Sakura House, Manchester

Now, I only took a few photos tonight but just had to share them with you.

I caught up with a long lost friend who I hadn't seen since we left uni three years ago (how have I been a graduate for nearly three years????) 

We went to Sakura House, one of West Didsbury's newest additions. In my opinion, Dids has long been needing a sushi place to add to its cuisine accolade. 

It's small (I think there's only around sixteen covers in the whole restaurant), so make sure you book.

 Chicken Gyoza 

Edamame, Kimuchi, Seaweed salad

Avocado rolls 

Absolute babe 

beeeeeeeeeeer and a smile

We also got king prawn tempura (incredible - huge and crispy and so so tasty),  and a massive portion of chicken teppanyaki. Hunger got the better of me and I forgot to take pics of these, so you'll just have to try them yourself!

I'll definitely be going back - not only is it absolutely authentic, with a real family owned feel to it, the service was great and the food was delicious. It was really good value for money, too.

Next time, definitely trying the katsu curry!

The Grill On New York Street

In my opinion, nothing can make a Monday more bearable than going out for dinner and having a juicy steak and a bottle of red wine. Except perhaps if that meal is paid for by the no.1 man in your life. Cheers Dad!

We needed somewhere close to the train station for him that was nice enough to feel like we were treating ourselves - if you're on a flying visit to Manchester and want to eat somewhere classy near the station, this is the one.

Grill on New York Street is always a winner with me, in fact, all the Blackhouse haunts I've tried have never failed to impress me.

We started with the wine list, choosing a rounded Tempranillo to cheers the end of Monday.

After bread, olives and beer it was time for steak.

Medium rare rump, jacket potato, watercress and French beans.

The meat is always insanely juicy, and the jacket was light and fluffy. Crunchy beans in butter finished this off perfectly.

Just to rack up the calorie count: Blue cheese sauce smothering my steak.

Dad had the same but with chips and mustard.

I seriously can't recommend this place enough. The atmosphere was great; busy but not overcrowded, which for a Monday night, is alright by my standards!

And, in case you need any more tempting, I'll leave you with this...

YUM.

Beyonce & Borough Market

I nipped down to London after work to go to a Beyonce themed night at Brixton Jamm (err, hello!) with my best friends from Uni. It didn't quite compare to all the pictures and videos I've been sent the past two weeks from friends who've seen Queen B live, but you know. Surfboard.

Anyway, hangovers and sore feet aside, I bullied them into taking me to Borough Market on Saturday as I'd never been.

Holy shit. Cheese, meat, bread, SO much antipasti, fruit, veg and piping hot dishes as far as the eye can see.

You know when you have one of those hangovers with an insatiable hunger - you want everything, all at the same time. NOW. We passed paella, curry, bagels, pad Thai, but I couldn't commit to anything for fear of food envy - what if the girls got something better than me? There was only one thing for it; sample central.

I filled up on hunks of cheese, warm crusty bread and balsamic vinegar, hiding behind my camera's viewfinder in the hope the stall owner wouldn't recognise me, slurping curry from sample spoons and picking at parma ham.... all for free!

So the freebies satisfied me for about all of ten minutes, before we moved on to the Brew Wharf for a mighty cheeseburger and chips. And a touristy photo under the beautiful umbrellas:

We went to Cuba Libre in Angel on the Saturday night - the tapas was great - I demolished six dishes to myself #damnstraight...

It was the best weekend I've had in a long time! How much nicer is everything when the sun's shining?

Instagram Catch Up: Life through a lens

Cake. Wine. Friends. Spring.

The above sounds like the intro to a very feminine poem doesn't it? But it's basically how I'd sum up the past two weeks. I've got posts I want to write up separately but wanted to share what I've been up to recently...

I received a surprise gift in the post from my little sister - she'd crafted me a stuffed bird; isn't it cute? (there's also something still really exciting about receiving something in the post that isn't a bill - cheap thrills eh!)

Grew up absolutely hating on peanut butter (especially with 'jelly', EW), but now, grown up, it's one of my favourite toast toppings..

