Food: Lunya, Liverpool.

Food: Lunya, Liverpool.

Friday 29 January 2016

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Exams are finally over, hurray!! Last night my best friend from uni and I met up after four months of not seeing each other. Whenever we meet up we tend to go out for a couple of drinks and then a fancy dinner as neither of us drinks much and we much prefer doing something like that. We decided early on in the evening that Spanish tapas was what we wanted and in the end chose the Catalan Spanish restaurant Lunya, which is on College Lane in Liverpool town centre. The restaurant itself is attached to their very famous deli and I’ve been there quite a few times before with friends and my boyfriend but my friend had never eaten in the restaurant itself before. I thought that was an absolute travesty of course, as it’s one of my favourite restaurants, so that was where we decided to eat. 

The first thing I’ll say about Lunya is that their service is like no where I’ve ever been before. Waiters are attentive, helpful if you need them to be but at the same time allow you the space to enjoy your meal without interruptions. Our server was a lovely Greek man whose name I cannot remember for the life of me and he made the experience all the more enjoyable. We decided to go with 7 little tapas dishes between us, although the menu does recommend 4 per person but in the past I’ve ordered way too much food and ended up wasting so decided that wasn’t a good idea. Firstly, we ordered Chorizo, which we specified to be warm and was absolutely amazing, just salty enough and gave off the most remarkable of flavours. I’m not able to eat cow’s milk because of allergies so of course we ordered Manchego which is my all time favourite cheese- this dish comes with little cracker like biscuits and a jelly which is absolutely out of this world. We got Gambas pìl pìl, chilli prawns in a garlic olive oil. It was a little too spicy for my liking but I’m a bit of a wuss where that’s concerned. We also got pork and beef meatballs which were out of this world, a weird crab and seafood mayonnaise dish which we weren’t too keen on, some black pudding meatballs with spicy tomato salsa and finally my favourite of all, jamon croquetas which were absolutely out of this world. Croquetas are probably one of my favourite Spanish delicacies and these were absolutely incredible and I could have eaten an entire plate of them all to myself. We paired our tapas with glasses of wine (I went with a gewürztraminer, my favourite wine) and had the most incredible evening. We paid just over £30 each which I think is an absolute bargain considering everything that we ate. I 100% recommend Lunya to everyone as I honestly can’t think of a single thing that made the experience one I wouldn’t want to experience again. 

Here’s to subtly hinting to boyfriend that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner… 

List: (Yet another) Homeware Wishlist

List: (Yet another) Homeware Wishlist

Friday 15 January 2016

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I know it hasn't been long since I last did a homeware wish-list but procrastinating before my exams has led me back to this point, so I thought I’d at least be slightly productive and blog about the items I’ve found. I’ve exclusively used etsy.com this time around and found some beautiful little pieces that would look amazing in anyone’s home. 

I’ve been loving prints recently and I found quite a few which I’d love to have in my house. The first one is this beautiful gold framed print: “When I’m with you all is right in the world” which I honestly think is a beautiful and inspiring print. I’d even go as far as to say that that’s how I feel as far as my boyfriend is concerned (except when he leaves the toilet seat up. That’s not okay.) You can purchase this print here. The second print is one that’s more me than anything else, as obviously my blog name is Hollie in Wanderlust. I absolutely love travel and have been fortunate enough to do a LOT of it in my 22 years of life and while I’m busy studying and living here in the UK I have that tingle in my extremities just teasing me to get back on the road and do some more exploring. This print is purchasable here. 

My third choice is this absolutely beautiful wooden cut out tea light holder. Paul bought me quite a few candles and candle holders for Christmas which I decided to save for our new house so I’ll probably get into trouble for wanting another one, but this is definitely allowed… I just think it would look lovely with the other tea light holders that he chose for me (they’re both wooden as well) and add a bit of fanciness to the room where the light shines through the cut out trees. You can pick this one up from here. 

The last thing I’ve got on my little homeware wish-list is this absolutely gorgeous gold-rose coloured sequinned cushion I think it’s absolutely gorgeous and totally me, so I’m hoping to get a couple of these thrown on my couch within due time! Pick them up here. 

