Best Things To Eat In Istanbul

As many of you are aware I have just gotten back from Turkey and I’m already missing all the delicious food! So of course my first post about this holiday is going to be about the food. If any of you are planning a trip to Istanbul any time soon this would be really handy for you.

 

• Nusr-Et

This is Salt Baes restaurant and Oh. My. Gosh. The food here was amazing. It is actually a bit pricey but so worth it! I can’t even explain to you how great the meat was here; imagine trying to eat rice with a large fork and pieces falling off… that’s how soft the meat was. You could literally tear it up using minimal strength.

 

• Kumpir at Ortakoy

If you do try this make sure you take some painkillers for a headache that will soon follow. You literally get yelled at by all the street vendors telling you to buy potatoes from them! For those of you that don’t know, kumpir is a jacket potato stuffed with another potato stuffed with up to 20 toppings of your choice.

 

• Fish Sandwich at Eminonu

You walk up to a boat that’s already grilling some fish, hand over some money and they hand over to you fish stuffed inside half a loaf of bread (I’d opt for some pickled cabbage too) then you head over and just sit by the harbor watching all the boats go by.

 

• Midyeci Ahmet

Literally the best mussels I’ve eaten. They stuff them with spiced and herbed rice with a splash of lemon juice served in buckets! There’s always a massive line as it’s such a tiny place but you can take your bucket to go and once again head over to the harbor and enjoy it there.

 

• Patso at Kadikoy

There are lots of little food stalls around the harbor and one evening I decided to try some of their food. I tried a Patso and honestly my taste buds were so happy. It’s like a giant hot dog stuffed with chips and anything else you can imagine made fresh right in front of you.

 

• Happy Moons

Pretty much the Turkish version of TGI Fridays but about 10 times better. They have food on the menu from all over the world at very reasonable prices and massive portions!

 

• Kofte at Sultanahmet

One of the oldest places in Istanbul with the best recipe for kofte with by the two mosques but there’s never a tourist line as from the outside it doesn’t look like much but honestly the best kofte you’ll ever have. It is a bit pricey for a small portion but so worth it.

 

• Midpoint Aqua

We went here just for some dessert and all three of us got different things and not one of us were disappointed! Nothing was too rich or too sweet… just perfect, with a perfect view too!

 

• Simit

Simit is somewhat of a soft sesame pretzel and you should just make sure you grab one before every boat ride. It’s the best thing to enjoy at any time of day served by local vendors just outside the boat.

My Top 10 Worst Travel Experiences So Far

As most of you already know, I really enjoy travelling and seeing new places and it may seem like I’m always having a great time and I do at the end of the day but things always go wrong. ALWAYS. I’ve never really spoken about all the things that have gone wrong so here I am today, giving you the T.

 

Lithuania

Not only did the hostel we had booked get infested with bedbugs but the guy that ran it gave our beds away whilst we were out having dinner. I ended up staying up all night in the lobby waiting for someone that works there to come. When the manager eventually came at 9am we had a pretty heated argument which led to us leaving and getting our money back.

 

Rome

When we first arrived in Rome we were told to be very careful when we go out at night. That same night someone got stabbed right outside where we were staying and the following night my friend that I was with disappeared so a bunch of us were running around Rome in the rain till 2am looking for her.

 

Barcelona

Now, I’m not really afraid of flying but I can admit that my flight back from Barcelona was terrifying. As we were accenting after take-off all the lights went off and a bright flash consumed the plane and before we knew it we were dropping down. We were later told that we were nearly hit by lighting and that for the rest of the flight we will be experiencing very bad turbulence. You know it’s bad when the flight attendants start to panic.

 

Edinburgh

We decided to take the train up from Kings Cross and after spending all day trying to change out train times (my friend missed her previous train from Devon) all the trains from Kings Cross ended up being cancelled for the weekend. I eventually flew to Edinburgh a year later.

 

Antalya

Half of us ended up getting on a different flight going to the same destination only an hour later, however we didn’t know that Antalya airport had two different terminals and didn’t have signal so we couldn’t call each other to find where the other was. We ended up spending hours trying to find each other and it was in the middle of the night when we eventually arrived home.

 

Budapest

Booking flights after work seems like a great idea till you land in a country where no one speaks English nor is willing to help and it’s late at night and snowing like there’s no tomorrow and you’re just walking around in circles trying to find your accommodation.

