Lovely Leeds (Volume 1)

I relocated up to Leeds over a month ago, but I've not yet found the time to do much exploring so I set myself up for a busy day of adventuring around the city.

After the mandatory cup (or seven) of coffee the first stop of the day was Jumbo Records, a must for Record Store Day. Unfortunately (?!) I wasn't amongst one of those queueing at 6am for some treasures (I prefer my Saturday mornings lazy) but the boyfriend did manage to find the Mac DeMarco album he was after!

We caught the bus over to Headingley and after some mooching around decided it was time for food, and that meant only one thing. Reds True Barbecue. If you haven't been, get there immediately. If you have been, get there immediately. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a photo beforehand, so all I have is a photo of the aftermath. Not in a gross way, I mean just of the empty plates.

Stomachs sufficiently full we waddled and rolled ourselves up towards Hyde Park, with the shimmery vintage delights of Retro Boutique catching our eye.

We finally arrived at Hyde Park and spent the rest of the afternoon soaking up the Spring sunshine.

DO:

• order the Mac and Cheese balls. Exquisite.

DON'T:

• forget to measure up your living room to ensure there's enough space for the Chesterfield sofa. 

- Beth

New York, New York

Back in November I was lucky enough to holiday in New York, and although it was a little while ago now I wanted to share experiences and hopefully inspire some of you to take the little flight across the big pond for a Summer adventure.

First things first, where to stay? New York is one of those incredibly popular destinations with what seems like infinite places to visit, eat, enjoy, sleep. After perusing the internet for some time (understatement), I eventually made my choice: The Marcel at Gramercy Hotel, conveniently located on East 24th Street near to the Flat Iron Building. With a view of the Empire State Building from one window and all the free coffee you can drink, it was pretty perfect.

One of the marvellous views from the hotel room!

In terms of eats and drinks, I can highly recommend a few places:


The Tap Room No. 307            307 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10010

This fantastic restaurant and craft beer haven was right on our doorstep, and a must-go for those serious about chicken wings. The place is buzzing, particularly on a sports night, which is a great experience even if you have no idea of the rules of baseball or American football. I was lost at the men in tight trousers.

Katz's Deli                               05 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002

You cannot go wrong with a Katz's pastrami hot sandwich, washed down with their very own Katz's ale, made by the Brooklyn Brewery. Make sure you've got cash, understand the ordering system and soak up the delightfully cranky service - all part of the charm!

Sunflower Diner                      359 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016

Eggs. Get eggs.


It was a pretty rubbish time of year to travel to the Big Apple, in terms of the weather. There was a lot of rain, sleet and snow. However, we were lucky enough to visit during the Thanksgiving holiday period and to witness the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

My spidey senses were tingling, or was it just the cold?

A helpful hint; it is always a good idea to make sure you pack a hat for going up the Empire State Building, as it tends to get a little (understatement) windy.

Although the views are pretty spectacular..!

There are so many different cultures, styles, foodstuffs to experience, that for the most part you don't even need to plan things to do. I would strongly recommend keeping your eyes peeled for the cast iron buildings dotted about...

And visit Bryant Park to taste the culinary marvel of Pickle Me Pete's fried pickles, and other delicious offerings. Also not forgetting the beautiful New York Public Library and Grand Central Station, where you can pretend to be in the movies and re-enact as many famous moments of suitors chasing lost loves as you like.

Bryant Park with the Public Library in the background.

Grand Central Station

DO:

• ensure you have packed essentials for all weather types, like these cheeky fellows...

Pugs in boots; a Thanksgiving take on Pigs in Blankets.

DON'T:

• be on a diet. Sister, that can wait until you're home.

Happy travels/dreaming!

-  Beth

Fringe Fun

It's a bit of a family tradition that we go to the Edinburgh Fringe. We used to go every year without fail, but in more recent times we haven't managed it. So when we found a weekend that the four of us were free, we hopped to it and got ourselves up to Bonnie Scotland.

Bagpiping 'ell.

