Friday 21 February 2014

Blogs I love!

I bloody love blogging. No matter what you're into, if you like crafts, beautiful clothing, cooking, baking, pretty things or weirdo things, there's a blogger out there, writing about exactly what you want to read. I think it's really cool that there's so many people out there that dedicate time to writing, taking photos, and making things, just to share with strangers on the internet.

So here's a few of my favourite bloggers. They're all pretty cool guys. 


Conversation Pieces was one of the first blogs I started reading, and it's stayed firmly on my bookmark list for years. Zoe is a ridiculously stylish, crafty girl, with an amazing eye for vintage and quirky things. I have severe lifestyle jealousy! (She's also lovely in real life, damn her!).

Read Conversation Pieces  for: crafty ideas, adventure inspiration, thrifty finds, & love letters to Edinburgh and London.



The Dainty Squid is written by Kaylah, who has cat lady knuckle tattoos, rainbow-coloured hair, and amazing collections of all sorts of curiosities (think teeth, cuckoo clocks & finished paint by numbers pieces).

Read The Dainty Squid for: nail art ideas, beautiful tutorials, cats in hats & outfit inspiration.



What Katie Does is an unsurprisingly beautiful site, given that Katie is a web designer and illustrator. It is filled with beautiful photos of food, her home, and her travels.

Read What Katie Does for: recipes, interior design, typography & travel.



Little Blog of Horrors is like sitting down with a cup of tea and gossiping with a pal. Ayden writes about her life, and it's just lovely to get to go along on the ride with her.

Read Little Blog of Horrors for: Scottish adventures, refreshingly honest chat, tea appreciation & to give yourself hair envy.



Katie Cakes is one of my favourite baking blogs. Her food always looks AMAZING, and recipes are clear, easy to follow & always turn out well. What more do you want? (She also runs the brilliant-looking Pet Lamb Patisserie, so it's no wonder her bakes are so good!).

Read Katie Cakes for: recipes & beautiful photos that will make your mouth melt.



The London Lipgloss (soon to rebrand as Zoe London) is written by Zoe, a DJ with beautiful mermaidy hair. She really embraces life as a creative, fun, exciting place to be, and I love how her blog has evolved recently - there's not many other bloggers out there like her!

Read The London Lipgloss for: make up reviews, excellent hair, creative fashion, hipster music (that I've never heard of, cause I'm uncool) & London looking like the best place to party.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

HELLO NEW FLAT!

So it's been a few weeks since I got the keys to my new wee home in the city. I've finally moved almost all of my things out of the house (which we've still got access to until the start of March, phew), I've unboxed everything, and it's starting to feel a wee bit like home.

The lightest, brightest bedroom (hi neighbours!)
There are a few things that need a bit of work. My buzzer doesn't work, I've got cracked cupboard doors, my walls are all a bit white & empty, and I don't have any blinds. 

Hello desk! Hello messy paints!
But, that's okay! I love it. It's my own wee place and it's the perfect size for me. I can see the moon when I lie in bed (you know, cause I ain't got any blinds), and I'm surrounded by old buildings and the lovely, familiar view of Edinburgh rooftops. 

Books! (I'm in desperate need of shelves)
It's been a bit weird downsizing from a three bedroom house to a one bedroom flat, and I've struggled most with my books which have had to move from a dedicated library room (which I miss!) to messy piles along the side of my bedroom (because this flat has no shelves). But I'm getting there.

Bottles, leaving cards & new home cards | My front door | Look at my window seat! 
After the last few years of living in a new build, it's nice to be back in an old flat with lots of quirky touches (check out how beautiful my front door is!). My very favourite part is the living room's window seat... I didn't realise how much I needed a window seat in my life until now! It is the PERFECT place to sit and read a book (or blog!) and gaze at the world passing by.

So it's all very exciting! I'm a bit skint this month (paying rent, a deposit AND a mortgage isn't much fun), so I'm looking forward to when I have a wee bit more spending money, and I can start putting a few more personal touches to the place (I've got a neon paint project in mind that I can't wait to start!). 

Monday 17 February 2014

Outfit: I heart science

Work has been a bit mental lately, as we've been getting ready to launch the 2014 Edinburgh International Science Festival programme - which means lots of busy, busy days, endless proofing, and one very tired graphic designer boyfriend.

But now it's out! The programme is themed around the idea that science is at the heart of everything (which, obv, it is), which meant that the festival had a great excuse to get all loved up at our Valentine's launch...

Dress -  Surfdome*
Shoes - Dr Martens
... with science puns! Look at our amazing giant (anatomical) love hearts! With maths jokes! The best.


I had been swithering over what to wear to the launch (which needed to be smart enough to say hiya to clients, but not boring), when www.surfdome.com came to the rescue (thanks guys!). They asked if I wanted to blog about something from their site, and I was over the moon when I spotted this dress by Louche, because I tried it on AGES ago in Joy, fell a bit in love with it, couldn't think what I'd wear it to, didn't buy it, have had dress regret ever since. Not any more! 