 

Copenhagen

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Copenhagen was to visit Tivoli Gardens; I was so excited… turns out they were closed meaning we had ruined our whole day as we planned everything around it.

 

Morocco

If I could change one thing from this trip I would make sure we had a guy with us just so we felt safer. We kept getting followed and touched and things were yelled at us just because we were two girls walking alone. It’s not like we were being disrespectful; we were both completely covered and kept our heads down as we walked. There were girls there in short shorts and mini dresses but nothing was said or done to them because they had a guy with them.

 

Dublin

Everything was going great, we were there for St Patricks Day then all of a sudden there was a storm and no one was allowed out. We had no idea if we were going to be about to make our flight back to London or if it would be safe at all.

 

Cologne

So whilst we were in Cologne my cousin told us about a cute little town just outside with a really nice castle on top of a hill. Obviously we wanted to travel here. We spent ages trying to get there and when we did everything was shut, it was the evening and the town seemed dead. Creepy dead. Everything looked perfect, perfect houses, perfect paths… but it felt like we were honestly about to get murdered.

 

xx

 

Everything That Is Wrong With Love Island 2018

 

Okay so I’m one of those “sad” people that have been watching this years Love Island. Don’t get me wrong, I normally wouldn’t be ashamed of my guilty pleasures but this years season has just been awful! Like, I can’t believe I’ve still sat and watched every episode. Lets all just say what we’re thinking out loud; Love Island hit its peak last year and will never be as great.

• They’ve taken away the smoking area which I guess is good as it “promoted” smoking but come on! That’s where all the gossip used to take place! Now they can go outside the villa one at a time to smoke.
• Its reality TV, we all know it’s staged but we don’t like to notice how staged it actually is and this year it’s literally been shoved into our faces. Every evictee has come and mentioned how staged it all is, surely it should be in their contracts not to talk about all that?
• They don’t really show the “woohoo” moments anymore like Sam and Frankie’s time in the hideaway or anything like that. We’ve pretty much only seen what Megan is up to. If they showed what everyone was doing then Megan wouldn’t have gotten as much hate as she did.
• Way too much product placement. Its like looking through the Missguided website and not being able to close the page.
• Adam.
• The producers and editors have left out way too much. I recently watched a video with loads of cut out footage like games and chats between islanders and honestly they were so funny I don’t get why they didn’t make it to the final cut of the show. It showed the contestants in a different light and showed how funny they actually are.
• We found out this year that the contestants have a day off where they leave the villa and probably just hang out somewhere else and we miss all the gossip from that. I always thought they had to stay in the villa at all times. What’s next? Big Brother contestants aren’t really in the house the whole time either?
• They’ve manipulated with the way views vote. What happened to Megan? She literally disappeared off the screen for a few days and turned out not to be most hated anymore. They’ve only been showing people that will get a response from the viewers so the voting goes the way the producers want.
• Some contestants knew each other from the outside but never mentioned knowing each other. Alexandra has photos with Kaz and Megan!
• They had the same games, challenges and activities as last season. Come on, get a bit more imaginative.
• The final week was rushed! In the last few episodes they’ve literally had like a challenge or event each day and the meet the parents episode was the day before the final??!? They should have spread it out a bit more. Why was it so rushed?

All in all I am so disappointed in this years series and I’m sure I’m not the only one!

xx

10 Types of people you need to remove from your life right now

Our lives are full of different types of people; some great, some not so great. We for some stupid reason pay a lot more attention to the terrible people. If you’re out with a group of friends and one says you look cute and one says that the top you’re wearing doesn’t suit you. You’re not going to be wearing that top again. I know this is a small example but you get what I mean. Below are ten types of people that we really need to leave behind to become a better us.

 

People who are nice to your face, but mean behind your back. There’s no absolute way of getting rid of these people but you can stop playing their game. As an adult, that means being pleasant, not engaging in drama and perhaps pretending they don’t actually exist.

Judgemental people who can’t stand being judged. These people don’t want to be like everyone else, and they don’t want to be judged for it. However, they then go and judge others for not conforming to also being different. Like, if you want to be unique, that’s great but don’t go and hate on people for being basic if you don’t want them to judge you for being extra.

Negative, angry people who complain about their situation but never do anything about it. Hate your job? Apply for a new one. Not thrilled with your friends? Go meet different people. Unhappy with your relationship? End it. I absolutely hate hearing people complain about things, but never do anything to change their situations. Don’t let someone else’s negativity make you believe otherwise.

