Wednesday 29 August 2012

August instagram

Oh, I LOVE YOU AUGUST. Without a doubt it is the most ridiculous, exhausting, pal-filled, brilliant month. I've survived lots of very late nights (and some very early mornings), a knackering publication schedule at work (four issues in one month, eek), and loads of shows.. some good, some bad, some brilliant!

I am now in need of a very big sleep.


1. Admiring the big cats at The List's festival party at Summerhall.

2. An amazing Gemma Correll tote bag from Hannah Zakari, I love it!

3. New solar-powered lanterns up in our garden. I am absolutely in love with my garden, everything is growing so nicely and I just feel so relaxed and happy when I'm in it! We have managed to attract a few birds, bees and butterflies too, which is ace to see.

4. The Book Festival is always one of my favourite things about August, and this year was no exception. My highlights were Jeanette Winterson (I love her, she was perfect), China Mieville & Neil Gaiman. If there's a book festival near you - go! They are great.

5. My lovely pal Steph was up for a few days and it was brilliant! I don't get to see her nearly as much as I'd like as she works in movies & is always jet-setting somewhere or other & it was so nice to have chilled out time to catch up properly.

6. Cupcakes from Cuckoo's Bakery - YUM!

7. Doing 'The Face™' with Lucy (my pal from work). She does this in all of her instagram photos, and it became a bit of a theme on our work end-of-festival lunch!

8. Beautiful roses from Craig on our six year anniversary. Oh, you sop.

9. Pals (and me!) at the So You Think You're Funny awards party. I got to wear a bit feathery headdress and it was so much fun - I wanted to keep it!

10. We went to Ting Thai - a pop up thai street food restaurant on Forrest Road. It's really good, loads of nice thai food for £5. Apparently they are hoping to stay open after the festival.. fingers crossed they do.

11. Muzz, Craig & I in freebie sunglasses LOOKING COOL (obviously).

12. End of festival/return to real life commences. SALAD. I plan to eat only vegetables for the next few weeks (and start running again... more on that soon!). It's hard to stay healthy when life revolves around comedy clubs!

2012 festival show count:

Underbelly launch, Gilded Balloon launch, Assembly Gala, Dead Cat Bounce, Late n Live, Axis of Awesome, Carl Einar Häckner, Pajama Men, Ceilidh Club, Neil Gaiman, Stanley Odd, Paul Simon Treatment, Sammy J & Randy, Frisky & Mannish, Neal Stephenson, Late n Live, Neal Stephenson (again, a science talk), Jeanette Winterson, China Mieville, Iain Stirling, Foster's Comedy Award showcase (Pappy's Fun Club, Dr Brown & more).

Phew!

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Restarting running

Well it's not really a surprise that I stopped running over August. I knew it was going to be hard. The whole month was full of very late nights (both for fun & work) & trying to get sleep when I could. Running, or any sort of exercise, was at the very back of my mind. I'd also really struggled on week five of Couch to 5k and was fed up.

But now I am EVEN more fed up. I have hardly any energy and just want to hibernate - the days of getting up at 6.15am to exercise before going to work seem totally unreal and undoable. I'm not that fussed about eating healthy. I've watched Craig work his way up to regularly running 5ks and feel jealous, but weak. Wah! Things have to change.

By That ARThletic Girl (who does the loveliest inspirational drawings!)

And they will. Yesterday I restarted Couch to 5k and the 30 Day Shred. It feels like I'm being a bit of a quitter, starting all the way back at the beginning, but I think I need to be sensible and gradually work my way up again. It's only been a month and already it felt SO MUCH harder - which is sad as I obviously had started to get a wee bit fit, but I know I can do it again.

I'm also going to monitor things a little differently. Last time I weighed myself on the fancy machines in Boots and was so disappointed not to have lost any weight after a month (even though my BMI went down, AND I was feeling better). It was only afterwards that it was pointed out that muscle does weigh more than fat, so I must have lost something to keep my weight the same when getting fitter. So this time I will be ignoring the scales, and keeping an eye on my measurements instead. I'm doing this because I want to feel fitter and be more active... so no more stressing over stones and pounds!

