The importance of resolutions

A couple of days before the end the year I accidentally found my list of New Year's resolutions for 2014. It was a proper list: fifteen goals – some as simple as forming a couple of good habits, others somewhat challenging – like running a half-mararhon – third a bit too ambitious – like overcoming fears and stepping out of my comfort zone. 2014 was a nice year. I actually managed to finish a half-marathon. Twice. I bought myself a lunchbox and discovered the pleasure of home-cooked lunches. I moved to London for the summer and although I needed some time to get used to everything (let's just say it... I hated London in the beginning), I actually met a bunch of cool people, learned a whole lot of new things and visited some wonderful places there. I also tried the Sorting Hat, which directly falls into the category "childhood dreams come true". Resolutions for 2014: done, done and done. Resolutions for 2015: more, more and more. The list is open and growing.
I'll make sure I travel more in 2015 (there's a separate list with dream-destinations, of course). I will do the best that I can to finally finish my studies once and for all (a thing that is constantly giving me headaches). I will learn more - design-wise, cooking-wise, communication-wise, life-wise. I will do more sport (who's getting at 7am every other morning to go to the gym? I am!) and I will definitely try to find time and draw a little more. I will keep a diary (this blog being a part of it), I will take pictures, I will read more and by the end of the year I'll be more than glad to see a better version
of myself.
That's why I find resolutions so important - because I like to have a plan, I like to know where I'm headed and what I can do to improve the things I do and the things I see. Setting actual goals is the best way to boost your motivation and give direction to what you want and what you need. It doesn't have to be a list of resolutions – but it's a good start of the year.

Things I Like in London: Lunch at Barbican

For me, London works like this: I see something for the first time and I hate it. I see it again and think to myself - well, it's not that bad. Third time is a charm and I fall deeply in love. 

It took some time before I fell in love with Barbican. I first saw it on a sunny Saturday morning and wasn't at all impressed by the Brutalist architecture. Being raised up in post-communist Bulgaria makes massive concrete buildings a little less exciting, I guess. Besides - gloomy London is grey enough. 

Barbican Centre is, for starters, a lot of concrete in one place. Cold, monochromatic and out of place - at least that's what my first impression of it was. I surely needed time to find the beauty of it. 

Somehow I didn't feel like Europe's largest performing arts centre should look like this. It took me some time to get used to it and start to see that it actually has character. It is distinctive. And yes, it is out of place in the middle of London, but in a good way. Not such a bad place after the second visit, that's for sure. 

With multiple performing arts venues, galleries and theatres side by side, the Barbican is the essence of the "big idea" architecture. That's what makes it magnificent. It pulls you in like a labyrinth and you become an explorer, discovering what's down this hallway, what's up these stairs, what's around the corner or hiding behind that column. I only visited one exhibition (robot snakes are a little less terrifying than real ones - although I don't want to meet either anytime soon) and couldn't get lost inside - but I'm sure that finding your way through numerous galleries and halls would be even 

more exciting. 

Barbican's a good place for art. And theatre. And films. And music. And lectures. But let me tell you what it's really great for: lunch. I fell in love with Barbican... at lunchtime. 

It only took a nice lunch from the nearby food market to make me realise that, after all, Barbican is actually nice. It's not at all cold if you eat a warm buckwheat crepe there. It's not monochromatic if you walk around the place in your multi-coloured kicks. It is definitely out of place, but - after all, I am too.

Things I Like in London: Columbia Road Flower Market

Markets are a big thing in London. Food markets, vintage clothing markets, antique markets, flower markets, flea markets, all-kinds-of-markets. 

Although I often find myself in Spitalfields market (near a cupcakery. oh-oh!) and every other Sunday go to Bricklane market for a salmon bagel... my favourite London market so far is Columbia Road Flower Market. It's a wonderful place that makes me want to read all the gardening books in the world, move to the village and have a huge garden.  

Columbia Road Market is the kind of place you want to be on a Sunday morning. Londoners are crowding only to buy some fresh flowers, sellers are shouting, dogs are barking excitedly. And it smells of roses and lilac and coriander and lavender and rosemary and lily of the valley altogether.

I couldn't resist buying a bunch of smiling sunflowers. And a succulent. 

But I would have bought everything if I could. 

I definitely need more plants in my life. But after killing an innocent succulent I might need to educate myself on the matter first.  

Markets have become my little weekend ritual here in London. How about you? Are you in the mood for a salmon bagel and some flower shopping?

Things I Like in London: Harry Potter Studio Tour

I visited Hogwarts.

I still cannot believe it but yesterday I actually visited Hogwarts.

And it was magical.

Harry Potter and all the hype around it will always have a special place in my heart. I grew up with the books. I've read them at least a million times. I used to spend hours in the library checking what names and symbols and places meant. I wrote letters to whoever was involved with this magical experience. I made all props I could think of using whatever I had at hand. And yes, I had a hand-knitted Gryffindor scarf. I was that crazy kid. At least I didn't wear round glasses. But hey - now I do.

