Why Walk When You Can Dance?

Actually, in this case I walked and danced, and this is what I wore. A few nights ago we walked to a salsa bar, El Bario, and drank some Sol and did some dancing. Then my boyfriend decided that it might be a good idea to walk to the opposite side of the city centre and go to a club which, while bearable during the summer months, is now full to the brim with first year university students every night. He had forgotten this fact. Needless to say, we didn't stay there very long. It was still a fun night though, and it culminated in us coming home, watching Finding Nemo and eating copious amounts of cheese, which is always a good thing.

 

On a side note, I've realised that I often put up pictures from nights out: it's not that we go out all that often, but because we both work nights, we don't naturally go to sleep until about three, so we do tend to do things on the nights that we have off together!

 

Lady In (A) Red (Bed)

It's already pretty cold here in Edinburgh, and we decided that we would buy a lovely warm throw for each of us this week. Our room is relatively warm, but there is a big window next to the bed which lets in all sorts of drafts so it seemed like a wise investment. We bought our throws in John Lewis quite cheaply, and managed to find two matching red pillow cases in British Home Stores which were only £3 for two as they were the display cases. So now we are all snug and warm as we sit in bed.

I came across this sweet little frog that my mum gave me when clearing out one of my drawers the other day, and decided to pin him up on the door frame.

 

We have also been given some new plants, including an aloe vera plant and this umbrella tree which I think is really delicate and pretty. One of our upstairs neighbours was keeping them in the hallway, but when the fire department came to check the building to make sure all the exits were clear (Coming home and seeing a fire truck parked outside your house as you walk down the road is a little unsettling!) they told her she had to move them so she gave them to us. They are in the shared sitting room at the moment, but when we have our own place I think they will make a lovely addition.



The Dude Abides

That rug really tied the room together

 

The boyfriend and I both had last night off, and it was so wet and windy outside that we almost didn't go out. But we decided to brave the weather (in a taxi, ahem!) and go to one of our usual haunts for a few drinks and a game of pool. Someone had broken the pool cues though, so we ended up in the tiny cinema section relaxing and watching a movie.

 

And I had two White Russians. They were delicious, and gave me ample opportunity to mention The Dude.
 

Jacket from Diesel, top from Monki, skirt from Vero Moda, boots from Schuh, bag from C&A

Do you like the silhouettes on either side of me? It reminds me of the James Bond girls!

 

Down By The Water

I'm finally going swimming tomorrow. I love swimming - it's not that I'm very good at it: it just happens to be one of the only exercise-y type things that I enjoy! There is a pool located quite close to where I live, but there's always been a reason (excuse) not to go: cost, time, not being able to see where I'm going without my glasses... But not this time. I can't wait. I love the water, and the steam room afterwards! Going for a dip in the sea would be even better though...

 

 

Blue Skies

Managed to take a few quick photos today on the way to Lidl for a great big (cheap!) food shopping session! Good news today: Starbucks announced that the UK is finally getting pumpkin chai lattés. I'm very excited as I have always wanted to try one. I just have to wait until October 1st!

 

Now I'm off out with my boyfriend for a few drinks: luckily we managed to get a night off together, so we're going to go dancing. Happy midweek!

Dress from New Look, cardigan from Kew, boots from Schuh

The Last Word

Zeppelini: homemade peach pearls and champagne

Last week I visited The Last Word cocktail bar in Stockbridge with my sister, boyfriend and newly moved over friend. We had a lovely time: the bar is so warm and cosy and the drinks were delicious. It's quite pricey, but great for one or two drinks to be enjoyed slowly.

 

Unlike the bar where I work, where drinks are £1 and really need to be finished as quickly as possible! I was only working a couple of nights a week, on the front desk and in the cloakroom, but now I've started working on the bar so I'm getting a lot more hours. It's a bit scary but really quite fun, and I'm so happy to get some more hours at last. One of the scariest part for me so far is the massive bottles of whiskey that we use... I had to open two new bottles the other night, and I was so afraid that one would slip out of my (shaky) hands and smash on the floor!  Must. Use. Two. Hands!

Outfit post up next I hope: with my sister over and more work than usual I haven't had a chance, but I'm going to try and take some tomorrow as me and my boyfriend both have the day/night off. Hope you are all having a good week so far!

