Edinburgh Winter Market

Before the Forth Road Bridge closed for the remainder of the year, my other half and I crossed the now defunct metal structure in a bid to eat some waffles. We were also planning on doing some Christmas shopping but for the sake of this post, let’s focus on the waffle eating.

The waffles in question were located in the Winter Market that seems to be scattered across Edinburgh city centre. We ignored all of the rides due to the ridiculously powerful wind and the ice rink was completely out of the question; some of us aren’t graceful enough for such slippery fun. A few stops were made to gawp at the rides but I tended to use those stops to remove the hair that the wind had thrown into my eyes and mouth.

We did also visit a few stands all in the name of obscure Christmas shopping. Annoyingly the people my other half and I have on our Christmas present lists are horrific to buy for so absolutely nothing caught our eye. I did enjoy the little wooden pig though but who on earth would I give a wooden pig to?

While we avoided the majority of the food stands I did feel my feet trying to walk over to the cheese stand. Usually when I visit the Winter Market I’m in the middle of a “my body will go on fire if I dare have dairy” thing but for once, my skin was fine and I wanted cheese. I refrained from letting my feet take me to the cheese stands as knowing me, I’d choose a delightfully stinky one that would make me want to throw up whenever I opened the fridge.

There was one food stand I of course allowed myself to engage with and that was the waffle stand. Every year I visit this one specific stall and I’m always tempted by the apple strudel but the waffle is where it’s at. While my other half and I were supposed to share a waffle due to visiting David Bann’s restaurant later in the day, my other half brain farted and ordered 2 waffles. I of course didn’t complain, I don’t like sharing waffles after all. We did also have a hot chocolate each but obviously, the waffle covered in vanilla sauce is far more important.

What I’ve done throughout this post is made it sound like I am a total waffle obsessed human and now I’m slightly worried by the fact I’m craving such sugary delights. I’m just happy we managed to get to Edinburgh the weekend before all hell broke loose and the place I live in was cut off from the rest of Scotland. The road that leads me up north is also shut due to flooding, are the people of Scotland trying to contain me in one area? Send help!

Edinburgh Winter Market

Saturday, 5 December 2015

Lush Haul

While the rain drenched the whole country last weekend my other half and I had a solid plan in place that was not going to be ruined by a bit of water. The giant puddles that delayed traffic for an hour tried to stop us but when I want to go to Lush, you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to Lush. We may have had to fight some large crowds and drink a hot chocolate really fast but we managed to make it through the Edinburgh rain to the Lush store. You gotta try harder than that weather!

As usual the store was absolutely mobbed which meant we were stuck in the same section for a good 10 minutes. Fortunately the majority of things we needed just happened to be at the back of the store but the size of every Lush shop I’ve been in always annoys me. Expand your premises for the sake of my sanity!

While we were stuck at the back of the shop we were approached by a sales assistant (who I believe was called Gayle) who probably thought we were really confused by the concept of shaving cream. While speaking to her the issue my other half had with Ultrabland came up and after deciding that perhaps he’d accidentally received Ultrabalm, the sales assistant hit us with a random act of kindness and gave my other half a tub of Ultrabland for free. I had no idea Lush had started to introduce this in their stores so it was rather sweet and totally unexpected.

Once Ultrabland was placed in our basket we started to focus on the necessities. I was there solely for another tub of D’Fluff but I almost completely bypassed it in favour of something else. Fortunately I found my brain and D’Fluff was firmly placed in the basket. My other half also required shaving cream – despite his patchy attempt at facial hair – so Dirty was picked up as well.

While my other half pondered over which shaving cream to purchase I decided to try a sample of Celestial. I was in dire need of a new moisturiser so it only seemed fitting to buy a tub of Celestial. My decision to place the tub in our basket may have been fuelled by the fact my other half was paying but let’s ignore that detail!

It did take an awful long time for my other half to choose a shaving cream so I also had time to ponder over Pumice Power. My feet are getting rather icky thanks to all of the heels I insist on wearing so hopefully Pumice Power will help them out. I always ignore my feet when it comes to pampering sessions so Pumice Power should encourage me to pay attention to the poor little things.

Once we managed to break free from the one section at the back the rest of our shopping was a breeze. A large bottle of Dirty Springwash - the best shower gel ever – was picked up and Snow Fairy was considered. In the end, I chose to be good and refrained from buying more shower gel but knowing my Lush oriented mind, I’ll place an order online for a bottle or 7.

