Tag Archives: Sunday

Sunday Catch Up #16

Hope you have all had a great weekend. I spent the entirety of Sunday watching Orange is the New Black. Piper was annoying this series but omg some of the scenes with the guards were hilarious – “Stay away from tuna fish! And soft cheese!” “RUN NUNS!”

This week is known as the week of ‘no lunch but lots of cocktails’. 56 NorthOn Tuesday me and David went along to 56 North brandishing an Itison coupon for burgers and cocktails (or a beer). I had the Cherry Tree Ice Tea which was amazing and very appropriate to the setting (pretty hipsterish). However, the beer selection for the voucher was very limited and David was stuck with a Red Stripe, yuck! We both went for the Porkie Gourmet Burger with BBQ pulled pork and a side of fries. It was really good, not the best burger I’ve ever had, but the pork was juicy and tasty and really filled the hole left by a missed lunch.

Filling Station Cocktails Filling Station Red Berry Cheesecake Filling Station CocktailsOn Thursday I was lucky to be invited along to a cocktail masterclass being held by the Filling Station at their Omni Centre restaurant. The evening was hosted by Paul Harper from Heart Radio with the class being taught by Andy Pearson. Andy showed us how to make some of the Filling Stations popular drinks such as the dessert-like Red Berry Cheesecake. We also saw how to do a proper mojito (be careful not to pound your mint!) and a real whisky sours – which should take 6 minutes if done properly. Some of us got to go behind the bar and take part in the drinks making which was really fun.

Filling Station are refurbishing their High Street restaurant which will reopen at the end of the month. When I was younger this was my go-to place for desserts and cocktails so I can’t wait to see the new look. I’ll have a full post on the Filling Station (and their cocktail menu) very soon so stay tuned for that.

Work stuffsAnd the reason there’s been no time for lunch breaks! We are full steam ahead at work. My team has been fab, smiling through laminating 200 signs, sorting out 300 t-shirts and passes, and getting up at 7am to blow up balloons. Love them, they are keeping me sane.

So I might not be about here much for the next two weeks as films take over my life (wouldn’t have it any other way) but I’m sure I’ll have lots of stories afterwards. I might be back intermittently, but otherwise I’ll catch you all in July!

Have a good one ;)

Sunday Catch Up #15

Way to disappear off the blog scene! After the constant barrage of Blog Every Day in May, I’ve pretty much been absent for the first week in June and knowing that this is my last couple of days off until 5th July, this is unlikely to change. I have scheduled a bunch of posts for next week and will still be replying to comments, lurking on Twitter and Instagram so I’m sure you won’t notice. Here’s a wee peek at what’s coming up next week:

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I have two subs boxes to share with you (Monday/Tuesday), a super quick and easy DIY (Tuesday), a book review (Wednesday), an Etsy Craft Party post (Thursday) and possibly a few other things. Loads of content! I’m not doing my usual “A Mag Education” round-up of magazines that’s I’ve been reading for the June or July issues – I like this series but feel like it needs a bit of a change up – let me know if you have any suggestions for what you would like to see.

So what else have I been up to? I reacted the same way to Monday’s Game of Thrones episode as everyone else. But I do think that this kind of thing is to be expected with GoT now. I started watching Penny Dreadful and I am really liking it. My jaw dropped at the end of episode two – without giving too much away, I was gutted, still can’t talk about it *sob. And of course I’ve started on Orange is the New Black series two. I thought that the first episode was pretty weak but I’m now on episode four and I’m starting to feel it again.

EIFF Phone Case

I’m getting excited about Edinburgh International Film Festival starting in 10 days – eek, so soon! I bought tickets for Life After Beth because I need to see it asap, the rest I’m going to see what I can fit in around work. I also made myself an EIFF phone case using a temporary tattoo and some clear nail polish because I am a mega-geek.

And I did a bit of ASOS shopping. It’s a sad day when you start to type in ASOS into your browser and ASDA comes up instead. It’s clearly been too long so I had a bit of a haul.

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By the way, if more and more of my pictures begin looking like this bluey-pink shade it’s because I’ve just discovered the Marshmallow filter on PicFX. Obsessed.

What have you guys been up to this week?

Sunday Catch Up #14

Not been up to that much this week – only the launch of the 2014 Edinburgh International Film Festival programme! So busy but really very excited to finally get my hands on a copy of the brochure. It’s absolutely packed with films I want to see but tomorrow when sales open I’ll definitely be buying tickets for Life After Beth, Snowpiercer and Finding Vivian Maier. And the Hero Hangouts with Empire sound amazing.
EIFF

I love the artwork for this year –  going to try and use some of the symbols in nail art over the next few weeks – stay tuned!

