Places in Leeds: Cielo Blanco

I'm starting a new series on this here blog called, imaginatively, 'Places in Leeds'. Simple and to the point. I have an ever-growing list of restaurants and bars I want to try in my (pretty much) home city and now that I'm back from uni for good I've decided to start working my way through it. Leeds has really improved over the past few years and I love living so close to it. Until recently I was pretty adamant that I'd have to move to London somehow to experience city living but I'm starting to think I'd be quite happy to stay in Leeds; it has an abundance of great bars, pretty much any shop I could want to go to and more & more restaurants are choosing to open their only northern branches here- you can't imagine how excited I was when I first heard that Meat Liquor was moving on up (who has this in their head now? sorry). I sing Leeds' praises to any naive people who will listen so I thought it'd be a good idea to write about places, new and old to me, here.

Today I'd like to tell you about a mexican restaurant called Cielo Blanco. It's in the Trinity centre so has been open a while now but I've only just got round to trying it- something I'm pretty sad about. My friend Gaby and I chose it as our catch-up location and we were both thoroughly impressed. CB is committed to being authentically mexican, particularly in their emphasis on street food. 

First off we decided on drinks- this took longer than deciding on the food. I went for a west house mexicana- I couldn't tell you what was in it other than tequila, but I liked it- and Gaby had a pink grapefruit and pineapple margarita which she seemed pretty happy with. Foodwise, we decided to go for their 'street food experience' where you pick 6 of their dishes for £11.95 each- pretty good when you consider that each dish separately is £4-7. We went for stuffed jalapenos, pork tacos, rump steak quesadilla, chipotle mushroom and cheese flautas (we had no idea what this was upon ordering), mexican chicken dumplings and crispy squid tostadas- although these were just for Gaby as seafood and myself don't mix well. We also got some sweet potato fries with aioli to share because, well, just because. They also bring you some free tortilla chips with three different salsas after you've ordered which I think is a nice little touch.

As you can see it all looked, and luckily tasted, pretty great. Gaby couldn't quite deal with the heat of the stuffed jalapenos but I loved them, so was secretly happy to have them all to myself. I obviously didn't try her crispy squid but she munched her way through it all quite happily, so I'll deem that a success too! The tacos were probably my favourite thing but I'd definitely recommend the dumplings which were a surprising hit for both of us.

After we'd polished the lot off Gaby enquired about their desserts. The selection is so small that they don't actually have a menu- either churros or a chocolate sundae. I wasn't going to have a dessert actually, but as soon as Gaby ordered her churros I knew I'd have crippling food envy if I didn't have some too. And I'm glad I did...

Who can really resist anything in the doughnut family paired with chocolate sauce and ice cream? A better person than myself, I'll tell you that. 

I can't quite remember how much it all came to but I believe we paid about £25 each including a tip, which, although a little pricier than I'd sometimes be able to afford, I'm happy to pay every so often for a good meal and drink. All in all we both really enjoyed the experience of Cielo Blanco; the mixture of interesting drinks, lovely food and a chilled atmosphere means that I'll definitely be returning when I next have a mexican craving. 

In an octopus's garden...

In order to counteract the heaviness of last nights post I thought I'd show you a few photos I took at Yorkshire Sculpture Park today. If you aren't from Yorkshire, it's basically a huge bit of land with sculptures dotted around- some of them are permanent and some are just exhibitions. I don't go very often but when I do I love wandering around to see what's new- and today I was especially happy to as I got to practice playing around with my new camera! If you live in the area I'd definitely recommend a visit.

Thoughts: feminism

Tonight I'd like to diverge from my usual light-hearted posts and write a little about feminism, which has essentially become the buzzword of the last few days thanks to a particularly inspiring speech that Emma Watson made to the UN to launch the 'He for She' campaign. I apologise if my words get tangled somewhat; I should probably have made a plan but hey ho, life's too short and all that jazz.

I wholeheartedly identify as a feminist. In my mind there could be no other way. Feminism, as Ms Watson states, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Simple and to the point. Nothing there about man-hating. So why on earth has feminism become a dirty word? Why do I have friends on facebook posting the afore-mentioned speech yet pre-facing it with the words "I would NEVER call myself a feminist, but..."? Why, every single time I mention the word around any male friend, do I get moans and groans and told to just "lighten up"? The other day a work friend of mine actually said "but it's 2014, of course men and women are equal now". I actually laughed in his face a little and here are some reasons why:

• I can't remember the last time I walked through Leeds city centre without being wolf-whistled, cat-called or just plain leered at. Any man who says "oh I'd love it if women shouted nice things at me in the street" needs a reality check if they think there's any enjoyment to be found in an old man saying "nice arse" as you walk past them in a dark street. 
• The fact that some people still think a woman is 'asking' to be raped if she wears a short skirt or gets drunk. How about we start educating men to simply not rape women instead of women having to take precautions in order to not be raped? I can't begin to imagine having to deal with being raped, let alone then be told that it was my fault because I shouldn't have been 'tempting' men. My twitter timeline recently exploded over news of a nail polish that can detect the date-rape drug. Whilst I agree that it may be useful in medical terms in order to help victims, I find it heart-sinkingly sad that something like this had to be invented.
• Women are STILL being paid less than men for doing the exact same work. It makes no sense.
• I don't think any of my female friends could honestly say they have never been groped by a stranger, whether that be in a club or in public. It has happened to me a few times and I can't imagine I'm alone in reacting in silent shock and simply moving away, trying to ignore it. This is not okay.
• Since making her UN speech, Emma Watson has been threatened with being the next victim in a recent onslaught of leaked celebrity nudes. I find it disgusting that an intelligent young woman has seemingly made herself vulnerable to this type of abuse simply by trying to use her influence to help spread an important message. Everything to do with the current trend of leaked nudes is vile; the general public's consensus that it's the person's fault for taking the photos in the first place is basically the equivalent of the above-mentioned 'don't get drunk if you don't want to be raped' argument. Call me crazy but I don't understand what pleasure there is to be gained from viewing photos of a woman in a compromised situation that they obviously would not want you to see them in and are likely completely humiliated that you can.
• Every male who still thinks it's funny to make jokes about women 'getting back in the kitchen'. Yes it's the 21st century yet somehow this joke is STILL making the rounds- please, please, please get some new bloody material. You look like an utter moron. 

