So many bananas, so little time.

Sheila bought bananas. Then she completely forgot about them, apparently, because all of the sudden we had a whole bunch of brown bananas chilling on our counter and just begging to be baked into something glorious. So I've been experimenting with different banana breads.

In addition to good old fashioned banana bread, which is always a winner, I also decided to give these two lovelies a try:

Browned butter strawberry banana bread. Heavenly.

And chocolate chocolate chip banana bread. Super yum.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I've got a confession. We dug into these babies well before I got to/thought to take a decent picture. But can you blame us? They'd been baking for almost an hour each, so our whole kitchen smelled awesome. Self control went out the window. I'm surprised I even got the chance to turn them out onto the cooling racks. 

Anywho, moral of the story: Try these recipes. They're delish.

 

Special delivery.

When I heard the buzzer this morning, I did not want to get up to answer the door. I had pretty much decided not to, but them something in me said, "Stop being lazy. Go check."

And, boy, am I glad I did.

The nice postman handed me a parcel that was actually for me! Hannah's usually the one who gets mail, so this was a big deal. And inside? Well it was an even bigger deal.

Remember when I told y'all how I feel about cookbooks? How I hadn't ever considered buying one till I saw that Joy from Joy the Baker wrote one? Well guess what...

It's an early birthday present from my momma (she obviously loves me)! And it's gorgeous, filled with pretty photography and recipes that look ah-mazing. Plus, I totally trust this girl -- I've used so many of her recipes, and they've all turned out wonderfully. (I actually just made her browned butter strawberry banana bread the other day, but I'll tell you about that later.) 

Anyway, here's a sneak peak at what's inside:

Isn't it fantastic? I'm so excited. There's only one problem: What should I bake first??

 

Pass the Ben & Jerry's.

Baylor lost and I'm in mourning. Somebody pass the Ben & Jerry's before I have a meltdown...

This girl could really use some Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz right about now.

Yeah. We lost hard. The highlight of the game, though, was Heslip's lone three to cut the deficit to thirteen (yes, thirteen). My British, formerly-non-basketball-enthusiast-turned-super-fan flatmate and I both completely FREAKED OUT when he hit that shot. So good.

But apart from that, there weren't too many bright spots Baylor this time. Bummer.

At least the women are still in it. 

Go, Lady Bears, go!

 

Fancy a knockaround?

I played tennis all through high school, and there are days when I really miss it. Today was one of those days. Luckily, one of the girls in my building used to play, too. There's some courts a short walk away, so today, since it was perfect tennis weather, we decided to go hit. Except here, people use the term "knockaround," which sounds way cooler.

Anyway, there were four of us, but we only had two racquets. We were all ready to just rotate through, but a group of guys who we met at the courts let us borrow two of theirs. So nice of them.

We didn't actually play -- just rallied a little -- but it felt great to be out there hitting again, even though I was pretty rusty.

So hopefully we'll get a few more racquets and go again soon.
  

German pancakes.

What's your favorite kind of food? Mexican? Italian? Ice cream? I'd say mine is breakfast...anything breakfast. Which is probably why I keep posting recipes for muffins and pancakes. Today is no exception. Here's another of my favorite breakfast recipes. I love it because it doesn't require any fancy ingredients or any hard work, but it still tastes awesome and looks pretty. Two very important qualities. It's German pancakes.

German pancakes are kind of like crepes, except fluffier and you bake them. While they're in the oven, they bubble up and form a little nest for whatever delicious toppings you like best. I chose strawberries, chocolate chips and powdered sugar. Yum.

Let's do this.

German pancakes

(As an aside, I really hate 3-pronged forks. They do nothing for me.)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup milk

1 tbsp butter, softened

dash of vanilla (optional, but why ever not?)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F (about 200 C). Grease a round cake pan, and set aside.

Using a hand mixer, blend eggs till they're a soft yellow color. Add all remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. 

Pour into pan and bake on a center rack for 15 minutes. (Don't be like me and put the pan too close to the heating element, or you'll end up with a little too much crispiness on top.) Then reduce heat to 350 F (175 C) and bake another 5-10 minutes till the sides have puffed up and it's golden brown.

