Today's Adventures

After not leaving the flat all week due to having to return back to uni and actually go to lectures in order to get a degree *Yawn*, I felt that it was much needed to head in to town. Me and my flatmate  had planned to go to this place called Black Milk in Afflecks which for those of you who don't know, is the first cereal cafe that arrived in Manchester. As I hadn't been to The Northern Quarter in absolutely ages, I couldn't wait to head back to the hippest place in Manchester (in my opinion anyway). So, Black Milk was absolutely insane, its the daintiest little cafe ever on the second floor of Afflecks, which meant that it had a really cute view over The Northern Quarter and as it was such a lovely day considering we're still in February, it meant that we got to sit by the window and feel the warmth of the sun on our backs. There are copious amounts of cereal boxes shelved along the one wall and then there are various pieces of Bowie artwork and The Stone Roses, Rolling Stones stickers across the walls; I mean I'm hoping I'm painting a cool picture here guys because it was indie heaven basically.  Anyway, there was so much to chose from on the menu from freakshakes to cheesecake and then of course to cereal, but not just cereal... cereal cocktails! Yes, cocktails; you could choose from various cereal concoctions that they had already created or even create your own, you even had the choice of having an edible chocolate bowl with your cereal in, if that isn't perfect, I don't know what is!

I decided to create my own cereal concoction so I went for lucky charms because they're my absolute favourite.. with party rings, whipped cream, sprinkles and strawberry milk; it was honestly the most incredibly delightful thing my taste buds had ever experienced.  If you can't tell already, I 100% recommend that everybody should go there!! Unfortunately, I was so hungry when my cereal arrived that I completely forgot to take a photo, which absolutely broke my blogger/insta-hoe heart.

After visiting Black Milk, my flatmate had to head back to the flat so I decided to stay in town and just roam around by myself. I mean, I've always wanted to have the confidence to just go out and do things by myself so I decided today that I would do exactly that. I headed back to the Northern Quarter, Polaroid camera in hand listening to Bruce Springsteen and just decided to explore down all of the little back alleys of the streets. For those of you who haven't been to The Northern Quarter or just Manchester in general, there are copious amounts of alley ways that make it so easy to get lost but are also super cool as this is where you will find the coolest graffiti. This is something that I absolutely love to do so I just decided to get lost in the dingy intertwining streets. It was so nice to just be at one with myself and it was so nice to have some alone time as at uni, you're virtually with your friends 24/7 so it can get slightly crazy and overwhelming sometimes so it was just great to have some thinking space, doing what I love to do.. taking arty farty photos. 

Later on, I met back up with my friends and we headed to the Anti-Trump Protest that was taking place in St. Peters Square. I have always wanted to experience the atmosphere of a protest and I've never had the chance to before as I'm from such a tiny little town and typically the larger protests take place in the likes of London. However, as I heard that there was going to be a protest going on and for such a cause that I'm so passionate about as I can't stress enough how inhumane Trump's Muslim ban is a long with how wrong his view are towards women.. I just had to go and check it out.  The atmosphere was absolutely insane, it was crazy how many people had gathered to fight for the cause, banners in hand and with the wittiest slogans and chants, it was phenomenal. Anyway, I'm not going to talk too much about the protest itself as my next post will be solely dedicated to it, so check that out! 

That was basically my day summed up and it was so so lovely. I've decided that I'm going to spend more of my days exploring Manchester as although I have been here almost six months already, it's such a big city, that there is so much that I'm still yet to see. I also want to try and force myself to be way more independent and confident so I'm planning on going to the cinema by myself next week (baby steps) and then maybe to some art galleries and museums. Anyway, I'm going to sign this off here as I need to get ready for a Fleet wood Mac event at the zombie shack tonight which I'm so ecstatic about, woo!

The Clueless Blogger 

Change Is Good

A lot of people really hate change in their life, some people even fear it ; I mean as humans we all have routines that we carry out, we all go to the bar and 'say the usual'; we all go and buy the same style pair of jeans (sometimes feeling wild and going for a different colour). Thats because we're creatures of habit. People love the permanence of having set routines and therefore for them the idea of change is just out of the question.

