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!

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?