Serve hot, right out of the oven, and topped with whatever goodness you like! This recipe is easily doubled, if you've got someone to share with.

 

Wednesday randoms.

More happenings and observations for you!

The whole floor numbering system in the UK is different than in the US. Here, when something is located on the first floor, they don't mean the first floor. They mean the second floor. Because, here, the actual first floor is called the ground floor. This is particularly unsettling when you're faced with a stairway. At home, if I need to get to the second floor, I climb up one flight of stairs. Here, I've got to climb up a bonus one too. Yay for cardio, I suppose.

We spent St. Patrick's Day in a pub in Twickenham, watching rugby, and I learned a very important lesson: I don't know anything about rugby. Which was really frustrating, because I'm used to being the only, or at least one of very few girls who actually knows what's going on at sporting events. But not this time. Not even close. 

It's March Madness -- one of my favorite times of the year. Unfortunately, there's a 6 hour time difference between home and here, so the games don't start till like 11pm. And now that I've found a shady website that streams most of them (I tried to pay for the CBS service, but no...), I start watching about the time I should be going to bed, and before I know it, I'm up at 4am watching Kansas beat Detroit. Did I mention I still have classes to attend? Madness, indeed.

I mailed my first letters home! I sent my mom and Kim their birthday cards on Friday. I was told it'd take 5-6 business days, so I was expecting them to arrive around Thursday. But no! My mom got hers on Monday! Which was such a relief, as that was her actual birthday. Thanks, Royal Mail.

Honey Loops are not as good as Honey Nut Cherrios. Sorry, England.

I've mentioned that queuing is all the rage here. But it also can incite rage. I went to the bank the other day to exchange some dollars. At my bank, the tellers are all in a row, with the travel services window at the far left. There was a queue when I walked in, but I didn't need a teller. I needed the travel services window, which had just become available. So I walked right up. And then I got yelled at. "EXCUSE ME. THERE'S A QUEUE HERE," shouted a very large, imposing man from the middle of the line. Now, there's something you should know about me. I hate conflict. I hate being the center of attention. My heart freaks out when people stare at me. And people were staring. I felt like an idiot. I looked up, startled, and pointed to the sign above the teller. "Travel services," I said in my foreign accent. "I need to exchange some currency." He went red, mumbled an apology, and turned away, embarrassed. Now, he was the idiot. So that situation ended up being both panic-inducing, and extremely gratifying.

And now, back to being studious. These essays won't write themselves...unfortunately.

Tuesdays are my favorite.

I don't have class on Tuesdays, so naturally they're my favorite. Today was so sunny that Hannah and I decided we absolutely could not spend it indoors. We grabbed coffees and sat down by the Thames, watching people and swans, and feeling wonderfully content. The best kind of afternoon.

Mum's the word.

Today is Mother's Day in the UK. Which is weird, because it's not till May in the States. But, oh well. 

Happy Mother's Day, mom mum! 

  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We spent the afternoon at a pub in Twickenham, watching rugby and laughing at the banter between the Ireland and England fans sitting behind us. The luck of the Irish wasn't with the boys in green (they lost 9-30), but by the end of the night, Hannah and I had scored some foam fingers and a Guinness hat. So it was a win for us.

(Wales v. France. Wales won it all.)

This is how I spent most of the match. Rugby is confusing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends!

 

"Not available in this area."

Eight little words just completely broke my heart: "March Madness is not available in this area."

I love college basketball, so I'm especially fond of March. There's always a game on, and it only gets more exciting as the month rolls on. This year, I've got high hopes for Baylor. The women are still undefeated, and got a 1 seed, while the men are seeded at 3 -- the highest they've ever had. 

So I was thrilled to find out that just $3.99 could get me online access to the tournament. That's like one cup of coffee (I tend to think of prices in terms of coffee...), and since I wouldn't be able to watch it otherwise, I figured it was well worth it. I got all excited. Then, this happened:

Heartbreaking.

I just sat and stared at the screen for a few minutes because I didn't know how to react. 

But that's not the first time it's happened. No, I've seen that message many times since I moved here. For example:

And on and on and on...