I'll be blogging with weekly updates (which is massively helpful for my motivation!) and am keeping a close eye on these motivational blogs:


Wish me luck! And please share any words of wisdom that you might have. 

Monday 27 August 2012

Outfit: lazy Sunday

On Sunday I had a really nice day hanging out with my dad - we went to the Foster's Comedy Awards showcase, then a mosque kitchen lunch & a bit of "show and tell" of my favourite festival spots.

Summer has been practically non-existent this year, so it's been quite hard finding clothes that don't feel too autumnal but are still warm (I've had to wear tights FAR too much in August, sob). This is such a comfy outfit - I'm afraid I refuse to give up on a tights/shorts combo, but it's comfy & perfect for strolling around the city.

Shirt - H&M
Shorts - New Look
Shoes - Moony Mood from Spartoo*
I've had the shirt for a while now, but absolutely love it! I am a sucker for polka dots and it makes me feel a wee bit smarter than if I had just chucked on a tshirt.


My black flats are from Spartoo and they are ace. I have a few pair of Moony Mood shoes now and I really like them as they have a proper sole, no more paper thin flat shoes for me!

Thursday 23 August 2012

Red glittery nails

Barry M - Red Glitter
LOOK AT THIS NAIL POLISH!

It's such a dream. I am an absolute magpie, and am easily drawn by the smallest flicker of potential sparkliness on a nail varnish shelf. It can be disappointing when you get a glitter polish that looks really promising, but actually takes about 10 coats to build up.. not this one though!

It's by Barry M & is the bargain price of £2.99. I used a nail strengthening base coat and a top coat of Seche Vite, and it's lasted with no chips so far!  I'm so pleased... it feels like they've bottled up a pair of ruby slippers. 

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Ski holiday!

I've reached the time of year when I am just desperate to go on holiday - my work doesn't let us take any time off over the summer (because of the Edinburgh Festival), so by the end of August most people are starting to plan trips to lovely looking places.

Now, I may have the skiing ability of Bridget Jones (ha), but a skiing holiday sounds wonderful. Just picture lovely snowy mountains, roasting fires, log cabins (on a very fancy scale!), private spas & scenic views. Ski chalet Zermatt has all of this and more.


Isn't it gorgeous! I can just imagine sitting on a balcony, wrapped up all cosy with a glass of wine gazing out at the mountain.


Or making Craig cook me a massive meal (ha ha) in the wooden cabin, chilling & watching snow fall. It would be totally perfect as a new year's getaway with a big group of pals.. and much classier than watching the bells in a local pub! 


I want to go! You don't really have to ski on a ski holiday, do you?

(It does look AMAZING though!)

Tuesday 21 August 2012

What to wear to a festival

I love music festival season. Love love love it. I had planned to do this post way back in May (to coincide with the big Scottish festivals) but got a wee bit side-tracked & oh, now it's almost the end of August. Not to worry! The behemoth that is Reading and Leeds are fast approaching.. so I thought it would be fun to do a post on what to wear (in an realistic world) to a music festival.

HOW TO: HAIR

T in the Park hair: 2011
Don't judge me for being a one hair wonder in the photos above, but an easy, out of your face updo is perfect for festival hair! I went with a heidi-style hair braid for T in the Park, which was held up by quite a few kirby grips & lots of hairspray. 

A hair scarf is also a good shout - it will hide a multitude of mucky hair sins. 

British weather is totally unreliable, so it's best to be a bit of a pessimist and just assume that ANYTHING you put on might get absolutely drenched/covered in mud. That's why I always feel a bit nervous for people who wear white/light pink floral crowns to festivals... they are gorgeous but imagine if they fell off in mud! You'd be gutted! 

Dry shampoo is, as always, your friend. 

HOW TO: CLOTHES

Topshop satchel | ASOS mac | AX paris dress | My beloved leopard print mac
Wear many light layers that you can pile on, or pack in your bag as required. There's nothing worst than being FREEZING because you hoped it might be sunny all weekend. The best thing you can take is a light parka jacket that will keep you dry (and surprisingly warm). I bought my leopard print one in New Look a few years ago and have embarrassingly kept it and loved it ever since. 

