Wow it's been so long since my last post...So many things happened but I didn't feel like writing...I had a lot of thoughts to share but couldn't make myself to sit down and write..
Today I'm going to my first ever French class... Everyone who knows me just a little bit is aware of of my love to this language, and everything French...films, music, style, food..I remember back in 2008 when I was in Paris  I couldn't believe my eyes that I made it here and I see it all in real...To tell the truth I didn't see everything in detail there, it was more of an express fast tour of Paris in 1 week. I went up to the Eiffel Tower though :P Very beautiful view I must say :) I would really want to go back to Paris with Miika and be able to say some words in French and explore the hidden beauties of Paris...
Ok so back to London... I just love being there and even though I've seen probably only little percentage of this city I'm absolutely in love. Everytime I go to London I can't hide the huge smile on my face... Zahra came from Notthingam and we spent absolutely fantastic day together..She was so nice to give me a Bialetti espresso maker as a present. I must confess I'm a little addicted to coffee.. I have to drink at least 1 cup of coffee with milk every day. I know it's bad but I can't help myself.. I don't drink instant coffee unless I have to... In Istanbul we used to make coffee with my flatmate's vintage Krups coffee maker. I had a big black Starbucks mug that I really miss a lot. I'm hoping he still has it and I can bring it here. Every time I make coffee now I remember my flatmate to whom I couldn't even say proper goodbye when I left Istanbul....anyway the smell of fresh coffee mesmerizes me each time I am making coffee with bialetti....It was different with Zahra than wandering around in London with Miika, we did all the girly things I wanted to do for a long time like checking out some shops in London.. She took me to this royal family's grocery shop Fortnum and Mason.  Another posh groceries store like Harrods, Selfridges...I liked their selection of loose tea.. In England it's a bit hard to find loose tea, it seems like everyone drinks tea in teabags. By the way Twinings here is a huge disappointment. Back in Istanbul Twining tea was a luxury sold for 10-12 TL a box in posh supermarkets like Macrocenter. I was happy to buy it here for normal prices but I find their Earl Grey pretty awful...
On Monday I'm going to visit Zahra in Nottingham. I can't wait :)
I think after trying out all the recipes that I bookmarked while my 6 months in Baku I decided to give up. First of all my reduced sugar/butter whole wheat flour baking sometimes turned out disastrous like the zebra cake. Even though I try to bake healthy I think baking can't be 100% healthy, also after trying my beige trousers that I bought from Zara last summer and seeing how tight they are now I got upset. ah those 6 months of fatty eating in Baku unfortunately did their job :( Last Saturday we bought running shoes, clothes for me so I started running 2.5 miles in the green field close to our house. I get so inspired by looking at all the beautiful posts in food blogs. But usually can't make it as pretty as theirs :(
I met with Tuba a girl who studied with me in ITU and stayed at the same dorm. She took me to a vegetarian restaurant in Covent Garden called Food for Thought. If you are ever in that area I highly recommend to check out that restaurant. Think a big plate full of veggies, yuuuum! I absolutely loved it. She also showed me a Nordic Bakery in Soho and last Saturday I went there with Miika. We tried finnish karjalan piirakkas and blueberry bun with delicious cappucinos.We are definitely going there again. Here is the photo for you.

I think Scandinavian/Finnish style is very simple but at the same time stylish and appealing to me. The down side is that everything from the North comes up with such expensive prices.
Enough of writing for now....I'll come back with more stuff soon!

Today I did a massive killing of all those ladybirds in our flat. Believe it or not I hoovered approximately 20-25 of them. I don't know where they keep appearing from since I closed all the huge holes in our windows. I'm a huge insect hater but I considered ladybirds quite cute. My grandfather even wrote a little story about little Mehriban who loved to play with ladybirds. This was before they attacked our flat and decided to nest here...
I'm going to London alone for the first time to meet with a friend who studied with me in the middle school in Baku. I really need to go and get ready. I'll write more.. soon!