I never considered regions when it came to online content. I guess I just assumed that if it was on the Internet, it could be accessed by anyone, anywhere. But I was wrong. 

What a sad, sad realization.

Look, y'all!

(Burnt orange. Gross.)

Saw this in the lift today. The university is holding a real live Texas hoe down! If only I'd seen it earlier. I'd have loved to have seen what that looks like to people from England...

Also, there were some girls in the lift when I took that picture. I had to ask them to move out of the shot, and they looked at me like I was craaaazy. Oh well.

Wednesday randoms.

And here we are. Wednesday again. And mid-March, too! Time flies, doesn't it?

Something you've got to know if you ever spend time here is the letter "x". Why? Because it's a kiss, and people use it alllllll the time. I was familiar with "xoxo," but even then, it's not that common to see at home. Here, it's pretty much included in every message. Text, email, Facebook post...it doesn't matter. For example: "See you tomorrow!xx" There's just so much love going around over here!

Okay, real talk. Deodorant. We all wear it. (I hope...) But I, like most Americans (I assume), am most familiar with the solid kind that twists up from the bottom. And when I say "most familiar," I mean, that's all I've ever used. So imagine my surprise when I went to buy some and saw this:

My choices are limited to the few hiding in the bottom corner...

Yes, spray deodorant is the norm here. Weird.

My friend Kathy was in the country this week doing touristy stuff, so we grabbed dinner the other night. We met at Baylor my freshman year, when she walked up and said, "I see you everywhere. Hi, I'm Kathy." So it was great that the whole seeing each other everywhere also applies when we're living on different continents. It was so good to get to spend time with someone from home. Oh, and another thing about Kathy: she meets celebrities everywhere she goes. And London was no exception. I've lived here for seven months, and haven't seen a single famous person (not that I'm aware of, anyway). She was in the country for like three days, and she somehow managed to meet and get a picture with Zach Braff. How??

It's March Madness time! So exciting! Baylor women are #1 in the nation (undefeated, still!), and the men got a pretty decent seed. I'm pumped! And, yes, I'm definitely forking over the $3.99 to get all the games on demand online. Can't even wait.

Also, a quick shout out to my incredible mom, whose birthday was Monday! She's the best. And to Kim as well, who's 24 today. Happy mid-twenties, soul friend! You don't look a day over 23. 

 

One banana banana bread.

Sometimes, you forget you bought bananas. And the next thing you know, they're brown and squishy and headed for the trash can. But stop! Don't throw them away! You have a great opportunity here. 

You know that saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"? Well I say when life gives you overripe bananas, you should totally make banana bread. 

Most banana bread recipes require several bananas. That's always a problem for me, because I tend to eat most of my bananas before they get too ripe. And that's why I love this recipe. You only need one banana. 

Let's do this.

One banana banana bread

Ingredients:

Large very ripe banana

egg with enough milk to make one cup liquid

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in one large bowl. No need to sift or anything like that! Super easy. Mix until the lumps are mostly gone (if you use a hand mixer, use the medium setting -- if you over mix, the bread won't be soft and fluffy).

Grease bread pan (I used a muffin tin) and fill pan (or tins) 2/3 full. 

 

Bake for 50 minutes (or 10-15 minutes for muffins) at 350 F (175 C). It's done when it's golden brown and passes the toothpick test. 

Springing forward.

I'm 50-50 on this whole Daylight Savings thing. I mean, I love it in the fall. An extra hour of sleep? Um yes, please! But in the spring? Not so much. Something about springing forward makes me kind of grumpy. Sure, it gives you more daylight in the evenings, which I honestly do appreciate. And, really, what is one hour lost, anyway? But even though I'm fully aware that my distaste is irrational, I can't help it.

Lucky for me, I get to put it off for an extra week. Why? Well apparently, the UK has it's own Daylight Savings day -- and it's a week later than in the States. I'm not sure if there's some logical, geographical explanation for this. All I know is, I don't have to lose my hour till next week.

Which is great, since I have another presentation this week, so I need all the hours I can get.

Balancing brooms.

