Lifestyle
With Valentines Day fast approaching, we enter the time of year where every store is adorned in various shades of pink and every chocolate becomes heart shaped. One of the things I dread the most is trying to buy a present for guys, whether it is birthday, christmas, brother, boyfriend or father. Despite writing this I am still absolutely clueless of what to get Benjy so alas maybe I need a few more gift guides myself.
For the comic booker lover
For the bearded one
For the adventurer
For the food lover
Curry Night subscription
Last week I had a rare weekend off and spent the Sunday having a break from essay writing, and spent the day with my mum who popped over for a visit. I love Edinburgh, there is always something on and on this particular day there was a bake fair where all the cakes were centred around a 'boozy cake' theme.
Located down at cowgate in the Three Sister's pub, my mum and I wandered down around lunchtime whilst it was still relatively quiet. As well as some cake stands there was also a dessert pizza stall, gin stand and a fudge stall. One of my favourite things about the fair was how many of the cakes and sweets were vegan friendly / gluten free, which is handy when one of your best friends is a vegan and you're looking for bakeries to eat at.
Naturally both my mum and I sampled some of the goodies available, with my mum choosing a 'hummingbird' cake whilst I went for the mojito drizzle. This cake - holy crap. The icing was slightly sickly once you started to reach the end of your slice but I would defiently recommend all about patisserie to anybody in Edinburgh who is looking for something different.
Afterwards my mum and I went for a spot of lunch and a wander down the royal mile, before she headed home and I went back to attempting an essay. It was really nice spending the day with my mum and having a weekend where I wasn't surrounded by customers.
Did you do anything this weekend? x
If I had to pick a time of the year it would be the last couple of months. October brings autumn rain, Halloween, my boyfriends birthday and 80% of females wearing a berry lip (including myself).
September was full of uni work, travelling and spending that beautiful student loan on stuff that I don't actually need. Due to this my favourites this month has been a random assortment of things - from books and antihistamines.
The first thing I've been loving this past month is a clothing item that I purchased off ASOS. I haven't actually really worn a cardigan since school, but this grey woollen one looks so great just finishing off any outfit. I took it with me whilst travelling, which was great for keeping in my bag and throwing on once landing back in Scotland.
I had picked up the book 'Asking for it' by Louise O'Neill without really knowing what to expect and holy hell was it insane. I don't want to say it was good, because there were parts that were upsetting to read and the ending was both realistic and unsatisfying, but it was so eye opening that I would recommend it to anybody in a heart beat.
If you aren't a musical / cheesy tv type of person then this show probably isn't for you. I started watching this on the plane home and you can only imagine my delight when I found out it was on Netflix as well. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is one of those silly shows that can quickly become your guilty pleasure, and I binge watched series 1 as soon as I could.
I did only get this towards the end of September but I think it's too pretty not to put in my favourites. I have so many store cards/bus passes etc that I need a purse with lots of card slots and this one holds all my cards perfectly.
Oh look another Gillian Flynn book! I picked this one up to take to the beach in Vietnam and finished it within half an hour. I don't think I will ever forgive Gillian Flynn for ending the novella on such a cliff hanger and if anybody feels the same, lets start a petition to get a full book from it.
One of my only beauty related favourites this month has been this Barry M nail polish from the Molten Metals Collection. I own both the bronze and copper one, they go on thickly and don't take too long to dry which is a massive bonus. The only down side is that they can chip quite easily, but with a good top coat you can easily get a good couple of days out of it without any top ups.
What are you loving this month?
Whilst I was in Singapore, my dad and I decided to go visit Hoi An in Vietnam for the weekend. Having never really considered going to Vietnam before, I was slightly dubious but found myself really enjoying the weekend and would very happily go back again.
Staying just a couple minutes walk from the Old Town, we spent most of the weekend wandering around the streets, visiting the local food markets and exploring the temples.
This time tomorrow I will be on the plane to Singapore, and so I thought I would upload a quick 'what is in my hand luggage' post. I love travelling, and so far this year I have been to both Rome and Spain so getting to go to Singapore as well is extremely lucky of me.
My actual hand luggage is just a plain brown slouchy tote that I picked up from H&M for £13. With two 7 hour flights, I do normally pack a change of clothes for when I travel to Singapore, just to freshen up during the layover at Doha. Obviously the main thing in my hand luggage is my passport - if you forget this you're screwed.
Naturally I am also taking my laptop with me and due to missing some uni lectures I plan on catching up on some of my missed work whilst on the plane and also drafting some blogposts. I have the macbook air so it is nice and light and doesn't take up too much room in my bag thankfully.
I don't normally bother with makeup for a long-haul flight so my toiletries are pretty scarce, with my The Body Shop tea tree night cream, some antihistamines and deodorant wipes being my main necessities. I prefer wipes opposed to spray as I think they feel fresher in the long run as well as I don't like the idea of using the spray on the actual plane itself. I have a lot of problems with my sinus' so always like to have a packet of antihistamines on hand in case.
Also taking place in my hand luggage but not pictured - a massive bottle of water (got to keep hydrated), copious amounts of food, comfy socks and my woollen cardigan to combat the cold airports.
What do you like taking on planes with you?
Over one year ago, my gran started to become ill. It wasn't noticeable at first but as she become worse she lost the ability to look after herself until the stage where she wasn't safe to live on her own. After attempting to have her remain in her home with the use of daily carers, it was decided that the best option would be for her to go into a care home. Diagnosed with vascular dementia, my gran's cognitive function will be impaired more compared to other dementia sufferers, meaning she often struggles more when it comes to talking and verbal tasks.
Affecting more than 135,000 people in the UK alone, Alzheimer's Scotland is a charity that works to provide families with support - ranging from dementia cafes to day centres. I recently took part in The Great Woman's 10k on the 5th of June to help fundraise for Alzheimer's Scotland - raising an amazing £410 for the charity.
Whilst the run itself was gruelling (it was 25 degrees and I got a very sunburnt nose), at the end I felt over the moon when I remembered what all my money was going towards. Watching a loved one suffer from Alzheimer's can be upsetting, especially when they reach a stage where they aren't able to recognise friends, family or even old photos of themselves. By providing paid carers this, like any carer for any illness, gives the family time to themselves.
Caused by the deterioration of brain cells through a type of protein, Alzheimer's can affect anybody regardless of their health, however people who suffer from strokes can be more vulnerable to vascular dementia due to the lack of blood flow to their brain. Statistics from 2013 showed that there were an estimated 86,000 people suffering from dementia in Scotland alone, with 67% of the sufferers being female.
Whilst it is somewhat uncommon, there have been studies which has shown dementia to be hereditary in families, and with other family members having suffered from the illness by contributing to the charity through my sponsored run I, in an albeit small way, feel as though I am helping contribute to the every day living of those dealing with Alzheimer's.
It is because of this that I have decided to complete another run, this one in the bitter Scottish cold in November, around the Kelpies. It is only a 5k compared to my first run, but I'm sure the weather will provide some delightful obstacles. Let the training begin!
Have you ever taken part in a charity event?
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