Reunion!

Welcome home Miss Cox!

Last night I had a dinner party to celebrate the return of Hana, one of our best friends who moved to Australia in October. She is over for a week for her dad's wedding, but her schedule is pretty tight so we were lucky to get a whole night with her!I picked her up on my way home from work, so by 6pm we were sat in the garden sipping prosecco, just like old times!

Everyone else arrived at about half seven, by which time we had nearly finished the bottle! Emily and Smeed had made some amazing garlic bread (dough and all!) for starters, one plain and one which had cheese on, and then for main my mum very kindly cooked to save me having to stay in the kitchen all night. She made two dishes, a creamy risotto which had squash, carrot, celery and onion in; and a tomato based knocchi dish with courgette and onion which she then oven baked. There were also two different types of chicken (one with fennel and garlic, one with red pesto) which could be added to either dishes. Everyone commented on how tasty it all was - definitely better than I could have done!

We had a breather then, and chatted over wine (which we went through 3 bottles of!) before dessert, a super indulgent chocolate fudge cake that Tasha had bought. We had it with ice cream and cream, and were all well and truly stuffed afterwards. We sat around until 11pm, when people had to leave as they had work early this morning.

It was so lovely to catch up with Hana's amazing new life in Oz, and to get everyone that is still based around here together. It was also nice for me to introduce her to Mo, as we obviously weren't together when she left. Having it at home besides being cheaper, was also so much easier - no fussing over bills and menus, or who orders first etc. It's just a shame it was such a flying visit, next time we'll see her will probably be if we go over there to visit!

Weekly Update!

Bowling, Barbecues & Bar Crawls!

It was back to work this week, but not so bad as it's the school holidays so I get to have fun with Aum, and his cousin was visiting from Singapore so I had two which always makes things easier. On Monday I took them bowling at the Trafford Centre. I was hopeless as usual, but seen as the boys had the bumpers up and used the ramp, I didn't have much hope anyway! We went to Costa for a drink and cake afterwards before I dropped them at their grandparents in Oldham. That evening Mo and I watched the last Harry Potter, who knows what we'll find to watch now!

On Tuesday I got a bit of a later start, as I didn't need to leave to collect the boys until half past 8. They were at tennis all day, but we went to the Country Club afterwards for Aum's swimming lesson so had dinner there - I had salt and pepper squid again with chunky chips, this time it was mainly tentacles instead of rings, and the batter was delicious!

On Wednesday I didn't do much, I had a free taster personal training session in the morning which was good, but she charges £50 an hour so I won't be keeping it up regularly!

On Thursday I had a surprise day off as Aum went to Liverpool with his Uncle and cousin, so Mum and I went to Ikea to get some ideas for my flat. I found lots I liked, but couldn't buy anything as I have nowhere to keep it until move in day, and don't know space sizes yet which is frustrating! In the evening we had a lovely barbecue, and Mo came round to join us. We had tomato sausages, lamb burgers, pork ribs and loads of salad bits - yum! 

Friday was a quiet affair, Mo came round and we just had a few drinks in the garden in the sunshine. On Saturday we went out for lunch (see previous post) and then in the evening we went for a couple in Sale at The Kings Ransom and The Steamhouse, which had live music. I wore a new pair of white with pale blue pinstripe trousers I got for a bargain from Matalan (£7.50) with my coral coloured crop top from H&M. 

Tasha and I got a met into town afterwards and went to Grand Pacific, Australasia's new bar in Spinningfields that is really swanky. It has a huge cocktail menu and a lovely outdoor area in a cruiseliner style with massive white leather seats, so we stayed for a while before moving on to Long Bar, a pop up joint for summer which does tasty cocktails for just £6. It is outside with deck chairs and a really relaxed vibe, so was a welcome newbie to the scene. We were going to try Neighbourhood but the queue was enormous, and Alchemist stops letting in at half twelve, so we just got a taxi home afterwards.

It was nice to wake up today without a hangover! Jasmine and I went into Manchester for a shop around Primark, I got a gorgeous statement necklace for £3 in the sale, as well as a black velvet patterned body that will look great on my holiday!