Okay, I don't know about you, but lately my newsfeed has been taken over by pictures of people balancing their brooms. Most of the captions read a little like this: "OMG! This is so creepy! My broom is standing up all by itself!" And there's always at least one helpful comment to explain it: "On leap years/when the planets align/during the vernal equinox the tilt of the earth is different or something in the gravitational pull changes that makes it possible for your broom to stand up."

Riiiiiight.

I don't buy it. I'll bet it's something far less exciting. But since I took elementary school science, I know the importance of conducting experiments to test hypotheses. So let's do it, shall we?

This broom stands up on it's own. Gasp! 

Amazing, right?

The Internet is telling me that this is possible because of with the earth's gravitational pull being weird and some other sciency stuff. But wait! Gravity affects things other than brooms, right?? So if that gravity thing is true, other objects (say, a pencil) would do the same. Or maybe they'd even float or something. So let's see if this pencil can stand on end too! I'm so excited!

Take one.

Not this time.

Still nothing.

Well dang it.

I guess it's got nothing to do with some cool astrological phenomenon, and more to do with the fact that the bristles spread out and create a nice base on which the broom can stand.

But if you don't believe me, (which is fair -- I do communications, not science), maybe ask this guy. He might know something about it.

Sorry to burst your bubble. It's not some crazy awesome vernal equinox thing that's making those brooms stand upright. But the fact that I'm still standing upright after six hours of presentations yesterday? That's nothing short of miraculous.

Sunny days ahead.

No, that title isn't a metaphor. This post is legitimately about weather. Sorry.

If you stop reading now, I'll still love you. 

I'm one of those people who checks the forecast. Like, all the time. I don't really know why. Maybe I just hate being unprepared (I do). Maybe I plan my days around whether or not there will be sunshine (I do). Maybe my mood is notably improved by blue skies (it totally is). The point is, I simply have to hit "w" on my address bar, and my laptop knows I want to go hang out on weather.com.

I know, I know. Ten cool points for me.

The last few days have been seriously lacking in sunshine, and last I checked, this weekend was supposed to be just as gloomy. So I could not have been more excited to click onto the 10 day forecast and see this instead:

(That's in Celsius, by the way.)

No gloom in sight. Glory, hallelujah.

----------------------

Also, apparently, this happened today. So maybe that's what happened to the clouds. Or something.
 

Wednesday randoms.

Today and tomorrow, we're basically doing a presentation marathon in my intercultural communication class. We did two hours today, and are scheduled to go from 9-1 tomorrow. Plus, our questions of censorship presentations are scheduled for tomorrow as well, from 1-3...so that's a grand total of eight hours of sitting through PowerPoints in two days. Six of which will be straight through. Kill me.

But at least I got one of mine out of the way today. And since I couldn't bring myself to do anything remotely academic when I got home, I baked. Normally, I've got an open-kitchen policy when I bake. I just leave stuff on the table, and people from our building are welcome to take what they'd like. But I've decided to bring these to class tomorrow (you know, to lesson the blow of hours upon hours of presentations), so for once they're not up for grabs.

My sweet grandpa sent me a check for Valentine's Day. The problem is, if I want to cash it here, I've got to pay a fee, and it could take up to 2 months for it to process. Lame.

The weather was gorgeous over the weekend, so a few of us went down to a nearby park and played football (soccer). I haven't played in ages (and it showed), and I'm also pretty out of shape (and it showed), but it was still a lot of fun. Hopefully that'll happen more often, once its a little warmer.

I recently busted out an old jump drive that I got from Baylor about 4 years ago. On one side, it says Baylor, and has our mascot. I always knew that. But what I just noticed was that it says Kingston on the other side! Foreshadowing? Crazy.

Well, that's all I can manage for now. The exhaustion is setting in and I don't have the energy to type anymore. Okay, so I'm being a little dramatic. (But seriously...)

Happy Wednesday!
 

What's in a name?

Of all the little restaurants on the way to uni, this is my favorite. I've never eaten there. And I don't think I ever definitely never will. But I just love the name...

Appetizing, no?

Because, honestly, who doesn't like the idea of wing fat?