The Past Few Weeks in Instagram Form (3)

                    This bus stop made me chuckle                                       Betty enjoys the hot weather

                   Dyed my hair for a bit of a change                                   Favourite new dress

           Exploring The Nichols Building in Sheff                             Purchases from The Nichols Building

                      Favourite new read                                                       Tasty food in Hull

               Visiting Emily in Hull and seeing frogs                                  Emily & the frog


The past couple of weeks have been pretty good. Lots of exploring and a few changes.

Last Monday I decided to FINALLY change my hair (I've had the same hair since school) and dyed it a dark brown. The first couple of days I had to second glance if I caught a glimpse of myself in a window or mirror; but now I've gotten used to it I actually like it and prefer it.

I keep wandering and exploring new parts of Sheffield, which lead me on a visit to The Nichols Building. The Nichols Building is full of amazing crafts and antiques and is a great visit. When I found the Jacqueline Wilson books (2 books in 1) I had to buy them. I chucked most of mine away when I was 11 as I was convinced I was "too old" for them. How wrong I was... I read both books in 1 day and remembered how great they were. Jacqueline Wilson always covers quite difficult topics in a light-hearted way which makes her a fantastic writer.

On Friday I celebrated my friend's 20th birthday by going out for a few drinks with her and some others (picture no. 3 is me before I left for the bus). I wore an amazing Motel smock dress (the one from an earlier wishlist post) which was so so comfortable. Going for drinks was also a great change from going to a club; and socialising with people from school who I haven't seen for ages was lovely.

Saturday I caught the train to Hull to visit my friend Emily. We walked round the city centre being all touristy. Went for lunch in a pub/club/church (so odd), and shopped. On the evening it was her brother's 18th so we all pre-drank at hers then headed out to a club called Spiders. The club was definitely my kind of club (a rock one) and we also met some interesting people who we ended up going for drinks with the next day as well. We also went for some gorgeous Italian food on a beautiful street called Newland Avenue (I think) which was near the uni campus. It was £8.95 for 2 courses so I went for sea bass (picture no. 8) and panna cotta for dessert.

I came back yesterday and am already going back in 2 weeks to celebrate her birthday. All my views on Hull were changed this weekend and I ended up meeting some great people. Overall a great week! I hope this one doesn't pale in comparison.

How was your week?

Alice
  x

Weekly Wantings: The Roaring Twenties

Great Gatsby Earrings by alicelucyrose-1 on Polyvore

The 1920s, otherwise known as the 'Roaring Twenties' or 'Jazz Age', was an era which seemed to introduce modern fashion into Western society. Bobbed hair, shift dresses and elegant fabrics such as velvet & satin were all over the place; not forgetting flapper dresses.

The latest film version of The Great Gatsby channelled the fashion of the 20s perfectly. After watching the film I was fascinated and jealous of the beautiful jewellery Carey Mulligan was wearing. I searched around a little for more information and found out that Tiffany & Co. had designed all the jewellery. I was particularly amazed by the earrings and went on a hunt online for the perfect Gatsby-esque ones. A long trawl of the internet resulted in barely anything so I ended up giving up; that was, until the other day..

After looking on Marks & Spencer's website at dresses (the Limited Edition ones are really nice) a gorgeous pair of earrings popped up on my homepage. Further noseying on page after page at their jewellery led me to find this 3 pairs of gorgeous earrings. As soon as I saw them I remembered my quest for Gatsby-esque earrings. I particularly love the ones on the right and may have to buy them.

Did you like the jewellery on The Great Gatsby? What do you think of these earrings?

Alice
  x

Pure On Raw

It's about time I wrote a review on Pure On Raw; even though I've only been for a meal there twice and both of those have been in the past week! If you haven't already realised from the last sentence then I'll tell you straight away that this is one positive review. 