But seriously - I was a huge Harry Potter geek. I knew every single name, every single spell, every single potion. I dreamt of buying a book from Flourish & Blotts, I dreamt of trying pumpkin juice and Butterbeer. I dreamt of chocolate frogs and magic wands and invisibility cloaks and flying broomsticks - and it all came true yesterday.

I guess Harry Potter Studio Tour would be exciting for everybody - just because it is truly fascinating how a magical story is turned into reality, to touch all the costumes and see all the sets and have a look at all bits and bobs crafted in such detail.
It was a lot more than that for me, though - you could imagine. I was more excited than all the kiddos there combined and I honestly cried of joy during the whole experience. I wore the Sorting Hat, drank butter beer, ate chocolate frogs and fizzing whizz bees, tried magic wands... I visited Hagrid's Hut, The Burrow, professor Dumbledore's office, the Dungeons, and my most favourite Diagon-Ally. I met Dobby and Fawkes and Buckbeak and Aragog. I knocked on the door of Privet Drive Number 4, I rode the Knight bus, read the Daily Prophet and almost rode a broom. It was amazing.

This was probably my biggest childhood dream - to enter this magical world and be a part of it.
It might sound cheesy in a blogpost about Harry Potter... but let me tell it to you either way: dreams do come true - and you get a warm fuzzy feeling in your stomach. Or it might just be the butterbeer.

I am definitely doing a Harry Potter movie marathon this week - I'm sure I'll see all things differently now that I've taken a closer look at how everything has been made. I'm packed with sherbet lemons and every flavour beans, so it's going to be great.
Unless I get an earwax flavoured bean, that is.

Things I Like in London: Mayfield Lavender

London is... lilac.

If you get up early on a Monday, London's everything but lilac. 

If you get up early on a Tuesday or Wednesday - it's mostly gloomy and dark and grey.

If you get up early on a Thursday you might catch a sun beam or two.

If you get up early on a Friday - gloomy and dark and grey again.

But if you get up early on a Saturday, you might find London lilac. Let me tell you how.

Essential is to get up early on a Saturday. Eat a spoonful of chia. Go out for a quick run. Take a long shower. Put a raw bar or two in your bag, pack a good book, throw a coat on and catch the first train to south London. Get lost a couple of times. Take the underground. Take the overground. Take a bus and then another bus and then walk a little. Or just check a map before you do anything like that and go straight to the place. 

When you get to Mayfeild Lavender dark and gloomy and grey London has magically turned lilac. 

Bees are buzzing around, it smells of lavender and you get the feeling that you're someplace far far away from everything you know. It is nice and lilac.

You are nice, London. I like you way too much now.

Adventures in London

I remember very clearly sitting in the plane, listening to this tune and taking pictures out the window. The clouds were shining white, the sky was bright and blue and the sun was shining. Then we dived into the clouds and started to descend and everything changed - the sky turned from blue to grey, the sun hid behind а thick layer of clouds (which were no longer puffy and white but heavy and dark) and I thought to myself - well yeah, that must be London.

I won't lie - I didn't really like London for the first couple of weeks. I didn't like the place, I didn't like the weather, I wasn't really sure whether I wanted to spend a whole summer in the busiest city in Europe or not. I was really confused with the left-hand traffic, with the ridiculously complicated underground, with double-deckers travelling almost at the speed of light, with coins that have no numbers on them... I wasn't impressed by the traditional 'Fish &Chips' and I most definitely hated Marmite.

It took me some time before I finally gave London a chance. It couldn't be that bad... you start to get used to looking at the opposite direction when crossing the street. The underground isn't that complicated and double-deckers travelling at the speed of light are actually useful when you're running late. It still takes me some times to count my change but I'm slowly getting better at it. As for the food here - traditional english dishes might not be impressive but since you can find cuisine from all over the world here - it's not at all bad. I'd have a veggie Mexican burrito any time. Or a halumi wrap. Or green thai curry. You name it.

I visit museums. I go to food markets and flower markets and wine markets. (Markets are a serious business around here!). I discover small hidden shops that hide all kinds of treasures. I admire wonderful murals and street art installations. I drink lots of coconut water and rose lemonade. I buy sunflowers and succulents and dream of a big garden. I learn a few new english words every single day (word of the day today: salience). I munch on raw bars and caramel shortbread like crazy. I sometimes run, too. Not as much as I used to, but I'm keeping it up. London, that must mean we get on pretty well, no?

I'm in London to make some illustrations & design, learn some cool new recipes, visit new fun places and drink all the rose lemonade possible. I didn't really like it during my first days here because I couldn't stop comparing it to my most beloved Vienna - and you might very well guess that they have absolutely nothing in common. But after a month and a half here I must admit... London is actually nice. Yes, it is busy and crazy and loud and unpredictable. But very nice whatsoever.

