Filling in the blanks... post Marrakesh!!

Well hallo my loverlies!! Have you missed me?? I have been fairly absent from my little corner of the interwebs lately as I seem to still be in vacay mode since my jaunt to Canada over the Summer... probably mostly to do with the fact that because I'm not working, I have no structure to my life, therefore time seems to just fall by the wayside... I need to get back into some form of routine!!

I was also in Marrakesh for a week, enjoying the heat and rain! Getting my fill of tagines and falling in love with pastillas.... Along with surviving the manic of the souk, long nights up drinking in a riad in the medina as well as surviving doing nothing at all but chillax at a resort for three days!! It was definitely a holiday of opposites and extremes and hopefully I will find time to put up some photos and tell you about it soon... but we have some loverlies from Bristol coming to visit for a long weekend.. so no promises that it will be anytime soon!!

Although I DO have a fancy schmancy new phone (it's the Samsung Galaxy S2 if you're wondering) to play with, so if I can figure out how to hook it up with my bloggy here, I might be able to post "on-the-run"!!

Without further ado, let's get fillin' in some blanks!!

1.   When I was a kid I wanted to be      a teacher/ a librarian/ an astronaut/ a dancer    when I grew up.

2.   As an adult, my dream job would be   a travel writer/reviewer...      .

3.  W hen I was younger I wanted to be just like  me! I've never wanted to be "like" anyone else... I still don't... is that weird??   .

4. The childhood Halloween costume that I remember most was when I was    me! haha.. I can't actually remember any Halloween costumes.. I must have had one because I remember going trick-or-treating... but I was never much about dressing up... I'm still not a huge fan of dress up parties... I'm just too lazy.. it's true..   .

5.  My favorite childhood toy was    my electric Mercedes car and my green pedal wagon.. it had a wagon on the back and I used to load it up with stones and drive it from one place to another.. it drove my mother nuts.. hehe... I loved those things... .

6.  The time I got into the biggest amount of trouble when I was a kid was when I     refused to practice piano.. or made a scene while we were out... I got some good spankings for those offences... ohhhh yes I did!!   .

7.  I get daily inspiration from    life, facebook (there seems to be an extrodinate amount of "inspirational stuff" going around at the mo... have you noticed??), the internet  .

Happy Weekend & Happy Halloween!! Do you have a great costume?? What are your Hallows Eve plans???

As always, head along to Lauren's if you want to play along...

Filling in Blanks on a Saturday..

I feel like it's been a while since my last Fill in the Blank...

Now that I'm not working, I don't really have a routine to stick to, so these things tend to fall by the wayside a little...

1.   The most selfless thing I've ever done was      - I don't know! I think I'm a fairly selfish person... as well as a spoilt princess...   

2.   When it comes to working out    my biggest hurdle is motivation... I actually really enjoy the gym, and I always feel great when I'm done.. it's just finding the motivation to get off my toosh and GO... it's a struggle!     

3.  A woman should always   stand her ground without feeling bad/guilty.. so many women feel like they're being "a bad person"/"a bully"/"a bitch" for standing her ground.. I don't get it... (see aforementioned spoilt princess statement)   

4. I wish I could    find more motivation    and then I'd    be so much more productive!   

5.  A best friend is    someone who isn't afraid to laugh at you to your face.. seriously tho.. think about it...  

6.  I can't get enough of     sitting in the sauna after a workout... love it!   

7.  This weekend I am    going to check out a gym open day, watching the Korean F1 and hopefully getting a new phone!!! (The screen on my phone is completely dead.. which kinda renders the phone useless... *sad panda*)  .

Happy Weekend!!

Remember to link up with Lauren if you want to play along..

Mark Greenaway @ No.12 Picardy Place, Edinburgh

On Tuesday, SW and I had a fabulous lunch at Mark Greenaway, which is housed in No. 12 Picardy Place formerly known as Hawke and Hunter.  I was a bit confused when I walked in the door and was greeted by a receptionist behind a desk... had I stumbled into a hotel or something? I was swiftly led around the corner and into the stylish dining room.  SW already had water for the table and a "Market Menu" as well as an a la carte menu were delivered without fuss.  I'd already had a peruse online, so pretty much had my heart set on what I wanted.  I was very happy to see that the things I wanted off the a la carte menu were pretty much all present on the set priced Market Menu.

