Revenge Friday- Summer bucket list, Period Tips and Reading?

Hello Darlings,

I hope you are doing really well. I didn't post last week because I had such bad period symptoms. I was in a pickle.

Last Friday I went for solo brunch; I got shakshuka and a chai latte. Then I went for a walk in a park in an attempt to clear my head- it didn't work. So yeah I did try to do something nice on my day off but I was also lying down on my sofa for the rest of the day watching a bit of TV.

Summer Bucket List

I have acquired a notebook for my summer scrapbook and I have started filling in some pages and also planning some things I want to do in the summer. So I have written a list of some places I want to visit and I think it is do-able that I can tick most of this off.

Other things to include in your summer scrapbook

-Your summer playlists

-Photographs and polaroids

-Perfume testers, tickets and business cards

-Your summer playlist

-Bucket lists, films you want to watch and goals

-Books you have read

-Things you have achieved

-Pressed flowers

It will be soo cute to look back on. Send me pictures of your summer scrapbook pages on Instagram (Happyhippo_blog). I'll show you some of my pages when I have added a bit more. Also don't fret about it being perfect and the joy of scrapbooking is that you can cover up your mistakes, rip a page out if you don't like it ect.

Tips for Heavy and Painful Periods

I get like the type of period pain where you cannot stand up straight on your period. The type of pain where you are sweating, pale, and crying.

I drew this... this is a drawing of myself with a cup of tea on the morning of my period- completely unable to stand up straight. But yeah I thought I would share some tips; there is nothing revolutionary. Definitely look after yourself and make your life easier.

-Wheat bags

I have recently been using a wheat bag instead of a hot water bottle. I love the weightiness of it and it is bigger than a hot water bottle. Also be careful with hot water bottles, I know someone that got a hot water bottle burn and they literally woke up in the morning and they were burnt.

-Breakfast

If you are scheduled to get your period definitely try to eat some breakfast. Especially if you are prone to nausea because it will only get worse if you don't eat. You will have no energy and you'll feel really weak. Have something like granola and yogurt; muesli or berries. Definitely have some yummy food in the fridge

-Iron Iron Iron

If you have heavy periods definitely be careful of iron deficiency and get your iron levels tested if you have symptoms of anaemia.

-Track your Periods

I track mine on a paper calendar because I find with apps there is too much going on and they don't feel very user friendly. 

-Do Not Exercise

I wasn't sure about writing this because it is a commonly accepted idea that exercise helps with period pain...but actually I want it on record; I have never believed that exercise 'alleviates period pain'. In my experience exercise can trigger very bad period pain. So yeah if you are in agony do not do yoga and do not go for a run. I am confident that it will be disproven one day.

Revenge Friday

I went into London and it was such lovely weather. I went to a photography exhibition Roger Mayne: Youth at the Courtauld Gallery. The exhibition includes Roger Mayne's documentary images of the youth in the 1950's and 60s and then more personal photographs of his family. Tbh... the exhibition could (and should) have been bigger- it was quite small. The photographs were lovely. I did then have a browse of the impressionism gallery which is always pleasant.

After the gallery I walked through Soho and browsed a few shops. I have been really loving the brand Les Nereides; they do the cutest whimsical jewellery. There were a few pieces I wanted to try on but honestly the shop was quite busy and I could not be bothered but I defo fancy going back in when they are a little less busy. I brought some fruit in M&S and ate it in Green Park because the weather was really lovely. It was really relaxing. Then I walked to Victoria Station.

Book Challenge

I have been thinking of setting myself a reading challenge. I am going to try to read five books by the end of August. 

Okay I'll chat to you next week and in the meantime, I hope you have a lovely week x

Love,

Happy hippo

Weekend in London: Tiffany, Hightstreet and Rolling Stones

hello!

