FESTIVE THINGS TO DO IN GLASGOW

Christmas is less than two weeks away; can you believe it? I always try to embrace all things festive in December and like to mix old traditions with new activities. A few things that I never fail to miss include:

• Visiting the Christmas markets to indulge in some of the delicious food and mulled wine      Making an occasion of putting up the Christmas tree (mulled wine and Christmas music are essential elements)
• Writing out Christmas cards – it’s such an old-fashioned tradition but I love it. If I have time, I usually like to make my own.
• Snuggling under a blanket to watch some of my favourite Christmas movies with festive chocolate by my side (current obsession: After Eights)
• And of course, spending quality time with my loved ones

This year, budgets are tight with saving for our wedding but that won’t stop me from indulging in a little festive fun. Last week, I kick-started the most magical month of the year with a festive day out with Glasgow Loves Christmas. We got to tick off one of my must-dos and also tried some new things, so I thought I’d share our day with you as a little inspiration for festive activities to fill your December.

Wander the markets

Yes – I’ve already made it to the markets. Glasgow is great for Christmas markets as we have two to visit. For this trip, we visited the George Square markets. I love to just wander the markets, check out the hand-made gifts, try some of the German cuisine and drink a mulled wine or three. We also got a superb view of the square from the top of the big wheel and even took a spin on the carousel. I seriously love carousels and their vintage beauty! 

You can view the opening times for the markets here. 

Shop the Style Mile

Christmas and shopping go hand in hand and it wouldn’t be the December without a little (chaotic) trip to the shops. House of Fraser is by far the most festive shop in the city with rows and rows of fairy lights draped from every corner.  It is a must-visit to get me in the Christmas mood every year. Something I discovered this year is the store actually run a Meet Santa event within the cutest little grotto I’ve ever seen on the first floor. They still have a few dates upcoming on the 15^th and 22^nd – check out their website for more info.

We also took a little pit-stop to John Lewis. We were treated to a personal styling session and I honestly couldn’t believe the stylish pieces that could be found within their store. John Lewis is the store I tend to visit for beauty, trusty electronic purchases and homeware gifts but they have so many great fashion retailers that I didn’t realise.

If you’re looking for a little gift inspiration for a girl in your family or are not sure what to put on your wish list, take a trip to the beauty hall in John Lewis and give the new Dyson curler a try. I got the chance to test the new styling tool and couldn’t believe how polished my hair. It transformed my slightly frizzy hair to salon sleek in just ten minutes!

Festive Film

Glasgow has a hot new cinema in town and I’m legit obsessed! The Everyman Cinema is a cinema-goers dream. It has Insta-worthy interiors, a delicious food menu and cocktails that you can take into the screen with you. There are only three screens, but each has comfy sofas for a unique cinema experience and they play a mix of new and classic movies. They have a selection of Christmas movies running too including It’s a Wonderful Life in the lead up to the 25th. Definitely one to include in your December activities for a chilled but fun day out.  

The cinema is based on the bottom floor within Princes Square. 

I hope the above gives you a little inspiration for the festive season! Thanks again to Glasgow Loves Christmas for the perfect start to this year’s festivities!

XoXo

My Guide to Getting in the Festive Spirit

Temperatures have dropped, I'm layering my clothes like Joey when he wears all of Chandlers clothes at once and I'm reaching for teas and coffees more than I ever have done. I think we can officially say farewell to Autumn and hello to Winter!

Although come January I'll be cursing the Scottish weather and a life of living in constant darkness, I'm always pretty happy with the change of season at this side of the year. I mean, who doesn't want to have a day slobbing on the couch, eating chocolate and cheese without feeling guilty. And those twinkly lights that are starting to appear around the city just wouldn't be as magical if weren't for the dark nights. So, in a long winded way I'm basically trying to say that I'm happy to see winter roll in (for the time being!).

The lead up to Christmas is absolutely one of my most favourite times of the year but each year I regret the things I never got to do. It's a busy few weeks and before you know it you're packing away the Christmas decos for another year. This year I pledge to make my plans happen. And one way of putting the pressure on myself is by writing it out here in a blog post for all to see. So, I present to you, my personal guide to getting into the festive spirit. May it bring some inspiration to you at this festive time of the year or at the very least give me the drive to get my own list checked off.

Watch the Christmas lights switch on
If you're not feeling in the Christmas spirit you better believe that attending one of the light switch on events will get you ready for December 25th. I LOVE the Glasgow Christmas light switch on at George Square but the tickets are in high demand and unfortunately this year I've missed out. BUT I'm not going to let that stop me. If like me you never got your hands on tickets you can still enjoy the switch on / fireworks and general atmosphere from the side lines. I admit, it's not quite as thrilling standing at the edge of the square but it's worth it to experience the switch on. You could also head to one of the surrounding restaurant / bars and enjoy the switch on from indoors with a drink in hand. The switch on is from 5pm on Sunday 19th November.

