Pizza and Prints.

Rudy's Pizza, Ancoats

Complete disclaimer here: on Friday I got acrylic nails for the first time, so I needed to find an excuse to practice typing before I go back to the office. I thought I might as well make this time for something productive. So, enjoy.

If you've been reading this ol' blog for a while, you'll be well aware that I'm into my prints. Way back when, I wrote my dissertation all about how Dante Rossetti combined the arts and written word so to mix clothing and prints I love is right up my street. Of course, I get all my William Morris news from Jazmine (who doesn't?), so was well aware when the new William Morris x HM collaboration would drop, and that meant I headed straight to H+M after work to pick up a few pieces - this beautiful skirt included.

I'm not particularly a pleated skirt person - they're not the most flattering of pieces when you're not completely flat up and down, let's be real - but I decided to throw all caution to the wind and add this to my collection, as I am wild. It would look a lot better in situ at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, however I'm more than happy to style it in Ancoats, as there's pizza around the corner.

The elasticated waistband came in very useful as Clare and I headed to Rudy's Pizza in Ancoats for a load of pizza. We cheated the system and didn't have to queue by going at lunchtime (there's a first time for everything), and enjoyed all the carbs while Clare's newest best pal Eva napped next to us, judging when she saw how much we'd eaten once she'd woken up. I think Eva was pretty taken with my newest wardrobe addition (lots of movement, lots of contrast), so it's got a thumbs up IMO.

Have you tried any of the new collab, or is it not your thing? I know it's a bit "much", but I'm enjoying seeing how people are styling all the different pieces on Instagram.

PS, not the most insightful of posts today, however I'm watching the Jeffree Starr x Shane videos whilst typing up, so very much distracted.

What I'm Wearing.

William Morris x HM Skirt. M&S Top. The Kooples Leather Jacket. And Other Stories Boots.

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Looking Sharp (and sweaty) in Ses Salines' Cactus Botanical Garden.

Botanicactus

We may have had something of a heatwave this year in the UK, however as I look outside at the grey skies drizzling I'm turning my memories (and clearing out my iPhoto) to last year's trip to Mallorca, and its Botanical Garden serving as a shrine to cactus: Botanicactus (got a ring to it, hasn't it?).

On our last day in Spain, Clare, Laura, Kate and I headed to this sun-trap to have a browse of what our future gardens could be like if we inherited a few acres of land and global warming kept going. A wide expanse of land dedicated to cultivating as many species of cactus and Mediterranean plants as possible, this was definitely Clare's suggestion, and I'm glad we went - even if my face looks a little grumpy thanks to the sticky heat!

Botanicactus is a bit of a trek if you're staying in Palma, however it wasn't too long a drive from where we were staying in Ses Salines. If you've got plenty of time to spare when on your holiday, then I'd definitely recommend a visit, however you're more than welcome to come round my flat if you want to see a lot of cactus in a small space of time.

There aren't currently any holiday plans for me this year - bar mine and Laura's trip to Paris a few months back - as frankly I'm skint and probably ought to spend some time in the flat I've spent years saving for. However, there is a lot going on at home with the (very imminent!) arrival of Clare and Joe's little one, Harriet and David's new arrival and wedding next year then a trip to Ibiza for Em's wedding next June - probably for the best that this year's a quiet one. brb, putting the kettle on and locking my purse away.

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Cities of hope.

Still time time to win an iPhone SE here!

Spend your days in the sunshine.

You could wait a lifetime for the weather to behave in Manchester (what is it about this bloody city?), but I've worked out it takes an average of once every six weeks for it to be No Coat Weather in the North West. Thankfully, when Winnie came to visit, the morning's grey skies gave way to something hella hotter so we could give the umbrellas a rest at the bottom of our bag.

We started our day in Foundation Coffee, feat. its shoefie-ready floor quote "coffee is everything" 'cause these guys know. I'm successfully weaning myself onto coffee over tea but still opted for a latte with an orange and honeycomb brownie, which comes very highly recommended by yours truly. I may be losing my sweet tooth (who even am I?), but there's always time for brownies. Always. We popped next door to Fred Aldous because I've got a weird obsession with greetings cards so Winnie could indulge in a Yayoi Kusama notebook. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Northern Quarter before weaving our way towards Manchester Art Gallery to check out the Vogue 100 exhibition (again, not complaining). Obviously starving, our last stop was Yard and Coop for as much chicken as possible. As sharing is caring, I'll pass on this little nugget for you (you'll see where the pun's coming in one min): the not chicken nuggets (there you go) are amazing, and are simply deep fried halloumi bites of goodness.

I know it's odd how the internet has worked its way into my daily life, but after having a chat about it yesterday with Jade it's easy to see how the world wide web has permeated most aspects of our/millenials' social activity: tinder, anyone? I'm still waiting to be catfished one day, but until then I'm totally cool with meeting up with strangers from the internet.

PS post title refers to all the #citiesofhope graffiti popping up round town, as photographed above. Still trying to find all the Cities of Hope range, but have seen a fair few around!

What I Wore.

And Other Stories black mesh tee: £17. H+M denim skirt: £15. Public Desire Lucy shoes. Urban Outfitters bag: £15. Urban Outfitters sunglasses: £10 (now £6).

Where We Went.

What's On Insta.

