Bottomless Lunch in Sheffield with Lolly and Georgina

In the middle of August I went to Sheffield to meet Lolly and Georgina for lunch. Lolly brought her son Franklin too as he was on holiday - he is a very sweet and polite kid though so I like to see him. Georgina had been raving about a place called Tsuki on West Street which has bottomless brunch including cocktails and wanted us to go, so we had made a time. I got the train from Barnsley and then the tram from the station and it turned out great for me and not too strenuous so I would definitely do that again. I will also say that the person at the ticket office was really helpful and explained how he could sell me a train and tram ticket combined which would save me money and which was really useful information, and is the kind of thing that people need ticket offices for! Save our ticket offices! 

When I arrived the others were already seated and s server quickly came over to us to show us how it went. You can order four dishes and one drink each every fifteen minutes, and you get two hours. That would add up to a really whole load of both food and alcohol! If I went again I think I would get just a couple of dishes at a time. They do arrive sporadically but I also think if I could have taken it more slowly I might have eaten more food! 

There weren't tons of vegetarian options but definitely enough. I had avocado maki, sweet potato tempura sushi, a miso and aubergine dish, vegetable tempura, and way more. The sushi was so well made and not tiny pieces either, I really liked it. Georgina and I were drinking and I had some lovely drinks - the tequila sunrise and the bramble were my faves. I would definitely go back, and take Lee, because even though he doesn't drink sushi adds up quickly and soft drinks were included too. 

We stayed for ages, chatting and so on. The restaurant is really nice inside - Georgina likes it because it is wheelchair acessible for her. There's also a flower wall so before we went Lolly took my picture. I was wearing this green and polka dot dress from Yours Clothing that I got in mid June. I do feel a tiny bit self conscious in it but I'm going to wear it anyway until I don't feel so self conscious! I wore it on my shoulders this time although it does fit and looks good off shoulder too. 

I got the tram back to the station and then got the train back to my village where Lee picked me up just after 5pm. Thank you Tsuki, I will be back!

Tequila Sunrise - the cocktails were so nice and not watered down! 

Laura and Franklin

Georgina and me

All four of us! Just before food arrived

This was sweet potato tempura sushi and was so nice!

And finally my lovely green dress as we were leaving

Bottomless Brunch in York

In the middle of August I went to York to see my friends Katie and Kate. You may remember that I went to university with them, way back between 2002 and 2005, and we lived together the whole time! I see Katie more often as she lives in Wakefield, but it is always so nice to catch up with Kate. We were at York St John uni so we like to meet up in York as it reminds us of those days!

Lee and I picked Katie up in Wakefield and we had a good drive to York. I'm always a bit paranoid about traffic but we had set off in plenty of time. Lee dropped us off just at the end of Lendal and as we were walking across the road Kate caught up to us as she was coming from the station! Lee went to park and then he went round York by himself for a bit, he went in the record shops and the geek shops, and he had a roast turkey sandwich and a mint hot chocolate and a milkshake, so he was absolutely fine! I'm really glad he brought us though. 

Kate and Katie and I went into Lush for a mooch around. I got some of the sugar scrub from the new Barbie collection, it smells really nice so I can't wait to use it. We then went down to Manahatta where we had booked a table for bottomless brunch. We were a bit early but we were able to sit down anyway. We were on a really high table which was a bit difficult to climb into for me and Kate (she's short) but once we were sitting down it was fine. 

I went for smashed avocado and poached eggs on sour dough toast, which was perfectly nice. We sampled nearly every drink in the bottomless brunch I think - prosecco, apple spritz, Aperol spritz, two types of vodka and mixers, and something else that I've forgotten right now. We had two hours and the server was really quick which was good. It is worth the money but the food wasn't brilliant so I probably wouldn't go again.

After that we went round the corner to the Slug and Lettuce where I had two Sex on the Beach cocktails which were nice. We sat in the sort of porch area as there were no tables inside and it had been raining, but the porch was fine. We then went for a last drink in the Golden Lion, stopping off at a print shop and a fudge shop on the way. By this time it was 5pm and Lee had come back to pick us up from near the Minster. We said goodbye to Kate and were soon home where I definitely needed a lie down after drinking so much! I don't drink alcohol a lot anymore (it interferes with my medication) so it definitely hits me when I do! 

I was wearing a very cute heart/cherry print dress that I got quite recently from Lady V Vintage. I think I said at the time that I had got four in the sale - two are this style and two are a slightly different style. I hadn't worn this one before and thought it was really cute for the day! I had my Barbie colour Snag Tights on too. The dress is slightly too big on my chest, but I've decided it's fine!

I took this selfie just as we got seated in Manahatta. My lipstick is just a Rimmel one but I really love it

My lunch

Gorgeous Kate and Katie

This was the orchard apple spritz which I think was my favourite of the drinks

My nails were this lovely teal colour - it's from A England and is the shade called Galahad 

I think this was the strawberry vodka and lemonade we got at the end

And we got shots

They didn't like the earlier photo of them so made me take another... This one passed the test

And we made sure to take a photo of all of us. I was wearing my black shrug too

More drinks and more fun! We talked about all kinds of things

Me and Katie in the Slug and Lettuce

And finally my outfit when I got home!

