Friday 29 June 2012

Outfit: clashing colours

Dress: River Island
Jacket: New Look
Bag: New Look
Shoes: Moony Mood Spartoo*



I know this isn't really a fashion blog (nor am I a fashionable person), but I am quite enjoying posting the odd outfit post every now and again! This is what I wore on the second day of our trip to Paris (and this photo was taken in the Louvre, no less!).

It was a slightly grey and drizzly day, so this outfit was perfect for charging about the streets. I wore my very trusty leopard print raincoat which I love SO much. I bought it for £10 to wear to T in the Park and (shameful confession) have held onto it and loved it ever since. I don't know how it hasn't fallen apart yet, but it's just so good - it's light and small enough that you can pack in it your bag and also manages to keep heavy rain off. Perfect!

I know for a city break I'd want to stick to flats (I can barely handle heels for a night, never mind a weekend) so these brogues were super! Really good and comfy, and they even coped with stomping around in puddles.

p.s. I know that combining a coral bag, rust orange tights and leopard print maybe isn't the most ladylike combo, but I don't mind... I like it!

Thursday 28 June 2012

24 Hours in Bed with Harry Potter

Photo from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Exciting stuff! This weekend (as part of the EIFF Atmosphere programme), New Media Scotland are holding a HARRY POTTER MARATHON. And it's free!

Starting at midnight on Saturday 30th June, they are showing all eight Harry Potter films, followed by a game of Quidditch on the Meadows the following lunchtime. You're encouraged to wear pyjamas in house colours and to have the most fun ever.

You can join the waiting list on the Potterthon website if you are interested. Go because I can't, and I'm sad about it!

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Pomegranate Edinburgh

Last night I went to the press launch of Pomegranate - a brand new Middle Eastern mezze and shisha restaurant that has opened up at the top of Leith Walk. It's run by the lovely folk who own Hanams who I've been a fan of for years (since they used to be in a tiny restaurant in Tollcross!), so I had pretty high hopes.


It's a really sweet wee restaurant - all pinks and greens, shisha pipes and gorgeous cake stands (which annoyingly I forgot to take a photo of!).


For the launch night they pretty much served their entire menu, so I was able to put together a wee taster plate which was SO GOOD.


They've got pre-theatre menus (3 mezze plates for £11 or 2 courses for £13), it's veggie-friendly and BYOB (with no corkage charge!). Their website is under a bit of construction, but I imagine they'll be popping menus on there soon.

So it's definitely worth a visit! Pomegranate is on 1 Antigua Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3NH (across from the Playhouse and the Omni centre).

Tuesday 26 June 2012

EIFF photobooth fun

I am getting a bit behind of myself - I can't believe the opening of the EIFF was last week! (To be fair, I've had a pretty busy six days). It was SO much fun! We got glammed up, got to walk a tiny red carpet and excitedly spot famous people. FUN.


It was the UK premiere of Killer Joe which is a very (very very very) black comedy about a guy in debt (Emile Hirsch, hello) who hires a hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to kill his mother. I really enjoyed it, but it's definitely a film that'll split opinions. You'll never look at Matthew McConaughey (or fried chicken) the same way again!


The after party was at the beautiful National Museum which was looking splendid. It does feel a wee bit like absolutely everyone is holding events there... it's become my local night-out destination (which is sort of weird, as it is a museum, but good for them!). Rae & I awkwardly hovered right next to Jim Broadbent (because he is WONDERFUL), and then told everyone that we'd been hanging out with him. Which I am still going to insist is somewhat true.

Hahahaha Craig!

The party also had photobooths again, hooray! I (as you can see) am the world's biggest sucker for a photobooth - I just can't resist!

I've got a few films lined up this week which should be good - then I get to go to Brave (omg) on Saturday. How many times can I blog about Brave? Loads & loads, obviously. I hope it lives up to the hype!

Monday 25 June 2012

Dr Martens

Quick question - are Dr Martens worth it?

I recently had to bin (R.I.P.) my favourite stompy ankle boots (which probably wasn't too  much of a surprise as they were £12 from Primark), so I've been swithering about what to replace them with. I thought that it would be a purchase that could happily wait until after the summer, but what summer? (The weather has been APPALLING. Bad show Scotland).

