Cooking Disaster

So I decided to creep on Thomas and his cooking, he was a bit shy but I talked him round. He was making stir-fry with spring onions, chicken with sesame seed oil and udon noodles.
It was going to be delicious, the smell was already incredible; I love east Asian food. Thomas learnt how to make ramen curry for me (I can't cook).

Thomas was ready to add the noodles when he noticed black bits on the chicken; black bits that looked like the non-stick from the wok. The very wok I had told him to stop cooking with because it was becoming "scruffy"...

We had to abandon the food, I almost wept, well that might be an exaggeration but I was so excited for dinner. 

The wok is now in the bin, cruel beast.

Since we had wasted time cooking and having nothing to show for it we were a bit naughty and ordered pizza. Thomas and I have a bit of a problem with Papa John's Pizza, we always order too much (as you will see). We didn't even just order pizza we got dessert too.

Chicken and Bacon 

I would like to stress that our flatmate also eat some, apart from the cinnamon roll pizza style, I eat all of that baby to myself...

Thank you for reading,

Devon x

Day Dreaming and Sugar Needs

Yesterday was a big day, so today I'm staying in and doing some writing. I have to be alone to write (too easily distracted) if someone else is home I have to pump music in some headphones to try and mask their existence. I always have my playlist playing anyway; I like the way music can change the mood of a scene I'm writing, usually for the better. Day dreaming is a big part of my "creative process"; imagining every scenario and finding which ones feel right, music really helps with this. I can also spy on what Thomas is listening to at work, bless you Spotify and your creeper features.

The only problem I have with writing at the moment is the damn chair. I think I need a special one made just for my awkward back, preferably one that reclines so I can also nap in it.

I also have to write near a window, not to spy on the neighbours (although people watching can be fun) but to keep me sane. Apparently the garden might be having a make over, if it does I'll be out there doing work every day the weather permits; which in England might not be that often.

This is important, I have a thing for juice cartons; miniatures are adorable to me, little mayonnaise jars, mini cheeses etc but Thomas brought back home these Rubicon babies and now I'm addicted. I haven't had Guava juice until now, they're exotic here, not that it's taking over the top spot, apple you can't be beat. Watermelon is another weakness, as is passion fruit; okay I have a bit of a juice problem. It's on my list of "addictions" with tea and cheese. 

I really need to work on my relationship with food.


In other news, my physiotherapy is going well; so well I don't even feel guilty for eating a massive pudding last night, I admit I couldn't finish it because I have the stomach of a field mouse.

"There's pie in there somewhere" Thomas.

 Thank you for reading, soon I'll be doing a book review, won't that be exciting? What if I mention that it's a book on "How we do it"?

Devon x

The Spring Clean and Catzilla!

This weekend was pretty exhausting. Thomas and I went to see Godzilla; we booked tickets at Tyneside Cinema and got the sofa seats. They are the comfiest seats in all of Newcastle, second only to my bed. My old lady bones hate the sofa at home never mind awkward cinema seats (grumpy spine). 

Pretty much me with back pain.

After the cinema we visited my mother dearest and Milward (the cat). My mum has been going crazy with baking, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, the list is endless. She made Thomas and I fudge, cream and Oreo brownie things (forgot the actual name, sorry Mum) and they are mighty, we took quite a few away with us for later.
Then I discovered the cat had trashed my room and ruined some stuff, for example a vinyl record Thomas had bought me for a birthday past. I'm a very sentimental person, if someone gives me a gift I keep it forever, especially presents from important people in my life. I cried. Milward really is Catzilla.

When we got back to the flat the next day we decided to spring clean everything! We blitzed the bedroom and made a new set up for me as the laptop is on its last legs these days (We're getting a new one, which I will probably review).

Dual monitors babeh...

We also reorganised some of the living room. Cleaning is incredibly tiring, you always forget that on the outset then four hours later you're in a lot of pain (or I am anyway). Thomas and I slept like babies after all that. 

