Reminiscing Summer : Adventures with Red Baron

Hey lovelies!

If today was anything to go by... Summer is well and truly over! In order to try and hold onto Summer just that teeny tiny bit longer.. here is a look back at a sunny weekend afternoon spent out biking with the mister and our friend Loz...

Our intention was to cycle around the Waters of Leith into Dean Village, but as there had been severe flooding, a lot of the walking/cycle path had roadworks and diversions which got us all a bit turned around and a little bit lost!

We found ourselves close to Cuckoo Bakery, so decided to stop in for some lunch..

My yummy croissant

So.Many.Cupcakes!

Loz had to dash off, so the mister and I decided to take some cupcakes to go... 

Looking up Dundas Steet to  Scott Monument

...and enjoy them in the glorious sunshine in Inverleith Park!

Olympic & Fringe Cupcakes! :)

Although I'd often been to the Botanic Gardens just across the road from this park, I'd never actually been inside the gates of Inverleith Park...

The park is much bigger than I anticipated... and offers FANtastic views of Edinburgh Castle!

Is Summer still around where you are??

Do you feel you made the most of the good weather??

Were there any fun adventures??

Or are you just heading into Summer??

What are you looking forward to??

June Happenings

I can't believe it's already July!! That is crazy talk!! This year is just flying by!!

At the end of June, I had spent a total of 24 days in Edinburgh for the entire first half of 2012... where I supposedly "live"! Can you say you live somewhere if you've been there for 24 days out of six months!?!

Alas, I am here now and have no more trips planned until September! Although I'm hoping we'll be moving house again before then.. hopefully to somewhere more permanent.. Our current flat is an absolute shambles, there are so many things that need to be fixed that haven't been.. it's super frustrating... it took them 3 weeks to drop off a new vacuum cleaner because the last one was broken! Among a list of other things as long as my arm...

Anywhos! I spent the majority of June on a grand adventure in Turkey.. one of my friends, from high school days, married a Turkish lass and it was like a mini reunion for friends I haven't seen for almost a decade!!

I love adding pins to my travel map! 281 Cities in 41 Countries and Counting!!

And for those who remember my #firstworldproblems post.. I managed to have a day and a half in Istanbul AND make it to Manchester for the Pearl Jam concert!! BAM!! I will definitely need to go back to Turkey and properly explore Istanbul and head out to Cappadoccia.. but I had a fabulous time exploring the South Aegean coast, visiting Ephesus and Gallipoli as well as a cheeky little side trip to the Greek Island of Samos. I'm glad I can finally say I've been to Greece! Tho I don't feel like I've been properly.. but it brings my country count to 41!! Hooray!!

I have started writing posts about all the fun things I got up to in Turkey and I hope to share them with you all soon!!

I had a fabulous time in Manchester catching with my crazy friend TR, we had a fabulous lunch at Jamie Oliver's restaurant.. Of course seeing Pearl Jam was amazing.. they played loads and loads of their old stuff (which was great because I don't know any of their new stuff!), then Sok and I found the cutest little tea house and spent about two and a half hours just drinking tea and eating yummy treats.. She almost missed her train because we were so happy just chilling out there to give you some indication!

We then continued to celebrate our 20th anniversary of friendship with a fabulous weekend in London.. we went on an adventure to find Cake Boy (Eric Lanlard's "luxury but relaxed cake boutique").. had a delectable dinner at La Perla.. and ate & drank to our heart's content for 5 hours at Taste of London!

I also got to catch up with some very good friends from NZ whom I haven't seen since I was back home 3 years ago, so all in all it was a fantastic 3 days in London and 3 weeks away from Edinburgh!!

Once I was back, I managed to interview for and get a part time job (though it doesn't start for a couple of weeks yet) AND the mister and I even managed to check out the Scottish Real Ale Festival.. where we drank loads of different ales (and a cider for me) and met a fun new friend who is just about as nuts as we are!! Seriously, we laughed until our cheeks hurt and I can't wait to hang out with her again!

Not a bad way to spend a month really! Travel adventures, eating & drinking adventures, catching up with old friends, meeting new friends and CREATING MEMORIES!!

Hope your June was fabulous too!!

Life... some inspiration..

So, I've seen this floating around my crackbook feed and thought I would like to share it for those who haven't seen it...  I think it's in an album by a guy called Monty Winters who credits his friend Ed Taylor..
Something that definitely strikes a cord: "Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself". Also "Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them".  This is your life - Live it!!

In the past week, I have realised that you can "have time, take time or make time" for the people and the things in your life...  in the two and a half weeks since I've been back in Victoria, I feel like I've only seen very few of my friends... and I understand it's hard to "find time" with work and life and all the other little things that come with life but it has made me really appreciate the people who have taken time or made time to hang out with me... and I know I have been harping on about friends a lot in the past little while but it's something that has been at the forefront of my mind due to various events and chats with people of late... I only hope that one day I will get the chance to return the favour to all those who have given their love, friendship, hospitality and TIME! Once again, THANKS FRIENDS!!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!!