What’s on your homeware wish-list at the moment? Let me know! 

Book Review: How to Build a Girl - Caitlin Moran

Book Review: How to Build a Girl - Caitlin Moran

Wednesday 13 January 2016

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A friend of my boyfriend’s, who I talk to about books regularly, recently recommended How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran to me. I’d never actually even heard of Caitlin Moran, which I’m slightly embarrassed about considering how she epitomises everything I believe in, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt as normally our taste in books is pretty similar. I asked my boyfriend to buy it for me for Christmas, which he did, and I began it on the train back to my parents’ house the following day.

How to Build a Girl is the story of Johanna Morrigan, brought up in Wolverhampton in the 90s. She discovers a love of music and a talent for reviewing music like no other. She’s chubby, out of place and experiments with her style in order to “build” herself into the perfect girl- or more specifically, her image of the perfect girl. With her new image in tow, as Dolly Wilde she takes a position as a music journalist for an established magazine, befriends rock stars, drinks odious amounts of alcohol and experiments sexually, all the while trying to help her poverty-stricken parents put meals on the table. 

The first (and probably the most important) observation about How to Build A Girl that I feel is necessary to make is that it’s bloody hilarious, almost without intending on being so. Moran has a style so beautifully intelligent and comical that that alone makes this book unputdownable. How much of the book is based on real life events I do not know, but it does feel like it has been based on her own experiences growing up - or at least she has taken from these experiences and fictionalised the rest of them to write a bloody good book. I must admit a few of the scenes at the beginning of the book, particularly the references to masterbating whilst her younger brother was in the room made me feel a little bit uncomfortable and I was a bit unsure as to why my friend- a guy- was recommending such a thing, but, not one to give up on a book, I persevered and I’m really glad I did. I laughed until I couldn’t laugh any longer and even felt that the book was heartfelt in some places, with a message at the end which completely changed my perspective of Johanna. I found Johanna’s character incredibly irritating for the most part, but I think that was definitely the point- I thought her obsession with the rockstarJohn Kite was ridiculous but at the same time representative of females going through their teenage years. I cheered for her when she dumped her good for nothing “boyfriend” and  The writing is a tad crude, possibly too crude for younger readers, so I’m a little bit sceptical at it being considered as a YA book but that’s just my opinion. 

All in all, I’m very happy to have read this book and look forward to reading more works by Moran. I’ve recommended this to a few of my friends already and added “How to be a Woman” to my to-be-read pile. 

4/5. 

Haul: LUSH Cosmetics

Haul: LUSH Cosmetics

Monday 11 January 2016

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My little brother bought me a LUSH gift set (and a massive bottle of the comforter shower gel, yay) for Christmas so I thought I’d share the items he ever so kindly got for me.The first item I found in the box was Holly Golightly, a bubble bar which I actually purchased for myself a few months ago and absolutely loved. It smells amazing and turns your bath water into glittery dark green goodness. I still have a little of my old one left but I’m happy to have another for when that one runs out because it’s one of my favourite bubble bars to date.

There were three bath bombs in the box as well- Star Dust, which I’ve actually used already (hence why it’s not in the picture with all the others, I got too excited and used it when I finally had the house to myself tonight. I did snap a quick picture beforehand though.) It smells absolutely fabulous and I can still smell it lingering on my skin which is fabulous as normally smells don’t cling to my skin. It left sequin like rings of colour in the bath which dissolved at the touch which was lovely and I wasn’t expecting that! The second of the bombs was Lord of Misrule which I’d never actually seen in store or heard of. Again it smells lovely (as is always the case with lush) and I’m excited to see what it’ll do to the water- I’m sure there’s a little surprise or two inside. The final of the three bombs gifted to me was Yog Nog which I have heard so much about in the blogging world. I’m so excited to give this one a go as it smells absolutely incredible, just like what Christmas should smell like. It smells buttery and warm and I can’t wait to smell just like this as well. I’m absolutely gutted that this is a Christmas exclusive as it’s definitely something I could see myself buying on a monthly basis. 

Did you receive any Lush products for Christmas? Which would you recommend I try out next? Let me know! I hope you all had wonderful Christmases. 