Sunny coffee with @diamondcanopy at @fdncoffee yesterday. Currently on my way to Sheffield, and didn't have time to stop for caffeine. Someone help/prop me up. #mcruk #eatmcr #foundation #coffee #latteart

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Aug 7, 2016 at 3:20am PDT

Hanging with @diamondcanopy in Manchester today #mcruk #vogue #vogue100

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Aug 6, 2016 at 10:51am PDT

Winner winner buttermilk chicken dinner at @yardandcoop 🍗🍗 #MotherClucker #mcruk #eatmcr #chicken

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Aug 6, 2016 at 12:49pm PDT

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I just sort of always feel sick without you, baby.

Marks and Spencer blouse: £29.50 (also in white). High waisted skinny jeans: c/o Matalan. Warehouse lace up flats: £29 (sold out, similar). Lancome Juicy Shaker in "Cherry Symphony".

The windy city, we meet again. I can't vouch for Chicago's status as breezy, but I honestly think Liverpool can give that city a run for its money when it comes to hair blowing in every direction. I have one umbrella left in a bin somewhere in Spinningfields which battled gallantly with the weather, but certainly came off worse. RIP. After a Serious Text Discussion regarding what the weather's like, I settled on my newest pair of jeans and trusty old trench coat (gloriously dumped on the floor for these photos, so glam) to revisit Liverpool on one of the sunniest days of the year so far. Still windy. Still so windy.

As soon as my train pulled into Liverpool Lime Street, I headed straight off to meet Tasha and Soph for coffee at Cow & Co Cafe, a small place sheltered from the river Mersey on Cleveland Square. When it was trusted to me to make a decision on where to go (why guys, why), I had a quick search of Independent Liverpool and settled on this little place after hearing it was a good'un on Sade's recommendation. I went for a bagel with beetroot, feta and raisins (can I have 5?) and latte while the other girls went for a brownie, custard cream chocolate concoction, all of which comes highly recommended from a table of discerning eaters - and the staff didn't even moan at us for taking an unprecedented number of photos. I've never been to Cow&Co before, despite knowing someone who lived a stone's throw away, but I'd definitely give it a visit if you're in town and fancy going somewhere a little off the beaten track.

Afterwards, we headed away from town and wandered around the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral as Soph had never been. I haven't got much more to add from my last post there, but it's a pretty special place. Let's not talk about how much I wanted to go to the Cream event last night and only found out it was happening after it'd sold out. Tiny little tear being shed, right now.

To round up the day, I pulled Sade out of the library and spent a good three hours with her in the Pen Factory, because I haven't gone day drinking for a good while. We didn't manage to cross paths last time I was in Liverpool, so we had a long ol' chat about life and less big topics of conversation; is there any better way to spend a Saturday than with friends a bit of gin?

As I mentioned to pretty much everyone I met up with, it's odd to go back to Liverpool now. When I lived there, I knew it like the back of my hand. Recently it's been going through a little bit of a renaissance and there are new cafes and bars popping up all over the shop, and it's like it's a whole new city every time I step on the train. At first it made me a little sad that "my" Liverpool wasn't the one I knew, but since I've got over it started to trial the new places, I can honestly say the city is going from strength to strength.

Places photographed:

Cow&Co Cafe	Wolstenholme Square	Anglican Cathedral	Suitcases installation
15 Cleveland Square, L1	Right next to Cream, L1	St James Mt, L1	Hope Street, L1

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Aviation in the evening.

Frock and Frill dress (c/o). Public Desire Julia heels.

Dark days are here chums: I don't have internet. It's bordering on Medieval ages, and I don't know whether to just get an Austen approved regency dress, take up cross stitching and be done with it all. In the meantime, I'm rinsing Starbucks' wifi in At Ann's Square and having my (raspberry) cake and eating it too. As they say, I didn't choose the thug life...

In other less dramatic news (perhaps), I headed off to Leeds yesterday to play poker for the first time in years with Ladbrokes and a load of bloggers who's links I'll leave below - sorry if I miss anyone out! I know, I know, it's normally all chintz armchairs and country escapes up in here, but anyone who knows me in real life knows that I'm slightly rougher around the edges (gotta big yourself up and all, most people I know would probably say I spend too much money on absinthe for my own good, but I get to pick the words here, so we're going with that). I haven't really played poker for a long ol' time, but I found myself getting back into the swing of things pretty quickly, and even ended up on the final table against all the odds (only betting joke in this entire post, I promise). I got almost no photos of the event cos a 50mm lens and red lighting do not a good blog post make, but I had a load of fun playing at pretend hangover in the bright Manchester sunshine this morning to take a few lifestyle-y shots. Yet to tidy up the playing cards that I legitimately did drop all over the floor, so you can tell these are proper authentic.

A massive shout out to Frock and Frill who hooked a sister up with this absolutely gorgeous dress that I couldn't stop bloody looking at before putting it on. I'll get some "proper" photos at a later date, but for now feast your eyes on the moonlit balcony shot above, and this lil insta. Also, food snaps are from Friends of Ham which is just across the road from Leeds train station - good luck getting a table cos this place is popular, but the meats are top quality, and it'd be an amazing place to while away an afternoon with a friend and a bottle of wine.

You can see Ladbokes' blog post here.

Anyway, I'm off to catch up on the last week of online delights, but please do click through and check out some of the other Leeds bloggers if you're on the lookout for some new reads!

Ellie | Caroline | Keil | Alex | Bryony | Carolanne | Karl | Matt | Lucinda | Lauren | Carrieanne | Carl | Jessica | Lucy | Georgina | Ellie | Katie | Tina | Sarah

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