Food Delights || August

After setting up my new home in Newcastle England, I've made it a priority to try some of the local food. A lot of things I could find in America, but there's nothing like getting the authentic culinary skills of The Brits.

During orientation, we were offered an authentic Afternoon Tea  at a highly regarded hotel called The Vermont  in Newcastle upon Tyne. And it didn't disappoint. The scones were delicious, as well as the custard! Oh my, it was devine! And I don't think I need to say anything about the tea, I mean... we are in the land of Earl Grey tea after all.

Trying out some mouth watering fish and chips! I think the first week I was here I had 3 of these. The fish is so fresh, the breading so crispy and the fries... I don't think you can find fries made like that in America. Or at least, I've looked...

My father came to visit for a couple of days and we ended up sharing this specific meal. He was able to enjoy the fish and chips and I had the steak and fries at Pitcher and Piano.

Pizza.... Ah, what can I say about pizza. I'm in love - I was born in the South of France, about an hour away from Italy, so I'm really picky when it comes to a good slice of pizza. This pizza here comes pretty close to the style that I love, so any chance I get to pop over to Grainger Market in Northumbria City Center, I will get my hands on one! The dough is light and thin without being crispy, and the marriage of tomato sauce, cheese, and herbs are in perfect harmony. My friend decided to try the ham and mushroom, but honestly... you can't go wrong with any of them and the serving sizes are pretty great for the price!

The pub grub is pretty damn spectacular as well! Here is the Sunday Lunch at Tanners Arms. The best way to describe the way this taste is to imagine that your mother spent all weekend trying to cook this meal, and after a week of hard work and sleep exhaustion, it's exactly what the doctor ordered (or at least I did!) I've been there a few times now, so here is some of the things I ordered. At the top, it's beef and gravy with pork skins and puffin. In the middle, there's chicken and chips with puffin - and once again gravy... it's like a Thanksgiving dinner every time. You can see all the sides that could come with the dish. Honey grazed carrots, peas, mashed potatoes, cabbage and bacon (my personal favorite!), and whole cooked potatoes. And finally at the bottom, the latest dish I ordered was sausage, onions, and mashed potatoes surrounded by a moat of amazing juices - I honestly don't know what was in that but I couldn't get enough of it!

Tanners Arms, like many of the pubs here, has a very relaxed atmosphere. Very quiet, hole in the wall kind of feel. But man, it's exactly what you need after a rough week. And they even have a pool table, live entertainment at night, and even board games sitting on the mantle waiting to be played. My kind of place!

Eating out is fun but it sure burns a whole in my wallet. So here we have a few meals that me and my friend made. Living close to the sea, Newcastle receives some of the freshest fish I've ever seen, and I have a specific fishmonger I like to frequent because of the quality of the salmon. Here I have pan fried salmon and a side salad. Simple in preparation and one of the best dishes I think I've ever made. By cleaning off the scales, the skin becomes a crispy little treat and the favorite part of this whole dish. My friend makes the salad to the right almost everyday. It is one of the most colorful salads I've ever seen prepared and brought to class. Her culinary skills make me quite envious, but I'd probably get fat from all the amazing dishes she creates! Find her on her blog here.

Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for the food finds I had in September!

So, here's what it's like to be in Med School Year 1...

Catching up on sleep anywhere we can...

Anyone having a similar experience??

Outfit review

This was a post I wanted to publish two months ago but things got in the way, like... you know... packing and flying across the ocean to my new home in England. Since I have a nice little break between classes, I think I'll show it to you guys now!

Last month I went to LOFT and tried on several blouses that I had been eyeing for a while. I always have to try things on at LOFT before ordering them online because the sizes always vary from item to item, as I will point out below. Sometimes I'm an XS Petite, sometimes I'm a Small regular, and sometimes the Medium sizes fit best. Does anyone else have that problem with LOFT? I've learned that if I try to order them I never get around to returning the pieces I don't want, and that's just silly...

The first two pictures are in the same size (Small). At first, I saw the design and didn't think I'd like it but when I tried it I changed my mind. The stripes are slimming and it's a very loose, light fabric. I can picture wearing this tucked into one of my pencil skirts with low heels for clinicals.

The first two pictures are size small and the lower one is a medium. 

This shirt on the other hand, did nothing for me. I thought the shape would be flattering and the color is a beautiful eggplant shade, but this just goes to show that you have to try on a lot of clothes to figure out what fits your specific body. I get the feeling that Fran would pull this off a lot better than I would; we have different shoulder shapes (is it odd that I'm describing our shapes this way?) but it means that she can wear boxy tops while I have to find things with more defined shoulders.

The only thing I liked about this shirt was the little orange roosters. I'm not even gonna discuss the rest of it.... Moving on...

 

This blouse was an attempt at bring patterns and color to my wardrobe. I really like both and thought this could be added to my pieces to wear during medical school. Although the collar is not my favorite style, the fabric allows it to be flat and wouldn't be too itchy around my neck. Tucked in into pencil skirts, this blouse could definitely work.  

The top two pictures show the blouse in size medium (you can see I'm trying to pull the extra fabric around my waist), and the lower two pictures show the blouse in size small.

The colors in this top is so flattering for olive skins (like myself). I also really love this type of collar and have been trying to find more shirts with this style. I find that it doesn't get my hair all messed up when I leave it down. This would be perfect for professional days where we examine patients. The short sleeves also allow for airiness underneath the white coats. Win win in my book.

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Update: It's been 3 months since I tried these on and never got around to buying the blouses I wanted. Looking back on this post I would still buy the last two if I had the chance, and may have a look at delivery options if I can still grab them. What do you guys think? What have you tried on lately?