The Pitt Market

The Pitt street food market had been appearing all over my social media for weeks before I finally got the chance to go along. With it being held on Saturdays and me working most of them, as soon as I saw that I had one off my plans for the day were made! Tim had been with some friends previously and had been pretty impressed, saying that we should go if I was free, so along we headed a couple of weeks ago.

The market is based in an empty yard space on Pitt Street in Leith (just off the end of Ferry Road) and has been running for the last five Saturdays (previous to that, only monthly). Walking along the fairly tucked away street it wasn't really in the type of area that I had been expecting at all, but this empty space has been put to such great use on these summer Saturdays. I quite like the fact that it isn't held in a busy city centre location where it would end up packed with tourists and passers by. It felt like everyone had made an effort to gather there which, I think, helped to make it such a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. We arrived at about 5pm (the market runs from 12pm until 10pm) and it was buzzing with people of all ages enjoying the amazing variety of food and drink vendors as well as the live music, and luckily whilst we were there, the sunshine! 

So what did we eat?

Tim had a buttermilk fried chicken burger with black garlic mayo and pickles from The Buffalo Truck. It was amazing (from the little bit that I tasted!) and if I can make it back in the next couple of weeks and The Buffalo Truck is there again then I know what I'm having! I opted for the smoked bean chilli from The Spice Girl having previously seen it on my sister's Instagram! I'm not massively into spicy food but this chilli had just the right kick for my tastes and was served with rice and sour cream...equally as delicious as Tim's burger (and a little bit more Instagramable!!)! We washed our food down with some craft beers, unfortunately I have no idea what they were or who sold them!? But they were good whoever you are! Having not had too much to eat that day neither of us were completely filled by our food, and obviously there wasn't a shortage of choices for something else to eat. Next we shared some of the gyoza/dumplings from The Harajuku Kitchen, which were a new food experience for me.  

The Pitt is running for seven Saturdays throughout the summer and there are only two left, so get yourself along! It may seem slightly out of town but it's only really a half an hour walk from the top of Leith Walk and it's most definitely worth it...plenty of amazing food once you've worked up your appetite! It has a great vibe with live music throughout the day and drinks flowing. Children are welcome until 8pm and dogs are welcome too! I'm really hoping that I can get along again to the last one of the summer season on the 30th and try some more of the great food and drinks this amazing city has to offer! 

Colour Elements Event

A couple of weeks ago I attended a fantastic blogger event by Colour Elements, at the beautiful Kakao by K boutique on Thistle Street. Colour Elements is a colour identification service, helping and advising you towards wearing the right colour palette to suit you. Everyone who attended the event got a little ten minute Colour iD consultation with Karen, the woman behind the company, where she told us which element's colour palette we were. I was really intrigued as to what colours she was going to tell me I should be wearing, and I loved how within a few minutes of looking at my eye colour, skin tone and hair colour she knew what colours would suit me. I was told that I am the air element but with a touch of fire! Karen showed me a lovely teal colour (which was interesting as people have told me before that I suit blues and greens) on the Colour elements app but explained that with these neutral air tones I should add a touch of fire colours with a scarf or necklace because of the very slight red tones in my hair. I feel like I already do this slightly, if I was wearing a very neutral top then I'd always try to have a very bright necklace on, and so it was great to have this confirmed. 

Colour Elements promotes sustainability through helping people to make better wardrobe choices and therefore avoiding unwanted clothes being thrown away so frequently. For me, this event was perfectly timed with the fact that I'll be shopping for some clothes for my new job soon. I'll definitely be keeping what I was told in mind when I'm shopping, to avoid me making wardrobe mistakes and help me buy staple pieces that I can get more wear from. Far too frequently in the past I have bought cheap things that just haven't suited me, resulting in me not wearing them and then eventually throwing them away. The advice I got from Colour Elements will definitely be in the front of my mind now whenever I head out clothes shopping.

"If we prolong the life of a garment by 3 months 

we can reduce our carbon footprint by 5-10%." 

