New boots are the best boots.

In the summer I live in trainers (mainly converse), but when autumn hit I’m all about boots! I spend so much time browsing boots since the cooler weather hit, that when it came I shopping I was over run with choices! So here’s the tale of these new boots and how I feel about them after a couple of wears! 

After falling in love with these beauties (link to topshop boots) from topshop, I decided I didn’t want to spend loads on a black pair (perhaps my finances would stretch I said at the time, though I now realise I was being crazily optimistic), and still wanted to embrace the pointed toe. Usually I avoided pointed toes, however I seem to have come round to the idea this year. I picked up these cuties from newlook for £25, which is something I can’t argue with. They remind me a little bit of the acne boots (get proper name), without the expensive finish to them. 

Having worn them in a couple times, I can honestly say that they are comfortable, however I don’t know how practical they’re going to be as a winter boot. First of all, there’s a larger heel that I would usually go for on a day to day basis (those of you that know me will know that I’m not a heel of any kind type of person), and secondly they’re suede, which doesn’t bode well for the wet weather we will no doubt experience in Manchester over the next few months! With that in mind, it may be back to the drawing board for some winter boots, however these will definitely be kept for days that I am feeling brave and in need of some extra height! 

 Thanks Liam (as always) for the photography- you’ve learnt to get shoes in the frame, however I’m still struggling with pulling normal facial expressions.

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Why do I miss girly sleepovers?

 

At 24 years old, you’d think I would have gotten over having girly sleepovers. Truth is, I’ve absolutely not! We quite often have people to stay, whether its friends or family visiting, Liams man cave is always equipped with the airbed, ready to have guests for the weekend (or during the week- whenever our visitors decide to come). To me, that’s not a sleepover. Sleepovers are when you’re in you pyjamas by 8pm, eating endless amount of snack (I used to eat so many sweets that I felt physically sick), before lying in the dark chatting until someone eventually drifts off. I hadn’t had a night like that in ages, and it made me really sad.

Having lived with Liam for over to years (side note- its been just over two years since we moved to Manchester, time flies right?), there’s rarely been a night where I’ve been in the house alone. He’s always about, which I’m more than happy about. However last week he headed up to Edinburgh for an old work reunion and I realised that I was going to be alone in the house- and honestly I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I’d love to say that I’m a sassy independent woman who loves spending time by myself and can deal with everything that comes my way, but that would be a slight over exaggeration of the truth. I am independent and all of the above, except when it comes to strange noises in the middle of the night, and waking up without someone beside me- then I turn into a complete wimp. Fortunately for me, Shauangh was free and up for a sleepover, so what could have been a stressful night for me, turned into a fun evening where I was reminded of those girly sleepovers I was so fond of.

We had dinner, dyed my hair, drank tea and chatted till it was reasonably late (okay, very late for me, it was eleven), before sinking into bed. Lights were out and we lay scrolling through phones- sociable, I know- and chatting a bit before drifting off to sleep. It was everything I wanted from the evening, and I slept soundly. Liam doesn’t like to chat before we go to sleep, which I get, as we spend so much time chatting anyway, and even I would get sick of myself if we did- so it was so nice to have someone who does. Maybe I can convince him to go away more often so I can squeeze in those girly nights? Or invite myself to others more often- cheeky I know, but I’m going to need to get those sleepover in somehow now that I remember what I’m missing out on.

• These photos are from London a couple of months ago. We spent the night in Pyjamas, so it seemed fitting to put pictures of myself and Shaunagh up where we actually look human. We took so many photos in London that it’s a shame for them to go to waste.

Another change of hair colour.

When I came back from Lanzarote I decided that I had to stop colouring my hair, otherwise it was going to snap off something awful. Then I remembered how easy it was to do, and how much I love having bright ends, so after a month of having peachy purple hair, I bit the bullet and went back to blue.

