Manchester lately

A few snippets....a photographic diary of my wanderings around my new city.

Manchester move!

I have been off the blogging radar for a number of months now. I mentioned some time back that the boy managed to get himself a fancy job with the NHS and a Masters place in the University of Manchester and so this resulted in me deciding to leave the land of Limerick (after 13 years!) and begin the new employment search in Manchester too. 

It was a little daunting, especially when rejection emails started to arrive into my inbox. I also decided to hand in my notice in work without a new position to go to. For me, that was out of character and also a big decision to make. I'm one of those safe types. Usually going from one secure job to the next, with a salary flowing from one month to the next. But, my gut told me to do it, take a chance and see how it goes.

I got lucky. The very next day after handing in my notice, I got called for an interview and my first interview at that. One week later I was in Manchester interviewing and presenting my ideas. Two days after that, a job offer. I got really lucky. Everything was starting to slot into place. When I received the phone call and job offer, the boy was on a boat to the UK. He hadn't even reached the country yet and I was on the phone letting him know that I too had secured a great position. 

I landed a role with the University of Manchester and I start tomorrow. As you would expect, I'm full of excitement and nerves. The University of Manchester is huge in comparison to my previous position at the University of Limerick and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in, meeting new people and getting settled into Manchester and University life.

The last two months in particular have been all about planning, packing, researching and lots more packing. I knew I owned alot of possessions but until I started sifting through it all, I was quick to realise that I owned too many 'things'. And so began a mammoth clear out. From clothes, to shoes, to craft supplies and books. You name it, I reduced it down. I donated probably about 50 books to a friends book stall, I gave heaps of great craft supplies to friends, donated bags and bags of clothes and shoes to local charity shops and literally dumped about 20 bags of broken, unwanted and not charity shop worthy items in to a skip. 

It was a tad stressful if I'm honest. Mainly because the boy started his position four weeks before me and as a result moved over four weeks before I needed to. I was left the job of sorting out the house while still working my full time job during what was the busiest time of the year. It was worth it though. We're here now and he's declared his love for the city already. I'm excited for him and excited for us.

By the end of the clear out, I was left with about 15 boxes of personal items / clothing that will be shipped over to the UK next week. FYI, couriers are expensive. If you're planning on moving country (from Ireland to the UK), make friends with a man and his van, get on a boat and it will most likely work out cheaper.

At the moment, the boy and I are living with his friend in Manchester until our apartment becomes available to move into next weekend. I cannot wait to get moved in, unpack our things and make it our own. It'll also be a shock to the system. For the first time in five years, we'll be paying rent and bills. (In case you didn't know, I was provided with a freebie house with my last job). We're grown ups now, we can deal with it.

The fun part, its a two bedroom apartment. This can only mean one thing people! Of course I'll be converting the second room into a new craft / office space. I'm hopeful that with this new, great and exciting position I'll have more time in the evenings to really get stuck into all the crafty ideas I've had brewing in my head for some time now.

For now and until the move to the apartment, we're enjoying getting to know this beautiful city, eating our way through some amazing restaurants,  learning about its industrial history and generally doing alot of people watching and yummy coffee drinking.

Here's to Manchester! I've a feeling we're going to get along really well.

Beauty Must Haves - Lovely Lippy!

So, while also having an addiction to paper and all things notebook and stationary related, I'm also a bit of a beauty product / makeup nut.

I'm happiest when I'm strolling through Boots or Superdrug with a little basket, safe in the knowledge that there's money in my account to splurge on a few lovely products. I have some firm favourites that I return to on a regular basis, but recently I have been going the extra mile and trying out some new products, in particular lipstick!

I have a very typical, Irish pale complexion and struggle often, to source the perfect, don't look like an orange, ommpa-loopa foundation never mind a complimentary lipstick. However, instead of shying away from trying out colours, I just went out there, browsed the ga-zillions of lippy's on offer and said to myself "That's a nice colour, I'll give that a whirl!". Outside of my working uniform, I'm an avid supporter of colour in all its shapes and forms. I have loud, bright jeans (red are my fav, in case you're wondering), florescent accessories and I'm quite happy to stand out from the crowd, so it might seem a tad strange, even to myself ,that I shy-ed away from bright lippy for so long. Fear no more people, the lipstick addiction has kicked in and today I'll share my personal must haves for that perfect pout!

1 - First up is the 'Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick' in the colour Wild Orchid (Number 457). This was first 'out there' lippy I tried and I knew I was addicted to it when the other half put it through the washing machine and I frantically marched back into town to purchase it once more. I've been complimented on a number of occasions when I wear this product and it compliments eye shadow which is grey in tone. It has a Matt finish and is my go to lippy to brighten up my face. I wear it 3 - 4 times a week and is a staple in my make up bag! While I consider it to be a Matt product, it does have a lovely sparkly shine.

2 - Next up, are two MAC freebies. Yup, freebies (are you jealous?) - When I visited a dear friend in NYC in April, she presented me with some MAC lovelies. At the time she was working for them and was happy to share the perks of her job with me. The first one, with its gorgeous navy stripped packaging stands out from the get go. I wear it sparingly (probably because I consider MAC products to be expensive, (but worth it)), but I love the pop of Matt colour it provides. Its called Satin - Sail La Vie and I use it on date nights! Team up with some black eye liner and lashings of mascara and you're good to go.

3 - The second freebie is a MAC Marcel Wanders lipstick. I'm not sure if this product is available in Ireland / UK and to be honest when I got it first, I thought it wouldn't suit me, but I'm now officially in love with it. It's a perfect subtle lipstick to wear and looks great if you're also wearing strong eye makeup.

4 - My next one is a recent purchase from Rimmel. I was sold on the shiny, purple packaging first and foremost and I decided to venture away from red, rose and pink and more towards oranges and corals. Entitled Coral Queen, I wore this to work last week and got a "Whoooo, look at you, very glam" from some co-workers. It must have done it's job. Again, I normally team it with low key eye make up and let the lips do the talking.(metaphorically speaking of course!)

5 - Lastly, a new-ish product purchased in Superdrug. The label is 'B' and the colour Rose Quartz. Its a safe colour, perfect for those 'I only want to wear a little bit of make up' days. I'm not completely sold on this lipstick but in saying that I haven't cast it to the depths of my beauty cupboard just yet.

For those of you who are not of the lipstick loving type, but looking to venture into those waters, start small. Try a subtle shade and hey, if you don't like it, you can just wipe it off! It is only lipstick after all! I, however have started to feel a little naked if I'm not wearing it. The addiction continues.....