116. October Favourites

Hello everyone and Happy November!  Hope those of you who celebrate Halloween had a fabulous time yesterday whether you were out trick or treating or attending a party! I'm pretty sure I say this at the start of every monthly favourites post but I can't believe how quickly the last month has gone by. At work, we've already decided on the venue for the Christmas lunch, it's insane just how close we are to the festive period once again. I can't wait for Christmas this year as it will be the first time in six years that I won't be revising for January exams during the Christmas break (sorry to rub it in to anyone studying for A-levels or a degree) but hold your horses, we still have November and most of December to get through first! Here's what I loved in October:

1. Barry M Gelly Nail Polish in Chai - My love for neutral nail polish shades continued from September and I've been loving this grey shade from Barry M. This is probably the first grey nail polish I've worn as far as I can remember and I love how versatile it is. As for the formula, I wouldn't say the Gelly range is more shiny than the standard Barry M nail polish.

2. Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Lip Balm - Every winter, I like to have a new lip balm. Last year, I used Lush's Lip Service but because it was in a tin, I decided to go for one in a tube this year. This has a very subtle vanilla scent much like the Nivea original blue lip balm and it has good staying power, I only top this up once during the day. This has SPF 20 too so is great for all year round.

3. Ted Baker Kassady Leather Crystal Bobble Matinee Purse - After over two and a half wonderful years, my Cath Kidston button spot folded zip wallet broke (R.I.P) :'( I fancied a change so decided to go for Ted Baker because their purses are real leather and I just love their vibrant colours and patterns. I went for bright pink so it's easy to spot in my bag. I love how it has card compartments on different parts of the purse so I keep my four most used cards at the front. This purse also has an ID window where I usually keep my staff card. The rose gold hardware and monochrome pattern compliment the bright pink and tone it down.

4. Schuh Wonder flats - I wanted some new flats for work which weren't Chelsea boots so decided to go for these lace ups. A lot of you may not know this but if you write a review for the Schuh website, they reward you with a 15% discount which lasts for 90 days. I reviewed my Crocs sandals a few weeks ago so thought I may as well use my discount code on these. What attracted me to these was the white sole and the tan detailing. Also, as they are real leather at a mere £55, you can't go wrong. I've worn these most days since purchasing them. Honestly, whenever I buy a pair of shoes from Schuh, I wear them so much.

5) George Animal Print Socks- My Mum and I were in Asda and I spotted these and they were so adorable that I just had to get them. The colours are gorgeous and the animals are so cute, my personal favourites are the robin and polar bear so I'm saving them for Christmas. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be on the George website so I'm unable to include a link but check in your local store if you want some. I've worn the fox ones so far #foxsox

6. Icestone Gelato, Oxford Road, Manchester - So a new dessert place has opened near work which is great news as most of my friends, colleagues and I have a very sweet tooth. Two of my colleagues and I went to Icestone Gelato for lunch I kid you not (yes, just to reiterate, we had dessert for lunch and no main in sight). My colleagues and I all had banana in our desserts so at least we got one of our five a day, teehee. I went for the banoffee cookie dough and one of my colleagues went for a banoffee and Nutella waffle. My other colleague decided on a crepe with strawberry, banana and cookies and cream gelato. Their gelato flavours sound amazing, they have everything from Jaffa Cake to Bounty so there's something for everyone. I can't wait to try them all next summer!

7. The Apprentice Honest Subtitles - Have any of you been watching The Apprentice? I am so disappointed with the girls this year, they all spend most of their time bickering instead of paying attention to the task. I miss Nick but love Claude as he's so brutal. After each episode, there's a short video uploaded onto BBC iPlayer with the highlights and honest subtitles and it's so funny.  My favourite moments of the series so far have been the guy who was trying to sell fish to a vegan café and the guy who was fired in week one who suggested "Sugar Babes" as the team name. In the honest subtitles for episode 1, when the secretary answers the phone, the subtitles are "You can go through to get shouted at now". Watch all the Honest Subtitles here.

8. Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates - This is the first piece of feminist literature I've read and it certainly won't be the last. Many of you will be familiar with The Everyday Sexism Project which was quite prominent on social media during 2012 and 2013. It is a website set up by Laura Bates that allows women and girls from all over the world to submit their experiences of you guessed it, everyday sexism. Bates has gone onto write this book and it was a fantastic read. What I loved about this book was how the different chapters focused on a particular oppressed group in society, examples of chapters include Women in Politics, Double Discrimination and Women in the Media. Each chapter starts with vital statistics, for example, did you know that the UK parliament comes 57th in the world for gender equality? For a developed country, that's awful. Laura also includes a chapter about the difficulties men face in society and I think that was a brilliant idea.