I think I could go on all night if I let myself; if you really need more reasons just go check out the Everyday Sexism twitter account-I warn you that you'll probably get pretty angry in the process of doing so. 

There is no doubt that feminism and the changes it hopes to induce are facing an up-hill struggle. It is so important that this issue continues to be openly discussed and I hope, in doing so, that one day men and women will be unfalteringly proud to call themselves feminists. 

I don't know about you...

...but I'm feeling 22! Okay I'm sorry Swift-haters but I couldn't resist that one seeing as I'm going to tell you a little about my 22nd birthday earlier this week.

I didn't have much planned for my actual birthday- if I'm being honest I felt a bit 'meh' (for lack of a better word) about the whole thing, but I ended up having a lovely, if rather chilled, day in the end. I actually opened my cards and presents the night before, as if not my parents would've tried to wake me at the crack of dawn before they went to work the next day and if my 22 years on this earth have taught me anything, it is that I am not a morning person. I was lucky enough to receive a couple more of my beloved silver knuckle rings, Foals' 'Holy Fire' on vinyl, a lovely new leather purse and a MAC lipstick- nothing extravagant but it doesn't take much to make me happy.

I'd arranged to meet one of my best friends, Gaby, in Leeds to take advantage of Pizza Express' annual free bottle of birthday prosecco. She just came back from working in Marbella all summer so a pizza and prosecco was exactly what we needed- I went for the rustichella which is basically a Caesar salad on a pizza, need I say more?

Once we'd finished our food we met up with another of my friends, Susie, to head to Belgrave Music Hall's roof terrace, which I think it's now fair to call my favourite place to go in Leeds. We had a lovely leisurely afternoon drinking Amstel (just a little less sophisticated that prosecco) in the sun, only popping back inside to take advantage of resident Dough Boys' half price slices; because apparently one pizza wasn't already enough..

Like I said, it was nothing too exciting and most of my friends were either back at uni or working, but it was a good day with a few good friends nonetheless. Really I just wanted to post a few higher-quality photos on here as I remembered to take my DSLR camera out for the day- seeing how much better these photos look than iphone snaps makes me really keen to do more lifestyle-y restaurant-y posts. Watch this space!

Birthday wishlist: edition 22

My 22nd birthday is just around the corner and between settling in at my new job and various preparations for my older sisters wedding (in 10 days!) I'd almost completely forgotten about it. I've accepted that I'm heading into legitimate 20's territory now and I'm okay with it- plus I have an excuse to sing Taylor Swift for a whole 24 hours. There isn't much I'm coveting this year but I thought I'd show you the few things I have on my wishlist.

1. I haven't bought a new lipstick in what feels like forever and I look at this one (Russian Red) pretty much every time I'm near a MAC stand. I think it's about time I actually owned it.

2. My current purse is a Cath Kidston number and while it is still perfectly functional it has gotten rather grubby and, while I still appreciate that it is loved by many, I feel I've outgrown the twee patterns somewhat. The above purse is from & Other Stories and is exactly the kind of thing I'm after- black, simple and leather.

3. I've had this moon ring from Shop Dixi bookmarked for ages and I'm always on the hunt for more simple silver rings to add to my collection.

4. Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I don't like tea. At all. I don't understand the point of it. You may wonder then why I'm after this mug from Anthropologie; actually, I have quite a penchant for eating cereal out of mugs. It just tastes nicer than out of a bowl. Plus ever since my first trip into an Anthropologie shop earlier this year I'm dreaming of being able to buy the whole dining collection- this would be a nice beginning to that.

5. This Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray is something else I've had on various wishlists for years but always wondered if it was worth the money. A few weeks ago I had my hair cut for the first time in 3 years and while everyone else insists it's still long, I'm finding it quite hard to style. After reading Kate's recent post, I've been convinced that a good salt spray will be helpful in my constant attempt at creating waves a la Olsen twins.

So there we have it- nothing too ground-breaking but I think as you get older it's less about having tons of presents to open and more about receiving a few little things that you'll really get use out of. I haven't really thought about what I'll do on the day but I'm sure a night out in Leeds will be on the cards!

What do you think of my picks?

Thoughts: best documentaries

Recently I've really gotten in to watching documentaries. I've always liked to keep up with Louis Theroux's latest films, but I rarely looked elsewhere for thought-provoking material; enter Netflix,with it's countless films to choose from- please tell me I'm not the only person who probably spends more time choosing films rather than watching them? Anyway, with that in mind I thought I'd write about a few of my favourites so far in case you happen to be looking for inspiration:

The Lady in Number 6 - I first heard of this film when I was watching the Oscars and saw that it had been nominated for (and then went on to win) the award for best short documentary. I searched around the internet with no luck, then one day up it popped on Netflix. It tells the story of Alice Herz-Sommer, a holocaust survivor who spends hours every day playing the piano- much to the joy of her neighbours who love to hear her play. Alice says that music, without a doubt, helped her to survive her horrific ordeal and is what helps to keep her going, even now at the age of 109 years old. You can't help but feel inspired to be more positive, as Alice says "I have no space nor time for pessimism and hate". I urge anybody to watch this film, which now stands as a well-deserved tribute to Alice's wonderful soul. 