Kakao by K where the event was hosted is a lovely little fashion boutique on Thistle Street. The shop focuses on the Scandinavian ethos of stylish simplicity and it was a perfect venue for the event. The girls from the shop were really lovely and we were treated to a goody bag with either a piece of jewellery or a scarf from the shop, which was extremely kind of them. I love the scarf that I got and have worn it quite a bit already. Seeing that I'm going to be working on Thistle Street, I can definitely see myself back in the shop soon! 

Refreshments at the event were provided by Mother's Gin Bar, a favourite of mine! We were treated to a couple of gin cocktails at the shop before moving on to Mother's down the road on Howe Street, for a complimentary drink of our choice and a sample of their new food menu in their newly renovated downstairs bar. I felt that this collaboration with Mother's really made the event particularly special. It was great to be able to move on to somewhere after and continue to socialise with both old blogging friends and new ones made on the night, with drinks and food provided for us in a relaxing atmosphere. Being literally a two minute walk from my flat I have been to Mother's a few times before, I'd definitely recommend trying it out if you like your gin! 

You can download the Colour Elements App for iPhone or iPad here, where you can check your element colours and create and save colour cards for shopping or potential outfits. If you'd like your own colour iD check out how you can here.

Barcelona

This time two weeks ago I was in the beautiful city of Barcelona on an amazing girls holiday. I was pretty excited to visit since I'd never been before and previous to going all I was hearing from people was about how much I was going to love it. It most definitely did live up to my expectations; a beautiful city, on the coast, with amazing food and even better weather! We enjoyed a perfect mix of city sightseeing (on an open top bus tour of course!) and a few days spent lying on the beach...with cocktail lunch breaks to split our days in the sun! Some good pre-holiday research by one of my friends, as well as having a friend of hers who lives in Barcelona, meant that we ate in some really great restaurants. We found a few amazing brunch spots and had some Tapas dishes to die for. To top all of this off we were staying right in the centre of the city on La Rambla and, on arrival, we were offered a room with a balcony...YES PLEASE!

Summer Wardrobe Update

I'm off to Barcelona in three weeks, the weather's getting nicer here and my summer wardrobe is shaping up nicely! I often don't really like summer clothes and fashions, probably because we don't get enough weather here to make full use of them. Basically, buying jumpers is much better value for money in Scotland! However this year I seem to have fallen in love with quite a few summer pieces in the shops, and having two holidays this year has been my justification to buy them.

I already have a few of the things in the picture, although annoyingly the stripy dress got reduced and then sold out really quickly! The top on the top left is from H&M and I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it, it's just very 'me'! The one on the right is from New Look, it's linen and was a steal at £7.99 (with my sisters 20% student discount)! I have also invested in a pair of denim shorts from New Look mainly because I realised I had lots of patterned tops and needed a classic bottom half to wear them with. As for the shoes; the brogues on the left I just got as my new work shoes, they're so light and soft and genuinely feel like I'm wearing slippers. The sandals pictured are Birkenstocks although my search for sandals in still on-going. I liked the idea of Birkenstocks but it turns out they don't really fit my feet very well so I'm still on the look out for a pair of comfy but stylish sandals I can wander around Barcelona in.

I had H&M vouchers from my birthday so I bought a new bikini and swimsuit with them. None of my summer wardrobe is really breaking the bank and I'm so happy with my swimsuit for £7.99 (below middle)! I'd definitely recommend you get to H&M if you're in the market for a bikini...they have such a great range at really reasonable prices, I struggled to choose!

Dinner at Revolution

I was kindly invited to try the new menu at Revolution Edinburgh and so Tim and I headed along last week for dinner. I have only been there a couple of times before and mostly just for drinks for it was great to sample the new food menu, and of course enjoy a cocktail too!

The atmosphere in the bar is lovely and relaxed; with stylish interiors including circular booths with lots of cushions, just my style! We visited on a Tuesday night so it wasn't too busy or loud to enjoy a nice dinner whilst catching-up on each others day. However I would also definitely chose Revolution as a venue for a night of cocktails or to celebrate a special occasion.