Morning Out with Lee in Barnsley

Lee and I weren't doing anything on the first weekend in August so we decided to go into Barnsley for some stuff. We parked on Market Hill and went down the arcade, because I wanted to go to Coven, which does piercings and tattoos. I follow the piercer, Emily, on instagram and wanted to pop in. I've been thinking about getting different jewellery for my conch piercings for a while. I could have bought online but I was just confused about what I wanted, and also wasn't sure what length or guage I would need, so I thought it would be better to go in. Emily is really lovely and it was really nice to meet her. I had been considering a ring but Emily suggested a chain instead. I ended up with an opal fronted stud with a chain in my left ear, and I also ordered a crescent for my right ear, so I'll have to go back to get that put in. It was much better to get a professional to change it, I'll tell you that!

After that we went into Specsavers because I wanted to order some new glasses, but apparently I needed an appointment to do that which was really annoying. We also went into a few jewellery shops as I have been wanting to buy some sapphire earrings for a while, to match the sapphire rings I now own (one which my mum bought me for Christmas 2021 and one which I've recently inherited from my grandma). I had no luck in the shops which was annoying. 

Lee wanted to go to Game so I went into Coffee Boy and had a vanilla latte while I waited. They do really nice coffee and I always forget until I go again! When Lee came back we wandered a bit more and then ended up in Urban burger for lunch. It's new in the town centre. It was quite nice - I should have got the small burger though because it was really big! The chips were nice and we shared a chocolate milkshake which was really nice.

On our way back to the car I went and asked the jewellery stall on the market if they had any sapphire earrings. I have asked them before and they didn't, but this time they had this unusual pair. They're lovely dark sapphires (she complimented my rings, too) AND they were cheaper than what I wanted to spend! Bargain! I was really pleased and Lee likes them because they're an unusual shape. I'm really pleased with them. 

Next we went to the Range because we wanted to buy new paint to repaint the bathroom. It's been a kind of terracotta colour for ages but we wanted to put up a new cabinet and repaint in a grey colour. We also bought stuff like toothbrushes and deodorant, nothing exciting. 

We got home where I got Lee to take this picture of me in my new hoodie. The hot pink one I had was just too big for me so I decided I would like another one. I found this one on Vinted and it was about £10.50. When it arrived I realised it was from Simply Be and still had the tags on! I am really pleased about that! I love the baby pink colour and it's really cosy.

We had got a new bathroom cabinet for free on Facebook and it had stood on the landing for literally over a year I think. It's quite heavy so it needed both of us to put it up. We did that as soon as we got home and it looks really good! I'm looking forward to when it's painted, too. 

This is some of the artwork in Coven - yo ucan tell you're in Barnsley when in 2023 there's an anti Thatcher poster... 

Coffee in Coffee Boy

I didn't get a picture of my lunch!

These are the earrings, I am so pleased to finally get some and will look forward to wearing these

Here's my new baby pinl hoodie. I was also wearing a Scarlett & Jo skirt

And here's my ear! You can see the new chain on the conch piercing. I love my conch piercings but had just never bothered to change the jewellery - I had the first one done in 2009 and the second one done in 2019, so it was about time they got changed! 

Films of the Month - July

I watched ten films in July which was quite a low number for me, but not to worry. I also nearly wrote this post in July, because I downloaded a bunch of these pictures then, thinking they were for June. How daft of me! Never mind!

Lee and I carried on with our trip through some classic Disney films with The Jungle Book while we were on holiday in early July. I do like this one

We pickedthis out of the DVD library from where we were on holiday. Lee really likes it and wanted me to see it. I did like it but it was a bit too scary for me (I'm a total wimp). I wouldn't watch it again!

More Disney with Beauty and the Beast, which I watched a few years ago. It is cute but it's not my favourite

We watched Scream 5 because we were still making our way through all the Scream films. I really like this reinvention of it with the two girls. I like Jenna Ortega anway - if uou haven't seen Wednesday yet I highly recommend it!

Nothing happens in Cinderella! Literally nothing! It's quite boring once you're an adult

I have never seen Airheads which is a surprise because I love stupid films like this, like Wayne's World. Also, everyone bangs on about Brendan Fraser in The Mummy but no one had ever told me about Brendan Fraser in Airheads, where he is quite clearly a dish. I really liked this, it's ridiculous and fun

I was thinking about this film recently, about the man who set up the record label that The Undertones and other Northern Irish punk bands ended up on, so I watched it again. I like it

Netflix thought I might want to see the documentary about Wham! so I gave it a go and ended up really liking it. I learnt loads about both George and Andrew and about the band. It was great, I would recommend it

I have seen Maleficent before but thought I might watch it again. It's good, I like how good it looks and Angelina is great

Finally I saw the Barbie film at the cinema and I absolutely loved it. It looked amazing and it was just so much fun!