My friend Fidan got her German visa yesterday. That made me so happy to read that on her blog. (I have noticed lately I have been reading news from my friends from their blogs only, ah century of technology...let it be always good news, no bad news!!!)
Pepper and me are best friends at home, but I wouldn't say the same when we go outside. I just don't know what to do when she pulls her leash and  gets excited on the street. I'm learning slowly and I guess she's adjusting to me as well. She also doesn't seem interested in doing her toilet business with me. May be she's shy :))) She's always good with Miika- her real owner. I'm new to her so we both have to get used to each other. I love when she follows me around the flat, sits on my lap and sleeps curled up by my side.
Yesterday I finally made apple crumble dessert. It turned out really good but I must admit it's not so healthy. Arzu told me about it when she was in Baku. I bookmarked the recipe and promised myself to make it once I am with Miika. The recipe is super easy and it took less than 15-20 mins to make it. It is adviced to serve it with vanilla ice cream, custard or cream. I have heard about custard so much from Miika. I asked Miika to drive me to the big Tesco to buy cinnamon and custard yesterday evening. He told me to buy Tesco Finest Fresh Custard. After loosing myself yet again in this huge Tesco I thought I found the right custard. I was wrong and Miika had to go and swap it with the right one. After Migros in Turkey this supermarkets seem sooo huge to me. Actually I was always complaining while living in Turkey that they have such a small variety.
While making the apple crumble I used this recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/applecrumble_2971 and they also explain how to make the crumbles http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/techniques/rubbing_in. Another recipe link from food gawker that Arzu used http://peachesanddonuts.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/lovely-apple-crumble.html As usual the only thing I changed was the amount of butter. 200 grams of butter in that recipe seemed a lot to me. I tried to use less butter and next time I'll reduce the amount of sugar. It is an easy and yummy dessert but kind of fattening. Miika just couldn't get enough and asked for more but I was cruel and didn't let him to finish it all at once hahah :))) Custard is something like vanilla pudding and Turkish muhallebi maybe. It has no name in Russian or Turkish. I loved it with the apple crumble but it adds a fair amount of calories. I am comforting myself that we are going to have long walks on Brighton beach this weekend.

Apple crumble with Tesco Custard

***I'll definitely add less sugar next time. I'm advising the same to everyone who wants to try this recipe***
Yesterday people from Croydon Council came to introduce the new food waste recycling service. We are going to have a kitchen caddy for our food waste which will be going to the new food waste container outside. I was actually surprised they didn't have that before. The lady asked me if I'll be using it or not. That was a weird question for me because of course I'd love to use it after they put it in my kitchen. My long awaited dream of recycling comes to reality here :) Back in Turkey I used to collect all my recyclable garbage and take it to Carrefour. It was a very small recycle can so I used to fill it up with my garbage. I did it just after I came back from Norway, inspired with the recycling system. It didn't last too long though, I kind of got lazy to do that all the time. I asked the lady what to do with the plastic packages and bags. She told me to take them to the nearest supermarket or put them with the rest of the garbage. I believe they will have to introduce the plastic recycling as well as soon as possible. Miika told me that the lady probably thought I am a bit crazy asking questions and getting excited about recycling. I am just trying to be a good resident and think about the future of our planet.
***They brought the kitchen caddy 1 day after they came to speak to me. Such a fast service!

As I wrote yesterday I was planning to try Tuba's recipe for poppy seed and lemon muffins. I made them yesterday while Miika and Pepper was sleeping in front of the TV. I have never baked muffins before so I wasn't sure what to expect. They turned out delicious or as I say yummylicious :) Miika loved them as well. Too bad Pepper can't have any.
I almost completely followed her recipe but instead of adding ½ cup of butter I added only 2 tbl spoons. I guess it's less than a half cup. For my measurements I am using a 30p plastic measuring cup from Tesco. Also instead of 6 lemons I used 5. Be careful while grating the lemon zest, and don't end up with scratched fingers like me.

It should have been a cup of tea not a glass of  read wine in the backgroud :)

close up photo of muffins

It took me a while to figure out that powder sugar (pudra şekeri in Turkish, сахарная пудра in Russian) is called icing sugar here. I bought it but at the end decided not to make icing for my muffins because of extra calories. I'll put icing when I have guests, because I think it looks nicer with it.
For yesterday's dinner I made spaghetti bolognese. I don't know if it's the minced meat that we bought from Tesco or generally meat in England tastes weird I'd even say a bit rubbery. Miika loved my spaghetti though and said meat tastes the same as usual. Also we bought frozen garlic bread from Sainsbury's. I tried to slice it but it turns out it was already sliced. What can I do that in this western world everything is ready made. 

