Liverpool is one of my favourite places in the North West. A vibrant city, thriving with culture, you're never short of things to see and do or new places to eat and drink. I was challenged to spend a day out in Liverpool looking a little closer at what the city has to offer, and I like to think I've found some of its finest hidden gems.

For my trip, the spending money was gifted by hotels.com, but all views are my own. Whether you're staying in one of the hotels in Liverpool or enjoying a flying visit like mine, I can promise that it's impossible to be bored for even a minute in this city.

What To Do

Breakout Liverpool

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle, where better than an escape room? I visited with a bunch of bloggers for my first escape room experience, and found that the staff explained things really well and the props we had to seek in the room were well thought out, making it even more fun.

Tall Ship Zebu
As the name suggests, this majestic piece of maritime history isn't exactly hidden- you can see her standing tall at Canning Dock or The Royal Albert Dock. The real secrets are seen below deck, where for just £1 you can explore and learn how she has been lovingly restored after sinking in 2015.

St George's Hall Prison

Maybe 'out of sight, out of mind' was the inspiration for these underground prison cells! Under the grand and gorgeous St George's Hall you can step into the eerie cells, see the faces of the inmates, and read about their crimes. It's free to enter, just follow the main road to the left of the building and go through the door marked for St George's Heritage Centre.

Where To Shop

GRIN

If hunting hidden gems is your thing, head to Bold Street with purse in hand and dig through the many vintage shops to unearth some goodies. GRIN is my personal favourite- it's eclectic but organised, with different areas of the shop offering a whole range of different items, from casual sweaters to shiny foil rompers, and even gothic occasion wear.

The Hippy Hole

Also on Bold Street, this is, as the name suggests, a patchouli scented tie dye haven packed with pieces that look like they're straight from the swinging sixties. At the back there is an Americana vintage store with racks of old sports sweatshirts, cool cropped shirts, and even authentic Levis' jackets for £30 a pop. There's also a vegan cafe downstairs to refuel between bargain hunting.

Where To Eat

Bold Street is full of independent eateries and is THE place for grabbing lunch in stylish, Instagrammable surroundings. If you're looking for a full 3 course meal head to Villa Romana- Liverpool's number one Italian- tucked just one street behind the bottom of Bold Street.

Inside is a cosy setting and atmosphere, with a pretty varied menu and huge portions. I started my visit there with a delicious fresh garlic bread and haven't stopped thinking about it since; perfect chewy dough laden with a tangy tomato sauce packed full of garlic, just the way I like it.

What are your favourite things to do in Liverpool?

My sister recently turned 30 (she'll kill me for telling you that), and asked to go for afternoon tea, so being the excellent sister I am, I got her e vouchers from Groupon for the award winning Dearden Tearooms, in Haslingden, and we took a family trip on Friday afternoon.

The tearooms themselves are in a cobbled street, and the interior is old fashioned, like stepping back in time for tea with your granny. The room we were seated in was freezing, dark, and just looked dingy rather than vintage. However, this wasn't the case with other rooms we walked through which looked lighter and cosier, we just happened to pull the short straw on this occasion. 

The waitresses were friendly and polite when they came over to explain the beverages we could enjoy with our afternoon tea. There were around 30 teas on offer, as well as coffee, or homemade pink lemonade. As soon as I heard those three words, my eyes lit up! Pink lemonade is my favourite drink, and this one didn't disappoint. Served in a mason jar with fruit and mint, it was the perfect mix of syrupy sweet and tangy kick- I wish I'd upgraded to the refillable option because I could have drunk gallons.

The tea itself was a traditional afternoon tea, although I did spot that they do themed ones, such as Harry Potter. The savoury layer consisted of cheese savoury, ham and mustard, and egg mayo finger sandwiches, and parsnip and ginger soup. I hate both of those flavours, so steered clear, but my parents assured me it was well balanced and delicious. I did hoover up the sandwiches, and they were absolutely delicious, but I wish we had been given more. Perhaps it's just me being greedy, but they only made up 3/4 of a normal sandwich.

Happily the tearooms were more generous with their scones, giving us one plain and one fruit each, all of them still warm. They had a lovely crisp edge and moist centre, and plenty of clotted cream and strawberry jam to go with them.

The cake tier is always my favourite, and I was definitely not disappointed! Sometimes eateries will give you only one of each item, forcing you to choose or cut them in half, but luckily we each had the same: a slice of spiced chocolate cake, a lemon posset, and a large macaron.

The chocolate cake was lightly spiced, which would normally put me off, but it was rich, sweet, and had the fudgy texture of a brownie. It was actually my favourite bit of the meal. Posset isn't really my thing, but the citrus did stop the rich cream from becoming. The macaron was pretty large and had been made really well. The discs were crisp, there was plenty of buttercream, and there was a light peachy flavour that was both unusual and a good partner for the almond in the biscuit and the sharp raspberries decorating it. 

