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Showing posts with label Favourites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Favourites. Show all posts

Eating out in Bristol on a budget

Monday, July 2, 2018





Okay so, a little while ago (and by a while I mean 6 months oops), I showed you 5 useful ways that you could do uni on a budget Part 1 and Part 2. A recent article that I wrote for Uwe Hub Voice called "Eating out in Bristol on a budget"  prompted me to delve deeper to explore my culinary taste buds. 

Admittedly, I don't exactly have the best diet (granted) but I figured why not turn these university posts into a series and (try) to write them as regularly as possible. So far, I have covered uni fashion on a budget, my top 10 things to do in Bristol, and an overview of my first year at UWE. 


So here I give to you a compilation of my favourite cheap places to eat out in Bristol. 


1. Pizzarova 

I mean, are you even a UWE student if you haven't heard of Pizzarova before?; situated amongst the hustle and bustle of Gloucester road, Pizzarova is home to the pengest pizza in Bristol. It is known for miraculously curing hangovers and with 20% off for students, you can't really go wrong! The cheapest pizzas range from £5 (with fewer toppings) to £10 (with more toppings). 

And if you find that you cannot eat a whole pizza to yourself then you can go halves with one of your house mates and it will be even cheaper. This makes eating out in Bristol on a budget   even more desirable. 


2. Three brothers 

Maybe you're on the go and want a quick bite to eat in between shopping or on your break from work? Well pop down to Three Brothers at Welsh Back for a spectacular £5 lunch deal where you will get a burger and a portion of chips! Additionally, if you download their app Zapper , first time users get £5 credit which means you can eat for free! 

With riverside views that you cannot beat, you should definitely hurry down to Three Brothers to dine in style and eat out on a budget. 



                                        3.  Yakinori

Japanese food lovers look no further! I give to you..... Yakinori! Situated on lively Park street, this vibrant, quirky restaurant is complete with an open kitchen and amazing lunch time deals. If you need something quick and on the go then you can grab a chicken katsu or terriyaki box from just £3.99. 

For those of you who are too lazy to leave your student houses, you will be happy to know that Yakinori is also available on the Deliveroo app and they also offer Vegan and Vege options too! 
Maybe student life on a budget isn't so bad after all? 



4.  Pieminister 

Picture this, you are out for dinner with 6 of your house mates for one of their birthdays, you happen to pass Pie Minister but the
powdery aroma draws you back in. Then you find out that you will receive a cheeky 10% off with your student card, surely this can't be true you ponder?

Yes folks, you have heard it here first... classic pies will cost you a minuscule £5.95 served with gravy! And that my friends is how you do uni on a budget. 


  Did someone say pies? 


        5. The Canteen 
Arguably, with two food awards beneath their belts, it can be said that The Canteen is the bee's knees in Bristol! Their menu includes a range of vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan options.

The Canteen is one of Bristol's most vibrant meeting places as it is situated amongst the energetic Stokes Croft area. Prices at this quirky setting range from £5-£10 and include free soup and crusty bread too! Not to mention The Canteen also host's regular live music from many local and creative geniuses. 



Recommended apps 

What better way to check out what your local restaurants/bars and coffee shops have to offer than to use Wriggle! My favourite thing about this app is that it automatically updates with deals closest to wherever you are, so imagine you're strolling down the road with your girls and you see loads of cheap food deals flash up! Absolute heaven. The best thing about Wriggle, is that you can visit the creme de la creme of Bris but on a budget.


Another app that we all know and love is Groupon, the infamous app for last minute birthday presents and food deals! We all love a good bargain and if you're planning to go out for food in large numbers then you may want to consider Groupon where you can save yourself some serious £££. 

Groupon has some serious offers right now, like Time Out Kitchen's Two Monster Freakshakes for only £7.50 and


Thank you all for the support and for reading my blog posts, I really appreciate it! 

Love Leah xx 


Top Things To Do In Bristol

Friday, January 5, 2018




 

Ah Bristol! The creative hub for the likes of Banksy and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The city that you will never get bored of, the city that should be on your top places to visit in the UK in 2018. It is not a coincidence that this unique city has been voted by The Sunday Times as the UK's best place to live in 2017.

So here is 10 things that you must do and see when you visit Bristol. 