The Woman Who Wasn't There - Unfortunately my next pick is less inspiring. This film re-lives the unsettling story of Tania Head, a woman who claimed to be a 9/11 survivor- but who, in reality, had never set foot in the twin towers. Perhaps I'm a little biased in my thinking, being a bit of a psychology-nerd, but it was fascinating to see how far a person will go in order to find acceptance and meaning for themselves.

Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer - Again I may be biased in my interest towards this one but this film explores the life of Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute and now death-row inmate convicted of killing 7 men. The director, Nick Broomfield, interviews Aileen a number of times in the build-up to her execution which allows us to see the unravelling of her mental state over time. The last interview, the day before her execution, is particularly hard to watch and, although I'm firmly against the death penalty anyway, really makes you think about the obvious questionable ethics of killing a clearly unstable person.

The Bridge - My apologies- apart from my first choice on this list these really aren't getting any more cheerful. This film is the result of the Golden Gate bridge being filmed for one year; as the bridge is the second most 'popular' suicide location in the world, the cameras capture some disturbing footage which may be a bit too hard-hitting for some people to watch. The families & friends of some of the jumpers are also interviewed, allowing us to gain an insight in to the possible reasons behind their final moments. Some may find the film unethical, but a quick google tells me that the filmmakers raised the alarm to save lives whenever they suspected a potential jumper. Alas as the film shows, the majority looked completely casual beforehand which made it impossible to intervene- although the case of Gene, who is followed throughout the film, is a bizarre and almost theatrical example of the opposite. I'm not really sure why I found this film so interesting- perhaps sheer morbid fascination- but I would recommend it.

I wish I had another less depressing pick to finish this off nicely (I did cry at 'Being Elmo', after-all) but it seems that I'm all about exploring the darker side of the world. This is why I love documentaries so much though, as they can really help to educate a wide audience about so many different issues that more mainstream media would rather avoid.

Do you have any good documentary recommendations? Have you seen any of the above? 

The Graduate

Yesterday I graduated from university with an upper second class degree in psychology. It was a lovely day celebrating with my closest course friends and family- yes the clapping for every single person graduating got a little tedious, but the promise of a bottle of Moët afterwards made it a little easier. It was the best way to end my three years at uni however it's left me with very mixed emotions; I'm proud of my friends & I for achieving what we wanted and I'm relieved to never have to sit an exam again, yet it has finally started to sink in that it's all over now and with that, the realisation that all the people I've spent the last three years with will never all be together again (bar the inevitable wedding season I predict will begin in 4-5 years). I don't want to get too sentimental (said in-between sobs) but my conflicting emotions have left me wanting to write a little about my experiences, so here are my pearls of wisdom for current or future university-goers.

1. Make the best of a potentially bad situation - I was so worried when I moved into halls because I was moving into a flat of 18 people; the thought of living with so many new people had me in a panic as soon as I found out my halls allocation. I considered trying to request moving to another before I arrived but now I'm really glad I didn't- I ended up being lucky and making friends with 5 other girls in my flat and we've all lived together ever since.

2. Get involved & put yourself out there - this is probably the most generic piece of advice that can be offered to soon-to-be students but it's important to remember and something that I wish I'd realised earlier. There are so many different things to get involved in at university- typically there'll be a society from your course to join, as well as one for pretty much any hobby you can think of. Outside of societies there'll be various media outlets- my housemate had her own radio show for part of this last year-, volunteering opportunities and general events to attend. I think my only regret about my university life was not joining a society other than psychology society- which unfortunately wasn't particularly active. However, I did take part in the escape & evade event that our charity rag group organises; I consider getting to Zagreb in Croatia in 60 hours purely by hitch-hiking to be one of my greatest achievements. Be brave- even just by starting a nervous conversation with someone else on your course when you've no idea what's going on. Doing just that led to me meeting my group of close course friends.

3. Take full advantage of being a fresher - freshers is the only time in your life where it's okay to go out most nights of the week and sleep until at least midday every day. Also because first year doesn't count towards anything for most courses (sorry medics), skipping your 9am, or any lecture for that matter, really doesn't matter that much. I may have used that excuse far too liberally but I'm sure lecturers would rather people just not attend than fall asleep in their lectures on the reg.

4. Eat well - when I first started uni I think I went a little power-crazy over food. Suddenly you're in control of the food you buy, what you eat and when you eat it. Unfortunately I have bad news for you; a giant bowl of coco pops for breakfast and a two person serving of pasta for tea day-in day-out takes its toll. Yes, I fell victim to the 'fresher 15'. The silly thing was that I'm not actually clueless when it comes to cooking and I enjoy doing it, but I was just being lazy and boredom eating- when you only have 8 contact hours a week you need something to fill the time, what better than endless toast? I eat so much better nowadays and I feel better for it. Familiarise yourself with good old fruit and vegetables and learn to cook more than just instant noodles- trust me, it'll be worth it in the long run...both literally and figuratively.

5. Just enjoy it - I won't pretend that every day of my uni life was great; I've definitely had periods of feeling down and disillusioned but all I can think of now that it's over is what a brilliant three years I've had. Get ready for one of the biggest clichés in the book- I really feel like I've grown a lot and learnt a lot about myself over the last few years. When you're thrown into a completely new environment with a bunch of people you've never met before, it makes you think about how you want to represent yourself. I've been lucky enough to meet people who I hope will be in my life a long time, managed to gain a degree that I'm very happy with and had a lot of fun along the way. I appreciate that not everybody is lucky enough to have such a smooth-sailing experience, but I think either way it's an important few years to teach you a lot about yourself.