Anyone who doubts you. If you have a dream, don’t let anyone tell you it can’t happen. Instead of focusing on ‘proving these people wrong,’ just remove them from your life. You should only surround yourself with people who believe in you.

People who are too cliquey. Cliques are for when you’re in school. Honestly if you know people that are in cliques just get them out your life now because you know they’re not actually grown up and they’ll be so hard to introduced to new friends without your friends feeling like they’re being judged.

People who whine. The only “whine” you should be dealing with is the one that comes in a bottle… or box. I’m not judging. 

People who don’t reciprocate whatever you’re giving.If someone isn’t giving you back what you’re giving them—love, free food, friendship, even a text message—say goodbye to these people. You don’t deserve to be the one always making the first move. You don’t deserve to be the one always spending money. You don’t deserve to be the one always cooking dinner. End your one-sided relationships. Relationships between people are a two-way street.

Suck ups who you can tell are being fake.Instead of wondering how so-and-so got promoted, let’s shine the light off them and focus on ourselves. Instead of feeling like so-and-so is being a little *TOO* nice, let’s accept that this person is actually being fake. No one is *that* nice. As humans we all have the ability to see through the nonsense. Take advantage of it.

Anyone who is holding you back.Whether its a friend, family member, significant other or co-worker; if you feel like you’ve been stuck in the same place with someone forever, you need to ask yourself: are they holding you back? Are they keeping you from advancing in your career? Are they keeping you from getting your finances together? Are they keeping you from growing up? Life is going to keep moving whether you like it or not, so it’s time to stop letting anything or anyone hold you back.

People that don’t respect you. Read this as if clapping emojis were in between each word: You don’t need anyone in your life who doesn’t respect you.

 

Arda xx

Valentines playlist- loved up & singleton

Loved Up Playlist

At Last – Etta James

When A Man Loves A Woman – Michael Bolton

Cant Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley

Strangers In The Night – Frank Sinatra

Your Song – Elton John

All Of Me – John Legend

Make You Feel My Love – Adele

Constellation – Tom Odell

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Roberta Flack

Come Away With Me – Norah Jones

 

Singleton Playlist

Dancing On My Own- Robyn

I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor

Ridin’ Solo – Jason Derulo

Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson

Shout Out To My Ex – Little Mix

You Give Love A Bad Name – Bon Jovi

Put Your Records On – Corinne Bailey Rae

Same Old Love – Selena Gomez

Take A Bow – Rihanna

Its Not Right But Its Okay – Whitney Houston

 

10 Things to avoid on Valentines Day

Only 1 day left till V-Day. the day we were all excited about in school but grown to hate as we get older. Todays post is going to be about what you should avoid doing on this day and what presents you should defiantly not get your significant other. If you’ve got any of these planned at least you have about 20 hours to fix up!

 

-Don’t treat them to a gym membership.

-Don’t buy her a stuffed toy unless you’re both 12.

-Don’t attempt to woo her with a chat up line.

-Don’t get their name tattooed on you.

-Don’t buy them clothes unless you’re sure on their size.

-Don’t have bad breath.

-Don’t make vouchers for hugs or massages.

-Don’t buy her anything that’s celebrity endorsed.

-Don’t not buy her chocolates because she said she was on a diet.

-DONT FORGET IT!

 

Other than that, hope you have a great day!

 

Arda xx

Non-stop days in London

As you might have noticed my cousin came to visit for a week and I have never been so tired. She arrived just gone midnight on Friday and that’s when our adventure began. Quite a few of you have seen the photographs we uploaded and asked about specific places we went to so I thought why not just do a post about it. My hectic week with Duygu

Friday

As promised I went to greet her at the airport and being the person that I am I made her a sign. Her flight was delayed so whenever passengers came out I held the sign up hoping she would be one. When she finally came out I was folding the sign upside down. Typical. After a few handfuls of pistachios we decided to call it a night and prepared ourselves for the week ahead.

Saturday

Duygu is as basic as me me so everywhere we were planning on visiting was 100% Insta-worthy. Our first stop was Peggy Porschen. We stood in the rain for about an hour taking photos outside and waiting in line to get inside. We could have just taken photos and left like all the other girls but Duygu loves to eat so we were staying for the cake. Our next stop was German Gymnasium by Kings Cross station. If you’ve never been there I highly recommend it and make sure you go to the bathroom and check it out, the aesthetic is on point. We waiting till the rain had slowed down so we could head off to Camden Town because I ruined her last experience there by throwing up. After taking a few photos by the sign she started running through the crowd towards the Chinese food. Just after lunch. It’s safe to say we were exhausted and decided to go home and get into our Missy Empire matching tshirts whist she thought about what she could eat next.

