Oh Manchester, so much to answer for…

This weekend we took an impromptu trip to Manchester! 

Each time I go to a city I’m reminded of how much I love cityscapes. We stayed in the ever faithful Premier Inn; this particular one was located atop a multi-storey carpark, so views are to be enjoyed by all who stay here even if you stay on the "ground" floor! Amazing! I love it. I adore views, this very reason is why I traipsed all the way to the top of both Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Tower during one of my trips to Japan. Just being up there, all the way at the top, taking everything in, really puts things into perspective and makes you feel humbled. ESPECIALLY at night.

Anyway. After arriving, eating the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich, and drinking THE most incredible strawberry lemonade available on this planet in Northern Soul, we obviously went straight to Afflecks, which is this amazingly cool three-storey shopping "complex" (if you can call it that) brimming with alternative and LGBTQ+ friendly shops that are mostly locally owned and independent. It is a sight to behold, and if you're a member of the alternative community as I am (fully fledged now I'm in my thirties...) then it is literally the place of  your DREAMS. Rich bought some cool purple tartan skinny jeans from a shop called Punk'd, along with a T shirt sporting the slogan "Make Emo Great Again" which I am just now realising could very well be a Brexit reference, which makes it all the more cool than it originally was. 

JUST LOOK AT THIS GLORIOUS FOOD. LOOK. AT. IT.

Obligatory Afflecks selfie.

I decided to wear my Liz Lisa dress that I got in Japan - I haven't worn it before that since Christmas 2019, but I decided that it's entirely too cute to be left abandoned in my wardrobe and since it now fits me again (hooray!) I decided to not give a crap and wear it out to Manchester, the place where it will most likely be appreciated the most. And it was! I got two compliments on my dress, and I honestly felt so good, it made me want to buy more Liz Lisa dresses and get a little collection going. I have my eye on a couple on Depop right now, so watch this space... But now for the pièce de résistance. I bought myself the cutest bag I have ever seen in my entire life, in fact it is SO cute I could actually shed a little tear: 

Honestly. I could cry. 

I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I spent my Saturday night researching the best breakfast places in Manchester and found a lovely little cafe called Hampton and Vouis, so on Sunday morning we embarked upon brunch and it absolutely did not disappoint. I had the most delicious sourdough bread toast topped with poached eggs, mozzarella, tomato avocado, and whatever mystery dressing they had but UGH it was SO DELICIOUS. You know when you eat something that is entirely so fucking delicious it makes you feel like you've transcended into a higher level of being? Yeah, that was the sort of food they do there. To die for. Obviously I had to photo-document the sheer beauty:

Have you ever seen such a beautiful brunch? 

It was glorious. I could eat that for every single one of my remaining breakfasts for the rest of my life and be 100% happy. Manchester is worth visiting just for the food alone. 

Obviously, though, my scales are now screaming at me because of the utterly criminal indulgence of the weekend :( but I'm back on my diet today. I managed to get down to 149.2lbs on Saturday and I've been waiting to see 149 for SO LONG so I'm really hoping it won't take me too long to get back to that and even lower. After 149 the next benchmark is 139, and then 129... If I make it to 129 then I will breathe a sigh of relief because I should be able to fit into my beautiful clothes again and feel a bit more like an actual human being. Wish me luck! 

🌙🌟 

Current Music: My relax playlist/Rich hammering buttons on his playstation playing whatever game he's playing. I'll ask. "Just that Maneater game" apparently...

Photo Dump!

Heatwave! 

We had our second heatwave of the year last week, which is basically unheard of in this country. But it was glorious! I have just finished my two weeks of annual leave off work and fortunately we had some lovely weather over my second week. It was Rich's 30th birthday on 10th August, so him, his mum, sister and I all bundled into our car and went to Wentworth Woodhouse. Despite growing up a 10 minute drive away I actually had enver been, so it was lovely to experience it. It was a bit strange though, the decor was impressive, but there was little to no furniture in the rooms which we all thought was rather odd. Still though, look how gorgeous the facade is: 

Rich also took an amazing photo of me flailing around by a beautiful fireplace in my giant boots:

It was really nice to actually walk around somewhere I've been hearing about for so long but haven't actually had the time to experience finally. 

Oh, on a completely unrelated note, please adore accordingly this amazing cutlery set I purchased from Shein (shut up, they're bad fast fashion, but if you treasure it it's NOT BAD):

Aren't they beautiful?! I also had to get a new passport as mine was scarily close to becoming expired. It's all bluey-black now because of Brexit. Honestly, what sort of world are we living in these days? Ick. 

After Rich's birthday he was feeling a little low because of hitting the big "three-oh", bless him. (I'm two and a half years into that now, buckle up sonny-jim) so we took ourselves off to Cannon Hall in Barnsley. That was honestly better than Wentworth Woodhouse, and Wentworth Woodhouse had a ridiculously expensive entrance fee but Cannon hall was FREE, baby! We walked around all the rooms, saw some beautiful furniture and had the most divine lemon cheesecake I have ever experienced for lunch. I also took a liking to this picture: 

I wish I was as beautiful as her. She is everything I want to be. But I am not her, I am me, and here is me, as below: 

🌙🌟 

Current Music: Tick, tock...