Also remember that your only choice of bathroom is a grubby portaloo, so avoid playsuits (unless you want to run the risk of the dodgy door blowing open whilst it's round your ankles!). A dress is a good shout as you can put on tights/more socks as the day gets colder, but it'll keep you nice & cool if the weather is on your side.

HOW TO: SHOES

What do you do when faced with weather like this?


Wear shoes that will handle the worst puddles you can imagine!

Original Hunter  |  Roxy Winona | Short Hunter boots

Wellie boots are ESSENTIAL to surviving a festival - there's nothing worst than cold, wet, squelchy feet! You might think you'll never wear them again, but think of all the fun you can have stomping around in the snow at Christmas. Also, if you live in Scotland you will DEFINITELY find another excuse to wear them (sob sob sob).

Well, that's been fun. Have an absolute blast if you are festivalling up this weekend - I'M SO JEALOUS.

Monday 20 August 2012

Marquee lights

Over the last few months I have been glued to pinterest, looking for inspiration for filling up the white walls in our new home. Things are slowly coming together (we have the most AMAZING artwork in our kitchen, which I will blog about soon), but I am utterly stuck on some rooms. 

Then this morning this image popped up, pinned by the lovely Zoe from Conversation Pieces (one of the best lifestyle blogs in town).

LOVE.
Look at it! It's brilliant! Slight obsession kicking in, I started my search for marquee lights (imagining them on my bedroom wall, how lovely) and found this beauty. 

Etsy - West Vintage Trading Co 
Perfect, right? Except.. oh. It's $400.

Oh.

Etsy - Vintage Marquee Lights 
This one is $199... ahem.

Ruffled DIY
This one? It's a DIY! Thank goodness for the crafty bloggers of the internet! Ruffled have a slightly complicated but awesome looking version, using poster board.

Geeksugar DIY
& my very favourite - geeksugar just bought metal letters, drilled in some holes & threaded through fairy lights! I reckon I could try this version... I own a drill & if things go HORRIBLY wrong then it would still be under £10, if I just bought a metal letter off ebay.

Hmm - wish me luck! I will report back...

Friday 17 August 2012

Picks of the Edinburgh Fringe

Deep breaths. We are now HALF WAY through the Edinburgh Fringe. The weather is still mainly terrible (come back sun, we forgive you!), but the city is busy and the festival is brilliant.

I've been to quite a few things already, so I thought it would be fun to round up my very favourites so far....


Carl Einar Häckner - Handluggage
Gilded Balloon, 7.30pm

Probably the best show I've seen all fringe! It's a Swedish magic comedy show (but is about a billion times better than that might sound). Book a ticket. Go on!


Jarred Christmas - Let's Go Mofo
Gilded Balloon, 9.30pm

I like Jarred Christmas, he seems like he'd be a good pal. He also deserve loads of ticket sales for handling a really radge Late n Live crowd (heckle, don't punch, people!).


Frisky & Mannish - Extra-curricular Activities
Assembly Hall, 7.30pm

Super pop comedy. Frisky always has really excellent outfits too!


Sammy J and Randy - The Inheritance
Underbelly, 6.05pm

Don't take children, it's a bit sweary. But it's super good!

If you have any recommendations of things you've seen, please share! Tonight I'm out to Neal Stephenson at the Book Festival, then Late & Live at Gilded Balloon (I actually have no idea what the line up is, but I'm excited).

Bring on the weekend!

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair

Ooooh, this looks fun!

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair (the UK's largest vintage marketplace, don't you know) is coming to Edinburgh this Sunday. It promises to be full of affordable, eclectic one-off stock, from 60s shifts & 20s lace (ooh) to tie-dye, menswear, accessories & more. The amazing Miss Dixiebelle (vintage hair & make up supremes) will be there, and I am going to go out on a limb and assume that there will be tea in vintage china & cupcakes galore. 


I've always had mixed luck with vintage shops/fairs. I own a very wonderful fake-fur coat that I bought in a theatre-closing-down sale for £10 which I love SO MUCH (even though I can't ever work out what to wear it with), but I've also spent many frustrating hours trying to find something that is nice, actually fits & doesn't cost £££s!

Still, I like the sound of this one (they stress that it's affordable quite heavily, which hopefully means actually affordable, not just affordable in a "it's only £80, how maaaaahrvellous" way).

