Men's Lifestyle

Everybody Wants Some – What a great film!!

It’s a film I’ve wanted to see for ages, and finally I got it, sat down and watched it, and it was brilliant. The last film I wrote about which I watched Grimsby  which was OK, but not brilliant, so I thought the next one up I’d watch from my new little collection of blu rays would actually be one I’ve just got, Everybody Wants Some.

The film was billed as “the spiritual successor of Dazed And Confused” which is one of my favourite films of all time. They’re both indie type of films, written, directed and produced by Richard Linklater who has done other films I love like Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight and Boyhood. I went into watching this film with an open mind that it wouldn’t be as good as Dazed & Confused as I love that it’s hard to compare, and I wanted to watch it with fresh eyes and not compare it to something else.

The film is done in a similar style of Dazed & Confused, it’s a bit of a comedy-coming of age type of film, and is set in 1980 around a baseball team (don’t worry you don’t need to know about or like baseball). The main character is a freshman who’s just going to college through being good at baseball, and encounters his new teammates, some of which are in the same shoes as him, stars of their high school and now in the big leagues of college. He moves into an off-campus house which is for baseball players, he meets his older housemates who are on the team, and the story goes from there.

There’s lots of college life type of stuff, with the usual story of drinking, games and trying to get girls, and of course there is a love interest thrown in their too. The soundtrack is just brilliant! Everything from some dodgy country music to hip hop, soul and rock, it probably has a much better soundtrack than Dazed & Confused, the music is so relevant and instantly recognisable.

I love this film! I can’t say that it’s better than Dazed & Confused, but it’s such a good film, and I will be watching this one quite a few times.

Hey guys!

I hope you are well and are having a good weekend. Yesterday I took some photos for my outfit of the weekend, and the weather was so miserable! I should have waited for today where it’s actually pretty warm and bright. Unpredictable weather? It must be British Springtime!

This is one of my suede jackets, actually the first suede jacket I got quite a while back. It’s from Mango Man, and is a brown camel colour. Suede is a material which you shouldn’t really wear in the rain, so whenever I think about wearing this or something else in suede I always tend to check my weather app (not that it’s very reliable!).

For my jumper I went for this blue knit from Gant. It’s one which I love and wear so often, the blue goes with so many different pieces of clothing so it’s really easy to wear. The lambswool is pretty tough, but this being a premium style of brand is quite soft and fairly light. I think that this colour works well with the camel colour of the jacket.

For the jeans I went for a pair of BOSS Orange denim. These have a tapered fit, and it’s not my favourite styles of denim anymore. I much prefer a slim or skinny fit, which is more on trend these days, and has been for a while. However for a weekend style, relaxed and chilled out, these are fine for this kind of outfit. As for the colour, you can never go wrong with dark indigo denim, my favourite colour, I own so many jeans in this colour!

For my footwear I pulled out an old favourite, a pair of Converse. I hardly ever wear Converse these days, I opt for the much more comfortable Air Max, and have a couple of pair of those to pick from. But if you’ve been a reader for a while then you’ll know I went through a stage of Converse, and I have 10 or 11 pairs, all in different colours. I went for the grey colour, which I really like, and have never worn too much. The usual colours for guys wearing Converse are the classic red or black, so it’s always good to be able to pull out a different colour which adds something to the overall look, the grey keeps things toned down.

That’s it for my outfit! Now it’s Sunday so it’s all about chilling out! Have a good one. Check out more pictures of this look below and let me know what you think

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Turtle neck, polo neck, or roll neck. Whatever you’d like to call them, I’ve never really been much of a fan. That is, until now. It’s Spring so I decided to expand my wardrobe a little bit, and get myself my first roll neck jumper.

Usually I think of knitwear as a smart V-neck or crew neck knit, perfect for an evening out or more smart affair; Or a big, thick chunky knit, great for a casual night, cosy evening and the likes. The roll neck has been a style which I have never found a place for, but I thought I would give it a go this season.

I’ve seen a lot of people wearing them, and the style has really grown on me, so I decided that I would jump on board and give it a try. What is this style good for? I think it’s good for a smart casual look, especially a plain or toned down roll neck, when you don’t want to layer with something visible, i.e. a shirt. This is the jumper I went for.

It’s a neutral colour, 100% merino wool roll neck from ASOS. I usually wear quite dark coats and jackets, so having a lighter knit will really brighten up my overall outfit look. However this Winter I also invested in a camel overcoat, I really do like the camel overcoat trend, so that jacket is going to be something I’ll hopefully wear for years to come.