Sunday

After having breakfast we set off into the snow to ride the Emirates cable carts. Luckily the lack of bright sunshine made the lighting in the cart perfect for a few photos. Or a Photoshoot. We then went to the O2 to bowl but the wait was too long so we ended up leaving after Duygu had a go at the VR escape room. Our next stop was the London Eye but to take a cute photo we had to go to Waterloo Bridge. At the point Duygu realised that we had the same clothes on from the previous photos and that just wasn’t acceptable so we swapped. We were planning on going to the aquarium after but the penguins were asleep so we ended up wasting so much money at the arcade in exchange for sweets. For dinner we went to an all you can eat buffet which I personally thought was perfect for her and she literally tried everything.

Monday

Day of rest

Tuesday

We met up after work and the first thing she said to me was that she was starving and hadn’t eaten in an hour. We ended up going to Pizza Pilgrims and she tired her first garlic bread and fell in love. After stuffing our faces we both decided that we needed to do some much needed exercise so we went down to Bounce to play some ping pong. Half an hour later she said she really wanted some chocolate so I introduced her to mini eggs. She then got 3kgs to take back to Turkey with her.

Wednesday

For tis day I had to take annual leave from work. We started off by having a quick breakfast at maccys before actually going for breakfast. Our first stop of the day was Coppa Club by Tower Bridge. I had booked us into their igloos to have breakfast with a view and obviously to do a quick Photoshoot. After breakfast we had a quick stop by the bridge to take a few photos before heading up to Sky Garden. Duygu has a Instagram page where she posts nursery rhymes for kids and whilst we were in the perfect setting we decided to film one there… and did another shoot. I realised that she hadn’t actually done any shopping since being here so we popped into NewLook and my gosh was that a mistake. Nearly two hours later we set off for lunch at the Ivy City and luckily they had space in the conservatory… where we proceeded to take photos. Next up was mini golf. We went into Junkyard Golf and instead of playing one course we played three and it was actually pretty fun! It was getting pretty late when we left and it was clear the Duygu was now ill but this wasn’t going to stop her from running to Softserve Society and grabbing her favourite charcoal icecream.

Thursday

I was fully exhausted and had no plans to see Duygu but she guilt tripped me into seeing her and helping her pack. She had over 5kg of chocolate to take back!

So now she’s gone back and I can go back to not eating and not running around London like crazy. I can’t wait to see her in Istanbul so I can do to her exactly what she did to me.

Arda xx

10 Best reality TV shows to binge

Lets face it, we all secretly love reality TV. The fights, the competitiveness, the pure stupidity of someone. We love to watch other people live.

Keeping up with the Kardashians

Everyone seen at least one episode of this! We’re all fascinated by the Kardashians; literally all of them! When you think theyre getting a bit boring the dad comes out as trans or the brother has a kid with their enemy. So much juice in one show!

Ru Pauls Drag Race

My all time favourite! The drag version of ANTM! Drag queens competing in hilarious tasks and lip sync battles with fabulous catwalks! This show has given us so many great sayings.

Americas Next Top Model

The title says it all really. I actually only prefer the early seasons of the show, probably only up to season 10. The best episodes are when its towards the end and the girls get a make over!

Jersey Shore

The trashiest of trash with several spin offs. You pretty much watch the cast grow up and slowly start to act normal and less crazy. Lets face it, we’ve all wondered how they went out every night and managed to get to work the next morning without dying.

90 Day Fiancé

This show is about long distance couples living together before they get married. Its hilarious to watch because you can clearly see some of these people just want a visa and its just so damn awkward.

Catfish

I absolutely loved the documentary and am obsessed with the show. I just don’t understand how people can fall for someone they’ve never met or spoken to and still get upset when its not the person they assumed it was!

Big Brother

A group of strangers or celebrities boxed inside a house for a few weeks where we can watch their every move. When it first started along with the hour daily show they had a channel where you could literally watch them 24/7.

Real Housewives

There are so many different series to this show from all over the world. The women on there are the most dramatic women I’ve ever seen with the most unrealistic upper class issues and yet I still love it.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

The funniest redneck family you’ll ever watch on TV. Honey Boo Boo is so relatable with her witty come backs and sass. You’ll love her and be concerned about her at the same time.

