IT'S OK.

This phrase has become the tagline to the film that is 'Grace's Life'. 

As the title of my blog suggests, I am a job seeker by day, job seeker by night. I fall into the category of one of those graduates that left the university bubble filled with excitement to join the 'real world' to be hit with the realisation that landing a job is not as simple as I naively thought. 

There have been days where my positivity has run dry and I've convinced myself that no body wants me, (my parents are fairly familiar with dramatic Grace now), however these days are outweighed by my proactive days. 

I am 100% sure I have not been the first or will not be the last person to feel like this, so I have compiled a list of 5 ways to rectify your mood when days like these hit you. 

1) Remind yourself of all that you have accomplished so far; whether it be achieving a degree or baking a delicious cake. You have plenty of skills that need to be shared with the world- just because they have not be noticed yet does not mean they are not worthy!! Think of J.K Rowling and how many years it took her to get a publisher to notice her, and now she is among some of the best-selling authors!

2) Keep busy. Since my temporary contract at Cath Kidston ended I was worried I would have severe vitamin D deficiency from being cooped up in my house all day and forget the appropriate way to communicate with people. To keep your brain ticking I would recommend getting a part time job or voluntary work. As well as the obvious added bonus of earning some cash, it will allow your brain to channel into other activities instead of application forms, covering letters, and CV layouts day in, day out. 

3) Following on from this; keep your hobbies going. I mentioned my neglect of my interests in a previous post. Taking some time out of my day to spend it writing, baking, participating in sport, socialising, definitely reminded me that life does not need to be put on hold just because you do not have a job. 

4) Have the occasional break down. This contradicts my 'stay positive' preach however, I believe having the odd cry or chat to a member of family can release your worries and put them in to perspective. Encouraging friends and family can remind you how fab you really are, and chase off the devil on your shoulder that whispers words of doubt into your ear.  

5) Surround yourself with funny. They say laughter is the best medicine for stress and I could not agree more. After getting in touch with my 90's roots and watching an episode of Friends, or listening to a funny podcast, or even meeting up with funny friends and reminiscing of the old days and your flared pink combat trousers with tassels, will put a smile on your face and hopefully make your realise that life is not too shabby. 

STAY POSITIVE GUYS. We will get through this together!! Best of luck with the job hunt :).

Back to baking: Coffee and Walnut Cake

Once upon a time in a couple of posts ago... I wrote that I had been neglecting my hobbies & interests and job hunting had taken over my life, moreover, I was going to make the effort to dabble back into them . I have been out and about capturing pictures on my camera, so that is a tick off the check list, and yesterday I indulge in a bit of cake baking (and cake batter eating). I love to bake and cook and forgot how much enjoyment I get out of it (not as much enjoyment I get out of eating the cake itself of course). Our fridge is Piccadilly Circus for recipes, all pinned up by llama  and smiley face magnets. I picked the coffee and walnut cake and it turned out so scrum, if I do say so myself. Here is the recipe I followed!

For the sponge you will need: 

175g butter (at room temp) 
175g golden caster sugar 
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons of black coffee, cooled 
175g self raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
100g halved walnuts, roughly chopped 

And then for the frosting: 

200g butter 
400g icing sugar
4 table spoons of black coffee, cooled

1. Pre- heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease and line with baking paper 2 x 20 cm tins. 
2. Using a whisk, beat the soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Add in the eggs bit by bit, followed by the black coffee. Combine all together. 
4. Sift in the flour and baking powder and gently fold, then add in the chopped walnuts and stir in. 
5. Divide into the 2 tins. 
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 
7. Once cooked turn out the cakes on to wire racks to cool. 
8. Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating the butter until pale and soft. After pour in the sugar and coffee and mix until all combined nicely. 
9. Spread on the top of both the sponges. Then place one on top of the other to create a sandwich that has icing as the filling (and on the top). 
10. Decorate with walnuts. 

Yorkshire Pudding: the pièce de résistance of any roast.

For me a roast dinner is not a roast dinner without a Yorkshire pudding. Strictly speaking a Yorky should only be served with roast beef, but this tradition has been long forgotten in my house. They soak up the gravy perfectly and if you have some left over (which happens on the odd occasion), they are great mixed up in a bubble and squeak.

We have one recipe in our house that we use time and time again which makes mammoth sized Yorkshire puddings that are so light and crispy. YUM.

What you will need for this recipe:

3 eggs
300ml full fat milk
150g plain flour
Veg oil 

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
2. Pour a small amount of vegetable oil in to the bottom of each cup of a muffin tray and pop in to the oven to heat up. 
3. Whisk eggs and add milk. 
4. Sieve in the flour and whisk until all combined nicely. 
5. Add a good pinch of salt and stir in. 
6.  Bring out the muffin tray and pour the mixture in to each of the cups of the tray to the half way point. 
7. Put back in to the oven and cook for 5 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 200 degrees Celsius and cook for a further 10 minutes. 
8. Eat as many as you can.

Down At The Bottom Of The Garden

The sun has been glorious today- so trust me not to venture out into my garden until 5pm. Nevertheless, it was lovely to get out in the fresh air whilst the sun was slowly setting. I took the opportunity to whip out my camera and take some shots of the garden. With the dreaded 'J' word (job) constantly on the brain, my days are often consumed with application forms, covering letters, and CV alterations. Unfortunately, this results in my hours fading away fast and before I know it, it has been another day in front of the computer screen. I believe it is important to channel your brain into a variety of activities and interests, and I've blundered by neglecting mine. With the smell of Spring in the air I am going to try and make a valiant effort to turn this around, starting by stepping outside more and practising my photography. Here are the photos I captured today!