Confit Gressingham Duck Leg - 

Hot Orange Jelly, Beetroot Carpaccio, Sakura Salad, Raspberry Dressing

 Beautifully presented and an absolute delight to eat. 

The Orange Jelly provided just the right amount of acidity to the confit.

The main dining room was our private dining room for the meal and we had a lovely corner table under a big window overlooking the Secret Garden. The table was well presented with an oil lamp, fresh flowers and butter and rock salt.

11 Hour Slow Roasted Clash Farm Pork Belly - 

Spiced Fillet, Pomme Puree, Savoy Cabbage, Toffee Apple Jus

The crackling was a bit impossible to cut through and a bit sticky on the teeth.. but the top was just crunchy enough for a bit of texture, the pork belly was melt in the mouth tender and the puree was rich and smooth. The cabbage was a nice balance to the richness of everything else on the plate. I struggled to get through the mash, but SW has no problems polishing off his plate!

SW was torn between choosing a dessert off the Market Menu or the Chocolate Fondant which was in the a la carte menu (which actually shows on the Market Menu on the website... shhhhh!), but after some debate and deciding that the fondant would be too rich after the Pork Belly, we decided to stick with the trend and order the same thing...

 Broken Lemon Tart -

Yuzu Parfait, Frozen Shortbread, Pistachio Puree, Compact Watermelon, Coconut Jelly

We agreed that this Lemon Tart was definitely "Broken"! We both looked a bit doubtfully at it on the plate...  (confusion about where to start perhaps!?!) I decided to try a bit of the lemon curd and all doubt was immediately dissipated... It was creamy and tart with just a hint of sweetness - perfection! The pistachio puree was a bit strange on its own, unlike the coconut jelly and yuzu parfait which were both delightful, but when all the elements are combined and eaten together, the result was a little party on the tastebuds. 

You could see our reflections on the plates when we were finished and SW declared he could eat another whole plate right away! No small compliment coming from someone who's career is hospitality and dining!

Our 3 courses set us back £20 each, our wine (a lovely Vionier, I trusted SW to order) was £20 and a bottle of fizzy water for the table a fairly reasonable (for a restaurant) £3. Making our total bill £70 including tip. So £35 for 3 course lunch with a bottle of wine = absolute STEAL!!

 View from our table into a Private Dining Room with a wine cellar.

 View looking into the rest of the main restaurant, another PDR through the doorway on the left. Waiter's station on the right, doors where you enter the restaurant on the right wall.

After lunch we had a nosey around the property, I've been downstairs to the Green Room before for an event but had never seen the rest of the building.

A huge display of my favourite flowers on the landing on the way upstairs to the Cocktail Bar

Cocktail Bar

Private Room off the Lounge of the Cocktail Bar

Main Lounge Area of the Bar

Funky Artwork

Chaise Lounge in the Ladies Bathroom

More Funky Artwork ( I love this... I want it!)

Trendy MDF/Wood Deer Head on Downstairs Wall

The restaurant (along with many others) is taking part in the Yelp Eats! Dine Out in Edinburgh next week, where you can have two courses at some of the city's fine dining restaurants for £15 (on a prix fixe menu).


I'm pretty gutted I'm not in town to take full advantage, though my wallet probably appreciates that fact far more than my belly! If you're in town, you should definitely check it out!! Even if you miss out on the Yelp Eats! Week, I still think Mark Greenaway offers fantastic value for the quality of food if you order off the Market Menu.  Otherwise it would be a nice treat for a special occasion!!


Happy Eating!!

Gymmin It: Exercise Diary 2 & Seeking Soundtrack Suggestions!

