Strawberry Shortcake

Hello! As you may have noticed, yesterday I changed the layout and design of my blog a little. I've been unhappy with my blog design for some time and now that the holidays are here, I wanted to take advantage of the time to give my blog a revamp. This process always takes me a very long time, as I am still teaching myself how to edit the various elements of my blog, but it is always very rewarding when I finally succeed!

The main change I made is my new blog header, inspired by a little shoot I had in my garden. I thought I would share the original photos with you today, including my lovely new vintage-inspired dress:

Dress: From Vintage to Vogue (via York Does Vintage Fair). Belt: Primark. Shoes: Topshop. Necklace: c/o Bluefinch Boutique. Earrings: Culture Vulture.

First of all, the dress. At my visit to the York Does Vintage fair, I spotted Lynda's stall and was instantly drawn to it. She makes all her own vintage-style dresses and skirts in a variety of beautiful fabrics, and I couldn't resist this strawberry Cath Kidston-esque pattern. The fit and length are perfect - it is exactly the kind of dress I would make for myself, if I had any skill at sewing, so I was more than happy to let Lynda do all the hard work for me! I have a feeling that I will picking up this dress in a new print at every Yorkshire vintage fair from now on. Lynda also chatted to me about planning to set up an online shop so I will definitely keep you all posted if she does so!

As fun as this dress is to pose in anyway, I got a bit carried away with my 'blog header' shoot and designed a banner too. I cut out some hearts from red card, wrote my name on it and threaded them together with some spare wool. I then used an app called Graphite Lite on my iPad to trace the image and pretend that I am an illustrator! Although I still have doubts about my blog name, I feel like it is too late to change and I do like that it includes my name. I hope that this little revamp will allow me to properly embrace it.

What do you think of my new design? What apps and websites do you use for your blog headers and buttons?

<3

xx

Deli Delights: Lunch at Mannion & Co, York

Today I am going to reveal to you a very special secret of mine - the best place for lunch in the whole of York. I stumbled across it with a friend, hungover and hungry, on a day out shopping and we were instantly enticed by the huge meringues filling the window. We ventured in and were greeted by a delightful deli and cafe, where we tried some tea and pork belly sandwiches and never looked back. The cafe is quaint and lovingly decorated with kitsch and vintage items - it's exactly my style and I love the small, intimate feel of the place. Now, I always take visitors to York to Mannion & Co and last week I took my parents for lunch there:

We started off with tea - great quality; my Dad even had real blackcurrants in his loose-leaf tea, and served in cast iron teapots which keep your tea piping hot for the whole meal. We then ordered the Deli Sharing Platter and a sausage roll. The Deli Sharing Platter is, in my opinion, the best thing on the menu, as you get to try a little bit of everything and I love 'picky' food to share as a fun, communal meal. Plus, if you pick your friends right to compliment your likes and dislikes, nothing is left uneaten! The platter arrived on a massive plank of wood and attracted stares from every corner of the tiny cafe, prompting orders for "what they've got" from nearby tables. 

The best sausage roll I have ever tried! And now for the platter...

It makes me hungry just looking at it! We stuffed ourselves with a variety of cheese, salami, home-made bread, balsamic vinegar, capers, olives, salad, sundried tomatoes, pork belly and thick-cut ham. Each time you go to Mannion's the platter changes slightly, depending on what they have in the Deli, and you are guaranteed to be satisfied. The platter is just £14, and we shared it between three people and we were still (unfortunately) too full to try some of their tempting cakes.

However, if you still have room, you must try one of their giant meringues. Served with not only clotted cream but double cream too, alongside fresh berries and almonds, it is a giant of a pudding and simply delicious. Yummy!

<3
xx

National Media Museum

On Monday evening, I was lucky enough to be invited to the National Media Museum in Bradford. Ever since my boyfriend started university in Bradford two years ago, I've been meaning to visit this museum and just haven't got round to it. This was the perfect opportunity to actually go and explore what was on offer.

First we were shown the newly refurbished cafe. I had nothing to compare it to, but some of the other bloggers were really impressed with the transformation, and I thought it looked great. We were treated to a selection of the foods available on the new menu, including some yummy chocolate brownies:

However, as yummy as the food was, we were also there to visit the museum itself. We were given tours around two of the exhibitions; Bollywood Icons and Tom Wood. It was a great opportunity to learn about two aspects of culture which I frankly know nothing about.

Firstly, the Bollywood Icons exhibition runs until the 16th June and documents 100 years of Indian Cinema. It was fascinating to learn about the dynasties of families involved in Indian cinema and iconic women within Bollywood and I wouldn't have got as much out of the exhibition if it wasn't for the curator Irna's commentary. I went away with a list of Bollywood films to try and I look forward to watching something a bit more cultured!

We then went to the Tom Wood exhibition for some photography, which also runs until the 16th June. I don't know much about photography but I am fascinated by it, so I loved the opportunity to see the work of a little known, but still extremely talented, photographer. I liked that Emily explained a little about Tom's work then let us loose to explore the pictures for ourselves. I particularly enjoyed some of Tom's bus shelter photos- the shots were taken through a variety of windows and reflective surfaces and created really interesting and complex images. I also enjoyed the 'imperfect' nature of SLR photography and the process of printing such images. It contrasts with today's hyper-digital age - I love the idea of taking hundreds of photos, developing them and seeing what appears. Sometimes I feel that the delete button on my DSLR is more of a hindrance to my photography than a help, as I delete the 'imperfect' shots which can actually prove to be just as interesting as the 'perfect' ones.

Overall I had a brilliant time at the museum and I can't wait to go back and explore the other parts of the museum. Many thanks to the Media Museum, especially Emily, Irna, Phil and Kieron, for hosting such a lovely evening, I will certainly be returning soon.
If you want to visit the museum, check out their website. It is free and has a variety of exhibitions, including the changing exhibitions that I got to see, the Kodak gallery, tracking the development of photography, and Games Lounge full of arcade games - so you are bound to find something that suits you. If not, you can always try their yummy cafe which is open until 10pm or go to one of their cinemas, including the huge IMAX.

<3

xx