118. November Favourites

Hello lovelies! I hope you've had a fabulous month. This may be my personal favourite monthly favourites yet because it's been a very exciting month as I've literally been waiting years for some of the things mentioned in this post! There's a bit of a theme this month as several people I love have made me super proud this month and I've cried a fair bit with happiness in all honesty.

1) Adele - 25. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you will be aware of Adele's highly anticipated return. Quite a few of my tears this month are because of this lady who is beautiful both inside and out. 25 has been described by Adele as a make up record whereas 21 was a break up record but that doesn't mean that 25 is not full of raw emotion and tear jerking songs. My top three tracks off the record are I Miss You, When We Were Young and Million Years Ago. I love the nostalgic feel of both Million Years Ago and When We Were Young but I Miss You is my absolute favourite because the instrumental is perfect as the drums and the backing singers just add to the dramatic lyrics. For those of you who watched the BBC One show on the evening of the album's release date will know the story behind Million Years Ago and it just shows how down to Earth and genuine Adele is and how she's not let all her success change her as a person. My favourite part of the show was when Adele surprised her impressionists, she's just so lovely and funny. Adele's my favourite artist and I was lucky enough to see her with my friend, Lauren, at the Manchester Apollo in 2011 and we were literally next to the stage. She waved at us and I almost died with happiness. Lauren and I also met one of Adele's support acts, the Grammy Award winning Civil Wars. This week, she announced that she's going on tour next year, how exciting?!

2. Sir David Attenborough narrating Adele's music video for Hello. If for some absurd reason, you don't like Adele then you might as well skip my second favourite too because this video is the best thing since sliced bread, it contains two people who I adore. Please watch it, you won't be disappointed, trust me. I can't get over "The Lesser Spotted Adele". I sincerely hope that both Adele and Sir David Attenborough are immortal because the world won't be the same without them both.

3. Heidi. This month, we welcomed a new member to our family...

Yes, I've finally bought my first car and I am just so happy and grateful, alhamdulillah! We are quite lucky with the public transport links in Manchester but it's still far from perfect and especially in this weather, I like being in the warming presence of Heidi :') She's a Ford Focus Zetec/Titanium hybrid for anyone interested.

4. Chris (Simpsons Artist) - Motivational Quotes to Help You to be More Positive. I have followed Chris and his wonderful artwork and unforgettable stories on social media but to have something physical is brilliant. This book does exactly what it says and is like no other book. I highly recommend it as a Christmas present as it will definitely make your loved one laugh and smile which is all you can ask of a present.

5. Great Britain winning the Davis Cup - Regular readers will be aware of just how big an Andy Murray fan I am which is why it comes as no surprise just how proud I am of him, Jamie and the rest of the team for winning the Davis Cup for Great Britain after 79 years today. He's made history yet again and it's the perfect way to end such a wonderful year for Andy during which he got married and announced that he is becoming a father! Actions speak louder than words and the quality of tennis Andy has played over the past three days  and in fact, for the past decade, should silence critics such as David Lloyd. Well done and massive congratulations to Team GB! 

6. Paperchase foldaway shopper - Last month, a 5p bag charge was introduced in England so me being my super organised self decided to invest in a small foldaway shopping bag that I can keep in my handbag at all times. I don't mind paying 5p for a bag but as a biologist, I know just how damaging plastic bags can be to marine species. This bag was £4.50 but it is well made, folds up very small and has a handy hook so you can attach it to your bag or keys and never forget it. When I'm using the bag, I attach the pouch to it so I don't lose it. As it is a waterproof material, it's great in this awful weather and I like the psychedelic floral pattern too.

7. Next Suede Slippers - My feet are always so cold during winter so I treated myself to a new pair of slippers this month. I love wearing burgundy and these are as warm and cosy as they look. They have a strong sole with a good grip like outdoor shoes so you won't slip and they won't get ruined if you do have to nip outside in them. They are available in lots of colours so I've included a link to them. If you are thinking of buying these then I would say go a size up, I'm usually a size 6 in Next footwear but went for a 7 in these.

8. Accessorize Stacking Rings - I love wearing rings but one ring won't do and in summer, I bought a set of rings from Accessorize but wanted some new ones as I got bored of them. I admit I went a bit crazy and ended up buying three sets because they were just so nice and would go with pretty much any outfit as I opted for a silver set, a gold set and one with lots of different coloured gemstones.

