Moving to University

Moving to university is a transition that many go through. I personally went through this transition just last year. Some students may move just 15 miles away of 200 miles away. However, in my case I moved 3,458 miles away from Washington DC to the UK. As you would imagine I was both terrified and excited. In fact on the morning that I moved in didn't sleep a wink and when my mum woke up I told her I no longer wanted to go to university. Despite this statement I did in fact pluck up the courage to move in to my new room/home. Looking back I cannot imagine not going to university I had such an amazing year and met some fantastic people.

So given my experience I wanted to give you guys a few tips that I learned in my first year. So whether you are going to university or are still in university I hope that some of the things I am about to say are helpful!


One of the most exciting and stressful thing about moving to university is planning your new room. I know there is differences in university rooms between the UK and USA, as in the USA you share a room while in the UK you tend to have your own room. Despite this one of the main similarities is that the rooms are SMALL!! And if you are a shopaholic like me you really have to utilize your space to fit everything in. However, one of the mistakes I made was that I took everything, and I mean literally everything! So the tips that I have to combat this issue are:

-Limit how much stuff you take. I mean do you really need 6 winter jackets? Unless you go to university in Alaska, the answer is probably no. I would suggest that you take maybe 3 jackets, a jacket for sports, a casual jacket for during the day (or a heavy winter jacket depending on what the weather is like) and a jacket for going out. As you pack your clothes ask yourself do i really need this or have i already packed something similar?
- Make the most of all of your space. This may not be the same for all universities but I had a lot of storage space under my bed. To utilize this  space I bought large plastic boxes to keep things such as handbags, scarfs, boots, and jeans. If your bed does not have like place boxes on top of your wardrobe or under your desk.
-Everything should have a space. I hate clutter or things being a mess so this was a really important aspect for me. I wanted every times to have a place so that clothes would not be on the floor and make my room feel any smaller than it was. At university this no mess aspect is a good thing to have as you never know when people are going to come over for a chat so you don't want to leave your room a mess.

One of the not so exciting things about university is missing home and feeling homesick. I personally felt very homesick in the first month or two of moving to university. In fact on the third weekend of term I took a three hour train ride to visit my grandparent. I only stayed for 2 days but I would defiantly suggest going back home to family or close friends for the weekend if you are feeling homesick, as this personally really helped.  

Another thing to do is to place as many photos of family and friends around your room. So if you are ever feeling lonely you can see all of there fabulous faces! I had a large board in my room that I placed photos on to, and through out the year I added even more. By the end of the year I looked back at the board and saw how many fantastic thing had happened with the people I had met at university. 

(I don't actually have a proper photo of my board :( but here is a little snapshot of it) 

If you are going to university soon and are nervous about the transition that is absolutely normal! There is no one that is not nervous, unless they are some freak of nature. Overall I would just suggest have FUN! you are only in university once so enjoy and get involved.  

Hope you guys liked this post!  

Puree Juice Bar

On Saturday afternoon my family and I took a walk to try out puree juice bar. My mum and I have been there a few times and we wanted to introduce it to my dad and younger brother. This was my third time visiting the juice bar and it has never disappointed me. I LOVE it!! The juices are so yummy and you would never believe that they are super healthy for you. And I mean who doesn't love that??

 When you walk into the bar you see this giant fridge full of fresh juices and other vegan and gluten free food. I haven't actually tried any of the food options but they all look so yummy. I especially want to try their chia pudding and zucchini noodle salad. Hopefully next time I will!

So here is the menu for the fresh handmade shakes. There is just so much variety, which is what I personally really love! There are 14 shakes of the menu but you can customize each one. I love that next to each shake there are little dots of color that tell you the health benefits of each drink. For example hydration, digestion, protein, and immunity just to name a few. 

For the three times I have been the juice bar I have chosen a different shake each time. 

• The first time I chose the Mango Tango (mango, banana, spinach, coconut water, almond mylk, and cayenne pepper), which is so yummy. My favorite thing about it is that it is green so it makes me feel super healthy. 
• My second time there I chose the Berry Banana (almond mylk, banana, and seasonal berries) and this was also so delicious. It is such a pretty vibrant color due to the berries!
• My third time (today!) I was very tempted to have another berry banana but decided to try another shake. So I choose the Banana Butter Cup (almond mylk, banana, cinnamon, and cocoa nibs) and let me tell you it tastes just like a banana chocolate milkshake! You would not believe that neither dairy nor cocoa was used in this. For all chocolate lovers like myself I would definitely recommend this drink. 

My mum chose the Mango Tango and she loved it!! 

My banana butter cup! I am craving one of these now, so much yumminess! 

 My dad chose the Berry Banana and let me tell you my dad is not a healthy food lover he would much rather have a beer, but he loved this. Despite my win in convincing my dad to try these healthy shakes I could not convince my younger brother. Instead he opted to go to the next-door smoothie king. Let me tell you before becoming a vegan and being healthy I used to love smoothie king especially a lemon twist. So I thought that once entering the store I would be tempted to try his smoothie....but I wasn't!! This was due to the fact that once entering the store I noticed that they did not use any fresh produce and that my shake was a lot more healthy and yummy.

Overall I love this juice bar and I think that is may become a family outing on a Saturday to head up here and have a shake! 

If you live in the DC area there are three location Bethesda, Dupont Circle and Downtown. You can visit there website to learn more: http://www.pureejuicebar.com

Let me know if you guys have been here and what you favorite shake/juice is!! 

Starting the Journey

Hello!

Well I guess I should start with the basics. My name is Charlotte and I am a 20 year old university student in the UK. Although during the time that I am not at university I live in Washington DC with my parents. I am a self-confessed shopaholic and food lover! I mean what else does a girl need??? 

I am starting this blog to document my vegan journey and inspire others. One of the largest reasons I have taken this plunge is that there are so few vegan blogs out there. Although I am relatively new to become a vegan (on and off for the past 4 months) I feel that there are just so many benefits that this lifestyle has and I want to share them. 

Feel free to comment about your own vegan journey! I am very nosey so I promise I will be interested! 

So lets get blogging.....