August Round Up

As I write this, it's the first day of September and already things are starting to look a lot more Autumnal around here! It's windy outside, the leaves are starting to fall from the trees and I'm beginning to crave big hearty bowls of soup! The Autumn/ Winter collections are hitting the shops and I'm already dreaming up outfits for the chilly months ahead (hint: it involves oodles of fluffy black wool, studs  and tartan).

But before we dive head first into Autumn, lets take a moment to remember the last month of Summer and what a blast it was! For me, August was a whirlwind of good times, including my birthday, trips to the theatre and the zoo, and loads of laughs spent with friends. I also found out I won a Scholarship place at The Blogcademy (you can see my scholarship application post here) - so much excitement!

Here are a few snapshots of my month of August...

1. Finally getting my paws on V Magazine with Prince on the cover  2. Gelato-a-go-go!
3. Birthday trip to Edinburgh Zoo  4. At the late night double feature picture show...
5. Kick-ass 30 Rock pencils from the lovely Sarah  6. Pastries to die for at Little Birds Market

7. A steak dinner at Angels  - totally unlike me but so tasty!  8. The Boy really spoiled me this year
9. All dolled up for afternoon tea at Blytheswood Square  10. Home made red velvet cupcakes
11. A yummy dinner at Munro's with some great pals  12. New Tatty Devine speech bubble necklace

13. Sunday night cinema date with this guy (swoon!)  14. Hitting the Hard Rock Couture exhibition
15. Late night soft taco action at Pinto ("Baby I Like It")  16. Bathroom selfie just 'cause
17. Penguins Rock at Edinburgh Zoo (aww)  18. Lunch at Martha's (the first of many I think!)


So that was my August, I hope you had an awesome one too! Most of these pictures have come from my Twitter and Instagram posts (@misswestendgirl) -  feel free to come say hi if you are on there!

How was your August? What did you get up to? Have you started stalking the Autumn looks yet?

Thanks for reading!

Edinburgh Antics

At the weekend I decided to celebrate my 28th year on the planet by having a jaunt through to Edinburgh and a fun-filled day at the zoo. I've had lots of lovely visits to Edinburgh Zoo before, but what made this trip extra exciting was that it was the first time I had went since the arrival of the two giant pandas, Yang Guang and Tian Tian (also known as Sunshine and Sweetie - adorable!). I love seeing all animals, but I'd never seen pandas before!

Armed with copious amounts of picnic food and a car journey soundtrack to make my heart (and tone deaf voice) sing, we set off for the zoo on a very rainy Saturday morning. It was soaking wet when we left Glasgow and I was starting to wonder if I had made the right decision. After all, no-one likes a soggy picnic and what if the animals were all hiding from the rain? Luckily, the rain totally cleared up and it was dry in Edinburgh by the time we arrived. Apart from a few light showers here and there, the sun was out and it was dry and bright for the most part. Score!
 

I decided to wear my Hello Kitty vans as I knew I had a long day of walking ahead. I also wore my favourite Prince t-shirt from Topshop,  tube skirt from Primark and Levi's denim trucker vest. I was glad that I had sunglasses and a small unbrella with me as it turned out I used both of them in the one day! I also wore a glittery star headband by Crown and Glory - because nothing says "I'm the birthday girl" like sparkly stars in your hair, right?


There was plenty to see at the zoo - and I got to see every animal except for the porcupine (I don't know where that guy was). I couldn't pick a favourite but some of my highlights were the koalas, the monkeys, the penguins (in their newly opened Penguins Rock island enclosure, which looks amazing and gives visitors the freedom to walk around and over the water while the penguins swim), the jaguar (pictured below) and of course, the pandas. I didn't get to see Tian Tian, who is thought to be pregnant at the moment, but I did get to see Yang Guang who was super cute and looked very hug-able! He spends 16 hours a day sleeping and the remainder of the time eating - what a life! Look out for a photo I took of Yang Guang in my next blog post!

I really enjoyed learning about the animals in the zoo, and it was great to hear about all of the conservation projects that the zoo is involved in as well. It's a great day out and although it costs £16 I really feel like it was worth the entry fee. I made sure I booked our slot to see the pandas in advance (slots are free but limited so it's best to book in advance) and we had just enough time in the rest of the day to walk around the whole zoo. As the zoo is situated on a steep slope, I think we were burning off the picnic in no time!

After our day with the animals, we knew it would be a crime not to swing by Krispy Kreme while in Edinburgh. I know, I know -  I think I'm probably the last blogger in Scotland to visit our (one and only) branch of the ever-popular donuts and coffee joint, but when it comes to sugary treats I just can't help myself. Luckily my faithful companions were of the same opinion and we bought some donuts and iced coffee and chilled out in a booth for a little while. We also bought a box of a dozen donuts of our choice (harder than it sounds considering I would happily eat ALL OF THEM) and took them home to enjoy later. The Millionaire's Shortcake flavour has to be my favourite of the moment, although I had a praline one that was also amazing. Obsessed!

I thoroughly enjoyed my day in Edinburgh and will definitely not leave it as long before the next time I go! Have you been to Edinburgh Zoo? What about Krispy Kreme? What is your favourite flavour of donut?

Thanks for reading!