Silver stacking ring set 

Gold stacking ring set

Gemstone stacking ring set

9. Twinings Salted Caramel Tea - Salted caramel is one of my favourite flavours so I was super excited when I spotted this in Tesco and just had to try it. This smells absolutely divine and you can drink it without feeling guilty. It is perfect for this time of year! I made one of my colleagues a cup of this and she loved it too.

10. Meha Art and Design Manchester coaster - Fellow Mancunians and those of you who have been lucky enough to visit Manchester around Christmas will be familiar with the wonderful German markets that are here every year. I was after a nice coaster for my desk at work and this Manchester themed one seemed fitting for the Mancunian Sheep. As I mentioned in my previous post (which you can read here), I love supporting independent retailers which is why I will include the links for the artist who has designed this gorgeous coaster. I love the pops of colour and the intricate detailing of some of Manchester's best known landmarks like Malmaison. Meha's stall is just opposite the H&M on Market St and she's so lovely, definitely worth visiting her stall if you're after a unique Christmas present or treat for yourself.

You can find Meha Art on the following: Facebook, Twitter and etsy.

11. Peep Show - My television favourite this month has to be Peep Show. The similarities between myself and Mark are scary and I'm gutted that this series will be the last one however, I can see why they'd rather end the show on a high just like Miranda did around this time last year. At least there are nine series that fans of the show can binge watch to get their fix of Mark, Jez and SuperHans. My favourite scene of the series so far has to be Sober Hans' juicing stag do.

I hope you've enjoyed this post. Let me know what your favourite song is on 25! Hope December is best month of 2015 for you all. 

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

112. August Favourites

Hello everyone, I hope you're all well! It's actually been a year since I posted my first ever monthly favourites on here and I'm so glad that I did as they are my favourite posts to write. This month's favourites have quite a nostalgic feel to them, all will become clear by the end of the post so let's get cracking!

1. Colouring - The older you get, the more stressful life becomes so I was surprised when I saw the colouring for mindfulness range in Waterstones at why such a simple stress busting method hadn't occurred to me before. We all associate colouring books with childhood which was relatively stress free for most of us thankfully so this is such a great concept. It is nice to see a screen-less activity make a comeback and if you're a parent then you can colour in with your little ones. I love Paris and really hope to visit soon which is why I bought the Secret Paris colouring book as it heavily features two of my main interests - food and fashion (you can buy the book here). I included Paperchase in my July favourites (click here for my other July favourites) and I also bought my colouring pencils from there. They are in a really cute cupcake patterned tin which is such a good way to store them so that they don't get damaged or lost. Unfortunately, Paperchase no longer seem to have the cupcake print tin on the website but there are alternative pencil tins such as an Aztec patterned one which you can find here.

 2. Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream - Every summer I seem to fall in love with a new perfume, last year it was Givenchy's Very Irresistible L'Eau en rose and in summer 2013, it was DKNY's Be Delicious Fresh Blossom. My friend Misbah actually bought me Daisy Dream last Christmas but I'd treated myself to Givenchy's Very Irresistible so only got round to using Daisy Dream this month and it is a subtly sweet fresh scent. It's very light so perfect for summer.

Don't worry, I've not lost the lid! It's a silver sphere so the reflection of the camera lens annoyed me which is why I chose a photo without the cap on.

3. Songs from old Bollywood films - Now I did say at the start of this post that it would be rather nostalgic for fellow 90s kids and with colouring and this music favourite, you'll know what I mean. Regular readers will know that I don't listen to Indian music so I surprised myself with how much I like it, I'm actually going to order the Kabhi Khushi Khabi Gham DVD because if the soundtrack is so good then surely the movie has to be too. The second song is one that my cousin and I used to sing along to apparently when we were kids (I'm not surprised we enjoyed it as children because there's a dodgy looking Mickey Mouse in the video) and the lyrics are so adorable, the man is complimenting his wife throughout the entire song.

4. Primark candles - I mentioned a candle in my July favourites too but these smell more summery. Primark have quite a decent candle range, they look nice and although they don't smell as strong as Yankee candles, you can't really moan at such low prices. I bought the sweet vanilla and coconut one from the Primark in Chester (it is so much nicer than the Manchester one as it is less stuffy and chaotic) and I bought the Red Berry and Jasmine one from the Manchester store. I'm really impressed with the sweet vanilla and coconut one because the stronger scent is coconut which is surprising as vanilla can be quite overpowering. The berry one reminds me of my smoothies. I really like the art deco style labels. The coconut one was £2 and the berry one was £1.

