Nottingham Fashion Week

Hello! Hello!

Today is a slightly different post, as I wanted to share something for you Nottingham girls and guys!

Coming in April is a really exciting event taking place; The Style Show Live! 

Taking place on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th of April and hosted by Radio 1 DJ Alice Levine, as part of the Nottingham Fashion Week, the show features Trend Focus events and an exclusive Catwalk featuring looks from this year's latest trends, with a showcase from some of Nottingham Trent's Fashion Design students too! And with over 40 of the city's fashion retailers taking part, there's style inspiration for all tastes and budgets. What's not to love?

5 Things I Love About Nottingham

There are many things I've come to love about my adopted city of Nottingham, but today I wanted to narrow it down to 5 broad categories, and explain the things I've come to fall in love with whilst living in this fabulous city. 

I've lived here now on and off for around about a year, going home and coming back again in term time for university, and although there's so many amazing things about Nottingham, I wanted to talk about the main things that would probably influence a lot of students and even adults to move to any city generally! The great thing about Nottingham though is that there's so much to do and see - so there's pretty much something for every lifestyle and taste!

THE WEEKLY MARKETS:

Nottingham holds food and clothing markets weekly in the city centre of market square, which in my opinion are the best places to kill time and find little gems of jewellery, food and pieces of clothing for cheap prices! They're also a great way to find local producers and give back to the community you live in, so it's generally a win-win situation!

There was recently a world foods market in Nottingham which was amazing to walk round and look at all the dishes, cakes, bread and other specialities from different countries!

THE CHOICE OF FOOD:

I wish I could be slightly more sophisticated with my reasons for loving Nottingham, but truthfully, one of the biggest reasons I love being here, is the huge choice of restaurants, café's, deli's and just foodie shops in general.

Nottingham has everything - I mean EVERYTHING you could ever want.
Whether you're craving pizza, pasta, sushi, burgers, curries, and anything in between you'll find something. And of course there's everyone's favourite chain restaurants too - Nandos, GBK, Pizza Hut, Five Guys etc etc.

Vegetarian? Vegan? Fussy eater? There s literally something for every taste and it genuinely makes me very happy!There's also a Whetherspoons on pretty much every corner so if you're feeling poor from a night out and need a hangover fix quickly, you're sorted!

A few of my recommendations are definitely Annie's Burger Shack for - obviously - a fantastic burger, the Handmade Cafe for amazing sandwiches, coffee and cakes, Georges for really lovely fish and chips and a personal favourite Bagel Nash, for (you guessed it) fabulous bagels.

CHARITY AND VINTAGE SHOPPING:

Another thing I've found which is a real treasure being on a student budget is the vast amount of vintage and charity shops throughout Nottingham. Don't get me wrong I love Urban Outfitters and Topshop like the next girl, but it's really not sensible for me to be spending £22 on a T-shirt when I need to eat and buy toilet roll (being an adult is really exciting).

As a result of this, I've spent a considerable amount of time frantically searching through charity shops in desperate need of splashing the cash - or not so in many cases!
Some of my favourites are Wild Clothing, Cow, Ark, The White Rose and generally charity shops altogether!

LACE MARKET:

The lace market in Nottingham has kind of become my spiritual home, and one of my favourite places throughout the city! It's a great place to visit if you're bored to just go have a wander, and you'll be sure to find something that interests you, whether its shopping, eating or even going out for a night out!

I'd really recommend anyone to go and explore the area if you haven't been before!
Chock full of vintage shops, quirky bars and amazing gift shops, this place is great if you're wanting to find a real gem in terms of clothes, food or trinkets.

STUDENT LIFE:

One of the best things I've come to realise when living in Nottingham, is the vast amount of things students can do and benefit from. Whether its discount on restaurants, shops, or nights out!

I'm sure a lot places have student discounts in most cities, but Nottingham is really accommodating to its students, with the majority of shops, cafe's and bars/clubs having some kind of perk or discount to take advantage of, and if you aren't sure - just ask!
Another thing I learned as that students actually make up for 50% of Nottingham's entire population, so I'm sure there's some kind of discount or benefit of being a student that you can find!
It could mean a free meal, 25% discount, or even 2 for 1 drinks at your favourite bar!

Have you been to Nottingham? Do you have a favourite aspect about the city?
Let me know in the comments!

Chloé
xo

Dreaming of Doughnuts - The Nottingham Doughnut Company

Recently I discovered a new little gem of a shop in Nottingham, and it's become quite the obsession of mine!

The Nottingham Doughnut Company is something of a mystery in Nottingham - it only launched in the start of October and is tiny store, but always has a queue and closes at a different time each day, as it's simply when they sell out. 

This is something that I find amazing for such a small, relativity unknown business - they don't even have any social media channels, and simply operates as a hashtag on Instagram for those who post about it!

I have to admit I've already been for my doughnut fix about 3 times in this last week alone and they are probably some of the best doughnuts I've had pretty much ever.. 
The price is also another thing that really attracts me, as they're only £2! Which I'm sure you'll agree is really dangerous for a student with not a lot of money but a love of ll things sweet!

Another aspect I love about this place is the ever-changing flavours, the shop rotates each day which doughnuts they make and ultimately serve, making it a different batch of flavours and keeping people coming obviously coming back! 
The Nottingham Mars is a definite favourite of mine already, but I'd also really recommend the cookies and cream too!