Layering light with light garments can sometimes not work, but I think the neutral colour of the jumper along with the camel colour of the coat work quite well. It certainly does not look out of place, the colours are toned down enough not to make the other one loud or bright.

I wanted to get a 100% merino wool jumper because I really like this style of wool. It’s really thin, but feels soft and more luxurious than other types such as lambswool, which can feel more coarse. I always prefer 100% wool over a mix or polyester whatever the type, as it’s a natural material and you do notice the difference over time and even when you wear it.

It’s very fine, and I would say thinner and lighter than some of my other merino wool jumpers.

To complete the look I went for black jeans which really adds some contrast to the overall picture, and my brown Kurt Geiger brogues which I think go well with this outfit, and compliment the black jeans keeping the look just that little bit more casual, while keeping the overall look smart.

Remember if you’re still on the hunt for a jumper for the cold snap to check out my sweater guide which will give you inspiration and the lowdown on everything to do with knits and jumpers for this season.

Let me know what you think of the look and these pieces.

ASOS Roll Neck Jumper | ASOS Camel Overcoat | Kurt Geiger Brogues | Armani Jeans

Close up of the merino wool neck jumper by ASOS

Happy Pancake Day!

It’s one of my favourite days of the year, I just love pancakes! I had some for lunch, and I will have some for my supper later, which has been a bit of a tradition since I was a kid. Earlier I made some from scratch, and they were so good! My pancakes are nice and simple, just three ingredients; Flour, egg and milk. I know some use a pinch of salt or sugar or other things, but I just like to keep them nice and simple, and I eat them savoury rather than sweet.

My Simple Pancakes

2 eggs
100g flour
300ml milk
extra virgin olive oil

Get all the ingredients together with a large bowl for mixing.

Put the flour, eggs and milk into bowl and whisk until you get a batter.

Heat up a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil, wait until it’s hot. Pour the batter mix into the pan, and cook for a few minutes on a high heat. Flip the pancake over, and cook for a few more minutes.

Then enjoy! 🙂

I use HP Brown Sauce as a topping, which some think is weird but I always have since I was a kid. What’s your topping of choice?

Have a great pancake day 🙂

Happy Sunday!

I hope you are well and have had a good weekend so far. It’s the usual quiet Sunday for me, with the EFL Cup Final which I am watching, I will be doing not much else, other than a film later in what’s been a Sunday tradition for a long time.

This is my Sunday Style for this week, which is the last Sunday in the month! I can’t believe that we’re almost into March and Spring, my chunky knits and jumpers will be going, but I can keep this one out for a bit longer. I am wearing this navy blue striped knit which is from Jaeger. It’s a fine knit jumper so is light and quite thin, and in this cold weather I needed a T-shirt under it! I have styled it with my Selected Homme leather jacket which I really love, it’s definitely one of the better fashion purchases I’ve made in my life. To go with that I am wearing my Duck & Cover Selvedge Denim jeans, and for footwear I have chosen the smart casual brown brogues from Kurt Geiger.

Have a good Sunday! Back to work tomorrow, but at least we have pancake day on Tuesday and I’ll be posting about that like I always do 🙂

p.s. – What does my hair look like without any product on? THIS!

Check out more pics below.

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I do like vodka, but the only drink which I really make with it is either with Red Bull or in a cocktail. I’ve tasted so many, the last one I got was Reyka Vodka which is from Iceland, but for Christmas just gone I received a new one, and one I’ve never previously come across, called Our London from a brand called Our Vodka.

I do like trying out different vodka brands, so it was good to try something which I’ve never previously seen before. I had a little read about the company since they are new to me, and as the name suggests, this vodka is London based and is produced, blended and bottled the vodka in a micro distillery at Arch 435-436 East London. You can read more about them here. The company is actually from Sweden, and partners with cities to create a global brand with local roots.

The bottle is really distinctive, and reminds me of an old school, classic milk bottle. The front label is circular and has all the information and branding to the front, in a clean black and white style. It comes with a crown cap bottle top which you need a bottle opener for, and to re-seal the bottle, a plastic top comes with the bottle too. The bottle is also smaller than a standard bottle you’d get, in fact half the size at 350ml.

The taste…It’s good! I think it’s a really nice, smooth vodka, and goes down well. It tastes as good as some of the other premium vodkas which I have, and being made in Hackney it is always good to buy something which is created locally.