I am a feminist and I'm incredibly passionate about encouraging more young women to study STEM subjects and work in those areas too, however, gender equality has to work both ways. Men need to feel comfortable in society so they are able to seek help for eating disorders, domestic abuse and suicidal thoughts. 

I give Everyday Sexism 5/5 for taking a hollistic approach to sexism and also using statistics to back up the points made. It's a great introductory read for anybody looking into reading more feminist literature like myself.

9. Bridget Jones' Diary - I am a massive Colin Firth fan, I don't think it's possible for a film to be bad if he's starring in it. Surprisingly, I've never seen Bridget Jones' Diary from start to finish (shameful I know) and after seeing some scenes on Gogglebox, I watched it last weekend. I love British rom coms from the early noughties like this, Wimbledon and About a Boy but obviously I was too young to watch them when they were released initially. *SPOILER ALERT* Bridget and her friends are just so lovable and it was great seeing a few other familiar faces including Celia Imrie, Jim Broadbent and Sally Phillips. I'm so happy Bridget and Darcy end up together because Daniel's a lying cheat and I can't believe he blamed Darcy for being unfaithful when it was him all along. My favourite scenes are when Bridget and Darcy prepare her birthday meal together (blue soup, yum yum) and when she runs after him in the snow at the end.

I had to give this 5/5 as it is such a classic and has become one of my all time favourites. The above picture includes my favourite quote and I really must read the books soon. 

10. Paddington -  Paddington and I have quite a bit in common, we both love marmalade and own a blue duffle coat. Colin Firth was originally cast to play this iconic lovable bear but the film's release was delayed and Ben Whishaw ended up taking on the title role and he did a marvellous job. *SPOILER ALERT* After an earthquake in darkest Peru in which Paddington's Uncle Pastuzo unfortunately dies, Paddington's Aunt Lucy sends him to England after she moves into the Home for Retired Bears. Explorer Montgeomery Clyde visited Pastuzo and Lucy long before Paddington was even born and they told him all about Peru and in return, he taught them all about British culture after he realised that the bears could speak English. The Brown family spot the eponymous bear at Paddington Station but Mr Brown is determined for Paddington to move out. Mr Brown isn't the only one Paddington needs to worry about because a Cruella de Vil-esque taxidermist is after poor Paddy. Mrs Brown and their children are much more welcoming of Paddington and want to help him find Montgomery.

My favourite scenes were when Paddington wreaks havoc in the Browns' bathroom and when he carries a random dog down the escalator after taking a health and safety sign literally. Although this film is aimed more at children, it's a fantastic film for the whole family to enjoy and laugh at. I love marmalade and how quintessentially British Paddington is so I have to give this 5/5 too. 

Phew, well done if you made it to the end of this post, have a great November. I have

a couple of exciting posts planned for this month so see you soon. 

Until next time, take care.

Love,

Mancunian Sheep x

108. July Favourites

Hello everyone, it's monthly favourites time and I have everything from a shop to a candle that I've been loving this month.

1) Dettol mould spray - If you have read The Life of a Mancunian Sheep for a long time then you may remember my favourite cleaning products post from 2013. This is the best bathroom cleaner I've come across. It has left our tiles and shower unit sparkling white and the best thing about it is that you don't even have to scrub. Simply spray on and rinse off. I leave it overnight but if the strong smell of bleach gets too much for you then rinse off after 5-10 minutes. I actually bought 3 bottles of this in a pack off Amazon, it's that good!

2) Primark ankle high socks - Even in summer, I just have to wear socks (unless I am wearing sandals or flip flops) and these are perfect because they are a nude colour so they don't look weird with flats. You get 5 pairs for £1.50 and although they only last one or two washes before they get holes in the toes, you can't really complain at that price. I wouldn't mind buying some that are of a better quality but I haven't found any in M&S which is where I buy socks from usually. Other shops do have the ones that are like shoe liners but I'm worried that they won't stay on and that you'll be able to see the top of them on your ankle.

3) Vanilla Frosting Yankee Candle - Up until a couple of years ago, I hated candles (I know, how could I?) because I just found them boring and pointless (unless they were birthday cake candles, I've always loved cake) but now, I love them. I haven't actually had the time to bake since my bake sale for Parkinson's Awareness Week back in April but this candle fills the house with the scent of freshly baked cake.

