manchester posts

Love Thy Neighbour Manchester – Review

January 9, 2018

love-thy-neighbour-chorlton-manchester-restaurant-cafe-review

After visiting the original Liverpool branch of Love Thy Neighbour last year – where the waitress, unfortunately, spilled coffee all over my jeans and didn’t apologise – I had to check out the Manchester offering that opened less than a month ago in Chorlton. I even wore the same jeans.

Gorgeously kitted-out with its Instagram-ready aesthetic and health-conscious menu, Love Thy Neighbour is the brunch spot to have on your radar. Whether you’re looking for an oat milk peanut butter hot chocolate, or a buddha bowl; you can tick off every delightfully wanky food fad in a mere couple of hours at this place.

turmeric-latte-love-thy-neighbour-chorlton-manchester-review

Let’s start with the coffee, as it was a damn good place to start. After hearing the hype about matcha lattes and spotting one on the menu – I had to give it a go. Served picture-perfect and at an ideal temperature; the matcha latte is definitely one that I’d opt for purely for its alleged benefits, as it had a slightly bitter aftertaste and tasted a bit like, er, chalk.

After necking a metric shit-tonne of water and revelling in my virtuous matcha choice, I went balls-deep for the new health-kick bad boy on the block: the turmeric latte (can someone please tell me how you pronounce turmeric – despite being on the planet for quarter of a century – I’m still lost).  This was a winner. Subtle enough not to hugely deviate from your usual latte (and yet hopefully benefit from those anti-inflammatory properties), the turmeric latte is a great alternative for chai latte lovers as it offers that rich creaminess without making you need a lie down after it. Tip: opt for oat milk.

brunch-love-thy-neighbour-chorlton-manchester-restaurant-review

When it came to the brunch itself, I went with a spin on the coconut-creamed mushroom bagel: switching out the bagel for two poached eggs (soz, am a low-carb loser). Splitting a side of smashed avo with my friend Kara to round it off, this was a great portion size and wasn’t ridiculously expensive. In fact, my share of the bill only came to £15 including tip, which for two coffees and a breakfast in Chorlton – where you can buy hand-sized plants for upwards of £50 – is pretty damn reasonable.

The food was nice, but I didn’t taste any coconut milk on the mushrooms and – if I’m being honest – it didn’t really deviate that far from something I could’ve rustled up in my own kitchen. Next time, I’ll be more adventurous and try a smoothie bowl – Manchester freezy weather permitting.

The good news is, nobody spilled any coffee on me and the wait staff were far more pleasant than their Liverpool counterparts, phew. I’ll definitely be returning to Love Thy Neighbour sometime soon and indulging in that turmeric latte fix again. Also, there’s a shop two doors down that sells cat trinkets and treats – highly recommended.

Have you checked out Love Thy Neighbour in Manchester or Liverpool? What’s your favourite thing on the menu? Hmu @Ebzo.

Harvey Nichols Sale Preview #GetThereEarly

June 17, 2014

Hold on to your purses and avert your eyes, ladies and gents: Harvey Nichols has a stonker of a sale starting tomorrow, both instore and online. Personally, I’m going to be trying to behave myself around the handbags – at 21, I think it’s time I owned a Vivienne Westwood, surely? Hmm, perhaps not, but I’m pretty sure I need one regardless… Make sure you check it out and here are their favourite picks for the sale, grab them before they’re gone:

harvey-nichols-sale-manchester-arndale

Christopher Kane Flower Sweatshirt – WAS £330 – NOW £165; Etoile Isabel Marant Tweed Blazer
– WAS £295 – NOW £148; Kenzo No Fish No Nothing Sweat – WAS £220 – NOW £110; RED
Valentino Butterfly Print Cotton Dress – WAS £510 – NOW £255; Alice + Olivia Floral Stretch Crepe
Trousers – WAS £275 – NOW – £137.50; J Brand Aiden Destroyed Boyfriend Jean – WAS £255 –
NOW £153; Sophie Hulme Spear Tab Leather Shoulder Bag – WAS £460 – NOW £230; MMK Jet
Set Stripe Travel Bag – WAS £260 – NOW £130; MCM Start Stripe Backpack – WAS £600 – NOW
£300; Alexander McQueen Heroine Red Chain Satchel – WAS £1,195 – NOW £597.50; Givenchy
Pandora Rose Print shoulder bag – WAS £1,310 – NOW £524; Givenchy Floral Print Leather Sandals
– WAS £545 – NOW £327; Kenzo Printed Leather Trainers – WAS £200 – NOW £120; Saint Laurent
Bright Yellow Pointed Leather Pumps – WAS £360 – NOW £216.