Princes Square also put on a pretty spectacular switch on and this year they have enchanting live music accompanying various performances including magic and glass orb juggling (ooh!). The switch on is from 5:30pm on Thursday 16th November. 

Host a girls night with mulled wine and cheese 
There's nothing better than inviting your girl friends round for a few festive drinks. I have so many ideas when it comes to hosting party's (thank you Pinterest!) and love the planning and preparation for something like this. From making your own festive snacks and drinks to planning festive games and creating the perfect Christmas playlist. You can create a theme or dress code - Strictly Sparkles if you're wanting to go fancy or Christmas jumpers / PJs if you're planning a chilled night. You can also introduce a Secret Santa gifting into the night or why not create your own party favors for your guests - something simple like one of the ideas here.

Christmas shopping roadtrip
The shops are full of Christmas buzz at this time of the year and are an assured way of getting you chanting 'Santa Claus is coming to town....'. Why not make a real experience of your Christmas shopping trip this year. Grab your girlfriends, jump in the car and head to somewhere completely new to find gifts for your loved ones. That's exactly what I'll be doing this weekend with Victoria and Rachel as we head to Gretna Gateway!

Christmas movie marathon 
Needs no explanation. Get a fresh pair of PJs on, line up your favourite Christmas movies, light a festive candle and pour yourself a spiced tea. Don't forget to buy in your supply of snacks to ensure you don't need to leave the couch all day! Well, apart from making yourself a batch of fresh cookies! Days like these are also the perfect time to write out your Christmas cards. Or if you're brave .... make your own!

Get in the mood at the markets
At the heart of every great city is a Christmas market come December. Glaswegians are spoiled for choice with two Christmas markets to choose from. Wrap up warm and have a wander around the stalls sampling the delicious food and drink.

Christmas wreath making
I attended one of Lorraine Wood's wreath making workshops last year and had the best time! It's certainly no easy task but Lorraine is a brilliant teacher who can show even the clumsiest of hands how to create a masterpiece for their font door. This is the perfect activity to spend some quality time with your mum or gran!

I hope the above gives you some inspiration and ideas of ways to get into the festive spirit. I'm always on the look out for unique ideas and things to do so if you know of anything I must try, please let me know!

xoxo

11 Steps to Throwing the Perfect Baby Shower

Last August I received a call to discover my sister was expecting her first child. Along with a lot of 'Oh my gaad, I'm going to be an aunt' and guessing to myself what the sex might be, one of the first things that popped into my head was how I couldn't wait to throw her a fabulous baby shower. Fast forward six months and the time to plan the party had arrived. 

Knowing where to start can be mind boggling for any event so naturally my first point of call was to start scrolling through Pinterest. Once the ideas were flowing, we nailed all the details and threw a pretty awesome baby shower, if I do say so myself. Snaps for Yasmin! 

Getting from A-Z was easier said than done though so I thought I'd share my tried and tested pointers to throwing the perfect baby shower.

1. Pick a theme. This can be easier if you know the sex of the baby but what about those gender neutral parties? Fitting into the latter we settled on a pink and blue colour scheme. This inspired everything from the decor to food and made deciding on those finer details all that bit easier. 

2. Choose a venue. We were in a bit of a pickle choosing where to host our baby shower. Trying to stick to a budget and with a guest list of 25 we decided against a restaurant or bar and my mum's cosy living room wasn't really an option either. It then came to me - The Lifestyle Lab was the perfect destination. It's centrally located in Glasgow so easy for everyone to get to and we could get in the day before to decorate exactly how we wanted. We could even bring our own food and drink - it was perfect!

3. Choose your decor. Once you've settled on a theme, this part

should be easy. With pink and blue in mind we opted for extra large paper pom poms to fill the room. This is a great cost effective way to decorate a space and let's be frank, it's bloody adorable. We then covered the door with a large mesh bow to ensure our guests knew exactly where the party was.  We bought pink and blue balloons and covered these in mesh (which FYI unfortunately makes them no longer stay up so if you're planning this look don't bother wasting your money on helium). And finally, I added a mini washing line complete with teetsy tiny baby clothes across the window that also doubled up as a gift for my sister. 

