MAN > SHF

A Culottes Jumpsuit and Embossed Watch

Let me just hold backspace for a bit.

I have a habit of leaving my emails for about three weeks, then replying en masse. It's not a technique I'd recommend. In fact, I'd actively dissuade you from adopting this method, as it's only going to make you stress and piss people off. Either way, when I got an email from the babes at Olivia Burton asking if I wanted to head to an event in Sheffield I was mid-way through typing a "cheers, but I live in Manchester" reply before deleting it all and saying "oh, go on then". 

Sheffield is one of those cities I've always loved. No beating around the bush, it's a solid 95% because of Arctic Monkeys, but it holds its own right too. I applied to university there way back when, and even though I didn't attend full time I did go a fair amount to visit my friend Selena. Last time I went was back in 2011 for an Arctic Monkeys gig (surprise surprise), and I've just never had a reason to go back.

Now I live up North, it's not hard to be a daytripper. Yes, trains are few and far between, but they're cheap as chips. That day I met up with Kavita to discuss what she'd been up to since we'd last seen each other. Sheffield weather was behaving, so we ate outside before heading into town for a quick walk around. I then headed to Meadowhall to visit boutique Goldsmiths. I was very lucky to be treated to my very own Olivia Burton watch, which has been personalised with my name: it doesn't just tell you the time, it also helps you out of tricky situations. You can get this done online, but it was super quick in-store.

Fast forward to the next weekend, and Laura and I were picking our brunch spot for the weekend. Not feeling a 45 minute (!!) wait for Alabamas, we just went round the corner to Allotment. One of those "should I eat where I drink?" establishments, but I am so glad we went in. Honestly, the eggs benedict comes highly recommended from me, and I've tried a fair few platefuls of it in my time.

Laura was kind enough to snap a few photos of my outfit before it proper peed it down. New fave combo of a culottes jumpsuit and anything chelsea boots that I picked up for a mere £7 in Zara. Of course, paired with my faithful leather jacket and a fedora hat.

What I Wore

Olivia Burton watch: c/o. Warehouse culottes jumpsuit. The Kooples leather jacket. Zara metallic chelsea boots: c/o Liverpool ONE. Topshop fedora hat. Urban Outfitters bag.

Where We Went

What's on Insta

Sunny skies in the steel city today 🔥🔥 #Sheffield #travel #summer

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Aug 7, 2016 at 9:11am PDT

Yesterday's kiwi special (apparently) mince on toast with @shewearsfashion #sheffield #acolorstory #green

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Aug 8, 2016 at 10:21am PDT

Get in me. 🍳 Brunch with @chambrayandcurls #eatmcr #brunch #manchester #food #breakfast #capturemcr

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Aug 20, 2016 at 4:15am PDT

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Moving to Manchester: six months on.

Moving to Manchester: Six Months On

And some completely unrelated photos to go with it.

Okay, okay, seeing as I moved on 6th February it's nearer the seven months mark, but I'm gonna go with it, as six seems like the bigger "landmark". But doesn't time fly when you're having fun and drinking the Northern Quarter dry? Since moving to Manchester, there've been a few changes, and I thought where better to word vomit have a look back than here? This blog's seen me through moves to Liverpool and Munich, so here's to bulking out the Manchester chapter.

Whereas my last two jollies had a very definite end date (in Liverpool I was there to study for three years, and my contract in Munich was for six months before landing back with a jury service-shaped bump), moving to Manchester was always going to be a little different. With no specific end date, this one could be a little more permanent. I've been focusing more on getting to know the city centre with brief excursions out, and working out whereabouts I fit in. There was that day towards the end of my first month where it had rained/snowed for the twentieth day in a row and I broke down via whatsapp to Georgia saying I hated it here... but I'm now happy to report that's one of the very few dips I can report since moving to Manchester. Plenty of people have asked when I'm planning to move back South like I've had my moment of madness. Although I don't see myself being here forever, I'm certainly nowhere near done with this city and plan to be here for a good while yet. And hey, while I've got my Railcard, it's max £60 to get back to Essex.

Of course, completely upending your life doesn't come with hiccups. Although the rent sector may not be as cut-throat as London's, things still move quickly. Finding somewhere to live proved pretty tricky, but eventually Laura and I settled just outside the city centre. Up to that point I've been staying in airbnbs (the good, the bad and the ugly), which was emotionally straining on top of starting a new job/city/everything. Thankfully that bit's over, and we've been in our apartment for six months, exactly this time. As I'm not sure quite how long I'll be staying here for, I haven't gone crazy in the furniture department and it's hardly swamped in homewares, but it's definitely feeling a little bit more like home. If you fancy, you can see a little of what it looks like here. I like the area we live in as it's a fifteen minute walk to Piccadilly station (or ten, if you're late for your train and prepared to sweat a bit), close to the Norther Quarter and removed enough to not feel like your pores are clogged with pollution every second of the day. Little mercies.

Surprise, surprise: I'm another one of the multitudes of bloggers who've ended up working in Social Media. I don't reeeeeally talk about my job online that much any more; there are plenty of other people who are happily authoritative on the subject so I'll let them get on with it. This was my principle reason for making the move. I'd started applying for a new job about this time last year, absolutely convinced that I'd simply be moving to another place in London. When I saw this one come up on Twitter, I applied that evening and arranged to come up the next week. Soon enough, I was booking trains and making stuff happen. Manchester is known for its fast fashion, so I wasn't worried about making the move. Yes, I work for a young company, but I've no concerns about its continued success. And that staff discount goes a lot further.

Blogging has taken a bit of a backseat since moving to Manchester, but these things happen and I don't have any concerns. I'm not prepared to quit and take up blogging full time, nor am I in the position to do so. But I do want to keep things ticking over here to continue this little journal I've had since I was at uni. It'd be a bit weird to just... stop. Manchester bloggers are a great group of people, and I see Clare and Laura a happy amount. Basically, I just need to work out what I want to do with my blog, and then maybe I'll create a plan of action. Who knows what'll happen?

I do, of course, have moments where I wish I were based in London. I can't just pop on the tube to get to a networking event, and have to mute whatsapp groups when they're talking about plans for Friday. There is a lot going on in Manchester, but there will always be those greener grass moments. 99% of the time I'm so busy in the here that I'm not concerned with whatever's going on a couple of hundred miles away, but it'd be a downright lie to say it's not hard at times.

TL;DR? Moving to Manchester is happily one of the best decisions I've ever made, and this city seems to have adopted me quite well. And I've sort of started to say Northern phrases, which is really, really weird.

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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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