What have you got your eye on? The Michael Kors bag is calling to me – naturally. Help!

Fresh Laces x Harvey Nichols: Official Blogger

January 28, 2014

fresh-laces-harvey-nichols-manchester-event-fashion-bloggers

True to my ever candid self, I’m just going to start this post with: I do not own a pair of fashionable sneakers. The only form of heart-racing trainers have evoked from me, thus far, comes only in the guise of mild palpitations at the prospect of my next run. I have often mused over the odd pair of hi-tops and, in all honesty, unless someone placed a pair of pristine burgundy size 3 hi-tops in front of me: I’m probably never going to wear sneakers as part of an #OOTD. Unless it was an #OutfitOfThe(run-related)Death. However, to broaden my horizons and hopefully change my mind on what has become one of the biggest trends in fashion over the year – I will be attending the Fresh Laces x Harvey Nichols event in Manchester this February – in fact, I’m one of their official bloggers, so here’s hoping!

 

Pipe-dreamin’: Giles by Giles Deacon.

December 29, 2013

The second the Christmas period arrives, I somehow get it into my head that I’ll somehow be able to afford EVERYTHING that ever was made by anyone ever – solely due to the sales. However, this is seldom (never, ever) the case and so, again – I bestow upon you another lust-filled wishlist, this time in the guise of the swish GILES line. They are sale items though, if you’re feeling a little more flush than myself…

  • White Polka Dot Silk Blouse – Was £530: now £265

Anybody who knows me in real life, or is a veteran reader of my blog, will know that I have an undying love for blouses – especially ones that are thick enough to cover your bra. The main thing I love about this shirt is that it’s quietly a naughty little minx: whilst the polka dot print may look all doe-eyed and innocent, the polka dots are in fact designed to represent the ventilators on fetish masks – ooh rather. Go on Giles, you dirty bugger. In the words of Icona Pop: I love it.

  • Pink Ikat Lace Dress – Was £1,255: now £627

Speaking of thick and hulking (ho, ho, ho) – the material of this dress perfectly reflects its hefty price-tag, which is something that I seldom find adds up with some designers. I’d have to team this with a ridiculously tight waist-cincher, to avoid looking a bit too oldyworldy/old lady, but it’s absolutely darling with that sleeve detailing.

  • Pale Pink Studded Blouse – Was £620: now £310

Giles is at it again with this deceptively cheeky number – look closely for those grungy gold spikes around the neck, eerily reminiscent of a BDSM dog collar. The garish mixed with the glamorous is so craftily done here – shame I’d have to start making BDSM videos of my own, if I wanted to buy one…

To check out the rest of the line, visit Avenue32 here. 

Get Your Vlog On: 5 Handy Vlogging Tips.

December 29, 2013

Zoella – Arguably the UK’s most successful fashion/beauty vlogger.

Vlogging – a fine way to show your pretty face and yanner on about the contents of your make-up bag to the World Wide Web. I do like the occasional mooch through bloggers’ YouTube accounts, especially anything intrusive, like ‘What’s in my Handbag?’ – but I’ve got to put it out there, I’m no vlogger at heart. Hate/despise/abhor the sound of my own voice and I’d spend the duration of the clip poring over whether my teeth looked particularly wonky that day. However, I have done a good bit of research into vlogging in my time, lest I ever brave the big(?) screen…

  • Keep It Short and Sweet

Yes, I understand that having a 30+ minute video may appear like you’ve put in a lot of effort but, on the whole, I could bet that you’re just waffling on about what you had for dinner last night by 25 minutes in: keep it snappy. In this glorious digital age of lunacy, its a rarity when someone dedicates more than 10-15 minutes of their life to watch the creations of some random Internet person, so be sure to get your point across cohesively in as short a time as is humanly possible. If your clip is ridiculously long, get editing and cut out that major tangent about next door’s pervy grandson at the Boxing Day party…

