100. My Favourite Places in Manchester

Hello everyone! As much as I would love to dedicate the 100th Mancunian Sheep post to sheep, unfortunately not many of you would appreciate it as much as I. Instead, I shall relate it to my immense hometown glory having lived here for the entirety of my existence. Thank you so much to all of you regardless of whether you have read 1 or all 100 posts, I'm not sure how you've managed to keep up with the ramblings of a madwoman for over 4 years but here's to 100 more posts. Ideally, I would like to bake you all a cake to celebrate but until teleporting becomes a reality, a photo and celebratory post will have to make do.

The best cake at the Manchester Cake and Bake Show 2014.

Here are my three favourite places in Manchester that I highly recommend you visit, if you have not done so already. I could have chosen so many more but I had to be extremely selective to prevent this post being as long as some of my others so without further ado, here are my top 3! 

1) Ziferblat, Edge Street - I have already written a lengthy post singing my praises of this wonderful venue in Manchester's Northern Quarter which is my favourite part of the city. It's such a great concept and was much needed in Manchester. Last week, Ziferblat announced the opening of four meeting rooms so not only can you play hard (you can literally play board games), you can now work hard there too!

2) John Rylands Library, Deansgate - My friend and I spontaneously visited John Rylands Library one afternoon last week and it is the most peaceful and beautiful building that I have ever been lucky enough to set foot in. I'm genuinely considering it as a prospective wedding venue although, that's certainly a few years off yet. I highly doubt wedding ceremonies take place there sadly and I'm too scared to ask as it will crush my dreams! The intricate craftsmanship of both the building and the books upset me when I compared them to the ugly, monotonous glass buildings being erected left, right and centre along with the demise of independent bookshops thanks to eReaders and Amazon. As this is supposed to be a celebratory post, I will stop ranting as on a more positive note, it was the ceiling high bookcases that inspired me to do a summer book club on here. Apologies in advance for the photos not being of the best quality, like I mentioned, the visit was a spontaneous decision so I was without my camera and had to make do with my phone.

This desk is 113 years old, this is what you call a desk, Ikea.

3) Hey Little Cupcake, Spinningfields - I love cake and with the vast number of tearooms and cafes we are blessed with in Manchester, it was very difficult to choose one but I had to choose Hey Little Cupcake as their bakes are so creative. Each month, there is a special cupcake and there are always seasonal cupcake selections at Christmas, Easter and Halloween. The interior is gorgeous, the staff are so lovely and with the ability to order personalised cakes for special occasions, there really is something for everyone. I love the Sorrento Cello cupcake which is a signature one and their rainbow cake is the only one that I've come across which is actually suitable for vegetarians. You can have afternoon tea at HLC and they have cupcake shaped sandwiches, what more could you possibly want?

As ever, thank you for reading. Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep x

99. Mancunian Sheep's Summer Book Club

Hello everyone! As many of you will know already, I love books and one of the things I'm most excited about now that I've finished university is being able to read for pleasure again. I've bought a lot of books over the past year or so that I've not yet had the chance to read and I aim to do so this summer. As I have reviewed many a book on here already, I thought I might as well do a summer book club where I read a book every week and then review it at the end of the week. If you want to join in and read the books too, I've listed the ten below. The books are a mixture of fiction and non-fiction ranging from politics to classic novels so there really is something for everyone. Feel free to comment on them so we can have an online book discussion. This week's book is Starter for Ten by David Nicholls so look out for the review post on Sunday.

Week 1: Starter for Ten by David Nicholls 

Week 2: The Establishment by Owen Jones

Week 3: Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey Williams

Week 4: Us by David Nicholls

Week 5: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Week 6: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Week 7: One Night in Italy by Lucy Diamond

Week 8: What Has Nature Ever Done for Us? by Tony Juniper

Week 9: The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman

Week 10: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

In other news, I have filmed a summer beauty and fashion haul that you can watch here:

Remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you've not done so already!

