How amazing!
I got an email a couple of days ago from the lovely people at JJ Threads, informing me I had made their Top 50 Best Dressed Male Bloggers! 😀
Here’s what they said about me:
Michael84 – Michael Adams is considered one of the most prominent men’s fashion bloggers in the UK. He provides fashion & grooming advice, and highlights the latest style trends, tech products, and beyond.
Thank you JJ Threads 🙂
Yes, I have taken a while, but I have finally bought the Spain home and away shirts for the World Cup 😀
I got the blue 2014 home Spain goalkeeper shirt a long while ago, and even got the Spain 2014 away goalkeeper shirt which is fluorescent yellow in colour, and hard to come by. I usually get the home/away outfield shirts first, but this year I left it a bit late because they are relatively easy to get a hold of as most shops in the UK stock them.
Here they are. The home shirt is red but is darker in colour, and has thin and slightly thicker pin stripes, it’s trimmed with gold and the badge is toned in gold too, all one colour.
The away shirt is black which is unusual, and trimmed in fluorescent yellow, with a horizontal stripe going through the whole front of the shirt. it’s an interesting design, and something never seen in a Spain shirt. Usually the away shirts have been navy, white or yellow in the past, I can’t remember a black shirt other than for a goalkeeper.
As you may or may not have read on my blog, Spain may play Netherlands in a white shirt, which is actually non-existent at the moment.
The boys over at FIFA have turned style gurus for this World Cup. First they declared that teams must play in all one colour, undermining the history of teams such as Germany who traditionally play with black shorts, England, Spain and Argentina who play in blue shorts to wear all one colour kit. This has angered most fans who say FIFA are disrespecting the tradition, culture and history of these great nations. Now FIFA have taken it a step further, and have deemed Spain’s away kit which was launched earlier this year as illegal under their rules, specifically rule 35.2, which states:
“Each team shall inform FIFA of two different and contrasting colours (one predominantly dark and one predominantly light kit) for its official and reserve team kit (shirt, shorts and socks)”.
Spain’s home shirt is red, with the away shirt being black. It appears Spain will have to play in a white kit, which could be the white shirt which was used in 2011, or Adidas may release a completely new shirt if they can get one ready in time, which will anger fans who have already gone out and bought the current away shirt, advertised as the “Spain 2014 World Cup Away Shirt”.
We will have to see what happens and if FIFA will force Spain to play in an “unofficial” kit, whether the RFEF (Spanish FA) will object or whether Adidas will have any influence. It could also cause problems for some others, with teams such as Mexico wearing a dark green home shirt and dark red away shirt, and Cameroon were spotted wearing an unknown white (possibly third) kit recently, their official home and away kits are green and yellow respectively.
Spain are drawn as the home team, so the usual protocol would be for them to wear red and The Netherlands to wear their away kit, which is dark blue. This makes perfect sense to everyone in Football including the Spanish FA but not FIFA. It could mean Spain wearing white against The Netherlands, Black against Chile and finally red against Australia in their three group games.
Adidas still have the black away kit on sale (It’s also being sold on the Official FIFA store).
I will start this off by saying the following: I cannot run far. I cannot run fast. I am not a professional runner, or in fact a keen amateur, I am actually pretty bad at running and always have been. I remember back in the days of being a kid, we did athletics quite a bit at middle school, I particularly remember the 1500M around the school field many times, it was so hard and felt like running miles! 
We used to do P.E. with 2 classes together (split boys and girls) so there would be around 30 of us running round the field. I always remember the good runners finishing so far ahead of everyone, they’d be sitting on the field watching the rest of us finish. I was not the best, probably in the last 10 or so most of the time. Needless to say I was never going to be a runner, and did not really enjoy it.
Fast forward to now and I still don’t like it, not the running aspect anyway. The good things about it is the peace, you can be out and run and it really does clear your mind, it’s a great escape from the world. It also keeps you fit, or it will at least feel that way since you are doing something, and gives a sense of achievement of doing something. It’s actually addictive, even though I don’t like it I have been running for about 6 years and when I don’t run for whatever reason I feel like I miss it, or feel like I really need to exercise.
When I run I do not run too far, like I said I can not handle it. I heard that some people are just not made to run, even if they are fitness freaks some people can simply not run very far…If that is true I am one of those people 😉 Since I got the Nike App I have been able to see how far I run, and how fast, and have been able to set goals etc. which has been great, but I don’t take it too seriously. I usually run 3km which is far enough for me, sometimes I take it a bit further to 4 or 5, or shorter to 2.5km, depending on the routes I go on.
