The November Playlist

Hello, Lovelies! It's been a while, huh? I'll save you the millionth where have I been post of the year and just skip straight to it! No promises or expectations for all this blogging lark, but I certainly hope to be about a bit more often for the last month of the year. 

Miss You - Gabrielle Aplin. 

100% the most played song of the month. I absolutely adore Gabrielle Aplin, and English Rain is one of my favourite albums of all time so you can imagine my excitement when I saw this little gem pop into my subscription box on Youtube. One listen in and it was the first song to make it into my little monthly favourites playlist on Spotify. Well worth a listen. Pinky promise!

Nathan Sykes - Famous 

Now, I'm not the biggest Nathan Sykes fan. I don't dislike his music, he's just not the kinda artist I'd choose to listen to, yknow? That all changed this month. I'm in love. Like, really. Kinda cemented by his live performance on the X Factor this year. But, this song is just amazing. I can't stop listening. 

 Unsteady - X Ambassadors. 

This isn't a new song. Apparently, it was featured on the Me Before You soundtrack, which I watched and loved. But, I've only just heard this song this month, someone. I found it on a random playlist on Spotify and I. Am. Obsessed. Not a knew one, but a good'un just the same. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The August + September Watchlist

IHello, Lovelies. I'm mentioned countless times here that I love me some telly! Whether it's a good old Netflix binge, sitting down with a cuppa and a soap or cringing at some reality tv, I'm there and watching eagerly. So, I thought I'd round up the shows I've been in love with over the last few weeks and share it with you guys. 

Could I really have done this post without Casualty? It's featured in nearly all of my tv loves posts, and I'm certainly not about to stop now. Any episode is a winner for me, but with the recent feature length episode and that helicopter scene, they definitely upped their game. I'm absolutely over the moon they've brought back Alicia, and can't get enough of the Hardy/Knight brother combo. Step aside McSteamy and McDreamy - Brit Doctors definitely do it better!

Ever since Rosanna Pierce started mentioning Suits in her Vlogs/on twitter/everywhere, I knew I had to give it a shot. I'll admit that when I started watching episode one, I just didn't get into it. I took a break, and sat down again a week or so later, and ended up binge watching 2 seasons in the week. Yep. It's addicting. Harvey Spectre is definitely my newest TV crush, very closely followed by Mike Ross. 

I've seen a lot of chatter about this recently, and it was definitely a Netflix binge. This at times was definitely a bit too obvious for my tastes; in particular, the commentary which in all honesty I found a bit silly. That said, I found myself suddenly deep into the second series when I'd only meant to be watching the very first episode to kill a bit of time. Definitely one of those "so shit it's actually quite good" shows. A bit silly at times, definitely a bit obvious at times, but addicting nonetheless. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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What I Eat In A Day | Vegan Recipes

Hello, lovelies! Who doesn't like food? I love food! And, nearly more than that, I love finding new recipes to try. Now, I don't always eat vegan, which is terrible I know, but I try to as much as I can. That said, I spend far more time than I should watching vegan what I eat in a day videos on youtube and jotting down the recipes to try, and I adore spending my time in the kitchen playing about until I've got a dish that I just can't stop eating. So, I thought I'd join in and tell you all what I eat in a day, along with the recipes so you can try them out too. 

Breakfast 

Now, this is pretty non-negotiable. I'm not one of those people who can sit down to a huge plate of pancakes or a cooked breakfast. I almost always have the same thing - porridge. I switch my add-ins and toppings around pretty often, but you can almost always bet on the fact that I'll be sitting down to a bowl of hot porridge on any given morning. Even the summer. Because I'm always cold. 

Recipe: 

This one is pretty simple. Add 1/2 cup of oats and 1 cup of your liquid of choice to a pan, and heat over a medium heat. About halfway through, add 1/2 a mashed up banana, a small handful blueberries and 1/2 tsp maple syrup and keep stirring until it's combined fully and your consistency of choice (I like mine pretty thick, so I cook for a longer time). The banana and syrup make this super sweet, but the tartness of the berries cuts through the sweetness really well. And, it's loaded with fruit so you're already well on your way to your 5 a day! Top with the remaining banana and a drizzle of peanut butter and you're good to go.