Me, Pepper and ladybirds

Although yesterday was just one week since I am in England it feels much longer actually. During this one week I went to London twice with Miika, went to Waterloo station on my own with Miika's directions, bought Oyster card, went to Croydon a few times on my own, found a Turkish shop (now I know where to find köftelik bulgur and turkish olives that Miika likes so much), went to Altrincham to meet Miika's parents and brothers, went to countryside Edale and had a nice day in Manchester. It feels kind of weird to have this super busy life after 6 months of almost doing nothing. So many new things, so many impressions at the same time ...Supermarkets here are huge and there is a big selection of everything, I don't know which one to choose so that it is relatively cheaper and better. I made oat meal cookies and they turned out very nice, a bit different  from what I used to make in Baku. I think probably it is the baking powder or maybe the gas oven. Today I'll try to make poppy seed lemon muffins from Tuba's blog. http://surrealchef.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/recipe-test-with-behice-unal-lemon.html Thanks to Miika's mum now I have a mixer and muffin pans from Tesco :)) Tuba's recipes look very yummy, I'll try to share my experience next time I write my blog. By the way few minutes ago I registered on Spotify. It looks cool I just don't like that it posts every song that I listen to on my facebook timeline.
I forgot to mention the most important thing..now we have Pepper with us  :) She's peacefully sitting on my lap right now. I guess she liked me from the first day, because the first night she slept on my chest and between me and Miika. She is the cutest dog I have ever seen and I am really happy to have her. The only thing that scares me is her toilet arrangements. I hope we don't have little accidents. When we woke up today I gave her little treat, combed her and now we are happily waiting for Miika to come home to take us out. I just love when she sits on my lap like a cat.
By the way our flat is full of ladybugs...ok... I should have said ladybirds :) british version is actually cuter, instead of calling them bugs they call them birds :) they mostly gather around the lamp or just everywhere in our flat.
Today Fidan's husband is going to an interview at the immigration office in Berlin. Hopefully it'll all go well and she'll be with him soon. Ok enough for today I'll go to make lunch now...

am I really in London?

This is my second day in England and I am feeling really tired but at the same time very excited and happy. I feel like if I sleep I'll miss something. Weird because I am actually at home right now :))
Belavia airlines surprised me with punctuality and they managed not to lose my luggage. The only negative side was the Minsk airport which is even worse than Baku aiport. At least we have free wifi and our airport is not as empty as theirs. When I arrived to Gatwick I was nervous that they'll ask me lots of questions at the passport control or even call Miika. This is the bad side of reading russian forums, a lot of people wrote that people at the UK border are very unfriendly. I waited in a long non EU nationals queue with many Americans, Canadians and Belorussians from my flight. When it was my turn I nervously approached very friedly looking woman and she just asked me when we plan to get married, if this is my first time with this visa and also what is my fiancee's name. I answered them and she stamped my passport. Then I went outside to the baggage area and grabbed my 26 kgs, stuffed to maximum, grey suitcase and went through the "nothing to declare" exit. A police dog sniffed my bag for drugs and then I ran to the exit with a big smile on my face. My dear Miika was standing there with a rose. We hugged, kissed and I felt so many emotions at once. Happy to finally see Miika and confused that it was so easy to pass the border control. On the way home the road was so green and beautiful. Half way to Croydon we stopped at a green hill (I'll add the name later) and it was sunny, warm and smelled very nice. Everything here smells different and the sky is so bright blue and the clouds are pure white. We came home and there was a welcome package waiting for me which included the gift cards from my favorite shops, beautiful roses in a beer glass vase :)) and also a present from Miika's grandma. That was all sooo sweet!!
Then we walked to East Croydon train station and bought me a young person's railway card (good that my 26th bday is in june and I could get this discount card). Train and underground look really complicated here, so many perons, stations, underground lines... I am totally confused. My yesterday's imressions after visiting Camden Town, walking in Oxford Street, Picadilly Circus and Covent Garden are that London is very international, crowded, beautiful and has very complicated public transportation system. Compared to London, Istanbul to me looks teeny tiny right now. Walking in London yesterday made me feel like everything is very surreal and I'm in a movie right now. Miika kept making fun of me that I look like a 5 year old. We stumbled upon Laduree shop in the Covent Garden. I tried Laduree for the first time in Bebek shop in Istanbul a year ago. I remember me, Baturalp, Ozge and Mert bought maybe 6 or 8 macarons with different flavours and shared them. It was quite expensive in Istanbul and here 1 macaron was 1.60£. I bought 1 chocolate and orange flavoured. Miika loved them and I dreamt that one day we'll try them in their Paris shop. I've tried macarons in a lot of places but the ones in Laduree taste just heavenly delicious.
By the way I got a bit sick yesterday. I guess it was because of the icy cold water that I drank with the chinese food in Camden Town. The weather was windy and I was already cold and with that iced water I got sick. I'm sure I'll survive...

