Our Tuscan Holiday | Photo Diary

Hello everyone, just a quick photo diary post of what we got up to in Tuscany today as I have had a couple of requests to share what we got up to. All in all it was quite a chilled out holiday and we didn't get up to much exploring you know, Tuscany and chill as it were. We stayed in a 'grande' villa just a 20 minute drive from Montepulciano, we had a few thunder storms, some glorious weather and a lovely pool to relax in and as I said we didn't really take that many pictures, because how many interiors shots do you guys really want to see? So here are some of the snaps we did manage to capture while we were off on our adventures. 

Hope you enjoy!

BBC Good Food Show Glasgow | Granite City Girl Reader Discount

Hello everyone, as you can undoubtedly tell it is not Wednesday or Friday (at least I hope not!) but today I am coming at you with a special little post that includes a reader discount for tickets to the BBC Good Food Show which is coming to Glasgow's SECC in November (6th - 8th)

Now you guys know how much I love food, well you know maybe you don't but guys, I love food! So when the BBC Good Food Show got in touch to collab and give me an offer to share with you lovely lot how could I resist?

The BBC Good Food Show Scotland is a showcase of culinary talents from across the UK and spotlights exceptional chefs, bakers and candlestick makers (no not really, sorry!) There are a whole host of events taking part throughout the weekend from interviews, demonstrations, book signings and if you've got time a spot of shopping! This year sees the likes of our baking faves Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry in attendance as well as Scots favourite Tom Kitchin. For the full line up of celebrity chefs, events and general happenings of the weekend be sure to head on over to the BBC Good Food Show Scotland website

Granite City Girl Reader Discount

So on to the juicy, steaky goodness part of this post, all you lovely lot have to do to is use the code MVS2 to get 20% off tickets booked from their online web store. The promo code expires on the 1st of October so if you'd like to get your hands on these foodie goodies be there or be square (oh yeah, that's right!)

I hope to make it down myself for the weekend with a couple of my friends so I'd love to know if you are heading down too, who knows we could meet, drink and get fat together! Do let me know if you have decided that yes I am a human person, I like food and I'm doin' this thing in the comments below, share your foodie inspos with me on Twitter or if you'd just like to keep an eye on this space for more discounts (wink wink) you can follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, feeding my inner foodie.

H.Elizabeth x

Granite City Girl Under the Tuscan Sun

Yes you guessed it, we're blasting off again (today we're throwing in some Pokemon references because the internet simply does not have enough geekery) this time we're off to bathe under the Tuscan sun to celebrate a milestone birthday for my father in law and my husbands uncle, so really all of these trips and holidays are justified right?  Although I'm not making any promises to stop jetting off on little adventures every now and then, even if they are only to Dundee.

I shall return with stories and pictures a plenty I'm sure in the next few weeks, though I'm not going to make any promises as to when that might be, so as annoying and vague as this is going to sound, 'I'll see you when I see you!'

Until next time folks, I'll try and bring home the sun!

H.Elizabeth x

Our Paris Adventures | Bateaux Parisiens Dinner Cruise

Today ladies and gents (upon my return) I would like to share a little snapshot of our recent (and first ever) trip to Paris for our honeymoon in May as this is something I would like to rave about due to our inexplicably positive and amazing experience with this company and the fabulous value for money we received during our journey and that is with Bateaux Parisiens river cruises.

Back when we were booking our trip to Paris I distinctly remember being incredibly indecisive when it came to activities for the week ahead, but having said that I knew exactly what I didn't want. I didn't want a guided tour exploring the histories of the city (sorry sometimes I am an uncultured sod) as I felt that would waste a great deal of our already short time in the city, I didn't want to have to keep up with a group of snap happy tourists and I definitely didn't want to have mandatory viewings, I was in Paris to relax and enjoy time with my new (ish) husband none of which involved my fellow tourist, so when I came across glowing reviews for a dinner cruise company named Bateaux Parisiens I was instantly sold.

The cruise promised viewing of almost all of the main attractions of Paris (including the Eiffel Tower - where the boat departs - Notre Dame and the Love Lock Bridge) complete with a 3 course French dining experience (including wine) as well as professional photography on board during your trip. There are a number of different times and options for your cruise, for example a lunch cruise, which is shorter and slightly less expensive, a late evening cruise (which is more expensive) but we decided as we were doing this as our last hoorah in Paris we would go for the 6pm dinner cruise which lasted approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. The entire experience only cost us 164E which also guaranteed a window table, needless to say I had anticipated this to be one of the highlights of our trip and we were not disappointed.