1. Clifton Suspension Bridge 

With excellent views across the whole of Bristol, you would be silly to not visit one of the cities most talked about landmarks, situated in Clifton you can go for a leisurely walk across the bridge and then return to the White Lion for a pint with magnificent views across Bristol. 


2. Bristol Balloon Fiesta 

If you're looking for a family, friendly day out or just something to do with your friends; then you should definitely check out Bristols' Balloon Fiesta Festival, which runs from the 9th August-12th August. The best thing about this festival is that it is FREE! Yes folks, it is free so if you're not looking to break the bank then this unforgettable day out would be perfect for you. 

3. Motion

Are you looking to wind down and let loose? And are you into drum & bass?, techno?, disco? or grime ?, If you answered yes to all the above then Motion is the place for you. Being named as the 19th best nightclub in the world, Motion really does not disappoint and should definitely be at the top of your lists for things to do in Bristol.


4. Bristol Zoo Gardens

Go and explore the zoo gardens in Bristol, the fifth oldest zoo in the world! For only £10 per adult and £5 per child, you can explore nature and the wildlife without breaking the bank. And this is why Bristol Zoo Gardens are in the Top 10 Things to do in Bristol. 



5. Stokes Croft 

Famously known as Bristols "cultural quarter", the vibrant, cobbled streets of Stokes Croft represent the cities most artistic talents. If you're searching for quirkiness then look no further, Stokes Croft will provide. Be sure to stop off for a bite to eat at The Crafty Egg where you can enjoy an array of hot drinks and brunch favourites. 


6. Bristol Cathedral

Why don't you revel in the great architecture that fills the Bristolian streets? In particular Bristols historic Cathedral stands at the very heart of the city and is located on College Green in the West End of the city. The Cathedral is free to visit and is open to the public 365 days a year from 8am to 6pm (Monday - Saturday) and 7:20am - 5pm (Sundays).




7. Bristol Harbourside

Fancy a drink after exploring the lively streets of Bristol all day? then head down to the harbourside where you'll find a selection of restaurants, bars, shops and hotels. Whilst you're there why don't you visit The Apple  where you can socialise with friends over a pint of cider and tuck into a well-deserved lunch. Why wouldn't a sociable, drinking activity be top of your list for things to do in Bristol?



8. At Bristol

The famous At Bristol, now classically referred to as "We the Curious" is one of the UK's biggest science centres. With hundreds of exhibitions to discover, live shows and a Planetarium, your children will never get bored. With lots of laughter to be had and many memories to be made, you would be silly not to put this on your list of things to do in Bristol. 



9. Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

With 19 breathtaking galleries across 3 floors, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery tells the story of the beginning of time to the present day. With exceptional collections of art, archaeology, geology, and natural history you will be in awe from start to finish. I mean who visits Bristol the hub of creativity and does not visit an art gallery anyway?.



10. The Dower House

Many of you will drive past it on the motorway and will admire it, but how many of you will actually stop by to marvel at all of its beauty? Commonly referred to as "the yellow house" situated in Stoke Park, The Dower House makes a stunning summers, brisk walk with great views of the whole of Bristol. Rumour has it that the yellow house is haunted, but why don't you just see for yourself?. Stop by on your way in or even on your way out, but this for me has to be one of the best things to do in Bristol. 



Have any of you visited Bristol before? If so what were your favourite things that you did there? If not, where would you really like to visit?  I would love to hear back from you in the comments below. Thank you all so much for reading my latest blog post, I really do appreciate it!


Love Leah xx



My Curly Hair Journey

Sunday, December 24, 2017



My Quest for Curly Hair - "The Transition"

I want to create a sequel of blog posts that document my hair care journey, but more importantly my "transition" back to curly hair. Now I have been straightening the hell out of my hair for many years now,  and I have been regularly getting hair 'texturisers' which is a mild version of a chemical hair relaxer. I was looking at old photos of me with my afro hair from 2015 and I couldn't help but miss the curls, straightening my hair consistently for the past two years has caused SO much damage and breakage, in fact I recently had to have the dreaded "big chop" which strangely didn't result in tears. But I think that was only because I got braids a few days later, I seriously urge you gals with curly hair to think long and hard before you decide to start straightening your hair because I can honestly say that it is a decision I regret so much!

June 2017

As you can probably tell my hair is beyond damaged by this point, it is relatively short now but the "big chop" is still yet to come..



September - December 2017

So these braids took around 5 hours to install, they were installed quite tightly but it didn't actually hurt at all, which is quite rare for braids.