I’m getting better at giving my ends and even coverage, and managing to get very little dye over the bathroom these days (honestly, hats off to all hairdressers out there who manage to keep their clothes and surroundings hair dye free). I’m even looking after my hair a lot more, making sure that I only use heat on it when needed/special occasions, and it gets a hair mask at least once a week. This may not seem like a massive deal, but for a beauty/hair novice, integrating something like this into my routine is a big deal. I’m currently using Bleach London silver shampoo and hair mask, which I find are great- even if the shampoo leaves my hand a little grey looking for a few hours after.

Heres to having interesting hair for a bit longer, I’m not going to do it as often as I used too, and I’m praying it doesn’t turn a green colour as it begins to fade (although this colour has already lasted more washes than any other colour, so I have my fingers crossed). Sorry Marianne for being a complete nightmare of a sister and probably giving you heart palpitations over what I’m putting my hair through- surely the condition of it can’t be as bad as that time that I had completely blonde hair?

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After writing this I tried to dye my roots a bit darker and even as when it was last done it didn’t look the best (sorry mum). The colour was left on a bit too long and then clung to the ends when washing out, so it’s not as bright as prior. I swore that I wouldn’t bleach my hair again, so it looks like dark hair is here to stay- but it’s fitting for the darker months I suppose! Photo update will follow at some point I’m sure, but today it’s a greasy mess tied up on top of my head! 

 

Quality time with an old friend

Last Sunday I was graced with the presence of my gorgeous friend Amy. On reflection, I really should have written about it at the time, however we all know that I’m not the most organised when it comes to writing these posts. In addition to this, I have had a pretty manic week at work, with today being my first day off since she left, so I’m going to cut myself some slack. If you don’t know who my friend Amy is (which is quite possible as her last appearance on the blog was over a year ago- then you can read this post).

After spending the majority of her weekend at a reunion, I met Amy on Sunday afternoon before Liam finished work, where the chatting began whilst walking round some shops. Like the majority of my friends back home, I struggle to keep in touch- just sending the odd text here and there- but when we get together we always manage to catch up on however long it has been, as if nothing has changed. This overnight stay was to be filled with constant chatting, which would lead to me losing my voice- but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Once Liam managed to drag himself away from work (through no fault of his own might I add- he was on shift till five, and everyone knows that chef life is not glamorous), we went to Trof in the Northern Quarter for some food to help Amys hangover and cure my need for a Sunday roast. Having seen an Instagram post on their feed every Sunday for months, it was about time that we went, so having Amy up was the perfect excuse! Oh boy, it lived up to our expectations. With Yorkshire puddings almost as big as my face, juicy chicken and the freshest cranberry sauce I’ve ever had, it might as well have been Christmas (minus the brussel sprouts and pigs in blankets of course. Stopping off to pick up biscuits on our way home (to go with a brew), we were on our way back to show Amy our house and curl up on the sofa like we used to when we all lived together (sorry Jake, you weren’t here).

After a couple hours of listening to us girls chatter on and on about complete rubbish and reminiscing about the nights out we had in Edinburgh before we moved down here, Liam headed to bed before and early start at work on Monday. Hilariously, Amy and I stayed up till gone one, which for those of you who know me well, is just not heard of for me (I’m a before 10pm bed kind of girls- always have been and probably always will be). There’s something so nice about spending such quality time with an old friend, it reminded me of being at a sleepover when you were a kid, chatting with the lights out and pretending to sleep as soon as you heard a parent coming up the stairs, except were adults now, and don’t need to worry about being up too late as there’s no one to tell us otherwise. Considering I don’t think we stopped speaking from the moment we met till the moment we went to bed, its no wonder I went to sleep with a scratchy throat that night. We continued in the morning, subsequently making ourselves late to meet Liam for lunch- oops.

Whenever we have people to stay, I try to do things that you wouldn’t normally see or do back home. This includes places to eat. I don’t see the point in travelling somewhere else and going to a chain restaurant that you could go to a million times back home (the exception to this rule is my Mum, because she always comes in tow with Pizza Express vouchers). With this in mind, we went to Home Sweet Home for lunch, followed by Aflecks Palace and Fig + Sparrow before putting Amy on a train. I have to admit, I wish we could have taken her to the platform, it was a little bit tragic seeing her struggle away with all her bags (did I mention she had a broken wrist and cast on?) I think as Liam is seeing her this week, I was the only one who got a little bit emotional, but its okay, I’m an over emotional person anyway.

