Couch, Sheffield

The other day I paid a visit to Couch in Sheffield. Its a new-ish coffee/food shop on Campo Lane (I think there's another one on Ecclesall Road), and as a first-timer here, I was very impressed!

 

 

It was really cool and quirky inside, and the food was top-notch.

 

 

After a good ten minutes attempting to narrow down the delicious looking choices on the menu, I settled for the mozzarella, tomato and basil flatbread with extra rocket, and a red grape juice. (No, not wine!) My Dad however did opt for a white wine, along with a parma ham ploughmans. This looked blumin' good. I wasn't jealous at all...

 

 

I'd love more quirky food places like this to open in the city centre! Starbucks, Café Nero and Costa Coffees as fab, but some variation goes down a treat!

Thank you Couch for a lovely lunch!

 

http://couchstuff.co.uk/

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Andy Jordan Gig

Last night, me and one of my best friends Jo went to see the insanely-good-looking-in-the-flesh Andy Jordan do a warm-up gig for his upcoming tour. Most people will know him from Made in Chelsea, but he's definitely making his mark in terms of performing.

 

 

 

I first saw him live on his tour before Christmas and although I thought he would be good, I didn't know he would be THAT good. Like seriously, so good. I walked out afterwards and vouched that if he was ever back in Sheffield I would 100% be there. 

 

 

He has such a cool, reggae-acoustic-y vibe that's really fun, you can tell he loves his music. There's also a slight vulnerability to him; I must have got eye contact a LOT. This made him even more endearing! (I had to stop to compose myself a number of times haha)
 

He sung a mixture of covers and originals, both equally enjoyable. My favourites included his covers of Wake Me Up, Proud Mary and Sonnentanz (which he sung at Christmas) along with, well every other song he sung. His own compositions are so up my street; On My Own, Whole Lot of Water and Geography in particular.

 

I really hope he's back in the area in the near future!

 

And a big shout out to his awesome band who managed to improvise three encore songs with no warning, they were fab! 

See his UK tour dates here.

 

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June Catch Up

*slumps down at laptop panting after THE most exam-centric month since, well January*

Not gonna lie, I've sucked at posting on here this month. Instead, I have been revising for my first-year uni exams, which has been upsettingly stressful. Why do exams always seem to creep up so fast?

Anyway, I thought i'd bring you up to speed with how I have spent the odd hour here and there where I've not actually got my head nestled in some deeply horrendous exciting book about urbanisation. 

Chatsworth Horse Trials
This is always one of my favourite days of the year, where my mum and I drive out to Chatsworth to watch the International Horse Trials. Coming from a very horse-y family, I love being surrounded by all things equine, and seeing top riders from all over the world doing their thang. The weather hooked us up good too.

Meeting Lucy Watson
Now I'm not usually one for going to meet celebrities in this sort of environment, I find it quite awkward and never really know what to say. However, last week me and my flatmate Alex were looking for any excuse to take a break from revision, so decided to go along and meet Made In Chelsea's Lucy in WHSmiths. It was fun, over like a shot but our poor little revision battered minds were up for anything. She was friendly, unlike some may perhaps assume (?) and I'm intrigued to read her book 'The Dating Game'.

Sun!
Well hasn't this been exciting, sun! It's limited, yes, but enjoyable nevertheless. I spent the majority of it on a deckchair in my garden revising, but also managed to squeeze in the odd walk in the Peak District. 'Twas lovely. 

Guinea Pig Lovin
As the weather is getting warmer and the grass is getting dryer, it means Fat Ruth and Daisy are getting more than their fair share of grass chomping, and I just love plonking down on the lawn with them. Their squeaking, cute furry mouths, chubby little bellies...urgh I just love those little cherubs.

First year = tick!
I can't believe I'm writing this at the end of my first year at uni. Freshers literally seems like last week. I seriously hope the rest of my time here doesn't go this quickly. I had my last exam this morning and am now looking forward to a very exciting summer. I'm going to write a post about my first year soon :)

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Geography Ball

Last night was my course's annual society ball. Held at a local (very posh) hotel in Sheffield, me and some fellow uni buddies put on our glad rags, and actually wore heels for the first time since starting uni. (#studentlife)

And it was blumin good.