We met up with Mo and went to Costa for a drink, then had a Chinese buffet at this dodgy little place in Piccadilly Gardens, which was cheap but decent for lunch. Then we headed home and chilled out in the evening.

Days Out...

The Frozen Mop, Mobberley

Yesterday Mo and I went to The Frozen Mop in Mobberley for lunch with Jack, James, Kelly and MC. It was one I'd suggested as my parents said it was nice and has been done up fairly recently. Upon checking out the menu it seemed like it had a decent choice and wasn't super expensive, as is often the case with gastro-pubs in Cheshire.

It took us about twenty minutes to drive there, and we were closely followed by Mo and Jack on their motorbikes (half the reason why a country pub had been suggested). The weather was gorgeous, so we sat outside, and chatted for quite a while before ordering anything. As I wasn't designated driver for once, I ordered a large glass of white wine, and we got two of the Tasting Platters to share between the six of us. They had pots of melted cheese with onion marmalade and baguettes to dip into it, crackling covered pork belly fritters, lamb meatballs, breaded mushrooms and cheesy breadcrumbed chicken breast - I could have eaten one to myself as a main it was all so tasty. I particularly liked the pork belly fritters, which were served with  a garlic and parsley mayonnaise.

For main (though I barely needed one after that!) I had chicken, ham and leek pie, which had a massive buttery puff pastry lid. It was served with chips and peas, and was one of the cheapest dishes on the menu at just £8.25. There wasn't a great deal of filling, but to be honest that may have just been because the top was so huge! Overall it was a great lunch venue, made even better by the fantastic weather as the beer garden is delightful. If you're ever in the area, or fancy doing a country walk, it would be an ideal stop off for food or just a drink, as the bar menu was pretty impressive, including a selection of cocktails, Prosecco and a few different ales on tap.

Summer Reads...

Tipping The Velvet by Sarah Waters - 5 stars *****

This has been on my to-read list for ages, as I love Sarah Waters' work, and this is supposed to be one of her finest. Set in the late 19th century, it tells the story of Nancy Astley, who leaves her oyster girl past behind in Whitstable after she meets the eccentric and exciting Kitty Butler, a showgirl with a difference - her act requires her to dress as a man and sing songs accordingly. Nancy becomes besotted and strikes up a great friendship with Miss Butler, and together they travel to London to earn their fortune.

After a period of unrelenting longing for each other, the pair eventually confess their feelings and begin living as 'sweethearts'. However, despite an increasingly popular act that now includes Nancy herself (stage name Nan King) her world doesn't stay perfect for long when she discovers Kitty in bed with their male manager.

Horrified, Nancy runs away and is left vacant and with nothing, forcing her to dress as a man and become a 'renter', until she is picked up by the mysterious Diana. She turns out to be an extremely wealthy widow with lesbian tendencies, who installs Nancy as her personal sex slave, in exchange for a life of luxury. However, Nancy soon becomes bored with the lifestyle of a kept woman, and ends up right back on the street where she started, again with nothing. She eventually re-finds love and happiness, with someone she perhaps shouldn't have been so quick to stand up...

This was a fabulous story of rags to riches, twice over. The language and writing style is second-to-none, as would be expected from such a brilliant author. Her depiction of character relationships is so vivid and lifelike, I shed more than a few tears whilst reading this, as it is impossible not to become invested in such a well developed character as Nan King. I am lucky enough never to have had a broken heart, but from reading this novel I can safely say I am happy to wait a lifetime if it feels as bad as is described in Tipping The Velvet. 

One passage that particularly sticks with me is right at the end, when Nancy meets Kitty again at a rally after many years,

'We gazed at one another then. Her lips were damp and slightly parted; and she had paled, so that her freckles showed. Involuntarily I thought back to that night at the Canterbury Palace, when I had met her first and learned I loved her, and she had kissed my hand, and called me 'Mermaid', and thought of me as she should not have... She turned away; and as I stood and watched her, I found that I was aching slightly, as from a thousand fading bruises...'

I think the rawness and honesty of her admittance, that despite over five years, she still feels such heartache, really summarises the beauty in this book, and I highly recommend you read it.