I guess this flying visit not only made me appreciate the time I do get to spend with friends when I do see them, but it makes me grateful for those friends who do take time out to visit me here. Sometimes I feel very isolated here, away from my old city and old friends, but it makes it all feel that little bit more special when things do pull through, something which I’m learning to appreciate, rather than pine for.

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The best skirt I’ve ever bought!

I’ve never been a massive skirt person. I’ve always been into jeans, or wearing dresses with incredibly thick tights (or sometimes two pairs). In the Winter, I usually end up wearing a jumper over a dress- I don’t know why I do that rather than wear skirts, but it’s just the way it is. A couple months ago I was in Primark, picking up essentials (such as socks and tweezers) when I spotted this skirt with a massive 50% off sign above it (making it £5). I’d been looking for a pleated midi skirt for a while, having seen a few people on Instagram wearing them. I’m never sure about jumping into trends, so it seemed the perfect way to try it out, without breaking the bank. I wore it that night to a staff night out and I haven’t looked back. Not only is it easy to dress up, with heeled boots (surely you know that I don’t own actual heels), but it also looks pretty cool with converse. I’ve tried it with an array of tops too, which makes it an even bigger winner in my book! I’m actually sad that its going to have to be out away till next year, I’m not brave enough to embrace bare legs when it gets cooler and it would definitely not go with tights! In the meantime however, I’m on the hunt for another one to add to my wardrobe- any suggestions fire them at me?

Does this mean I have a new found love for skirts? Maybe I should start wearing them more often?

Massive thanks to Liam for taking some cool outfit photos- he’s slowly learning that it is important to get shoes in the frame, and I’m learning that it is impossible for me to take a good photo with a normal facial expression!

Photo Booth Fun!

Liam got a Saturday off!! So we obviously went wild and made the most of it, filling our day with food and a lot of walking about. This post could have been soppy, as we had such a nice day, however I’ve just found a mug with a teabag still in it by the bath, and despite cleaning the bathroom yesterday, I’m still finding hairs from his mid-week beard trim, so it could go in a different direction!

After a yummy home made fry up- thanks to Liam of course- we got ready and headed into town. Back in the day of our Edinburgh to Manchester long distance relationship, I thought we had managed to visit every museum and art gallery here, and then probably again once I’d actually moved. I was wrong. The Peoples History Museum is practically in the city centre, and having seen Charlotte post on Instagram about it, I knew we had to make a trip. As most of you know, I didn’t grow up here, so it was really interesting seeing how Manchester has developed. Liam has been in Manchester for most of his life, so he had a completely different perspective- however we both enjoyed it the same. It has a massive interactive element to it, with doors to open and hats to try on, which appealed to the inner child in both of us. With the Co-op being founded here,  theres a sneaky little section at the end (next to football and music- two other greats of the city), where there is a challenge to build a bridge. We managed to build the bridge, which had a quote about being united not divided (I really should have noted it down) with relative ease, though I have to admit, Liam did the bulk of the work as I couldn’t see the writing on the blocks and have incredibly poor spacial awareness, which wasn’t the best combination when attempting this challenge- look how happy he is with himself (photo below).

Exhausted from the mornings activities, we headed to Pot Kettle Black for a sit down and coffee. PKB used to be one of our favourite coffee haunts in Manchester. Since turning into a sit down, we’ll take your order kind of place I feel its changed a bit, which is sad. The coffee is still amazing however, and it now does hot, brunch style food- which despite not trying any, does look amazing. We then headed for a wander around the Northern Quarter in the glorious sunshine (who would have though that last week I was writing about Autumn being in the air) and into Aflecks Palace to pick up some hair dye and for a general browse. For months now I’ve been banging on about getting some Photo Booth photos of the two of us. In general, we barely have any photos together, so I thought it would be really nice! Of course, the two of us aren’t a soppy lovey dovey couple, so they were never going to be cute and nice (haha Liam), but they show what we’re like together I think, and it sums up the day pretty nicely as honestly, I don’t think I’ve laughed that much in ages- he can be pretty funny! On the way back to the bus we picked up some hotdogs from the market to keep us going before making Carbonara for tea.