  • Consider Platforms

If the prospect of sitting in front of a camera for an elongated period of time fills you with dread, look for different methods of video production. If you’re artsy and like to think outside the box, perhaps consider creating a nifty little Instagram piece – something animated or heavily edited, if you’re that way inclined. This way, you can ensure you keep your viewers’ interest and still make sure they know exactly who you are, what you do, and how damn good you are at it.

  • Go Big or Go Home

If you’re one of those lucky famed bloggers – candy coloured hair, stick thin legs and a £1,000+ DSLR type – maintaining the image of a super cool, hip’n’happenin’ fashionista is highly important. Personally, I’m in this for the words – I don’t have the camera for taking fancy pictures, and I don’t always have much patience for leaving my bed – but, professionally-made video production could be a great option for well-known bloggers. If you’re Manchester-based like me, have a gander at this Northern Quarter company. 

  • Create a Series

Creating a series is a brilliant way to get viewers returning to your site. Make it something relevant to now: e.g. a new upcoming make-up product with different colour swatches being released over a short period of time. That way, once your viewers have checked out your first piece, they’ll be more likely to subscribe to ensure that they don’t miss out on the next instalment. Be sure to name each video with the same clause so that people know it’s the next one!

  • Think Pretty – Yes, Really

I know it’s lame as hell, but us fashion/beauty blogging lot – we’re big fans of all things aesthetically pleasing, so make sure that your videos are all-singing, all-dancing super edited masterpieces. The most successful V-loggers out there use all sorts of fades and effects to make their videos stand out from the rest, so be sure to do some homework before you just throw any old thing at YouTube. Remember, whatever you post in connection with your blog will represent you: don’t do a shoddy job!

We’re Getting Missguided This New Year.

December 29, 2013

This year I am determined to do something semi-awesome for New Years. Last year, I saw in the new year whilst panned out in bed with my best friend, eating noodles and watching a shit film – it was nice, but quite so lame that we didn’t even realise that it’d turned midnight for a good ten minutes – oops. However, after deliberating through trips to Edinburgh for Hogmanay, or crashing some hip’n’happenin’ jive in London – it’s probably going to be a night ’round Leigh town, or Manchester at best. Either way, there’s no excuse for not looking your best, even if you are dribbling noodles down your chin watching Gossip Girl – here are my favourite Missguided New Years picks – currently with 30% off! (Enter ‘NYE2014’ at checkout)

  • Loba Velvet Open Back Playsuit – £24.99 – with 30% off: £17.50

If you want to look slick, sophisticated, and like you’re about to develop the onset of pneumonia: this playsuit is for you. If you don’t want the latter: wear a coat and some thick black tights, please. If you caught my Christmas Haul post, you’ll know I’m a big fan of velvet right now and this piece is definitely no exception. Team with a deep plum lipstick and cat eye flicks – oh, and a kimono, if you’re feeling floaty.

  • Kitia Silky Keyhole Maxi Dress – £29.99 – with 30% off: £21

Tit tape at the ready, ladies – we’re in for a bumpy ride. Hot damn though, this dress is worth the fuss: silky jewel green with a cheeky keyhole cut? Count me in. Probably better for a night on the swanky tiles, than perhaps wandering the streets of Wigan town centre – if you’re heading out further afield, or to an indoor party, this one’s for you. Not sure I’d be able to brave a family party without a bra wearing this number, though… Your call.

  • Inuno Sequin Playsuit – £39.99 – with 30% off: £28

Remember what I was saying about pneumonia? Urr yeah, here’s another – but it’s so pretty! However, you definitely want to be wearing this piece at an indoor party – I can’t imagine the perils of being trapped in the thronging crowds at the Edinburgh street party, freezing cold, in a playsuit… Imagine how difficult it’ll be to go to the loo in. Definitely, definitely wear this one at an indoor event – preferably one with lots of strobe lights: those sequins deserve it.