..and it tastes awesome on these clean and healthy pancakes (recipe from Fifi's Skinny Munch) 

Can't get enough of this 'Snow in Love' Yankee candle. It smells so fresh.

I know, I know, I'm always going on about how much I love anti-pasti. But look at it!! 

New absolute favourite red. Oaky, rich and incredibly smooth - anyone would think I knew what I was talking about! It tastes amazing. 

This doesn't look all too appetising but trust me it's clean eating at its most indulgent. Grated sweet potato and carrot cooked with spices, poached egg on top, tuna and leafy greens. I'll do an in-depth recipe soon as it's so easy to make and REALLY tasty.

How beautiful does this look? Taken at a park in Manchester when I was running.

How beautiful does this look? No, I'm not mistaking this photo for the flowers above. There are fewer things more holy looking than this picture of red wine after a stressful day! 

You know when you see your name on something and have to take a photo of it? Yeah, that. This was taken at The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon - you need to try their red velvet cupcakes, I'm addicted.

The naughtiest, gooeyest, salted caramel chocolate cake that I wolfed down at the Halo blogger event on Sunday. The event was pretty special, keep your eye out for my post on it!

Of course, you could just follow me on instagram for more.. ;)

The Liebster Award - My Q&As

I've seen this tag go round loads of blogs and always wondered how people managed to whittle their blog choices down to just 11, so when Charli from Girl On The Moon nominated little old ME to take part, well I was over the moon! (sorry, dad jokes are over now). I think the award is a great way to broaden your blog-sphere, and I love discovering new corners of the internet, so hope you like my nominations too!

But first, on to answering Charli's questions...

1. Why did you start your blog?

I was obsessed with reading fashion & lifestyle blogs but always lacked the courage to start my own. So I guess I started Frankie's Weekend to prove to myself I could. I see it as a bit of a 21st century diary!

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

I'll be well into my late twenties (!). So you know; world famous, internationally acclaimed blog, pad in Chelsea, mansion in the Cotswolds.. ha. I'd like to be at the peak of my career, maybe with 'that' ring around my finger, and hopefully still blogging away!

3. What is one piece of clothing that you couldn't live without?

Any type of button fronted long-sleeved shirts. I have SO many- sheer, satin, cotton, chequered, you name it. They're incredibly versatile. You can wear them to work, styled up for an evening or dressed down with jeans and boots for the weekend. I also love the subtly tailored look they allude to.

4. What are your top 5 favourite make up products?

Chanel Soleil Tan, Toni & Guy dry shampoo, Rihanna's perfume Reb'l Fleur (massive guilty pleasure but it's soo good), Palmers Coco Butter & MAC Soba eyeshadow.

5. Winter or summer, why?

Summer. Hands down, twice over absolute winner. I love the sweltering heat. Yum.

6. What's your favourite breakfast, lunch and dinner?

I've recently discovered healthy oat pancakes so I've been having these with peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch I loooove the Tesco Finest chorizo and butter bean soup (naughty but so, so nice), and then for dinner anything with an Italian twist - it's my favourite cuisine! 

7. If you had £1000 to spend, what would you spend it on?

This probably changes each week / according to my current bank balance... at the moment either a Macbook Pro, or a new wardrobe from Mango.

8. What's your dream designer handbag?

I saw this Lanvin tote bag at an event I went to at a Flannels store, and I genuinely fell in love. Just look at it!

9. Whose your style icon and why?

I always drool over Mollie King (always looks flawless), can't get enough of Cara D (love the grunge element) and Lucy Watson is a total 'fashion-spo'.

10. What do you use to take your pictures for your blog?

I was very kindly given a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62 by my boyfriend for Christmas and it's amazing. I'm not linking to it as I promised him I wouldn't check the price..!! But it's incredible and really easy to handle and carry around and isn't too intimidating - perfect if you're a beginner like me.