On Monday I was incredibly bored, scrolling through my Instagram when I noticed a photo of some interesting food (similar to my second to last picture) which said it was from a place in Sheffield. I love learning about new restaurants/cafes/shops in my home town so I decided to give it a little Google and see where it was. It turns out the restaurant was in a part of Sheffield I've been past many times before on a bus or in a taxi/car but never realised it existed. 

After going on their website, I saw that Pure on Raw was a vegan restaurant which specialised in raw, healthy cuisine. I texted my friend Bekah (who is a vegan) & we decided to go and check it out the very next day. 

A bus to town & a very short tram journey later, we found ourselves wandering into the restaurant with two empty stomachs and rather excited expressions. We were greeted by a friendly woman behind the desk who gave us our menus & discussed the specials board (picture 4) with us. Both me and Bekah decided we would try the vegan pizzas. I went for half "pepperoni" and half marinara while Bekah went for the "meaty" and hawaiian. The pizzas are made from a dehydrated vegetable and buckwheat base, topped with cashew cheese, tomato style sauce and other various toppings or extras. 

Our pizzas arrived very quickly and were presented wonderfully. The plate was bright with so many colours and looked absolutely delicious (as you can see in picture 5). Both of our pizzas came with a very rich side salad (beetroot, carrot, peppers, lettuce and toasted sunflower seeds) and a citrus sauce. 

I can honestly say that this "pizza" was absolutely gorgeous. All the flavours were so fresh and different. The marinara was my personal favourite as the sauce was delicious, although I ended up picking off the olives as it overpowered the rest of the pizza. Everything tasted so good but there was so much it was hard to finish! The best part about it was that it was a pizza you could eat and not feel guilt afterwards. 

Even though our main was filling, we couldn't leave without trying a dessert. Bekah went for two scoops of their dairy free ice cream (strawberry and chocolate), whilst I decided to go for a dish called Sweet Treat. Sweet Treat (picture 6) consisted of one slice of dairy free raw "pie" of the day, two scoops of ice cream of your choice and a selection of fruit with chocolate sauce. The pie of the day was chocolate mocha and my ice cream choices were caramel and strawberry.

Dessert was so so soooo good. The ice cream was absolutely gorgeous (the caramel especially) and the pie was a perfect combination of chocolate and coffee. Another dish that was guilt free & tasty! 

We loved the food and restaurant so much we actually went back two days later to try another dish. I chose the ciabatta which was topped with cashew cheese, a tomato style sauce and fresh tomatoes (picture 7). A choice of either leafey salad or creamy salad came with the dish so I went for the creamy salad. The dish was delicious, but the creamy salad was a little too much for me. Bekah ate most of the carrots as I found the seasoning and sauce a little too strong. Apart from that the dish was still extremely tasty. Bekah went for one of the wraps which contained nut meat, cashew cheese and vegetables. Dessert (again) was ice cream (chocolate and caramel for Bekah and caramel for me) and a slice of white chocolate pie (good but didn't beat the mocha pie). 

Overall both trips to Pure On Raw were fantastic and we already want to go back again next week! The staff are incredibly helpful and friendly. One of my favourite things about the place is it has a 'fuss free' kind of vibe. Under the specials board (pictures 1 & 4) a table holds pots of cutlery, napkins, glasses and a water dispenser you can help yourself to. By the till (picture 3) there's a selection of teas and a fridge. The second time we went the fridge was being fixed, but it usually contains vegan cooking items such as cacao powder, coconut oil & other things. It also contains items made in Pure On Raw that you can take away, such as caramel curls (they looked gorgeous!), pieces of pie and macaroons.

I would definitely recommend Pure On Raw to any vegan or vegetarian. I'd also recommend it to someone who wants to try a different kind of restaurant or wants to eat healthier food when dining out. The price range of the food isn't extortionate, nor is it cheap. However, there are cheaper items on the special board if you are wanting to save money.

So get yourselves down to Pure On Raw, you honestly will not regret it. 

If you do go for meal, let me know what you have!