Applejack Daisy

No idea why my eyes were closed. No idea!



Cuckoo's Bakery

The Big Dipper Cupcake

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Cheese Scone

Lemon and Raspberry Tart Cupcake

 

I went to Cuckoo's Bakery twice last week, while my sister was visiting me in Edinburgh. Their cupcakes are incredibly good, and so is their café. I've mentioned the cupcakes before (when I bought them at our local market) and luckily the café is very close to where I live and well worth visiting. There is a copy of their cupcake menu below: how could anyone resist? And the savoury items on the menu (such as soup, warm croissants and doorstep sandwiches) are just as wonderful: I had cream of broccoli soup with a homemade cheese scone (shown above) and it was heavenly. And the next day I had a gorgeous and huge doorstep sandwich with ham, chedder and pickle. It was a very food filled week, as it usually is when me and my big sister are together! If you're ever in Edinburgh, I would highly recommend visiting this lovely café.

Deep Fried Mars Bar

My sister is visiting this week (hence the lack of comments on other blogs: my bloglovin account is ridiculously full, and I just haven't had time to look through it!) and she'd never tried a deep fried Mars bar, so we went to get one on Tuesday with my friend Rebecca.

 

They are a Scottish delicacy (along with haggis, whisky and Irn Bru of course!) and so delicious: all melty and warm and crispy. Not to be missed!

 

 

 

We also went to see a wonderful exhibition in the Scottish National Gallery, Van Gogh to Kandinsky: Symbolist Landscape in Europe 1880 to 1910. It was great, and well worth seeing if you have some free time.  Whistler is one of my favourites, and they had quite a few of his painting in the exhibition.

 

 

The postcard version of Nocturne in Blue and Silver - Chelsea by Whistler

Cosy Autumn Treats

I've been reading so many blogs recently with posts about autumn, my favourite season of all. When I read this post about fall from Girls Love Fried Pickles, I realised that I too needed a lovely cosy smelling candle for the coming months. So I decided to visit the Yankee Candle area on one of my local department stores, and when I smelled Honey and Spice I knew it was perfect: sweet and spicy at the same time.

I also desperately needed a new pair of slippers. I wear slippers all the time when I'm at home, and when I moved to Edinburgh in February I bought a pair in Sainsbury's for £3. They have lasted pretty well, but they were cream and now they are more...grey. And they don't smell as fresh as daisies anymore either. So when I found a pair in Primark today with a big pom pom on each toe, I was sold. And they were only £3! Full disclosure though: the pom poms are not staying on very well! But a bit of sewing should fix that, and I think they are still pretty good value!

 

Ear Candy!

For my birthday I got some lovely earrings. I really needed some new ones, as all of mine seemed to either be broken or missing their other half. I stopped wearing dangly earrings when I cut my hair a few years ago, but now that it's long again I've been missing all the long earrings that I used to wear. I also have a second pair of piercings above the regular ones and the earrings I was using in them were too big and kept getting sore!

My sister bought me two pairs of delicate silver studs from Oliver Bonas. They are both so cute: bunnies and birds! And a perfect, tiny size for my second piercings.

 

There are so many lovely pairs of stud and dangly earrings on their website!

My mum and dad bought me a beautiful pair of earrings too. They are so colourful and I think I'll be wearing them all winter to brighten up my outfits.

My friend Rebecca (who has now officially moved to Edinburgh - yay!) bought me three pretty pairs too. My favourites are these leopard print ones.

A girl can never have too many earrings, and I'm so happy to finally have some new ones to wear!

Evening Wanderings

All it takes is one quick push... Cardigan from New Look, top from Topshop, boots from Schuh, earrings from Accessorize

Last night me and my boyfriend went for a wander before dinner. The weather was perfect for it: that lovely autumnal coldness with a chill in the air and a brisk wind. I wore my favourite new cardigan, part of my birthday present from my mum (thanks mum!), which is all warm and cosy. I wanted to take some photos at the playground near our house because I think it would make for some good ones, but there are always children there! Surely they should be in bed in the evening?! We managed to get a couple taken, but then I got too embarrassed to take any more!