I hope you all have a brilliant time, and I hope I end up doing too! Here’s an extra treat: free next day UK delivery when you enter ‘NYFREE’. Have fun, guys.

Pipe-dreamin’: The Ideal Post-Graduation Apartment.

December 16, 2013

I’m now officially one-fat-third through my final university year and holy mother of maracas, it is absolutely terrifying. The prospect of being my own little entity, free from the cushy constraints of university life and academia, is as horrendously fear-inducing as it is exciting. However, softening the blow is the thought of escaping Lancaster to further, more hip’n’happening planes *cough* London *cough* and fabricating my dream flat (this is the biggest bullshit post ever written, I’m more likely to be living in my mother’s wheelie bin with my mangy persian cat, writing freelance pieces about erectile dysfunction). Anyyyyway, if the gods of goodwill somehow decide that I finally need my big break and I get a fancy PR/journalist internship in Central London, here are some of the drool-inducing pieces I definitely wouldn’t mind adorning my apartment: (this would be so motivating, were it not so easy to while away literal hours)

  • Urban Outfitters – Phlora Double Duvet Set – £50

I’m a big fan of florals but not the uber feminine look that often comes with them – so this graphic print with bright, anti-pastel accents is a must-have. Only problem I foresee would be my inability to drink a cup of tea in bed without throwing it all over the duvet cover – bright white with tea stains. Sacrilege. This would pair beautifully with a set of jewel violet black-out curtains.

Read more ›

December Wishlist.

December 14, 2013

Okay, this is going to be a wishlist post but, despite it being the glorious month of Christmas, I’m not going to make this a Christmas wishlist (though family members: I wouldn’t say no to these *cough cough*). Fortunately of late, I’ve been offered a number of freelance projects which, after my recent run-in with a ‘Manchester’-based Elance client who turned out to be from Nigeria (and, oddly enough, a bonafide con artist), has been blissful to both my mental well-being and my bank account. Here’s what has me a-dribblin’ this month (most of it is still painfully out of my budget, don’t fret):

  • Alexa for Eyeko – Eyeliner and Mascara Set – £35: Which came first, the love for liquid eyeliner, or the love for Alexa Chung? I will never know, but do I know that most of us fashion-types will jump at anything that Alexa Chung has even raised a perfectly-gelled brow at. After spending about three quarters of the year fighting with an endlessly running out Rimmel liquid liner, I think it’s finally time to treat myself to this beauty. And if I walk out the house looking even 1/1,000th like Miss Chung, that surely can’t hurt. It claims to nourish and thicken lashes with prolonged usage, which is an interesting concept. Truly, I couldn’t give a crap – as long as it’s blacker than my namesake and stays in one place, I’m sound.

Read more ›

OOTD: Freezing in Florals.

December 13, 2013

Just because it’s -1,000° outside and the real flowers are all dead, doesn’t mean it’s too late to pay homage to the wonderful summer we’re all missing. I absolutely love this dress, it’s floaty, it’s that little bit OTT – but it’s “vintage daaahling”, so you can just about get away with it. Today I’ve travelled over 300 miles back from Kent to Lancaster, so obviously, it’s a great idea to go out and get trollied now (in a different outfit, mind)…

Processed with VSCOcam with t1 preset

 

Read more ›

How To Survive Summer.

June 25, 2013

College/university’s out, the sun’s making an attempt at showing its face – albeit a piss poor one, and the prospect of having sweet sod all to do for months seems damn appealing. This is, until you realise that you’re no longer fourteen, your lease ends in two weeks and you’re flirting with becoming the two dread words: “homeless” and “bum”. Then Summer becomes a snarky little bitch of dread – gone are the days of wasting your mid-teens holidays getting messed up on the local park with a tactfully scavved bottle of Lambrini. Instead, my summer has thus far consisted of: countless hours spent crying in bed staring at yet another data-entry-at-minimum-wage job that I still bizarrely won’t get; trawling miles (oh, just approximately ten) through business parks in ridiculous creeper boots just because I’m going for a fashion-related interview; receiving all too many ‘sorry, can’t today – got work’ texts from my friend circle; spending almost a week in bed because – for some reason – factor 50 still isn’t enough for my glacier-white skin and I started flaking off like something off a horror film. At the moment, I’m seething in a little pit of financial and motivational despair, throwing out emails like sporadic paper aeroplanes, in the seemingly vain hope that someone will notice my potential. At present, the only person to do such was some woman from a stripper club – where I had applied for bar work in a desperate attempt at income – who, upon seeing my CV picture (FYI: don’t put a picture from a party where you’re a mass of cheekbone and red lipstick on your CV), claimed there were no bar jobs left and wanted me to come in for an “exotic dancer” interview. And such is the colour of my summer, as it stands.