The Simple Life

The show that started it all. Paris Hilton and her then best friend Nicole Richie go and live with various families and work in a number of jobs that they pretty much fail at. Its hilarious to watch and see how much they can actually get away with.

 

 

 

 

Reasons why you should give up on your New Years resolutions

I think we can all agree that January is the worst month of the year. Especially the first two weeks. It’s cold, there’s nothing to look forward to, commuting is terrible, people are trying to eat healthy so no one wants to do anything fun and the gym is full of people that are trying fitness routines only to fail in three weeks. O don’t understand why just because its a new year people think its time to start fresh. You can start fresh on any given day.

 

If you set a date of January 1st to start working towards a goal you’re already screwed.

If you really wanted to achieve this goal you would have started working towards it before January 1st, people who really want things go for them right away. They don’t say “Meh, I’ll keep spiralling out of control till January 1st”. New year, same you. People don’t change. When you really want something you’ll try to achieve it as soon as possible.

 

If you think making a resolution is going to make 2018 great you’re lying to yourself.

A year is a full 365 days, there’s no chance that you’re going to have a good year with no obstacles if you accomplish your New Years resolutions. Every year is a rollercoaster full of ups and downs that you just cant control and just have to ride it out. Its okay to take rest days from working out, its okay to have cheat days and its okay to cancel plans. if you tell yourself you have to be this new you who’s so put together in 2018 and don’t give yourself breaks you’re going to crash ands burn and go back to your old ways in a few weeks.

 

If you post about your resolutions you going to make people feel bad and dislike you.

Like, its really great you’re going to be vegan for a month but I’m sat here eating my fried chicken and I don’t need you shoving pictures of your super grain bowl and cauliflower steak in my face, making me feel bad for my poor food decision.

 

If you have multiple resolutions, they probably all contradict each other.

If you say you’re going to save money and say you’re going to go to more fitness classes then that’s impossible. Fitness classes are expensive so you cant save money and attend them at the same time.

 

Life can get in the way of your resolutions.

It happens. What if you’re resolution is to save money and an unexpected bill arrives? what if you have a fitness resolution and you hurt your back? That’s you gone for a few months. You’ll be more disappointed in yourself for not being able to stick to your resolution even though there’s nothing you can do about it.

 

If you give up something you and your friends like to do then they’re not going to want to hang out.

Say you give up drinking, you’re not going to want to go out every weekend and if you do then you might not have as much fun being surrounded by your drunk friends. Your friends will start to realise this and not invite you places because they know you wont be enjoying yourself.

 

You probably wont be happy until you stop trying to change and accept yourself.

Life is about accepting the changes around you, not changing the person you are.

 

Arda xx

 

 

 

 

Transitioning from your teens to your 20’s

Sometimes the transition from your teens into your 20’s can be nice and smooth but sometimes it just hits you. Hits you hard.

 

We see the value of money differently.

As a teenager when you unexpectedly got £10 from your parents you could sit down and plan exactly how you would spend it but now even if you found £5 in your pocket before you get a chance to even think of what to spend it on, its gone. You’ve spent it.

 

We’re kinda lost.

We’re all kinda wondering around wondering what were supposed to be doing and whether were doing it right. I have a job… Is it what I’m meant to be doing with my life? is it okay to live with my parents? How do you make a healthy dinner? How much should I be spending on food?

 

We don’t know who to trust.

Was that person being nice and sincere or did they have an ulterior motive? Should I tell me co-worker about my job interview? is that person judging me right now?

 

We’re losing friends.

sometimes we just cant be there for people the way that they need us to be anymore. We’re quickly learning who’s growing up with us and who’s growing apart.

 

We have to re-learn our bodies.

Eating too much sugar will do what to my skin? How much coffee is too much? I need to be able to function with only a few hours of sleep?

 

We’re all a bit of a mess.

We realise that no one has their life all sorted. It may seem like this person has it all together but maybe they cry in the bathroom at work. You may hate your current job but it will make you appreciate the next one even more. After 3 years of studying at university we may then realise its not the path we want to take. In our 20’s we rediscover who we are and who we want to be.

 

But, I reckon that the only real difference between being a teenager and being in your 20’s is that when you’re a teenager and you ask for help. everyone is willing to help you, or lend an ear; they all understand that its a “tough age”. However, now that we are in our twenties we are told to just “figure it out” and to “move on”.

 

Arda xx