See you on Sunday with the Starter for Ten review post. Enjoy the rest of your week!
Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep x

98. The First Day Of My Life

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well, apologies for the lack of posts during May but it was the final month of my degree so I've been hitting the library hard. When you're revising for the last time, you might as well go hard or go home. Yesterday morning, I finished my degree and it still hasn't sank in yet (Andy winning Wimbledon sank in faster than this and that was a much bigger deal) and I don't think it will either until graduation when I physically see my name on that certificate. I spent yesterday afternoon celebrating with my lovely friend Alex by shopping, having Go salads for lunch (neither of us have ate properly this week because of the stress of finals so wanted something light) and buying our Avengers teddies from Build-A-Bear and then cuddling them whilst we watched Age of Ultron for the second time which is the only film I've ever been to watch at the cinema twice as it is so perfect. You'd think we'd just finished primary school, not university but one is never too old for teddy bears- that's my motto. Alex was an absolute babe and bought me my favourite record of all time which is of course, AM by Arctic Monkeys and that album got me through some of the worst months of my life. Anyway today, I watched Andy continue to dominate clay this season and had lunch with 9 of my lovely uni girl friends. We had such a laugh and took lots of photos! Tomorrow, I'm spending the day with my best friend as I've barely seen her during the past three years which sucks big time as we went to the same secondary school and sixth form together.

Last night, I got quite philosophical and deep (after I'd finished dressing Captain Bear) and thought how I've literally been in education for as long as I can remember. I'm no longer a student which has been the default box to tick on almost every application form I've filled out and feel like I'm having a bit of an identity crisis but I'm happy and excited to begin the next chapter of my life. Today's the first time in months that I've woken up without my backpack packed at the bottom of my bed full of all my stuff to take to the library and my to-do list now has "lunch with the girls" and "go shopping" instead of "finish mind maps for UPEC" and "reading for DMD" and it feels so strange. I'll actually be able to watch The Sound of Music again at Christmas without feeling guilty and read for pleasure (talking of reading, look out for a book related post very soon)! Whether you want to admit it or not for fear of coming across as too keen/ being a nerd but whilst you're in school/ college/ university, your entire life is taken over by education and it's only once you finish, you realise how you can do whatever you want without feeling guilty and procrastination no longer exists! Having said that, the security and community feel of being at school/ college/ university and seeing your friends everyday will be greatly missed. 

University has had its highs and lows but what I do know is that I have met some wonderful people and have made friends for life and even if I don't get the grade I want, I've gained so many transferable skills! Some of the highlights of my degree include mentoring during first year, my summer internship in second year and then going back to my old sixth form to teach two A-level Biology classes in final year. In terms of studying Biology itself, the reason I picked such a broad life sciences degree and not a specific degree like Genetics or Zoology was because at A-level, I enjoyed learning about all aspects of Biology and didn't want to restrict myself. However, by doing this degree, I know that if I do choose to do further study, my calling in life is Microbiology because bacteria are so overlooked and I find it fascinating how they are able to do things that we can't despite their minute size. I'm not sure where I'm going with this post but I am feeling such a mix of emotions that I just wanted to write them down and document them and I know I could have done it in a physical diary privately but by doing it on here, I'm sharing it with others who I'm pretty sure feel the same. 

Anyway, I have rambled on for long enough so I'm off to bed to watch Captain America with Captain Bear to be philoSLOTHical rather than philosophical. Look out for my book related post which is something I've never done on here before and I look forward to blogging a lot this summer, hopefully!
Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep x

97. May Favourites

Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a great month. May has been incredibly busy for me as I had four exams this month but have still managed to have some fun times with my friends. I'm posting these favourites quite early as I can't think of five things that I will like more than these in the last 10 days of May. Similar to my April favourites, I have a real mixed bag of favourites for May as well. There's everything from homeware to shoes this month so enjoy!

1) Avengers: Age of Ultron- May is a great month as we have two bank holidays (yay) so I went to see this with my friend and her siblings as a revision break on the first bank holiday! This and the first Avengers film are the only two Marvel films I have seen so far (but that is going to change over summer, trust me) after several of my friends have been telling me how good they are. *SPOILER ALERT* I loved this even more than the first one and one of my favourite scenes was when everyone tried to lift up Thor's hammer and when Captain America almost managed it, the look on Thor's face was priceless! I also loved the bit when Iron Man had to calm the Hulk down and it just wasn't working, Iron Man is so funny! I loved how everyone kept calling out Captain America for saying "language" at the start throughout the entire film, he's such a gentleman. It was a bit sad when Hulk left Black Widow at the end and when everyone thought Ultron had killed J.A.R.V.I.S. The way Quicksilver died was aIso upsetting. I can't wait to watch all the new Marvel films like Captain America 3 so need to catch up on them all this summer! Have you seen Age of Ultron, if so what did you think of it?