So, I braved the wind and slight rain to get to the gym for my PT session today... I was slightly early, so I told one of the girls at the desk that I was going to head up to the gym and get started on my warm up and to tell Nacho I was up there when he arrived... 15mins on the cross trainer later... no PT... so I head back down to the front desk to investigate... only to find that, I apparently wasn't in the book... even tho I saw the girl write it in on Monday... in pen... and there was no white out marks, so I think she mistakenly wrote it on last week's roster??

{source}

Anywhos.. the absolutely gormless girls gave me two options.. a) they could call him and I could wait (tho one of the other girls was already on the phone on what seemed like a personal phone call who showed no signs of getting OFF...)  or... oh wait.. that was the only option they gave me.... I said it was fine and I was happy to book another time.. then she asked if I had his number... ummmm, no?  She then pretty much said if I wanted to book a session with Nacho, it would be better for me to phone him and arrange it myself... otherwise she could book me with one of the group exercise teachers.... WHAT??!!!  What the hell do they pay you for if I need to organise my own shit??!! I chose to take his number rather than leave my fate in the hands of someone so completely clueless....

I then headed back upstairs and decided to do some cardio rather than any weight training... so I jumped on the elliptical for another 30 minutes... listening to the awful music in the gym and watching some Top 40 Music Video thing on the tv... I'd left my iPod in my bag and left the house with it low on battery because I thought I'd be listening to a PT at the gym today!

{source}

Anywhos... it got me thinking... do you have a gym soundtrack on your "portable media player"???  What kinda music gets you going at the gym?? What beats keep you company when you're out pounding the pavement?? I'd love to know! I don't have a gym playlist yet and am in desperate need of some suggestions!!

Gymming It - Exercise Diary 1.

So, I finally took my measurements last Friday... it's actually really hard to measure yourself!!

I also thought it would be good to keep a diary of the exercises I have been doing.. mainly for me.. but as I'm too lazy to actually hand write it in a proper journal, I thought I would share it in my "virtual" journal and as an aside share it with you all too!! Lucky you!! :D  I'm also after some inspiration for new things to do!!

{source}

1st Gym Session - with PT - Monday 19th Sept

5min bike to warm up

12 reps dumbell bench press
12 reps bent over row
12 lunge & twist
12 dumbell squat with overhead press
12 dumbell curl and overhead press

3 rounds

10 swiss ball sit ups
10 swiss ball passes
10 swiss ball reverse crunch

2 rounds (I was supposed to do 3, but I wasn't feeling good and I tweaked my shoulder)
------------
2nd Gym Session - Monday 26th

10min bike to warm up

Same exercises as the 1st session with PT except I did 3 rounds of the mat exercises but did not do any of the reverse crunches.

5min bike cool down
--------------------
3rd Gym Session - with PT - Wednesday 27th

10min cross trainer to warm up

12 medicine ball squat & jump with shoulder press (these are seriously the most evil exercise known to man! - well... aside from maybe sitting on the wall.... )
12 medicine ball lunge with shoulder press
20 second chin up, rest 10 second chin up (these are like the arm equivalents of sitting on the wall... feel the BURN!!)
12 bench reverse crunch (these are the ones I really struggled with...)
12 bench pullover holding a barbell weight (I needed help with these! my elbows kept wanting to buckle!)
10 cable machine punch, on each side

3 rounds

5mins bike cool down
------------------------
4th Gym Session - Monday 3rd Oct

15mins cross trainer warm up


15 reps dumbell bench press
15 reps bent over row
12 lunge & twist
12 dumbell squat with overhead press
15 dumbell curl and overhead press
10 bench reverse crunch

2 rounds

5min bike cool down
-------------------------

The last two sessions I have been wearing my sketchers tone up trainers.
Not sure I can say I have felt a major difference but I am also used to wearing FitFlop flip flops and trainers.

I think my major downfall is my eating habits... I don't eat majorly unhealthy.. but I have a severe weakness for potato chips and junk food in general!

What kind of exercises do you do when you're at the gym??  I'm after some inspiration for when I'm at the gym without a PT.. I get bored of doing the same things all the time...