When it came to deciding what to eat, with an amazingly varied menu and my bad decision making, it was a struggle! The Four Seasons pizza had caught my eye with toppings like vodka chicken, garlic mushrooms and pesto (next time!)! However I ended up going for the Brooklyn Chicken burger which did not disappoint. The burger had fried chicken, fried pickles, bacon, cheese and BBQ sauce...such an amazing combo, especially the pickles. Tim opted for the full rack of ribs which he was pretty chuffed with. I'm not a fan of eating meat on a bone, but I will admit that they did look amazingly impressive. Each of our mains came with fries and a cauliflower coleslaw which was delicious, and we also shared some of the sweet potato fries after hearing that they were to die for. I would definitely recommend trying them if you are visiting for food. The portion sizes were just perfect and, having not had a starter, I was all up for having a dessert. We decided we'd share and I barely had to look at the menu after seeing the 'Nutella Fluffwich'! So we shared this amazing Nutella and marshmallow fluff toasted sandwich served with a blueberry sauce...it was amazing!

Overall I was extremely impressed by the variety of the food on the menu, I could visit every week and always choose something new. Revolution have a lot more to offer then other typical bar meals you may find elsewhere. I would have always expected there to be burgers and sandwiches on offer but I was pleasantly surprised by dishes such as crispy duck leg, courgetti and lobster ravioli making the menu a bit more diverse than an average pub or bar. The cocktail menu is also very in-depth although I actually ended up with my go-to cocktail, a mojito (with it being on the Happy Days menu for only £4)! The variety of the cocktails on offer will be what takes me back there in the near future though. I am desperate to try the Dulce Banana; vodka, banana and hazelnut liqueur, squirty cream and an ice cream cone on top!!

The service on the night was also worth mentioning. The girls serving us were lovely and attentive, and were happy to give us suggestions on what to try which was a nice touch. The drinks and food arrived quickly and the overall dining experience was very pleasant. Revolution have some great offers and deals such as 50% off selected food on a Monday and a Happy Days menu available all day Tuesday to Thursday. These offers are great when you are looking for a a nice dinner out on a budget and I'll definitely be keeping this in mind.

You can find Revolution Edinburgh on Chamber Street, opposite the National Museum. 

Check out the menus and what's on over on the website.

Weekend Up North

Last weekend Tim and I went up North for a couple of nights. We had discussed ages ago about going away for a weekend and had looked briefly at flights to some cities in Europe before deciding to stay in Scotland! I have actually not travelled much in Scotland at all so I was happy to use the time to see some parts of my own country. We stayed in a small town called Craigellachie, about an hour North of Aviemore and used the few days to explore nearby. 

We drove an alternative route on the way there which took us right up the side of Loch Lomond and Loch Tay which was lovely. It turned into a really sunny day during our drive so it was amazingly scenic. We stopped off a few times on the way for a little walk where we thought there were good photo opportunities. The village of Kenmore by Loch Tay was beautiful in the early evening sun (where the second photo here was taken).

On our only full day up there we walked five miles to Dufftown, the next town along The Speyside Way from where we were staying. Here we visited the Glenfiddich whisky distillery which I found really interesting, since distilleries are in Tim's line of work, but unfortunately I don't think I'll be a whisky drinker anytime soon! Later that day we visited the Craigellachie bridge where Tim tried to teach me both; how to properly skim stones and also a bit more about photography. I'm trying to learn a bit more whilst I save up for my own camera so our weekend away was a great opportunity for me to try out his DSLR. That night we had a lovely meal at at The Copper Dog, the restaurant in The Craigellachie Hotel which I'd highly recommend if you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods. The next day before we had to drive home, we headed further up North to the coast at Lossiemouth. It had been recommended that the beach was worth visiting and it didn't disappoint; a lovely long part of coastline full of sand dunes and an amazing ice cream shop!

It was really lovely to visit some parts of Scotland that I'd never seen before, and great to spend a weekend away from the city, since I am a country girl at heart! 

"There is no wifi in the forest, but I promise you will find a better connection."