Fashion on the Underground

As of late, I have been noticing a lot more cool, lesser known fashion brands from London and I wanted to share some of my favourites. Here are my top four.

Its Not Me Its You     http://www.itsnotmeitsyoulondon.com/

Carrie Fletcher's YouTube vid 'A Few Of My Favourite Things' introduced me to this funky accessory line. It is a creative combination of slogans, bold colours, and edginess with the catch-line;  "leather stuff to carry other stuff." You can find them in the big Topshop on Oxford Street. I treated myself to this coin purse cause it made me chuckle.

Oh My Love     http://www.ohmylovelondon.com/

Born on to the high-street as a result of Anne Lombard's struggle to find trends that took her fancy. Oh My Love is perfect for girls who like to put a twist on femininity. Some of my personal favs are her Kimonos. 

Motel Rocks   http://www.motelrocks.com/   (Technically not a brand from London)

I'm probably one of the last to jump on this bandwagon but Motel Rocks is ace for vintage, quirky pieces. The inspiration behind the brand came from indie vintage shops and various thrift stores dotted along the Californian coastline which then flew over to Britain to fill a niche in the market. I couldn't resist this skirt (pic below), it's so floaty and flattering.   

Shop Dixi     http://www.shopdixi.com/

This nifty jewellery label has a spectrum of bits and pieces to perk up any outfit, ranging from delicate moon rings to bold shell necklaces. Their engraved bracelets personally caught my eye. 

YouTube Culture

For my train journey home today I picked up this month's Company magazine to find 'Zoe Sugg's-(aka Zoella) face on the front (looking stylish as always). I thought to myself, 'my- how far the YouTube community have come'.

As a YouTube super freak fan it pleases me to see people who started as teenagers recording videos in their bedrooms gain this new type of celebrity status (You go Glen Coco!)

Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, Mamrie Hart, are just a small handful of the women on YouTube who provide hilarity week in week out. Their humour is contagious and I find myself tuning into 'You Deserve a Drink' , 'My Drunk Kitchen', and Grace's daily vlogs like I would for a TV show.

Alternatively, if there is ever an occasion I need to make my face look slightly more presentable than my usual slapdash job with brushes I have no clue where to use, I turn to Tanya Burr to give me a trusty make-up look. She is the godfather of blushers and bronzers.

Then there is 'Fun for Louis'- who never seems to sit still. I can guarantee now, what he has seen and accomplished in his young years is more than I ever will in my whole life. He's definitely taken the meaning 'live each day as your last' on-board.

All in all, we should not under estimate the power of the Tube. Amongst many of it's benefits, I see YouTube as the way forward for advertising, with a noticeably increasing amount of brands eager to piggyback on the success of the YouTubers to promote products to their vast audiences. From funny cat videos to fashion hauls- this social network has it all, and once you hit your first subscribe button there's no turning back.

Sex(y hiking boots), Drugs (legal leaf chewing), and Rock n’ Roll Llamas

Peru- a country that is bursting with culture, friendly faces, and picturesque landscapes that will take your breath away (no seriously- there are high altitudes). I spent 85% of my tour snapping my camera hoping not to miss a shot of something incredible. Subsequently, this left me with over 600 snaps, nevertheless, I am able to look back at my 40 photos of different angled jungle trees with fond memories. Here are my top five reasons why you need to visit Peru.

Numero Uno- The Uros Islands (or also known as the floating islands).

The construction alone startles me as essentially they are islands made of dried reeds; strong enough to support families and homes. The day our tour group visited the floating islands we were greeted by a choir of Uros Women. We were given a brief chat about their culture and history by the 'mayor' of that specific island, who appeared to have a great sense of humour- fooling us into believing that she had 5 husbands and 10 children. They welcomed us into their homes, and provided us with their vibrant clothing to try on. We even had a chance to ride on one of their reed boats.
Tip- Make sure you chew on plenty of coca leaves (recommended by your tour guides), or even sample some coca tea while in the Puno/ Lake Titicaca region as it is around 12,350 ft above sea level. The coca leaves help to prevent altitude sickness.

Dos- Huayna Picchu

The climb will make you curse yourself for all those times you didn't go to the gym, but the views from the top of this pyramid shaped mountain are spectacular. Unfortunately some of us in the tour group did not get a spot on the Inca Trail walk so instead we were booked on to the Huayna Picchu climb. Before Peru I knew nothing about the other Picchu, but if you are going to Machu Picchu it is definitely worth getting a ticket for Huayna Picchu.

Tres- The Amazon Jungle & staying in Posada Amazonas

Have you ever wanted to be a celebrity just for the opportunity to be on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here...No-just me? My one night stay amongst the animals and insects was definitely an experience I won't forget quickly. Here is a link to the lodge, check out the piccys : http://www.perunature.com/posada-amazonas.html

Cuatro- Llamas

They are everywhere and I soon developed a little obsession with them; purchasing jumpers, magnets, bags, key rings-  you name it I bought it with llamas on. They are cute looking things with their big Betty Boop eyes and funky hair, and no doubt you will have a whole album's worth dedicated to them.

Cinco- La Lucha Sandwich Bar in Miraflores (Lima)

You may be thinking- A sandwich bar made it on to your list along with a natural wonder? Yes, you would be correct. If sandwiches were a religion I'd certainly practice it and La Lucha would be my God. Their sandwiches are A*. I recommend El Preferido sandwich. (I have never seen the word sandwich so many times- I'm beginning to salivate).