 2) Seeing S Club 7 live in Manchester- Regular readers may remember that it was back in my November favourites last year that I first mentioned managing to get tickets to see S Club 7 and the big day finally arrived in May! It was spectacular, I love them so much and it was amazing to relive my childhood that evening with my lovely friend, Alex. I never got to see them first time round so I'm so relieved that I managed to go to their reunion tour. They opened the show with Bring the House Down and they most certainly did and ended with Don't Stop Movin' which is my favourite song to listen to at the gym. My other personal highlights were when Paul did a beautiful acoustic version of Reach for the Stars, Jo and Jon sang a lovely duet and Rachel also did an amazing medley of two of her solo hits - L.A. Ex and Some Girls which worked so well! They also sang Uptown Funk and that was genius, Bradley has so much funk and it was just as good as the original and definitely got everyone up on their feet! God bless Tina for getting everyone back together!

3) Peter Kay's Car Share- Now I have been lucky enough to see Jack Whitehall and Miranda live but there is one man who my Mum and I really want to see live and that is the brilliant Peter Kay! He is a comedian that I have loved for as long as I can remember, he's the epitome of being Northern, I love it! I've not watched much television this month apart from this as I have been at the library most days. This show is such a simple concept but like everything else Peter Kay's ever done, it works so well! I love it when Peter and Kayleigh re-enact a big music video from the 80s and their on-screen chemistry appears to be genuine. If you've not given this a watch already then I highly recommend it, it's available on iPlayer here.

4) Crocs Huarache flat sandals- Never in a million years did I think I'd buy a pair of Crocs but these are nothing like the regular monstrosities. I actually went looking for a pair of black flat shoes and ended up buying a pair of multicoloured sandals, go me! (I did buy some black shoes too haha). These are light as a feather and I love how they go with such a wide range of outfits. I don't like the look of my feet but these don't actually expose that much. I bought mine from Schuh and they are available in lots of different colours.

5) Next slogan drinking glasses - I love Next Home, we've bought bedding from there in the past but never anything for the kitchen but when I saw these tumblers, I just had to get them. The quotes are so cute, the glasses are a nice shape and very reasonably priced too. My favourite ones are "do what makes you happy" and "be with those who make you smile".

I hope you've enjoyed this month's favourites. What has been your favourite TV show this month and what are your favourite summer shoes? Best of luck for any remaining exams!
Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep x

96. April Favourites

Hello everyone, it's monthly favourites time and as it's April, I have 4 for you. They're quite diverse this month with two technology favourites, a TV and a fashion one too.

1) Back in Time for Dinner- This and Gogglebox are the only shows I have been watching during April as I have been busy writing my dissertation and also because there is nothing else good on TV! For those of you who haven't seen Back in Time for Dinner, one family spend 50 days living through 50 years, it's a bit like Doctor Who on a smaller scale and centred around food rather than battling Daleks. The family are an absolutely lovely bunch and they were so funny! Each episode follows the family through a decade from 1950-2000 and the final episode was about food in the future. I absolutely loved it when the Mum got so excited over the fridge. It makes such a nice change to the regular shows about food which are all about cooking. Food history is so interesting. It is still available on iPlayer and can be found here.

Can you guess which decade this is?

2) Photo Grid app - I could not believe that I've not included this in my favourites previously because this is such a useful app. Usually when I've been out with friends or it's a special occasion, it's so much better to just post a collage on Instagram instead of loads of individual photos clogging up other people's feeds. It's free too so what more could you want! Android users can find it here.