I feel like I was one of those people, I always used to say, 'I want to do this.. I wish I could... I want to change this...' even though, I knew that I would never do any of those things. I used to enjoy having a routine, getting up at exactly the same time every morning for sixth form (Late); walking there; moaning all day until I could go home; watch tv all night; sleep and then do it all again the next day. It was so boring.  There were always things that I wanted to do and never got round to doing it.

Luckily, I've realised this now and ever since my last year at sixth form, instead of saying that I'm going to do stuff, I've actually been making an effort to do so. For me, I've always loved piercings and I've always talked about how I want this and that done however, I never got round to doing it (1. Because my mum wouldnt let me until I was 18 but 2. Because I was frankly quite pleased about the first excuse because I was too scared even if I were aloud). I feel like for me turning 18 actually made me realise shit, you can actually do all the things that you wanted to do before because now no one can stop you and I then realised tI'm now actually holding myself back. So, last year I went and got some piercings; I started with my septum and then my tongue and then my nose (I already had my lobe and cartilage done). This was the beginning of embracing change and actually doing what I've always wanted and I can honestly say I am so happy with them, I absolutely love my piercings and although they are a controversial point amongst friends and family or even just old judgement strangers, it's something that I dont care about because I love them and I finally did something daring and changed my look.

Another change for me quite recently as you can see from the above photos, was that I got my hair cut verrryy short (Well for me anyway). Before this month my hair has always been extremely long, I mean it was down to my bum! And although I used to love it, I actually began to loathe it as I have such thick hair, it just became a chore to handle and I felt as if I never knew what do with it because I had so much of it ha ha. I have probably been saying for the last 2 years how much I want to go a lot shorter and everyone always used to tell me to 'Never cut your hair short...You'll regret it... I wish my hair looked like that...' and for this reason I never went shorter. But this month, I decided to take a leap and just cut it all off, I mean I found it pretty scary (scarier than getting piercings even) because it was going to be such a huge change for me. However, I can honestly say that I'm in love with my short hair and it was the best decision that I've made in so long. It feels so much healthier and lighter and so much easier to manage ahhhh!

After cutting my hair, I told myself that this year is all about change and doing things that I've always wanted to do. For me, I've never really believed in new years resolutions or the whole 'new year, new me' so I'm not really calling it a resolution, in fact i'm going for the mantra that 'Change is good' and embracing it. A few things that I've been wanting to do for so long is to get a tattoo; save enough money to renew my passport so I can go travelling; get my daith pierced and to go to a festival. So far, this year I have already gotten my tattoo!! Of which, I will be doing a blog post very shortly on so I'm not going to talk about it here and also I have been selling my old clothes on Depop and have in fact saved enough money for my passport and its been less than a month into 2017. This means that I'm going to be planning a trip to Berlin or Poland very shortly and me and my uni friends are even planning a summer trip to Switzerland, which I'm so excited about! 2017 is going to be a good year, I can feel it!

Anyway, as I've clearly emphasised, change is definitely good! I feel like everyone needs some change in their life to make it more exciting and to escape from the restraints of routine because let's be honest how boring does it get when you're just going through life doing the same old things?

Sometimes we just need to go for it in life and stop holding ourselves back. Go do new things and embrace change!

The Clueless Blogger

A Weekend In Manchester

With Christmas indefinitely over and my Christmas break sadly drawing to an end, it came the time where unfortunately I had to head back to Manchester for exam weeks. Although, I couldn't wait to get back to Manchester, I was absolutely dreading have to go back for exams despite only having one, I also had numerous essays due that I hadn't even started *Queen of Procrastination over here* Ooopps!

But anyway, inevitably I had to go back and succumb to the torturous amounts of hours stuck in my flat cracking out essay material whilst attempting to revise and also having to go back to cooking for myself, something I hadn't done in over a month. Urgh, it sucks being an adult and living alone. However, before I got back to all of the dreaded student life business, my Mum drove me back to Manchester to help me unpack and then decided to stay the weekend. This was absolutely lovely as its the first time shes stayed since I've been living in Manchester which meant that we got to spend the whole weekend exploring Manchester, shopping, eating and drinking cocktails; what better way is there to spend a weekend and with what better company?

