The Paper Fig

So, I have some exciting news - I'm moving house! Finally.

It's into another house share but it's with less people, in an area I like and the house is beautiful.

That's why I've been so busy of late, I've been packing stuff up, taking it home, moving it into the new place, and all that jazz that comes with moving into a new place.

The next month is going to be extremely busy with multiple trips back and forth to the new place and home as I transfer all the clutter I have (I am such a hoarder!) but I will try to keep my two posts a week coming. 

I definitely still have a lot of reviews to do and a few other ideas that I've been thinking about.

For now, here is the review on The Paper Fig restaurant in Jersey, located in the town of Gorey.

As you can see in the above photo it's a very beautiful, cosy little restaurant.

Unfortunately, the evening we visited was a cold and rainy one so it was lovely to walk into such a warm ambience. 

The candles were lit, there were squashy cushions to sink into and an interesting variety of textures from the walls to the artwork, even to the mosaic bathrooms!

We were the first people in the restaurant that evening and the waiter who accommodated us was very polite and friendly.

The place slowly filled around us as we ordered.

Adeel went for the Ragout d'Agneau Croupe, a lamb rump in a truffled wild mushroom cassolette, red wine sauce and creamy mashed potatoes.

He said it was the best meal he has ever had. He even wanted to go into the kitchen to personally shake the chef's hand - he didn't, but that goes to show how much he enjoyed it!

I was torn between two but in the end decided on the Filet de Cabillaud, a fillet of cod with capers, butter sauce and crushed lemon potatoes.

It was phenomenal. The sharp lemon-y potatoes went so well with the little capers and the smooth cod. I was in heaven.

The portions were small (like in a proper posh place) but it was enough. They were rich and creamy and just beautifully presented.

We just managed to squeeze in some Jersey Dairy vanilla ice cream which was a good palette cleanser and a nice way to finish off the meal.

Seriously, such a great place and a surprisingly fantastic gem of a find, well, recommendation really, wonderful staff and a beautiful location.

If you ever, ever, get a chance to visit, please do. I can't recommend it enough.

Amazing.



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What I'm Loving Right Now

It seems summertime is when all my time is eaten up by countless trips home, social events and actually going out with my boyfriend.

It was only a mere few months ago that I remember complaining to my housemate that I never do anything on weekends. I just sit at home and watch TV.

But, now, I don't honestly remember a weekend that I haven't been busy.

Today is the first day in ages that I feel like I can get back to my usual self and slob out. Except, because I haven't done it in a while, it feels wrong and I have all this pent up energy spent on doing nothing.

Eh, who am I to complain?

Here are the things I've been loving recently:

1. One Tree Hill - yes, I've given in and am re-watching it for the third time. I just can't seem to get enough of all the drama and twists in this ridiculous programme. I had to find something to fill the PLL-shaped hole (although I am watching series 7 of it, but weekly episodes is never as good as a full on binge).

2. Travel confidence/striving to better my anxiety again and again - This goes hand in hand with the following point but it deserves its own mention to be honest. It wasn't all that long ago that I felt jittery and worried about leaving the house, even for work, let alone letting it all go and just going everywhere and anywhere I get the opportunity to. Beckenham, home, Faversham, Oxford. It may not seem a lot to those accustomed to just following their heart, but I'm proud of myself for how far I've come and how much I can truly push myself.

3. Oxford meal with Adeel and his work colleagues - Last Friday I left work at 4 o'clock, headed to Paddington for the first time and caught a train to little ol' Oxford for a three course meal in a boathouse. It was amazing. I'm going to do a full post about it later down the line, but it deserves a quick mention as I just loved it. Take me back.

4. The City of Mirrors - mannnnnn, this is also going to get its own post in review format but this book! Final instalment of Justin Cronin's vampire, end-of-the-world trilogy and it was as good as I could have hoped and better. READ THEM.

5. Runtastic - hey, look who's kept it up and hasn't given in to laziness again?? I'm actually loving it, it's hard work and a killer on those muscles, but the feeling of completing 1-2 miles twice a week is the best feeling ever and this app is a huge motivator.

6. Empire soundtrack - I'm always looking for new music since joining Spotify and the Empire season has not long finished and I found myself craving to hear Jussie Smollett's lovely tones. Powerful and You're So Beautiful seem to be my favourites at the moment.

7. Counting down the days to moving out - okay, so we haven't set a date or anything for actually moving in together, but it is getting nearer and nearer to our presumed month at least. I just cannot wait to leave this shared accommodation and live with my best friend and boyfriend. Sure, he'll probably drive me nuts at some point but, God, give me that any day over sharing with someone I completely loath.



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How To Live With People You Don't Get On With

When you have to of course.

Whether it's a sibling, parent, other half, friend or a complete stranger, it's never good to snap at someone over something that probably isn't even that big of a deal. Which could also probably have been avoided or talked about calmly. God knows everyone has bad days, hell, I sure have, but that can make living with someone a total nightmare and incredibly uncomfortable if you end up arguing all the time.

If this said someone is rude to you, or messy or keeping you awake at night, talk to them first. If you do it politely they are more likely to listen to you and do as you are asking, whereas if you shout at them, you may not get anywhere with your issue.

I've had firsthand experience at asking my housemates calmly to be quiet the following morning as well as exploding at them in the middle of the night because I couldn't take it anymore. And guess which one worked the best?

If you can't talk to them about it or they continue to ignore your polite requests, find something that calms you or, just remind yourself, living with someone you don't get on with isn't forever. Hopefully. Count down the days until you can move out if needs be.

Living with family, friends or other halves is probably more of a learning curve of compromise and gritting your teeth. Plus, you probably wanted to live with them at some point. Whereas, living in a shared house is just ideal at the time.

I have 3 housemates that, I don't know whether it's because of their culture, but are incredibly, incredibly noisy all of the damn time. Whether it's stomping up the stairs, or slamming their bedroom doors or even just talking in the kitchen - which by the way is the furthest point in the house from my bedroom. Then there's one of them that constantly looks and talks down on me, who has such a close-minded view of things that it is very infuriating to try and get my point across. In fact, I'm pretty sure he does things just to annoy me sometimes.

It helps that I've got at least one housemate I get on really well with. We both feel the same pains and talking about it together is a good way to vent our feelings! If not, then I usually rant over the phone to my boyfriend or my mum! Lucky them.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is: not everybody gets along fine all of the time. You just have to look at things rationally and try to keep a cool head whether you like it or not. Living in Uni halls and now a shared house for the past three years has definitely enabled me to learn about what I'm like to live with as well as many other types of people!

Only a few more months and maybe, just maybe, I can finally move out of this place...


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