Frills 'n' Spills

I have raved about this red biker coat before on the blog but it is the only one I want to wear when it is so cold outside. I like the simple, slightly masculine shape, the colour is perfect for brightening even the frostiest of mornings and the wool keeps me from turning the same colour as the coat, haha! This outfit was perfect for meeting up with the lovely Hattie for a (long overdue) gossip and lunch. We have been friends since getting the train back together from the Brum blogger meet in 2011 (!) (see how many familiar faces you can spot!) and we meet up as regularly as our schedules allow for shopping, cake and chats about all things blogging. That is definitely the best part about blogging for so long, all of the awesome people I have met and can call friends as a result :)

Warehouse have been my go to for jeans recently and their high waisted ones are super flattering on. I got the blue version of these high rise ones instore and although the denim is not as thick as I would like, they are dressy enough to be worn with everything from comfy tops to jazzy blouses. I will always prefer high-waisted jeans as they help to keep my tummy smoothed down and I need all the help I can get in that area ;)

Where do you buy your jeans?

One of the (many) reasons why I love Twitter and the blogging community is how helpful everyone is! After I put a shout out on Twitter asking for recommendations for places to eat in Edinburgh, I had lot of really fab ideas and a list as long as my arm, of places we wanted to visit. We were lucky enough to get some restaurant vouchers for Christmas (best presents EVER!) and saved them up for our hols. Apologies for the Instagram shots, I was having too much fun stuffing my face to take proper pictures ;) 

I know that St Andrews is not technically in Edinburgh, but this Sunday night pud set the tone for the rest of the week: award-winning mint choc chip from Janettas Ice Cream Parlour. 

After dumping all of our stuff in our hotel, we headed straight to the National Gallery and enjoyed some cake in the sunshine. Very expensive but a lovely way to ease ourselves into a week of eating and drinking huge amounts! ;)

We decided to go for breakfast at Beanscene on our first day as it came highly recommended by lots of people and we both loved it. Fab atmosphere, brilliant food and really reasonable prices too. Well worth a visit if you can get to one!

You can't go to Scotland without having an IrnBru (or two!) One of my favourite drinks, I blame my Dad's Scottish roots...

Wagamamas is one of our favourite restaurants and although we loved the food (as always) the service in the Edinburgh branch was pretty awful :( This was massively disappointing as I have never had a bad experience with them up till now.

I really don't think there is a better named cafe anywhere in the world! Has Beans was ace and really pretty inside, they had a gorgeous map on the wall that I wanted to run off with! 

You don't get better comfort food than scrambled egg and beans on toast! 

French martinis always remind me of the lovely Lil, my Aussie blogger pals and a certain Aussome night on the London Eye ahem. These were delicious, I could definitely get used to drinking them! I now also have a special fondness for Holyrood 9a, as the lovely Daisy recognised me and came and said hello which totally made my evening! ❤

This weekend I went away to Norbury Manor with some of my blogger friends and spent a lovely couple of days eating far too much cake, playing board games and going on long walks around stately homes, what more could you ask for?! There is always a risk when going on holiday with 12 people in one place together but Alex organised a really wonderful holiday with some of the loveliest people I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with. Many thanks to Alex, Chloe (especially for her amazing food organisation skillz!) Sarah, Alice, Sophie, Sarah, Char, Bex, Lucy, Rosie and my roomie Gemma for a really fab time! I only wish I could go away with these girls every weekend! 

♥  The manor itself! Our little old holiday cottage (!) was absolutely divine and I would love to have spent much longer there, it was lovely just to disappear off the grid for a while, even if the lack of phone signal took some getting used to! (Image is taken from the National Trust website.)

♥ We were greeted by a gorgeous bunch of flowers when we arrived which smelt heavenly. 

♥ I can't even begin to describe just how much cake I ate over the weekend, you know it's bad when you wake up on your first day back at work craving a slice of Victoria sponge for breakfast...

♥ The door out to the garden/grounds...

♥ The medieval knot garden outside the back door...

♥ The rather imposing gates...

♥ The window seats (!) in mine and Gem's room

♥ A real wood fire kept us nice and snug

♥  Rosie's dog Bodhi was absolutely lovely and I think everyone lost their heart to this little cutie!

♥  I love a bit of Articulate!

♥ ROLL TOP BATH KLAXON. I was absolutely in love with this bathroom and one day I will have my own manor house to live in...

♥ The walls were decorated with old paintings and gilt framed mirrors...

♥ My bed was ridiculously comfy and I really loved our room. It was done up in a gorgeous teal blue shade with no chintz in sight...

♥ CHANDELIER KLAXON. One day I will have one of these too...

♥ Each of the windows had little stained glass panels on showing various scenes which I imagine the original owners would have actually been doing. I like this guy's hairdo!

♥ The beautiful wood panelling and one of the many cupboards in the building...

♥ Me and Alex hanging out of the bedroom window, I would like to point out that she was fully clothed in this picture! ;)

♥ Our first meal in the house- Alex was kind enough to get us all a present- pictures to come soon!

♥ Love these girls, go #TeamNorbury!

Have you ever been on a blogger's holiday? Where do you think we should go next?

What are your wardrobe classics?

On Sunday I spent the day with some lovely ladies at The Birdcage in Bristol for the South West Bloggers Christmas party organised by Hayley, Lyzi, Bee and Gina. I had never been to The Birdcage before and I will definitely be going back, I can see why Hayley thought it would be perfect for a blog meet up! I love meeting up with other bloggers, and I will definitely be going to more events next year. I didn't take many photos but keep an eye on the Twitter hashtag for everyone's posts...

The lovely Christmas tree with presents underneath it- I can't wait to see what I got!