Snapshots; The Edinburgh Book Festival

Edinburgh
Well, my second August of blogging has come and gone and once again I have failed miserably when it comes to posting about the Edinburgh Festival. Each July I have so many great plans, so many ideas but somehow I just never have the time to share all the wonderful things going on around here with you. Even being currently unemployed has not made it any easier, I haven't been able to afford to go to see anything.

Luckily I have spent quite a lot of time walking around with my camera. These photos are all from the Edinburgh Book Festival (you may have guessed from the first photo) based in Charlotte Square. I've got so many good memories of school trips here, meeting JK Rowling and so many other talented authors, just sitting soaking up the atmosphere, or sitting in the Spiegel Tent having a quick pint.

I actually only popped in to donate some of my old books but ended up spending most of the afternoon walking round, drinking coffee and celebrity spotting (I saw ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown - exciting!), such a wonderful way to spend a day. 

What I Wore: Flowers and Dots

Outfit
 Outfit Details: Thrifted Dress (£3), Cardigan from a clothes swap and all the accessories are Primark (shoes: £2, tights £1, hat 50p, belt £1)

I think I'm falling in love with these spotty tights. I've been wearing them with pretty much everything lately. Trying them out with different patterns, different colours, and they go with everything! It's a pity I bought them on sale in Primark nearly six months ago, I wish I had bought another ten pairs. (While beautiful the quality is pretty awful, I can't see them lasting till the end of September). The shoes and hat are from my super cheap trip to Primark last week, I took the ribbon off the hat because it was just a little bit too girly for me, I think I might add a navy ribbon at some point soon instead. 

I've had such a lazy weekend, it's been fantastic. Me and the French were both feeling really low on Saturday so we spent the entire day hiding out at a friend's house watching the last of Stargate SG1 and eating lots of ice cream and cheese cake. I think our current state of homelessness in beginning to reallly get us down. We're so lucky we have so many good friends willing to take us, and the two dogs, in but I will be so happy when we are in our own place, nicely settled. I just want to have my own bed, a nice wardrobe to hang up my clothes (they are still packed up at my parent's house) and maybe even somewhere I can have a bath. 

Today is going to involve lots more sorting of our stuff and then maybe a bath this evening. The French leaves again for work early tomorrow morning so it will just be me and the dogs sorting out the move this weekend. Hopefully by the time he get's back at the end of next week we'll be all settled in. And I'll have some more time to catch up on blogs, I've been pretty terrible at getting back to you all recently and for that I apologise. I hope you are all having lovely Wednesdays.

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Monday Link List

I love this quote from Roald Dahl, he was one of my favourite childhood authors.
I am in no way, shape or form ready for Autumn yet (unlike most bloggers it seems) but I do love this outfit from Keiko Lynn, so pretty!
A reminder that doing something great can start out small
I love this Twin Peaks prinhttp://www.supercinq.net/?p=1694t, so cool!
  • I loved Miss Indie's simple photograph backdrop ideas, I'm always at loss for backdrops and it's one of the reasons I don't share any DIYs or recipes. Next time I cook up something fun I'm looking forward to sharing it with you guys. 
  • Kate at Scathingly Brilliant shared how to make seamless repeating patterns, such a cool idea for bringing some individuality to your blog. 
  • Katrina from Pugly Pixel shared some of her best blog post layout tips over at A Beautiful Mess
  • Also from A Beautiful Mess, I loved Elsie's interior inspiration, it's fascinating to see someone else's process for making a room their own. 
  • I love that Elycia gave her new kitty a Twin Peaks inspired name, Princess Log Lady is absolutely adorable. 
  • I loved Elizabeth's cheap date ideas, me and the French are looking forward to spending more quality time together after the stress of the move (so glad it is less than a week away now) and he has finally done his final week working away for the summer.
  • Stef's talked about why blogging is great and we should share our passion with the people in our 'real' lives.

