Event: The Northern Mid-Summer Meet.

Manchester was graced with yet another fabulous blogger event on Thursday evening- it seems us Northerners are really getting our turn lately! This time I met the gorgeous Megan (what's new pussy catt?) and Danielle (A Blog From Blackpool) and her friend Stacey and we made our way to the Walrus Canteen & Lounge in the Northern Quarter for the VIP Blogger Northern Mid-Summer Meet. We were signed in and then shown down to the funky, dimly-lit basement where it was bloggers and brands galore! Admittedly it ended up being a little cramped and stuffy with so many of us packed in to such a little space, but equipped with a glass of rosé wine and plenty of cupcakes I was a content little blogger.

There were lots of little stalls set up with brands showcasing their products, including Moroccanoil, Burts Bees and Benefit. Nails Inc. were also there offering complimentary manicures using their soon-to-be-released gel effect nail polishes and some gorgeous glitters which unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try, but I did manage to get a sweep of Benefit's new Rockaeteur blush across my cheeks. There were also lots of fashion items on display around the room, and it was difficult not to go crazy and fall in love when faced with so many pieces by Jeffrey Campbell, Senso and Cambridge Satchel Company, but it all ended when my eyes met the Grafea leather rucksacks. Just look at that lavender one. And the white one. And the yellow. <3

Unfortunately, I had to leave the event before I had chance to see any of the L'Oreal, Benefit or Evo demonstrations that were being given, but upon our departure we were handed the most amazing goodie bag! A huge thank you goes out to all the brands who contributed, I don't know where to start with all the products- I am currently painting my nails in Seche's Snapdragon in between typing paragraphs!

So, yet another wonderful event ticked off in my diary; it has definitely been a busy couple of months! As always it was lovely to catch up with my blogging friends as well as meet some pretty new faces. Thank you to Look Fantastic, All Sole, My Bag and the lovely ladies at The Hut Group for all the hard work they put in to planning the event!

Were you at #midsummermeet?

Blogger Shenanigans: Get The Label Reunion Part 2: Liverpool.

As I mentioned in my blog post about our Manchester outing the other day (read it here if you missed it), one evening of great food and blogger chit-chat just wasn't enough for us, so the next day, Laura (Heroine In Heels), Lola (The Pastime Bliss) and I hopped on a train to Liverpool. I was especially excited as Liverpool is my favourite place ever- Maybe I'm just biased as I went to University there, but I think Liverpool is far underrated to Manchester; it's such a beautiful city with lots of history and hidden treasures. Laura and Lola had never been so I was excited to show them around.

The main purpose of our trip was to head to Debenhams to check out an event that Urban Decay were holding. Admittedly (I have to be honest), we got there and it was a little confusing- We had no idea what products were being promoted and we were told that we weren't allowed to take photographs  (which we were especially confused about since we were told it was a blogger event... it's what we do!) but I managed to sneak a few before I was told to put my camera away. On the plus side we got given little mini makeovers which was nice; I have always loved Urban Decay eyeshadows and I loved the lipstick they used on me (second from the right on the top picture- I couldn't tell you the name, sorry!).

After we were all made-up, we decided to go for a light lunch. I had always heard good things about Leaf on Bold Street but had never had the chance to go, so we decided to check it out. It came as no surprise that it was busy but we managed to find a table to sit at, grabbed a clipboard menu and took in our surroundings. Leaf is very much one of those cafes that you would perhaps relate to artsy individuals who love music and reading a newspaper with a cup of tea and cake. The interior is very rustic-looking with wooden bench tables, flowers in glass jars, vintage lampshades and bunting. I loved it- For some reason I have recently gained a fascination with all things quaint, traditional and overly-British. From the menu I opted for the chicken salad sandwich with tomato and red pepper soup, which definitely hit the spot. I resisted the urge to get a slice of their seriously yummy looking cake afterwards, although I did treat myself to some Thorntons ice cream later on- The sun has that effect on me.

We headed to the Met Quarter afterwards for a mooch around- The Met Quarter currently has a fabulous competition on, where if you tweet them a picture of your favourite item with the hashtag #snapwinwonderful, you are in with the chance of being a weekly winner of the item you chose! I snapped a picture of the Illamasqua Freak perfume that I have been lusting over forever!

Finally, we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and beautiful scenery and wandered down to the docks to take some outfit photos. We got lots of weird stares from people but we are now considering ourselves "legit" fashion bloggers for being brave and posing for our pictures in a public place ;)

Vest: Primark | Skirt: River Island | Sandals : Matalan | Sunglasses: C/O Firmoo* | Belt : ASOS | Bracelet: C/O Miss Gee Kay* | Watch: Michael Kors

Overall, it was a really lovely couple of days catching up and getting to know the other girls a bit more- Make sure you check out their fabulous blogs :) Here's to many more blogging adventures! <3

*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.

Blogger Shenanigans: Get The Label Reunion Part 1: Manchester.

One of the things that I have loved most about blogging is the new friends I have made along the way. A problem that I have always had is that none of my local, "real-life" friends share the same interest in fashion, beauty and writing as I do, and I am very much the odd one out in that I have long grown out of venturing in to town every Saturday night and spending all my money on alcohol only to feel like utter rubbish the next day. So, I am more than thankful that blogging allows me to attend events where I can mingle with like-minded people. The lovely Laura (Heroine In Heels) piped up with the idea for a bunch of us bloggers who attended the Get The Label Urban Party event back in May (read my post on that amazing event here) to have a little reunion, and after a little bit of organising, we met up at Dough Pizza Kitchen in Manchester on Wednesday and what a lovely evening it turned out to be.