Upon boarding we were given our menu and shown to our lovely window table (which was utterly beamed by sunlight but who are we to complain!?) kitted out with an ice bucket, wine and champagne and a cute little faux candle then we were introduced to our waiter for the duration of our trip who took our entire order so all we had to do was relax, enjoy the views and each others company as we sailed serenely along the Seine. The menu had a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts, none of which served as a disappointment, everything was cooked to perfection, after all miss this is France and the dinner here is never second best (wee Disney reference for you fans out there) but don't worry I shan't bore you with all of our dishes and the intricacies of French cruise cuisine all I will say is it was the finest meal we had away.

Another on board service that I very much appreciated was their on board Bateaux photographer who took 5 - 10 pictures of you and your party to develop them at the end and give you the opportunity to buy them, now which other tour operator offers this type of service? We ended up coming away with a couple of pictures which serve to us as a perfect reminder of our time in Paris as well as the amazing views we experienced with the cruise and I can't wait to give them the frame they deserve (the folder they're in at the moment is the folder they need right now but not the one they deserve - scathy Batman reference)

When we do eventually visit Paris again I consider this to be a must on our list, for me it's the best way to see the best of Paris and by far the most romantic (although that may have been the vino talking!) so I do hope if you're going along to Paris for the week or maybe even just the weekend you'll consider Bateaux Parisiens, of course if you want to ask me any questions you might have about the cruise I'm always free on Twitter or if you'd like to see more upcoming Parisian adventures we had you can follow me on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, I'll be dreaming of Paris.

H.Elizabeth

Granite City Summer | Happy Snaps

TOP L - R: Our honeymoon in Paris and our jaunt to Disneyland
MID 1 L - R: After completing the Colour Me Rad 5K in Aberdeen and straightening up our flat
MID 2 L - R: Taking on a BooTea tox and a trip to the theatre
BOTTOM L - R: My brand new spectacles (in love!) and off seeing Elton outdoors at the AECC!

As we're (I'm) still easing back into this whole blogging malarkey after my blogging hiatus I thought that rather than explaining myself in full and generally boring you to tears with every little thing that has happened and gone on in my life I thought I would just share a few of my recent snaps from May - June that show some Granite City Girl highlights shall we say. I am of course planning on doing a little bit more about Paris, what we saw, what we did and how we got on in the city of lurve but I wanted to save those juicy bits for another time!

Just in case you were wondering these snaps are all from my Instagram feed, you can find me @granite_city_girl but as you know you can also find me on Twitter and Bloglovin if you want to see more of my face.

Until next time folks you know where to find me.

H.Elizabeth

Girls Day Out | Dundee Adventures

Hello everyone, it has been a while since I have done a post like this and this is mainly due to the fact that in my spare time I actually sit in a darkened room mulling over my friendless state... just kidding but today I am back with a special (to me anyway) edition of a day in the life with Granite City Girl centring around another girls day out. For me, and I'm guessing many others in my position, finishing university not only meant the ability to get out into the big wide world and pursue my chosen career path with confidence but it also meant that all of my university friends dispersed and returned to their respective home towns leaving me in the Granite City almost all by my lonesome so whenever I get the opportunity to go and visit them I jump at the chance. So after receiving an email from Dundee's Overgate shopping centre to attend a shopping, fashion, bloggery event last weekend I leapt and off I plodded to visit my good friend Lisa.

One thing I'll say about Lisa is she is never under prepared when I come visit, she has an agenda of events and a list of activities we could do for the weekend (which puts me to shame when she comes visiting me!) and because we had such fun that weekend I thought I would take you through a couple of the things we did that day and some of the places we went as a sort of day in the life of post, Dundee edition!

