The Banana Sushi Experiment!

I'm not one for debating BUT many arguments have probably been born from this recipe due to its ingredients; is it a breakfast recipe, or is it to create a light and indulgent desert?

Today Alice and I created our very own Banana Sushi as a lunch time snack, so we thought we'd do a tutorial (which isn't so airbrushed and professional) and a review on the oh so "simple" recipe.

BuzzFeed's quick and wondrous recipes have swift videos that entice anybody with an internet-using device at their fingertips, like my sister who found the adorable recipe.

This recipe is perfect for those who ADORE Nutella (or any chocolate paste in fact), alongside a hint of healthiness (hence the banana) in their snacks.

So, Here's our not so polished tutorial - Enjoy!

What you'll need:

• Rice Puff Cereal
• Chocolate Paste
• A Banana
• Plastic wrap
• A Knife

Method:

1. Scatter a few handfuls of cereal onto a flat surface and then peel of one of the four sides of skin of your banana.
2. Spread chocolate paste all of the bare single side of the banana and then pat the cereal onto the chocolate-coated side.
3. After the first side has been lathered in cereal and chocolate paste, repeat step 2 on each side. Make sure you strip off only one side at a time so that you have the banana skin to hold onto until the very end.
4. Once all of the sides have been coated, wrap the banana in plastic film so that you can push the rice pops into the chocolate paste. This step is optional but I would advise refrigerating the coated banana so that the chocolate and cereal bonds together better you're preparing California Sushi rolls when you're ready to snack on it for breakfast or desert!

Opinion? As a snack, this recipe is superb for someone who has the time and effort - unlike BuzzFeed's other rapid recipes (like the cake mug), this one was too messy for what it was worth. It was super delicious, but I wouldn't attempt it again, even though it did sound creatively alien when described as sushi.

Find the Original and simple Tutorial by BuzzFeed Here.

Thanks for reading - and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Love, Grace x

Returning to Abu Dhabi

I would say I'm incredibly fortunate as I regularly travel abroad every month or two, in order to visit my father who lives abroad in the Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Depending on the time of year and how long the break from school is, we either meet up with him in Abu Dhabi, or in an undiscovered country like Crete or Sri Lanka, as we have in previous summers.

With more visits to the Middle East than I can count on my hands; I feel like it's almost a second home. Only a few months ago, we thought that we were going to live in Abu Dhabi, to join my dad and complete the family. But since that idea got scrapped, we're staying put in England without my father until he returns when his work over there ceases.

We arrived in Abu Dhabi yesterday at 7 o'clock in the evening, and admired the familiar skyline dim as the sun fell behind it.

Today we went to the Corniche after a rare hour devotion to the gym, and tonight we plan to go to P.K Chang's for a glorious Asian dinner.

Have a good summer and thanks for reading!

Love, Grace x

R.I.P PEPSI

Ever since I was little we've always had dogs and cats but over the past 11 years they've never died a natural death.
Heartless people run over our animals and don't stop to ask the surrounding houses whose cat it is or how they can help maybe save the animals life. Instead, drivers hit the cats, drive off, and leave the helpless animal to bleed to death.

In the early hours of today, our cat Pepsi (see right) was found dead on the side of the road outside of our house. We've seen this happen dozens of times to other pets of ours that have been crushed or battered by a stranger's front bumper.

Thank you Pepsi for the loyalty and love you've given us over the past 5 years, may you sleep well.

Over the past year we've lost two other cats; Bertie and Ginger (see left for both) have disappeared. Because they've been gone for so long we're assuming that they've been hit by a car somewhere along a country road, and left for dead. So here I am paying tribute to their vague, unofficial death.

After loving many cats, kittens and even litters of newborn treasures, we are not going to be having any more pets to avoid more death and heartbreak.

Thanks for reading - I promise I'll be blogging about some more positive things in the future, like my vacation in Crete!

Love, Grace x

The First Day in Crete

14th July 2015

We arrived in Heraklion's airport in the early hours of Sunday, and we were all so completely tired, even though the flight was around 5-6 hours. However we did have a troublesome hour delay which didn't make the flight any more enjoyable!

The taxi drive to our villa, situated between Panormo and Perama, was around an hour long. The journey gave us a hint of how hilly the terrain was, even in the darkness, because of the star-like lights from buildings and streets which climbed up and down the height of the mountains.

Once we arrived at Villa Eva, we all stumbled into our rooms and disappeared until day light. The best thing about travelling and arriving in a new country in the darkness is that the morning is like waking up in a fantasy world; all of your surrounding are illuminated and given vibrancy, unlike the night world which is tinged with orange from stark street lights.

We all woke up around 9 o'clock so that we would be ripe and ready to welcome our rental car, adventure around the area and get groceries. Even though the owner of the villa had supplied us with a welcome hamper of basic food and the traditional Greek raki, us typical English folk needed some good ol' tea.