Highlighted shoes are: 1. 1460 (which has a liberty print inside!) | 2. Joyce | 3. 1461 | 4. Pascal

I've been on the hunt for a decent replacement for months - and keep coming back to Dr Martens. They are fairly pricey boots (definitely a notch up from a £12 Primark number!) but are built to really last. I bet they wouldn't fall apart on a dreicht day!

I've picked out a few pairs that I reckon could easily work in my wardrobe, and have tried to avoid the lure of bright red shoes or flower prints (ha!) as this is a sensible pair of shoes. I'm such a grown up these days (let's not talk about my zombie shoes right now).

Thursday 21 June 2012

Simple aztec nails

Models Own - red alert

I've been going a wee bit over the top with my recent nail art attempts, so it was nice to have simple nails for a change.

I used my favourite Models Own  red - I really love this polish! It goes on really smoothly and is pretty much the perfect shade of red. I then used my (now going slightly gloopy) nail art pens to add the detail on the accent nail.

Sorry for the incredibly dark photo by the way - Scotland seems to have forgotten that it is MEANT TO BE SUMMER. I miss daylight!

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Picks of the Edinburgh Int Film Festival

The film festival launches today (which means summer festival season has officially started, hooray hooray!). There's quite a few things that I want to see this year, but I thought it would be fun to make a list of the films that I will DEFINITELY be buying a ticket for.

1. GRABBERS

Showing 22nd June, 10:45pm & 25th June, 9pm
When a trawler is attacked, and the shore is found littered with dead marine life, something is clearly wrong on Erin Island. There must be a reasonable explanation... or could it be an invasion of bloodsucking aliens from outer space? Featuring an endearing lead performance from Richard Coyle, (also to be seen in Pusher), Grabbers is an exciting, light-hearted “monster movie” that affectionately tips its hat to everything that ever fell from the sky, or crawled from the sea onto a cinema screen.
It's a monster movie! I love monster movies! The EIFF have quite a good history of showing monster movies in recent years (Monsters in 2010 & Troll Hunter in 2011), so I've got pretty high hopes for this one.


2. GUINEA PIGS

Showing 23rd June, 11.25pm & 24th June, 5.20pm
At a remote medical compound, a group of strangers begin clinical trials of an experimental drug called Pro-9. As the drug's sinister, unexpected side-effects begin to take hold, the terrified volunteers find themselves trapped, isolated, and in mortal danger. This atmospheric, claustrophobic horror-thriller is the debut feature from EIFF 2008 Trailblazer Ian Clark. Strong performances and a fast-paced edit add to the menacing tone, and an intelligent script lifts proceedings to spine-chilling proportions.
Even though I'm the world's biggest wimp, I am a bit addicted to watching scary films (and then doing Craig's head in by being utterly freaked out for the rest of the night). Anyway, this looks fun! It's a classic oooh-look-they're-all-stuck-in-a-small-place horror.


3. RENT-A-CAT (RENTANEKO)

This engaging comedy probes the loneliness beneath the decorous surface of contemporary Japan. Every day Sayoko pushes a cart along a river, renting out cats to lonely people in order to fill the empty spaces in their hearts. Somehow Sayoko herself, though she has no trouble attracting felines, has a hard time finding human love. “A film made for cat lovers that will no doubt win over the hearts of anyone who's ever felt a yearning for unconditional companionship” (Patrick Gamble, Cine-Vue).
This is a bit of a no-brainer, it looks lovely. It's a film about cats!


4. V/H/S

Showing 28th June, 11.20pm & 30th June, 10pm
A gang is hired to break into a desolate house and steal a rare VHS cassette. Inside they encounter a problem when they discover a corpse in front of a television, surrounded by... hundreds of videotapes. As they start to search through the recordings, some truly disturbing stories begin to unfold... Providing the indelible last word in “found footage” horror, this cleverly devised anthology, written and directed by a selection of new and rising genre talent, is contemporary cinema at its most frightening.
 AHH. This looks a bit terrifying. I think I will love/hate it.


5. BRAVE

Showing 30th June, 8.15pm
A grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and signature Pixar humour, Brave uncovers a new tale in the mysterious Highlands of Scotland. Headstrong Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), defies an age-old custom and inadvertently unleashes chaos, forcing her to discover the meaning of true bravery before it's too late.
 Well obviously I am looking forward to Brave... I did specially themed nail art and everything!

Tickets can be bought at www.edfilmfest.org.uk or from one of their box offices in the Filmhouse, Cameo, Cineworld or Festival Theatre.