I think that's it for my sort-of-but-not-really-advice/excuse to reminisce. My apologies; this post has definitely turned out to be sappier than I originally intended- in future I'll try not to write when I'm feeling overly nostalgic...

Excuses & updates

For those who may be worried about my absence since my last, rather stressed-out, mid-exams post- my deepest apologies. I did in fact survive the exam period and a few weeks ago I found out that I will be graduating from university with a high 2.1 degree- I even managed to get a first in my dissertation somehow! The last 6 weeks or so have been pretty crazy; after exams was a blur of nights out and enjoying the last few weeks living in my student bubble with all my friends, including a pretty great grad ball- though fancy dresses, alcohol and fairground rides are definitely a questionable combination. I moved back home a couple of weeks ago and thus began the hunt for a job, which I'm relieved to report was so much easier than expected- I now have a job at a bar on Call Lane in Leeds. So far being back at home hasn't been bad, though I don't think it's quite sunk in that I won't be going back to uni in September and I can't really see past the next few months for now. I'm just trying to focus on my next goal which is that in a year I hope to be either starting (or getting close to) travelling around South America. It's a pretty scary goal seeing as it's seeming ever-more likely that I'll be doing it alone, but also really exciting.

My housemates & I ready for grad ball; my lovely uni campus; ball outfit close-up in my heavenly garden/prison yard

Given the excessive gap in posts I thought it'd be good to include a few current things I'm liking at the moment:

• TV show- After endless recommendations I have finally started watching Breaking Bad. I'm glad I waited until I had no uni commitments because I've watched 12 episodes in the last 48 hours..so I suppose you could say that's a current favourite. 
• Book- I'm still working on my reading resolution but I (again, finally) finished reading The Fault in our Stars as I wanted to make sure I'd read it before seeing the film. Despite the six months gap in reading sessions, I still had a good cry at the end and I definitely enjoyed it. Now I just need to keep working on the rest of my pile of poor abandoned books.
• Song- I'm about a year late on this but I've recently been listening the Foals' latest album 'Holy Fire'. It's all pretty good but I seem to have latched onto one song 'Milk & Black Spiders' and have been playing it on repeat this past week.
• My new camera- I was very lucky to receive a graduation present off my parents in the form of a canon 700D DSLR camera. I've always thought I'd like to have a proper camera and have been interested in photography generally- I love taking my old film camera and instax out and about- and I'm determined to get to grips with all the features. I'm hoping that I can use my camera to improve my blog too; I'm thinking of starting a series of showing a few of my favourite places in Leeds, so now I can have good quality photos instead of my sneaky iPhone snaps!

I'm still not quite sure what I want this blog to be. I think of it as more of a diary than anything else, but if you'd like to stick around for my sporadic life updates please do and I promise I won't be absent for 6 weeks this time. What have you been enjoying recently?

Don't you forget about me

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm firmly in exam period (10 days to go until my degree is over!) and I think I'm starting to go a little mad with the lack of regular human contact. Naturally, in the midst of this existential crisis, I thought what better time than now to let those kind souls who read my blog know a bit more about me. So here you are, a few (pointless) facts about yours truly:

1. When I was a child I had a pet guinea-pig that I named Harvey; his namesake was, of course, the character from Sabrina the teenage witch.
2. I have never been blessed with musical talent. Apart from my ability to play the eastenders theme tune on the recorder.
3. I'm pretty skilled at hula-hooping.
4. I'm allergic to walnuts; despite this I made my dad his favourite coffee and walnut cake when I got my nose pierced so he couldn't stay mad at me and managed to make my face swell up in the process.
5. I have double-jointed elbows.
6. I've never dyed my hair- for all the little things I'd like to change about myself, I actually really like my hair colour, which after countless conversations over it has now been categorised firmly as the definition of strawberry blonde.
7. I'm a virgo. I sort of believe in the whole star signs thing- though not the standard 'wear pink on the 13th of the month and you'll meet the love of your life' magazine type- but I am pretty close to the typical virgo description in that I like to be organised and can be pretty critical, but I like to think I'm loyal too.
8. I used to have a pretty bad fear of hotel beds. I know, it's bizarre, but to me the fact that they're so perfectly made makes them feel somehow..unclean. I'm sort of over it now, as in I can actually get into them (I used to sleep on top of the covers) but they still make me feel a bit weird.
9. I have a bit of a 'shot glasses from around the world' collection including Paris, New York, Amsterdam, Munich and Dublin. 
10. My phone case has 'The Kiss' by Gustav Klimt on it and I also have a poster of that print in my room. I first saw it in an art gallery in Munich with my two best friends from home and it just makes me happy. 

I think that's enough unnecessary facts for one day; now it's time for me to get back to learning some very necessary facts...

April fool

My sincere apologies for the gap since my last post. I know not too many people are hanging on my every word here but I like to keep things consistent. However I feel my excuse is fairly legitimate; it's that time of year again where I forget how to dress properly and a weekly trip to sainsburys is the only time I see daylight- yes, the exam period is upon us. Specifically, the final ever exam period I will ever have the pleasure of experiencing.

April flew by in a haze of fluorescent highlighter and multi-coloured spider diagrams, chained to my desk. I don't know about you but I have no idea how people find the library to be a good place to revise. Personally I find the best way is to recite what you're trying to learn out loud in different voices. Granted I must sound a little insane to my housemates but I'm sure they've got used to my incoherent rambling by now. I intended to make this post my (slightly belated) end of the month catch up, but honestly I don't have much to say about the last month. I also realised I never did a March catch up either (please don't hurt me) so I'll just give you a quick run-down of the things that are keeping me sane.