This kind of Saturday may seem the norm for a lot of couples, but as I’ve mentioned before, Liam and I really don’t get to spend full days off together, as they rarely fall on the same day. Sometimes, doing normal things and walking around town together is nice for us, as we don’t want to waste what little together time we do have lounging on the sofa (though I have to admit, I would love to have a duvet day binge watching Netflix with him soon). So here’s to the next date day, whenever that may be.

 

Planning Ahead.

I don’t really plan ahead. Usually, I never have any plans. At the weekends, you can usually find me on the sofa, watching endless amounts of rubbish tv and drinking multiple cups of tea. It’s just not me to have plans and have my time filled with loads of things.I like spending my weekends like this, its how I wind down at the end of the week, and I actually look forward to it. I like my own company, so much so that sometimes I can be a bit antisocial at the weekends. However things are about to change. October is going to be an action packed month I can tell, and its not even started yet!

I realised that my diary was filling up when the girls and I were trying to organise a girls weekend in Manchester. Following the success of Shaunagh and I visiting Annie in London, we decided it was time to organise another one, this time with Annie coming up here. I’m always the one who can put my hands up and say “oh, any weekend is fine for me”, however not this time. I’m having to work a weekend at the end of the month, and my friend Amy is coming to stay next sunday, so that took September out of the running, and then I looked at my plans for October, and I was shocked. Yes, there are some empty weekends (of course they are the weekends that other have plans), but I have my friends Lewis coming down one weekend, I’m going home the next and then Liam and I have a whole week off together towards the end of the month. I’ve even managed to book up a weekend at the end of November when my Mum and Aunty are coming to visit!

So yes, the days of not planning ahead seem to have come to a standstill for now, and do you know what, it makes me really excited. I absolutely love my chilled weekends about the house, especially Sundays, but sometimes it is nice to have a lot going on and a lot to look forward too. Sometimes I can get stuck in a rut of not wanting to do anything with my weekends, and I’m sure that as the weather starts to get worse, I’ll be even more inclined to spend my time curled up on the sofa- but this is not okay. Basically, I’ve realised that I need to get out more, and spend my weekends with people that I enjoy being around, whether thats from Manchester, back home, or wherever people seem to have moved to. So here’s to planning ahead- long may it continue.

Please excuse the really old photos- I hadn’t planned ahead and taken some for this post and they really make me laugh. I’d managed to get hot chocolate everywhere whilst Liam took them, which although lead to some horrible expressions on behalf of me, was pretty funny!

Rudy’s Pizza- a new favourite.

A quick Wednesday night payday treat took myself and Liam to Rudys Pizza, and boy were we in for a treat! I’m not a massive Pizza fan, however I’d heard great things and after weeks of begging Liam to go, he caved. Rudy’s is situated in Ancoats, which is a short walk from the absolute city centre where we both work. It does mean walking in the wrong direction of the bus stop to get home, which is why it took so long for us to go! I know this is a lame excuse, but when you’ve been working all day it’s really big detour for some food- especially when there are so many places to eat nearby.

The restaurant itself is adorable. Its simple decor with succulents and cacti as far as the eye can see really appealed to me. The service was great, with friendly staff and some light entertainment from the chefs who sung and danced at any opportunity whilst making the pizza in a giant stone oven, in an open kitchen. Opening from 5pm-10pm in the evenings, with lunch service throughout the week and weekend, it is the ideal place for a quick after work bite to eat, or lunch if you work in the surrounding area. We managed to speedily walk up there in record time, meaning we were seated whilst the restaurant was still quiet. As it got closer to six o’clock however, the place was packed, which I imagine continues as the evening goes on.