The day after I got my braids, all ready for Tokyo world


A couple of months into having my braids, when they started going all fuzzy at the top, to be fair though they lasted a whole 3 months without unravelling at the bottom and did me well. I think next time I will get them a lot shorter though because they reached my bum and were really hard to maintain being so long!


December 2017 - Now


This photo was taken straight after my braids were installed (in my uni house obvs explains the mess) it took 7 hours!! Yes 7 hours for them to be installed, my hairdresser was really ill that day so she had to keep stopping for breaks which slowed the process down. She did her best to seal the ends with water but she was rushing because I had plans and had to leave my house at a certain time so it wasn't done properly which is kind of annoying as you might be able to see from this picture that they are unravelling a bit at the bottom, so I will have to re-seal these at some point. 


I have wanted ombre braids for ages and honestly love them so much but I have the feeling that my hair won't last as long because the ends are already unravelling, my hair is getting quite scruffy at the top because I don't wrap it up at night (spare no sympathy for me) and I have only had these installed for 11 days. As mentioned above I wanted my braids to be shorter this time but my hairdresser told me that as I had two colours mixed together she couldn't cut it?? Really annoying but I know for next time, ideally I would have liked them shoulder length because its more manageable for washing etc. 

But this is where I am at so far, I have started using the Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo , Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Conditioner, alongside Shea Moisture Hibiscus Enhancing Smoothie , now these products are a little on the pricier side especially if you're a student but so far I have started to reap the benefits! When I took my first lot of braids out my hair was still quite straight from the excess amount of texturising but after using this smoothie it has slowly started to restore some of my curls back. I only had 9 days in between braids and bought these products on the 4th day, so I haven't been using them for very long but when I eventually "leave out" my curls I will do a full review on these products


 So here we go, the start of my journey to curly hair (wish me luck guys!) 




Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post!

Love Leah xx
















FIRST YEAR OF UNIVERSITY...RESULTS, NIGHT LIFE, LIVING ON CAMPUS ....WAS IT ALL WORTH IT?

Saturday, June 24, 2017



 Hi everyone! I can't believe that my latest blog post was dated back to December last year, I am sooo bad at this blogging malarkey but I vow to try and get back into the swing of things. Lately I have been suffering from writers block and although I had loads of new ideas for content on here, I couldn't find the time or words to sit down and express all of it to you guys. So for that I apologise, and now lets jump straight into the topic for todays blogpost......UNIVERSITY! 


So some of you may know that I have just finished my first year of uni at UWE Bristol, I can hand on heart say that I have had a blast and met some of the nicest people that I will be friends with for a very long time.  I received my results from Year 1 today, and I kind of had an idea what they would be based on my progress throughout the year. 

 For those of you who don't know I study BA Business Management with Marketing and I am pleased to announce that I scored 68.13% as my average for the year, which translates as a high 2:1. I was a bit gutted at first that I didn't get a 1st (70%) just because I know how close I was to getting it and I wanted for once to prove to myself that I am intelligent and can achieve anything that my little heart desires hahah. 

 Nevertheless I am still very proud of myself and whilst I know that Year 1 doesn't count towards my final grade for the end of my degree, I know that achieving a 2:1 puts me in a good position to apply for placements in third year. As you need to have at least a 2:1 or 1st in Year 1 to do placement. 

 Now onto the nightlife.... Bristol is one of the busiest, most expensive cities to live in, in the UK. But who really cares when you have the likes of Motion and Lakota on your doorstep??? Not I 

One thing that I really love about Bristol is the vast, diversity of people that you will come across, everyone is so unique yet their hearts are filled with gold. In other words, you can walk down to your local shops wearing a bright yellow neon skirt with makeup everywhere at 3pm on a Monday afternoon and no one will bat an eyelid (trust me, I've tried this before), hahaha no really I am joking but I have definitely gone to the shops on campus wearing pajamas and no one has looked at me twice. That my friends is the BEAUTY of Bristol... and if that hasn't swayed you enough to transfer uni's to UWE then you can doing it COMPLETELY WRONG. 

I officially moved out of halls two weeks ago and I haven't felt the same since....


I know what you're all thinking, why is she being so dramatic right? Wrong, when you've gone to uni yourself and lived in halls for a year I guarantee that you will feel a similar way. I think for me, more so than anything it is the convenience of it all that makes me miss it so much, if you're lazy like I am and prefer living 2 minutes from all of your friends flats, the campus shops, the gym and lectures then you will understand the pain that I am enduring.