Bookcase is all shiny now

 Thank you for reading :) The weather at the moment is so pretty I want to take off and go on an adventure, eat picnics, read under trees, eat ice lollies and all that other summertime crap.

Devon x

Succulent Plants

Thomas and I bought house plants together for our three year anniversary; some people get a pet or take a long romantic weekend away but we picked up some succulents instead.

This is Francis and Benedict; I name my plants, makes things easier. Francis was difficult to identify but according to Reddit's plant community we worked out he's a very small Opuntia Monacantha, otherwise known as a Prickly Pear. Benedict is part of the Echeveria family I believe...

Succulents are relatively easy to look after once you understand how they work. All you need is the right size pot, soil with the correct pH balance and grit content, a pebble bed if the pot lacks drainage and a spot in the home that sees a lot of daylight throughout the day.

Watering them is simple, in spring and summer watering should be done more frequently, when the soil is entirely dried out drench the soil (try not to over water as it can rot the roots); this will allow them to grow as much as possible before hopefully blooming. In autumn and winter the plant goes into hibernation and rarely requires watering as they do not tend to grow during these seasons.

I'm hoping this summer I'll see my little guys bloom. You can find succulents in most garden stores or even online. Decorating their beds with pebbles or making a potted arrangement of different kinds can produce beautiful results. You can have them outdoors too but where I live isn't the ideal climate for them.

Thank you for reading, I'll be posting updates, should I spot any flowering.

Devon x

On that there Youtube Part 4 Beauty and Lifestyle

I watch beauty videos mostly for the make up rather than anything else and lifestyle is purely for spying on other peoples lives...

Visual Aid

  essiebutton + essiebuttonvlogs - Estée's beauty channel is my favourite if I had to pick one; something about Estée is incredibly likeable. My boyfriend (Thomas) enjoys Estée and Aslan's vlog adventures; Thomas totally has a man crush on Aslan. Oh and can't forget about the adorable Reggieman...

 xsparkage + LeeshaVlogs - Leesha loves colour and does amazing things with eye shadow. Her vlog at the moment is mostly updates on her baby bump and lots of food as you can imagine.

 viviannadoesmakeup + LilyPebbles - Anna and Lily appear in each other's videos so often I thought I should pair them together. They mix beauty, fashion and lifestyle, vlogging adventures around London.

  clothesencounters + soothingsista - Jenn and Stephanie are best friends; they talk about fashion and general lifestyle advice. They vlog their adventures around the San Francisco Bay area.

  Emilynoel83 - Emily has a few beauty channels, she has a brilliant personality and does the best reviews, she's seriously into her make-up.

Well that's finally it for my Youtube subscriptions, when I started this post I thought it would all fit nicely into one post... pffftt. 

Thank you for reading :)

Devon x

On that there Youtube Part 3 Science and Learning

STEM channels make me feel better about killing time on Youtube, as long as I'm learning it's good for me, right? I'm mostly interested in biology, as you will see from my top 3 channels.

 Sexplanations - Dr. Lindsay Doe, a Clinical Sexologist, discusses everything relating sexuality. This is great if you're interested in the human reproductive organs and sexual psychology.

  The Brain Scoop - Emily now works at The Field Museum in Chicago. Her content covers all sorts of departments at the museum but mostly I watch for the animal dissection with Anna. Mammalogy can get pretty gory.

  Vsauce - Michael explores a lot of questions and explains a lot of different science topics, from animals to space. Vsauce is just plain interesting.

The only subscriptions left to talk about are beauty and lifestyle, if your still with me thank you :P 

Devon x

On that there Youtube Part 2 Geeks and Gamers

I'm a pretty keen gamer. I don't know if I'm "Geeky"(considering my use of quotation marks, probably) but I can muster the same amount of enthusiasm as some of my favourite "Nerd" Youtubers.

• "Geeky" - Covering everything, technology, films, comic books; even Smurfs. 

  Lamarr Wilson - He likes tech and games and does some vlogging too. He's also friends with another guy on my list.