You Guys Rock

Life

You guys are the best, thank you so much for all your amazing comments on my last post. I felt super special that you all took the time out of your day to wish me a happy birthday. I had an absolutely amazing time. It was a pretty chilled out day, but I think that was just what I needed. It was a day of lots of good food, including Yo Sushi in Harvey Nicks, dinner at an amazing Malaysian restaurant and eventually ended with a trip to Lucas for some fantastic ice cream, and the people I love.

I got some amazing presents too, including two pairs of shoes, a tripod for my camera so I can take outfit posts at the new flat all on my own and from my parents I got a sewing machine! I'm so excited! It is still in its box at the moment, I'm going to wait till we move in to the new place to get it all set up, but I am honestly over the moon with it. I cannot wait to start fiddling with it, and hopefully my massive pile of clothes to be altered will start to shrink really soon! I'm also going to be getting a new laptop, the French is helping my by putting some money towards it and then I might add some more so I can get something really good. My current laptop, while wonderful in many ways, can no longer hold its own screen up so I'm left balancing it on things to write posts/watch videos/everything, and it's just become too frustrating. Life is good. 

Hope you all have a great weekend, and if you are in the UK enjoy the extra long one. Oh, and in unrelated news The British Heart Foundation is doing 50% off items in its store this weekend, I've already picked up a pair of shorts for 99p and I'm looking forward to checking out some of their branches tomorrow.

Polka Dot. Dot. Dot

Outfit

Eep, I'm getting old. Today I reached another so called milestone in my life, I'm 25 today. As usual I can confirm 25 does not feel all that different from 24. In fact I'd swear it is exactly the same apart from a slight nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach, but that happens every year. I'm not going to write much, because to be honest I would much rather be out celebrating than inside typing on my laptop, but I figured I should post something to mark another year passing. Unfortunately this isn't my birthday outfit, it's actually from last weekend, but I am planning on trying to recreate it for my dinner later. I love the two different polka dot items, and I've been crazy about this dress since I got it last month (another £5 wonder from Primark). Today I'm looking forward to ice cream, hopefully some sunshine and maybe a couple of glasses of wine. A nice relazed day sounds like the perfect way to celebrate.

Less Than The Cost Of A Pint

Thrifty Finds
Just a quick post today, I'm in the middle of planning birthday plans (I'm 25 on Thursday and I am terrified!) and hiding from the appaulling rain, but I figured I would share some of my latest thrifty finds with you while I have a sly cup of coffee.

Having a Primark in Edinburgh has definitely made a dent in my wallet, albeit a small one, I picked up all of these cuties for £3 at the end of last week. The brogues as the most gorgeous purple colour, and as far as I am concerned it was fate that the only pair left was in my size, at £2 I couldn't leave them there all alone. I'm really looking forward to wearing them with everything this autumn. I'm looking forward to trying out some new hair styles this autumn too, so I am stocking up on reduced hair bands and clips wherever I can find them. In the same trip I also grabbed a bunch of lovely smelling candles (on sale too at £1 each) for the new flat. I can't believe it is only 11 days now till we move in! There is so much stuff going on at the moment, and luckily it all seems to be good. It's such a relief after the stress of the past few months.

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Monday Link List
 
I love this easy DIY that Kaelah did with Photoshop, definitely something I want to try for our new home
 
I don't know if I love or hate this cake, either way it's a masterpiece
Summer makes me dream of an outdoor space where I can spend my evenings with friends like this one.
 
This might be the most lovely pillow, I want it for my new bedroom.
 
This illustration by Russian artist Heorhiy Narbut is beautiful.
 
Elsie and Emma posted two tasty looking recipes this week, these yummy looking marshmallows and a simple pesto recipe. 


For those of you moving out to college or university this year, here's 24 (mostly unhealthy) ways to make your food super tasty, although I'm not too sure about cheerios in soup.

I love that Bianca's cat carries a camera.

Summer always forces me to find new things to try with my hair, it's too hot otherwise. I love this simple updo from Scathingly Brilliant and these inspirational photos compiled by Oh So Lovely Vintage

Elizabeth at Delightfully Tacky posted a delicious looking spicy firecracker shrimp recipe and

Rebecca is dreaming of a bedroom to make her own and seeing as we are signing a 12 month lease this week I'm kind of dreaming of the same thing. And she's looking lovely and summery too.