If you aren't based in Edinburgh it's worth taking a look at their events page as they are all over the country (some have vintage furniture too, lovely!).

Monday 13 August 2012

LOST locations tour

This is a bit of a random post, but one of my very favourite things about having a blog is getting to share photos that would normally stay tucked away on flickr! I am also absolutely PINING for a holiday (and close to breaking my no-proper-holidays-in-2012 rule) so keep finding myself looking at old trips!

I want to live here
A couple of years ago Craig & I went on an amazing around the world trip - London, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Hawaii, L.A & then home again. His brother lives over in NZ (hi Ross & Kirsten!) so we flew over to Auckland for the wedding.. and decided to make the most of being in that side of the world.

We were only in Hawaii for a couple of days, but one of the most important things on my to-do list was a location tour of Lost. It had just ended that year (RIP) and I was still quite heartbroken. I still am. It's such a weird thing to explain - obviously it is just a television show but I loved it SO MUCH. I still get cross if it comes up in conversation & people don't like it (I pretty much have to stop talking to them. That's weird, I know).

Favourite photo of the whole trip! 
Anyway! We went with KOS tours who were amazing - you are in a tiny group in a Hummer, and before each location they show you clips and photos to put it in context. It's not just Lost locations either! About a million movies are filmed in Hawaii, and it was really interesting seeing how the same location could be reused just by the smallest angle change.

Richard's house! 
The main bulk of filming took place in Ka'a'awa valley which is just BEAUTIFUL. It was hard to actually put down the camera and try to take it in as it was just gorgeous in every direction.

Dharma pier
Even though filming had long stopped there were still quite a few props left up - including loads of Dharma things (with one of the stations, that is now a movie museum).

Dharma sub - so tiny!
Oh it was just so BEAUTIFUL. I want to go back!

Jacob's palm tree
So there you go. I'm not sure how many of you are actually Lost fans - thanks for reading this far if you aren't! Oahu is absolutely gorgeous though.. I'd love to go back and stay for longer... it's just a shame that it's about fourteen hours away!

Smoke monster! 

Friday 10 August 2012

POKER CAKES

A few weeks ago I had a few pals round to the house for my very first ever poker night! (How had I managed to get to 26 without ever playing it?). I can't resist the opportunity to do THEMED things.. even just for a casual Saturday night, so I made up some poker cupcakes for everyone.


They are simple vanilla cupcakes, with greeny blue icing (which was meant to resemble casino tables!).


I bought a couple of bars of white chocolate, broke these into squares & gave these to my friends with writing icing pens to draw on the card faces. It only really dawned on me afterwards that I basically gave my pals an 'activity' as if they were in primary school. Everyone seemed pretty happy though!


They were super cute and turned out to be quite a lucky poker charm. I came fourth (just missing out on money!) and Craig won the whole thing with four fours (which is good.. I think).

I love making themed cakes! Need to start plotting my next project...

Wednesday 8 August 2012

20% off at Motel Rocks

Here's a wee (motels rocks discount shaped) treat for you! 

I used to always think that Motel Rocks only made patterned leggings for super skinny girls, but recently  discovered their dresses and playsuits and fell a bit in love! So it's probably a wee bit dangerous to now have a never-ending personalised discount code at my disposal... 

Here's what's on my wishlist:

Be mine


All you have to do to get your discount is enter eversojuliet as your promo code, and it'll give you 20% off!

Disclaimer: I'm now part of  the Motel Rocks street team. Which just means that I get a tiny commission on any sales that use this code. Which is pretty cool, I think, because Motel Rocks have lovely stuff. Win/win. Now, go shop! 

Monday 6 August 2012

A trip to the Olympics

I was trying to think of a catchy way to start this post, but I am just going to go with the obvious. The Olympics are REALLY BRILLIANT.


I was really lucky (after about ten attempts!) to get tickets to the Eventing, so Craig & I went down on the opening weekend. It was pretty much perfect! I thought the Opening Ceremony was wonderful (it was bonkers and fun and full of love for Britain, ace ace ace), and it was so exciting to be in London and be part of it.


