My Leeds Lifestyle Guide 2013

The best thing about Leeds is that there is always something happening here meaning it’s pretty much impossible to get bored of the place. Through living here I have come to know the best places to go, the cheapest cocktail joints and the perfect places to shop.

I have lived in Leeds for almost 2 years and I have developed a huge love for the city. I have had time to explore this vibrant city and try out every happy hour on Park Row but I finally feel that it’s about time I share my loves in a hopeful bid to make them your loves too. I hope you can find it in your heart to cherish the following places and live my ‘Leeds Lifestyle’ , even if  it is just for the day.

SHOPPING

Trinity -  Trinity Leeds is a brand new shopping centre right in the heart of Leeds city centre. It opened in March of this year with a huge opening ceremony attended by thousands. Trinity has a fantastic diverse range of shops from Hollister and Mango to Urban Outfitters and the highly anticipated Victoria’s Secrets. It has all of the favourite high street names along with a few unique brands, there is something for all ages and styles, so no one will be disappointed.

Victoria Quarter- The Victoria Quarter (VQ) is known as Leeds most prestigious and exclusive shopping arcade. It is in the heart of the City just off the main shopping street and features an array of designer shops and expensive brands. VQ is home to Louis Vuitton, Harvey Nichols and Paul Smith amongst many other high end brands. This is definitely the place if you want something very special and are prepared to spend that little bit more.

Blue Rinse – Blue Rinse is a very unique shop that is situated next to the corn exchange in the city centre. They sell one of kind vintage/ retro pieces that have been salvaged, cleaned and adapted to make beautiful garments. If you have an eye for kitsch old school pieces then blue rinse is perfect for a one off, individual item.

EATING OUT

Reds BBQ – Reds is known by everyone in Leeds as the best place to go for amazing American food.  It has the best ribs, available with any side you can think off, but you have to try the famous, ‘Donut Burger’, which consists of 2 beef burgers with layers of cheese and relish in between 2 sugary glazed donuts, it doesn't sound like it would work but it really really does!

Neon Cactus – The perfect place to go if you’re just feeling a little peckish. Neon Cactus is a Mexican restaurant which a twist, instead of your standard Mexican mains they do Mexican tapas. At 3 tapas dishes for £8 this place is great value for money and has a great lively atmosphere along with the best Mojito’s in town.

Angelica -  This brand new up market restaurant is new to the Leeds dining scene. It opened in March on Level 6 of Trinity Leeds meaning it boasts amazing panoramic views of the city. The food is a little pricey but well worth it, especially the lobster macaroni! This is the perfect place to go for a special occasion or if you just fancy a special treat.

COCKTAIL BARS

Trio – Trio is an Italian based bar and restaurant in Headingly. Trio’s bar is on the second floor and does to-die-for cocktails. The bar itself has a nice relaxed ambience and very friendly bar tenders who can conjure up cocktails in seconds. The Raspberry Daiquiri and the Breakfast Martini are my personal favourites.

Mooks – This is the one bar in Leeds that I go to at least once a week, its upbeat , fun and full of students, but the best thing about it is that all cocktails are 2-4-1 on weekdays meaning it is the cheapest cocktail joint in the city! I usually visit Mooks as the first stop on a night out but it is also nice during the evening for a few drinks and won’t break the bank.

The Alchemist - This bar is on another level! The recently opened Alchemist in another amazing place at the brand new trinity Leeds. It sells the most imaginative and tantalising cocktails I have ever seen. There’s everything smoking glass teapots to seemingly never ending jugs. Everything about this place is amazing, the only down point is that the queue is usually huge in the evening , so go in the afternoon to avoid waiting forever to get in.

NIGHT LIFE

Mission – This club has appealing values to all types of people, it is famous for its gay nights as well as for its diverse playlists. They play everything from R n B to deep house so whatever floats your boat Mission will do it, I guarantee. The best nights to go are on Thursdays and Saturdays, so make it your mission to give it a visit!

Mint – Mint had just celebrated its 20^th Birthday and is still as popular now as it was back then. Mint primarily plays house music and often has events in which the best house DJ’s from all over Europe come and play at the venue, which is famous within the house music scene. Mint is quite a small venue so it is best to buy tickets as soon as possible for events and nights out.

Halo  -  This club is like nothing you've ever seen before. Halo is a church that has been converted into a club and it really is an experience seeing as the interior is so incredible. They play chart music and often do cheap nights with cheap drinks which Is great for students, or anyone on a budget!

"When you travel you see the world in a new light..."

So, i have spent 19 wonderful years of my life living in England , and i love the UK, i really do but the UK can only offer so much a lot of which i have seen. Last year i took a step back and thought about what i really wanted to get out of life .. obviously i want to be successful, happy and find the man of my dreams ( like any girl would) but apart from the clichéd dreams what did i want? 

I concluded that my two biggest ambitions were to get a degree and see the world. 


I already at uni so im in the process and bringing one ambition into reality its just the second one that i am going to have to wait a year or two to complete. 

I'm lucky,i may have only been on this planet for 18 years but i am lucky enough to say i have seen a fair share of beautiful places in my time. Everywhere is different. Everywhere is unique. Everywhere shows you something new. Everywhere leads you to new people, people with exciting stories to tell, people with inspiring aspirations. I may have seen many places but there are still thousands that i haven't ..