Monday 18 June 2012

Outfit: swan skirt

I popped into Topshop the other day for "just a look" (yeah right), and was pretty much over the moon to find this skirt. It has SWANS on it! Swans! I'm a bit obsessed with anything that has birds on it, and I love a  kitsch print.

Skirt - Topshop
Lace dress (worn as top) - H&M

It has the perfect amount of swooshy-ness and even has pockets! What a lovely skirt.


I also went a wee bit out of my comfort zone, and stuck my hair up in a proper topknot. I used my trusty hair doughnut to give my bun more volume, and I think  I like it. I think. It's just so high up! When my dad saw me he announced that I looked "a bit Paloma Faith".. and I can't work out if that was meant to be a good thing or not! Ha.

You can join the swan party here, or (omg) if you are petite you can buy a DEER FAWN skirt here. Topshop, you spoil us.

Sunday 17 June 2012

Couch to 5k - week three

Finally a breakthrough!

I had mentioned last week I was really struggling with stiff sore legs, so I was a bit worried going into week three. Luckily things improved almost overnight and I felt SO much better on Monday!

This week stepped things up gradually again - this time the longest I ran for was 3 minutes. Again, this is nothing to a proper runner, but I'm not a proper runner so it's a big step for me! I'm really pleased with how sensible this programme is, and would massively recommend it if you would like to start running but are worried about being rubbish! Every increase has been totally doable, so I totally trust the programme now - if it says I'll be able to run 5k in eight weeks, then okay, I believe it too.

Summary of week three:
+ definitely noticing an increase in my endurance - bit by bit I am getting better.
+ motivation is at an all time high - even went for a run on Saturday night in the HORRENDOUS RAIN.
+ I think I'm sleeping better too!

- the rain appears to be never-ending. Running in wet shoes ain't pleasant.

All in all, a good week!

Saturday 16 June 2012

Films under the stars

Hi people of Edinburgh! If you've not noticed already, there's a massive screen now set up in St Andews Square gardens. It's all part of Under the Stars, a series of special free screenings that are showing in the run up to the Edinburgh International Film Festival (which starts on Wednesday - I am excited!).

From Under the Stars facebook

They've been running since Thursday (and have sadly had quite a lot of bad weather for it, but fingers crossed the sun comes out!). Here's what is on this weekend:

Saturday, 16 June
11:00 - 12:38: Matilda
13:00 - 14:55: Breakfast at Tiffany's
15:15 - 16:46: The Ladykillers
17:05 - 18:23: Monterey Pop
18:45 - 20:37: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
21:00 - 22:40: Dirty Dancing

Sunday, 17 June
12:00 - 13:43: Toy Story 3
14:10 - 16:05: Breakfast at Tiffany's
16:30 - 18:26: Back to the Future
18:50 - 20:45: The Pink Panther
21:10 - 23:00: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

I'm lucky enough to be going to the EIFF opening film and party on Wednesday, so have had quite a lot of fun picking what to wear (it's black tie!). I'm hoping they have photo booths at the party again.. it's become a bit of a tradition to get daft photos taken (you can see last year's photos here). It's exciting... I love films!

Friday 15 June 2012

Starting a new garden


One of the things that was most important to me when we were looking to buy a house was garden space. Ideally as much as possible, but just SOMETHING - anything would be better than the concrete communal jungle that belonged to our old flat.

So when we found our house and saw that it had a nice bit of space behind it, all seemed perfect. I was daydreaming of letting Riley outside, having BBQs in the summer & chilling in the sunshine on lazy weekend days.

This is what we got:


Picturesque, huh? Ha. This was okay though, as it really was as close to a blank canvas as you could get. We were also in the super lucky position that we had avoided paying stamp duty at the last possible minute, which gave us a little bit of extra budget to get things kick-started.

After eight weeks things are looking a little more like this...


We have replaced the tiny fences with ones that offer much more privacy, added decking to our wee sun trap in the corner, have lots of lovely lawn space (which looks patchy because we started cutting it & then got scuppered by the rain.. hopefully the sun will come out sometime soon!), and a big plant bed.

It turns out that plants are really quite expensive (!) so we took advantage of my kind parents by taking cuttings from our favourite plants in their garden. I then surrounded these with bedding plants (3 packs for £9 in Dobbies, bargain!) which will hopefully flower soon.

