesday from Bath with my physio but my asthma was still bad so I had to cancel. My lungs are improving again though so fingers crossed I have no more trips to a&e! 

Outfit Details.

Lace blouse - made by my Mum, PU skirt - river island, alice tights - ebay, lace up heeled ankle boots - forever 21, wig - ebay and owl pocket watch necklace - gift.