I want to surf in Hawaii.I want to ride an elephant in Sri Lanka.I want to visit family in New Zealand.I want to ski in

the the Rockies. I want to walk the Sydney harbour bridge.I want to gamble in Vegas.I want to go to the full moon party. I want to party in Ayai Napa.I want to see a broadway show in New York.I want to go on safari in Kenya.I want to watch the sunset in Fiji.

And more. I want to do everything, maybe i should write a bucket list?

Life, Laughs & Leeds

Semester one memoirs.
I thought that with it being the end of my first ever semester at University i should probably sum it all up before semester two engrosses me into it.
 So, it all started one Saturday morning (17th of September to be precise), I moved to Leeds! Slightly strange feeling, moving away and throwing yourself into the unknown. New place, new lifestyle, new people and best of all new opportunities. Everything you ever knew seems to change and transform into something so completely different its hard to imagine until your in that sort of situation. So there i was moving into halls with 4 girls i had never met in a city id only ever visited once, i would be lying if i didn’t say that i was PETRIFIED!

I am originally from the 8th worst place to live in England (apparently) and it really isn’t all that bad, it is a fairly big town known as Mansfield on the outskirts of Nottingham. It holds very fond memories in my heart but in all honesty i could not wait to get out of the place. I mean yes it is my home, but it is the sort of place where many don’t seem to have any aspirations or self believe and i really needed to leave the town before i began to wallow in a pond of self pity and lack any kind of self belief and confidence that o had once had. So that is just what i did, studies hard for my A-levels, got into University and swapped the town for the big city.... Hello Leeds!

Over my 19 years at home i became quite accustomed to all the home comforts that living with parents brings so living on my own must be the biggest learning curve i have ever had. I learnt to cook more than a can of beans or pasta, although most of the time my flat mates donate food, thank god! I’ve learned that people actually have to change bed sheets? I didn’t even think about things like that when i lived at home and i learnt you actually have to but washing powder into the machine, ive always thought all that sort of thing was magic. And then there’s the classic problem students have..... Money. Finally i have learnt that i need to actually begin to budget . It’s something that i still haven’t quite got to grips with but slowly i am learning that i can probably survive with Sainsbury’s basic brands a little better than i thought.

Then comes the classic uni experience ... friends, sleep, eat, drink, sleep, hangover.... you get the picture. Then in between the play there is  a little thing called studying - the reason your at uni in the first place and i must say semester one did not see my most academic side but hopefully that side of me may surface in semester 2 but i suppose only time shall tell ...

 
 

Social media: Domination of my generation!

Social Media is a powerful tool. A lot more powerful that it would seem on the surface.

Looking back to September 2012 i moved to Leeds completely naive when it comes to the world of social media. I had a facebook like every other person my age and that was about it. I was oblivious to the power of twitter and the world of blogging; i spent my online time stalking people on facebook or making fun out of my friends newest profile picture, not counting the amount of characters in my latest tweet or blogging about my latest purchases. It was only when i came to university i discovered just how vast social media was. 

So here i was in a new city beginning my degree in Public Relations and the first day i heard the topic of social media being talked about. Back then little did i know that i would be the topic of many a lecture, discussion and presentation. Within a week a had set up my own twitter account, PR blog and Linked IN profile as i slowly began to realise that social media is a whole lot more than just an online existence. 

Now can honestly say i am a social media addict, i write at least 6 tweets a day and panic is my follower did’nt increase on day to day bases (how sad).  My social media experience all started back in the days of my space where i uploaded thousands of pictures of me in the mirror doing the piece sign or pouting with my friends. I then moved my socialness over to Bebo where  all i was bothered about was how many ‘Loves’ i had, finally i created a facebook account and have stayed there ever since 2007( the most sophisticated by far). Now i have a glorious linked in profile which i have found myself checking every other day and i have this blog which i have set up in order to have a say online about what i think. I have all my favourite social media sites as applications on my blackberry so there available to me at all times which is very useful when boredom sets in on the train.  When i joined twitter in late September i was extremely surprised to see all o the years below me had already signed up, i felt old like i wasn’t ‘up to date’ with the cool thing to be doing anymore. This led me to look onto facebook which told me that the girls in the school year below me all use twitter/ facebook/blogger/ anything else they know of online to talk to each other and post photos on and meet new people etc etc etc. This is when is struck me, social media is quickly dominating my generation!

Your seen as an outsider if you don’t have a facebook profile and a behinder if you don’t tweet all day and if you aren’t blogging once a week. Social media is causing your online existence to be almost as important as your real life one. No one asks for you number anymore it’s always ‘add me on facebook’ or ‘tweet me baby’. You can’t escape social media for any longer it’s here and it’s here to stay. Social media is amazing and interest but i can also be dangerous, you always have to think about what you’re putting online because once it in cyberspace it won’t ever be forgotten, it could go viral in seconds. Never forget to think about what you say within social Medias it could always be used against you, retrieved and seen millions of times by complete strangers from across the world.

Social media = world domination. World domination = POWER!

oijo

oijoj