11. If you were stranded on a desert island, which celebrity would you chose to take with you?

Ooooh. This is the question I've been having the most difficulty answering. If it was a snowy island off Greenland or a jungle, it would have to be Bear Grylls purely for survival reasons. If we were just going to be chilling on a beach whacking out the baby oil, I'd say Binky Felstead! 

I'm nominating...

I Live This City

I Totally Paused

Some Films and Stuff

Fifi's Skinny Munch

Champagne & Chutney

Mascara and Cakes

Belle Nouveau 

Lux Life.

Char's Insights

Danielle Saint

A Day in the Life of A Northern Girl

My questions to you guys are...

1. Who is your all time favourite blogger?
2. Perfect snack?
3. If you had to give up all social media channels bar one, which would you keep and why?
4. What type of blog post do you enjoy writing the most? e.g make up reviews, restaurant posts, recipes etc
5. Favourite high street brand?
6. What celebrity would you like to be for the day?
7. What is your ultimate 'swear-by' cosmetic product?
8. What inspires you about blogging?
9. If you had to read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
10. Gym or running outdoors?
11. What do you aspire to achieve with your blog?

Have fun! x

Book Club: What I'm Reading (part one)

Sometimes there’s nothing I like doing more on a weekend morning than fluffing up my pillows, wrapping myself in a duvet with an oversized cup of steaming tea and delving in to a good book.

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know I spent the majority of last weekend doing just that. It’s been a bit of a treat for me because I haven’t been reading all that much since the summer.

I’ve made it a bit of a new year’s resolution to try and replace scrolling inanely through my Twitter feed on the way to work in the morning with reading, and so far so good.

I’ve just finished one book, jumped straight into the next one and bought two more books from Waterstones yesterday in a bid to get back into the swing of things.

First up, ‘Goodbye For Now’ by Laurie Frankel

My mum is always, always passing new books to me, recommending authors and forever borrowing books of mine in return. 'Goodbye For Now' was one of those recommendations.

Now I’ll admit, I was a little put off by the title. My assumptive mind whirred ahead and calculated that great, this was going to be a depressing love story. The quote from Glamour magazine on the blurb confirmed this: “A story that fans of One Day will love”. Don’t get me wrong - I really liked reading One Day - but I didn’t think I could take another love-meets-death tear inducing novel. Especially if I was going to be reading this whilst commuting to work!

Anyway, I cracked on. The novel centres itself around online relationships, algorithms and the blossoming romance between Meredith and Sam who meet through work. Sam is a computer ‘whizz’ and creates a programme allowing people to communicate online with dead loved ones. The novel follows the couple, along with Meredith’s cousin Dash (who, by the way, you will want as a friend) as they embark on a revolutionary business invention.

The thing is, I spent the entire length of the novel waiting for one of the protagonists to die. Because that’s what the title suggested. I’m not going to spoil it for you. But I think doing that ruined it a little for me.

Yes. It’s depressing. It will make you want to email (not ring – you’ll see why if you read the book) your nearest and dearest and tell them you love them. But even though death cements the entire novel you’ll feel surprisingly comforted too, and I think this is in part down to Frankel’s brazen approach to the topic.

Rating: 6/10 – this would make a cracking beach book. Easy to read with very likeable characters, and a poignant message carried throughout.

‘The Snow Child’ by Eowyn Ivey

This was another choice from my mum. She gave it to me last Christmas so it’s taken me thirteen months to pick it up. Actually, that’s not true, I’ve started it twice and put it back both times.

I love the cover design, but the first few pages don’t live up to that magical expectation – it comes across as bleak and soulless. Maybe that’s what Ivey wanted. Anyway I’d heard good things so persisted, and I’m glad I did. I’m only fifty pages in but already the spooky, unsettling, mysterious events are beginning to unfold and I can’t wait to find out what happens – I’ll keep you posted!

Next on my list (and chosen for their similarities to ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ series) are ‘The Snowman’ by Jo Nesbo and ‘Until Thy Wrath Be Past’ by AsaLarsson. Got to love a crime thriller.

Have you read any of these? No spoilers!! But I'd love to hear your opinion...