As I mentioned above, I’m not a massive pizza fan, however I could appreciate how great this pizza was. It had a floppy base, which personally I think is the best kind of base, and was packed with flavour (which is saying something for a tomato and mozzarella pizza. Whilst I’m not a pizza enthusiast, Liam absolutely is. He stated that his prosciutto cotto pizza was the “best pizza I have ever had”, which is a big deal considering how many pizza options he has tried in his life. The menu is small, with enough pizzas to satisfy all, however not so many that you’re left confused about choices an stressed over it not being the right one.

Now here’s the best part. The meal for the two of us came to around £20, which if you ask me is an absolute steal. We will definitely be making more of an effort to that short walk and filling up on amazing pizza more often!

Premature Autumn Excitement.

Since it hit September everyone seems to be going on about Autumn. Now, not to jump on the bandwagon, but Autumn is 100% my favourite time of year. We don’t really get Summer in the UK, especially when I lived back in Scotland, so Summer dressing and holidays have never really been my thing (though I did go away this year, which you can check out here, here, here and here). Autumn isn’t too cold, but cold enough to wear bobble hats and boots, whilst I work my way through endless hot chocolates and wear loads of knitted jumpers and cardigans. Basically Autumn is my idea of heaven.

The shops are slowly filling up with coats and boots- and although I desperately need to purchase both this year, I can’t seem to find any that I like enough to buy. I live in boots, even in the summer, so when my two trusty black pairs both started falling apart, the fear set in and I realised I really need to get on that! I always start with knitted cardigans when it comes to autumnal dressing when the weather start to get a bit colder- however this year I seem to have taken it too far…

A couple of weeks ago, before I even went on holiday, Liam and I had a rare day off where we spent the whole day together about town, not doing all that much apart from mooching around and spending so many hours in Ziferblat that the guy gave us a whole loyalty card full of stamps when we left. Ziferblat is a cafe in the Norther Quarter in Manchester where you pay for the time you spend there, rather than everything you eat and drink. Now we even had soup for out lunch, amongst numerous coffees and biscuits- so I honestly think it was money well spent. We even stopped off at the sit-in chippy on the way home to complete the OAPs day out. I was feeling a little bit fragile following my work night out the night before, so opted for the most comfortable outfit I could lay my hands on. Looking back, August was definitely too early to be kitted out in this cardigan that my Granny knitted for me (it was meant to be baggy- she doesn’t actually think I’m that size), but it was cosy and made me feel warm and fuzzy whilst walking around in the rain. I wish my hair was still this colour, but the Lanzarote sun, and multiple washes made it a lot less vibrant- so the roots are back to being dark brown with the ends fading to a pink/lilac colour. I’ve got to be honest, even though I’ve had it cut and it seems to be in okay condition, I’m kind of worried that it’s all going to snap off so I’ve decided to stop colouring it for now. Thank you to Liam for talking these photos of me all wrapped up- there are so many funny outtakes that I can’t release into the internet, but honestly, I’m so attractive it kills me!

This time of year also means the lead up to Christmas. For the first time since I moved away from home, I think I’m going to be excited about it this year. I don’t know what it has been, but all I can think about is cosy nights in next to the Christmas tree (even though we have no idea where to put it) and our Christmas bedsheets making an appearance. I absolutely can’t wait for the Christmas markets to come to Manchester, and for the shops to get in advent calendars and christmas sweets. Oh and who could forget the classic Christmas sandwiches which fill all the shops? It’s waaaaaaay too early to being talking about Christmas though, so I’m going to stop now- because I’m definitely going to get too carried away before the festivities have even started.

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Jardin de Cactus.

The hidden gem of the holiday! It was the last day in the car, and we were all a bit tired and grumpy having explored some caves (you can have a look at that here), however I had been banging on about going here since day one so it seemed necessary. Dad even joked about peering over the wall rather than going in, but as there were little tiny cacti around the top like barbed wire (and the fact the walls were really tall), it was definitely not an option. We walked in and our breaths were taken away- I honestly said ‘oh my god, I was not expecting that’ about a million times.

The place is absolutely insane! Cacti everywhere you look, and a million different types! Dad forced me to give him my camera incase I missed something- so thank to him for a large chunk of the below photos!

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