I don’t really know what is considered fast/average/slow…I read a couple of forums online and I found people which were a lot slower than me and people who were so much faster, so it does not really give much insight. This is me anyhow, and my times. It was over 2 or 3 weeks, and I really pushed the first mile to see how quick I could do it. The fastest I have ran a mile has been 7 minutes 42 seconds, which I think is really quick, considering my fastest was 8 minutes 24 seconds weeks before, shaving off 42 seconds is a lot! It’s all about competing with myself, rather than someone who is actually a great runner :p
I think I have hit the wall with that though, my fastest time is 07:42 and I think that will be the fastest I can do, but you never know 😉
How fast can you run a mile?
So I have been running all year, and I thought I would never beat my 7:42 mile time, but by some kind of miracle I did! 😮 I ran a mile in under 7 minutes…In fact, UNDER 6 MINUTES! My fastest mile is now 05:40!!! I know I’ve said it before, but there is no way I will ever beat this!
YES! I have it….The first in the UK and maybe Europe, the Spain away goalkeeper shirt! 😀
I searched high and low, Adidas.es, Adidas UK, the usual UK shops and websites, and my usual Spanish websites, and nobody had this shirt. I eventually found it, so had to order it immediately, and it came quite quickly.
The away goalkeeper shirt for 2014 is a fluorescent yellow colour, and they have a very similar (almost identical) training shirt of the same colour, however it’s a slightly different style, and does not carry the World Cup 2010 badge which the Spain team uses in it’s match shirts. I got the home goalkeeper shirt 2014 some time ago, and when the away outfield shirt was announced and released I thought this would soon follow, but it seems very rare and hard to come by.
The badge, just like the other shirts this year, is mono coloured, and is fluorescent yellow and black instead of the usual colourful self. The shorts and socks are the same colour, making it an all neon affair.
I am not a big fan of fluorescent yellow on the black away shirt, I thought they could have used a better colour, it’s not very “Spanish”,  but  fluorescent yellow as a main colour is great, it reminds me of the 90s and it seems this year Adidas are really going for their neon and fluorescent colours.
I have tasted and bought some of the best and most premium vodkas which you can buy; From household names such as Grey Goose and Belvedere, Ciroc, Russian Standard and Stolichnaya, to lesser known premium brands such as Crystal Head, Roberto Cavalli and Wyborowa.
My latest is this Beluga vodka, and this is it. You can get a pack which includes a glass, something great in itself. The glass is a heavy, thick glass, with a metallic Beluga fish on the glass, which is trimmed with metal at the bottom and finished with the Beluga branding. The vodka itself is brilliant. It’s so smooth and crisp, you can taste it without a horrible aftertaste, it’s a very fine vodka. It’s probably the smoothest I have tasted, and I was so confident of the taste I tried a little neat, something I have ever really done with vodka, and it went down well.
About the vodka
Produced in 2002 in the world famous Mariinsky distillery, it’s a classic Russian vodka. Refined and rich taste is made from malt spirit and the purest of water from the Siberian artesian wells. You can pick up a bottle of Beluga Noble Russian Vodka for around £45.
In my opinion it’s better than Grey Goose and Belvedere, it has a much smoother taste but maintains the kick you want from a vodka when mixing your drinks. If you are looking for a premium vodka, then this should be near the top of your list.
I never used to be much of a vodka flavour drinker, apart from when you buy racks of shots from places like Revolution which was always fun. A good few years ago I tried vanilla vodka, and since then I love it!
I usually keep it simple, with just a vanilla vodka and Coke, and it is really good. I am actually surprised that when I go out most bars have the vanilla flavour, and over the years I’ve bought or drank a few different brands of the stuff, but the question is, which is the best?
As with all vodkas they are around 37-40% in alcohol, but the price differs quite a bit depending on what brand you go for.
Absolut Vanilia
Absolut Vanilla “Vanilia” vodka is most well known and loved vanilla flavoured vodka out there. It was the first one I had, and I have to say, it is the best. Absolut is known for making high quality vodkas, and this is yet another.
The scent is alluring, and the taste is very pleasant and sweet, but strong enough to know you’re still drinking a vodka and not a non-alcoholic drink.