I love these free social media icons from Carrie Loves, I wish I'd found them a month ago.

I love this article about getting a puppy, so funny!

Etsy has finally added human bones and drugs to its banned list, I cannot believe this took so long. I always worried that some items on Etsy might have been stolen from archaeological sites, and I feel very strongly that human remains are sacred and deserve respect, not being sold online.

The Guardian looked at whether artists can make enough to live on, and the resounding answer seems to be no.

It's a bit icky, but I was fascinated to hear one of the best preserved prehistoric human brain's was recently found in Yorkshire.

I found this article about a woman's reaction to her 21 year old son's first tattoo, I think it's really sad that people still react this way to body art, I feel really strongly that your body is your own to take care of, to decorate, to use in whatever way you want.

Something else depressing I've found online this week, I've never heard of Pat Robertson before but I can safely say he is the worst Christian I've ever read. I believe those who adopt/foster deserve who utmost respect, and as a society we have a responsibility for all children, no matter 'what's been done to a child'.

And finally, something a little more positive, this stag party decided rather than getting drunk and lairy, they would re-do the garden of a local foster family. So wonderful.

What I've Done: July 2012

Month In Review
I'm a little bit late with this, but life has been a little bit hectic, and to be honest it was a pretty boring month but I figured better late (and little) than never. 

Highlights
  • Spending time with my family
  • Plotting for our move (and too much time looking for decorating tips on Pinterest)
  • More muddy walks and a few sunny days
  • Lots of interesting bugs and butterflies (like the one above from my lettuce)
  • Attempting some dog training
  • 5 books for a £1 in the Salvation Army store on Lothian Road.
Lowlights

Having too much time alone meant I spent a lot of last month reading blogs and watching far too much Grey's Anatomy and New Girl (I'm so excited about the new series coming out in September!)

New (To Me) Blogs







And finally, some news that technically isn't from July, but I'm so happy I can't wait to tell you. We've found a flat! We're gonna be sharing with a couple of friends, it's a much cheaper option in the centre of Edinburgh, and it means we've been able to find somewhere in one of my favourite areas of the city with 2 bathrooms and a kitchen we can fit a table in! I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to sitting down for dinner again (our last place had no living room and you could barely get one person into the kitchen). We don't move in till September so I've got plenty of time to sort through all our stuff but I cannot wait! I was getting worried we would never find somewhere suited to us.

Dance Till You're Dead

Outfit
As summer continues, or rather as summer arrives in Edinburgh, my outfits are getting lazier and lazier. Without thinking I've been pulling on jeans or shorts, adding a shirt and calling it a success, after all I need something comfy for house hunting and walking the dogs. This outfit is pretty typical of the past week, hardly even worth photographing...

By The Seaside (& a Horrible Panic)

"My Pack"
 
As promised, here are some photos of Mania's first trip to the beach. She was pretty nervous, and it took quite a lot to convince her to get in the water (I've never seen anyone or anything so afraid of waves before). Luckily Scalliwag didn't seem bothered at all and in no time at all they were both playing fetch in the water. Too cute.

It seems odd to be sharing these today, when we had our worst puppy moment so far earlier today. Let me share our little horror story. We were walking the dogs through the Meadows (a large park not far from the city centre and the friend's house we are currently staying at), Scalliwag was on the lead as she is in heat and damn do I not want to deal with puppies, no matter how cute they would be, while Mania went for a run around. We were just trying to get Mania back on the lead, no easy task, when she went tearing round the back of a building chasing some imaginary squirrel. The French took charge and went running after her while Scalli and I started along the road when suddenly I spot Mania standing in the middle of the road

The graces must have been smiling on us, because all the cars had just stopped for a red light, and a lovely woman with her son held Scalli for me while I went tearing into the middle of the road and dragged Mania back. I even managed to hold myself together long enough to thank the woman and put the Mania onto Scalli's lead as well then promptly sat down and burst into tears, which only got worse when the French appeared and started asking me what was wrong.