I'm not sure Dearden Tearooms' afternoon tea can top my all time favourite from the Garden Kitchen, but it was a lovely experience. I paid £38 and felt that I got great value for my money. All the food was fresh and good quality, and I appreciated that they had included more modern, unexpected items in a traditional afternoon tea menu, such as the pink lemonade and macaron. 

What's your favourite part of afternoon tea?

A new year calls for a new shoutout series! We've had Friday Five, Sunday Shoutout, Shop Small, and 2019 is the year of Girl Power, where I'll choose a particular field and celebrate a few females who are smashing it. First up I'd like to put the spotlight on the gals who have turned doodled designs into perfect products, with their crafts being enjoyed by customers all over the world.

It's not easy setting up your own arty business, you have to be made of tough stuff to keep your head high when sales are low, to keep motivating yourself even when the voice of doubt tells you to throw the towel in. It occurred to me that the smallest, most random ideas can become huge successes if we believe and these women are the living proof. Self doubt is rife in creative fields, and it stops many of us really going for our goals, so it's empowering to look at other people who prove that we can do it. I love that these ladies not only have creative vision, flair, and skill, but have learned how to turn their passion into profit and handle the the boring business side, too. 

BearFace Prints

Maybe I'm a bit biased because I've actually worked for Natalie, but getting to know her means I can vouch for how passionate she is about her products- I heard lots of swearing when things were not perfectly straight, neat, or, well, perfect! The BearFace brand and her signature 'Me, Myself, and IVF' journals came to life when she was going through IVF, a very trying and overwhelming process, and designed her first diary to make it more enjoyable and positive. BearFace has grown from there, with her range now including a rainbow of diaries, greetings cards, positivity pencils, and badges, all with the aim to bring a smile to the recipient.

Holly's Lollies

A real life Willy Wonka, Holly saw a space on the market for sweet treats with a cocktail kick and went for it. Now her business is booming, and she has a full blown factory with her own Oompa Loompas producing an entire range, from prosecco-laced pops to humbugs with a hit of sloe gin. 2019 will make it 6 years since Holly first began tinkering in her kitchen, and it really is excellent to see her self taught recipes have developed into the success they are today. If you needed the push to try something new, let Holly's story be it.

Honeywell Biscuit Co

Biscuit decorating is an art form in my eyes. I love watching videos of icing being flooded and teased into intricate designs, and few are more beautiful and unique than Honeywell's. Alongside the vision and skill to be able to bake these tasty works of art, I imagine you have to really nail your promotion and marketing to get them seen and bought, and Honeywell have absolutely mastered it. They have a gorgeous Instagram feed (@honeywellbiscuitco), their biscuits have featured on GBBO: An Extra Slice and at events for big brands like Viktor and Rolf, and the business has grown enough for the owner to part-homeschool her children.

Emily Coxhead
If anyone is a ray of sunshine and a champion of the phrase 'be the change you want to see', it's Emily. Fed up with so much misery in mainstream media, Emily decided to create The Happy Newspaper, which balances the bad and highlights the good. Alongside injecting a bit of joy through the newspaper subscription and social media accounts (@thehappynewspaper), this clever queen also designed a range of separate positive products which are stocked in John Lewis, Paperchase, and Boots!

These are just a few of the amazing females believing and achieving their dreams! I'd love to know who you look up to, too.

I do like to bang on about my bad skin here on this blog. Extreme dryness, cysts, scarring, I really pulled the short straw, as you might have seen in my IT Cosmetics review. I've tried everything to tame it, and have finally found Superdrug's own brand skincare to be the most caring, keeping my skin feeling healthy, happy, and comfortable while antibiotics get to work on the cysts and I save up for laser treatment on the scars.

Some people swear by using one particular set of skincare only, but I've found that dabbling across a few of Superdrug's lines caters best to my complexion. The Naturally Radiant line is formulated with glycolic acid to slough away dead skin cells and encourage luminosity in the skin, while the Vitamin E line is designed to protect the skin and caters for dry skin. For active acne there is the Deep Action range, with spot fighting ingredients to target blemishes. I love that, as with all of Superdrug's own products, they are all cruelty free and often vegan. There's almost always a deal on, too, so I can stock up at really good prices- I've even become one of those people who has a drawer of skincare backups.

FIRST...

