beloved | february

Yup, I've jumped on the monthly "favourites" bandwagon. I've dipped my toes into 'favourite' posts in the past and then usually given up after one post, sometimes the post doesn't even get published. Now, I love reading about/watching other blogger's favourites because I'm so nosy. I'm fascinated about what other people are loving/coveting/buying and I don't think I'm on my own here, am I? Please tell me no! So I figured that I would share the things that I've been cherishing every month in the hope that you find it interesting and you can maybe see what kinda makes me tick? Make sense? Phew! At the moment I haven't split February's things into categories, but I may try and nail that in March's post, k?

Lately my face has been pretty unhappy with life. So many of my friends use and recommended Liz Earle products, so I finally picked up a bottle of Cleanse & Polish on a recent trip to Glasgow. I can say that it's worth all they hype that surrounds it. It's so gentle and moisturising that my poorly skin has waved goodbye to all it's ailments! I'm pretty sure the Clarins Double Serum had a helping hand in this, though. My skin has just been drinking this little wonder right up. I've had so many dry patches over the winter months, but lovely Clarins have cleared those up just in time for Spring. Spring is coming, right??

I think you all know that I'm a teeny bit in love with everything Boden, right? Well February was no exception. Much to O's despair, I broke my self-enforced shopping ban and bought another breton t-shirt and this beautiful scarf (which was in the sale, high five!). You can never have too many tartan scarves and bretons, huh? I've also changed my candle game up this month. Christmas time was all about the sweet, cinnamon-y scents, but even I've had enough of those (until next Christmas). This little pea pod candle is from M&S and is such a subtle spring garden scent. It doesn't take over the whole room, but gives of just enough of a tasty whiff to leave you wanting more. I'm almost down to the bottom of the wick, so will have to send myself out to buy another!

I know I'm a little late to the party with this one, but where has The Simple Things magazine been all my life? The photography and the writing is exquisite and it gives me so much inspiration for this little space. I may have purchased a little subscription...don't tell O! ;) 

I've ditched my winter nail polishes...farewell berry reds, navy blues and deep purples, it's time for the pastels and brights to return! I've been switching between those two ^^ Essies this month (Lovey Dovey and Maximillian Strasse-Her) and my nails are all the happier for it! 

We bought this camera lens along with our new Nikon D5300 at Christmas and until recently, I really hadn't used it much at all. Once you get the hang of a prime lens you'll be in love! I adore my zoom lenses, but I always seem to get much better photos with this little number. We got a Nikon cash back deal with the camera, so we're going to use that to buy another new lens. I'm thinking maybe a 50mm? Although, O wants another serious zoom lens (we all know that I'll win!).

That, my lovelies, is February's lot! What things have been floating your boat this month? Do you use a 35mm lens? Has Spring snuck up around your town/city yet? 

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish | Clarins Double Serum | Boden breton | Boden scarf (sold out) | Pea Pod candle (sold out) | The Simple Things | Essie | Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm

An Afternoon at the Palace

Hanging out at a palace for the afternoon isn't too shabby, is it? En route home from Edinburgh last weekend, we decided to stop off at Linlithgow Palace and flex our Historic Scotland membership cards once more. Shockingly, especially for a Scottish, I'd never even heard of this palace. Oscar on the other hand, had been before when he was a little 'un! Mary Queen of Scots was born here amongst other famous royals and it is set in the most beautiful grounds - check out that loch ^^.

You can climb to the very top of the towers and sit in the ruins of the royal chambers whilst looking out on this breathtaking scenery. Despite the palace being in ruins, you can still sit there and imagine what it would've been like to live there back in the day. We were lucky to have the sunniest day of the weekend to play around in and if you forgot about how chilly it was, it really could've been a summer's day.

Have you been to Linlithgow Palace? We've been out storming a few castles and palaces lately, where are your favourites? :)

Sunday Mornings #22

This week has been a 'catchy-uppy' one. You know the type, getting housework chores done, general life admin and ticking those things off my to-do list that I've been putting off. I've been waking up early with O all week rather than trying to snooze for another couple of hours and then falling asleep on the sofa at 9pm as a result! So, I was most definitely ready for the weekend to roll around! I hope you've had a lovely week? Here's a little round of mine...

:: Sorting through all the photos from our weekend in Edinburgh! We had such a good time and it was just the little break we needed.

:: Making the most of our Historic Scotland membership! We got into Edinburgh Castle,  Linlithgow Palace and Culzean Castle for free this week...we're getting into this castle storming business!

:: Finishing Wild. I know I've harped on about this book all week, but seriously, read it. You won't be sorry!

:: Going out for a HUGE Indian banquet with two of our buddies. The food in Balbir's is always amazing and you won't be able to eat anything else for days!

:: Visiting some deer in the deer park at Culzean Castle. I think this is the closest I've ever been to these beauties...photos to come!

:: Changing some of our GBPs into Canadian dollars! Once you have those colourful notes in your hands, it seems so much more real. Four months today, FYI!

:: Finally getting to season five of Pretty Little Liars. Seriously though, who the heck is A?! 