The day swiftly began with a trip off to the supermarket where we bought the usual necessities and were rewarded with a free watermelon, which we soon named Wilson. We were still getting used to the beautiful yet blistering heat that Brits aren't used to so we just had to indulge in an ice cream, as seen in an image below. 

One thing about Greek people which I adore dearly is that they're so generous - where ever you go you always get something complimentary! Whether or not it's included in the price it still makes you feel appreciated as a tourist.

After nearly emptying the local supermarket, we proceeded to investigate Perama, which is where we found one of the few cafes open on a Sunday. The quaint cafe had collected a small cluster of older people who were gradually moving from one cafe to the next, as if they were on a cafe crawl on a quest for caffeine rather than alcohol. After ordering our drinks we were gifted some sweet bread (similar to brioche) and two bowls of cherries which were to celebrate the two year anniversary of a local's death. A small piece of paper with Greek writing upon it beneath a small sketch of a crucifix included the dates marking the birth and death of the person that had died two years before. In such a beautiful and peaceful town it was difficult to imagine any sort of mourning taking place there or anywhere under the Cretan sun.

My Twin Sister and Mum.

Our refreshed throats and satisfied stomachs called for our exit, so we soon made our way back to the villa to relax by the pool until the sun began its descent. Tripadvisor soon guided us to the best restaurant (according to the reviews) in Panormos, which was called Kastro. We had such a wonderful evening there; the sunset sunk behind the horizon as we feasted upon meze and other Cretan delicacies. You can read my review on the traditional Cretan restaurant here!

Mother and I.

Well I hope you enjoyed the introduction to my vacation in Crete - keep an eye out for more about my journey!

Thank you for reading,

Love, Grace x

Listen to the playlist I found when writing this post here!

All photographs are mine; the first two and last one were taken with the Nikon D3100 and the others were taken with the Canon Power Shot s120.

Apologises for the Absence!

It's been 3 weeks and a few days since I was in Crete on holiday with my family, and I haven't gotten around to blogging about my visit since being back in the country - I've been so busy doing nothing! Well, nothing apart from seeing friends and attending numerous induction days at Sixth Forms in the area.

Pictured right - sunset in Panormo, where we stayed on the first week of our holiday.

So very soon I'm going to start rekindling my love for Crete by going through my photographs of the holiday, day by day, to share the journey with you.

I hope you at least get a feel of how wonderful Crete is -

Enjoy the trip, and Thanks for reading!

Love, Grace x

Year 11 Prom 2015

The class of 2015 at Bourne Grammar School had their prom yesterday (July 1st) at Barnsdale Lodge, to celebrate the end of exams and for everyone to say goodbye as we all part our ways. I'm still in limbo on whether I'm going to one school or the other - but one thing is for sure is that I don't want this stupidly long summer holiday to end.

When it comes to prom, I didn't know what to expect - a main fear was that everyone was going to be bitchy and reserved within their own cliques. Even though our school isn't that clique-y, the chance is still there.

Ever since I was little, I had dreamt of this day - now that it's over and done with I feel like I've gained nothing but a happy memory. Isn't that how it should be?

The 14th month anniversary between myself and my boyfriend was also yesterday, which was so adorable seeing we were together for prom and all of the evening as well. 

Last night was sadly the last time I shall see many people as I am (most likely) moving schools to attend sixth form elsewhere. 

Everyone was so beautiful and made-up; it was so strange seeing everyone so happy and gorgeous. At prom, not only is it an event for goodbyes, but it's also to redeem yourself after those five years of being grumpy, stressed, listless, and/or all of the above. Every single person there was happy, apart from the obvious handful who were walking around crying or arguing - why people argue at events I shall never know.

My limited edition, open-back dress from Bebe, which I purchased in Abu Dhabi this year in April, had metallic sequins, which was paired perfectly with my Grandmother's vintage marcasite jewellery. Initially, I searched for a vintage or vintage-styled dress, but I couldn't find one that was in my size or in the style desired - which was a flapper-girl, art Deco vibe. My black strapped, "barely there" heeled sandals from Newlook gave a delicate finish whilst my hair was simply swept back. Obviously the dress I ended up having was nothing like I had ever seen or imagined, whilst being so unique and beautiful to wear!

My hair was done by my hairdresser mother and my make-up was done by myself -  I didn't want to risk having any beauty treatments which could end horrifically, as I have heard many stories about tragic fake tans and hair dos. Unfortunately, some girls on our prom night even experienced their own glimpse of the nightmare.

The three course meal was simply wonderful and the venue was ideal, however due to a lack of air conditioning I felt that my make-up was slipping off at a rapid and uncomfortable rate. After adorable speeches, a flurry of dad-like dancing, a hilarious slideshow consisting of year 7 school photos and student-nominated awards, an abundance of fireworks were unleashed to finalise the pleasant night.

To those I will probably never see again, I wish you all the very best in the future, and to everyone, have a good life.

Thanks for reading,

Love Grace