5. KitchenAid Raspberry Ice Artisan Stand Mixer - I've wanted one of these since I first set eyes on them whilst watching GBBO back in 2012 and I've put off getting one until we have our kitchen refurbished. For the past month, my mum's been asking me constantly what I want for my graduation/21st birthday and she's suggested a designer handbag but I said no because I have too many bags as it is. I told my mum that I'd like a KitchenAid once we get the kitchen done but she asked me to pick the colour I wanted and order it now so here is my baby:

So far I've used it to make chappati dough, it's made my life so much easier! I also made some marmalade muffins using a recipe featured in the latest Asda magazine.

6. Andy Murray's big news and win - Regular readers will know that I am a huge Andy Murray fan and this month, Andy and Kim announced that they are expecting a baby! I am so excited and happy for them as they will no doubt make fantastic parents.

 I mean just look how loving they are of their Border Terriers, Rusty and Maggie May.

Also, this month, Andy beat Djokovic for the first time in over two years to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal and although he has been playing fantastically well this year, this victory was very much needed psychologically and comes at the perfect time just before the US Open.

Keep smiling Andy!

7. Twinings Blueberry and Apple tea - I've not included a drink in my monthly favourites for ages and although it's still quite warm, I've been loving this fruit tea. I love using blueberries in my bakes and also just topping yoghurt/porridge/granola with them so it's no surprise that I love this blueberry flavoured drink. It smells divine!

As you can see from our kitchen tablecloth, I love fruit.

8. Asda CBY Low Fat Fruit Yoghurts - Continuing with the fruit theme, my food favourite this month are these yoghurts. I just love all things peach/apricot/nectarine this time of year and in fact, peaches/nectarines were one of my August favourites last year which you can find here (some things never change). 

The peach flavour is my favourite but the other two are nice as well.

Until next time, take care.

Love, 

Mancunian Sheep x

79. Top Fives of 2014

Hello everyone, I did a top fives post in 2013 so thought I may as well make it an annual Mancunian Sheep tradition. The lists aren't ranked. Enjoy!

Moments/ Events - some of these lasted for months so couldn't exactly be classified as a moment.

1) Going to Wimbledon- 2014 was the year when I was lucky enough to witness some spectacular live tennis at the All England Club on the second Thursday of the championships. I don't mean to sound too cheesy but one of my dreams genuinely did come true. As regular readers know, I am a massive Andy Murray fan so was gutted when he was knocked out the day before but in hindsight, had I caught sight of Andy, I would have collapsed (as another spectator on court 1 did from the heat while I was there).

2) Passing my second year of university- I'd say only two people really know how much of my blood, sweat and tears went into second year - my Mum and my coursemate and thank you to them for helping me get through it too! After 6 hour labs, a dissertation, a field course, 8 exams and countless pieces of coursework- I made it through to final year. When I checked my results from the first semester of second year at some time around 3am, I woke my Mum up dancing to this (yes, I know I'm brilliant...and brave):

3) When Andy Murray tweeted me- I might not have been able to see him but I'll never forget his witty reply to my odd question. I'd like to see Andy with pink hair, probably not at his forthcoming nuptials however.

4) Summer internship- I couldn't believe that I managed to get the only summer internship I applied to especially when they contacted me to say I was successful within an hour of my interview. A week after my 20th birthday, the best 8 weeks of my time at university began. I met some wonderful people who have become dear friends, it boosted my confidence and enhanced many important skills including time management and prioritising tasks. If you're at university then I strongly recommend doing a summer/ graduate internship, what have you got to lose?

5) Seeing Miranda Hart live- Who wouldn't want to see the fantastic woman who came up with vegetapals and biscuit blizzard? I'll never forget the end of the show when Miranda came out as Beyonce in Crazy in Love, I will treasure that moment forever.

Music

1) Sam Smith- Money On My Mind and pretty much all of his other songs. He is so talented, humble and has the voice of an angel. So proud of him and really hope he does an Adele at the Grammys in 2015.

2) Coldplay- Magic. The video for Coldplay's Paradise is my favorite of all time and I love the video for Magic too, it reminds me of The Great Gatsby. Coldplay are one of the greatest British bands ever, they're consistent and unique and I'm gutted that their next album will be their last.

