I had a wee holiday

I've been a bit rubbish with blogging all summer. It's something about having deadlines and work to do that makes me want to write from time to time escape it all. I start back at uni next week on a SECOND 4 year degree, so hopefully this keeps the inspiration flowing.

I recently went up to the north west of my beautiful country for a break from the hectic city of Edinburgh in the throes of its Festival frenzy. It was beautiful and silent.

I spent lots of quiet time at the beach looking for shells and driftwood.

I went up a hill with amazing views.

And on the way home we stopped at a loch which the old road south used to go past so is now sorta desolate and alien looking. We picked up bits of bog wood which I am going to make into some sort of display (pics to follow).

I barely spent any money, except in one lovely little shop in Drumbeg:

www.thelittlesoapandcandlecompany.co.uk

I bought the Misty Mountain soy candle, although everything smelled divine. Have a look at the online shop, the products are all natural and pure and lovely!

C x

Lands End Sale

Lands End is having a massively reduced sale on their Canvas collection. I managed to control the spending (for once!) and only spent £30. Here's my haul (apologies for the rubbish camera phone pictures):

Lightweight cotton funnelneck in Grey Heather (£8). I got an XS (UK8) and it's a good fit, especially around the shoulders, but spacious enough at the waist for after chocolate cake.

Plaid wool skirts in Aubergine plaid and Blackwatch plaid (£6 each). I worried myself by getting them in a US6 (UK10), thinking they might be a bit neat. But as it turned out, they were pretty loose (sitting lower on the waist than the model's), I might have even been able to go down to a US4/UK8 (but better to leave room for a Winter tummy, which is when one is likely to need a wool skirt!).

And an obligatory cardigan:

Cotton cardigan in Pale Sky (£10, but has since gone back up to £29) - it's much more icy blue than pastel, as their picture might suggest. I got this in an XS (UK8) and it's snug, but luckily not tight (the benefits of small shoulders), however, I'd suggest if your shoulders are more normal that you go up a size.

There's more nice things that I unfortunately didn't have the pennies for:

Flannel, suede or leather ballet flats (£29), cotton tartan shirtdress (£24), cotton mix Argyle cardigan (£19).

And lots of nice menswear too:

Cotton mix vintage varsity cardigan (£19) [because men should wear cardigans too!], cotton Oxford shirt (£10), leather Chelsea boots (£49).

See the full sale: www.landsend.co.uk

C x

PS - Get free delivery before midnight tonight, quote FD1404.

A Wee Trip to Glasgow

I had a lovely anniversary in Glasgow last weekend. Budgetary restraints prevented us from travelling further afield, but we ended up having a swell time, and I founds lots of nice places to visit again next time. 

Tinderbox in the Merchant City was a great place to pop into for lunch, and probably breakfast, high tea, elevenses... The interior was designed by the company responsible for the stunning 'Tigerlilly' here in Edinburgh, so it was pretty swish and, like Tigerlilly, everything was priced with the added 'swank percentage'. I had a lovely hummus and roast veg sandwich, which I will definitely make again at home, what a great way to use up leftovers...

(via Graven Images)

We were very lucky to manage to get a table at Jamie's Italian on Saturday night. There isn't a booking system, so you have to be prepared to queue for a while. Saturday night? Hour and a half. But the food and particularly the wine list is worth it. I had a stunning Sicilian Shiraz, which perfectly complemented my olives on ice (unbelievably good) and helped calm my mouth after the fiery arrabiata pasta sauce. It really was a treat.

(via tripadvisor)

Modern art wasn't my other half's thing, so I popped to the Gallery of Modern Art on my tod. It was in the process of installing a large new exhibition, so was a bit smaller than expected, but there's such a wide variety of things to see, and an awesome gift shop (ever the consumer...). 

(via RampantScotland)

 I am both embarrassed and proud of my shopping experience in Glasgow. I bought two key pieces from the new Primark SS'11 high fashion line (I squirm at the combination of those words with 'Primark'): a print skirt with tulle underskirt; and a wacky tea dress with a beach print (parasols, deck chairs). I also purchased James Franco's 'Palo Alto' short story collection, mostly because I am curious about how a young man can achieve so much so soon. I've only read the first couple, but it's impressive. Very impressive.

C x