Little Blue Dog

The sweetest little blue dog I've ever seen

Do you like Ikea?

Until I moved to Edinburgh, I had never been to one of their shops. Now, though, I really do enjoy wandering around through the expansive showrooms, getting inspired by items that are not too far out of reach: the affordableness of Ikea is definitely one of the best qualities for me. We've only bought one flatpack item so far (a bookcase) but it was such a good price and so easy to assemble.

 

We went today on our day off together: my boyfriend had never been there before, so we strolled around imagining our future home, and finished off the trip with Swedish meatballs (because you have to really, don't you?!).

I also stocked up on scented candles. They are so cheap and smell wonderful: not too artificial. And as our window is as good as boarded up (it is so old that the wind pretty much just blows straight through all the gaping holes) our stuffy room definitely benefits from the regular lighting of scented candles!
 

Such a pretty water glass: and only 50 pence!

Fruity, berry candles: They make our room smell wonderful. The glass pots are recycled from Gu desserts we've had!

Caramel laces and sour cream and onion crisps

Time

'What art offers is space – a certain breathing room for the spirit' - John Updike

 

That's what I need. I need to find time to be creative and do my art so that my spirit can breathe.

 

These days, it feels like I never have enough time. My to do list is always full, no matter how many things I cross off of it: it's crammed with silly little things like buying new tights and deciding what to make for dinner as well as more important things like trying to read more, trying to blog more frequently, and trying to decide what my future will hold career wise.

 

I currently work in a late bar five nights a week, which stays open until 3 a.m: then, afterwards, we clean the place from top to bottom. On the days I work, I usually leave the house at around 8 or 9 p.m. and get back at about 6.30 a.m on average, meaning I go to sleep at about 7.30 a.m. If I want to get 7 or 8 hours of sleep (necessary for my sanity and ability to function) I have to sleep till about 3. Realistically, if I have a long, busy night at the bar ahead of me I try to get a full 8 hours which means I get very little daytime: time when shops are open and it is light outside.

At the moment, I am desperately trying to find time to do everything I want to do: spending time with my boyfriend and my friends, keeping in contact with my wonderful family on Skype, doing more reading and writing and blogging and picture taking, working on a new idea for my future career...

 

So, how do you find time to do everything? Do you sacrifice sleep? Or do you struggle like me?

Duddingston Loch

Some photos from our trip to Duddingston Loch today: the snow is lingering on the ground there and half of the loch is still frozen solid. It's a beautiful area to visit: full of wildlife even at this time of year and just a hop, skip and jump (up the steps) to Arthurs Seat. My boyfriend and I hadn't been there before but we will definitely be going back. Probably with more practical footwear next time.

Day Off

 

I love days off! Or nights off really, I suppose. This Wednesday and Thursday were wonderful days spent with my friends and my boyfriend. I ate lots (a lemon meringue cupcake from Cuckoo's Bakery and a garlic steak from the amazing Bells Diner in Stockbridge being the highlights: our healthy week finished on Wednesday so although we are trying to keep some of it up we also decided to treat ourselves), drank very little (drank a long, slow pint of draught strawberry beer which tasted more like Ribena than alcohol) and relaxed. Tomorrow I'm off to the dentist first thing because my wisdom tooth has been giving me some trouble, then I've got a few hours at work to do a spring clean! Hope you are all having a lovely week.

What I'm wearing: Jumper passed down from Mum to Dad and then to me!, bag from Miss Selfridge, scarf from Oasis, boots from Schuh.

Some Eating Of The Healthy Nature

We had discusssed it in early December, but after my being sick for three weeks and still shaking off the remnants of my cough, we decided that now was the time to do some healthy eating for a few weeks. By healthy eating, I mean no caffeine or alcohol, very little wheat or dairy (sourdough bread and feta cheese are good: anything else is out) and no processed foods. We had a lovely first day and spoiled ourselves with the following:

Scrambed eggs with feta, mushrooms and spring onion piled on top of sourdough bread

A stir fry rice dish with prawns and peppers, broccoli, cashews, mushrooms, tomatos and sesame oil

And copious amounts of herbal tea and water (often with lemon and mint)

And we've been snacking on apples and dried mango (which I had forgotten how much I love!). It's so nice to treat my body well for a while: even though I don't think I could ever eat this healthily long term unless I absolutely had to, I think it's good to do it every now and again. It's nice to have someone to do it with too, although I think my boyfriend may struggle more than I will!

 

So, do any of you have any delicious, fresh, healthy meal, snack or drink suggestions? I always love new ideas!

Daylight

Not used to the daylight...

The light may have been fading, but we finally made it out into the daylight on Thursday for the first time this year! I breathed a huge sigh of relief on Wednesday night/Thursday morning when my last eleven hour shift was over. No more finishing at 7 a.m.! And no more neglecting my blog either! How I have missed it. I've even got a new blog design in the works.

 

I'm wearing my dads old jumper which I bought back to Edinburgh from Ireland when I was at home over Christmas. My boyfriend reckons it makes me look like a hipster but I disagree!

 

Off to see The Hobbit tonight. I loved the book when I was young, so I hope the film won't disappoint!

What I'm wearing: My dads jumper, bag from Miss Selfridge, boots from Schuh and dress from Topshop.