It turned out my mum had booked us in for afternoon tea at the most beautiful hotel, Radisson Blu Edwardian; which was honestly the poshest place I'd ever been to, being the common gal from the midlands that no ones ever heard of (to put it in perspective how posh it was, the waiter actually put our napkins on our laps!). It was such an amazing place, we drank Prosecco cocktails, had finger sandwiches and scones and had an all round lovely time. Sadly, I forgot to take photos in there as I was too busy indulging in food and Prosecco, ha haa.

The next day, my Mum treated me again, to dinner in The Botanist as she knew that I'd been dieing to check this restaurant out for so long. I can happily say, that it is now one of, if not my favourite restaurant! The whole restaurant was designed like a greenhouse and the botanical vibe was everywhere, it was as if we were eating in a little potting shed and it was the most adorable setting ever.  The food was absolutely phenomenal, I had a chicken and chorizo pie, complete with mushy peas and mashed potato which was amazing and my Mum had fish and chips, which was served in the cutest wooden palette with a plant pot of mushy peas and a watering can with tartar sauce in.. Yes, it was served in a watering can, how cool!We spent the rest of the day shopping and then my mum had to head back home, which meant it was time for me to actually get my head down and do some work, urghhh!

 

Above, are all of the photos taken at The Botanist which I just can't get over how amazing it was. It was such a lovely weekend where I was able to have a break and just forget about uni work for a while and then set me in the right frame of mind to actually get on with revision. I'm actually thinking about writing a blog post on coping with exam stress, which will be less focused on how to revise and how to stop procrastinating but instead, will be more focused on relaxing and taking time to chill because self love is the most important thing which people tend to forget when they're overwhelmed by work.  The post should be up shortly this week so keep an eye out. The Clueless Blogger

Ice Skating in Bath

Every year, me and the rest of my family all take a trip down to Bath just before Christmas so we can roam around the Christmas markets, visit the outdoor ice rink and overall to just spend some quality family time together. This is something I look forward to every year, this year in particular, as being at uni, I don't actually spend as much time at home with my family as I used to. We began our day in 'The Cosy Club', which is one of the cutest coffee shops I've been in! It's decorated with such lovely vintage art pieces, mix-match furniture, cascading lampshades and has the most gorgeous bar that takes you back to 1920's America as if you're in a saloon during the prohibition days.

 After a quick hot chocolate, we then went roaming around the markets and the other shops, with a quick pop in to Urban Outfitters. After eventually spending all of my money in their, we thought it best to leave, now poor but extremely happy with my new tartan trousers, we headed to TGI Fridays to cure our hunger. We spent the rest of the day roaming around Bath, finishing off our Christmas shopping and then headed to the outdoor ice rink. This is my absolute favourite part of the day, which is funny considering i'm the worst person in the world at ice skating. I'm literally Bambi on ice!! I spent the entire time with my sister who just drags me around the rink meaning I have less chance of falling over ha aha!  

Anyway, it was such a lovely day and was a success in terms of not falling over on the ice and in fact coming away with the cutest trousers and some new scrunchies. Above, are just a few photos from the day and towards the bottom are a few shots that me and my sister attempted to take whilst ice skating, that didn't particularly turn out great but that I love anyway because they basically sum up how bad I am at ice skating and how funny the day was as a whole.

The Clueless Blogger

A Day by the Sea

So the other day, I had the pleasure of spending my day by the sea in Cornwall, a place I never get bored of going to. Beaches at this time of year are my absolute favourite as you can wrap up warm and there is nothing I love more than just walking along the shore in my doc martens on a drizzly day. Being by the sea is my favourite pastime, I don't know what it is but I always feel so at home whenever I'm near it; when I can hear the crashing of the waves whilst I sit on the rocks and write poetry, listening to Keaton Henson with my camera at hand. It's honestly the best way for me to forget about everything and just be at peace for a while. The sea breeze and the tranquility of it all is just a huge burst of reassurance for a short while, making you feel like no matter how you're feeling at this moment in life, everything will be ok. So, for me, this meant forgetting about all of my university deadlines for a short while which was an absolute blessing.