4) Paperchase - Paperchase is one of my favourite shops because they have the most gorgeous stationery with really cute and pretty floral patterns. I've taken countless trips to my local store this month because I've needed to buy lots of cards for birthdays, graduation and also my stationery for work. I've been using an academic diary but now that I've finished education, I've bought an 18 month Moleskine planner so that it sees me through until the end of 2016. It comes with really handy stickers for work and play commitments. I also bought a couple of notebooks for myself, I'm using the floral one as a diary that I've been keeping since I turned 21.

Paperchase have recently brought out their Treat Me card which is fabulous because you get 15% off with your first purchase after registering your card and you also get a £5 voucher as a birthday treat. My local store has a cafe too and you can get a free hot drink from there but as it was Ramadan, I didn't bother. You can find out more here: https://www.paperchase.co.uk/treat-me-info

5) Gardening - Gardening has been one of my favourite hobbies for as long as I can remember. I used to have my own vegetable patch even when I was a toddler and used to help my parents by planting carrots, peas, beans and tomatoes. Unfortunately, I've had to place my green fingers on the back burner for the past 5 years due to A-levels and university but this month, I took a trip to B&Q and HomeSense and have had lots of fun gardening again. I've planted petunias, fuschias, pumpkins and courgettes amongst other things. I last planted marrows in 2010 after finishing my GCSEs and they were massive so watch this space for the pumpkins and courgettes!

6) Films - I've watched a few films since Ramadhan finished last week so have included two in my favourites. One is a recent release and the other is a film that I wanted to watch but didn't have time to because of university.

a) Ant Man - So my Marvel obsession continues into July. Don't worry I'm not going to watch this 3 times like I did with Age of Ultron (she says now). Quite a few people are skeptical of an ant sized superhero but I knew Marvel would deliver. Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly are all brilliant but my favourite character was Luis who is played by Michael Peña, his storytelling is hilarious. Evangeline Lilly looks so much like Cobie Smulders in Ant Man that I had to ask my friend Alex what Maria Hill was doing in this film. The story is a heart warming one as Ant Man is very much Marvel's answer to Robin Hood. I love the relationship Ant Man has with one of the ants, Antony and also with his daughter, Cassie. I strongly recommend that you go and watch this unless you suffer from myrmecophobia. There was a scene with a gigantic (relative to Ant Man) rat and I almost died. 

Rating 5/5: 

b) Love, Rosie - I love Lily Collins and Sam Claflin after watching her in Stuck in Love last month and him in The Hunger Games films so decided to give this a watch earlier this week. Rosie (Lily) and Alex (Sam) have been best friends since they were children and are practically joined at the hip until they're 18 when Alex decides to apply to Harvard to study medicine and encourages Rosie to apply to Boston to study hotel management. They are both accepted but unfortunately, something big happens to Rosie which prevents her from joining Alex in America. She's left behind and their lives become very different to one another so they drift apart and each time they try and become close to one another again, someone else is involved romantically with one of them. 

Although it is quite a predictable will they, won't they? chick flick, Lily and Sam's acting and on screen chemistry is undeniably brilliant. They are best friends and I guess that's what your spouse should be because best friends love each other no matter what. 

Aside from Alex and Rosie, my other favourite character was Ruby (Jaime Winstone) who is Rosie's best friend after they meet in a very unlikely place (I can't say anymore about Ruby without giving a massive spoiler away). Ruby is very straight talking and a great friend to Rosie. Suki Waterhouse is also in the film and she really isn't a very convincing actress, later on in the film, her character becomes a model so I guess she didn't have to act. I really liked the two lead characters and the storyline is quite cute but the number of predictable twists was getting a bit ridiculous:

Rating 3/5: 

7) Jess Glynne - Hold My Hand. I love Jess' voice and have done so since hearing her on Clean Bandit's "Rather Be" and Route 94's "My Love" last year. I'm obsessed with this song and have had it on repeat this past week. My favourite lyric is: "Break my bones but you won't see me fall". 

What's been your favourite film, song and shop this month?

Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep x

104. June Favourites

Hello everyone, summer is finally here and apparently there is going to be a heatwave next week across the UK coinciding with Wimbledon which at least won't prevent play but it's going to be no fun for everyone fasting! I've been enjoying the sun by sitting in my back garden and looking at and smelling these gorgeous white roses there.

As it's the sixth month, I have six favourites and they're pretty diverse as they have been for the past couple of months.

1) Taylor Swift - Welcome to New York. I finally bought 1989 in June and I've no idea what took me so long, it's an amazing album. Also, as I haven't included a song in my monthly favourites since November, it was long overdue (that was another Taylor Swift song, Blank Space). This is my favourite song on the record as it has such a catchy beat and like with all of her other songs, you can't help but sing along.

