JULY CATCH UP

I do this every year, I'm a bit of a baddie. As soon as the summer rolls round, I abandon any attempt to stick to my blogging schedule, and shelve my laptop for a few weeks. I've been a bit distracted with work and life lately (more on this soon!), so it's been nice to get some headspace and not fret about any upcoming features!

Now I'm back, I'm feeling a bit creative again, and I've been writing my monthly catch up posts for so long now, I couldn't let one slip!

So, yes yes yes, I know it's basically halfway through August already, but here's what I got up to in July.

Instagram username: @eversojuliet

1. As soon as I returned from Croatia (which I will blog about very soon!), I had to speedily repack my bags and head west to Kelburn Garden Party. The Garden Party is a music, art and theatre festival set in the beautiful grounds of Kelburn Castle - Scotland's famous graffitied castle (isn't it beautiful?).

2. Apart from a torrential downpour on the festival's first night, we were lucky to have lots of sunshine and beautiful weather. The Castle is nestled next to the most beautiful glen, which had pop-up installations and sculpture threaded throughout, plus a little cave packed with blankets and beanbags. So perfect!

3. I've decided from now on I'm going to conquer all holiday blues by just immediately going on holiday again days after I return (ha, I wish!). Thanks Kelburn, you were ace!

4. My new favourite hobby is cooing over Soba, who remains as cute (and as grumpy) as ever. I think he's getting fat, but I can't tell, does that make me a bad hedgehog owner? Eep!

5. July was made up of long mornings and lazy breakfasts, in an attempt to get some rest before the madness of August started. This was one of my favourites: Joshua made me a breakfast in miniature, with quails eggs, tiny bacon, mini aubergine slices, tiny button mushrooms, and mini potatoes (made with a melon baller). It took him AGES (and was eaten very quickly), but was so sweet!

6. I dress pretty regularly like a five year old these days, so I couldn't pass up this jumper from H&M. Guttingly, it has just shrunk in the wash (making it appropriately sized for an actual five year old), and I'm weighing up whether it's worth buying again. Is that too insane?

7. I am a fan of subway tiles, and little hipster coffee shops, and bunches of wild flowers. This cafe in Stockbridge has all three!

8. I know it's a bit weird to take a selfie with a hedgehog, but Soba was looking cute, and I was having a good hair day! I was also dressed like I'd just come out of the 90s, wearing a strappy dress over a t-shirt. That's cool, right?

9. One of the perks of my job - I went out for dinner with the British Council, at a super fancy hotel in Edinburgh. A few glasses of wine in, I was seriously impressed with the gold-embossed pudding with a mini palace on it, SO cute.

10. A new farmers market has opened up round the corner from my flat, which means there's lots of interesting food stalls to go to each week... so much nicer than tesco! After my mini breakfast I was quite partial to more quails eggs - look how tiny they are!

11. It was a beautiful sunny day in Edinburgh, so Joshua and I went on a massive cycle. On our adventure we passed a big skateboard tournament and a biker's festival in an industrial state (which included a massive motorbike in the air? It was all a bit mad!). I've been watching loads of Sons of Anarchy recently, so it was cool to stumble across it, although we didn't stay for long.

12. August began with sunshine and pints with the loveliest of friends (and the cheekiest of dogs). Now we're over a week into the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and I am already totally knackered and in serious need of salad. Bring on the rest of the month!