The price varies around £20 – £30, and it’s worth the money. You can get Absolut Vanilla in 70cl and a larger 1L bottle, which is worth the investment.
Ciroc French Vanilla
One of the newest vanilla vodkas on the market is Ciroc French Vanilla, and it’s one which I got back in 2017. Ciroc is famous for it’s premium vodka, and this one is no different. The taste is very smooth, and it is a really nice vodka.
If you’re looking to create a wow factor with friends or at a party, this is possibly the one to go for. A standard 70cl bottle will set you back around £26, and it is a good vodka, but not necessarily better than the rest.
Grey Goose Vanilla
With the Grey Goose label, you know this is going to be a premium price. I got a bottle for around £45, however this was a 1L bottle rather than the standard 70cl. Having said that, it’s still the most expensive, around 3x more than the Absolut Vanilia. It has quite a nice taste to it, but is less sweet and “candy like” than the rest, and the taste of vodka does come through quite a bit.
Smirnoff Vanilla
Probably the most known brand name for plain vodka, Smirnoff do a vanilla but it can be hard to find. I did find some, tried it, and yes, it’s pretty nice. You can pick this up for around £18, so it’s a good price for a well known brand.
Stolichnaya Vanilla
I have had Stil Vanil quite a few times, but never bought a bottle. A few bars I go to used this as their standard vanilla vodka, and I have to say it’s really nice. It’s probably the most sweetest “vanilla tasting” of the four, and there’s no unpleasant aftertaste. You should be able to pick up a bottle for under £20.
I have to give this to Absolut. It is that much better than the rest, and at less than half the price of the premium Grey Goose brand too. The Stoli and Smirnoff come in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
As mentioned, my drink, is the simple but lovely Absolut Vanilia vodka with Coke. There are quite a few cocktails you can make with this flavour vodka, such as a Cookie Monster, Absolut Monster, Absolut Vanilia Passion and a lot more.
Simple, but it tastes really good! 😉
*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*
It’s 2014 and the start of a new year, and everyone’s favourite dating show is back on ITV! Warm up to your Saturday night with the flirty 30 in your living room along with the man with the catchphrases, Paddy McGuiness.
Once again it’s a case of no likey no lighty, but this year there is a brand new twist to the show. If a guy has 1 or two girls left after the end of the final round, he’ll be asked if he’s feeling frisky or risky, with the option of choosing a 3rd, mysterious girl instead, based solely off the sound of her voice. The lad will have to choose what to do, he won’t be able to see her and she will be hidden in the love lift, is there a boy who will take the risk?
Who is your favourite? Here are the pics and bios of all the 30 girls who will be kicking off TMO this Saturday night!
Check out the Take Me Out 2015 Girls Photos here.
Take Me Out 2016 Series 8 Girls Photos
Check out Take Me Out Series 9 photos for 2017 here!
UPDATE: Check out the Take Me Out 2019 Girls for Series 11.
Better later than never! :p Each year for the past few I have featured the infamous Fenwick window on my blog, and this year is no different. This year’s theme is fairy tale forest, and as usual there is the reflections aka free advertising for the shops across the road 😉
2015 | 2014 | Â 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010
If you read my blog or know me you’ll know that I support Spain and always have done since I was a kid, and I always buy the Spain kits, usually the home and away, and then the goalkeeper’s home and away too. Usually I get the home shirt first, this was unveiled a few months ago on my blog, and have been available to buy for a while. I have not got that yet, but I have got the brand new Spain home goalkeeper shirt ready for the 2014 World Cup, with official Casillas printing 😀
The goalie shirts are usually hard to get, but Adidas have discovered people outside Spain actually want them, so are selling them. This is direct from Adidas, and they printed the official name and number, but you may notice something missing…No front number! I have spoken to them and they insist that they do not print the front number. This is odd because you’ll know that all international shirts have a small number printed on the front as well as the back. It’s actually a FIFA rule in the World Cup.
The shirt is a combination of blues, with gold trimming, and I really like it. It’s finished off with a two tone Spain crest, something they’re doing on all the shirts and training gear, this being blue and gold, the home shirt being all gold and red.
The away shirt and GK away top are yet to be unveiled, with some suggesting black for the away top, with a yellow stripe through the middle.
The shirts come complete with the FIFA World Cup Winners 2010 badge 🙂
Michael 84 is often named amongst the best mens fashion bloggers in the UK and the world.
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