It came really quickly, which was handy as I only had a few days before the launch, and it is an absolute dream. The material's actually pretty thick - this ain't a dress for the summer, and it feels really good quality. It's got a lovely dipped zippy back (which I forgot to get a photo of, but you can see it here), and the most perfect cropped sleeves.


To go with it, I also painted my nails in an attempt to match our beautiful programme cover - with an anatomical heart, and a pi loveheart (I had a 'cutie' heart on my other thumb too). I'm not convinced you can actually tell what it's meant to be, but I was pretty happy with my freehand attempt. 

The Science Festival is going to be super fun this year, so stick April 5th - 20th in your diaries. We've got slime! Food! Blood! Cocktails! Maths comedy with my pal Simon! Robots! Free beer! Serious stuff too! You can have a look at the programme here if you fancy. Yaaaay science.

Sunday 16 February 2014

Ikea BRÅKIG collection

Aw, I almost feel embarrassed by how much I love this. Ikea (they of identik furnishings across the land) have collaborated with ArtRebels (a Scandinavian community for handpicked artists and visual designers from around the world) to make BRÅKIG - a beautiful, colourful, geometricy limited edition collection.

I want it, I do!



They've got a whole bunch of stuff - from geometric cushions (I have some of those!) to the cutest pastel furniture. It's lovely. I want it. Did I mention I wanted it?

If you want it too, then you'll need to be brave and venture into Ikea, as this is a shop-only, limited offer kind of deal. Prices start at £5 for a cushion cover, to £300ish if you want a daybed.


AND if you are into the ArtRebels influence, you can look at millions of beautiful prints on their website (they've even picked out a range of prints that compliment their ikea pieces). Support independent artists, buy affordable furniture. Hooray.

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Win tickets to see Taylor Swift!

Okay, London pals, listen up! The nice people at Seatwave have given me two tickets to give away to see the country-pop superstar of brilliant hair and excellent dresses, Taylor Swift, on Monday 10th February at the O2 Arena, London.

I AM SO JEALOUS.


Seatwave, it you ain't heard of it, is an online marketplace where fans can buy and sell tickets for gigs (from Chvrches to Lady Gaga tickets) , theatre, sport, and any other live event you can think of. It means you don't have to totally stress out when gigs sell out in an instant (I'm looking at you, Beyonce), and it removes the stress of dealing with potentially dodgy people on gumtree!

If you would like to enter, please fill in the form below. You need to be able to travel to London on Monday evening, so please enter only if you can go along (although this is, of course, a perfect excuse for a last-minute London trip), and you have to tell Taylor that I think she has wonderful hair. Enjoy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Tuesday 4 February 2014

January instagram

What a month! I came back to reality with a bang (and missed being on the beach so much!), I sold my house, and had a manic search for a new flat. Now I'm living in a lovely little place, surrounded by boxes, and I'm trying to get my head round my daily commute changing from almost three hours, to under five minutes.

I also hardly took any photos this month - there was too much to do!

Instagram username: @eversojuliet

1. I've been learning how to make bread (which I always thought would be really hard, but it's actually super easy!), and, because I can't resist getting carried away with food-decoration, turned this loaf into octo-bread! We used olives for the eyes, dusted the tentacles with black salt and thyme, and stuffed bits with cheese.

2. And this is what it looked like out of the oven! The head didn't quite keep its shape, but I think you can still tell what it's meant to be!

3. Edinburgh has been awfully cold and rainy this month... which was a bit of a shock to the system after weeks of thirty degree sunshiney days. This is an instagram of Joshua instagramming on a rainy wander around town.

4. I started to pack up all of my things (packing is SO BORING), and found this suitcase that I haven't opened since I last moved house! It was full of all sorts of wee treasures I'd forgotten about, including millions of pens, books, and lovely notebooks.

5. I needed to buy sugar mice for a ridiculous baking project, and was quite surprised by how difficult they were to find! Luckily Lickety Splits came to the rescue - it's an old school sweet shop on the Royal Mile, full of sweets of all shapes and colours.

6. This is what I needed my mice for - a chocolate rat king cake! If you don't know what a rat king is, you can read about it here, but it ain't pretty (don't say I didn't warn you...).

7. Work has been a bit mental, as we are gearing up for our programme launch next week (it's starting to all feel real!). In an effort to help out a bit, I spent a couple of evenings at Hacklab, a creative space with all sorts of maker bits and pieces. I'm now mildly obsessed with the idea of laser cutting EVERYTHING I can think of, but realise that I don't actually have any time, and I might need to sit on that idea for a while...

8. Look at my new view! I was lucky enough to find a flat that was in walking distance of my work, was light and lovely, and was ready to move into about two weeks after viewing it. This is my bedroom window - it's so nice to look onto old Edinburgh tenements again.

9. The rest of the flat is covered in boxes, and is an absolute tip (I only had my bed delivered today, so I've turned the living room into a ridiculous den), but it felt important to start making wee corners of niceness. As I no longer own a garden (sob), I'm determined to fill my new place with as many plants as possible.

I'm internetless for the next week or so, so will be even more hopeless than usual at keeping up with this site, but fingers crossed - I'll use all my new non-commuting time to become a blogging hero!