Lunch

Unlike breakfast, I try to have a different lunch every day. I get bored very easily, and if I have the same food too often I literally can't eat it again for months with the exception of a few things, but this veg soup is a super simple, versatile and filling meal. You could even double up the serving and have it with some crusty bread for dinner. I don't have a set-in-stone recipe for this, I just use whatever veg looks like it's about to go off with my go-to base of onion, garlic and chilli, so no matter what you've got you can just throw it in without having to go out and spend a fortune on new ingredients. 

Recipe: 
This makes about 8 generous portions. 

Cut up any veg you've got lying around into medium sized chunks. I used 2 sweet potatoes, about 7-8 carrots, and about 6-7 mushrooms in this but you can use anything. Finely chop one onion, and 1/2-1 chilli, and mince 3-4 cloves of garlic. Fry this off in a small amount of oil and a pinch of  smoked paprika until everything softens. Throw in your veggies and add enough veg stock to cover everything. Leave to simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you can easily break apart the veg with your spoon (this will depend on what you use, but about 30-45 minutes). Leave to cool, then blitz everything in a blender. You can then divide into portions, and freeze what you aren't going to use. 

I forgot to take a picture, but here's one from last week! Sorry.

Dinner

Now, I'm not a fan of spaghetti. At all. But, this pasta bolognese is one of my favourite dinners. I switch out the spaghetti for whatever pasta I've got lying around, and even chickpeas if I fancy a change. You can also use this to top sweet potatoes, quinoa.. the list is endless! Topped with a nice helping of vegan cheese, you can't beat sitting down to this comforting pasta dish.

Recipe:
The sauce makes 2-3 portions. 

Cook your pasta according to the pack instructions. Chop 3-4 cloves garlic, 1/2 red onion, and cook in a pan with 1/2 a veggie stock cube and 1-2 tbsp boiling water. When the garlic and onion have softened, add 1 can chopped tomatoes, 1tbsp tomato paste/puree and 3-4 chopped mushrooms. Leave to simmer over a medium heat until the sauce is piping hot. Drain the pasta, add your sauce and toss to coat. Grate some vegan cheese over the top, and you're done! Freeze any portions you haven't used.

So, that's that! I didn't add snacks into this because I'll be doing a separate vegan snacks post soon, but I hope you liked these recipes. They're all so easy, but super delicious. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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Back To School Haul 2016 | Maxine Studies

Hello, Lovelies! As I mentioned in my recent 'where have I been' post, I'm going back to college for the millionth time this year. I don't actually start until the 20th, so I'm a bit ahead of my own schedule, but I like to be organised so I've already got everything in and ready to go. Plus, for anyone going back a bit earlier, you might see something you fancy! I picked all this up over the last few week, and it wasn't until I was getting everything together and getting the last few things I realised I've accidentally got a bit of a colour theme going. 

I've still got a ton of stuff leftover from last year, so this isn't everything I'll be taking. I will be doing a "what's in my pencil case" type post soon with all the things I take on a daily basis, so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Obviously, the first thing I needed was a ring binder. I just wanted one I could divide up, instead of having to carry a few different ones around, so I went for one of the bigger lever arch files. I love this baby blue one from Wilko's (£2), and the design inside is lovely. I'm not a fan of anything too 'busy', so I like that it's plain on the outside but cute and girly on the inside. To separate the folder up, I just got these subject dividers (95p). I won't need all 12, but they seemed a bit firmer than the cheap cardboard ones which always end up ripped and falling out after about a week in my folder, so I just picked these up. Much the same with these plastic wallets (89p for 50), they aren't anything fancy, but they'll do to stick any loose bits of paper in which is all you need them to do, really!

