Happy Shop Small Business Saturday! In celebration, I thought it would be fun to put together an Edinburgh Independent Gift Guide, and since I know that Christmas can be an expensive time of the year, everything in the guide is under £25. Before we dive into the gift guide, I just wanted to say I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful and varied range of independent Edinburgh businesses to choose from and I wish I could have included everyone in this guide! Also, this gift guide is very heavily influenced by my tastes but I hope even if what I've chosen isn't your cup of tea, you might d ..read more

Happy December! We're into our last month of the year, and Edinburgh is dressed to the nines in twinkly lights and Christmas decorations. There are plenty of things I'm looking forward to this month, not least Wreath Watch (I really can't contain my excitement)! When doing a little research for this post, I felt pretty overwhelmed with how much is going on, so instead of sharing Edinburgh's 'headline' events, I've tried to highlight less well-publicised events like the various indie late night shopping events, fun pop-ups, and free events (because we all know this time of the year can get p ..read more

We're nearing the end of November and there are signs of Christmas everywhere, no more so than London! I was delighted to be invited on a press trip with Le Meridien to experience all that Piccadilly and the surrounding areas have to offer during the festive period. From spectacular Christmas lights displays to a stroll down Britain's first arcade, it was a magical few days which I can't wait to share with you! What to see and do in Piccadilly, London (Festive Edition) “London opens to you like a novel itself… It is divided into chapters, the chapters into scenes, the scenes into sent ..read more

Happy November! We're into our last month of autumn and it's been an awfully rainy start, but on the bright side, there's a lovely mix of events to look forward to and you'll be glad to hear that most of them are indoors. I've also noticed that there are several festive-themed workshops and events taking place this month, so I think it's safe to mention the C-word as Christmas is less than 2 months away! Hope you enjoy the few events I've selected and have a lovely November! P.S. I'd love for this blog to be a space to share recommendations so if there's anything you feel I've missed, ple ..read more

Exploring Scotland's Castles: Drum Castle I've caught the castle exploring bug. I think I've always had it but after a recent press trip to Aberdeenshire it's ignited a fascination with these wonderful old buildings which have so many tales to tell and secrets to share. On the way home from the press trip, I jotted down the Scottish castles I'd visited and realised it might make a fun blog series, and here we are. For no particular reason, I've decided to start with Drum Castle.  How to Get There Drum Castle is near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, roughly a 20 minute dri ..read more

Happy October! I had great intentions of posting this blog on the 1st of the month, however, I ended up feeling a bit under the weather last week and took a few days off. Anyway, there's plenty going on this month in Edinburgh, so much so that I found it tricky narrowing it down to just a handful of events. Upon first glance, it seems to be a month of exciting pop-ups! From Treen and Lifestory at Custom Lane and Meander Apparel at Space at Seventeen to RU.ST Jewellery's trunk show at Dahlia store, there's plenty of great opportunities to get a head start on your Christmas shopping (only 78 ..read more

Autumn is here and I couldn't be more excited about the change in the seasons. I always find myself in a bit of a reading rut in the warmer months but as soon as the leaves start changing and there's a noticeable chill in the air, one of my favourite things is to curl up with a book. Since I have a few books I'm thoroughly looking forward to reading this season I thought it'd be fun to share them with you. For those of you who don't know me, I enjoy classics, whodunnits, the odd sci-fi book, and anything feel-good! So, these books may not be to everyone's tastes but if you have any recommend ..read more

I have been meaning to write this blog since spring and since we're already in autumn, I figured I better get a move on before it's too late! In my opinion, going on a day trip has to be one of the loveliest things to do. It's wonderful to have a change of scenery and explore somewhere new, but with the knowledge that you're returning to the comforts of home at the end of the day. Thankfully, Edinburgh is not only a gorgeous city to explore but also a great jumping-off point to visit various parts of Scotland - so much so that I struggled narrowing the list down! So, without further ado, her ..read more

Hello again! In case you haven't seen my previous posts, the idea behind the series is to document my Edinburgh food explorations - both as a way to document my memories and as a (hopefully) useful resource for those looking for somewhere new to eat. I really enjoyed sharing this series but it was paused for a few months as my book was an all-consuming project so I thought it'd be fun to re-start it as I realised the first blog of this series was posted last August!  This list doesn't cover everywhere I ate this month but simply the places I have enjoyed and would recommend. So, without f ..read more

Happy September! It's officially the first month of autumn and I've already dug out a few of my cosiest jumpers as we've had a rather damp and chilly past week. Over the past year, I've been toying with the idea of sharing a monthly blog post highlighting must-see events in Edinburgh and since quite a few of you showed interest, here we are! There are many great blogs like Edinburgh Tourist, Mini Mack Tours, Dickins Edinburgh, and Eastside Cottages, which all produce great monthly guides to find out what's going on in the city, so I've decided to personalise these blog posts to what I partic ..read more