I also went along to a blogger event at Crabtree & Evelyn this week. It was a lovely relaxed evening aimed at getting people together to share tips and have a good chat. Crabtree and EvelynCrabtree and EvelynCrabrtee and Evelyn HAndy tips

After sharing our tips we were pampered with hand treatments, which, being Crabtree & Evelyn, were superb. It was really nice to meet some other bloggers from Edinburgh and nearby, although due to the above, hardly any sleep and two cans of RedBull I was a bit jittery so apologies to anyone faced with my weird, crazy eyed state! But still, there is definitely a demand for more blogger events in Edinburgh, lots of us here it seems!

The Crabtree & Evelyn Handy Tips Handed Down is a campaign to get people sharing their beauty secrets and tips that have been in the family, passed down from one generation to the next. It’s surprising how many people are told the same thing by their grannies! these ladies know what they’re talking about. If you share your tip online or in store you’ll be given a £5 voucher and entered into a draw to win a family photography session.

Today I’m starting June with a pyjama day: watching lots of May Favourites YouTube videos; doing a bit of crafting; having a wee pamper session. I’t s going to be a busy old month but I can’t wait!

Oh and after finishing #BEDM, I’m embarking on #100happydays because I love a challenge. It’ll be on my Instagram so you can follow me there or check out the sidebar widget thing.

What have you been up to this week?

Sunday Catch Up #13

You may have noticed that I’ve embarked on the Blog Every Day in May challenge where I am following the prompts but I still wanted to post a few of my regular posts in between. It’s been a couple of weeks since I did a catch up post so here’s what has been going on…

Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh Hard Rock Starter Hard Rock Main Hard Rock DessertOn Wednesday I went along to try out the new menu at Hard Rock Cafe on George St. As you can imagine, this was pretty epic! We got to try the new artichoke and spinach dip, beef, chicken and veggie Nachopalooza and the Jumbo Combo. I really enjoyed the dip (much more than I thought I would) the southwest chicken nachos and the chicken tenders. Oh and the bruschetta. Yeah, so everything. The starter portions are huge. You could share one between two and not need a main, otherwise go one between three or four!

Mains were hickory smoked  ribs and bbq pulled beef brisket. The meat was so tender and the sauces just delicious. We also got to try some of the their burgers – the one I tried was their Fiesta Burger which was served on a brioche bun with fresh guacamole – a winner in my eyes.

I have a super sweet tooth so of course I was excited about dessert. We tried the Hot Fudge Brownie and the Oreo cheesecake. My word, that cheesecake was outrageous! So good. I hadn’t been to Hard Rock for a good couple of years and this has reignited the love for it. Will definitely be back for cocktails and cheesecake very soon.

New ‘Do! New hair

Not the best photo, but I got my haircut finally! Shorter and blonder for summer. It was cut, bleached, toned with two shades and cut again but three hours later it was worth it. I got this done at Myles Hairdressing and I would definitely recommend this salon to anyone looking for an affordable but quality hairdressers on the west side of town. My hair was done by Joanne and even though it was a very busy Saturday she took her time to get it how to what I was after, even when I was being a bit vague.

Doune Castle Doune CastleOn Sunday we went for a drive and ended up at Doune Castle. I’m going to do a full post on this trip on Thursday for the BEDM Local History post so check back then if you’re interested in Castles. You should be, this one is pretty famous…

“One day, lad, all this will be yours.”
“What, the curtains?”

Sunday Catch Up #12

 

This week I have mostly been burning through money like it’s going out of fashion. I’ve desperately been needing a new laptop for ages so I picked one up this week. It wasn’t expensive but I used this as an excuse to justify also buying a new satchel (mint of course), tickets for a comedy show, flowers etc. I may have to do a May spending ban…

Made Up

 

I went to a couple of Science Festival events this week. Last Saturday I went to Made Up? at Summerhall which was an exploration of the science of cosmetics. There was a bit of history thrown in with an 18th century live makeover. The foundation was a bit pale (white was the fashion to cover up sores) but the rouge used on the cheeks and lips reminded me a lot of Benetint – things haven’t changed that much! We also had the chance to make our own charcoal based facemasks.

EdSciFest

My mask was a bit lumpy but seemed to work OK. Don’t think I’ll be giving up my Origins too soon thought!

I also popped along to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition at National Museum Scotland which was fantastic. It’s on until the 1st of June and absolutely fee so I really recommend this for any animal/nature/photography fan. It’s based in one room so easy to get round even if you only have a free 15 minutes.

The other major event this week (aside from being crazy busy at work) was introducing my parents and David’s parents. After 5 years this shouldn’t be a big deal but as we were meeting for lunch it seemed a bit formal. Went very well though – phew! We went to the Sun Inn which is local to the village my parents live in and is really nice. It’s a fairly standards Scottish gastro-pub style place but has won lots of awards so definitely worth a visit and not too far out of the city.

