Leeds


On coming to York, one thing on my Uni bucket list was to go shopping in Leeds. To get to Leeds from Sunderland it's quite expensive, but from York it's £10.75 with my railcard and only takes about half an hour to get there. When I mentioned this to my housemate Hannah before Christmas she was just as enthusiastic about going (as was Ellen when we asked her), but it wasn't until after our birthdays that we really had the opportunity to go. So, after spending forever deciding where we were going to go and what we were going to buy, we headed to the station and hopped on a train to Leeds.

Pepperoni Piccante Pizza

The night before we went we spent several hours trying to decide where to eat - quite the feat with Hannah being a vegetarian and Ellen being a tad fussy, combined with a budget and the sheer amount of choice of places to eat there. Eventually we decided on Bella Italia and we booked a table online to be sure they'd have room for us. Our table was booked for 12:00, so once we arrived in Leeds we headed straight there. We'd all had a look at the menu the previous night so we all had a good idea of what we were going to order. As you can see I went for the 'Pepperoni Piccante' pizza, topped with pepperoni and green chillies,and a glass of Diet Coke because I'd been craving pizza for a couple of weeks. It was absolutely lovely and had a cute message on the plate that said 'Life is a combination of magic & pizza' but I didn't have the chance to take a picture before the plates were cleared away.
 
Trinity

After we were full to the brim with yummy Italian food we headed to Trinity to do some shopping. Our first stop was Primark, which is much bigger than the one in Sunderland. Apart from Harrogate, the Primark in Leeds is the closest to York, and when I'm here I quite miss having a store in town. There were quite a few things I could have bought, including a lovely brown satchel, but I limited myself to a blue shirt, some black socks and some more tights because I knew I wanted to spend my money elsewhere. 


Victoria's Secret 

Next, we headed to Victoria's Secret. Now, when I went to Florida in 2012 I bought myself one pair of knickers at a Victoria's Secret store at the Orlando Premium Outlets, just to say I owned something from there. Two years on I figured I was due another Victoria's Secret treat, and being in Leeds it would be rude not to. The store itself was amazing, from features like the one above to pictures of the Angels on the walls. Being on a bit of a budget though, I opted to shop at Pink, which is aimed at a slightly younger audience (I'd say around college age in the US) and is slightly cheaper (5 pairs of knickers for £20 rather than 3 for £26 at VS). I could have spent an absolute fortune on things from knickers to water bottles to beauty products and workout clothes. In the end though, I settled on the 5 pairs of knickers for £20 and a bottle of Party in Paradise body mist (which smells like heaven). I was also given a giftcard that is preloaded with at least £10 and is redeemable in April, which calls for another trip in the Easter holidays!   

Topshop selfie - what I wore

Our next stop was Topshop. For my birthday I'd received a £20 giftcard from my boyfriend's mam which I'd already decided I was going to put towards a new pair of Topshop jeans. To me, Topshop jeans are the best and I'm yet to buy a pair to beat them, even if they are a bit pricey. I decided on a pair of Leigh jeans - which are 'super soft, skinny and mid-rise'. I used to buy the Baxter jeans but they changed the fit which meant they weren't really skinny enough for my liking anymore. I liked both pairs that I tried on but, in true Rachel fashion, the darker pair won in the end. With my 10% student discount I got them for just over £34 which, for the quality, I don't think is too bad.  

Obligatory Costa stop

After visits to H&M, HMV - where I bought The White Queen on DVD - and Cath Kidston we decided to call it a day (being spent up and thirsty). So, before catching the train back to York, we headed to Costa for a drink and a cake. I went for the Tropical Fruit Cooler and a chocolate brownie, which were both delicious. 

I'm so glad we actually got round to having our trip to Leeds, it was such a lovely day and I can't wait for the next time I get to go. 

Graze

If you read my last post you might have noticed that at the end of last year I signed up to Graze. It's something I'd been thinking of doing for a while, as a few of my friends had recommended them to me. The boxes are £3.89 each and you can choose whether your boxes are delivered weekly or fortnightly. I was lucky enough to be given a friend code by my lovely friend Amy which meant that I get my 1st, 5th and 10th boxes free.

For the boxes themselves you get four different healthy snacks to 'graze' on. From nuts and seeds to healthier versions of indulgent snacks (hello chocolate brownie) there are over 100 different nibbles to choose from. 


 My first box

Fast forward four boxes and I've got a pretty good idea of the kind of stuff I like (and the stuff I definitely don't), which I've marked as 'bin', 'like' or 'love' on the Graze website. So after a bit of a think, and because each box comes with four snacks, I've decided on my top four favourites that would make up my ideal Graze box.



1. Guilt Free High Tea: Lemon and Poppy Slice*
I've never really been a fan of lemon cake, I don't really know why, but this little beauty is the exception. I'll be totally honest, when I opened my box and saw the size of the cake I was quite disappointed. It seemed really small. Saying that, when I got round to giving it a try I was actually pleasantly surprised. I had the tea and cake together as a bit of an afternoon tea, when I was a bit peckish mid afternoon one Monday. I chose to have the tea without milk, but the Graze website says that it works both with or without. I don't know whether it's because lemon cake isn't something I'd usually choose but, despite the small size, the cake was just enough to give me a taste of something sweet without filling me up too much.

2. Healthy Popcorn: Twist of Black Pepper*
My housemate Hannah had received one of the other varieties of the popcorn in one of her Graze boxes and had told me it was lovely. I do really like sweet popcorn, but other than that, the only savory popcorn I've ever had is salted (yuk!). I was really excited to try this, and I wasn't disappointed. The popcorn came with some really helpful cooking instructions and I managed not to burn it (which is what I was worried about.) Once the popcorn was ready, I was really surprised at how much was in the bag. I don't know what I was expecting but I didn't think I'd get as much as I did. Whoever thought of the flavour is a genius in my book though, it was absolutely gorgeous. I'd also forgotten how much I loved eating freshly popped popcorn, yum!

3. Firey Seeds*
This is the kind of thing I was expecting to receive when I signed up to Graze. The Firey Seeds consist of roasted chilli pumpkin and sunflower seeds. They were really lovely and the punnet was deceiving - they lasted a lot longer than I thought they would! I love anything spicy, so these were perfect for me - and a good alternative for chilli flavoured peanuts, which I'd always liked the sound of but I'm not keen on nuts.

4. Apple and Cinnamon Flapjack*
Finally, and saving the best 'til last, the Apple and Cinnamon Flapjack. I actually can't describe how good this was. I love the combination of apple and cinnamon generally, but I've never had them in a flapjack before. This has got to be my overall favourite snack that I've received in a Graze box, based purely on how excited I was when I was eating it. I genuinely didn't want it to end.

Overall I really like the idea of Graze, and I've been really impressed with most of the snacks I've had in my boxes. However, £3.89 a week (or a fortnight in my case) is sometimes something I can't justify on a student budget. Luckily, there is the option to 'push back' your boxes, which means I can schedule them to only come when I know I can afford them. I don't yet know how to cancel boxes for good though, which is something I might want to consider once the friend code I'm using finishes.

*All images taken from graze.com
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