TV programme: When I'm revising I need something easy to watch in my breaks. This time I've chosen Sabrina the teenage witch. The whole thing is on youtube and I have no shame in saying I'm loving my choice, despite how ridiculously fake looking Salem is.

Exercise: I'm trying out the whole 'healthy body, healthy mind' idea at the moment and I never thought I'd say this but I'm starting to enjoy a bit of exercise. Now that I'm back at uni I've suspended my running habit as everyone else here seems to be able to run 5k and barely break a sweat; however I have started doing blogilates videos every other morning and I actually feel quite good for it, although it's a good job I'm spending the majority of my life sat down as most days my stomach muscles ache where I didn't know it was possible for them to.

Online shopping: The combination of student loan and exam period is not a good one. Unfortunately I can't justify a day in town, but I'm pretty sure the big dogs at ASOS must have caught on to it being exam time as they've been rolling out the discount offers every few days. So far in the last few weeks I've bought a blouse, two dresses, a pilates mat and a re-usable water bottle. There's just something about anticipating a parcel in the post that makes being chained to your desk all day er'day slightly less soul-destroying.

I think I should just end this post here as I feel like if it continues I might just end up smashing my hands on the keyboard in the hopes of something legible appearing. Don't worry, in three weeks time I'll be back to being able to use my full brain capacity to write about the happier things (read: food) in life. Pray for me that I make it that far without my brain imploding/making myself bankrupt...

Run Hannah, run!

Something very strange has happened recently. If anybody who knows me in real life is reading this I would advise you to take a seat now.

I have taken up running. For those of you who don't know much about me, let me paint you a little picture. I have given up on every form of exercise I've ever tried, and I've tried quite a few over the years; gymnastics, tennis, swimming, horse-riding, trampolining... I was 'that' person in P.E. lessons who faked asthma attacks or refused to even begin to run when we were supposed to do 1500m. Since starting uni, I've made a few attempts at Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. My most recent try over last summer actually went pretty well but then I went back to uni and fell off the bandwagon as I didn't want my bouncing around to be the sole reason my (rather worringly) cracked-walled house fell down. Also it's a bit depressing when the girls in the background are smiling away having the time of their lives while you're sweating away thinking you might be about to take your last breath.

During last term something changed; I decided that it was time for me to do something about my pathetic level of fitness. The idea of going to the gym genuinely makes me feel ill, regardless of how expensive it can be, so I ruled that out. I always found it difficult to motivate myself to do the shred at home. Then somehow I stumbled across the idea of running. My older sister is pretty similar to me in that she's also never been one for much exercise but she starting running last year and now runs over 5k three times a week. Sibling rivalry kicked in and I thought if she can do it, surely I can too.

I've only been doing this a couple of weeks so by no means am I anything more than a complete beginner at this point, but I have to say I actually don't hate running. I've been using the NHS couch to 5k app which I've found very helpful; there are 9 weeks of the programme and 3 runs each week. The first week is very basic (I imagine laughably so to those of you who have been running for a while) as you run for 60 seconds then walk for 90 seconds then repeat that 8 times. Each week gets a bit harder- I've just done the second run of week 2 which involves repetitions of 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking. Whilst I have no future intention of going all 'Forrest Gump' and running for 3 years non-stop (the thought of 15 minutes non-stop worries me to be perfectly honest), I feel pretty happy to have picked up a new habit and fairly confident that I can keep it up.

I might add a little update as to how I'm getting on with running every so often- perhaps I can inspire someone else to give it a go. Who knows, maybe next year I'll be running the London marathon! Now, where's that easter egg got to...

Do you run? Any words of encouragement for beginners?

Belgrave Street Feast

Last Saturday I had another food heaven experience. I know, I keep writing about food at the moment but unfortunately while I'm revising it's one of few joys for me. This one took place at Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen; a fairly new but very popular addition to Leeds' ever-growing bar scene.

I'd heard about Belgrave's street feast and been very intrigued but I'd always still been at uni in Birmingham when they were held, so when I saw that it is now a monthly event I made it my mission to go while I was home for easter. I rounded up a group of friends and headed to Leeds' northern quarter to see what delights were on offer.

The event was held on all three floors, including the lovely roof terrace which I'll definitely be visiting again when the weather is feeling a bit more agreeable. We had a wander round first to see what we fancied. I'd heard good things about Fu Schnickens so I started off with one of their crispy panko chilli chicken Guo Bao. It wasn't like anything I'd ever tried before but it was delicious and a small enough size that I felt okay about sampling a few other things. I didn't get to take many photos which is a bit of a pain when you're describing food, but you'll just have to trust me on this. Fu Schnickens are currently calling Belgrave their home so I think I'll be popping in again for more.

While some of my friends were at the Manjit's Kitchen stall (by the way, they also described their food as amazing) I bought a pint of Symonds cider then went to ogle the delights of the Noisette Bakehouse stall. I opted for a sea-salt caramel brownie to have later as I'd heard great things about them and feared that they'd run out; I can confirm that it was indeed a very good brownie. I'd been eyeing up the Arepa!Arepa!Arepa! stall nearby and decided to check it out. An arepa is a fried maize bread-sort-of-thing. Descriptions are apparently not my strong suit. Anyway, I had one filled with spicy, beer-y beef and it was pretty darn good.

I thought this was where my food for the day would come to a halt alas I couldn't resist trying a slice of the resident Dough Boys' pizza on my way out. From 12-7 every day pizza slices are half price, meaning you get pretty much a quarter of a pizza for £1.30. Basically if you live in Leeds you have no excuse not to grab yourself a slice too.