4. Get the grub. Naturally, food is a key part of any baby shower. I mean if the woman canny drink, at least make sure she's got some great food to snack on. For ours, I wanted the food table to create a cute addition to the decor so we opted for pink and blue marshmallow pops, a box of The Biscuiteer biscuits, pink and blue candy floss, 'Ready To Pop' popcorn bags and cupcakes. We then also had lots of pakora and sausage rolls to ensure guests didn't leave the party starved. 

5. Drinks. This is a crucial element of any baby shower. It's important to keep the mum-to-be happy so checking that she is comfortable for everyone else to be drinking alcohol at the party is key. If the answer is yes, it's always nice to ensure you have a few alcohol free options for the guest of honour. Make sure you have enough drink to get everyone started on the right foot and then simply invite guests to BYOB.  

6. Plan the games. This can set the tone for the rest of the evening and is often a good ice-breaker for guests who don't know many others. Choose a few for variety but don't go overboard as you'll loose interest quickly. I went for four games but I think three would've been more than enough. I think my favourite game had to be 'Porn or Labour' - basically a guessing game with images of woman pulling all sorts of weird and wonderful faces.I'm sure your imagination can picture exactly what this looks like! I ended up making my own version of the game as I didn't want to fork out for a download so if you'd like a copy of mine, just let me know and I'd be happy to email it over to you. We then also played guess the baby food, guess the celebrity name, guess the guest (the one where everyone brings a picture of themselves as a baby) and a blindfolded nappy challenge. 

7. Share a dress code. Once the party is announced, guests will start questioning what the dress code is so try and get this information across in your invites. It's always best to plan a dress code suited to your mum-to-be. My sisters is always super glamorous so I knew she'd be dressed up for the occassion but more often than not, 7/8 month pregnant woman just want to be comfortable so check-in with them as the last thing you'd want to do is make them feel under-dressed.

8. Manage the gift list. Now this might sound like quite a strange thing to do for a baby shower but it's honestly one of the best things I done. Opening the gifts in front of guests is one of the most exciting parts of a baby shower so ensuring your mum-to-be isn't opening the same gift more than once ensures everyone's gift excitement isn't spoiled. Checking in with the mum ahead of the party for a list of still-to-buys is also really helpful for those who're just not sure what to buy. 

9. Capture the memories. Once the party is in full swing it's important to ensure you're capturing the memories. As party planner it's your responsibility to get all the best bits on film so have a camera by your side at all times. This is something I forgot to do but setting a hashtag is a great way to capture everyone else's pictures. Think of it as the modern day disposable camera. 

10. Create a keepsake. Having everyone you love in the one room is something that happens very few times in your life so I think it's important to take advantage of this. After searching online I found a few keepsake ideas that double up as a gift for the baby. I opted for a finger print elephant drawing. I LOVE how it turned out (picture below), don't you?

11. Arrange a visit from Daddy Cool. It might not be to everyone's preference but I think it's really nice if daddy-to-be makes an appearance to thank everyone for coming/the gifts. Having the other half there to open the presents is always a good way to plan his visit. Plus, us girls just love to find out how daddy is feeling about his soon to be new life.

I think that's about everything but most importantly, just have fun! I hope these tips give you some guidance if you're planning a baby shower and if not, I hope you like the pictures!

Oh, and here's the picture of my little keepsake. I LOVE it.

XoXo 

Monochrome

A few weeks ago, The Boy and I headed up North to visit our favourite double-daters for a weekend of countryside fun. After arriving late on Friday evening, we enjoyed a chilled night to ensure we were fully rested for a day of food, drink and dancing on the Saturday. With my cousin and her boyfriend moving down to Glasgow in a few months (FINALLY!), we took the opportunity to go for high tea at Muckrach Country House Hotel – something my cousin has always wanted to try.

With the sun splitting in the sky, we got dolled up for a sophisticated afternoon of teeny tiny sandwiches and fizzy liquid (AKA prosecco). I won’t go into too much depth about the hotel as I’m working on a ‘what to do’ style post for a weekend in Aviemore, so more on that soon. But what I will say is that we had a brilliant afternoon catching some rays and well, catching up.

Before we left we had an impromptu shoot to share our outfits with you all, here on the blog. Normally outfit shooting for me is a lonely affair so it was nice to have someone by my side for a change. We honestly didn’t plan the monochrome look, it just kind of happened. Great minds eh…..

I am wearing:

Top and blazer - H&M 

Skirt - Primark 

Boots - Primark

Bag - Love Moschino

Sunglasses - a prezzie all the way from New Zealand

Naomi is wearing:

Top and boots - Primark 

Shorts - Topshop Boutique

Bag - River Island

Sunglasses - Miu Miu

I hope you liked seeing two people’s outfits as opposed to one. I personally love all of the double blogs that are kicking about the blogosphere atm.

XoXo