Tulips and Mini Eggs

Happy Easter everyone!

Sunday Catch Up #11

I’ve had a pretty uneventful couple of weeks since going back to work. Had to do a few late finishes in the office to try to catch up so hasn’t really put me in the mood to do anything fun recently. But I did manage a couple of shopping trips – of course!

ikea and lushLast weekend the highlight was going to IKEA. We bought some new frames for some prints I’ve been collecting for the bedroom and a kitchen trolley. The turquoise Raskog has become the bar cart in our living room and I love it. Can’t wait until our next cocktail party!

I nipped to Lush in my lunch break and treated myself to a few bits from their new in section. I got a Brightside bubble bar, Secret Garden ballistic, Strawberry Feels (best name ever) massage bar, Bunny bubble bar, Rose bubble bar and the Fluffy Egg ballistic. Also in the pic is a Dragon’s Egg bath bomb which I got for my  birthday.

Boots and HIMYMI also did a bit of spending in Boots – well I did have some good Advantage points vouchers to use. I picked up the Garnier Miracle Skin Cream, L’Oreal Fibrology shampoo and conditioner, Charles Worthington Texture and Volume Spray, Essie ‘A Splash of Grenadine’, L’Oreal Eye and Lip makeup remover, and a few Seventeen products – a blusher, primer and gel effect nail polish. Let me know if you’d like to see product reviews of any of this or the Lush stuff and I’ll do my best.

This Saturday was spent watching the final season of How I Met Your Mother in one long binge. What was up with the final episode? Too rushed, not sad, not heartwarming, not anything! Boo!! Someone agree with me!

BirdwatchingToday called for a pleasant activity that didn’t involve spending money like it’s going out of fashion, so we roadtripped with David’s family up to Loch of the Lowes to the Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve there. They have a visitor centre from which you can watch a huge variety of bird feeding, including ducks, bullfinches, yellowhammers and even a woodpecker. We also saw a couple of red squirrels – my first time seeing reds in the wild. The star attraction however, is the breeding pair of osprey, the female has been returning to the same nest for 28 years now. We saw them on one of their further away perches – too far to take a photo of course but you got a clear view through the binoculars. Afterwards we headed out for a lovely lunch at Logierait Inn which I really recommend if you’re out that way.

Birdwatching might be considered a bit sad but it’s been the highlight of the past couple of weeks for me.

Sunday Catch Up #10

Boo, only 18 hours of holiday time left! I’ve had the best week off so going back to work on Monday is going to be painful.

Cocktails and Birthday PresentsOn Sunday I had some friends over for cocktails and games as a pre-birthday celebration. We played Cards Against Humanity (which I won thanks to someone misreading Count Chocula) and Creationary (which David won due to his mad LEGO skillz). To drink we had Woo Woos, Mojitos, Bubbly and Chambord, and my favourite, Lynchburg Lemonade served in cute glass bottles.

I was very lucky to receive lots of gifts from my friends which I’m very grateful for. They know we so well!

Paris with David On Tuesday, my birthday, me and David jetted off to Paris for a couple of nights. Here you can see that I suck at taking selfies and that we are hideously cheesy tourists. I’ve already posted more about our trip which you can read here if you like.

When we came back on Thursday David was heading to London with his family for the rest of the week so I’ve been left to fend for myself. It’s gone well, I went to see The Grand Budapest Hotel and Under the Skin and I’ve watched an entire season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Good times. I love RuPaul’s catchphrase of “Don’t fuck it up” – whatever happened to ‘good luck’ eh?

Fall Out BoyYesterday I had an amazing day with my bestie. We caught the train to Glasgow – accessorizing with a can of G&T for Kerry and a Rum and Cola for me – classy birds. We went to Bread Meats Bread for burgers and poutine and it was amazing! Seriously worth the trip alone. But the main reason for the jaunt was to see Fall Out Boy at the Hydro. We were very lucky to get private box access (friends in awesome places and all that) and the show was amazing. I’ve never been the biggest Fall Out Boy fan, I think I knew about four or five of their songs, but I was well and truly won over. All round great show, sounded brilliant, looked incredible and there was a fab atmosphere.

And that was my week. I really wish I could go back in time and do it all again, but instead I’ll just count down the weeks til I can take another holiday – roll on July!

Thnks fr th Mmrs.

Sunday Catch Up #9

Woo I’m on holiday for one whole week! Can you tell I’m a bit happy about this? It’s my birthday on Tuesday, tonight I’m having some people over for cocktails and then I’m jetting off to Paris on Tuesday for two days. Happy days!