Morning and night I swear by the hot cloth cleanser. I believe the Naturally Radiant one has been discontinued, so I now use the Vitamin E, and have been through countless tubes in the last few years. It's thick and creamy enough to feel nourishing and remove makeup well, but not so oily that it gets in my eyes or leaves a coating on my face. If I've worn makeup I'll leave it on my skin for a minute to really work, rinse off, then repeat, and if I'm using it on clean skin I like to massage it in to boost circulation before buffing off with a flannel or the cloth provided.

THEN...

If my skin feels particularly dry, I follow my cleanse with a spritz of the Vitamin E hydrating mist, which has horse chestnut extract to offer extra moisture to the skin. Whereas most sprays feel like plain old H2O, this one leaves my skin feeling plumped and calm. It's also brilliant to use over makeup to meld it together and give a little glow. 

At night I'll either swap or follow the mist with some sort of acid, an absolute must in my routine. The Naturally Radiant pads are similar to the famed Pixi Glow Tonic, while the Deep Action pads are something I reach for when my skin is really acting up and I want something stronger.

I'm not religious about using serum as I have found they can ball up if I don't let them sink in properly, but I do like to keep a bottle of the Vitamin E serum on hand, and sometimes use it instead of moisturiser. My normal moisturisers are the Naturally Radiant day cream, and my most recent find for night is the Vitamin E intensive moisturiser. I had been using the Vitamin E oil but didn't like the packaging or find it very effective, so I swapped it for the moisturiser and it may be my favourite from the whole line up. This unassuming pot of cream somehow manages to be thick, but light and easily absorbed, yet still deeply nourishing. If you have dry skin, you must give it a go.

FINALLY...

For an added boost, I turn to the masks and treatments Superdrug stock. The Deep Action anti blemish gel isn't effective on cysts, but is always ready and waiting in my night stand to dab on lurking spots before they become full blown mountains, while the Naturally Radiant overnight peel is on standby if my skin needs some serious perking up before an event or after illness. Oddly, the only mask I don't like is the Vitamin E moisture mask, which felt very greasy and broke me out in tiny whiteheads every time I tried it, so I would advise a thick layer of the intensive moisturiser instead.

I do complement my routine with things I'm sent to try from time to time, but these products are the ones I return to and repurchase time and time again. In my teen years I thought I had to use harsh, stripping products, whereas now I'm happy to have found a full affordable, cruelty free routine that nourishes my skin and makes it the best it can be.

What are your skincare essentials?

HAPPA, or the Horse and Pony Protection Association, to give it its proper title, is a farm out in the Burnley countryside that serves as a haven for horses and ponies from all kinds of awful backgrounds. It's a place where they're not overworked or unloved, but where they can live in warm, clean stables, eat plenty of fresh hay and apples, and be treated by vets and trainers who see their value and potential.

My mum has always been a horse lover, and with her birthday coming up I decided to surprise her with a visit and lunch at their Scullery café. As soon as we pulled into the car park, we were greeted with the sight of a horse and pony breaking into a run around the field, galloping with glee just as they should. As we stepped out of the car they ran up to snuffle our coats and say hello, which immediately told me how well the staff have worked to restore their trust in humans.

Our next stop was signing the visitors' book and chatting to the lovely receptionist who told us all about the farm's background and ethos. They have around 50 horses on site at any time, all of which have care plans which the dedicated staff carry out to bring the horses back to full health and show them that they are loved. The aim is then to find new homes, whether as riding horses or companions, so the horses are totally fulfilled and the farm can take in new residents. They never lose touch with their horses, following up their fostering or rehoming to ensure they are still receiving the best care.

After learning more, it was time for the best part- seeing more! For the next 40 minutes, we met each of the horses and ponies, aahing and awwing at them all. Of course I would never choose favourites, but some especially memorable residents include Tipsy the foal, the farm's newest resident, Sebastian the pony, who licked my coat and nuzzled into my side as I stroked his mane and told him (about 1000 times) what a beautiful boy he was, and Pascal. This black and white beauty was born on the farm, and after figuring us out for a few shy minutes, he warmed up and began pulling my dad's scarf and licking my hair! We were more than happy to indulge him, and all the horses, with cuddles and attention. They are so deserving of love after their harsh starts in life.

Along the way, we stopped a few members of staff to ask some quick questions, and despite having plenty of tasks to do they were so polite and kind, and happy to explain things to us. It was evident how much they adore the horses in the way they spoke to us and them, and the way the horses stuck their heads out as soon as they heard the girls approaching.

It was a chilly day when we visited, with cold gusts blowing through the valley, so we were all too happy to warm up in the Scullery café after meeting everyone. Honestly I had expected a few wooden tables in a country style kitchen, a place to grab a quick bite and an instant coffee, but the Scullery is definitely a well planned investment that offers excellent food in a stylish environment. The building is a gorgeous, modern, glass affair, offering views across the valley, with cosy tweed chairs or trendy industrial chairs and tables, and cute seats fashioned from old saddles for the kids.