However living on campus means living so far away from town and the night life in Bris, which results in paying ridiculous prices for Ubers and Taxis. I mean who do the taxi drivers think they are?? We are students, not millionaires and I struggle to understand how they can justify charging £20 to drive 10 minutes into town... 


But next year I will be living in a house which is half way between town and uni with 5 overly hormonal, dramatic, & hilarious gals. It is safe to say that Bristol won't know whats hit it...

(Yeah and I bet you've heard that one before)



So far I am only one year into my degree so I cannot comment on the rest of my years yet but at the moment, it has definitely been worth going to UWE. For someone who 3 years ago would have never considered university as an option, I have come a long way and feel like I have made the right choice. In regards to my degree course, I do kind of wish that I picked either English Literature or Philosophy instead just because I have a strong interest in both fields and would someday like to become a writer (ahhhh, I've finally said it...theres no going back now Leah). I know that I can always do a Masters in English Lit afterwards if I wish or I can do online courses at home to earn a Diploma in Creative Writing/Blogging. Using this platform to blog regularly will really help me to develop my style of writing and skills set so watch this space haha




Thank you lovely's for taking the time to read my first blog post of 2017!!!! Wow it feels weird writing that, but anyways stay tuned for similar blog posts and if anyone has any feedback or questions please feel free to comment below :) 

 Love Leah xx

UNI HALLOWEEN OUTFIT 2016

Monday, November 7, 2016


Hi everyone! I've had the best Halloween so far this year, I visited Thekla nightclub in Bristol with my flat mates and it is safe to say that we smashed it ! I went as the Devil and chose my costume really last minute so I had to make do whilst on a budget, here are some of the pictures from my night....
Two piece outfit : £25-£30 Missguided
(I've re worn this outfit on numerous occassions)


Devils trident : £1 Asda


White Eye Contacts : £9.99 Costume shop



Devil Horns : £1 Asda

5am selfies in a kebab shop are the one




    Only a quick post, but hope you enjoyed! I know its a bit late to do a Halloween post now, but maybe it will give you some inspo for next year? Always good to be prepared. 

 Thanks for reading lovelys 

 Love Leah xx

MY FIRST FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

READING FESTIVAL 2016

So last monday, I had just got back from my very first festival. I decided to go hard or go home and selected Reading as my first one, this was mainly because of how popular it is - all my friends wanted to go, it's only an hour from where I live and I liked most of the bands playing. Nothing could have really prepared me for the festival life, I knew that I had to just get there and experience it for myself and bloody hell what an experience it was! 



Camping or even glamping for 5 whole days is an absolute struggle and a half, having little access to showers and water facilities made the whole duration difficult. I think what I found the hardest was not being able to use clean toilets, we had to take our own loo roll with us each time we wanted to go and the toilets were such a trek from my campsite (Yellow camp) that I found myself holding it in or even worse squatting in a muddy field and drunkenly pissing all over myself. 
Festivals/holidays really do test your friendships with people, just think about it you are with your friends 24 hours a day for 5 days, you won't always want to do the same things nor will you want to see the same bands/acts as them. Make sure that you go with people who have similar musical interests as you, otherwise you might miss out on seeing some of your favourite bands. 



Another tip : Take loads of glitter and by loads I mean shit loads! At festivals people tend to go crazy with their makeup so don't be afraid to stand out. Order loads of stick on gems, bright blue eyeliners and go mental kids.



Abbie was our glitter artist for the weekend and is seen recreating a similar bold look on Megan's face.

So obviously I took loads of 'pre-reading' outfit selfies to help me decide what to wear for each day, this really helped me to stay organised at the festival because I wasn't pulling my hair out wishing that I had brought different outfits that went better together. 



Rainmac: https://www.boohoo.com/
Croptop: http://www.pullandbear.com/gb/en/
Shorts: https://www.primark.com/en/homepage
Knee high socks: https://www.boohoo.com/
Wellies: http://www.shoezone.com/


(Same outfit different rainmac)

Rain poncho:  https://www.boohoo.com/





                                                   Rainmac: See above
Shorts: See above
Top: https://www.boohoo.com/
Rose gold lumee case: http://www.ebay.co.uk

Sunglasses: https://www.primark.com/en/homepage
Vest top : http://www.newlook.com/
Dress: https://www.primark.com/en/homepage


Hat: http://www.riverisland.com/
Top: http://www.bershka.com/gb/
Skirt : https://www.primark.com/en/homepage

Despite all of the dramas and hardships that Reading threw at me, I still managed to have a decent time. I just know for the future that maybe 5 whole days isn't for me and maybe I would be better suited to other festivals such as V-fest and Wireless.