Next, of course, I had to pick up a notebook. Like the folder, I wanted to just have to take one, and I always tend to get the Pukka project pads, but I loved the print on this one and it was only £2 in Morrisons. I also needed a diary, because I'm a micro-planner and organisation freak! This rabbit one was, again, £2 in Wilkos, and I love the cute design on the front. It was hard to find one that wasn't either a plain block colour or aimed at a younger audience, but I thought this was a nice middle ground, and the baby blue colours go well with my accidental theme this year!

Like I mentioned, I've got a ridiculous amount of stuff left over from last year, so all I needed to pick up on the pen front was some ballpoint pens and some colouring pencils. For pens, I picked up this pack of Paper Mate pens in 8 different colours (£1.50) I normally go for a super thin nib on a pen because my handwriting is cursive and really 'loopy' and gets lost with a thicker nib, and I didn't notice that these ones were marked as medium. So, I might end up not really using these in the end; which is annoying. I didn't really want anything fancy with pencils, so I just picked up the first ones I saw, which ended up being this 30 pack from Wilko's. They were only £1.75, which I thought was a complete bargain for the amount you get. To stick all this in I picked up this pencil case (£1.50), which isn't anything fancy but it gets the job done and looks nice with all the other baby blue things I bought.

Of course, even though I've got a massive pile in the house, I couldn't walk past these books of sticky notes from Morrisons. I can't remember which and I've lost the receipt, but one pack was 50p and the other was £1. They're really cute, and a nice change from the typical neon or pastel colours you get, and I like the fact they come in a little book with loads of different shapes and sizes. Next, my course is assignment based, with a lot of posters and things like that, so I thought I'd get this 4 pack of glue (£1). You get two 21g tubes and two 15g tubes. I might not need it, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it! And, for £1 for 4 tubes you can't really go wrong. 

Finally, I picked up this USB. I have got one lying around somewhere, but God knows where I've put it so I obviously had to buy a new one. I ended up going for the 16gb pastel blue one, which was £5 from Wilkos. I wasn't going to get a 16gb one, purely because I don't think I'll ever need that much, but the 8gb was £4 and this one was £5, so I thought I might as well. Plus, just like with the glue I'd much rather have a load of spare memory space I don't use, than need it and not have it for the sake of another £1. 

And, breathe! I didn't think I'd bought that much until I came to write this post up! I still need to buy a bag, but I'm so fussy about what I want that I'd never get this post up in time if I had to wait until I'd bought one. Let me know what you've bought for going back to schoo/college/uni in the comments below, and definitely leave any links too! 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The August Playlist | Recent Music Loves

Hello, lovelies! Fancy having a bit of a snoop around my playlist for this month and finding out what songs I've been loving? You've come to the right place! I've gathered together all the songs I've had on repeat over the past month or so into one handy little post. Good, eh?

Bastille - Good Grief 

I honestly couldn't have made this post without adding this song. I've been obsessed with it probably for a little bit over a month, but it's still one of my go-to songs even now. I love Bastille, and I think this may be my favourite of all their songs. 

Rihanna - Love On The Brain 

This is a very recent love, but a love all the same. Now, I'll be the first to say I'm not Rihanna's biggest fan. I don't necessarily dislike her or her music, it's just not something I'd seek out either. But, I stumbled across this song in another playlist and I literally had it on repeat for the next 2 days. Solid. Like, it's all I listened too. Seriously! 

James TW - When You Love Someone 

This is the first I've heard of this guy, but I sincerely hope it's not the last! It's one of those easy listening, stick it on in the background when you're reading or just relaxing songs. Then, you listen to the lyrics and you're like "oh. so it's like that". Very much like Jamie Lawson's Wasn't Expecting That, where you don't really listen to the lyrics but when you do you realise it's a lot more meaningful than you first thought.

What have you guys been loving this month? I'm always open to new music, so leave your links below. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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