Unfortunately, there only ended up being four of us; myself, Laura, Lola (The PastimeBliss) and Rosy (Ro's Tinted), but this didn't make it any less of a good night. Upon arrival at Dough we were surprised with two bottles of the blogger's classic beverage, Prosecco, that Get The Label had secretly organised for us. How lovely?! We were so taken aback and spent a good amount of time discussing how much we love the Get The Label team whilst we poured ourself a glass ;) After a brief catch up with one another it was time to order food. The menu was a little bit too much for my indecisive little brain; I had spent the train journey to Manchester convincing myself that I was just going to settle for a classic pepperoni pizza, but after looking at the incredible gourmet pizza topping combinations I decided it would be a shame not to go for something different. After much deliberation, I went for the Paella Pizza on a wholewheat base (I loved that they had this option- I'm a bit of a health freak and if I can make my indulgences a little healthier then why not?! :P ), which was topped with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, garlic squid, chicken, king prawns, chorizo and peas. Me and the other girls ended up doing a little swapsy and traded a slice of each of our pizzas to try- I fell a little bit in love with Laura's Moroccan pizza which was topped with amazingly succulent spicy lamb, dried apricots and honey yogurt. Definitely one to have next time!
Being a small girl with a huge appetite, I managed to finish the whole pizza no problem, and Laura and I even found a bit of room for dessert, despite the fact that we were the only ones who completely demolished our pizzas! We both opted for the Chocolate Brownie and Peanut Butter Blondie topped with Vanilla Ice Cream- Lush! Overall, I loved my experience at Dough Pizza Kitchen and I definitely want to go back and try another one of their amazing pizzas- I would recommend it to anybody who is looking for a place to eat in Manchester, the service was wonderful too!

After the meal, Rosy sadly had to leave us, but the rest of us decided to find somewhere to enjoy a cocktail or two- We settled for Dry Bar as it wasn't too loud and busy so we would be able to have a nice chat. It was a lovely way to finish off a great evening, sipping on my Starburst cocktail (which did, in fact, taste like Starburst!) whilst discussing all things blog and life-related. Before we headed off home, we decided we wanted to meet up and venture in to Liverpool the next day. I was going to squeeze both days in to one blog post but there are so many pictures and I think this post is already getting a little bit long haha, so part two will be up in the next couple of days!

It was so much fun having a catch-up with some blogging girls outside of a blogger event- Make sure you check the other girls' blogs out if you haven't already- They're all fab! I hope that we get to do this again soon, and maybe the lovelies from Get The Label will be able to join us too?!

Event: Sheffield Bloggers Meetup

We have DEFINITELY seen an increase in Northern blogger events over the past month and it has definitely kept me busy! I have been jumping on trains all over the place to attend some fabulous blogger meetups and parties and as a result this (plus trying to sort out some of the more boring post-uni life stuff), I'm a little behind on blogging! Things are calming down a little now however, so bare with me over the next couple of weeks as I try to blast out the posts from these lovely events as well as my usual outfit posts and reviews!

So- Just under two weeks ago made the journey out to Meadowhall for the Sheffield Blogger's Meetup which was organised by the lovely Rachel (Life of a Sweetaholic), Charlotte (Confessions of a Small Town Girl) and Caroline (Caroline's Catwalk). I had really been looking forward to this meetup as Rachel, Charlotte and Claire (Claire Louise) are bloggers who I have been following and talking to from the very beginning and it was great to finally have the opportunity to meet them as well as lots of new faces! The meetup was held at The Handmade Burger Co., who were ever so patient and accommodating for our party of 30 bloggers, and even offered us all a free lunch, which included a burger, a side and unlimited drinks refills! Despite being a healthy-eater, I wasn't going to ruin the opportunity to take advantage of a free meal and just order a salad, but I did try to be as good as possible by just ordering a classic grilled chicken burger with a side of chargrilled vegetables which still tasted amazing. I was a little jealous of everybody else's chips though- they looked so yummy and the portions were huge!

After our meal, we were free for an hour or so to mingle with the other bloggers- The girls who were sat on my table I had never met before, so it was lovely to have a chat with them :) Make sure you check out their blogs which are listed at the end of this post! The girls who organised the meetup also put together a brilliant goodiebag for all of us containing lots of exciting products including a full-sized Benefit Porefessional, A Lush bubble bar and some Paul Mitchell goodies. We were definitely spoilt- Thank you to all the brands who contributed!

There was also a second part to the meetup that was made possible by the lovely staff at Lush Meadowhall- We were split in to small groups to take part in a little workshop where we were able to make our own miniature models out of their playdough-like FUN. I made a little rosebud out of mine, and our models were put on a little display at the front of the store. We were then given a tour of the shop and introduced to the Emotional Brilliance makeup range, of which I have completely fallen in love with the collection of vibrant colours. We were lucky enough to be given another Lush goodie bag which contained a few makeup products that I am currently loving- I got the Dark Yellow Colour Supplement and the Charisma Skin Tint, which is a gorgeous golden-bronze colour, perfect for giving my face a summer glow.

That pretty much sums up a lovely day, and I send out a huge thank you to Rachel, Charlotte and Caroline for all the hard work they put in to organising the event! Don't forget to check out their blogs and also the lovely ladies below :)

Rachel from Lost in Lipstick

Jen from Bows, Bangles and Bakes

Abby from un-observed

Have you attended any meet-ups/events recently? There seems to be loads now that Summer (ahem-"Summer") is kicking in!