Alice

  x

(Apologies as two of the photos taken were from Instagram as I forgot to take my Canon for the first visit).

Happiness By the Kilowatt

*All artwork by Raquel Aparicio.

Review: Vita Coco

I've been meaning to write a post about coconut water for aaaaages. Why you ask? Because coconut water is AMAZING! I was originally going to pair this review with my Balmi one but decided against it, then kind of forgot about the entire post... Oops. 

However it's all worked out well as this review is perfect to write when it's been scorchingly hot & humid for the past few weeks!

Vita Coco is a drink you can find in pretty much every Holland & Barrett, Waitrose and other supermarket stores. There are several different flavours you can choose from, including: pineapple, passionfruit (the one pictured), acai & pomegranate and original. 

I first saw Vita Coco stocked in my local Holland & Barrett and was intrigued to try them; starting off with the passion fruit and acai & pomegranate flavours. Since then I've tried most of the flavours but my firm favourites are passion fruit and pineapple. 

There's no way to describe exactly how Vita Coco tastes. For some it may be an acquired taste, but I'd say there's a flavour out there that everyone will like.

The packaging on Vita Coca can be annoying, especially on the carton pictured, as it has no straw or anything to pierce it. They have introduced new screw top packaging though which is perfect for on the go.

So if you want to try a drink that's a little bit different, Vita Coco might just be for you. It's vegan friendly & gluten free. It's packed with potassium and tastes delicious. What more do you want? 

Have you tried Vita Coco before? 

Alice

  x

The Past Few Weeks in Instagram Form (2)

          Found my Lazy Oaf watermelon top                               Sustenance before Edinburgh

              Homemade Earl Grey gin & tonic                                     Bungalows & Bears fooood

             Weston Park museum with Emily                                              I found bubble tea in Sheffield

 Woolly Rhino in Weston Park Museum                                             My new toy

Haven't done one of these posts for a while, and since I've been really busy lately I thought I'd make one to document what's been going on. Also, does this layout (two photos) look better than my previous Instagram posts (the ones with three photos)? I think it looks a lot neater so will be sticking with this one for future posts.

Anywaaaay, enough layout talk for now. The past couple of weeks have been amazing. First of all I moved out of my little Lincoln house and brought most of my things home. This resulted in me finding my old clothes; including my Lazy Oaf watermelon crop top which is perfect for this hideous hot weather.

I also went on a 2 day trip to Edinburgh with my friend Bekah (a longer post filled with pictures will be coming soon) which was brilliant. Edinburgh is so beautiful and I would love to live there at some point.

My family went on the holiday to Lincolnshire for the week; so I had the house to myself. I invited two of my best friends from uni to come and stay for a few nights. We all had a night out together which was the best one I've had in ages, and I made some homemade Earl Grey gin (recipe coming soon).

Guppy (one of my uni friends that came to see me) had to leave early so I took Emily (my other uni friend) on an exploration of Sheffield. First I took Emily to a bubble tea place I found that I've been looking for FOR AGES! So happy there's one in Sheffield now as I have an obsession with bubble tea. We also went to the museum at Weston Park which I had never been to before where we dressed up as Victorians and saw giant stuffed polar bears and woolly rhinos!

Last but not least, I finally purchased a camera I've always wanted. Now I can finally post higher quality photos and use it for university work!


Have you been up to anything interesting this summer?

Alice
  x

Review: Le Hérisson

If you follow my blog you'll know that most of it consists around fashion and beauty. As much as I love writing about both of these topics, I also want to further my blog into other genres. One I specifically want to focus on every so often throughout blogging is film.

I love film. By that I mean the film itself, the music within it, the fashion within it and the emotion within it. Films have the ability to warm you from the inside, to make you happy, to enlighten you. They can turn you into an emotional wreck; but the best thing they can do is change your view on the world and open your eyes.

Films are a big part in my life. I love the media and want to work within it, I also love sharing my passion of films with others and discussing them; so every so often there will be a film review or 2 on my blog.