3) Black Deena and Ozzy Croc Angular Backpack - I realised that I didn't have a "smart" backpack in my bag collection and I wanted a new everyday bag as well so after a look around on the Topshop, Asos, Zara and Accessorize websites, I finally found THE ONE on the Urban Outifitters website. It goes with everything, is the perfect size, it's well made and has compartments! The straps are easily adjustable and wide enough to stay on your shoulders. The drawstring and two button fastenings makes it secure and you do have 2 zipped compartments for things like your keys or phone. The croc detail is a nice touch and the angular shape of the flap makes it a bit different to other backpacks. It is also available in a tan colour if that's more your thing but I bought a tan bag from Accessorize a few months ago so decided to mix it up a bit and go for black. If you would like me to film an updated What's in my Bag video featuring this backpack then comment below.

I really like this zipped compartment at the back to gain access to things like a bus pass
 or earphones without even having to open the bag when you're travelling.

4) Sony a5000 with 16-50 mm kit lens - I bought a new camera after having my Nikon P520 for 14 months. The Nikon was very good but the size just wasn't practical for my lifestyle and I wanted a camera with an interchangeable lens so I can experiment with photography more. I purchased the Sony a5000 as it has a tilt screen like the Nikon P520 but it is much more compact and you can change the lens. Honestly, I regret staying loyal to Nikon for 5 years as this camera is miles better in terms of photo quality and also, the Wi-Fi feature on this makes sharing photos so much easier. I also love the ? button which provides a description of what each setting does. Below are some sample photos taken with the camera around our house and garden and a couple of the camera itself. 

If I ever get married, it will have to be in Spring just like the great man himself, Andy Murray! How beautiful did Kim, Andy, Judy and everyone else look?

This camera is awesome!

All photos in my previous post were also taken with this camera if you'd like to look at some more sample photos. 

Until next time, take care.

Love,

Mancunian Sheep x

95. What to Bake for a Charity Bake Sale

Hello everyone, I hope you're all well. For the past few weeks I have been working on my final ever piece of coursework day and night but on Wednesday afternoon, I swapped my laptop for my mixing bowl because this week was Parkinson's Awareness Week (if you haven't already checked out my post about this year's campaign then click here) so I decided to raise some money for Parkinson's UK by putting on a bake sale at university. My lovely friend Alex helped to sell the cakes and set up the stand on the day. Also, Alex and her Mum baked some mini blueberry muffins and a gorgeous Victoria sponge. We managed to raise £75! :D Although most of you won't have been able to come to the bake sale, you can still donate £3 to Parkinson's UK by texting FRIENDLY to 70300. I thought I would do a post to share some photos of what I baked and why. Also, if you're planning on running a bake sale then this post may provide you with some inspiration. Enjoy!

The first thing I baked on Wednesday were The Londoner's infamous Sl***y Brownies because who could resist the temptation of an Oreo and Cookie Dough Brownie. If you're going to have brownies at your bake sale, why have any old brownie when you can have these? I made these for the first time one weekend last June and ate most of the batch whilst watching the French Open and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2. These are dangerously easy to make which is why I avoid having the ingredients in the house for them to keep the number of chins I have at a minimum! Check out Rosie's recipe here. Also, I bought a new camera this week so I hope the photo quality is okay!

Now although a lot of people love chocolate, there are some who aren't too keen on it and prefer something slightly healthier and lighter (depending on whether you think cake can ever be healthy) but with the next three bakes, you get at least some of your 5 a day in (probably about 0.25 but hey, it's better than nothing). 

First up are my raspberry ripple cupcakes which some of you may remember me baking for my last birthday. I came up with this recipe and I have to say, these are my favourite ever cakes even though I may say so myself. The raspberries just balance out the sweetness so well and the soft cheese icing is much lighter than a traditional buttercream. You can find my  raspberry ripple cupcake recipe here.

I love how the cake mixture has a slightly pink tint to it.

Almost done!

Et voila!

The other "healthier than Sl***y brownies" bake was lemon drizzle and I had to include it because it is just such a classic that is simple to make too. You can find this recipe and another bonus one here!

If you're not a fan of the tart flavour of both raspberries and lemons then blueberries are a great alternative whilst still keeping it healthy! Alex baked these adorable mini blueberry muffins :D I love the pops of gorgeous violet dotted throughout the cakes.