I am currently on hols in the south of France which is really lovely. The weekend before I went away I was in London because I am between uni houses at moment. It is actually so stressful coming back from uni and having nowhere to put your stuff ugh it drives me so mad. I have no room for anything so I just leave everything in their boxes.

 feeling a bit adorable. ☆

During the week I met up with my friend a few times and we went to Shoreditch. It is actually nice because I feel like I have someone in the same boat as me, as although we were in different academic years at school, we both started University during the pandemic. I don't know if that made any sense but yeah starting uni during the pandemic was actually quite a nightmare so yeah it has been really nice to catch up with her. She just gets it. Shoreditch was fun- we just had a browse and then took some drinks to the park.

On the Friday I went to the Tiffany exhibition at the Saatchi. It was free entry which was quite good. Sooo busy though. In one room it had the jewellery displayed by decade with the coordinating original catalogues- so it was like a timeline. There was another room dedicated to like diamond jewellery where they also had on display the tiara worn in the 2013 Great Gatsby film.

 

Also they had a room which was Breakfast at Tiffany's themed which displayed the Givenchy dress Audrey Hepburn wore and the Oscar awards the film won, along with other stuff connected to the film. 

The tiffany diamond was displayed in another room. Yeah it was a fun exhibition, there was a lot to see. 

My mum and I picked up some lunch after and had a wonder around the King's Road.

Then on Saturday my sister came home. We went to get some Nandos on Sydenham Highstreet which actually really hit the spot. 

Then we had a look around the charity shops. I picked up a really chic dress actually, it is a red houndstooth print with long sleeves and a sort of handkerchief hemline. I also popped into Superdrug where my sister and I picked up some nail polish. I got a Little Miss Fun one which is a coral colour.

I really like this dress- I am so glad I purchased it. I got it for £5 but they originally had a tag on it for £10 but it was in the sale. 

Then on Sunday my family and I went to a Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park which was really fun actually. They have a great energy. It was really chill just to people watch and just relax. We got one of them Santander bikes back to the office.

Unfortunately I am now on hols with covid. Please send me advice on recovery. I had sort of long covid when I had it back in March (?) 2020 and I totally do not want that again because it made me sooo unproductive and tired. I look forward to chatting with you soon. There are going to be some great blogposts this summer. I really want to help my readers have a lovely summer x

ciao x

Revenge Wardrobe- French Edition

Honn xx

You may have read my last my blogpost- so heartbroken. I am currently in Nice, France for a bit just processing what happened. Anyway, since I am in Nice my sister gave me a few birthday presents: some clothes she picked up in the charity shop and a small gift- and they are just perfect for a revenge wardrobe. I have written a previous blogpost about revenge life and I have put the revenge terminology at the bottom of the blogpost. A revenge wardrobe is a wardrobe you curate in order to get revenge, it should be flattering, maybe a bit sexy and should just make you feel confident. Btw this is not literal revenge because the best revenge is self improvement. speaking about revenge life, I recently did really well in my essays for university (I got a first in one of them 🎈🎈🎈) and that makes me sooo happy. The one I did less well in, I got good feedback and they said my work was very promising.

On my first day in Nice I was dragged out of bed to buy some new sandals as the ones I came to Nice wearing were so knackered- I had trekked pretty far in them.

 I got these really cute strappy ones in gold and my previous ones were gold so I knew it was a good choice. Gold is a neutral and will take you from day to evening. As my sister pointed out, the straps strategically hides my large ankles :/

My sister brought me a cute headband. It’s ivory with gold embellishments. My friend used to call headbands like this tiaras which always melted my heart. Also, one of my sisters friends said I looked very regal in my crown.

Anyway I styled it with this Zara playsuit I got many years ago and something interesting is that this was like the last thing I ever brought from Zara (I think) because I have been boycotting them in the last few years. When I purchased this playsuit the woman THREW the change at me. It was a mixture of coins and notes. Like actually threw it at me so yeah I have not really wanted to shop there since. Anyway, I love this playsuit it’s very cute.

Second outfit is this tarot print skirt. So my sister lent this to me and we have been swapping it back and forth for the last few years but currently it is in my possession. I styled the skirt with this H&M bodysuit that I brought a few days ago. I think this bodysuit is so cute. Very sexy neckline. My sister brought one too in black and orange. 