 PBS Idea Channel - I wasn't sure where to place this channel but I'd say it's pretty geeky but not quite STEM. It discusses ideas, as if you couldn't guess. It covers a lot of pop culture and some more niche subjects.

  BlackNerdComedy - Andre is a pretty amusing and way into gaming and comics. He also loooves the Smurfs, Disney, Power Rangers and TMNT. My friend met him at a Con in Dallas and he was lovely apparently so now he has brownie points.  He's also friends with Lamarr. 

• Gaming - I really had to narrow this down, it was painful but I did, I'm awaiting my medal...

  PeanutButterGamer - Not sure if I like this channel for it's content or that every time I watch a video I think about peanut butter cups...

  LazyGameReviews - Clint is probably my favourite gaming channel, Thomas and I watch his videos together and we'll be honest we found his channel because of his Sims reviews. Clint reviews a lot of retro games and hardware and he's pretty funny.

 

  WEBGamingCentral - If you like in depth Lets Plays then this guys videos might interest you. He covers a lot of Simcity and Civ 5. The channel appears to be going through a name change and I know WEB is making his own game too.

  CamerAndy - Andy's following is small at the moment but I imagine he'll have a lot more soon enough. I played Civ with him which was a lot of fun.

Next time I tell you all about the STEM channels I follow...

Devon :)
TY

On that there Youtube Part 1 Food and Creative types.

I have a bit of a Youtube problem...

When I'm bored and feeling too tired to use my brain (lazy) or when I should be doing something really important but instead I procrastinate; I am most likely found curled up in a ball somewhere watching video after video. Sometimes Thomas joins me in my nest so I'm not alone in my addiction.

Me in search of snacks mid video.

After looking through my subscriptions I realised I have a lot of favourite channels, narrowing them down to a top 5 or top 10 is just too difficult for me; so I've broken them down into neat little categories:

• Food - Usually for my food fix I go to Reddit or Tumblr and endlessly scroll through foodporn but there are two channels I love to watch because 1. I love East Asian food and 2. I love cute stuff.

    Cooking with Dog - It's a cooking show "hosted" by a dog but the food is delicious looking and the cooking instructions are easy to follow; with over half a million subs either the dog gimmick works for people or they love staring at the food as much as I do.

    Kawaiisweetworld - As the name suggests this one is for your sweet tooth. It's a lot of very adorable desert ideas with some craft stuff in there for good measure.

• Art - These channels are a fix of painting tips and craft ideas. Oh and cartoons.

        Simon's Cat - I have all the books and the latest one is signed; it's pretty fair to say I'm a big fan of cat cartoons.

   Art Food Kitty - Kelly Eddington's speed paintings are hypnotic. She also has watercolour guides for beginners which are pretty interesting; if you're thinking of taking up the hobby I recommend taking a look.

   Karen Kavett - Karen is a graphic designer that appears to have worked for just about everyone from Google to Youtube. She dabbles in DIY, crafting, books and "Geeky" stuff in general.

In Part 2 I will be listing my "Geeky" and Gaming subscriptions; more lists! Who doesn't love lists?

Devon x

In the Beginning...

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Mog and I

Hi, I'm Devon.

I'm embarking on my twenties and trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life (which is very difficult when you're as indecisive as me).

I grew up in Northern Ireland before moving to England when I was barely a teenager; come 30th May I'll have lived in Newcastle for 8 years. I don't see myself moving any time soon. Newcastle is a great city, not too big and not too small, just right. 

A lot of my time is spent writing my second novel, reading big books, playing video games, catching up on Youtube subscriptions and watching Netflix snuggled up with Thomas (My boyfriend, almost referred to him by his pet name, oh the embarrassment). My current phase is cartoons and sci-fi, I'm probably due another Skyrim phase pretty soon.

Rick and Morty; one of many cartoons

What else? Oh yeah, I have a fear of the ocean and my belly button.

My reaction to both situations and much of life

Thank you for having a read :)
The raccoon print in the background comes from: Nocturnal Animals

Devon x