We all thought this one looked like a shark! *cue Jaws theme tune*

Parkinson's UK very kindly sent me some adorable cake flags that I had to simply put to good use so I also baked some vanilla buttercream cupcakes. These are great for any bake sale because you can colour the buttercream the same colour as the charity you are supporting and decorate the cupcakes however else you wish. Also, these vanilla cupcakes are a great option for people who don't like strong flavours such as chocolate, lemon or raspberrry.

One man who bought a cake said not many United fans would be buying these,

 I see where he's coming from because the icing is a Manchester City blue!

 Up Your Friendly!

Similar to the vanilla cupcakes, a Victoria Sponge is also a classic, very easy to bake and you really can't go wrong with it. Here's the yummy one that Alex's Mum baked! (Sorry the photo is so blurred)

Finally, to add some crunch to your bake sale and to make sure those biscuit lovers and the Cookie Monster are catered for, I'd recommend baking Tanya Burr's Milk and White Chocolate cookies. Packed full of Dairy Milk and Milkybar, these are the biggest and best cookies that you and your customers will ever taste. You can watch Tanya's recipe video here.

I hope this post hasn't left you feeling too hungry and has inspired you to run a bake sale or just bake for your friends and family! 

Until next time, take care.

Love,

Mancunian Sheep x

94. Parkinson's Awareness Week 2015- 3 Ways YOU Can Up Your Friendly

Hello everyone, yes it's that wonderful time of the year again- Parkinson's Awareness Week and this year's campaign is all about getting the public to up their friendly, why you may ask? Well, many people with Parkinson's find it difficult to do everyday activities like queuing or travelling on public transport due to the symptoms of the condition so the last thing they need is people being unpleasant. Some of you may not be aware of what Parkinson's Disease is so I shall leave all the contact details for Parkinson's UK at the end of this post so you can find out more. Also, those of you who are affected by the condition may wish to find out how to get some information and support from the charity. Regular readers will know that I am a fan of lists so what better way of telling you all how you can up your friendly!

1) If you have nothing nice to say then don't say it! I know it's a well known saying but a common misconception is that only old people suffer with Parkinson's, it's bad enough that anyone has it regardless of gender, ethnicity or age so by saying something like "Oh, I thought only old people got that" would make me personally (I don't know about anyone else) think "Oh sorry for not meeting the criteria but it's not like I chose to get Parkinson's'". Just think before you speak.

2) Don't stare. Instead of standing there making someone feel even more uncomfortable than they already are whilst they perhaps struggle with opening their umbrella at the bus stop or find it difficult to open a shop door, it won't hurt to ask them if they need help or if they're okay. It will make you feel good on the inside too I promise, go on, try it. Let's be honest, altruism must have played a role in our success as a species.

3) Listen to someone who has Parkinson's and be there for them, it's not contagious. Although James Parkinson first described the condition in his famous piece "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy" almost 200 years ago, people haven't yet acknowledged that there's more to the condition than shaking. Can you imagine what it must be like to live with an incurable condition which prevents you from smiling at a family occasion for a photo as your facial muscles are affected or affects the volume and your ability to speak? I have read so many stories both on the Parkinson's UK forum and also in their quarterly magazine, The Parkinson, about people's families and friends just abandoning them after diagnosis and my Mum and I have also experienced this personally too. How would you feel in that situation when you need your loved ones the most?

If the tips above have made you determined to up YOUR friendly then visit www.upyourfriendly.com to put the advice into action otherwise Major Ted.E.Bear and his friends are coming for you!

Also, I'll be running a bake sale this Thursday at university to raise money for Parkinson's UK but if you're unable to pop by for a slice of lemon drizzle or a chocolate chip cookie then fear not my friends, you can still donate by texting FRIENDLY to 70300 to donate £3! 

To find out more, here are the Parkinson's UK contact details :
Website: http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/
Helpline: 0808 800 0303 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parkinsonsuk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkinsonsUK
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/parkinsonsUK
Email: hello@parkinsons.org.uk


Up your friendly and spread the word! Let's make this Parkinson's Awareness Week the most successful one yet! 
Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep (or for this week, Mancunian Bear!) x