Let's be friends, London - I'm nice as well.

Аll is love

Dexter and I wake up early on a Sunday. 

Dexter waits impatiently while I make breakfast: freshly squeezed orange juice and a perfectly cut mango (it took me only a million youtube how-to videos to finally get the hang of it). We take a look through the window to check the weather outside and plan our day accordingly. It is sunny today. Perfect for an expedition. 

And by expedition I mean an adventurous walk to the near bakery. We can't live on orange juice and a mango! We need a second breakfast. Something like a muffin or a waffle or a slice of pizza. Dexter doesn't mind - he could eat all three at the same time. 

I put on my magical lilac hat I found a couple of days ago and almost-magical-running-shoes and we are ready to go.  Dexter doesn't have any magical attire. He keeps it real and casual. Although he likes to wear my lilac hat when we're at home and nobody's watching - but let's keep that a secret. 

We meet friends and foes on our way to the bakery: a couple of stray dogs that don't like Dexter very much and keep arguing we should change our route and a cute little black dog who is Dexter's latest love and follows us along. We stop every now and again because Dexter believes he is this close to finding a treasure but - oh well - it is always a false alarm. We haven't lost faith, though - every adventure ends up with a treasure sooner or later.

Our treasure today is a delicious freshly baked croissant from the bakery. We share 50/50. 60/40 even, because Dexter's girlfriend gets some of my share. Ah, love. I do what I can. 

When we get home we are already tired of our little adventure. Dexter falls asleep almost immediately and I hide under a pink blanket with a couple of favourite books. I don't read much today - I just look at pictures or make lists of german words I don't know. I listen to good music, drink sweet tea and... well... I might have a mint chocolate or two. Or half a box of. It's Sunday. I can do that on a Sunday. Right?

Dexter sleeps till late afternoon. I invite him out for a run but he's the laziest dog in the neighbourhood, he can't take more than one adventure a day. So I put on my magical hat and shoes again and go out alone. An 8km run compensates for eight After Eight mint chocolates, that's what my simple math tells me. I'm good at math, you can trust me on this one. 

I feel happy today. I go on expeditions and draw and run and read and take pictures of mangos. I watch an old Bulgarian movie called All is Love (Dexter falls asleep right after the opening title. Not the best company for movies, this one), I laugh to old-fashioned jokes and clumsy romantic scenes. 

I feel happy and loved today.

All is love. And a simple Sunday made wonderful.

* All is love opening title. Enough to put my Dexter to sleep. 

Tangerine Season

Winter has come a little earlier this year. It is freezing cold outside and it has been snowing for the past couple of days. Which is always good news for Dexter who runs in circles like crazy every time we go out for a walk. Playing in the snow is his second most favourite thing in the world. After eating, that is.

I've taken out all winter equipment. Enormous amounts of both tea and tangerines are in stock - because it's not truly winter without the smell of freshly brewed tea and the sweet taste of tangerines. My sketchbooks are full of doodles I can't wait to see finished and a whole bunch of lovely books are waiting patiently on my nightstand. I can't be more prepared for winter than this. Oh, wait - I can. And I am, because I write lists. As in winter-to-do-lists.

Last year's ice-skating was a total failure (but enormous fun, nevertheless) so this time I need to be a little more serious about winter sports. Maybe even try skiing or snowboarding. I also have some running challenges I need to take seriously before the end of the year, so that I can start clean from January on. New recipes and learning this and that in illustrator are constantly on my list, so I'm not even mentioning those. 

What do you have in your winter to-do-list? Any brilliant ideas I could steal? I'd give you a tangerine for one. :)

Preparing for winter

Life lately has been filled with enormous amounts of tea to keep me awake, heavy (and not-so-interesting) textbooks piling on my desk and an occasional get out for some fresh air (and candy apples). Oh, and I am also kind of working as the postman of the floor, because magically all post comes to my apartment and I have to hand it out every time. Which is actually a fun way to meet all my neighbours, so I can't complain.

As the colder weather starts to set in I feel the need to put down a list of all the things I'd like to do this winter. For starters, finally learn to ski. (Ice-skating is also an option). Learn a bunch of new recipes. Finish up my two textbooks in time. And, of course, finally open up my online shop. I promise I've been working on this for quite some time, but there are so many little details I need to take care of. I am looking forward to flying back home in just 10 days and I hope I'll have all the time I need for all my plans and, of course, for some snow-angel making with Dexter (he's pretty good at rolling in the snow, although his "angel" looks more like a giant mess) and some cuddling in front of the fireplace and also some cookie baking.

Ah, winter. I can't wait.

*have you tried pomegranate juice? I've recently discovered it and I believe I am now addicted.