Long story short- I'd definitely recommend the street feast and I've already convinced my parents that they need to go to the next one. I, sadly, will not be able to attend the next few due to the slightly pressing matter of my final ever exams (when did I get this old?) but I'm already looking forward to returning to Belgrave in the summer for drinks on the roof terrace and perhaps a Guo Bao or two.

Have you been to Belgrave yet?

Breakfast, burgers and Lionel Richie

Last week I went to visit my best friend Kerrie. She lives just outside London so we had a few trips into the capital and I think it's fair to say we were in food heaven for those few days. While my limited photography options (i.e. my iphone) mean that I'm unable to take any impressive photos, I thought that it's only fair to share the places where I ate food which I've genuinely been daydreaming about ever since.

First up is a lovely café/bar near Kings Cross called Drink, Shop, Do. The premise behind the 'shop' part of the name is that you can buy anything that you see there; the tables, chairs, wall decorations, you name it. This means that all the furniture is mismatched and vintage, with old milk bottles holding flowers in the middle of the table. Oh and they sell really good cake. There were plenty of options to choose from but in the end I went for a simple Victoria sponge alongside a fresh lemonade. I don't have a photo of my cake but I can offer you a peek at the décor. I'm hoping to be able to come back here on an evening to try out one of their many bizarre entertainment offerings; my favourite that I read about was 'Lionel Rich-tea' where everyone has a go at piping Lionel's face onto a biscuit and the best one wins a prize. Can you think of something better to do with your night? Personally I can't. 

Next up is Honest Burger. Two of my friends go to UCL therefore have sampled many a London burger, but they have named this amongst the best. After a long day of window shopping, we headed back to Kings Cross to the branch nearby. We both went for the namesake honest burger with a cider and we certainly were not disappointed. The burger was juicy but not too messy (something which was a slight problem for us with Psychic Burger's offering) and the chips were incredible. I'm not even a big chip fan, but these were something else. They had rosemary salt on them and my mouth is watering just thinking about them. I think the photo below speaks for itself. 

The final stop on our culinary tour came the next morning before I had to head off home. We'd both heard about The Breakfast Club many times and decided that it was time to try it out so we headed to the original Soho branch. Despite the fact it was 11.30 on a Thursday morning we still had to queue for 20 minutes but it wasn't much of an issue as we'd both spent at least an hour the night before pouring over the menu online deciding what to order. I went for bacon and banana french toast with maple syrup. I know what you're thinking, very strange combination, but I can safely say it was the best breakfast I've ever had. Kerrie agreed with her avocado and bacon on toast with a poached egg, which also looked heavenly. We both had apple juice, of which I wasn't expecting much until it arrived and was a glowing green colour. Miles better than what you get from a carton. Essentially, The Breakfast Club has ruined any future breakfasts for us both...until we can go back again. 

This photo is actually my phone background now. I know, I need to get a grip. 

Have you ever been to any of these places? Do you also dream of french toast? Please tell me I'm not alone.

Thoughts: my travels so far

I am one stressed out student at the moment. I've just handed in my dissertation and have two more deadlines at the end of this week- the end of university feels so close yet it's never seemed more out of reach. Luckily, I am an expert in procrastination and my current method is reminiscing over past travels and wishing I could go back to a few places in particular. I thought it would be interesting to share some of my favourite places that I've been lucky enough to visit.

1. New York, USA

I visited New York nearly five years ago with my family and it has to come in high as one of my favourite places. We did the typical tourist attractions; the empire state building, Rockefeller centre (which in my opinion has a better view than the former), times square, central park, the statue of liberty...and we also tracked down the building they use as the exterior of the apartment block in Friends, which I was probably far too excited about. I'd love to go back now and explore more of the 'off the beaten track' New York, this time being of legal age to enjoy a cocktail or five. 

2. Berlin, Germany

Berlin is the kind of place I could see myself living in. Kerrie and I started our interrailing trip there last year and I'm dying to go back. I know there are plenty of people who think Berlin has been ruined by hipsters and gentrification, but I really loved it there. There just seems to be so much going on and, although I've never been one to enjoy a history lesson, learning about Berlin's past was so interesting. Also, they have bars called 'weinereis' which are like sitting in somebody's living room where you drink as much wine as you want then pay what you'd like. What's not to love?

3. Budapest, Hungary

Another place that I'd consider calling home; I've been to Budapest twice now on two different interrailing trips.I'll admit the first time I went to Budapest I felt a little intimidated; it was the first place we'd been where the currency was not in euros and the language looked and sounded like nothing we'd heard before. But after settling in Budapest just feels like a fun, young place to be. Lots of the bars here are known as 'ruin pubs', which are basically old warehouses and buildings which have been turned into bars and they tend to have an abundance of unusual chairs- think bath tubs and hollowed out cars. The exchange rate is also insane- it does feel odd to press a button to get 10,000 forint out of the cash machine, but then you realise it's equivalent to £27 and it all feels okay again.

4. Lake Bled, Slovenia

Does this picture need much more explanation? This was our final stop last year and it was the perfect place to relax. This must be the most picturesque place I've ever been to (if you ignore the fact we stayed in a George Best themed hostel). You can row out to that church in the middle, which we did. Yes, we were embarrassingly slow in comparison to the other people flying across the water, but we managed it in the end. You can lounge on the board walk around the lake and have a quick dip if you get too hot. Just watch out for the swans and ducks swimming around. 

I'm hoping to do a lot more travelling next year after I graduate but for now these are my top dreaming-of-going-back destinations. Where's the best place you've visited?