Have you been to the Nottingham Doughnut company? What are your thoughts? I'd love to know in the comments!

Chloé

xo

Autumn Strolls

Today me and my boyfriend - who very kindly snapped some photos for me - went for a little stroll around our local town park where we live in Nottingham, so I thought it would be a perfect time for a more fashion related post!

I'm really trying to manage my time better and I'm hoping I can get more posts up similar to this! It was actually really fun to take a few pictures whilst having a lovely mosey around. 

Jumper - Primark

Jeans - TK Maxx

Faux Leather Jacket - New Look

Boots - Primark

Necklaces - Market Stalls

I also wanted to take a few pictures of these love locks on the bridge we walked on, I think its such a nice but simple idea and a has a lovely sentiment behind it. 

Photography Credit: Daniel Collins

Chloé

xo

Pitcher and Piano: Nottingham

Just a short post today about a little destination I wanted to share, me and my mum recently went for a shopping trip and general mosey round my university home of Nottingham, and I love this city because the shopping is great, the food is amazing and the people are lovely! Not to mention everything is so close together so its a short walk from one thing to another!

For lunch we decided to go somewhere a little different, and as I've lived in Nottingham for around the pat 7/8 months at uni, I've been to quite a lot of the well known and amazing cafés, pubs and restaurants, but I'd never been to Pitcher and Piano. 

Set inside an old church, complete with stained glass windows, Pitcher and Piano is a modern style establishment, but still has quite a pub-like feel to it, making it really relaxed but still quite fancy. The décor is really simple with a large bar centred in the restaurant with small little nooks to sit in, which are really cosy and comfortable, and something which made the restaurant really interesting to look at! 

In terms of food, me and mum decided to go for the same thing; a cheese and onion toastie complete with skinny fires and coleslaw. even though it wasn't the most complicated dish in the world, it really was super tasty and I'd definitely have it again! The fries were to die for!

Overall I'd really recommend Pitcher and Piano, the menu has something for everyone and it isn't very expensive, its perfect for a light lunch or even as a quirky dinner destination!

Chloé 
xo

University 1st Year: A Look Back, Tips and Tricks

This year is honestly going so fast- I can't believe it's June already! 

So last week I officially finished my first year at University, it's gone so quickly and although at times it's been difficult, I've loved it!

I study fashion Marketing and Branding at Nottingham Trent university, and I'm honestly so glad that I took the plunge and went there, the city is amazing, I love my course and I've met some great people. I actually suffer quite badly with social anxiety, so for me going to university was massive step I was worried I wouldn't be able to do, but I feel so much more independent and happier for doing it. 

Here are some of the things I've realised from my first year of university:

It's not all smiles;
One of the main things I realised when going to uni, was that the experience wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, filled with an endless amount of new people to meet, and constantly doing exciting things. For a lot of my time, I found myself bored, as you have much more independent time to study and research work, even if that's something you do, you might still found yourself trawling through Netflix hoping to find something to watch!

Another thing I realised was that I really missed home, I'm really close to my family, and even though I was only around 45 minutes away from my family home, I still found it really difficult adjusting to being alone every day, combine that with not having tons to do in the day, it made me really homesick. 
If you're preparing to go to university, I'd really recommend getting some home comforts, like teddies, favourite foods and even decorations to help you feel settled in and less homesick when at university, it really helped me relax knowing I had a comforting meal and a nicely decorated flat!

Being alone really isn't that bad;
Another thing I really got used to was just having alone time and being independent, again being close to my parents, this was something I had to get used to! But towards the end, I really enjoyed shopping, sitting in coffee shops and even just doing work alone, its great for clearing your thoughts and just generally de-stressing if you're tense or worried. 

Budget buys are your best friend;
I can honestly say, that in times of need, supermarket own branded buys are going to be a lifesaver for when you run low on your loan or don't get much money from your parents. Things like pasta, noodles, and even meat and vegetables really don't have huge differences from being own brand, or the best branded product. So don't have any shame in getting some 30p pasta or 10p packet noodles, it'll save your life saving money on food, especially if your priority is going out and having a good time!

Another trick I learned was substituting certain ingredients for something else, the biggest example of this and something that I've grown to love, is Quorn. 
Now I'm sure you'e thinking that Quorn is something made by the Devil and that you'd never touch it even if you were dying (a little dramatic I know), and that's pretty much  what I thought, but one of my flatmates introduced me to it, and I've never looked back! It's much cheaper than chicken, stores amazingly and can go in pretty much any dish, so its perfect for saving you money, and gives you a decent meal for when all you've got is potato smilies and tomato soup- something I've experienced first hand! 

Everyone else is in the same boat;
If you're worried about going to university and not having friends, family or just anyone at all that you know, just remember that everyone else will be feeling the same! We all start out not really knowing anyone on our course, and even in the flat we live in, so don't be too worried if you're scared of not having any friends or having anyone to talk to. 
Within a week you'll have so many people to talk to, and it'll be likely that someone (whether on your course or in your flat) has something in common with you, that might be feeling homesick, your favourite book/film series, or just your love of a certain food. 

Have any of you been to University? Or are any of you going? What things did you learn? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Chloé 
xo