I ordered a veggie platter, which came with the best houmous I've ever had, pitta bread, mozzarella dippers, salad, coleslaw, marinated courgettes, and the most delicious falafel. I believe they were fried, and the filling remained warm, moist, and tasty as I tucked in. Meanwhile my parents enjoyed a fresh burger and a pulled pork sandwich. I paid around £9 each which was great value considering the lovely location, and the huge, fresh portions. Our lunch was made even better by the server, Melissa, being so bubbly and polite, and we've already decided we have to go back for their special fish and chips on a Friday.

If you didn't know, I used to volunteer on a therapy farm, getting the horses ready for riders, and even then I wasn't a big fan of them, but I fell head over hooves for the wonderful horses and ponies at HAPPA, and feel so much respect for every worker who plays a part in rehabilitating them. My parents feel the same way, and we already can't wait to visit again in warmer weather, when we can see more ponies enjoying the pastures, and have a wander through the farm's wildflower trail ourselves. If you're an animal lover near Lancashire, I highly suggest you do the same.

I like to think I'm the kinda gal who likes the simple things in life. The smell of a freshly cut orange, the sound of seagulls... and snacking. A few Pringles here, a dried apricot there, it's my number one rule to always keep nibbly bits close at hand. Popcorn Shed share my ethos, and the two masterminds cousins behind the brand have cooked up a range of flavours to suit any snacker. With salted caramel chocolate chip, cheese, and fruit and nut options to choose from, this isn't your garden variety popcorn. From small beginnings in their own garden shed, this homegrown business has boomed, and you can now 'pop' a box in your basket in John Lewis or popcornshed.com. 

Oh the infamous 'what I got for Christmas' posts. Some love them, some hate them. I'm firmly in the love camp, there's nothing nicer than seeing people so happy and excited with their gifts, and I often get ideas for gifts to purchase for my own loved ones. With that said, I'll crack on and maybe give you some inspo, too.

Beauty

NYX Machinist 'Grind' palette

I promised myself I didn't need any more makeup, but this unusual Steampunk palette just called to me! I tend to do my makeup in the car (passenger seat only of course) and this offers the perfect selection of shimmers, bold mattes, and neutral essentials to create a range of full looks.

Seche Vite

Hands down the best nail product I have ever tried. It really does perform like a gel without needing curing or soaking off. My boyfriend gave me the original and Seche Vive, which is apparently even more gel-like.

Patisserie de Bain Rhubarb and Custard hand cream

My hands look alarmingly like Voldemort's, only drier, so hand creams are always a good gift for me and this one really does smell good enough to eat.

'Dirty' Toothy Tabs

If you haven't heard of LUSH toothy tabs, allow me to introduce you. You simple chew one up then brush your teeth as normal, but in my experience they clean the whole mouth far better than any regular toothpaste. The flavours do take some getting used to, and they don't contain fluoride to protect your teeth, but they do polish your gnashers perfectly.

Hair

Babyliss Multi Styler

With 8 options to straighten, curl, and even crimp, I no longer have an excuse to let my barnet run frizzy and free. I've already tried the curling barrel and found that it's too slim and short to curl my long hair quickly, but having all the attachments in one box is much easier to store than 8 separate stylers.

GHD hairbrush

After watching Brad Mondo's video on how to get a salon blowdry at home, I set about hunting for a good ceramic hairbrush with synthetic bristles, and my poor boyfriend must have gotten bored of me droning on about it, so bought me this GHD one! It's so fancy, it even comes in its own special storage box.

Food

Would it be Christmas without chocolate? My family know my sweet tooth well and gifted me boxes and bars, coins and oranges of the good stuff, which I'm planning to hide from myself to enjoy slowly rather than inhaling. I also received something I'd never had or even heard of before: The Vegan Kind chocolate box. This was the present that totally took me by surprise. Last year I really made an effort to eat vegan where I could, but because I live with my family and they prefer to run the kitchen, it kind of slipped away. It's still something I see for my future, and my boyfriend helped me out by gifting me this box, with a selection of cruelty and dairy free sweet treats. I will definitely be sharing more details in a full review post.

Random

Wobbling Wallace

I wonder how many other 23 year old women unwrapped one of these bad lads and shrieked with delight? I love Wallace (not so much Gromit) so the idea of him merrily wobbling away in my car just fills me with joy.

Chameleon Mug

When my sister asked my favourite animal (orangutans, crocodiles, chameleons, FYI) I didn't think much of it, but it made sense when I opened this! Very impractical for drinking out of, but perfect for storing pens and craft supplies.

What was the weirdest gift you received this Christmas?