Lunch and Barbie with my Cousin

As I said previously, Lee was in London at the end of July so I was home alone on the Sunday. I knew I wanted to see the Barbie film in the cinema so I thought I would go to the new Cineworld in Barnsley. However, then I thought that my (step)cousin Nirosha might want to see it with me so I asked her if she wanted to meet me at Meadowhall and have some lunch first. She did want to, so we booked it and planned it. I left my house at about noon. I had thought I was  going to wear a pink off the shoulder dress but when I went to look for it I came across this pink spotted one instead and changed my mind! 

We met at Las Iguanas at 12.45, we both like the food there. I went for nachos with veggie chilli and cauliflower bites. Las Iguanas always have 2-for-1 on their cocktails and mocktails, so we got two Berry Fizz and had one each. It was really nice! Nirosha doesn't drink alcohol and I was driving otherwise I might have been tempted into two cocktails instead!

I thought the film was absolutely brilliant - really funny and meta and it looked brilliant. I like Margot Robbie anyway and she was great, and I didn't know Kate McKinnon was in it so that was really good to see too! Then of course Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie! Perfect! All her costumes were amazing, too. PLUS Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls is one of my favourite songs so I was DYING every time it came on in Barbie's car! I really want to see it again because I think I missed a lot of details. The screen was really full and loads of people were wearing pink and it really felt like a nice celebration. 

I had dug out some of my favourite pink accessories to go with my dress. I also had new Snag tights - they emailed a few weeks ago with details of their new shade "Barbara" so a week or so before the film I ordered some, as well as some black footless tights because mine had gone all bobbly. I ordered the pink ones as "capris", but I wasn't sure how long they would be on me. As it is, they come nearly down to my ankle so are perfect for the summer. I LOVE the bright pink shade!

I've had this necklace forever and wear it periodically, but it was perfect for Barbie

These earrings are the ones I bought at Copy That Zine Fest

I've no idea where this particular bracelet came from but when I was a teenager we wore hundreds of heart bracelets a bit like this

Aren't the tights BRIGHT? I love that! I am going to wear these with other stuff too. I took this photo just before I went out, with my white Converse

Here we are in Las Iguanas

My food

And in the Barbie box after the film!

Henry Moore Exhibition in Doncaster

At the end of July my mother and I went to Doncaster to see an exhibition of some of Henry Moore's work. Although he's known as a sculptor, he also did some work on miners during the war. He was from Castleford and he went down a pit there in 1942 and did some drawings of men working in the dark. Some of the art was on display in Doncaster and my mum asked me to go with her. We went at the end of July because Lee was in London for this thing that he likes, so I was free for the weekend.

My mum picked me up in her Mazda MX5 which my dad bought for her just before he died. I haven't been in it in forever but it is a nice ride. We went across to Doncaster and parked outside the restaurant I had earmarked. However, we then walked past somewhere called El Torero. I actually went on New Year's Eve in 2015, but it's changed a bit since then. They had a bunch of vegetarian options so we decided to go in there instead. 

We shared patatas aioli and garlic mushrooms, and I also went for jalapeno poppers and a salad. I also had a peach bellini which was yummy! The food was pretty good too. We then drove to the art gallery - which was a bit difficult because my satnav decided to completely give up on us and we had to go a long way round - but we got there eventually and parked. It's a new building that also houses a library and a train museum and has part of the frontage of the old Doncaster Girls High School. It was all pretty cool to see!

We went up to the exhibition. It was so interesting. One of Moore's sketchbooks has been taken apart so we could see all those pages up close. He used pencil and black crayon and a watercolour wash because, you know, pits are really dark. There were lots of preliminary pages and then some finished works. My mum and I had different favourites! It was really cool to see. There was one quite big sculpture by Moore there too. 

We walked round the rest of the gallery floor and looked at that stuff, then went downstairs to the cafe. The cafe has the original frontage for Doncaster Girls High School inside it; it's nice that they've kept this here on its original spot. I had a huge piece of chocolate fudge cake and my mum had some biscoff cheesecake, and we each had a cappucino. 

The sun had come out while we were inside so I asked my mum to put the roof down on her fancy car. It was nice to drive back to Barnsley with the wind in my hair! 

Peach bellini with my lunch. I didn't get any photos of my food!

Just inside the library

This is a photo of Henry Moore, right, when he was doing his studies down the pit

The front cover of one of the sketch books - it was really cool to see an artist's process through books like this

I will let all the above speak for themselves

My mum liked these studies of men's faces

Which became this finished work of four young men. As Moore went down the mine during World War II, many of the ordinary miners had signed up to fight, so the so called 'Bevin Boys' were working down the pits. Up close you could see how young these lads were

This was my favourite work in the whole exhibition. Up close you could even see the nails in the soles of his boots

And I also liked this ghostly figure emerging out of the darkness

This was the largest sculpture there and supposedly as it shows a man at work it did partly come from Moore's work in the mine

And the sculpture from the other side

Loved this quote!

It wasn't a huge exbihition but it was really good to see

I really liked this artwork in the main gallery

And these portraits

Cake! 

And my mum's cheesecake

And here we are in the car with the roof down on the way home!