friday fancies: bonfire beauties

this week's friday fancies, linking up with long distance loving is all about the bonfire season which fitted perfectly for this week's guy fawkes celebrations :) 

take a look at everyone's cosy winter outfits! x 

bonfire night

"remember remember the 5th of november, the gun powder, the treason, and plot! i know of no reason the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot!"

i'm one today!

happy birthday morning sunshine! 

friday fancies.

I am so unbelievably glad it is friday, this week has been hectic to say the least - it will be nice to finally catch my breath! i officially have only 4 weeks left of proper 'teaching' uni left - how scary is that!? rather than freak myself out, here a couple of photos making me smile this week :) x 

all via pinterest

where did october go?

via weheartit

ideas: photography - little people project

I came across these photographs/installations a few months ago and totally forgot to share - i think they are amazing! Slinkachu sets up these little miniture people in everyday places, photographs them and leaves them as a street art installation, they really make you stop and take in your surroundings in more detail then you ever normally would! they are just so creative and make me smile :)

ideas: d.i.y paper table runner

i came across ohhappyday the other day, and i just thought it had some really great creative, original ideas. this one in particular stood out and thought i just had to share. sometimes you get so used to the same dinner party set up, and i thought this was perfect when you wanted a bit of a shake-up in your routine without having to go out and spend lots of money, and this idea just makes it a little bit more personal :) 

full details on how to create these unique table runners can be found here. i think they just look so clean and lovely with white plates and greenery :) x 

Jounen Kwéyòl

jounen kwéyòl (creole day), is a national holiday in st lucia - and is probably one of the most colourful days there are. the holiday aims to celebrate everything about st lucian creole culture, different towns put on festivals and street parties cooking up gorgeous local dishes such as green fig and saltfish, bakes, accra, bouillion and plenty of fresh golden apple juice and cocoa tea. everyone dresses up in national dress, including the most vibrant and beautiful madras. i love how st lucians embrace their culture and heritage and celebrate it in the best way possible, getting together with family and friends, cooking yummy food and having a bit of a party! 

do you remember that other morning i was bitterly complaining about the awful gloomy weather!? well this photograph was taken on that exact day - how on earth can you complain, when such a stunning photograph can be taken on these dull days :) this photo has been shared upwards of 8000 times, and is all over my newsfeed (link to orginial here) so just had to share, the accompaning blurb pretty much sums it all up, and is exactly why i love this city! x 

"There are few places in the world that look so beautiful as Edinburgh on a gloomy day. It is easily one of the most intriguing and magical cities on earth, full of narrow closes, that feel like deep gorges, runn

ing through the tall tenements of the old town that eventually open up onto wide busy thoroughfares.

Right at its centre atop of a giant, sheer cliff faced rock, stands the medieval castle of Edinburgh, that long kept the denizens of Edinburgh safe during times of war.

It is a city like no other, with history seeping from every ancient stone, it is easy to see how JK Rowling dreamed up the world of Harry Potter here!" 

winter d.i.y

about 6 months ago i was taught how to knit by my grandma, it was one of those things i had somehow skipped when i was a kid so was keen to learn and get knitting :) having previously been perceived as a nerdy or elderly past-time, it is amazing how much times have changed... especially being a student i'm always on the look out for ways to become thrifty! so, i began making my first scarf... now months down the line i can finally say i finished off the loose ends of my (now) snood and oh how i love it! and perfected just in time for the awfully cold weather on the way - yipee!! 

i also recently found this website, its amazing and they have lovely video tutorials to help you along the way, as well as first-time kits which would make great christmas presents for anyone keen to start knitting :) x

got a bit carried away - so my snood is sort of on the larger size! :) 

fog

sometimes i really do wonder why i chose to live here... when you wake up, its dark, grey and you cannot see a few meters out of the window and all you really want to do is go back to bed! on the brighter side, the christmas market is coming to town in just over a month and i spotted the red cups starbucks sign today - wasn't feeling too bad after all! :) 

7.45 am monday morning :( 

autumn

having just by-passed autumn altogether and gone from a soggy summer to winter in one clean swoop, it left me dreaming about gorgeous autumn wear that we've sadly missed out on this year! it seems to always be grey and drizzly here in edinburgh at the moment, oh how i wish for some autumn sunshine - however all is not lost when i can still get a scrummy pumpkin-spice latte and trick myself into believing it's not as cold as it really is (minus 5 this week - eek!) 

so had i had the chance (and superfluous amounts of money) i would of dreamt of some of these cosy autumn weather styles, especially that mulberry bag! :) x 

around home

having been such a bad blogger lately, thought i would share some instaphotos taken around home... i am absolutely loving being home - can't believe three weeks have flown by already, can't even imagine going back to the grey, cold and wet...trying to get in as much sunshine as possible while it lasts :)

sunny mornings

beach housey bedroom

our gorgeous doggie sasha

diving for sand dollars

tropical storms

hope everyone enjoys their last few weeks of summer! :) x 

olympic fever

Olympic fever has truly taken over, everything has been super hectic over the last few months and I have finally now found a second to catch my breathe and hopefully enjoy watching some amazing sport on tv :) having made a last minute decision to come home and get some much needed vitamin D I couldn't be happier... The weather in Edinburgh has been so glum for so long now I chickened out and fled to the sunshine!! I will update everyone as soon as possible on all my summer happenings, until then take a look at my super lucky little (not so little!) brother :) x 

m.i.a

i'm so sorry for being so dreadful at keeping my blog going over the past month... i can't actually believe an entire month has gone since i last posted... since then i've had family visiting, attended my aunt's lovely wedding in ballater, celebrated the diamond jubilee, had a fab 21st birthday with joshy-bobs and even managed to move flats successfully! what a month its been, i promise to get back on track soon - until then here are a few photos from the past happenings :) 

inspiration

my mum has done incredibly well, the past six months she has been working on changing bad eating habits and learning to really love the gym and doing lots of exercise - the change in my mum has been extraordinary, not only is she looking fantastic but you can tell she is so much happier within herself...all her hard work has definitely inspired me to try and eat a bit more healthily :) and so on my road to a healthier me, i will try and include some yummy healthy recipes along the way, hope you enjoy! 

♥ smoked mackerel, fennel, apple and beetroot salad ♥

this salad was so scrummy, and the easiest thing to make!

-bag of mixed salad (i used the gorgeous baby spinach, rocket and slithers of beetroot bag)

-cooked beetroot (mild pickled, not the really pickled cans of beetroot!) 

-fennel bulb 

-apple

-any smoked fish you'd like (trout, mackerel, salmon flakes) 

-low fat natural yogurt or greek yogurt 

-horseradish 

-freshly ground black pepper

place your mixed salad leaves in a bowl, top with chunks of the beetroot, fennel and apple, flake your fish into bite size chunks and add to salad. mix together a tbsp of your yogurt with a little horseradish (to taste) and the little fluffy bits from the top of your fennel bulb and drizzle over your salad. finish with freshly ground black pepper, a voila a yummy scrummy dinner, perfect for these warm summer evenings :) x 

a little visit to grandmas

after a wonderful little visit to my grandma's in yorkshire, the sunshine was unbelievable and so we spent a lot of time in the gorgeous back garden, the westwood absolutely full of buttercups and munching on the most yummiest yorkshire strawberries of all time! now its all hands-on to get ready for the jubilee weekend and a family wedding :) x 

the black mill

beverley minister

beautiful buttercups

strawberries and yogurt :)