Ping Pong, SoHo, London

So, here is a very belated part 2 from my trip to London earlier this month... lunch at Ping Pong... we were going to lunch at Princhi, but there were no seats and I wasn't taken with any of the food... and even tho Ping Pong is a chain, it served up some delicious dim-sums!!

Beautiful Sok with her lemongrass iced tea...

My watermelon iced tea which they both drank from before I even had a chance!
It was SOOO SUPER delish!!

C & C

Crazy basil cashews...

Pineapple BBQ pork buns... NOMMY!!

Squid & Spring Rolls

Coconut Sticky Rice

Char Sui Bun (BBQ Pork Buns)

Chicken & Cashew Nut Dumpling... YUMMMY!

Seafood Dumpling in a Carrot skin... couldn't really taste the carrot tho...

Damage was £55 including gratuities for 3 of us to eat all that food and a virgin drink each... we all left happily full.. so, not too bad for Londontown!

There was a bar around the bit steamer and high/bar tables upstairs at street level but we chose to sit downstairs, it was well lit with an open atrium at one end that let in lots of natural light... service was pretty good tho hard to get the server's attention at times as we were seated at the far wall...

Thanks PingPong!! If you're passing by one and wondering to go in or not.. go ahead, it's yummy and not overly hard on the wallet.. Atmosphere is casual and laid back and it's not a bad place to hang out and catch up over some tasty morsels!

More About Friendships

I was originally going to post this at the end of my last post, but decided I didn't want to tarnish such a happy and celebratory post with something negative...

So, I am feeling especially grateful for the wonderful friends I have because of a comment that was made on crackbook about something that happened earlier in the day yesterday... (removed from the wedding)  I didn't even know about it until JGP brought it up after we got back from the wedding.. and I'm glad we didn't have to deal with it earlier and have it tarnish the day.. the comment made was really unnecessary.. and JGP found it really hurtful that someone he considered a close friend would make that kind of remark.. which is what really irks me about the whole situation.. I personally couldn't care less what this person thinks of me... we have a mutual dislike for each other, which is fine...

I do not feel the need to be friends with everyone.. I know I am not necessarily an easy person to be friends with.. I can be stubborn and far too outspoken for most people's comfort/liking.. and I am ok with that.. I am who I am and in the same sense that there are people I don't like, there are people who don't like me.. and as long as we just stay out of each other's way then I don't really see the problem with it..

It always gets my back up if people trash talk my friends and especially people that are really close to me.. and even more so when it is someone I consider to be kind, generous and loyal to a fault.. to take a dig at someone who will absolutely bend over backwards to help out his friends I think shows more about the accuser's true character than anything..

Anyways.. I have since removed the person from crackbook because quite frankly I have better things to do with my time than be concerned with that they have to say..  and the whole situation made me think of this picture which I saw over at Moske Monkey Business a while ago...

Wedding Fun & Vacay Note

Hi friends!!
I am feeling a bit of blog neglect at the mo.. Both in the lack of posting and also lack of blog reading that has been happening since I finished up at work.. but I was busy packing and faffing before I left and now I'm in vacay mode!

The weather has been beautiful here in Victoria, which has been a great motivator for me to get off my behind and get out into the sunshine... even if it takes me a few hours to get my a into g most days...  helps that I've had minor jetlag and been waking up around 6/7am every day!

I was lucky enough to be invited to the beautiful wedding of my friends L&JB yesterday, it was on the fishing pier in Sidney, the day was perfect, the ceremony was small and intimate and I felt so honoured to be there to share their day with them. They are just the cutest ever!! The speeches had everyone in stitches of laughter which I think is such a great indication of not only the couple but also the people they have chosen to surround themselves with. It was a day of love, laughter and happiness and I wish them so much joy for their life together as husband and wife!!

In addition to the fabulous wedding for the gorgeous couple, it was also a chance to catch up with some fantastic friends from my life in Canada.. I really am so fortunate to have these wonderful people in my life.. I may not get to see them a lot and we may not always be the best at keeping in touch.. but we always have so much fun when we get together and for that I am so grateful!

Aren't we a good looking bunch?? ; )

Well, I'm off to enjoy some of this sunshine! And pick up a few things for the BBQ we're heading to tonight..

Thanks again to the new Mr & Mrs B!! Along with all the other lovely ladies and gents who made the day so truly memorable!!

Hope you're having a fantabulous weekend!!


ps. there is the potential that I will be AWOL for periods of time! (Vacay Time!!)

It's been an Awesome Friend Week!!

I have had an Awesome Friend Week this week.. which was much needed after some bad news about my holiday this summer... remember I was saying how I left work on Wednesday wanting to cry or punch someone? Well, it looks like my road trip isn't going to happen this summer... so I have been in a bit of a funk.. there's no one to blame as it's due to a series of circumstances that it's not going to happen.. that and a few other things have left me feeling let down and disappointed... Annnywhos... I got in touch with my wifey to ask what her plans were and if maybe she might want a visitor... and two days later, she left a msg on my fb to say "Stoked, Totally cleaned the spare room!" LOL... she really knows how to make a girl feel welcome!!