The last thing on our list was the regular bar of soap for my dad. The majority of the Christmas soaps weren’t really doing it for us so we decided to get him another block of Reindeer Rock. He seemed to enjoy the last block he had so I imagine he’ll be happy with the same scent again.

While we were sniffing the soaps I noticed one called Outback Mate. My brother is coming home from Australia for Christmas so it only seemed fitting to pick up a small slither of this soap for him. I’m not sure about the rules of travelling with soap these days so I figured a small amount should get him through the short period of time that he’ll be home for.

Phew, that’s one more Lush haul done and dusted. I was quite proud of myself for not setting foot into Lush for a few months but let me tell you, it was getting hard. The problem with products is they run out and you have to replace them which makes a Lush ban rather difficult. Come to think of it, I’m about to run out of my body lotion…whoops!

Lush Haul

Wednesday, 2 December 2015

Ingliston Revival

After 5 days of glorious sun Scotland thought to itself “there’s an event on at Ingliston this weekend and I believe Mel and her family are going, I think I’ll rain on them” and thus, the story of how I got drenched at Ingliston Revival was born.

I actually had no intention of going to the Ingliston Revival on September 12th as I had absolutely no idea it was even on – they really need to step up their marketing game. My other half and I ended up tagging along with my parents after my dad got far too excited about half price tickets for the event. It’s a perfectly normal thing to get overly enthusiastic about.

After driving to the Ingliston Circuit in Edinburgh in the pouring rain around 11am we were a little disappointed when we rolled up to the field and noticed there were very few cars. We wanted to arrive in time for the Mini stunt show and to see Ben Collins, the former Top Gear Stig so we assumed we were just really early.

When we finally got into the event (it took forever for tickets to be handed out and a rather long time for our tickets to be scanned, it was a good thing there wasn’t a major queue) we made the walk up the long, twisty pavement and stumbled upon dozens of soaked inflatables for children. I think all 4 of us started to have a bit of a panic at this point as it looked like a giant kid’s event. Fortunately further along the road were the cars and the track so our panicking was all in vain. Annoyingly I never got to go on the bouncy castle, why is it unacceptable for adults to jump around on an inflatable house?

The first lot of cars we came across were the ones used for the driving experiences. My other half did the driving experience at Ingliston last year and got a little giddy about seeing the cars he drove again; to say he was smiling like there was no tomorrow after his experience would be a bit of an understatement.

You were able to do driving experiences in the cars at the Ingliston Revival but they had to be booked in advance for a decent amount of money. As much as I would like to fly around a track in a Lamborghini I don’t trust myself behind a wheel of one, I practically crash my car into the hedge every time I reverse into my own driveway after all.

There were also a lot of classic cars on show and as soon as he saw them my dad started reminiscing about all of the cars he’s had over the years. It always amazes me when he manages to remember every single car he’s had since he can’t even remember my birthday. My other half’s reaction to all of the classic cars was to take pictures of their rims, for once my mum and I were the normal ones of the day.

After a lot of weaving in between cars and planning on which one I was going to steal first (the Lamborghini was top of my list) we made our way over to the track for Ben Collins and the Mini stunt show. If I’m being completely honest the whole thing seemed to be bit of a mess. Ben Collins appeared to be on the track when the pipe band was walking round on it and then the Minis came on while he was still whizzing around. I’m genuinely surprised there wasn’t an accident as it sure as hell seemed like it was going that way.

Once Ben Collins had finished his drive around the track the Minis started to get back into position again. There were 3 Minis in total and while the majority of the stunts involved driving, spinning and parking in awfully tight spaces my butt was firmly clenched out of nervousness. I practically had a heart attack when a Mini ended up on 2 wheels for a significant chunk of time. Needless to say I won’t be doing that in my Mini.

After the Mini stunt show we went in search of some food. I had cracked too many penis jokes thanks to a food stall that said “well hung” and it seemed to make my dad crave a burger (which exploded all over him). My other half on the other-hand had smelled someone’s pizza so he and I opted in for the cheesy, Italian goodness. The Big Blu van was the stand providing the pizza and oh my goodness were they to die for. The pizzas are all freshly prepared and cooked in a mobile wood-fired kitchen. They took around 10 minutes to make but the wait was so worth it. I’m practically drooling at the thought of the pizza just now.

