Number 65: Visit 10 European countries - Poland

Back in January, a couple of friends and I jetted off for our annual European city-break.  This is the third year we've spent a weekend away at the start of the year - first Brussels, then Budapest and this year we settled on Warsaw.

Having never been to Poland before, I didn't really know what to expect (although I thought it would be pretty bleak) and I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to eat anything remotely native.

I was totally wrong on all counts.  Warsaw's old town was completely beautiful - full of brightly coloured buildings, ornate castles and palaces. Friday afternoon we were greeted by snow, which made everything look magical and the freezing temperatures a bit more palatable.

And it turns out I needn't have worried about finding pescatarian safe food, turns out the Polish are really into spinach and sushi...

Number 21: Make 10 recipes off of Pinterest - Simnel cake

This Easter I decided to try baking a simnel cake for the second time.  Last year's one turned out pretty well, but I wasn't sure if that was beginner's luck rather than skill!

I cracked out the same recipe - from the BBC Food website and got ready to spend approximately three hours up to my elbows in marzipan.  And, apart from having to switch scales part way through, second time worked a treat.

Number 97: Knit my own pair of socks

After a failed first attempt to knit a pair of socks about a year ago (where I ended up with an ill-fitting Christmas-stocking type monstrosity), I finally got around to a second attempt.

I decided to start afresh with a new pattern (this one from Ravelry), which was relatively easy to follow - even for a complete novice.  Although, I think turning heels will always baffle me and cause me to lob my knitting across the room.

All in all I'm pretty chuffed with the results though and I'm sure I'll give them another go in the future, but maybe not for a little while...

Number 57: Complete my interrail scrapbook

The summer of the first year of uni, which is longer ago than I care to admit, I went inter-railing with a few friends.  We took a totally crazy route, got stuck in Switzerland unexpectedly and managed not to lose anyone along the way.

I started to collate all my photos and paraphernalia when we got back and then got sidetracked for about six years...  Before Christmas, I finally got around to finishing it off and spent a lovely day reminiscing about our travels.

 

Number 19: Discover 10 new restaurants - Yo! Sushi

At the end of November, I headed down to Plymouth to go annoy my sister instead for the weekend, giving my parents a well-deserved rest from me.

Yo! Sushi was the plan for Saturday lunchtime, which I'd previously always been slightly intimidated by - how does it work?!  Luckily my sister is well-versed in sushi conveyor belts and showed me the ropes.  She also convinced me to try out katsu curry for the first time - converted.

Although it's not the cheapest, the food was delicious and its Plymouth location is the perfect people watching spot.

Number 13: See ten “so-called” classic films - Holiday Inn

Christmas movies are my favourite.  Spending the whole of the festive season at home this year means my family have been subjected to a fair few classics (much to their disgust!).  So far we've had White Christmas, The Bishop's Wife, It's a Wonderful Life and Holiday Inn (as well as some more recent faves: Arthur Christmas, Love Actually, The Holiday and The Polar Express).  

Photo source

Holiday Inn is an underrated gem in my personal opinion, with cracking song and dance numbers (I'll Capture Your Heart is my personal highlight).  Featuring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire and White Christmas, you can't really go wrong.

Number 21: Make 10 recipes off of Pinterest - Candy cane marshmallows

Cooking is not my most successful venture.  However long the recipe says cooking time should be, I have to double it.  I also seem to use every utensil in the entire kitchen, which is why this particular challenge has gone so long without being started.

However, I was determined to make some of Martha Stewart's candy cane marshmallows to include in my Secret Santa gift.  I waited until I had the house to myself, gave myself plenty of time and had collected all the ingredients together (like they used to on Blue Peter).

And I was pleasantly surprised by the results - they looked almost the same as the picture (and they tasted fine, unlike my misadventure with sea-salt fudge...)!

Number 8: Send someone flowers out of the blue

Recently I've been lucky enough to have two lovely weekends away - one in Manchester and one in Plymouth.  To say thank you for putting me up (and for putting up with me!) I thought I'd try out Bloom and Wild's flower delivery service.

Photo source

I was little bit dubious about sending flowers through the post, especially as I haven't had the best of luck with the postal service recently, but I've been very pleasantly surprised.  Earlier this week, I sent two bouquets and they've both been really well received (and completely beautiful).  I would definitely recommend!
  

Number 19: Discover 10 new restaurants - TNQ

Another new restaurant discovery from my weekend away in Manchester in the middle of November...

Photo source

The Northern Quarter restaurant is tucked away down the High Street and although I lived 10 minutes away for a year, I'd never been.

It was the perfect place for a delicious Sunday lunch (with all of the seafood), before heading back home.  Another one that I would highly recommend.

Number 19: Discover 10 new restaurants - Croma

This post should definitely have the disclaimer of "new-to-me" restaurants...

Photo source

Croma is by no means new, in fact it's a bit of a Manchester institution; with the first restaurant opening in 2000.  But, despite living in the city for seven years, I had never been...  So, spending a rainy Saturday evening catching up with old friends over delicious pizza and a few glasses of wine seemed like the perfect way to rectify this oversight.

