Whilst I'm a fan of reviewing things (it's kind of why I own a blog with a name which is a French toy on the phrase 'Morag loves') there's a few things I shy away from posting flat-out reviews on. Some because I feel they would be a bit out of place on my blog and others because I'm not really sure my writing ability could do it justice.
One of these 'thing I don't want to review' would be bars and nightclubs. Like, what would you actually say? I mean, I did write one once but that was before my blog found its feet and its niche. I'm not going to bore you with tales of my recent night out in Leeds for a university pal's birthday (if you are curious we went to Baa Bar which was all about fruity well-priced cocktails and then to Pryzm which was hella expensive and just like any other nightclub). But I didn't just go their to give myself a hangover, before getting my train back across the border I went for a quick jaunt into the town of Saltaire for a look around. I think we believed their might be a vintage market on but that turned out to be next weekend, but I still found a row of pretty independent shops. And I think independent shops are a bit more bloggy friendly than where I chose to drown my sorrows the night before.
My friend (who btw is called Melissa and has an Etsy nail shop if you want to take a look!) was already familiar with the shops on offer and immediately took me somewhere called Rad Studio which was the shop that all blogger dreams are made of. There was modern and chic homewares, jewellery, natural beauty products and stationary. This is maybe a sign that I've been on the internet too long but the shop felt very...gh0stparties-ish (when you're using blog names as adjectives to describe a shop you know you should go take walk in the park and feed some ducks). Everything was very clean, there was plenty of white space on the prints and everything was beautifully displayed. I was very tempted to buy some pieces (a coy candle, a cushion and a clay mask to be exact) but I refrained (knowing I should probably e-mail that beauty company first to be on the safe side) but they also have an online shop which I may make a cheeky order from.
Just next door to this was the ArtParade Gallery, which has a range of independent jewellery and stationary upstairs and artwork gallery downtsiars. Admittedly the designs here weren't my personal style but were still very beautiful and I'm sharing for anyone who might have a different style to myself. The jewellery on offer was of a more contemporary or art nouveau style, rather than the stylish modern pieces next door. Though I was very impressed with the moustache card I found.
A short walk from here was the Salts Mill. I didn't get to explore all the floors before my train but it (to an extent) reminded me of the WASPS studios in Scotland. The bottom floor was a massive shop full of artwork, stationary and art supplies for anyone who is looking to create their own art (which I forgot to take photos of aside from plant grown pencils so imagine an old building with a massive art shop downstairs). And the upper floors also have shops and cafés.
But alas after this I had to nip to get my train back up to Scotland. Saltaire was a gorgeous town in the Yorkshire countryside which is perfect for a wander. Despite having travelled right round the world thanks to globe trotting parents I've actually seen extremely little of England (and only a brief stop over the N.Ireland before heading to the Republic and with no visits to Wales) which I hope to change in the near future. I'm actually heading down to London in two weeks for a blog event which was too good to pass up, and next year I might possibly be in Oxford for a blogger meet-up and I'm still yet to visit Louise in Manchester (which is a big veggie hub).
But enough about me and my travels. Do you live in Yorkshire and think there's somewhere I should check out the next time I'm down?
One of these 'thing I don't want to review' would be bars and nightclubs. Like, what would you actually say? I mean, I did write one once but that was before my blog found its feet and its niche. I'm not going to bore you with tales of my recent night out in Leeds for a university pal's birthday (if you are curious we went to Baa Bar which was all about fruity well-priced cocktails and then to Pryzm which was hella expensive and just like any other nightclub). But I didn't just go their to give myself a hangover, before getting my train back across the border I went for a quick jaunt into the town of Saltaire for a look around. I think we believed their might be a vintage market on but that turned out to be next weekend, but I still found a row of pretty independent shops. And I think independent shops are a bit more bloggy friendly than where I chose to drown my sorrows the night before.
My friend (who btw is called Melissa and has an Etsy nail shop if you want to take a look!) was already familiar with the shops on offer and immediately took me somewhere called Rad Studio which was the shop that all blogger dreams are made of. There was modern and chic homewares, jewellery, natural beauty products and stationary. This is maybe a sign that I've been on the internet too long but the shop felt very...gh0stparties-ish (when you're using blog names as adjectives to describe a shop you know you should go take walk in the park and feed some ducks). Everything was very clean, there was plenty of white space on the prints and everything was beautifully displayed. I was very tempted to buy some pieces (a coy candle, a cushion and a clay mask to be exact) but I refrained (knowing I should probably e-mail that beauty company first to be on the safe side) but they also have an online shop which I may make a cheeky order from.
Just next door to this was the ArtParade Gallery, which has a range of independent jewellery and stationary upstairs and artwork gallery downtsiars. Admittedly the designs here weren't my personal style but were still very beautiful and I'm sharing for anyone who might have a different style to myself. The jewellery on offer was of a more contemporary or art nouveau style, rather than the stylish modern pieces next door. Though I was very impressed with the moustache card I found.
A short walk from here was the Salts Mill. I didn't get to explore all the floors before my train but it (to an extent) reminded me of the WASPS studios in Scotland. The bottom floor was a massive shop full of artwork, stationary and art supplies for anyone who is looking to create their own art (which I forgot to take photos of aside from plant grown pencils so imagine an old building with a massive art shop downstairs). And the upper floors also have shops and cafés.
But alas after this I had to nip to get my train back up to Scotland. Saltaire was a gorgeous town in the Yorkshire countryside which is perfect for a wander. Despite having travelled right round the world thanks to globe trotting parents I've actually seen extremely little of England (and only a brief stop over the N.Ireland before heading to the Republic and with no visits to Wales) which I hope to change in the near future. I'm actually heading down to London in two weeks for a blog event which was too good to pass up, and next year I might possibly be in Oxford for a blogger meet-up and I'm still yet to visit Louise in Manchester (which is a big veggie hub).
But enough about me and my travels. Do you live in Yorkshire and think there's somewhere I should check out the next time I'm down?