There was fab food, even fab-er music and geography-themed decorations which thrilled the map-lover in all of us.

It was a really fun night and a great way to bring our first year to a close. (That frightens me, it's gone FAR too quickly).

What I'm Wearing

Dress - New Look, Shoes - Office (quite old), Earrings - Urban Outfitters, Rings - I can't remember, they're pretty old! Watch - ASOS, Clutch Bag - Whistles, Nails - Tanya Burr Peaches and Cream (LOVE this colour).

What's on my Face

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer, Mac Omega Eyeshadow (eyebrows), Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Paint (the colour name has rubbed off, but it's the dark brown shimmery one), Mac Eye Pencil in Coffee , Benefit They're Real Mascara, Benefit Coralista Blisher, Sleek Contour Powder, Tanya Burr Lipgloss in Champagne Toast.

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Chatsworth in the Spring

In our house a Bank Holiday means only one thing - a trip into the Peak District.

The location in question this time was Chatsworth House. A beautiful, ornate mansion set in acres and acres of woods and rolling hills. Over its years it has been host to royalty, Dukes, Duchesses and Hollwyood Stars alike.

Me and my mum took a walk down the river and then back up through the park. The weather was top notch for this time of year. 

We managed to get quite close to both of the herd of deer which roam the park, which was cool, but I still had to zoom in on my camera so the photo quality is still pretty naff.

How cute were these lambs! Oh Spring, you do spoil us.

I'm lucky in that both my uni and my hometown are are about a 10 minute drive from the peaks, and recently I've really been getting into exploring new places there. I'm not 83. Promise...

The yearly Chatsworh Horse Trials are coming up next week, so I'll keep you updated with that :) (Update: Read about it here)

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Big Stars Little Star

I've been to a few TV recordings in the past (Strictly Come Dancing being my highlight, naturally), so when we got the chance to be in the audience for the ITV show Big Stars Little Star, i got very excited.

After the London Marathon, (see post on this here) me and my mum tubed it up to Wembley. (Side note - how cool are the new Met line trains? Oh the things that excite me). 

On the show were Eastenders actor Jake Wood with his son Buster, Casualty actress Sunetra Sarker with her so Noah, and ex-rugby player Austin Healy (whose twin girls were SO adorable).

(Photos: ITV Pictures)

Our priority tickets got us sat front row, which was all very well until they revealed they wanted to film  the audience dancing for an advert. Cue awkward and embarrassing Granny moves. Fab.

Worries aside, the show was great. Stephen Mulhern presented, and was clearly a natural. He`d come over and chat occasionally during breaks and was exactly how i expected. So funny and such a nice guy.

Not gonna lie, I do love the buzz of live shows, but this was much more relaxed and still really enjoyable. I loved it!

*UPDATE* The show aired on the 7th of May, so I guess now it's ok for me to big up Austin Healy and his daughters Betsy and Bibi who won the £15,000 jackpot for British Lung Foundation. 

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Go Mo!

Ah, that time of year again. Time to dust off my best cheers and head to the London Marathon. 

I'd love to say I'd run it and am sat here bonding with my medal, but, for now, the roadside is where I'll stay.

There was definitely a higher turnout of spectators in comparison to previous years. I'm sure the prospect of seeing Mo Farah drew in the crowds. You can imagine the roars of excitement and OTT Mobots as he came running round the corner. And by running, I mean sprinting. The speed at which the elite runners go at is insane.

The whole event is ridiculously exciting. The atmosphere equals that of a carnival. 

If you stay long enough to watch the fun-runners, it's brilliant. You see kangaroos, bananas, trees, nuns, Captain Jack Sparrows and the odd celebrity. And where else can you scream out the names of people you've never met, and them actually smile at you? 

Be prepared to stand up for a long time if you are watching in the busier areas. The first half of the race you can usually sit on the curb if you get there early enough, but as the runners make their way down Embankment and down Birdcage Walk towards Buckingham Palace, the crowds tend to be a few people deep. We've solved this in previous years with picnic chairs. Yes, you feel a bit silly, but your legs will thank you for it. Big time.

I'm hoping to enter the ballot again for the 2015 race, so who knows! Definitely go and watch if you get the chance :)

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