Once I had proved my other half wrong and scoffed my entire pizza (I rarely finish a meal in front of him so he thought I couldn’t handle a whole pizza) we had another look around the cars. I say we had another look but what actually happened is my other half kept disappearing and I kept looking for him. He really enjoys taking pictures of rims apparently, what a strange cookie.

By this point the sun had come out and dried everything off but we were nearing the end of our visit to Ingliston Revival. According to one of the guy’s my other half ended up talking to the event was going to be bigger and better on Sunday; whether that was true or not is a different story. It wasn’t a huge event on the Saturday but we did manage to lose a couple hours of our life to it so I guess it served its purpose. It’s just a shame it was pouring with rain in the morning and it wasn’t as well advertised as much as it should have been. I also never stole the Lamborghini in the end, I couldn’t figure out a way to do it without being extremely obvious. Maybe next time!

Ingliston Revival

Friday, 18 September 2015

A Weekend In Edinburgh

It's rare for my other half and I to have a day off together (thanks to working in a place that doesn't allow more than one person to be off at any given time) so bank holidays require a celebration. We were planning on seeing a play in Edinburgh on the Saturday of the bank holiday weekend but my other half decided to turn it into 2 nights away. So much win!

We ended up staying at The Minto Hotel on Minto Street for both nights which just so happened to be a 15 minute walk from the Festival Theatre. The hotel was very nicely decorated in the reception, bar and restaurant (just ignore the stale cigarette smell in the reception) but our room left a lot to be desired.

We were lucky enough to be given a room at the back of the hotel but our luck ended there. The room was very cramped, the bathroom was no bigger than my downstairs toilet and the bed was 2 single beds pushed together - I spent most of the night pulling my foot out of the gap that kept forming. It wasn't atrocious but it was definitely not worth the money we paid for it.

Our Saturday night was spent in the Festival Theatre seeing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. We had a quick bite to eat in Biblos on Chamber Street before heading to the theatre. A veggie burger and fries always goes down a treat before sitting in a warm theatre for 2 hours!

The play itself was incredible. I read the book on a regular basis as a child but I could not for the life of me remember the storyline. I think that actually helped with my overall enjoyment of the play though as I walked in with no expectations.

The stage of the Festival Theatre is very small (I distinctly remember barely being able to see my dad when we were there for his gradation many years ago) but the cast worked that to their advantage. There were very little props but the simplicity of the set made it all that more exciting. If you're able to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time at any point make sure you do as it’s a great play.

Our Sunday was spent in the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street. We got there quite late in the day after not being able to decide what to do so we barely saw any of it. A lot of the exhibitions were closed so I guess we didn't miss much.

The majority of our time was spent in the "dead zoo". This is basically, if you haven't guessed already, a room full of taxidermy. It's a little creepy, especially when you're faced with a 4 metre crab and tarantulas but for the most part it's very interesting. Me being the grump that I am could've done without all of the kids though; I hope I wasn't as annoying as they were when I was a child!

Sunday dinner was provided by Positano, a rather authentic Italian restaurant on Newington Road. The decor, waiters, food and just general noise was "like being back in Italy" according to my other half. I played it safe with a margherita pizza while my other half had a pizza with rocket and prosciutto without any cheese or sauce. It was a weird concept to me but he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

Monday was our last day in Edinburgh so obviously we went shopping. My other half decided he wanted me to pick things out for him as he seems to believe he's a doll. We spent a good 2 hours picking out undies, socks, jeans, tops, a shirt and a belt for him; I've never known a guy to spend so long choosing socks in my life! Even after all of that he ended up with basically the same stuff he wears anyway. Mission not accomplished.

I played it safe and bought a few things from Lush for myself plus a white top in All Saints (that I overpaid for as it is literally just a plain white top!). I was all too aware of the fact I'd spent a lot of money on clothes a few days prior to going to Edinburgh and had only just been paid. Whoops.

We ended up having lunch in Jenners which my other half got far too excited about. I ended up with a red pepper and cheddar roll and ridiculously watered down Irn Bru while my other half went all out. He has a tuna panini with salmon and a lot of salad. His lunch is the equivalent of 2 main meals for me. The food was lovely but places like Jenners confuse me as I don't know the rules. Do I just take my tray and point at the food? I don't get it!