3) Hozier- Take Me to Church. I listen to BBC Radio 1 quite a bit and thanks to Fearne Cotton who played this song a lot and made me fall in love with it. Hozier has such a powerful voice full of emotion giving me shudders every time. I'm really looking forward to hearing more from him in 2015.

 

4) Clean Bandit- Rather Be. This was the song of the summer, it was even more incredible when I heard it live in October. This is such a feel good song and Manchester, there really is no place that the Mancunian Sheep would rather be (I'm turning into Felipe from The Apprentice by talking about myself in the third person). I love Clean Bandit for bringing violins into mainstream music and not making them sound so depressing.

5)  Ed Sheeran - Sing. Ed Sheeran's dominated the music world in 2014, he is at the top of his game right now and is releasing hit after hit. I love his other stuff too but I like the more upbeat sound of this track which was perfect in summer!

Books 

Unfortunately due to how busy I was with university and my summer internship, I only managed to read 10 books in 2014 despite setting myself a Goodreads challenge to read 25. I was lucky because apart from a couple, the 10 I did manage to read are some of the best books I have ever read. I really hope I get to read more in the latter half of 2015 once university is over!

1) George Orwell- 1984. I remember attending a workshop at the university when I was in Year 9 and interviewing a student there at the time who told me that 1984 was his favourite book and boy, I now know why. When I watch/read the news (oh the irony) and witness the horrific events occurring across the world in places like Palestine and closer to home such as the VIP sex abuse ring, every word of Orwell's is true. 

2) Graeme Simsion- The Rosie Project. Don Tillman is one of my favourite characters of all time. He is a genetics professor who is looking for a wife so devises a very detailed questionnaire to find a compatible spouse. His best friend, Gene, is a psychology lecturer who is quite the ladies man and is married to Claudia. Gene, probably out of curiosity and mischief ends up setting Don up with Rosie who was the most incompatible partner for Don according to the data. There are many laugh out loud moments and anyone who thinks they're socially awkward will feel much better after reading this.

3) Lucy Clarke- A Single Breath. I did a review post for this book which you can find here.

4) John Williams- Stoner. Usually characters in books are praised for being different but Stoner isn't exceptional in any obvious way but it's the simplicity of this novel which makes it such a classic. Like its main character, this book has been overlooked. Stoner goes through what many people do- university, a marriage, having a child  and financial problems. Stoner really is an unsung hero. The level of detail and the quality of writing make the reader feel like they are reading the autobiography of a close friend.

5) Jojo Moyes- Me Before You. This is the most recent book that I've read and I actually spent most of last Saturday reading it (I read the last 300 and something pages in just over 5 hours). Regular readers will know that I care for my Mum who has Parkinson's but surprisingly, I've never read a book about a carer before. Louisa used to work in The Buttered Bun cafe but when it closed down, she ended up working for Will Traynor, who used to be a high flying city worker until he ended up quadriplegic after a motorbike knocked him over. This book has really made me empathise how frustrating it must be to live with a long-term, incurable physical disability like quadriplegia and Parkinson's. It made me realise how nobody plans to live with a long term disability and how irritating it must be to not have any control over most aspects of your life. It's made me realise that when my Mum is having a bad day, I shouldn't take it personally. What I loved most about this book is that it was so realistic, the ending is not obvious and it really is much more than a romance novel. It covers issues like unemployment, euthanasia and as mentioned above, disability and caring. After reading the book, I went to rate it on Goodreads and found out that it is being turned into a film with Sam Claflin starring as Will. I hope the film is just as good as the book. 

What was your favourite moment, book and song this year? I hope you enjoy the last week or so of 2014 and look out for my December Favourites post which will be the final post of this year! To those that celebrate Christmas, have a great day!

Until next time, take care.

Love,

Mancunian Sheep x

60. Second Thursday of Wimbledon 2014

Hello everyone, let me warn you now that this is going to be a very long post because not only did I go to Wimbledon but there is also some other Mancunian Sheep news this week. I'm putting this post up early on a Sunday because it's Ramadan so I'll be busy in the evening and also, the men's singles final at Wimbledon gets underway at 2pm. 

This week got off to a great start because my Mum came home from hospital on Monday! She went in almost two weeks ago and I'm just so glad and relieved to have her back where she belongs because when she last had a UTI (a common complication in Parkinson's patients during hot weather) in 2012, she was in for 6 weeks! 

