Flower Power

Everybody in Edinburgh knows Vintage = W. Armstrong & Son

Now you do too!

After an accidental thrifting session this morning, unintentional in that I was supposed to be sourcing citric acid for my future Elderflower Cordial, to no avail. It turns out the illusive ingredient has been taken off the shelves on account of it also being an ingredient in making of heroine! yikes! So no citric acid, many explanations that I am too chubby to be a heroine addict, plenty of strange looks and awkward chuckles later, I went thrift shopping instead.

My house now looks like some kind of shrine to Laura Ashley. It must be the fact that summer either has yet to arrive, or did and is just plain unsatisfactory, that caused me to loose myself in a sea of floral prints today. If it warms up, I will wear them with loafers and my white vintage Ray-Bans, if not, with cute cardigans and rolled up jeans.

Pictured above is a 3/4 length high-waisted skirt that looked so fresh with my navy boat shoes!

Blouses! I love buttoning them right to the top lately.
One in floral and one minty vintage Ben Sherman.
We are the Mods!

A sweet little change purse...then Presto Change-O

It truly is a 'change purse'!

It unzips into my newest shopping bag!

Perfect for some impromptu thrifting next time!

All my purchases were 10% off too! Armstrongs offers a student discount which is by all accounts Amazing! So all in all, I got out of the shop with all this for under 20 pounds. Perfect!

I am always one for stopping to smell the flowers and today...they smell a little bit like granny flavoured mothballs, so I better go do some washing up!

Addresses and wee maps to Armstrongs' three lovely locations here!

erin x

Edinburgh City Guide

This comprehensive city guide to Edinburgh covers all the spots, and all the shops! The always trendy, always up-to-date dames at Design Sponge posted this a few months back, and do not disappoint! This guide should satisfy the culture vulture, the fashionista, the indie film goer, the foodie, the lover of all things underground and all things Scottish alike.

It takes you around Edinburgh by street name or community area, and was something I actually referred to when I arrived. D*S tends to be a reliable source in the style department, and having been written by a resident/lover of Edinburgh, this was no exception.

Of course everyone is after a different experience and is bound to have different tastes, but whether you are taking a tour, thinking of moving, travelling to the capital city or trying to find something in your home town, this guide seems like a great start!

Bravo Design Sponge, you have taken the pressure off me! This would have been alot of work, so I left it up to Eloise!

Enjoy the link, and better yet, Enjoy Edinburgh!

erin x this link

Click Here for your Edinburgh City Guide by Eloise Leeson For D*S

Potato-Po-tah-toe

Has this every happened to you?

You are in a self checkout at the local store purchasing a tasty zucchini for your dinner, but wait, you click on "Z" for zucchini and nothing shows up! You panic, you look around feverishly while the line of seasoned self-checker-outers starts to wind down the aisles behind you, shuffling as they get restless and watching over you shoulder as you hunt for the damn zucchini button! Finally you eyeball one of the overworked staff members who looks at you confused, quickly presses the letter "C" and informs you in a tone reserved for such situations that this is not a zucchini, despite popular belief, but a courgette!

This is actually a re-enactment of my everyday life. Language has become something that sometimes alienates me, and in my short time here in Scotland, most commonly in the grocery store. Also, you will be corrected if you call this place that contains the groceries a grocery store because the term commonly used here is supermarket.

I have compiled a short list that I will add on to as new terms to know arise. Assimilate faster? Maybe. Increase ease of shopping? Perhaps. Learn and respect the language of the county, and its country-people, you are residing in? You bet. Not get made fun of and start to cry at the checkout only to be not consoled because it is a 'self checkout' and the kind ladies that you have known for you entire life behind the till are all but obsolete so you just have to imagine that this machine can feel your pain and put your tear stained zucch...courgettes into your tote bag and go home to you apartm...flat? Here's hoping!

In no particular order, and in Canadian-to-UK only out of coincidence:

zucchini-courgette

eggplant-aubergine

bun-bap

hotdog-frankfurter

cilantro-corriander

dish soap-washing up liquid

cookie-biscuit

homogenized (4%) milk-full fat milk

arugula-rocket

ground beef-mince

molasses-treacle

jell-o-jelly (I guess they haven't heard of a guy by the name of Bill Cosby)

super fine sugar-caster sugar

instant noodles or ichiban-pot noodles

bacon-streaky bacon, or else you get thick back bacon that is meaty, not crispy

oatmeal-porridge

And just to add insult to injury, while I was posting this I discovered my spellcheck is British too because it won't accept zucchini as a word either!