We did also plan on playing some golf (i.e. pitch and putt) in Musselburgh after the shopping but things weren't all they were cracked up to be. We got to Musselburgh fairly late in the day and discovered the pitch and putt was a tiny little golf course - and I mean tiny - in a park. We weren't even sure if you could rent clubs or if you had to bring your own. Needless to say we didn't play (probably a good thing since we were both so awful at mini golf the weekend before) and swiftly drove home.

We did have a rather jolly extended weekend in Edinburgh and would happily do it again soon (annoyingly I've been roped into working the upcoming bank holiday so it won't happen for a long, long time). Obviously we'd choose somewhere else to stay and would possibly agree on something to do on the Sunday a little earlier but hey, we got to eat a lot of Doritos while we mulled that one over so it worked out. Anything for Doritos!!!

A Weekend In Edinburgh

Sunday, 10 May 2015

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day has never been a big deal for me. I think the last time I celebrated it was in primary school when we were all forced into making cards and awkwardly handing them to the people we sort of liked.

I haven’t bothered with it since becoming a grown up (ha) but for my birthday this year my other half booked us a hotel and spa break conveniently on Valentine’s Day so, for one night only, I followed the masses and decided to be all cute and loved up. Cue the sickening “aww”.

We started the day off by giving each other cards. Mine involved a reference to bums (I got it on Etsy) and his involved his own handiwork - I’m adamant he planned on one upping me the whole way through Valentine’s Day. He gave me a gorgeous handmade card with an adorable pun inside. And he says he’s not creative!

The next stage in our day was to drive through to Edinburgh where we would be staying for the night. The original plan was to let me drive but as I apparently have severe road rage it wasn’t allowed so off we went with my other half behind the wheel.

We ended up at Tony Macaroni for lunch where I conveniently forgot I was a vegetarian and had a cheeseburger. Whoops! The next part of our day was to go to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery but, just like last weekend, we timed it rather badly so we went straight to the hotel instead.

My other half had booked us a night at the Norton House Hotel with spa treatments. We were staying in the Edinburgh suite which came complete with a huge balcony, a TV in the bathroom and only one other room on the same floor. What more could you want?

Our spa treatments occurred shortly after we checked in. The first treatment was a Rasul treatment which involved being put in a steam/wet chamber and smearing clay all over ourselves. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this treatment but dear god it was fabulous. The heat did worry me at first mainly as I hadn’t had any water that day and am subject to dehydration on a regular basis; fortunately everything was all good in the hood on that front.

Our second treatment was a massage and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I’d been stressed and tense for a good few weeks so having someone massage me was utter bliss. Things did get rather painful towards my shoulders but they feel amazing now so I’m glad I didn’t ask the masseuse to stop. I think I might make massages a regular occurrence now.

The meal came a few hours after our spa treatments and if I’m perfectly honest I was dreading it. As previously stated I’m a vegetarian and we were eating in the fanciest of fancy restaurants whose Valentine’s Day sample menu consisted mostly of meat dishes. I think it’s safe to say I’m not the strictest of vegetarians so I decided to give each course a try. I somehow ended up eating rabbit, deer, steak (we asked to skip the monkfish and were kindly provided with steak in its place) and pork.

Admittedly everything was rather tasty but I’ve never been a huge meat eater hence the vegetarianism. Eating rabbit after having pet rabbits as a child seemed a little sinister too. I will say though that the desserts were to die for! I’m just gutted I didn’t have enough room for the entire chocolate one.

We decided to skip out on the coffee and carried our massive stomachs to our room. Our night ended with a slide about in the bath as we were absolute idiots and didn’t bother using the bath mat provided. Common sense tends to leave us after 11pm.

As breakfast was destined to be mobbed we ordered room service. My other half went all out with porridge like an old man and a fully cooked breakfast while I decided to treat myself to a selection of pastries. Breakfast in the most comfortable bed imaginable was the perfect way to end our weekend.

We were both rather gutted to be leaving the hotel but alas, our stay had to end sometime. It’s safe to say my significant other got me an incredible present and I would happily relive it all again. Annoyingly I now have to think of an amazing present for my male human’s 24th birthday. Maybe I’ll buy him a robot butler or something. Help!

Valentine's Day

Sunday, 15 February 2015