:: Finding two bargainous pairs of shoes this week. Remember when I mentioned that I was on a spending ban?! Well, they're both for summer...so an investment buy, surely? My Supergas are on there last legs, so grabbed a pair of new greys ones and some awesome Merrell running shoes. You can never have enough footwear, right? Thought so!

:: Eating pancakes for dinner on Tuesday night. Can we have Shrove Tuesday every week please?

:: Witnessing the first little buds of Spring at Culzean Country Park. Little snowdrops, daffodils and loads of tiny buds on the trees...and then driving into a snow storm on the way home!! What is going on, nature??

:: My new dressing table. I came home from work one night to discover O had built me one! I love it! No more standing up and peering into a mirror, I can now sit very lady like at the my new table :)

How has your week been? I hope it's been a good one? :)

E D I N B U R G H :: storming castles, parliaments, arthur's seat + the haar

Just look at that fog. The one time we come to Edinburgh armed with our camera and we wake up to this haar. My Edinburgh buddy explained about the haar when we met him for breakfast on the Sunday morning. In normal terms, its the coastal fog. But I much prefer the word "haar", don't you? I digress. We had planned to get many many awesome shots of and from the castle, but unfortunately, the haar had other ideas. Once we left the castle and headed down to the parliament and Arthur's Seat, however, the haar had decided to clear....typical! Anyway, despite this darn fog, we had an amazing day touring around the city. We walked for miles and miles from the Castle to the Palace, from the gardens to the Grassmarket stopping for scrumptious food (seen here) along the way. 

This last photo of the gorgeous dog is definitely my favourite from the day. I can't claim the credit for it though, the very talented O took it! We're hoping to come back in a few weeks to actually climb Arthur's Seat. I've done it before, but O hasn't and I don't think my battered Supergas were up to all the mud that day!

What are your favourite spots in Edinburgh? We did try to take a tour of Holyrood Palace, but we arrived too late. Next time!

What's on my bookshelf :: #1

I've been in a reading rut lately. I keep starting books, getting a few chapters in and then giving up or just completely forgetting all about them. So at the beginning of the month, I pledged to actually read a book cover to cover and maybe by posting about it on this space, I'll read another one next month. 

I think the last book I finished was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which I loved! Still haven't seen the movie though, have you seen it? Does it do the book justice? This month I'm reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I'm reading this one on my Kindle, mainly due to the fact that I'm on a spending ban and it was already on there. I'm about half way through and so far I'm loving it. Without giving too much away, it's about Cheryl who is hiking the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) by herself. The first few chapters are all about the moments is her life that led her to start this journey. Her tales from the trip range from hilarious to unimaginable and if you don't want to up sticks and go on an adventure after reading only a few chapters, I'd be shocked! 

At the rate I'm ploughing through these pages, I'm going to need some recommendations for my next read. Can you help a girl out? Is there anything you've read that you've really loved recently? 

P.S. The Kindle edition of Wild is only £1.19 on Amazon at the moment, such a bargain! 

E D I N B U R G H :: in food + drink

Let me just begin with saying that I took more photos that I can shake a stick at this weekend! So you can imagine that I had really no idea where to begin, blogwise. After perusing all of the photos many many times, I decided that I would get all the foodie ones out the way (read as: take centre stage) first. Now all of these were taken on my iPhone 6 and after varying degrees of cocktails. So lets just agree that they may be slighty squint and/or blurry! 

The main events of the weekend food-wise were without a doubt Meze Meze on Rose Street and the Crafter's Barn on the Mound. I didn't take anywhere near enough photos during the meze dinner, but let me tell you - its some of the best food I've eaten in a long while. The feast included tzatziki, hummus, spiced salsa, baked aubergine, courgette and halloumi stew, chicken skewars, lamb, patas bravas, feta filled filo pastries, spiced sausage and the best bread I've ever tasted. This was all washed down with some Greek beer and followed by baklava, of course!

The Crafter's Barn had *the* biggest pizza I've ever eaten. We decided to go for half and half, just for good measure. My side of choice was the Smoked BBQ which included steak, bacon, caramelised onions, mushrooms and mozzarella. Oscar went for a chicken and chorizo affair that blew our mind. If you're into your beer, their menu is amazing and I really couldn't fault the service on a busy Valentines/Six Nations rugby weekend! 

I'm not sure if this applied only to the Edinburgh store, but Anthropologie had a little pancake stand on the go this weekend too. This was a nice little restbite after a very long walk from the Castle to the Palace!

We managed to have a few cocktails all over the city (check out that passion fruit concoction above ^^), but if you're a bit of a gin connoisseur then I'd recommend checking out the new Jolly Botanist right next to Haymarket. They have countless gins (not to mention cocktails and whisky) and the garnishes will blow your mind! You may want to reserve a table though, even just for drinks. Standard Edinburgh rules really. 

Breakfast at The Blackbird on Sunday morning was a standard full Scottish, haggis and all. The coffee there was just what I needed after the many cocktails the previous evening!

We were supposed to go out for a Californian meal on the Saturday evening, but after the giant pizza/beer/cocktail combo, we were SO full that we couldn't manage it! Ooops! Thanks for your many many awesome recommendations, I've saved them all and those we couldn't fit in are definitely top of the list for our next visit. Thanks pals! :)