I honestly hope that someday I will have the pleasure of living down by the sea so I can be at one with the waves for the rest of my days. Anyway, below are just a few snippets taken of my day spent by the sea, enjoy!

The Clueless Blogger

November Playlist

So, today we are finally in December, which means that it's almost CHRISTMAS!! I absolutely love Christmas, not necessarily just the day but the entire build up towards it. December is just such a lovely month; everyone just feels all festive as they get into the Christmas spirit; drinking mulled cider; roaming around german markets; curling up in front of the fire with hot chocolate; watching christmas movies; shopping for gifts and how could I forget today is the day that we get to open our advent calendars for the first time! I generally don't understand how some people can dislike Christmas?!

Anyway, this post wasn't intended to ramble on about my love for all things festive (that kinda just happened, woops) but instead it was to give you guys an idea of some songs/ artists that I've been really into throughout November. Obviously below, isn't my complete playlist as a lot of the time, I listen to the same old classics over again e.g. The Smiths, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks... Although, I may have slipped in a Bruce Springsteen or Van Morrison song here or or there but anywayyyy..

November Playlist

I'm On Fire Bruce Springsteen

Two Fingers Jake Bugg

Go Slow HAIM

I Forget Where We Were Ben Howard

Small Hands Keaton Henson

Sweet Thing Van Morrison

The Tide Pale Waves
My Favourite Room Blossoms

Sleep On The Floor The Lumineers

Say You Love Me Jessie Ware

Daydreaming Radiohead

 So although being I suppose in a way misinformed by the title of my blog post, these are just a few songs that I've been a huge fan of recently and have been basically playing them on repeat. None of the songs are particularly new but instead are ones that you kinda forget about and then years later you fall back in love with them and then some are from artists that I've never listened to before, so the likes of Pale Waves and Jessie Ware.  Above, are the songs themselves so I definitely recommend going to give them a listen especially as I said before, Pale Waves are an amazing new band that I've just discovered. I'm not sure whether or not they're relatively new but their sound is incredible; they have a kind of 1975 with a bit of transvision vamp kinda vibe. Basically, they're dead indie, dead rad and overall dead cool.

 I've also fell back in love with HAIM all over again after digging out their record from my vinyl collection; I genuinely forgot how much I love them. I know you're probably wondering, wtf relevance do these pictures have? Lmao and your right, they basically don't haha, no im kidding, they basically sum up how chill my playlist has been over the past month so I thought I'd also incorporate some of my favourite new book buys as these songs are perfect as background music if you just want to read and just vibe out. Also, are a few polaroids from the last few weeks of november so I thought they were pretty appropriate to include so yeah thats basically all for now.

The Clueless Blogger

Catfish and the Bottlemen

Holy Shit! (Ok that was a rather passive aggressive opening to a blog post) That is the only way to describe the other night at the Catfish and the Bottlemen gig in Manchester and was generally the words that ran through my head all night as I was serenaded by Van McCann.  Well can you call it serenaded when he's singing to millions of other fans, errmm maybe not but I'm certain that he was solely singing to me at one point, he made eye contact with me and I think I might have died a little inside.

So as you can probably tell from my above response, I was sooooooo excited to see them live again because they absolutely blew my mind the first few times. I was waiting for the day to come around for what felt like forever and tbf i'm not going to talk about it in too much detail as my previous post talks a bit more about my day. But anyway, this post was purely to show off my photos of Van as I feel like he deserves an entire post dedicated to him and the band. Lmao I'm such a fangirl and I'm not even ashamed.

If you haven't already, please please pleaaasseee go and give them a listen, they're honestly so fantastic and I can guarantee you that you will be obsessed with them. They have such an edgy rock sound and their lyrics are just always so raw and relatable. Warning: Expect to listen to their albums non-stop for the rest of your life!