We were watching the Dressage (Craig called it horse prancing) which was in Greenwich Park so we stayed in the world's most expensive Travelodge the night before. Apart from extortionate hotel prices though it was SO easy to get down and travel round London. We didn't even queue once!

Hi Zara!
The horses were BEAUTIFUL and it was incredible seeing so many horses and riders at the top of their game. The atmosphere was amazing too - all morning the stands were absolutely packed. We weren't allowed to make noise when the horses were entering the arena (in case they spooked), but everyone was buzzing after each test - especially after Team GB!

We had flags! 
 The park was really beautiful. As it was the start of the three day event they had the cross-country set up, so we were able to explore the course and go up to the observatory.

Huge cross-country jump!
It was just amazing. Every person there was smiley and in a good mood - even during the brief thunderstorm that kicked in half way through the day. Britain finished the eventing with a silver medal (woop woop) and it was really brilliant watching the medal ceremony at home, seeing riders that we had watched in person only a few days before.

Now I'm absolutely glued to the tv and can't get enough of it. How amazing has it been? The athletics! Andy Murray! Being third in the medal table! Team GB!

Sunday 5 August 2012

July instagram

I'm a wee bit late in posting this, there's been quite a lot going on in August so far! Anyway, here's what happened in July - a super chilled month! 

Instagram name: eversojuliet
1. Duvet days pretty much ruled the month! It would not stop raining, so weekends were full of cat-napping.

2. Finally saw Chariots of Fire, at the British Premiere no less. Perfect timing for the run up to the Olympics.

3. I love my garden so much! The rain has been very good for all of my plants. Here's my sweet peas (which I've grown from seed), twisting up a wee plant frame. We've also planted two trees (!) and my vegetables are growing. It's exciting!

4. I attempted victory rolls for the first time, after being inspired by the lovely ReeRee Rockette. I think I need a lot more practice though, I just look like I have furry bear ears on!

5. The most lovely lunch at the City Art Centre. Yum!

6. On the train to London (blog post about this trip tomorrow). I love the train, it's definitely my favourite way to travel down south. Especially if you go first class - free tea all the way!

7. I made thai green curry again & added in a LOT more chillies and garlic this time! We are growing jalapeño peppers in the garden, I can't wait to cook with them.

8. Riley has continued his garden adventures by climbing on top of the shed and exploring outside of our garden! Here he is, being king of the world.

9. Hanging out with my lovely friend Steph in London. She's been working abroad for the last few months - I've missed her!

10. My favourite Friday morning tradition!

11. My lovely pal Jude left The List to go and train to be a teacher. Work tradition is to give the leaver a personalised cover and I love his! He's a massive Harry Potter fan and an amateur magician.. it's super cool!

12. Craig & I on our six year anniversary! I love him so.

Friday 3 August 2012

Bonsai, Edinburgh

A week or so ago I went to Bonsai - a wee Japanese bar bistro, just off Nicolson Street, for lunch. I don't eat Japanese food that often, I'm a bit wimpy when it comes to raw fish, but I had heard very lovely things. My friend Sheri was also needing to use up her groupon voucher so I was able to jump onto the super cheap offer - score!


The menu looked nice and very veggie friendly (which is always good when you've got a veggie other half to consider for repeat visits!).

My pals & I all ordered bento boxes which came with miso soup, rice or noodles, and two different items from the menu.

Miso soup |  Agenasu  | Chicken katsu | Avocado & red pepper maki-zushi

Oh it was LOVELY. I had chicken katsu, noodles and sushi rolls. YUM. The boxes only cost £9 (ish) and were packed full of food - I couldn't finish mine and was stuffed all afternoon.

Bonsai is on 46 West Richmond Street, just round the corner from the Pleasance (which is pretty handy for Fringe goers!). I imagine they'll be PACKED in August, but it's well worth a visit - especially if you are nervous about sushi, like I was! You can see the rest of their lovely menu here.

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Carly Watts illustration

The other evening I received the most LOVELY email from Carly, an illustrator whose blog I've been following for a couple of months now. I was totally over the moon to see that she drew me - how cool is this?!


I wish I had an outfit like that in real life!

You should definitely take a look at her blog, she's been doing a series of blogger portraits and does commissions if anyone is looking for a custom header/business cards or the like. Thanks Carly!