Murphy and pancakesOn Sunday night I stayed over at my mum’s so I got lots of lovely Murphy cuddles (after I’d taking some antihistamines!). We watched Crufts. Murphy was NOT into it.

Pancake Day has rapidly turned into Pancake Month. Yums.

Bath StuffsSpeaking of yum, I’m still working my way through my Bomb Cosmetics box. I used the Martian Skies Bath Mallow (smelt like raspberries) and the Power to the Parma Bath Brulee (smelt like parma violets obvs). Both very lovely and softening.

WatchingI caught Wake in Fright at work on Monday. It’s an Australian film from 1971 and it is grim. A brutal look at life in a brutal environment, the Australian Outback. A weekend of gambling, drinking, abuse and hunting brings a teacher from Sydney rapidly to his knees, despairing at how quickly he has lost control while stuck in his own personal hell. If it’s on a cinema near you, go and see it, it’s a lost classic that only just been restored after being missing for decades.

I’ve also been watching the Channel 4 Live from Space series. It’s amazing to see the real life of astronauts on the International Space Station.

BuyingOn Wednesday I nipped into Superdrug and picked up the three new Barry M Gelly shades. I also wanted the bright pink Grapefruit but I couldn’t remember if I already had it. So I took this picture of my collection so I’d have a permanent reminder. No I don’t have it. I need it. Review of the new shades will be up tomorrow.

I also received my first Birchbox – rather exciting! I’ll do a post with my opinions on this next week too.

What have you been up to this week? Any recommendations for me while I’m in Paris? I’m only there for two days but I’ll be packing as much in as possible.

Sunday Catch Up #8

I’m spending this Sunday at my parents, meaning I’ll be red-eyed and sneezing due to my newly developed allergy to Murphy. I build up a tolerance to him when I stay there but just now I need high doses of Piriton to get through the day! Does this happen to anyone else? Part-time allergies?

Her and PancakesThis week I went to see Her which I actually really liked. Will do a review on it next week.

Tuesday was of course Pancake Day. I made the Blogilates 2-ingredient Banana pancakes and smothered them with maple syrup and blueberries. Mmmmm yum!

Bomb Bath BombsI’ve been obsessed with baths recently. I also started a new book (The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion) so that obviously requires super long baths. I’ve been digging into my Bomb Cosmetics Lucky Dip box and enjoying the Bluebell Bellini and the Candy Love bombs. Super fizzy and softening. Lovely!

New Look haul and Snail MailI didn’t do a Catch Up post last week, but the only thing I did was a spot og New Look shopping. I bought a cool mint ‘Hello Brooklyn’ t-shirt, a check shirt (can never have too many of those), another new bag and a water cup. No reason to the cup, just liked the pattern.

Rather excitingly, I received this rather awesome package from my Snail Mail swap partner. I’ll share what I got in more detail soon.

I also went to the newly open Burger for – surprisingly – burgers. Again, I plan to do a full post on this, that will become the beginning of my official search for the best burger in Edinburgh. Sounds like a tough job, eh? If you know of a great place for burgers in Edinburgh, please let me know!

Hope you’ve had a good week!

Sunday Catch Up #6

I have been a ‘bad blogger’ this week. I had two scheduled posts at the start of the week, about average, but I haven’t been very present. No Twitter chats from me, comments not moderated, stats not checked. Oops. But it’s been a busy week and I have lots of ideas for upcoming projects so this will improve I’m sure.

One thing I did achieve was to create a Pinterest board for my blog pics. I have four pics on there as I’m writing this and one repin already. I’d love it if you could go give it a little follow here.

White Russians and Mini EggsTotally brilliant week diet-wise! Haha, not! David’s dad’s birthday called for a Chinese takeaway, a catch up with friends at Lebowski’s needed White Russians and tripled fried tats, The Lego Movie mentioned tacos so many times it would have been rude not to join in and Valentines Day can only be described as a binge. One food discovery you might find interesting – one of those ‘big’ bags of Mini Eggs only contains enough to fill a ramekin. Might as well have the whole bag then!

Superdrug Forever 21 Haul Makeup look FOTDOn Thursday I picked up a parcel from Forever 21 and accidentally went on a wee spree in Superdrug. I bought the whole of the Barry M Silk Collection – it’s amazing, full post tomorrow, a mascara which I definitely don’t need, two of the new Maybelline Master Kajal eyeliners and a Revlon Matte Balm and Lacquer Balm. For important research purposes obviously. I’m wearing the Matte Balm in  Elusive, the mascara and the Lapis Blue eyeliner and I love them all. Success!

Next week I pledge to be more frugal, in my spending and in my eating!

What have you been up to this week? Any indulgences?