Fictional bucket list

I wanted to write about my favourite films but thought a simple list might be a bit boring. I saw the idea for this on a blog the other day but unfortunately I can't for the life in me remember which. I believe on that blog they said the original idea was to make a fictional bucket list based on books, but they had changed it to be based on films. Seeing as I have a lot more favourite films than books I thought I'd do the same and show you what I would include on my fictional bucket list.

1) Almost Famous - go on tour with Stillwater. This is probably my favourite film of all time and makes me wish I'd been alive in the 60's and 70's so badly. 

2) Ferris Bueller's Day Off - skip school and go on an adventure with Ferris, Cameron & Sloane. I'm a big fan of any 80's John Hughes film but I think this is my favourite one. The parade scene in this film is probably the reason that I love the song 'Twist & Shout' so much. 

3) High Society - go to a 'swellegant, elegant' party with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly. I have a real soft spot for this film; it's a family favourite, we watched it on two consecutive days over Christmas and I still could've watched it again.

4) Leon - let Leon teach me how to be a hitman. Okay so I don't really want to learn to kill people, but Leon is just so lovable. This was also Natalie Portman's first film yet she's still amazing in it.

5) The Breakfast Club - spend a day in the library with them. I told you I love John Hughes films. My love for this film goes hand in hand with my love for it's theme song which always requires an air punch when I listen to it.

6) Edward Scissorhands - have Edward carve an ice sculpture of me. I think it'd be quite fun to spend a day in Tim Burton's brightly coloured perfectly pruned world.

A few other favourites which don't lend themselves well to a bucket list situation:

• Pan's Labyrinth
• The Virgin Suicides
• Blue Valentine

What would be on your fictional bucket list?

"Go down to the record store and visit your friends"

I alluded to my love for vinyl in my last post after buying a few records over the weekend. The title of this post is a quote from one of my favourite films, Almost Famous (which deserves a whole admiration post all to itself).

This little area is probably my favourite part of my bedroom or is, at least, a close second to my bed. My record player was a birthday present from my ex and though it is a very basic version, it does the job pretty well. 

I have an ever-growing collection of records including some from my parents' personal collections- two of these are pictured above; Kate Bush 'The Whole Story' and Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' (which is one of my all-time favourite albums). Of course, I have also had handed down to me Lionel Richie's 'All Night Long' single, which neither of my parents will admit to originally being theirs...Other records are the result of hours of thumbing through rows of records in vintage shops and market stalls or are my prize from several panicked ebay bidding wars. The Beatles' Red album is one such example; I won this for £2.70 and although some may be put off by the fact the sleeve is being held together ever so slightly with masking tape, I actually rather like it because it shows that someone really loved it once. While the vast majority of my collection is made up of records from the 60's, 70's and 80's, I also have Haim 'Days Are Gone' which, despite my normal insistence that buying modern records is silly due to them being ridiculously expensive, I am very happy to own.

I intend to keep my collection expanding, there's just something I love about the whole experience of listening to a record. Some of the sleeves are also useful for a spot of light entertainment- George Michael's perfect bouffant and cheesey grin on the sleeve of Wham's 'Make it big' is priceless. I consider myself to have a pretty varied music taste but my love for my records (and the fact the only radio station allowed in the kitchen is absolute 80's) does often lead me to think I was born in the wrong decade. Alas, at least now I can enjoy the classics while also being able to indulge my inner One Direction fan-girl every now and then..don't judge me. 

Are you a vinyl fan?

Rubber Soul

The past weekend has been one of the best I've had for a while.

My parents came down to Birmingham to visit me on Saturday. My dad doesn't really like to follow my mum and I round the shops (understandably) so we decided to drive off and see what we could find.
Our first stop was a small town called Bewdley. It's a very pretty place without a Starbucks in sight, just lots of independent local businesses. We stopped into a bakery called 'Kimmy loves Cake' where we bought some impressive-looking treats- I went for a s'mores slice which was basically some sort of biscuit stuffed with marshmallow and chocolate, needless to say it tasted great.
We also had a rummage round an antiques shop called The Park Royal Collection where I bought a silver trinket box and an old vintage camera still in it's case. I've yet to discover if it's useable; there doesn't seem to be a brand name anywhere on it, only a logo of a ship, which is making google searches quite difficult. The part where the film needs to go looks a little bigger than the standard 35mm film that my other camera takes so it might be a lost cause but I'm going to keep researching and see what I can find!
I also took a photo of a sign we saw in honour of the deceased town cat- I like the fact that the residents of Bewdley were clearly so fond of a local cat that they now have a memorial to it.

After a hot drink sat by the riverside, we got back in the car in search of somewhere else to wander round. We ended up in Ludlow, which we'd seen described as a York-esque town with small cobbled streets and old buildings. It hasn't quite replaced York in my heart, but it was certainly a nice place to explore. There's an excellent record shop there too- the records are organised by band, decade and genre, making searching through them a lot easier than some other places I've been. I bought both Prince's Purple Rain and The Beatles' Rubber Soul for less than a tenner- there's nothing I love more than a well-priced record shop.

On our way back to Birmingham, we stopped off again in Bewdley for tea at an italian restaurant called Piccolos. I had arancini (one of my favourite things ever) and a very cheesey pizza washed down with some white wine; all in all a good meal.

Once my parents had dropped me home and we'd said our goodbyes, I headed off into Birmingham city centre to meet my housemate who had a friend visiting. We went to The Lost and Found for cocktails- if you ever go there, please please please order a raspberry lemonade. If I could replace all the water in the world with something, it'd be that. I imagine it'd make getting things done a little harder due to it's vodka base, but I don't think anyone would mind much.