2) Spy - Two of my university friends and I intended to watch this early on in June but we ended up watching Avengers: Age of Ultron again. One of my friends and I have now seen Age of Ultron three times, I've seen no other film at the cinema more than once but it actually gets better the more times you watch it. We finally got round to watching Spy and it has two of my favourite people in it - Miranda Hart and Melissa McCarthy. Spy is honestly the funniest film I have seen in years and for me personally, Jason Statham stole the show surprisingly. At so many points in the film, lots of people were laughing out loud in the cinema, it was that good! *SPOILER ALERT* When Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) kills for the first time in the field, it was hilarious because it was an accident and she makes it worse for herself by throwing up on him and then collapsing herself as he lands on a spear. My other favourite scene was when Rick Ford (Jason Statham) describes the million and one ways he has escaped death such as the time when one of his arms completely came off and he fixed it back on with his other arm, it's so ridiculous. Also, there is a well known rapper in the film and he becomes very close to Nancy (Miranda Hart) which is brilliant. What I love about this film is that it shows that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover because nobody would think Susan would make such an amazing spy but she does. I also loved the various identities Susan had to use including Crazy Cat Lady.

Rating: 5/5 

3) Carly Rowena - I stumbled upon Carly's YouTube channel somehow and I am in love with how honest, positive and sweet she is. I've been loving Carly's 3 minute abs workout and her video on how to tone up wobbly thighs (let's be honest girls, most of us have issues with our bums, tums and legs). Carly is a personal trainer so it's like having a personal trainer for free who doesn't yell at you. I've not been going to the gym during Ramadhan for obvious reasons but I've still been able to workout thanks to Carly. She has lots of videos on healthy eating and gym clothes too.

4) Anker Portable Charger - I intend to go on quite a lot of trips with my friends this summer and although smartphones are amazing, their battery life is nothing compared to the old school Nokia 3310 (I'm showing my age now haha). I picked this little beauty up from Amazon because it is super small, cheap and has excellent reviews. You charge this up and when your phone runs out of charge, you plug your phone into this and I get one full charge out of it (my phone is the HTC One Mini). I love that it comes with a little pouch too so it doesn't get damaged or scratched in your bag.

5) Postcards - I was in Waterstones and fell in love with all the postcards they had so I've decided to start collecting postcards from places I visit and also just generally ones that I like the look of in local shops. I think I'm going to have to buy an album for them as my collection grows hopefully. These are the three in my collection so far:

I picked this up from the John Rylands Library on Deansgate in Manchester.

I bought this from a Waterstones in Manchester as it reminds me of Wimbledon.

I went to Chester and picked this up from the Waterstones there.

6) Passing my degree! :D I received my final set of university results this month and I am absolutely overjoyed to tell you all that I will graduating with a 2:1 in Biology. University has by no means been easy but it really is a life changing experience. I've met so many wonderful people and it has increased my confidence a lot. I've learnt so much ranging from thermoregulatory proteins in bacteria to the social hierarchy of hyenas. It's been three years well spent as it has helped me transition from teenager to adult too.

Apologies as I realise that my book review of The Establishment by Owen Jones should have been up on Monday but I have been really busy lately and haven't actually had much time to read. Hopefully, it should be up next week.

Until next time, take care.

Love,

Mancunian Sheep x

102. The Week I Became A Social Butterfly

Hello everyone, I hope you're all well! I've had an extremely busy week but it's been great to catch up with lots of my friends, some of whom I've not seen for months because of university. I don't think I've ever eaten out so much in any other week in my life but you may as well make the most of it with Ramadan around the corner. I tried to be as healthy as I possibly could which isn't too hard when in most restaurants, I'm limited to the vegetarian option due to eating a halal and mostly pescetarian diet.

Monday - My best friend, Sammia and I went to the Trafford Centre and despite living in Manchester, I think I've only been to the Trafford Centre a whopping 5-6 times in my entire life. I find that most of the shops it has that I actually shop at are also in the city centre so there's no need to travel so far. If there is a shop in the Trafford Centre that is not in the city centre then I usually just order online such as John Lewis. Despite spending more than 7 hours at the place, Sammia and I bought nothing but food hahaha, such fun! As I hit the gym hard last weekend, I used Monday as my cheat day and I personally think it's actually quite a good day to have as a cheat day because a bit of cake certainly made Monday easier to get through than usual. We went to Debenhams for breakfast and had coffee with a Millionaires' shortbread. We then walked around John Lewis, Next Home and M&S home sniffing far too many candles which left us with a headache. I've been really lucky with the weather this week as it has been gorgeous, usually when I go out with friends, we end up getting caught in the rain.