The Clueless Blogger

Gigs Cure Everything

So last week I had the absolute pleasure of seeing one of my favourite bands for the third time, Catfish and the Bottlemen. This time however, it was particularly special as it was the night before my birthday which meant I got to sing my heart out to the beautiful Van McCann all the way through to my birthday the next day. 

The gig was absolutely insane and it the venue was crazy, it took place in Victoria Warehouse, Manchester,  which is absolutely huge and it just had a really edgy vibe. IT was so great as well because my two friends came to stay with me in Manchester and it was just such a brilliant day, I just wanted to relive the whole night over and over again.

Anyway, relating to my blog title, ' Gigs Cure Everything', basically this is something I 100% believe, I mean if you're having a shit time or you're stressed about anything or everything, if you go to a gig, you will feel so refreshed and at peace with the world. Lmao that was so deep hahaa! But I mean it, like you just forget everything and you get to spend your evening covered in beer; singing your heart out with strangers and getting bruised to pieces in a mosh pit. I know that doesnt sound glamorous but honestly it's the perfect remedy. 

Above, are just a few photos of me and my friends having a whale of a time last Wednesday, slightly drunk and prior to becoming drenched in beer and sweat but hey, it was the best night in so long and it was much needed amidst the stress of uni. 

Get yourself to a gig!

The Clueless Blogger

Moving To University

Once again, I'm late getting round to writing this post so I'm just going to openly accept that punctuality is not in my nature. Anyway, as you know following my results, I would be moving to the University of Manchester on the 17th September. I'm aware it's 2 weeks later but I felt like I would write about my experience of moving to uni and now I suppose I can even write a bit about what its like living away from home and having to actually succumb to adulthood finally.

Ok, I was super unprepared for moving to uni, I was still shopping for things I needed right up until I left and I didn't even start packing until the night before, you could probably say I'm quite an unorganised person. Anyway, I was so excited to move to Manchester, the last few months of living in Telford, I just felt like I was ready to start a new chapter to my life in a brand new city where I could truly find myself. I was so overwhelmed with excitement that i surprisingly wasn't nervous at this point.

Me and my family set out on the Saturday morning and got there at about noon, we unpacked everything, I decorated my room and then we headed out for one last meal as a family before they all left me in such a big city by myself, EEEKK (The nerves were beginning to set in)! I finally said goodbye to my family, watching them drive off and abandon me in what felt like the middle of nowhere; not knowing my way around and not knowing anyone either. I remember sitting on my bed for about 10 minutes in complete shock not knowing what to do with myself! Once I finally pulled myself together, I started to decorate my desk space; pinning postcards and photos to my walls and hanging up my tapestry and then I met all of my flat mates, clicking with them almost instantly and honestly this made me feel so much better and more at home. I began to get my excitement back at the prospect of having my own place in my favourite city.  

By the evening, I was sat in my kitchen with all of my flat mates and numerous people from various floors of my accommodation, getting drunk and just getting to know everyone. We all headed out to this really cool indie bar, Big Hands (as pictured above), where I met so many more Freshers and socialised with so many people; we even met these cool Norwegians who were into the Stone Roses and we ended up singing Sally Cinnamon together; at this moment, I knew that I was going to love this place. I ended up making one of my best friends that night and we ended up staying out when everyone had gone back home and decided to head to the Northern Quarter at about 2:00am in search of a curry! It was honestly such an amazing first night, it couldn't have gone any better; the pictures above were all taken that night which shows how much of a great time I had. 

I know people say this all the time but if you're debating whether or not to head to university next year because you're unsure about moving away from home.. just go for it! I am the biggest home bird going, I' so close with my family that for me the prospect of leaving them all was so hard especially my dog! But, two weeks in and despite missing them, I feel as if I've made a home for myself here already and I mean you can just get yourself a railcard and visit home as much as you like.

I never thought I'd hear myself saying this but step out of your comfort zone and just go for it!

The Clueless Blogger

P.S. Be prepared to consume incalculable amounts of free Dominoes pizza and strengthen your immune system for when the dreaded Freshers Flu hits (She writes whilst coughing profusely( You will feel like death))