On Sunday morning I woke up to find the sun streaming into my bedroom. I tend to think of myself as someone who prefers winter to summer, mainly because I burn if I'm in the sun for more than half an hour and I've never been a beach lover, but something about the sun being out really does cheer me up. I decided it was too nice of a day to spend it indoors doing work (yes my dissertation deadline is next week..) so I asked my other work-avoiding friend to join me in a visit to the park. We bought a few cans of cider, and some plastic cups so as not to horrify the parents of the children playing a football game too much, and spent a few hours sitting in the sun. 

To say that it's nearing the end of my last semester of actually being taught at uni, my weekend was definitely too relaxed, but sometimes it's important to just do what you want to do instead of what you should do.

How was your weekend?

February

I'm not doing too well with my whole regular blogging resolution am I?

Forgive me; February has been dissertation central- in the past few weeks I've had to give a presentation of my project and then hand in a draft version of it, so I suppose you could say life has been pretty stressful.

But the last month hasn't been all work and no play. One of my housemates, Lauren, turned 21 a few weeks ago so we paid a visit to one of our favourite cocktail places in Birmingham, The Jekyll & Hyde. It's a lovely little place with portraits of dogs heads on human bodies and some of the best cocktails I've ever had. For her birthday she had hired out the gin parlour upstairs which was suitably fancy and we had a 'madhatters tea party', complete with a cocktail to drink out of a miniature porcelain bath.

I also paid a visit to the capital at the start of the month with my sister and her best friend in order to find bridesmaids dresses for her upcoming wedding. I really do love London; it just feels so alive and there's so much to do. I fully intend on moving there at some point, if not purely for the food. I managed to visit both Byron burger (probably one of the best burgers I've eaten) and Pizza East (again, probably one of the best pizzas I've had) in the same 24 hours. In fact, the same 12 hours. Some people eat to live, I live to eat. But it wasn't all about food, we were successful in our dress hunt and I'm so happy with the result. We found the perfect dresses in a little boutique called Two Birds and I genuinely want to wear my dress all day every day. Thank god my sister isn't one of those brides who makes her bridesmaids wear vile dresses just so she looks better.

Of course, February is also the month of romance due to Valentine's day. Alas, my night on the 14th was spent at work pouring pints of snakebite and jagerbombs for the locals of Selly Oak- possibly one of the least romantic places you would wish to be on a day celebrating love. But one of the locals did buy me a pity rose so at least there's that...

Now for some February favourites:

Music: I'm sad to report I've not made any musical discoveries this month. However I have fallen even deeper into my Haim love affair, if that's actually possible, with the release of their new music video for 'If I could change your mind'. Seriously these girls can do no wrong in my eyes; the full choreographed dance routine, hair whipping and their outfits. Perfect. 

Books: Another resolution badly kept- I haven't finished another book yet..and I bought a new one despite having about six already on the go. I know, bad Hannah. I am enjoying my new book though, Norweigan Wood by Haruki Marukami, which I bought while trying to kill time in Waterstones. I had no intention of buying anything, in fact I went in there because I thought it'd be somewhere that I could resist making a purchase. How naive of me. There's something about that Waterstones which just makes me happy. If you're ever in Birmingham you must have a quick look inside (the one on New Street), it's a gorgeous old building with a huge staircase - a quick google has just told me it used to be an old bank. Anyway, this is off topic. I like my book so far and maybe by the end of March I'll have finished it.

Birmingham: It's no secret that I don't exactly love the city I study in. I love my university campus, it's very green and has some beautiful old redbrick buildings, not to mention Old Joe (the clock tower). I've just never found the city centre to be my cup of tea. Though saying that, I don't actually like tea so maybe I should say it IS my cup of tea. Anyway, I do want to take back some good memories of the city when I graduate so I'm going to add a Birmingham favourite for every monthly blog update. This month it's Boston Tea Party, a breakfast/lunch cafe a little off New Street. There are a few dotted around the country but they're all a bit different and don't have a 'chain' feel to them. My friend Sarah introduced me to the Birmingham branch last week and I fear it may become a dangerous addicition; she had eggy bread with bacon, avocado & roasted tomatoes and although my croque monsieur was perfectly nice, I had major food envy. Something tells me I'll be back there very soon. Possibly also motivated by the fact that the guy who served us was certainly what you would call easy on the eyes..

I think I've probably rambled on for long enough now. March will be a month of deadline after deadline so of course I will be doing my best to find some new music, restaurants and cocktail bars to ease the pain.

How was your February?

Thoughts: Humans of New York

Seeing as I'd like this blog to be a general insight into my life I thought it might be nice if every so often I share one thing I'm particularly enjoying, or simply just interested in, in the hopes that perhaps somebody who happens to read my little corner of the internet might not know about it and also enjoys it.

Today I want to tell you about the blog, and now best-selling book, 'Humans of New York'. The premise is simple; a photographer, Brandon Stanton, roams the streets of New York and takes photos of people, then posts them along with a snippet of conversation he's had with each person. I think the simplicity of this project is where the beauty of it lies; everyone can be guilty of forgetting that the people we walk past in the street or the person sat opposite us on the train actually has their own life with their own personal story. Humans of New York breaks down the barriers and reminds you of that. It has made me laugh, smile, even shed a tear at times and I would consider it to be one of my favourite things on the internet (apart from maybe this video of a piglet going down some stairs..I'm a complex person). The blog has inspired various 'spin-offs' in other cities all over the world; if I had a decent enough camera I'd be tempted to give it a try around my university, but for now at least it has made me wonder what could be going on in the person I happen to hold a door open for's life.

I hope if you've never seen Humans of New York that you take a look and enjoy it as much as I do!