Meet Carlee, from Almost Endearing

I am very happy to introduce you to Carlee from Almost Endearing. I hope you enjoy meeting her as much as I did! Don't forget to pop over and visit her blog after you read the interview: it's always full of delicious recipes, beautiful photos and fun posts.

When and why did you decide to start your blog? 

I started my blog in March 2012 (this year). I was about halfway through my freshman year of college and I knew I wanted/needed something to express my creativity through. I also loved reading fashion/lifestyle blogs and I thought "What a great group of people". I wanted to be a part of the fun.

Tell us a little about your blog.

I would have to describe my blog as a lifestyle blog. There is fashion, food, photography, DIY projects, adventures and random stuff that I love. I want it to include everything that I love and not just one area of interest.

Why did you decide to change the name of your blog to Almost Endearing?

 I changed my blog name about a month ago to Almost Endearing. Before it was All Things Average Girl. When I started this blog, I thought I was the average girl. But after being in the blogging community for a couple of months I realized that none of us are average and I didn't want to be constrained by my blog title. So I changed it. I don't know if I will be writing about the same stuff in a year and I want my blog and I to be able to grow together, not apart. So I picked a name that describes me. Almost Endearing. 

What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time I really enjoy spending time with my family. Is that cheesy? I also really like going on walks or bike rides. They just sooth ones soul a little. I love cooking and going on mini adventures around my area. I also write my boyfriend, who is currently 2,000 miles away in South Carolina, a letter every day. 

Tell us a little about your style.

My style is whatever I feel comfortable in and flatters my body type. I am a huge fan of indie/tribal prints. I LOVE maxi skirts/dresses. And I am a sucker for an awesome pair of sandals. I would say my style is definitely a mix: a little casual, girly, indie, rock, whatever I am feeling that day.

What is your favourite thing about Washington state, where you live?

My favourite thing is that there are two sides to the state. You see, Washington is divided by the Cascade mountain range. And the two sides of the state are so different. Eastern Washington is more rural (country), dry, wide range of seasons and weather, and open spaces. Western Washington is more urban with lots of big cities (Seattle), rainy and green, with more people and diversity. That is what makes Washington so awesome, you get a wide variety of everything and it's all in one state!

What hopes and dreams do you have for the future?

I want to get my college degree, hopefully in Photomedia. I want to be a photographer (not sure what type). Seeing the world is on the top of my priorities list! I also would like to own my own business someday, whether that is a photography business or an ice cream shop. I also would like to get married and have kids one day but that is a little far out. 

Can you tell us more about your boyfriend who is often mentioned on your blog?

My boyfriend's name is Clark, he is in the US Army. We first met when we were in 7th grade. We started dating junior year of high school and were each others high school sweethearts. Cheesy? We graduated from the same high school. But we mesh really well together. He is so supportive of me and I am of him. He is currently is Army basic training so I have not seen him in a few months. But in less than 30 days I will be flying to South Carolina to see him. I am sure I will write all about it on my blog when the time comes. 

An Edinburgh To Do List

I love lists. That's probably an understatement. I constantly produce lists. Shopping lists, things I need to do lists, songs I want to listen to lists, movies I want to see lists, lists of books I want to read, lists of perfumes, lists of recipes, lists in notebooks, lists on scraps of paper (which I then carefully transcribe into notebooks), lists in my phone... Needless to say, there are a lot of lists in my life. And there's so many lists in this paragraph that the word list has now lost all meaning as I read it over!

Sitting on the National Monument on Calton Hill (with very messy hair!)

In February I moved to Edinburgh, and there were so many things that I wanted to do, see and experience in this great city. Some I have done, but there are many I have not, so now, as my first six months in Edinburgh comes to a close, I'm making a list of all the things I want to do (and including the things I have already managed, crossed out). Ideally, I'll try to do a few things each month and share them here. I'm sure as time passes more things will be added! And of course, there is the rest of Scotland to explore when we have the time and money. Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Outside the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Edinburgh To Do List

Climb Arthur's Seat
Visit the Royal Botanic Gardens
Visit the Museum of Childhood
Visit the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Wander around Calton Hill
Get to the top of Scott's Monument (I chickened out last time)
Explore Cramond
Visit Greyfriars Bobby
Visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse
Spend a sunny day at the Meadows
Visit Duddingston Loch and have a drink at the Sheep Heid Inn
Cocktails at Dragonfly
Whiskey tasting
Visit Jupiter Artland
Try some haggis

Looking over Edinburgh at night

Chocolate Mint

On Sunday we decided to go for a wander around the local market in the afternoon. The market has a lovely, very friendly atmosphere, and offers a wide variety of stalls, from wines and cakes to jewellery and plants. Today, we sampled some delicious cupcakes from Cuckoo's Bakery (red velvet for me, black bottom for him) and bought our first plant for the flat, a chocolate mint. We've wanted to get a plant for a while, and at £1.20 it was definitely worth it.

