The English Mademoiselle Diaries

//Shirt - Thrifted//Dress - Topshop//Tights - TU//Boots - Ted&Muffy//

I'm not one to wear dresses all that often so when I buy one I have to be completely in love with it, and with this dress I wasn't sure until I put it on. I was one of those things I tried on for a joke and now can't stop wearing it.

*takes break from writing this post for 2 days to listen to The Fray*

Now where was I, oh yes this darling little dress, complete with a criss-cross lacing detail at the top, never has a dress been more perfect to take from day to night, loosen the lacing, swap in a leather jacket, and you are ready to have a great night. But for me by far the best thing about this piece is that compared to the rest of my wardrobe it is quite girly and not to mention it isn't all black...

*takes another break to eat some instant noodles*

Yes I think that will be all for this post. I promise to write something more interesting next time!

XO, Miriam

If you don't already know I am obsessed with smoothies, especially for breakfast. I mean is there anything better than a massive smoothie to get you ready for the day?! Thought not! For me the best way to make smoothies is with a mix of frozen and fresh fruit because then you get that hydrated feeling that you can get from ice water...

So to make this amazing lil' (1L) smoothie you will need:

1-2 large mangoes
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
Cold Water

Add the ingredients into the blender, starting with the frozen raspberries, then the mango, next up is the almond milk, and finally add cold water until the fruit is covered!

XO, Miriam

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 3/5

I wouldn't have picked this lil' book up if hadn't been required reading for one of my modules next semester, but as it was a short book I thought I could read it now and on the week we are studying it closely. The first half of the novel (novella?) gave me so much hope for the rest of it but I lost interest halfway. Now lets be clear this is a short book, and maybe its because it is required reading that I'm not enjoying it all that much but it started of with a sense of mystery and a complex storyline that could have been so good, but then. NOTHING. I mean stuff happened sure but even when everything is all concluded I felt nothing towards the characters, I didn't engage with so much of the story I just felt Meh.

Having said all of that I must admit I love the writing style here, so I might try out some of his other work in the future but this book wasn't for me. But hey at least it was short...

Now I'm of to read something I want to read rather than something I have to read!

XO, Miriam

Call my nosey but I love seeing what people eat, I could easily watch 'what I eat in a day' videos on YouTube everyday... So I decided to bring that concept over to my blog to share what I'm eating. This first post is from a very lazy holiday day when I had more time to spend on making my food etc. So here we go my first 'what I eat in a day' post:

Breakfast: I nearly always start the day with juice or a smoothies, in this case it was a banana, mango and fresh orange juice smoothie, as well as a slice of toast complete with vegan butter and marmite. Yup I'm one of those people who loves marmite...

Lunch: I don't always have a smoothie at lunch but I knew I wouldn't have eaten enough calories if I didn't include it that day. So to go with my mango, raspberry, and almond milk smoothie I had fried garlic mushrooms and peppers, with little gem lettuce, and a touch of mustard all on top of toast.

Dinner: Bit of a random dinner here, I used up some homemade red thai curry paste, some mushrooms, peppers, and corn to make a spicy risotto because why not... And of course I had some orange juice with this as well.

I also drank about 2 - 3L of water during the day, as I take my bottle everywhere and sip on it as I go.

XO, Miriam

//Top - H&M//Jeans - Jack Wills//Shoes - My Sisters//

I have a confession to make, it was bloody freezing when I took these photos, this top is definitely more of a spring piece or to be layered with a leather jacket. But I couldn't wait to share this top with you all, mainly because it is one of the cutest slogan tops I have owned or will ever own but it also comes with a little sass. I didn't plan on buying this but it came to my attention while I was shopping with a friend that I don't have all that much colour in my wardrobe so instead of buying a black fuzzy jumper I opted for this number. Now I know that I haven't exactly gone for anything bright or summery here but the jumper reminded my of the ballet cardigans I remember wearing when I was little, even complete with a little bow and a delicate fabric.

Now while I could have gone with something a little more girly, I felt that this top's slogan "It's not me it's you" needed something a touch tougher. So naturally I went for the black skinny jeans and some biker boots to help streamline the look. What?! I'm not going to stop wearing mostly black over night now am I...

XO, Miriam

Source

As mentioned in my A New Page post, I wanted to write a little post of all my goals for the coming year. I have spent the last few days thinking of what it is I want to do this year and how I can achieve these things. So this list is more of a bucket list rather than a set of resolutions. So here is a list of 20 things I want to do this year:

Go vegan!
Read 72 books.
Attend as many yoga classes as possible.
Write in my journal more.
Save more money than I did last year.
Visit the Harry Potter Studios again.
Go to the gym/workout at least twice a week.
Get more sleep.
Go to another country in Europe.
Travel outside of Europe.
Meet all the wonderful people I connect with online.
Collaborate with other bloggers (P.S. I'm already planning this one)
Drink more tea.
Smile everyday, even when it's hard.
Eat my 5-a-day, as much as I can.
Make new friends, either in real life or online.
Take more baths.
Beat a PB in the gym more than once.
Don't leave it all until the last minute.
BE HAPPY.

Some of these goals and things I want to do are more important than others, and some depend on my circumstances this year. But it is nice to have something to look back at and give me ideas for new adventures or new ways to incorporate self-love into my day to day life.

XO, Miriam

As I have mentioned love the last year or so, specifically in these posts (here and here) since my last post the amount of vegan meals and days I have been having has increased dramatically, not only is it cheaper to be vegan but also I feel better physically and mentally when I do. But the reality over the last couple of weeks is that I do still eat dairy and eggs more than I want to, so in order to challenge myself and hopefully make the full transition to veganism I am taking part in #veganuary (yes I know I hate that they put two word together as well) The idea is that you give up all animal products for the month of January, now I started a couple days late so will be continuing to the 3rd of February. You can find more information about it here.

For me at least the reason I want to do this, and ultimately go vegan is for both my health and the environment, while I also believe in the animal welfare reasons behind veganism it is something that I find quite hard to connect with as I can't bring myself to watch more graphic documentaries like Earthlings. I personally feel at my best when I eat a lot of carbs either mainly fruits and veggies or more starch based ones, so during this month I will be following a High Carb Low Fat vegan diet, which so many people that I follow in the online vegan community thrive on. I will be updating you on my progress throughout the month and hopefully the coming year about how I feel, with recipes, and tips for becoming vegan.

XO, Miriam