World Cinema is probably my favourite film genre. Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Delicatessen, Pans Labyrinth, Only Yesterday... My list of favourite World Cinema films is endless. I find that they push the boundaries of imagination & explore directions and themes which are unknown; and most of all, they are surprising.

One film which fits all of the categories in the previous paragraph is one which I literally finished watching about ten minutes ago.  Le Herisson, or in English, The Hedgehog. It's a French film about an 11 year old girl who unhappily lives in an apartment block with her rich family. She doesn't want to turn into an adult as all those who she knows are depressive and in constant despair, so plans to commit suicide on her 12th birthday. However she ends up with 2 unlikely friendships that begin to alter her decisions...

Now I won't say any more about the plot without ruining it, but if you've read my summary and thought "oh dear this sounds morbid" believe me it is far far from it. This film is on the opposite side of morbid and is wonderfully heart-warming. It isn't new, and is in fact a film from 2009; but it was suggested to me on Netflix (God bless you Netflix) and I was so impressed I had to write about it.

The characters in Le Herisson are so easy to associate with and you understand exactly how they feel. I'd give it a 9 out of 10 & would suggest it to most people I know (especially if you love world cinema as much as I).

Have you seen or heard of Le Herisson before? Do you like World Cinema, if so what are your favourite films?

Alice
  x

Weekly Wantings

Blog wants by alicelucyrose-1

I've been wanting to create a collage of all my current things I want or are on my wish list for a while. There is one other wish list post on my blog but the collage was done on paint and is therefore hideous quality. After searching through the programmes on my laptop to create a decent collage & finding none of them could do so I gave up and decided to finally get Polyvore. The website overall is great and very easy to use for putting things like this together but they didn't have some of the more 'obscure' items I wanted to put on; an example of this being the graphic novel Black Hole.

Anyway, these are the items I am lusting after this week. First up is this gorgeous dress from Motel which is in the sale at the moment. I'm always iffy about Motel dresses now as it seems the sizes have changed a lot since I bought my first dress (all the way back in 2009/2010). Maybe it's the fact that I used to wear this style of dress in a million different prints and no dress has ever lived up to it... Or maybe it's also the fact that I spent a lot of money on this dress and when it arrived was too frightened to ever wear it as it fits like a glove (overly fitted things scare me and I fidget a lot). 

The thing I love about this Motel dress though is 1. it has sleeves, 2. it's a smock style, and 3. it's a lovely print; and for £18 what can go wrong? I may have to purchase it at some point...

The next thing on my list is the Illamasqua lipstick. It took me a while to find the colour I really really want, but I'm still not sure if it's the correct one... I don't own an Illamasqua lipstick yet, but have heard great things from friends, so Eurydice is the one I want to purchase. My (very small) collection of lipstick doesn't contain a fuchsia shade and Eurydice is a beautiful bright matte lipstick; which ticks all the right boxes for me. 

Another want on my collage are some loafers from Office. On my last post like this I did include some that were very similar, however, with having wide feet, they looked horrible on so I didn't want to waste £58... However the new loafers that are out fit my feet perfectly (I tried them on in the Office in Lincoln the other day and was amazed). I also love the colour. 

Last but not least on this collage/wish/want list is an item I will be getting soon and am most excited about. The Canon 600D (note: I know the photo says 1100D on it but I couldn't find a 600D picture)! I've been wanting my own SLR camera since Y9 in secondary school. 8 years of wanting one and never being able to afford one. I'm still so giddy about getting one as I only found out I could afford it a couple of weeks ago. It is still incredibly expensive for me, but it's something I will use and cherish; it will also benefit me in my work and will mean my blog photos will be 10 x better. 

So this was my wishlist for this week, and from now on I will be making a collage of items like this once every week as I am now Polyvore mad!

Do you have a weekly wishlist? What's on yours?

Alice

  x