My sister purchased this skirt for me from the charity shop. It has a really cute French Provençal pattern. I think this looks really french chic. So nice. And again I have styled it with the new bodysuit from H&M. Ignore the fact my legs look really pale compared to the rest of my body.

I’ve no idea what I’m doing.

This is the look I wore to go for aperol spritz. A velour black dress and the tiara.

This is a cardigan my sister also picked out from a vintage shop. This crochet style cardigans have been popular for the past few years and this is a really lovely trend piece because it’s very classic. Also, I think it might be handmade because there is no label in it. When I took this photo there was a pigeon flying about the apartment and so I look very shook. I had locked myself in a room and waited for my sister to rescue me because I am terrified of birds. Anyway I love cardigans like this, it looks a bit hippy and a bit witchy.

I’m so scared. Also it has shitted on the halloumi. 

Anyway guys,

I will probably chat with you soon. I’m going back to Cardiff shortly.

Love you lots x

Revenge Terminology

Revenge Wardrobe: This is a wardrobe you create for yourself to get revenge. It is characterised by stylish and confident outfits that are very you. 

Revenge Weekend/ Week: This is a weekend or week dedicated to self improvement activities. This could be building your revenge wardrobe or meeting up with friends. The most important thing is that your week is fun!

Revenge Field Trip: A Revenge Field Trip is a normally a trip you take to become more cultured. Maybe you go to an art gallery or museum. Maybe you visit a new place for the day. The focus is becoming more cultured and gaining info for your new revenge life. 

Revenge Holiday: This is normally a holiday taken in solitude. You might be taking a revenge holiday to process a break up of a relationship or friendship. Normally you will dedicate  the holiday to becoming more cultured, reading books and indulging (shopping, eating and pampering). 

Mummy's artichoke recipe: a Classy Vegan Starter

 Oh hey guys, 

I did say I would post an artichoke recipe that my mum loves to make in the summer and here it is. It is very close to my (artichoke) heart because it just reminds me of summery barbeques. I think someone taught this recipe to my mum while she lived in France. It is giving me summery 1970's dinner party vibes which as we all know I love. It is also vegan which means its nice for sharing although I ate both the artichokes on my own (so much for my dinner party vibes).

So artichokes come into season June to September. They are challenging to find. Waitrose will normally stock them when they are in season. Other than that, Greengrocers are your best bet. You can always ring a greengrocers to see if they are being stocked to save you the disappointment. The artichokes I brought, admittedly, were a bit over ripe. I knew that when I was buying them because the price had been slashed a lot but it wasn't the end of the world, it just meant the first few layers of petals were inedible. The rest was really nice though. 

Ingredients

One Fresh artichoke

Mustard

White wine vinegar

Olive Oil

Step 1 Artichoke Prepping

Wash your artichoke.

You should cut the stem off. Then, remove the smaller petals from the stem, just to tidy it up. If your artichoke is overripe (you can tell it is over ripe if you cut the stem in half and there is a black line going up the centre) you can remove the first layer of the petals.

On my artichoke the petals were sort of rounded but if your artichoke is spikey you can square off the spikes with some scissors.

Step 2 Making the marinade

This is where my instructions are a bit vague. But I would say equal parts oil and vinegar (1 table spoon for each). Then about a teaspoon of mustard but obviously do it to taste. Then mix it.

Alternatively, I do not see why a balsamic vinegar and olive oil marinade would not work instead. Or like if you have a really delicious olive oil. Just to give you options.

Step 3 Boiling the artichoke

Get a big pan of water and bring it to boil. Boil the artichokes for 20-25 minutes. Poke the stem with a fork to check whether it is tender and therefore ready to eat. 

I cut the artichoke in half, so it was easier to eat.

Eating the Artichoke

So remove the petals, one by one, starting from the bottom layers. Then you basically dip it in the marinade and scrape the flesh of the petal with your teeth. 

 

Then discard the petal in a bowl. As you get further to the centre of the artichoke the petals start to get smaller and like more tender. Remove these all and you'll get to the heart of the artichoke. It should be tender. Cut the fluffy bit off of the artichoke. What is left should hopefully be all edible. Quarter the heart and enjoy!!!