After the most demanding academic year of my entire life in which I had 6 hour labs, a dissertation, a field course and 8 exams, I have somehow passed second year with a 2.1! I received my results on Friday and I hope everyone else who already have/ waiting for their results are/will be happy with them! It's scary to think that this time next year, I'll almost be graduating hopefully :O

Now for the bulk of this post, my trip to Wimbledon! My Wimbledon journey began last year when I applied for tickets in December for the Public Ballot and found out I had managed to get a pair of court 1 tickets in February! I couldn't believe my luck as the public ballot is ridiculously oversubscribed and I think there's 4 applicants for every ticket. 

I went to Wimbledon with my neighbour and very good friend, Ana who I've known for 14 years but have never actually been out with! We got the coach from Manchester to London at 5.45 am on Thursday but disaster struck when our coach arrived 40 minutes late at London Victoria due to a ridiculous traffic jam on Baker Street, Westminister. Thanks to my accurate planning, I had an almost minute by minute schedule so the rest of the day ran smoothly as we just got a later service from London Victoria to Clapham and then from Clapham to Wimbledon. Once we arrived at Wimbledon station, there was a superb taxi service running where you could share a cab and pay £2.50/person direct to the All England Club. There were also buses but they cost £3.50 and were slower so it made a lot more sense to take the cab.

Once we entered the park, I purchased a Rally for Bally wristband to raise money for the Royal Marsden in memory of the lovely and inspirational Elena Baltacha, may she rest in peace (you can donate here). When I saw the Centre Court sign and balcony, memories of Andy's win last summer came flooding back and my knees almost gave way. It was genuinely one of the happiest moments of my entire life, not to sound too poetic. 

The first match on court 1 was the men's doubles quarter finals, Radek Stepanek and Leander Paes were against Daniel Nestor and Neand Zimonjic. As Stepanek had defeated Andy at Queen's a few weeks ago, I wanted the others to win at the start but when a spectator collapsed due to the 26C heat and Paes spotted him and gave him a water bottle, I was rooting for Stepanek and Paes. They put on a good show by doing some keepy uppy and Stepanek tormented one of the ball boys by keeping the ball under his foot which was a bit mean but it was all light-hearted! Stepanek played very well and they deserved to win as they took the match in 4 sets.

But first, let us take a selfie!

Coin toss!

Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India.

Daniel Nestor of Canada and Neand Zimonjic of Serbia.

At the start of the second set, we went for lunch because due to the coach being late, we had no time beforehand. Ana and I both bought a sandwich and I got us some strawberries and cream because you can't go to Wimbledon and not have the infamous treat!

We needed lots of this!

Ana enjoying the strawberries!

Such fun, yum yum!

Here's some more photos from the first match:

Stepanek serving

Zimonjic serving

Match point!

When Paes and Stepanek won!

Celebrate good times, come on!

This is one of the reasons why I adore tennis, despite playing gruelling matches, these guys sign autographs and souvenirs immediately after matches. It shows how much the fans mean to players. 

Between matches, Ana and I went to the Wimbledon shop and made some new friends!

A very cool but uncomfortable looking dress. I'm loving the green mohwak and strawberry shoes however.

I ended up going a bit crazy in the souvenir shop but oh well, it was the best day of my life after all! Here are some of the things I bought (some of them are presents for my friends so I'm not posting photos of them):

I've already framed this and it's sitting on my desk.

Sunburnt but worth it, also I won't be needing a red nose for Comic Relief :P

Fridge magnet.

The second match was the third round of the mixed doubles and it was our very own Naomi Broady from Stockport and Liverpool's Neal Skupski (come on the North!) who beat Florin Mergea of Romania and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in a thrilling 3 set match. The final set was edge of the seat tennis and at one point when Broady and Skupski were up for 4-2, it must have gone to 10th deuce and it felt like the last game of the Murray-Djokovic 2013 Wimbledon final. Naomi Broady played wonderfully and she will definitely go far in British women's tennis, I was astounded that this was only their first Wimbledon.

Naomi Broady serving.

Naomi Broady and Neal Skupski discussing tactics.

The players taking a much deserved break.

Florin Mergea and Elina Stivtolina.

Aww, the chair umpire looks lonely.

Hawk-Eye!

Victory is ours!

Naomi can't believe they've done it!

Neal throwing the ball into the crowd.

I hope you've enjoyed this long photo packed post, I'm off to watch the Wimbledon final now. Come on Djokovic! Until next time, take care.

Love,
Mancunian Sheep x