My dear readers! Sorry for not writing but most of you already know that I got the fiancee visa. I still can't believe that we did it, that we won. I'm really happy at the same time excited, nervous. I can't really describe what I am feeling. On Sunday at 6 a.m. I'm leaving Baku and going for a new life, new beginning with my dear Miika. After I went to study in Turkey and came here only for short periods I felt like I don't belong here at all, I felt like an "alien". At the same time I was foreign in Turkey. As another blogger says "foreign here, foreign there, foreign everywhere". It is probably my destiny to feel foreign throughout my life. It started when I went to US as an exchange student when I was 15 and continues till now. In Turkey it was sometimes annoying because while doing paperwork, dealing with bureaucracy it was usually a pain. Most of the times they didn't know the procedures for foreign nationals, I felt like I'm the only one without Turkish passport in this 70 million country. Other than that it was easy to become friends, to integrate in Turkish society since the language, the culture, mentality is pretty similar. After few years I almost felt like at home. In fact I feel much more comfortable in Turkey than I am here. I'm nervous about the new life but at the same time really excited. I'm scared of doing, saying something wrong, but I hope it all comes with time. I think it would have been much harder if I was alone, but I have the most caring, loving, supportive fiancee in the whole world my Mikushka :) I know I don't speak like a native speaker but I'm not so bad and I believe after a while my English will improve and it won't be a problem. When I went to US I couldn't really understand people with their strong American accent but by the end of my exchange year my cousin told me I picked up the accent pretty quick. The only real problem I'll face is my name. Unfortunately while choosing a name for me my mum didn't think that I'll have kind of "international" life. I'm not even going to start telling you what Americans used to call me. At the end I decided to introduce myself as Meka (my childhood nickname). Miika taught me an international phonetic alphabet and that is what I need to use while spelling my name. In Turkey they use Turkish city names for spelling. So for those of you unfamiliar with this alphabet my name would be Mike- Echo-Hotel- Romeo- India- Bravo- Alpha-November. By the way my kids are definitely going to have short, easy pronounced names. Since Miika calls me Mehri (I really like it) probably in England I'll introduce myself as Mehri, shorter and easier. Miika's little brother calls me Marziban, like marzipan hahaha :)) I think it's very sweet since I love marzipan :) The good thing about my name is that it has a  meaning which is kind and nice in Persian.
I'm really grateful to the British Embassy in Baku for processing my application in exactly 1 month. I applied on February 7th and my visa is valid from March 7th.
I would like to thank Miika's parents, brothers, his grandparents and godparents for supporting us. It really meant so much to me. Secondly  my great friends who wrote to me, asked about the application, supported me and gave me strength. My dear mother who was worried about me all the time, and helped me as much as she could. I want to thank Fidan who came with me to the embassy, without her this waiting period would have been much harder for me. I wish her to get her German visa asap and join her husband. I know how hard it is to wait and how worried she is. At the end I want to thank my beloved fiancee Miika, without his support, care and patience this could never be done.
I used to think I'm unlucky because I got so many rejections lately. The biggest of them was the work permit rejection for Ford. Now this all proved that whatever happens, happens for a good reason. I'm grateful for everything that happened. I had great plans that I'll work in Ford, rent my own place and  have a cat. But I'd be completely alone and sad. I hope I'll find a job in England, maybe not the best one at first, but after some time I believe I'll do good.
I want to continue writing this blog while I'm in England. I'll write my impressions, thoughts and memories.