For lunch, we went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen as Sammia had not been before and I love their super skinny fries and falafel burger (I could live off falafel and I pretty much did whilst writing my literature review, it's one of my favourite foods ever). We also had the strawberry and elderflower fizz at GBK which was gorgeous and I really wish they sold it as a readily available bottled drink in shops. 

For dessert, we went to Cadwalders which I'd never even heard of before but Sammia recommended. We both devoured the super indulgent hot chocolate muffin melt, it was yummy! After dessert, we spotted a carousel outside and despite being in our early 20s, that was not going to stop us. We were the only ones on the ride and shoppers walking by were looking at us hahaha. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life!

We had a look around some more shops such as HomeSense and Selfridges where I bought some rainbow cake from the Hey Little Cupcake concession as you can't buy slices at their Spinningfields cupcakery. It's actually the first rainbow cake that I've come across which is suitable for vegetarians as usually, the red food colouring contains beetle extract. "Shopping" can be thirsty work so we finished the day with Costa Coolers, Sammia had the mango and passion fruit one whilst I had the strawberry and watermelon one.

Tuesday - I actually had two shifts at work because you know, you've got to work hard and play hard. I don't consider my job to be work as I love being a student ambassador, it's been one of the best things about university as I have met so many people and many of them have become firm friends. On Tuesday night, I met my women in science hero, Dame Sally Davies and I could not believe that I had the opportunity to ask her a question too. You can find out more about Dame Sally's work as the first female Chief Medical Officer for England here.

Wednesday - There are about three restaurants that I can tolerate on the Curry Mile - Gelato, Lahore and after this week, Falafel. Yes, despite loving the actual food, I've never been to the restaurant that shares the same name. I had a lovely afternoon out in the sun with my friend Melissa who used to be my neighbour but recently moved away and two of Melissa's friends who I had never met before properly but were very lovely and welcoming. We had a little Ramadan shop by looking around three Islamic shops and I picked up a couple of books, one which offers practical advice for Muslim women and the other one is Imam Nawawi's 40 Hadiths which are widely considered to be the fundamental sacred sayings of Islam.

Thursday -  I had my haircut for the first time since September 2014 as I haven't had the chance because of being so busy with university. My hair's not been this short since I was 14 but I prefer it like this as it is so much more manageable and feels lighter in summer. If any of you are from Manchester and are looking for a salon, I go to The Razor's Edge in the Royal Exchange. My regular stylist is on maternity leave (I didn't even know she was pregnant until I went in to make an appointment last week hahaha) but the stylist I had this time did an amazing job and was so quick too! After my haircut, I went to Costa and had their green tea, lime and mint cooler which is amazing and my favourite one now! I've had a few mojito mocktails in the past and it's very similar to them! I ended up watching One Day in the afternoon because I was lending the DVD to my friend who I was seeing that evening and wanted to make sure it was working fine but once I stuck it on, I just had to watch the whole film as it is one of my favourites of all time. As I graduate next month, I felt it was a good time to watch it. In the evening, I went out with my friends from university, Alex and Rick and we were meant to watch Spy but instead, we went to Chiquitos and I can't believe I'm saying this but afterwards, we went to watch Avengers: Age of Ultron (I've seen it 3 times now and it keeps on getting better). At Chiquitos, Rick and Alex shared fajitas which were served on a sizzling platter (it felt like we would set the smoke alarm off) and I had the sea bass salad with sweet potato fries which was gorgeous. I love Mexican food!

Friday - I've heard really good things about Moose Coffee in Manchester from several of my friends so one of my friends who hadn't been previously either and I finally went there for brunch yesterday. As I ate so late on Thursday night and it was so hot, I had the granola with yoghurt and berries. Misbah had the Vegi Mighty Moose which is essentially a cooked vegetarian breakfast. I will have to go back when it's cold again to try some of the coffee and cooked food. The portion sizes were huge (even the blueberries were larger than usual) but the food was so delicious! We were stuffed after brunch so went for a walk and sat by Manchester Cathedral which is also on my to-visit list this summer! Moose's yummy granola actually inspired me to make my own last night which I'll be having at sehri for Ramadhan on days when I want something more substantial than my usual smoothie. 

I hope you've all had a great week too and are having a lovely weekend. My first summer book club review post will be up tomorrow so look out for that.
Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep x