Weekly wisdom #11

Don't overwork it, don't underwork it. Nourish it right, don't deprive it. 

Make it feel good. 

True, when it comes to our bodies, not everything is completely within our control; sometimes things f*ck up when we least expect it. What we can choose, though, is how we consistently treat them. A little Aretha-style R-E-S-P-E-C-T can go a long way. People and places come and go, but the only person and space that's guaranteed to accompany you fo' life is you and your body. A cliché it may be, but your body is a temple and it oughta be treated accordingly.

So give that vessel the respect and ❤ it deserves: 'cos you're worth it. 

Raw VGN cashew-choco cookie dough

There'll always be the sceptics that don't and won't and can't and shan't rate raw, vegan, refined sugar-free desserts. And that's cool, each to their own (more for me). But I'm personally not in that party, and am an absolute upholder of the fact that eating mostly plant based, unrefined whole foods does not-in-the-slightest equate to bland, flavourless food – quite the opposite. This experimental little cookie dough number is a total testament to that.   

Mini rant over, time to get to the good stuff. For a big bowl of cookie dough – which you can either eat straight off the spoon or pop in the freezer on a tray and cut into bite-sized pieces – you will need: 

> 1 cup oats

> 1 cup cashews

> a couple of pinches of sea salt (I like the pink Himalayan variety, but any will do just fine)

> 1 tsp vanilla extract

> 5 dates (pitted)

> 2-4 tbsp agave syrup 

> a dash of almond milk (or other milk of your choice)

> a handful of cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips 

> optional: 1 tsp maca powder // 1 tbsp chia seeds

Lil hint: a strong food processor/blender is important, as the dates and cashews need quite a bit of blending power! 

Make:

1) Blend the oats, cashews, agave, vanilla extract and sea salt. Sprinkle in some maca powder if you fancy an extra superfood boost.

2) Add in the dates a couple at a time, pulsing and adding almond milk to help smoothen the consistency and aid the blending. 

3) Transfer mix into a bowl, then add your chocolate chips (and chia seeds if you're putting them in). 

4) Get a spoon and eat it right away, or put in the freezer for 30-60 mins so it sets a little.

Weekly wisdom #10

The simplest of slogans, and indeed the most fundamental of life functions, but it's amazing how easy it is to forget to just b r e a t h e – as in, really, breathe. It's something I often need to remind myself (and incidentally now you, too). Just for good measure, enjoy this lil musical nudge courtesy of Nao:

Issues that Matter: stand up for slow journalism

Indiegogo Campaign from Matter Magazine on Vimeo.

To me, switching off from my near entirely screen-oriented life with a good coffee and a good read is the ultimate kinda luxury. No doubt, I'm not the only one who cherishes those ever-rare moments of disconnected down time! 

Though the digitally dominated sphere has certainly had its negative ramifications for the print world, there's simultaneously - and happily, for me - been a refreshing resurgence in high quality, carefully curated creative publications. It's within this realm of top-notch, tangible reading material that Matter Magazine (founded by my achingly astute and straight up lovely friend Annie Fairchild) is firmly positioned. A first class amalgam of beautiful design, photography and academic essays, Matter is a creative crusader for slow journalism amidst our fast news culture. 

So: this is an unapologetic shout out to a very praiseworthy project that can only keep running with a little (monetary) lovin'. For its upcoming issue, 'A Lens Inverted - Essays on Great Britain,' Matter is raising funds via Indiegogo - with sweet perks for the benevolent backers. 

This is a different sorta post for me, and by no means paid promo. But I've seen firsthand the integrity, passion and damn hard work that goes on behind the scenes, and that sh*t deserves support. 

♥ CONTRIBUTE HERE ♥ 

A little life change: the round-up

Suffice it to say, the past few fleetin' weeks have been quite the madness, (lamentably) leaving my little lifestyle journal somewhat neglected. Against this busy backdrop, I thought it might be apt to - as the title teases - round up recent weeks in the most pain-free way possible. I wanna keep y'all in the loop.

#1: Totally Grad

After four fruitful years - at times tricky, overall amazing - I concluded my uni life with a first-class honours degree, accompanied by a first-class graduation at Durham Cathedral. The end of an era, for sure, but by no means a permanent goodbye to my most-cherished chums - and my, did we end on a high!

#2: EyeEm Hired

My original post-uni plan to play things to-ta-lly by ear on the job front took an unexpected, indeed most welcome, turn, when my dream job cropped up at my dream company, EyeEm. Although in the midst of my final exams and personal tragedy, there was simply no way I was gonna let this opportunity slip through the net. One two-week application process later and I was OVERTHEFLIPPINMOON to learn that my efforts and enthusiasm had paid off: as of July 1st 2015, I was to be EyeEm's newly appointed Social Media Manager (starting a mere seven days after graduation)!

#3: Back to Berl

This necessarily brings me to Punkt 3 (which you've no doubt gathered by now): after a rather rapid post-uni pack, unpack and pack again, I'm now livin' and lovin' life in my beloved Berlin, where I plan to settle indefinitely. Hurrah! So, on the back of the lowest low, these past weeks have ended on the highest of highs. As mind-numbingly cheesy as it sounds, my personal lil dreams really have come true all at once (and a lot quicker than I'd ever anticipated, too). There's no denyin' I've still got a bunch of challenges to contend with, but really, bring it. After all, good things come to those who wait hustle.

Weekly wisdom #9

I can't help it: I have an inbuilt aversion to idleness. While I'm working on my inability to - every now and then - just chill out (one of my many peculiar idiosyncrasies), this doesn't detract from the undoubted perks to this curious characteristic of mine. List makers gonna list, doers gonna do. Just don't forget the down time too, as I'm often guilty of doing. And as hard as it may sometimes be to get started (we all have those days), there's no denying that seizing the day and ticking off that to-do list feels good. As Parkinson's Law lays down: "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". So set yourself tight deadlines, power through, do it.

Today: Procrastihate - the art of getting sh*t done. 

A visual diary: 2 days in Dubrovnik

(Far too) short but (so very) sweet, my recent whistle-stop trip to Dubrovnik was just what I needed to ease me into a post-uni, pre-"real world" chill state, aided by the company of my darlin' Durham chums. As you'll gather from this lil selection of holiday snaps, the stunning surroundings didn't make the de-stress process too hard either...

Fortunate enough to have lovely Joe's Croatian crib as our base (just wow), we took our fun very seriously and did something we had to train ourselves to do: absolutely nothing. Quite the (ever so welcome) novelty indeed.  

Of course, that's not to say we didn't indulge in such luxuries as reading for pure pleasure (ah!), taking lil road trips into Dubrovnik's famed Old Town (big up designated driver Donal), basking in the hot hot sunshine and bathing in our back garden, viz. the Adriatic Sea. This in-between-student-and-proper-official-adult lark is alright. 

Although I joined the party a few days late, and so managed just 48 hours in the ravishing Croatian retreat (to call the past few weeks hectic would be a big old understatement), this didn't detract from the next level calm I felt as I somewhat begrudgingly departed my two-day trip of tranquility. And the sun-induced golden glow I returned to London with certainly wasn't unwelcome either, even if it did make siblet just a tad envious (muahaha).

Round-the-clock sun chillin' and incredible scenery aside, though, what really made it significant was the rare - and to be ever rarer - opportunity to revel in each other's contented company and accumulate gorgeous little moments to store in the memory bank (and, when appropriate, capture on my camera too). 

Pardon the sentimentality, but as all of us uni folk embark on new paths, in different - and indeed, international - settings, these final few weeks before graduation seem to be marked with all the more specialness. And this little trip felt very special indeed.