I love Edinburgh. It is without a doubt my favourite city in the entire world. The city is beautiful, the landscape is beautiful and you can get an IrnBru anywhere at any time of day. 

Scott Monument or Maleficent's castle???

We only had a few days, so crammed as much as we could into that time. My personal favourite was seeing the legendary Romesh Ranganathan (Mock the Week), who was utterly hilarious.

Romesh Ranganathan

Pleasance Courtyard, one of the venues

There are a few things that are brilliant about going to the Fringe Festival:

1) You don't actually have to book anything - every day there are loads of shows that are absolutely free, both events in venues but also street performers on the Royal Mile that will keep you entertained for hours.

2) It is so multi-cultural. People come from all over the world for a laugh, effectively. 

3) It's acceptable to drink IrnBru with every meal.

4) You will see many celebrities. This year my sightings included Jeremy Paxman, and Jean-Paul from Hollyoaks (OMG!)

Some people go to extreme measures to get you to their shows...

And you do see some pretty weird things...

If you've never been to the Fringe, you haven't lived. Bold statement, I know, but it's honestly the most incredible atmosphere ever.

I think the best part of Edinburgh is Victoria Street. It has the best shops, including many crazy vintage shops, a fab joke shop and this really cute gift shop called the Red Door Gallery.

Victoria Street

The Red Door Gallery

A few minutes walk away from Victoria Street is a cafe called The Elephant House. This was the cafe that J. K. Rowling first started writing Harry Potter, and as a massive Harry Potter fan, it was sort of like finding the Holy Grail. When you go inside it's just a normal cafe, nothing special about it, but the real magic (get it?) is in the bathroom, surprisingly. Over the years, hundreds of fans have graffiti-ed the walls of the bathrooms with quotes and pictures - it's crazy!

Basically, get yourself to Edinburgh. 

DO:

• try haggis. It's delicious if you don't think too much about what it is.

DON'T:

• forget your umbrella. It is Scotland after all.

- Beth

Just what the Dr. Martens ordered (Volume I)

I am currently fortunate enough to work for Dr. Martens, in the Nottingham store, and over the past couple of weeks have become more and more excited about what AW14 has to offer. My relationship with Dr. Martens is a long one, moving past the giddy, honeymoon period of my early teenage years and blossoming into a true love. Each season there are the lovely, comfortable collections that just reinforce the connection, but there is also that spontaneous-breakfast-in-bed or romantic-weekend-away surprise shoe equivalent that reignites the flame.

I've taken a few snaps of some of my favourites of the season so far, but keep your eyes peeled and visit the website for more details. The pictures below show some of the quad retro, double-stack beauties we have in store!

Quad retro display

Jadon, Bryony and Bethan.

The rudeboy must-have, Marlie!

 As well as shoes, there has been some pretty sassy clothing in too, including tattoo-print dresses (seen above), gingham shirts, tartan shirts, and mohair socks! Here are some of my favourite men's shirts:

Oooh rugged and handsome

Tattoo, tartan and tasty!

The kids range is potentially the cutest thing I have ever seen, so bring the little monsters down to get kitted out or even buy some for your car as a fluffy dice alternative (yes that actually happened this week, what a legend), and whilst you're at it peruse the latest additions to the floral family!

Kiddie's Bruiser boots, everyone say "awwwww"!

Jaime monk strap and 101.

The ultimate mermaid accessory, a Pascal boot. Ariel, eat your heart out, love.

 And finally, I leave you with my favourite of the entire season, the Church monkey boot. This fine specimen of delicious leathery goodness has been pulled out of the Dr. Martens archive, and produced again to fill the monkey boot-shaped gap in our lives. I can't find the words to say how much I love it. So just look at the pictures. Enjoy.

Hello heaven.

Monkey boots feat. tartan trousers

DO:

• sing every song from the Little Mermaid until your mum if so fed up that she buys you the glittery Pascals just to shut you up. 

DON'T:

• say "What are monkey boots?"

There will be more to follow. Watch this space.

- Beth