It seems like an over reaction, but honestly I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life. One of the reasons I am not a driver is I know how bad other drivers in Edinburgh are, and if it wasn't for that red light I have little doubt that we would be dealing with either a substantial vet bill, or a dead puppy. The problem is, now I have no idea what to do with her, she's reasonably well trained, and she has never gone anywhere near a road with me or the French since we started dating, but I am absolutely terrified to let her off the lead now.

Anyway, that's my panic for the day, Mania isn't any worse for wear, I'm still a little bit of a shaking mess but hopefully that'll calm down. And here's a lesson for all of you. Just because your dog is trained, doesn't mean it isn't stupid.
Happy Friday everyone.

The Feel of Sand Beneath Your Feet

Outfit
So, I finally managed to take some photos off my camera, and after an entire evening of cropping and fixing the colours I've got a pile ready for posts over the next few weeks. I love having lots of photos ready, it makes me feel so much more prepared, plus it *hopefully* means no more unintended blogging breaks. Although recently just having time to write something for inbetween photos has been difficult enough.

We're still house hunting, although at least we have some options now, forms are being sent off, we've got a final viewing tomorrow morning and then we're going to go stay up in Aberdeen for a couple of days to introduce the dogs to our new flatmate's cats (it could be an interesting experience). It's not all been bad busy though, we spent a night at Yellowcraigs beach, and a weekend in Midlothian with friends, and all these flat viewings have taken us to some interesting places in Edinburgh. 

These photos are from nearly 2 weeks ago after a viewing in Portobello, one of my favourite areas of the city. Unfortunately the flat was tiny, no where near enough space for all of us, but it gave us a chance to get the dogs down by the sea (a first for Mania) and the French was more than happy to take some photos for me while I frolicked in the water.

This is another summer sale dress, £7 from H&M and it is gorgeous. I love the fabric, the white collar and the cute little buttons on the sleeves. On my body shape though it really needs my trusty Primark belt. It's not the most summery outfit, but then this wasn't the most summery day, and I think it'll be great to mix with different tights and belts over autumn. 

I've got some more photos of the dogs in the water, but I didn't want to overwhelm you with photos of a grey sea so you've got them to look forward to later this week. I hope you're all having busy and productive weeks xo

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Monday Link List

Talented baker JessleMess baked this amazing cake for our mutual bestie's birthday. The motif is her tattoo.
These pillows are perfect for any computer geek (or maybe just for me)
I need to remember this more often, plus it is so pretty,
This embroidery is so incredibly cute. I wish it was still available.
Another pretty thing from Etsy. 
 
This coffee is absolutely amazing. I wish I could do latte art like this. 
 
  • I loved this article on geek culture and how it should be all inclusive, it doesn't matter what you geek out about, just that you do and it share what you love. 
  • I love that characters like Abby and Temperence Brennan are encouraging women to go into jobs that have always been male dominated such as forensics. TV at its best. 
  • Sarah Rooftops is offering affordable blog design, basically the idea is you pay what you can to get a custom design. She's super talented so if you have always wanted to fancy new blog design but can't afford a professional designers fees you should definitely give her a bell.
  • Bonnie at Flashes of Style posted a video tutorials for a 50's inspired up do.
  • I've got to admit I'm starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed by all the summery colours in blogs at the moment, so Kara's post Black Is The New Black made for some great inspiration.   
  • Pugly Pixel posted on creating drop shadows for your blog images, so cool!
  • Elizabeth tried out a technique for stitching together photos to make wide angle photos and it looks fantastic. I can't wait to try it. 
  • Kaylah's gif of her family's attempt at a jumping photo is fantastic, I spent ages checking out what everyone was doing. 
  • Elsie and Emma at A Beautiful Mess have started up a new series of trade secrets and their first one about good ideas taking time is great, can't wait to see what else they come up with.