Goodreads: Vipers Book Hunter Challenge

Goodreads: Vipers Book Hunter Challenge

Saturday 9 January 2016

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The Goodreads book group that I joined up to a few years ago does a yearly book challenge, and this year happens to be the first year that I actually decided to properly take part and try to stick to it. The concept behind the challenge is to find words in a word search created by the group administrators,  each word being part of a different book title. I opted to read 10 books for this particular channel (out of the 35 for my overall Goodreads challenge) so here are my first five, which I've just purchased ready for when my exams are over on the 26th of this month. 

I chose the books by typing the word into amazon and choosing the best sounding one on the first page. Perhaps that’s cheating, but who cares, eh? 

Day - The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson

Woman - The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

Secret - The Daughter’s Secret by Eleanor Moran

Beach - The Beach by Alex Garland

Ship - The Ship of Brides - Jojo Moyes 

I’m particularly looking forward to reading The Beach by Alex Garland. It’s been on lists of optional reading for literature modules I’ve taken in the past and I’ve never opted to choose it for any of my submissions- I thought it was about time I got it read and no better excuse than to do so through a challenge. Jojo Moyes is one of my favourite contemporary authors so I’m also looking forward to giving this one a go as well, although I don’t really know much about it. 

Are you involved in any reading challenges in 2016? Let me know down in the comments, I’m always looking for new book recommendations as well. 

Life: 2016 Resolutions

Life: 2016 Resolutions

Wednesday 6 January 2016

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Be more positive. I’m an incredibly negative person at the moment and it’s driving me mad- I remember the happy and positive person I was at the beginning of 2015 and I’m going to work on getting myself back to that stage.

Eat more healthily. I know we all say we’re going to go on a major health kick at the start of a new year but this time I actually want to stick to it. I’ve found some lovely, healthy recipes to have a go at so I’m looking forward to trying new foods and spicing up my dinners. No more midnight Just Eat pizza orders for me… 

Be body confident. This links in with both of the above resolutions really, but I want to start going to the gym to tone up a bit and gain some muscle mass in my arms, or if not the gym just do some of my own workouts at home. There are certain parts of me that I can’t stand and I know there are things I can do to change this, so this year is the year I intend on doing it. 

What are your resolutions for the New Year? Let me know! 

Goodreads: Top 5 Reads of 2015

Goodreads: Top 5 Reads of 2015

Sunday 3 January 2016

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I managed to get about 38 books read in 2015, including university reads so I thought I’d do a little round-up of some of the best books I read over the course of the year. 

I started off the year pretty well with arguably one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time, The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. My German friend Antonia was gifted this book and raved about it to me as soon as she’d finished it (in fact, she also started translating it into German so her mother could read it too. I’m not sure whether she actually finished that mammoth task or not!). I started and finished it within a few evenings- it was absolutely one of the most beautiful and thought-provoking books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Its overall rating on Goodreads is 4.25/5 based on over 95,000 ratings and I honestly think that in itself speaks volumes. It had me laughing and it had me absolutely bawling my eyes out on more than one occasion. If I could recommend one book, it would definitely be this one. 

The second book I’d consider a part of my top 5 is an unusual one- The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Dénis Thériault. I first came across this book in a French bookstore whilst I was living in France and decided instead to track it down in English, to make things a little easier for myself. I’m glad I did as it was absolutely beautiful to read. It’s definitely very different but a very short read - a good one to try if you’re in a bit of a reading slump. 

I got really into psychological thrillers last year so obviously, I have to include a few of those in my choices. I particularly enjoyed (as did most people, it seems) I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Both of these books left me wanting to know exactly what was going on and I definitely couldn’t put them down once I’d started them. I reviewed The Girl on the train here and I Let You Go here.

My last choice was another one which was originally written in French, The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker. I read this on a train to Pwllheli (and on the return back to Liverpool) and was hooked from the word go. It’s a book within a book and ultimately a crime novel with a twist. It kept me guessing until the very end and was incredibly well written (and translated). It’s definitely one that I would put up with my favourite books of all time. You can read my review of it here if you so wish. 

Which books did you read in 2015 that are worth giving a go? Let me know in the comments below and follow me on Goodreads here.