Koffee Pot Cafe Manchester

I am all about the food posts at the moment and while in Manchester the other week I ate so much good food that I felt I should share the places we visited.

My first post was on Brasserie ABode and this current post will be on the Koffee Pot Cafe.

The Koffee Pot was suggested by my friend as a breakfast stop as he had heard many good reviews. So on the Saturday morning we took a wander over in the rain to find this place.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This week has been an odd one the snow around the Shropshire area caused everything to come to a standstill. 

This meant plans needing to be rearranged and a fair few snow days from work. While this prevented me from visiting the Shrewsbury Christmas Market and actually leaving the house it gave some much needed relaxation.

Lifestyle: Dairy Free Ready Meals From Tesco

I'm attempting to have more of a dairy free lifestyle again after months of indulging in chocolate and cheese.

My main boost to do this was when I noticed that Tesco had started doing dairy free ready meals. Yes they are now a thing and I could not be happier. Mainly because if your lactose intolerant it is very hard to get ready made food that doesn't contain milk.

Brasserie Abode Manchester

I spent the past weekend up in Manchester for a quick mini break before Christmas while up there we dined at the Brasserie Abode part of the Abode hotel chains.

I hadn't heard of this hotel chain or restaurants before but as my friend had booked it I was happy to go with the flow.

A Weekend in Edinburgh

Back at the beginning of October I had a quick trip up to Edinburgh for a couple of days to visit a good friend. This would be the furthest inland I had been to Scotland and I planned to make the most of the trip.

The plan was to catch up and have cocktails. It was the Edinburgh Cocktail Festival the weekend I was up, meaning that if you had a wristband you could get a different discount cocktail at each bar.

A New Hobby

I have been posting less and less on the blog front of late and here is the reason why.

I have started a new writing hobby in the form of poetry. While I have always been a fan of writing and expression poetry had not really been on my radar until this year.

I had read a copy of Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey and fell in love with the art form. The fact that you can express so much meaning in so few words and have people that relate is amazing.

Halloween Cake Baking

Great British Bake off eat your heart out!

Last Tuesday me and a friend decided to go a bit baking crazy and in the spirit of the season these cakes had to be Halloween themed.

We started off with the basic cake recipe

6 oz Sugar

6 oz Butter

3 Eggs

6 oz Flour

Then we decided to have some fun with the cake mix and make them that bit unusual. We had previously been to Hobbycraft aka baking heaven and bought loads of colourful icing and most intriguingly some of the Sugarflair colour pastes. 

You Are a Butterfly You Just Can't See Your Wings

Does the butterfly know its beauty or is it unable to see its own wings? Forced to wander around looking at the bright and colourful wings of other butterflies feeling insignificant in comparison?

Aren't we all similar in this aspect quick to see the beauty and positives in others but unable to see these qualities in ourselves. Looking at qualities we admire and wishing we had more -more confidence, more beauty, more brains.

We all have low moments, moments of self-doubt, of comparison, of wishing for more and of questioning.

Of late I have had far too many of these thoughts, life has thrown many hurdles my way and I got tired of jumping them. I found myself becoming someone I didn't recognise someone full of doubts, low self confidence and who constantly compares their life to others.

Thinking Ahead

I know we all hate to hear it but Christmas is looming, there are only 13 weekends left until the big day. Madness I know! I hate to be the bearer of this news but around now is the time I start thinking of gifts and presents.

I know I'm a planner, I over-organise, and I'm always looking for new places to buy gifts from- I strive to find the perfect presents.

The Soundtrack to my Summer: Paramore - After Laughter

This year has been a fantastic year for music every band or artist seems to be dropping new singles or albums and my playlist is full of fantastic new music.

I am definitely late to the part in writing this post as this album has been out since may but

the one album that has really made my year is Paramore's After Laughter. I have always been a die-hard Paramore fan since age 13 onwards and have followed the changes in their musical style between each album.

A Week in Dublin

Back at the beginning of April I visited Dublin for a week with a friend, this was the first time either of us had ever been to Ireland and we planned to make the most of it.

We booked a sweet little Airbnb room just up from St Stephens park giving us a short walk into the centre every morning through the park. St Stephens park had beautiful arrangements of flowers and I can imagine sitting in there while it's sunny with a good book is a fantasic way to relax.

Prague: The Charles Bridge

While in Prague one of the sights that you have to go see if the Charles Bridge, it is a stunning piece of architecture. While pretty much all of the architecture in Prague is stunning this bridge can not be beat in terms of beauty and history! The bridge crosses the Vlatava river in between the new town and the old town.

April Favourites 2017

April Favourites
It's slightly late but I wanted to share with you all the things that I have been loving this April.

There have been a few different things but the majority of these have been beauty products - guilty as charged.

Weekly Update - Watching/Listening/Reading

This week has definitely been a mad and busy one, work has been nonstop and I've had an essay that I've been trying to motivate myself to finish all week! Therefore this week's weekly update is a limited list.

Hoo Farm Animal Experience

Last Sunday I had a fantastic day at Hoo Farm. I'd bought my step mom an animal experience off of wowcher and we had finally got around to using it. 

We got to meet Duma the Serval, Specsavers the owl, the two red foxes and a boa constrictor.

It was a wonderful day the guide was very knowledgeable and good with the animals and it was amazing how close we got to these wonderful creatures.

Travel: Prague Astronomical Clock

 Back in February I visited the beautiful city of Prague! As everyone has said time and time before it truly is a fairytale city!

There are beautiful buildings and architecture everywhere that you look, no two buildings are the same.

There are so many different sights to see and behold and the one that I was most looking forward to was the Astronomical Clock.

All the photos I had seen of this prior to going were stunning and when in person it looked even more fairytale-esque.

To Be Read April 2017

As it was my birthday the other week I decided to have a small book haul! Its been a while since I have bought new fiction, the majority of the time now I just borrow books to read from my workplace. However they don't always have all the titles that I want.

Therefore it was time for a haul of sorts!

These are the books that are currently on my to be read list:

An Evening in Liverpool

I'm not one for being spontaneous, if I make plans it's usually weeks in advance of the event with every detail mapped out carefully.

The other week I broke this trend me and my friend decided to go and see Against the Current live in Liverpool the week before the event. We spontaneously booked the tickets and I agreed to drive even though I have never driven to Liverpool before in my life.

Travel: Nice

I visited Nice in October and I have delayed making a full post about my trip because to begin with the experience was down right awful.

This was not due to the city itself or any of the sights, rather the hotel that we were staying at to begin with. On the day we arrived the first evening we went out for food someone went into our room and stole from my friend. (I thankfully had all of my valuables on me).

L'Oréal Pure Clay Glow Mask Review

I was lucky enough for Christmas to get my hands one of the L'Oreal Pure Clay Masks. I opted for the glow mask for two reasons one I want to have nice bright non-tired skin and two out of the three this one smelled the nicest!