swag bag

These days it feels like most of my money is spent on really mundane things. As much pleasure as I get out of cooking and eating nice food, my word, it costs money to keep the fridge stocked. And don't even get me started on the cost of pine nuts.. (but more about that later) I know this is nothing new for seasoned 'adults of the big bad world' who already understand that tough shit, sometimes you have to buy boring stuff instead of cool new clothes. But I digress. The point is my wardrobe hasn't really seen much action since I came to university in September. Very little in the way of newbies so after picking up some new purchases today I've got a bit of a spring in my step. For a start, after all of the harping on about New Balance*, I finally bought a pair. The mens sizes come up really small so though I'm a 7 in womens shoes, I was able to fit a mens 7 too. Just a tip in case you fancy ordering any online for yourself. I also went to the big bargain second hand store on Oldham St in the Northern Quarter where I managed to find a couple of old sports tee shirts (the Tommy Hilfiger inspired by Disney Roller Girl and Alice's American flavoured tops) and a brown ribbed rollneck. The rollneck, crucially is just the right height as unless you have the chin definition of Kate Moss there is a very large margin for double chin related errors..

Speaking of double chins, I cultivated mine over a lunchtime curry and catch up with my friend Tom who was visiting Manchester. Signficant topic of conversation= how cool/sexy Naomi Shimada is.

Also feel its my duty to share with you this Jamie Oliver recipe for Feta and Spinach Filo pastry pie which I made this evening as it turned out very well. Spending my post-lecture afternoons watching back to back episodes of 30 Minute Meals has turned into a bit of a guilty pleasure so I thought I'd actually try my hand at something. Really easy to recreate and if you're down with spending extortionate amounts of money on pine nuts (probably more valuable than gold right now) I say go for it.

At the risk of implying that I've somehow turned into some sneaker wearing, Lil' Wayne listening, Hilfiger wearer (well, okay I suppose I have but all in extreme moderation) I'm throwing down the gauntlet and recommending this track which my friend Joe has played on repeat for the last week- my love for it increases with every listen. Lil Wayne was never really on my radar but I can gladly listen to this and mumble something about it having 'a good melody'.

*for harping see here, here and here.