Unfortunately, on the trip home my cupcake got really squished. I opened the box to check and it had fallen over... there was cream cheese frosting everywhere! But I still managed to eat it of course, and I got some bites of the black bottom one too! They were so delicious.

T-shirt from somewhere in New York, jeans and shoes from Topshop

Blog of the Summer at Almost Endearing

I am lucky enough to be featured as the Blog Of The Summer over at the wonderful Almost Endearing today. Thank you so much, Carlee! You can find the post here. I'm looking forward to featuring Carlee on my blog next week too, so don't forget to look out for that post.

Floral In The Park

I decided to take my new glittery shoes to the park for their very first outing the other day... but I was very careful with them and kept obsessively picking bits of grass off the bottom! I love this floral dress: the shape is so flattering for my figure with the gathered section around the waist, and the little sleeves with the tiny shoulder pads are so cute.

 

Sister, Sister

Me and my big sister at the Royal Botanic Gardens

My sister came up to visit me in Edinburgh for a few days this week. We had a wonderful and hectic time: we went out for lots of lovely meals, visited a market (where we bought some delicious cupcakes), wandered around the Botanic Gardens, had some delicious margaritas (banana, mint and strawberry were all sampled), did some shopping, and went up Calton Hill to see the view. We've always been very close, and I lived with her in London for a few months until I moved up to Edinburgh in January, so I really miss her. It was great to see her, and hopefully next time she'll stay longer.

She always dresses very stylishly; I've got lots of clothes that were chosen by her or used to belong to her. My love of clothes and make up (MAC lipsticks in particular!) has always been very much inspired by her. My life and my style would definitely be lacking if she wasn't such a big part of it. Below are some photos of her trip, with some of our outfits too.

On the way out for dinner and drinks: I love that we're both wearing black peep toe heels! Her dress is from French Connection, blazer from Zara and shoes from LK Bennett. My dress is from Warehouse, blazer from Topshop and shoes from New Look.

Casual on Calton Hill

There is always a lot of silliness when we are together!

She's always stylish! Blazer from Zara, t-shirt from a shop in Munich, bag from Clarks, jeans from Next, and shoes from Converse

Top and shoes from Topshop, jeans from Gap and bag from Warehouse

Jazz Hands...

...Is what my beautiful new Topshop shoes are called. I'm drawn like a magpie to anything glittery, and they are so comfortable too! My very generous sister bought them for me yesterday. It was hard to choose between pale pink and coral, but I think I made the right decision. I can't wait to wear them. Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days: my sister was here for a flying visit and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Outfit post coming soon!

 

Poster Girl

Festival month is coming up, and posters are being plastered up all over the city. I'm looking forward to enjoying the festivities, but it does mean that I'll be working until 7 a.m. at the weekends, as clubs will be open two hours later than usual! I'm wearing a casual, 'wandering around town for the day' outfit in these photos: I love these stretchy jeans matched with a bright shirt.

Shirt from Topshop, jeans from Gap, shoes from Schuh

Grey Like The Sky

Skirt from French Connection, shirt from Topshop, necklace from Accessorize, boots from Schuh

I do want to apologise for the wrinkles in my skirt. If you knew me though, you wouldn't be surprised because I never iron anything. Never! My mum only irons what she has to, so I never really understood the need to iron everything. Luckily, most my clothes are pretty non wrinkly, but some (like this skirt!) are, and to make things worse, my entire wardrobe is currently at the stage of Needs To Be Sorted Out And Folded Neatly All Over Again! I'll get to it right after I put up this post...

Heading off home to tidy my wardrobe?!

Five of My Favourite Things: Keepsakes Edition 2

A tiny old measuring tape whose mechanism no longer pulls the tape back in fully, but which has lost none of its charm.

These two pretty wall hangings, which belonged to my grandmother.

Another picture which used to hang in the little bedroom that I slept in at my grandparent's house when I visited.

'Isle of Wight: A Stitch in Time'

Such a pretty box, with four tiny compartments!