 Thank you all for reading, stay tuned for other similar posts coming up very soon

Love Leah x




A LEVEL RESULTS

Tuesday, September 6, 2016


 UPDATE- EXAM RESULTS


Continuing with the updates... on the 18th August 2016 after a long awaited few months I finally got my exam results. I had so much apprehension leading up to results day, thinking about all of my exams and what I would have wrote if I had more time. It's crazy how one piece of paper can control the outcome of the rest of your life. I'm not meaning to be dramatic here but those results determined whether I would study Business management with marketing at UWE and would be a huge step in the right direction for starting my corporate career. 

My results go as follows :

 AS English Language & Literature - B
A2 Religious studies/Philosophy- A
A2 Business studies- C
A2 Photography- D

 As a whole I was fairly happy with my results because I was predicted a D/C in English and I didn't think that I would ever get an A in Philosophy because my exams were so hard. I retook one of my A2 Business coursework modules because I wasn't far off a B overall last year but for some reason I got the same grade as last year so I was a little discouraged but it just means that I will have to work twice as hard in uni. Photography was a bit of a hit or miss because I got a D in my AS last year so that made it even harder for me to get a C this year. 

 All in all I got 310 UCAS points which was more than enough to get me into UWE - I needed 300. 

 SEE YOU SOON UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND! 

 Thank you for reading

 Love Leah x

IM BACK!

Sunday, April 24, 2016


                                             UPDATES
Hello everyone! I have finally come to the realisation that I am really bad at blogging, I continuously find myself abandoning my blog for months on end and thinking 'I will write a blog post tomorrow it's okay' and then it NEVER happens. So here I am, back again. I thought that I would explain to you where I have been for the past 2 months before I get into anything else. As you may know I am currently in college studying for my A-levels, my first exams are in May and the rest in June. Lately, I've been frantically working on my photography exam prep as my exam starts next week. I am also resubmitting some of my business coursework from last year because I was only a few weeks off a B overall and as I am going to be studying Business management with Marketing at Uni, I thought that it was worthwhile re-taking to get the best grade possible.

 I've been so stressed out lately because I know that I am going to have to work my ass off to get into UWE in September, although I only need 300 UCAS point (around 3 B's) I am still panicking that I will not achieve this. Bristol is only a 40 minute drive from my house so it would be very convenient living near home and popping back home at the weekends to see my friends.

 I have only just recently got back from my 2 week vacation, I spent 4 days in New York and 11 days in St Martin/Anguilla which is situated in the Caribbean. I haven't been to New York in 10 years and that was only just for the night, whilst stopping over on the way to Anguilla. Going sight seeing on the Big Bus tours of Uptown and Downtown New York honestly made my trip amazing! Visiting some of the places in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Upper east side where Gossip girl was filmed was the highlight of my trip. We went on a Hornblower cruise across from Brooklyn to Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. I didn't realise how big the Statue of Liberty was up close!

 I spent most of my trip in New York with a nasty cold, I had to wrap up in like 10 layers of clothes that didn't even match!! Looking 'good' wasn't my aim, keeping warm and not freezing to death was.
I was surprised to see that the fashion in New York wasn't as 'amazing' as I had once imagined. When I picture New York fashion, I see women draped head to toe in accessories, wearing tall stilettos with a warm beige midi dress, a long black waterfall coat and a fancy designer handbag. To my surprise, I saw women in faded blue jeans, a plain tee, Nike trainers and a thick black coat.


The chaotic New York city



( Me and my sister on the Cruise) 


Horse and Carriage ride around Central Park

When its raining so you whip out the ponchos

Only in New York...

The nicest Italian food in New York

Ground Zero

Having our photos drawn by a street artist

Pictured : Left- Me, Right- Jess


 My next blog post will be a HUGE makeup haul of everything that I have purchased in New York and in St Martin

                                        Thank you so much for reading

                                              Love Leah x

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