The only upside to this entire sorry affair is that, after the sunburn fiasco, I have emerged facially reinvigorated from my bed of tears and dairy free mint chocolate – and 99% spot free after a short, but franticly needy relationship with a tube of aqueous cream. Perhaps Simple or Garnier will pick me up off the street for their next ad, or I’ll enter BINTM and be the founding face behind their “Joke Applications” section. I’m narked off. It’s one of those weeks: I’m looking at my blog through sceptical eyes, sneering at the poxy pageviews since I started being a perpetual sulk – I even got to the disgraceful stage of lying in bed this morning, scanning the Twitter profiles of successful bloggers/writers that I know, eyeing up tweets about their latest achievements, and having to stop scrolling as I eventually couldn’t read through the pesky tears that’d emerged. I’ll be grand in a couple of days, something will pick up and I’ll have a new lease of life – a new project to get my sorry ass set on. But I thought I’d write this post for those of you who have been, or are still in this position too. I get a little pissed off with how blindly positive the beauty/fashion blogging world can be – given we spend about 75% of our posting time yannering on about how ‘AMAZE’ the latest BB/CC/DD/ZZ cream or ZARA piece is – yeah sure, we want our posts to be as beautiful as the things we’re writing about, but sometimes it’s good to just get out the virtual face-wipes and just see a blogger behind all the ‘lol – #lookatallmyfollowers’.

So this is for us, sulky bloggers – for anyone who’s felt a bit shite recently and needs a little pick-me-up. I’m writing this for all of us, myself included, as this is going to be a little brainstorm of things that we can get working on to stop ourselves from being stuck in that aforementioned pit of despair:

  • On the Job Hunt: Explore all avenues. Apply for every little bastarding thing on Gumtree/Indeed/Reed/Job Centre – I don’t care if it takes two days (yes, it took me that long – and you wonder why unemployment is making me bitter) – you’re only going to get something if you get out there. Join a temp/recruitment agency: I’m signed onto one in Lancaster that helped me out a decent amount with admin jobs last summer, so I’ll be joining one in Manchester this time for when I move. Get eagle-eyed with Twitter – there are lots of internships/jobs that get mentioned everyday, my favourite is @UKfashionintern. Finally, get old fashioned and trawl your local shopping centre/food district: I’m going to be marching around Manchester, especially the Arndale, laden with CVs. 
  • On Beating the ‘Average’ Fear: This is one of my biggest issues. Sometimes I get myself in a state of – ‘well, they’re doing so much better than me, look how average I am right now: what’s the bastarding point’? Arguably juvenile, I think it happens to us all sometimes and it’s just something to work through. My worst habit in these situations, is lying in bed all day – mining through the work and accolades of others, often in a cruel bout of masochism, but occasionally in a bid to seek inspiration and motivation. Just don’t sleep all day – that shit is bad. Nobody wants to hire the person who goes to sleep at 5am and wakes up at 3pm. 
  • On Post-Summer: For the two preceding summers I’ve had that have led up to a university year so far, I’ve had a slacker tendency to just not bother doing any reading and then tackle the beast head on when it comes to the beginning of term. This year, my final year, is going to be different – it’s time I grew up, had a good sniff of the coffee and got down to some serious business with Hemingway… 

 


Ebony. 25. Manchester.
Marketing Manager who likes to mouth off on here about stuff she cares about. Expect mental health, Borderline Personality Disorder, and reviews - from restaurants, to books, to fashion. Talks to cats more than people, but seemingly has a lot to say.
ebonylaurenn@gmail.com