The food was delicious, I can't recommend the Garstang blue and goat's cheese pizza highly enough.  And I will definitely be back to sample more of the menu next time I'm "up North".

Number 17: Watch 10 Audrey Hepburn films - Paris when it Sizzles

This is one of those films that gets funnier every time I watch it.  I love the film-within-a-film aspect and all the geeky references to other Hepburn films.  And let's face it, its worth watching for Tony Curtis alone...

Photo source

Number 19: Discover 10 new restaurants - Wahaca

Last weekend, I headed back up to Manchester for some much needed catching up with friends.  As always, there were tonnes of new restaurants that had opened up in my absence so we took the opportunity to try out a few of them (more to follow...).

Photo source

First on the list was Wahaca, which I'd never been to before despite it being quite a large chain.  And I was really impressed - we had delicious food and good service, I'd definitely recommend!  And as they regularly change the menu, I'll be heading back too to see what's on offer.

Number 17: Watch 10 Audrey Hepburn films - Charade

Image source

I do love a whodunnit, so a whodunnit featuring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant was always going to be a winner.  This is the sort of film you can watch over again and see more each time.  I love every twist and turn in this cracking film.

An exhibition of Audrey portraits has just opened at The Wilson in Cheltenham and I'm very excited to see it (once I've watched a few more of her films).

Number 47: Exercise 3 times a week for 3 months

Having conquered the first hurdle of actually attending a Barre Concept class, I challenged myself to exercise three times a week for three months.  I did a combination of cycling and classes and I think having the challenge as an impetus really spurred me on.  I'm never going to be super fit or mega into exercise, but hopefully I'll keep my body in better nick for a little bit.

Photo source

I completed this challenge early in July and managed to keep up attending Barre Concept until I moved home.  Since getting back I've basically done nothing, but last week I started doing a few of Yoga with Adriene's videos, which I'm really enjoying so far.

Number 37: Visit every county in the UK - Yorkshire

This year, I was invited to my first ever hen party and followed by my first wedding as an actual grown up (not just tagging along with the rest of my family).  This meant that both my May bank holidays were spent in the largest county in the England; Yorkshire (Leeds to be specific).  And it was pretty glorious...

Number 35: Take a cooking lesson

For my birthday this year, my parents bought me a bread baking lesson at the Cambridge Cookery School.  Having never made bread before, I was a little nervous about nearly a full day of baking!  But the day was really good fun - baking four different types of bread (Scandinavian soda bread, cinnamon rolls, bread rolls and white tin loaf), each using a different technique and then eating lunch as a big group and sampling some variations on the recipes we'd tried.

Spoils of the day...

Since the lesson, I've tried making the cinnamon rolls again and, although they weren't quite as perfect, they were edible #nailedit.

Number 90: Meet a celebrity

Having already scoured the shelves of Waterstones in Piccadilly for a signed copy of Mary Portas' memoir Shop Girl following her signing, which I sadly couldn't make, you can imagine my excitement when I spotted that she would be speaking at the Cambridge Literary Festival.

After listening to a lively discussion, I queued up with the rest of the hoards to meet the lady herself.  She was so lovely, exactly like she is on the telly, even though I was completely tongue-tied at meeting her in the flesh!  

Number 44: Buy personalised stationery

I've always loved writing (and receiving!) letters via good old fashioned snail mail.  But it wasn't until I starting reading Carly's blog that starting lusting after my very own personalised stationery. It seems that this sort of thing is much easier to get hold of in the US, but after a bit of searching I came across Honey Tree Publishing.  After a large amount of deliberation, I finally decided on a pretty bicycle design and placed my order, which arrived super quickly (now I just need to get organised to actually write my letters!).

Number 79: Go to an art gallery that I haven’t been to

A few weekends ago, whilst on a short trip up to Manchester, I got chance to take a look around the newly-refurbished Whitworth Art Gallery.

I know.  I've been to this gallery before.  In fact, I lived next to it in my first year of University and used it, and the surrounding park, as my space to relax away from the flat.  But, with the extensive work they've done it feels like a completely different space.

We enjoyed lunch in the new cafe in the trees, which had disappointing service but excellent food (hopefully the service will be better next time we visit!).  Then we headed out into the galleries to look around the new exhibits, which were beautiful.  If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit.

Photos shamelessly stolen from my friend Alexa.

Number 13: See ten “so-called” classic films - The Lady Vanishes

Photo source

After watching the latest BBC version of The Lady Vanishes at the end of 2013, having never heard of it before, I was completely taken with the story.  I've long been a fan of whodunnits (how do you become Miss Marple?!) and I love 1930s fashion, so naturally this was right up my street.

I recently re-watched this version and then managed to track down the book the film was inspired by at the library. So, to top of the set, I thought I'd watch the Hitchcock version.  Each version of the story is slightly different, which (unusually) I really liked - it's good to have a new twist in the story to keep you on your toes!  All in all, I think the book was my favourite version of the story (original and best?).  Maybe don't use it as your commuting book though...