I was also having a moan to Cookie about it all and he replied with "Well, those people just don't know to treat you right"...  (I love that all my friends know I'm a big princess! hahaha)

Then on Thursday night I had a fabulous skype date with Ms AK and I can't wait to find time to go visit her in Norway!

I also accused Ms Jagiri of I did tell you... of creeping my blog roll... to which she responded "Its not my fault that you have impeccible taste my dear" - How much of a compliment is that!?! She knows me too well!! HAHAHA

She also posted this on my wall with the caption "Wanna make these for you"

Then today this conversation happened:

All of which just reminded me even tho stuff happens that get me down and even tho sometimes I get annoyed because things don't go to plan (I've also decided to go back to never planning anything, because anytime I plan anything, it always goes to hell anyways!) that at the end of the day, I have some wonderful and amazing friends who make me smile and make me feel truly blessed to have them in my life.. 

To have friends who know me so well, who put up with my spoilt brattiness, cater to my whimsy and still choose to stay friends with me... it really means a lot! Makes me think I must be doing something right!! ; )

Wiredmonkey also posted this link on my wall with the message "seen this and thought of you" - It always makes my heart smile when people leave messages like that.. it's nice to know that people think of you.. especially when it's something that you are actually into and something you are interested in... I try to send messages like that often... just to let people know that I thought of them that day.

So, no matter how big or small, don't forget to let your friends and family know that you thought of them! It might be just the thing that turns a frown upside down!!

Thanks friends!!! I couldn't mention all of you in this post obviously.. I'd be writing forever!! Just know that I am grateful for each and every one of you!!

London Weekend - the aWkwaRd phOtO shOOt eDitiOn ~

After our Saturday out and about, I realised I hadn't taken any photos with my loverly Sok!!

So when we got back to her apartment, we decided to have a photo shoot.. muaahaha

She insisted on having photos taken with her tomato plants! O_o 

 I then decided lunging for her and pretending to throttle her would be funny... hehehe... (awkward much?!)

 We then decided to have a "nice" photo... Seated all prim and proper... Like "the Royals" - says Sok...

Of course, I couldn't resist doing something ridiculous... hehehehe

Then Sok got in on it too!! There's a reason we've been friends almost 20 years!! Muaahahaha

Love you Sok!!!!

Thanks for being a super duper friend for 19 years, I hope we have many many more years of friendship to come!! (I wouldn't let you stop being friends with me anyways.. just sayin' - you know it's true!)

How do I know we will be friends forever? We have gone on lots of trips together and travelled extensively together and managed to not kill each other or even have any fights or arguments.. she knows to keep me well fed and rested so I don't get grumpy.. and if I do, she just let's me get on with it.. :D

                       You're AWESOME!!

London Weekend

Morning lovelies!! The office is super quiet and I came to work in jeans on a Thursday, the sun is shining brightly in the sky and I am feeling light and airy!! (A vast improvement from yesterday when I left work feeling like I was a) going to cry and b) going to hit someone) Anywhos! I had such a lovely weekend in London last weekend that I just want to share it with you all! 

@Edinburgh Waverley Station, Waiting for the train:

Saturday morning, we walked through Kensington Park to Harrods:
(in case you missed out on why I needed to frequent Harrods... click here - it's the last convo if you're low on patience!)

 We wondered what this fruit was... Sok says hazelnut.. anyone know??!!

After lunch we came across this gallery in SoHo, they had amazingly fun things inside:
(I wasn't daring enough to take photos of them tho...)

Saturday night I ate at Yodita, an Eritrean Restaurant in Cricklewood... (yea I hadn't heard of it either until Saturday!..)
The food was good and unlike anything I'd really eaten before.. kind of like Indian meets Middle Eastern??
Lots of meat and sauces and you eat it with your hands.. as you can see in the photo! You get a crepe roll (middle plate) unroll it, tear pieces off and use it to grab the food on the big platters...

All in celebration of this guy's 30th..
(oops.. excuse the slightly bleary eyes.. I totally forgot to take photos until I was leaving to go home!)

Sunday after brunch & markets in Marylebone (post to come soon).. We went to Selfridges and the ever so loverly Sok treated us to macaroons from Pierre Herme! Thank you Sok!! (I figured out, it's not our 20th anniversary until NEXT year! - We will have to plan travels properly!! - We did a fairly poor job this year..)

Pink with glitter dust = Rose; Green = Asparagus & Pistachio??; Yellow = Lemon; Brown = Hazelnut & ??; Yellow with brown spots = Passionfruit! Wow, I could never be a food critic/writer eh?? Can't even remember 5 flavours!.. shoulda taken notes & written it down!! (Sok - HELP!!)

Regardless of the fact that I have a terrible memory and don't remember the exact flavours we ate.. they were ALL delicious!! Our favourites were the Lemon & Passionfruit (which was saved until last!)

If you are in London and passing by Selfridges, stop in and get yourself some macaroons.. they're not the cheapest treats you'll find, but they're definitely worth it!! Our 5 macaroons were just over £8.. not exactly budget breaking either! ; )


Stay tuned for posts about our lunch at PingPong & brunch at Providores as well as Marylebone Farmer's Market!! And maybe our hilarious impromptu photo shoot on Sok's balcony! HAHA