Flower and STRAWBERRY hanging baskets

I've also planted a few hanging baskets (my life is so exciting, I know). I actually took step by step photos of how to do this, but wasn't sure if that would quite fit into this blog - please let me know if anyone is interested in seeing this!

There's still loads to do.. but bit by bit it is getting there! The next step on the list is to try and buy a tree to go in the top corner and to find pretty solar-powered fairy lights (that don't cost the earth).

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Lusting over satchels

I realise this is a bit of a blogger cliché, but I have been absolutely PINING over a brown leather satchel since about.. oh, January this year. It's had to sit on the back burner because it isn't an essential (like food, or garden spades, or, er, weekends to Paris), but SURELY my time has come?

Cambridge Satchel co 14inch - £81

I think this is the classic company that most people think of when musing upon satchels (as you do). They are the fashion blogger's choice, are handmade in the UK, and look exactly like school satchels. Perfect.

There's also a really nice story behind the company - it was set up by a mum who wanted a job that she could do from home, so she had time to spend with her dog & family. She was inspired by Harry Potter (!),wanting to make traditional school bags that looked like the type Harry & Hermione would use. Since 2008 they've gone from producing 3 bags per week to 1,500! Well done them.

The Leather Satchel co 14inch (with handle) - £90


Then there's the Leather Satchel co. They've been on the go since the late 1960s, making handbags, doctors cases and satchels. You can order straight from the worktop, they offer a five year guarantee for each bag AND they wrap up each bag in brown paper and string (I'm easily impressed by small things).


ONA camera satchel - £199 (ouch)

& then there's this beauty. I obviously can't afford it, but LOOK AT IT. It's set up to carry an SLR camera plus extra lenses (or non-camera things) and would be just perfect for holidays and day trips. Maybe one for when I win the lottery?

Monday 11 June 2012

Afternoon tea

Mmm, it's the simple pleasures in life, huh?





Like little triangle sandwiches, miniature cakes, scones (with clotted cream AND jam AND fresh strawberries!), proper French macarons, endless cups of tea and long chats with very lovely friends.

I wish I could do this every weekend!

Sunday 10 June 2012

Couch to 5k - week two

It's not getting any easier. 

Post-run face. 

Okay, I'm being a little dramatic, but I'm still not much of a fan of running. Or getting up at 6.15am. Or sore muscles (oww).

Despite my moans, week two of Couch to 5k was pretty straightforward. The intervals gradually increase over the eight week programme, so I'm up to running for 90 seconds now - sounds like nothing, but I am still pleased with myself!

My main problem this week was that I've been SO STIFF and sore, in my legs particularly! I started the 30 Day Shred on Monday (which sounds like I am getting carried away, but I read that the combo of C25k & 30DS worked really well together), so I've been doing 20 mins of exercise each morning and my muscles are not too happy!

It meant that on my final run of week two I felt like a wee hobbling old lady.. it was hard to get any speed up at all, and I was limping home. Not too good. I allowed myself a really indulgent rest day yesterday and feel much, much better, so I am feeling much more confident going into week three. I am also going to make sure and STRETCH as much as possible - I don't have time to get injured this summer!

So. Summary of week two:
+ I ran for 90 seconds - yay.
+ I am really enjoying how beautiful the farmland & countryside is around my house.
+ A man with a really friendly dog said hello.

- Sore, sore, sore legs.
- Running is still a bit rubbish.

Wednesday 6 June 2012

Disney Pixar's Brave nail art

I'm really excited about this! Brave is the brand new Disney Pixar film that is coming out this summer. It's set in the Highlands of Scotland about a feisty ginger princess who defies her parents, gets mixed up with curses & gets in all sort of bother. There's no doubt a positive, life-affirming message alongside lovely music and visuals. Lovely stuff. 

The European premiere is also the Closing Night Gala of the Edinburgh Film Festival which is also good because I love the EIFF! They always kick off festival summer season perfectly for me, and I love that every year I see films that I wouldn't take a chance on the rest of the year round (they might not always be my cup of tea, but that's all part of the experience).

Anyway. That all in mind, I was keen to give Brave-inspired nail art a go! I really enjoyed doing  Avengers nails earlier in the year, and thought this would hopefully be a little easier as I was essentially "just" recreating a cartoon. Ha.


Horse, Bow & Arrow, Merida, Tartan, a Castle 
I'm not going to lie. It took a while.