It comes in at around £22, which is expensive for a vodka, but you are getting something which has been made in a micro distillery in London. If you are looking for something which is produced in small numbers in smaller “party sharing” bottles, you can give this a look.

Fresh off the back of the 2016 Christmas Take Me Out and just a few days after Valentines Day, Take Me Out is back on the telly for another celebrity special. The Christmas Special featured Thom Evans, Roman Kemp and Ritchie Neville, with this show featuring Arg from TOWIE, DJ Melvin Odoom and Olympic medallist Nile Wilson. Paddy will be joined once again be the flirty thirty, with girls from the past shows. I’m looking forward to see who’s making a return.

Set a reminder that Take Me Out is on this Sunday 19th February at 7PM, rather than the usual Saturday night.

Check out some sneak peek pictures below…

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I have so many Newcastle bar reviews, I thought it was about time I finally wrote my review of Livello. It’s now been in the town for a number of years, and is located on the way down to the quayside in Newcastle.

It’s a one which a lot of people talk about, both from Newcastle and far and wide, and is part of the same culture as the bars on The Diamond Strip, although not actually on Collingwood Street.

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I have never been the biggest fan of jewellery on guys, and I’ve never really owned very much in terms of jewellery either. I did used to wear a gold chain back in the day, but that was always hidden away underneath clothing, and I’ve never been a fan of rings or earrings either. However something which I have been interested in getting for a long time is a cuff, which I think look quite stylish, but only the right one.

I think men get a pretty raw deal in the jewellery department; Maybe that’s because most guys are like me and don’t really buy or want to own jewellery, so not much is made or sold. Then when you find some, it’s all really horrible. It’s patterns of this and that, things like tribal patterns, links, ugly rope, beads…Nothing really classic, classy, simple and elegant. What I wanted was a plain and simple cuff; A cuff, bracelet or bangle actually, but after thinking about it, I opted for a cuff, I think they’re more fashionable and generally stylish for men. It was actually really difficult to find one, I narrowed it down to three different brands, two made from steel, and one of silver.

I got a Thomas Sabo Sterling Silver cuff and then decided it wasn’t for me. I was incredibly underwhelmed when it came, I know it’s supposed to be just a simple cuff and that’s exactly what it was, but it was £125 and just did not seem worth the money. Then there’s the fact I really think I will lose it which doesn’t fill me with confidence of spending too much money either. It was also too small for me, I did not like the fit, so decided for all these reasons I was better off sending it back.

I ended up having another look around, and eventually found something which I like, and here it is. Just a plain and simple cuff, however this one is made of brass and was far cheaper, in fact only £10!. I really like this, and to be honest, in terms of looks, there’s no difference, obviously the biggest difference is the material; Sterling Silver vs brass. The fit is better, it’s on the larger size, and I should try to resize it for a better fit so it’s more difficult to fall off.

If you are looking to get yourself a cuff or bangle and you’re like me and have not tried one, I would advise going and seeing them in person if you can, and trying one on, or you may be having to send it back or not liking it first time round.

What do you think of the cuff for guys? Let me know 🙂

I finally got myself some Reyka vodka!

When I was in Iceland I only actually had 1 vodka, it was pretty expensive, especially when you’re mixing it with Redbull, it’s expensive here in Newcastle in bars, so you can imagine the prices in Reykjavik. I’ve seen it in the shops for a long time, and always not bothered getting it, but as it was Christmas I decided that I’d go ahead and get a bottle.

It’s not the cheapest vodka, with the bigger, more well known brands like Smirnoff and Absolut much more affordable, but I do like vodkas and have owned so many over the years, from Beluga to F:Fashion Vodka, Roberto Cavalli, Danzka, Wyborowa Exquisite and the others. In the vodka price range it sits around the premium price level, similar to Grey Goose, Ciroc and Belvedere, and cost me around £26.

They say it’s a small batch vodka hand crafted in Iceland, made from Arctic spring water with lava rock filtration. Iceland certainly has the natural resources available like no other, so how does it translate into a vodka?

It’s a really nice premium vodka, smooth and goes down well. It is very clean and crisp, which is something you’d expect when you talk about Iceland and their water. You can tell the difference from this premium vodka to a cheaper alternative, and know where the extra money goes. Where cheap vodka is sharp and uncomfortable to drink, Reyka is strong without being overbearing and easy to drink.

If you are looking for a premium vodka and want to try something a little different to the more commercialised options, I can recommend Rekya vodka.