#RORBlogSwap Manchester

Hello everyone!

So, this weekend was very exciting for me as I attended my first ever blogger event! Since getting into blogging, I had started becoming aware of events going on and when I heard about this one hosted by Rock On Ruby I was so excited to attend and get to know some bloggers in real life! It’s so easy to just talk through social media and blog comments, but nothing beats meeting people face to face. This was a great event, because it was a clothes swap as well as a meet-up. Let’s see how I got on…

I got up bright and early on Saturday morning and, after treating myself to a breakfast of Nutella, peanut butter and banana on seeded toast (yum!) caught the train to Manchester via Leeds. I love travelling, whether on my own or with company, so it was an easy and relaxing journey with Take That’s new album blaring through my earphones, getting lost in my Glamour magazine!

I had my outfit planned before I even knew about this event- I bought a gorgeous mint sheer-panelled blouse from Marks & Spencer’s Limited Edition collection last week and I am absolutely in love with the colour and style. I’m obsessed with River Island’s high-waisted panelled leggings in all the different patterns and colours- I now own four pairs! My latest herringbone pair are perfect to pair with my new blouse.

My Clarks Chelsea boots are my favourite footwear right now, and they bring the whole outfit together. Plus, they’re really comfy for heels!

I bought this Barry M Gelly nail varnish in Coconut to pair with the outfit, et voila- pastel perfection! I had been on the hunt for a white nail varnish and, whilst I love this one, it’s more of a cream than a white which isn’t easy to see in the bottle. Well, you can never have too many nail varnishes and I’ll carry on the hunt! I love Barry M’s Gelly range and have quite a few colours now- I can’t wait for their new Spring collection to launch later this month!

When I arrived in Manchester, I needed to find a plug to charge my phone pronto, as my camera SD card is broken so I had to rely on my iPhone for photographs this weekend! I scouted out the nearest Starbucks and treated myself to a hazelnut hot chocolate whilst waiting for my battery to top up. Can you tell I was wearing berry lipstick?

The event started at 1pm, so I headed over to The Font bar which was 2 minutes away from Oxford Road station- I’m sad to say I didn’t see much of Manchester while I was there! I was a little bit nervous going along to my first event by myself, but luckily I bumped into the lovely Sarah (What Sass Says) outside while I was hovering around the entrance! We met in first year at the amazing Leeds Freestyle Dance society, where I made my best friends at uni, but we hadn’t seen each other in nearly a year now I’m not currently at uni- it was great to catch up.

The event was held in the basement of the building, which had been decked out in cute decorations, fairy lights and delicious treats, as well as rails of Rock On Ruby gear and a rail ready to hang our clothes on for the swap! How cute is this table, covered with retro sweets and cakes? I had to photograph it quickly before all the cakes disappeared!

   

The Kiss From Ruby cocktails were a big favourite with everyone, and I loved the butterfly buns- all the treats were straight out of a childhood birthday party and it was perfect! The checked tablecloths were also a cute little touch.

The atmosphere was great- it was nice to see people who already knew each other catching up, and I soon got chatting to some of the girls whose blogs I had read before. I had a great natter with the lovely Alex, Jenny, Emma, Beth, Frankie, Jen and Sarah, talking all things New York (this turned into a lengthy discussion about the amazing city!), blogging, cameras, and just general talk about this wonderful event and all the amazing things we managed to get in the swap! There’ll be a whole separate post coming up on what I got from the swap- I’m just so pleased with my haul that it deserves proper photography and a whole dedicated post!

Lots of people left straight after the swap, but because we hung around chatting we were the last group left whilst the ROR team started clearing up (and offering us leftover sweets/cakes!) I was quite nervous about attending the event alone (even though I already knew Sarah), but I needn’t have been- if you’re a newbie blogger like me and dubious about attending events, you just have to get chatting if you hear someone talking about something you’re interested in- get involved and soon you’ll be laughing along and making new friends! (Wow, that sounds corny, but it’s true!)

The meet-up went far too fast, and before we knew it it was time for me and Sarah to catch our train back to Leeds and say goodbye to everyone- until next time! Sarah snapped a quick photo of me in my pastel outfit- here are the details I didn’t mention earlier:

Coat: M&S Limited Edition (last winter- and they sold like hotcakes!)

Scarf: Aldo (from the spring- I love this one and this one as alternatives!)

Bag: River Island (similar here)

When I arrived home, I tried on all my new items (including my GORGEOUS Rock On Ruby personalised cropped jumper– channelling the Mean Girls vibe!) and modelled them for George (he pretends he doesn’t enjoy it, but he definitely does!) I also tried the Calvin Klein lipstick I got (wearing in the photo) which I thought I’d share too (below).

I had an absolutely wonderful time at my first ever bloggers meet, and I can’t wait for the next one! It was so nice to meet some new people and see how much we had in common, and I’ll definitely be seeing more of these girls in the future. Thank you so much Rock On Ruby for organising this event, and I’ll be first to sign up for the next!

Were you at the #RORBlogSwap? Leave your blog link below if I didn’t meet you at the event! Have you ever taken part in a clothes swap? What did you think?