Swirl, Tartan, Merida's hair, Queen Elinor, Stone Circle 
But I'm pretty pleased with it! 

Close up on character faces: Horse, Merida, Queen Elinor 

I just used my phone to take screenshots of the trailer and then tried to pick out a few easy images that fit the theme and would fit on my nails! This definitely isn't an everyday manicure, but it was worth it even just to see how much steadier I am painting with my left hand than when I first started this blog!

(I am SUCH a child, I know. Don't judge me!). 

Tuesday 5 June 2012

A weekend in Paris

Hello everyone! Did you have a good long weekend? I did! Craig & I went on a (sort of) impromptu trip to Paris - one of the most ridiculous but fun decisions we've made for quite a while!


A couple of weeks ago we had been trying to plan a way that we could go and see Jay Z & Kanye's Watch the Throne tour. They weren't playing Scotland so it was looking like our only option was to drive to a venue in England straight from work, and then drive back immediately after the gig (as neither of us can take time off work this month). Zzzzz. No thanks!

But hoorah hooraah, they were playing in Paris on Saturday night. We could fly over early on the Saturday morning from Edinburgh & leave on the Sunday night. Perfect!



Saturday afternoon was SCORCHING - about twenty five degrees and barely a cloud in the sky! Neither of us had brought sun cream (uh oh) but miraculously we didn't burn at all! We wandered the streets, got to grips with the metro, practised our (bad bad bad) French and had a nice wee lunch in view of the Eiffel Tower ("un grande sauvignon blanc, s'il vous plait").



We stayed at the Five Hotel who upgraded us to one of their penthouse rooms with a "floating" bed! It was a ridiculous (but lovely) room with cute little balconies and a ceiling covered in tiny little lights that looked like stars. It was perfect!



The gig was at the Bercy stadium - after a massively nervous wait to pick up our tickets (two groups were turned away.. looked like they had booked tickets for the previous night - gutted for them!) we were IN. There was no support act, just Jay Z and Kanye and it was amazing. I think quite possibly the best gig I've ever been to !

At the end they closed with "Paris" and the whole audience just went mental - I think they played the song on repeat about eleven or twelve times? Incredible. INCREDIBLE. Worth the whole trip!



The next day we cleared our heads with early-morning macaron shopping, and a lovely breakfast of croissants and coffee at a tiny patisserie. Mm!




Then we ticked a few more must-see sights off our list (the Louvre and Notre Dame) and ate our macarons in a park watching an orchestra!

Such a WONDERFUL weekend. If I can find cheap weekend flights to Paris then I'll definitely be back!

Friday 1 June 2012

May instagram

Hello! Here's my May update... what a lovely, lovely month.

Instagram name: @eversojuliet

1. Craig & I at Museum Lates which was Tea Party themed this month (hence the bunny ears!). I think Craig really suits his top hat/bow-tie combo, what a handsome chap.

2. Bit by bit our garden is getting into shape. We now have some decking down and a proper wee lawn (hooray) and it was SO LOVELY sitting out in the garden on a sunny Sunday. Since then we've replaced the garden fences so I can now start planting, which I'm very excited about.

3. Bought ice cream as a wee reward for my team as they have been doing so well recently!

4. We had jolly ranchers at work, which dyed my tongue bright blue. I felt like such a child (so had to take a photo of it, obviously).

5. Went to see Anne Boleyn at the Festival Theatre and absolutely loved it! The stage was absolutely gorgeous too, and we had such lovely seats.

6. My mum was reading my hair tutorials and really liked my rolled hair post, but didn't think it would work on her as her hair is quite short. I had a wee go at putting her hair up and found that twisting in each side separately (and then pinning in the middle) looked really sweet! This is only held up by five kirby grips too (hi mum! Please buy more kirbies x).

7.  It wouldn't seem like an instagram post without a picture of Muzzy and I. I think this was us on route to  The List's Eating and Drinking awards party.

8. Driving in the Scottish Borders. This is so close to my new house.. makes me so happy!

9. I went for lunch at the Outsider restaurant with some lovely clients. The food here is so so so lovely. They gave us a really nice booth that was so comfy.. it's the small pleasures in life.

10, 11 & 12. Festival season is starting to kick off - I've been to programme launches for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Edinburgh Comedy Festival so far this week. I am SO EXCITED about the summer, I love the festivals so much.