 

Tweet Chic at the Overgate

Promising days filled with fashion, shopping, discounts and fun, Tweet Chic did not disappoint. There were fashion shows featuring high street names such as New Look and River Island, impromptu dancing (which put me and my sweet sweet moves to shame once again) hair and make up demonstrations and a magic mirror which allowed you to virtually try on clothes (which unfortunately we didn't have the time to use) We literally spent hours in the centre just shopping and having a girly day and I came away with so many bargains that you'll soon be treated to another clothing haul. I'm looking forward to seeing what else the Overgate centre has up it's sleeve in the coming months because if this event is anything to go on then we are in for some retail treats!

Avery and Co
And now we come to the food portion of our girly day and trust me Avery and Co did not disappoint. I believe they are quite new to Dundee and as we don't have one in Aberdeen I was excited to go along and give them a go. Avery and Co have pitched themselves to online audiences as an independent eatery who provide a welcoming space designed to encourage people to eat, relax and linger, and my goodness did they deliver! First of all the food, oh  the food (can you tell I'm hungry as I type this?) As a starter we had the sweet potato quesidillas, and I do love a good sweet potato and for our main we enjoyed the tarka dal (which is a blend of lentils, onions, garlic and Indian spices served with cauliflower pakora and flat-bread) We must have spent a good few hours in there and it's not often I enjoy lingering in a restaurant post face stuffing but the tables are so openly spaced out, the staff were so friendly and the atmosphere was so relaxed that we didn't feel rushed out the door, the whole experience was just so pleasant, when I visit again I will definitely be pushing to go back there.

We did do a few other things that day such as visit the DCA for a drink (what a gem of a place by the way!) but I'm aware of my rambling on and on so I'll leave it there as two of the days highlights. I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into my life today these posts are quite few and far between but I really do enjoy writing them so stay tuned for more day in the life posts in the coming months, especially as I have some quite exciting events to attend shortly! But as always guys I love hearing from you so be sure to tweet at me or share your comments below, or if you'd just like to see more from Granite City Girl you can follow me on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, I'm going on an adventure!

H.Elizabeth x

Girls Day Out | Cari & Co Victorian Tea Room

Throwing a curveball into the mix today and stepping away from all of the healthy themed posts we have all been loving lately I wanted to share another one of my most recent Granite City outings with you, in the form of another girly day out. Now I must apologise because when I say recent, I'm talking the start of December! Sorry guys the time just seemed to escape from me, especially with Christmas and New Year, but onwards we march into 2015 and with a new Granite City high tea review!

Now I love a good bargain (and cuppa) as much as the next girl / human being out there, in fact saying goodbye to my student discount earlier this year was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do (I still wince paying for full priced items in Topshop) so when I heard this cutesy little tearoom in Aberdeen's West End (posh district) had placed an offer on the 'itison'' website (much like Groupon) I was ON IT and I've got to tell you I think we're on to a winner here! 

Cari & Co Victorian Tearoom

For the cheap and cheerful price of £16 my friend and I were treated to a three course afternoon tea in a very Victorian, vintage setting in Aberdeen's lovely West End, and yes I would even go as far as to say it has been added to my list of hidden Aberdeen gems. The tearoom has to be one of my favourite finds of the year, I always find myself pining over all of the beautiful afternoon tea venues I see fellow bloggers and tweeters posting on the regular and have even started collating a diary list of 'tea venues to visit' in the various UK cities, does anybody else do this? But I must admit, I felt a little victory at finding my very own one in my home city, and I'm so pleased that today I get to share my experience with you.

Our high tea at Cari and Co was served in true vintage fashion with beautiful cake stands, cutesy cutlery and rare antiquities galore we were treated to a sparkling raspberry rose fizzy beverage by what can only be described as one of the loveliest and most attentive women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, I think she is the owner as she took great pride in the store, a trait which I always find so lovely and inspiring in a business owner! Everything had a unique feel, from the individual sets of tables and chairs right down to the cups and saucers, detective inspector Monk has nothing on this immaculate tearoom, it can only be truly described by one word and that is stylish.

Treated to a starter of ham with onion chutney sandwiches as well as chicken and cranberry (chutney and cranberry are two of my favourite condiments!) which unfortunately we didn't get a picture of since we demolished them so quickly, we were swiftly on to our next course of scones with cream and jam which were divine! Just as a side note, the Great British debacle of cream or jam first, can anybody settle this for me? I believe I alternate every time I am treated to a scone just to see if there really is a difference to no avail.You'd think that after being treated to all of this we'd be well and truly stuffed, and you're right but our treats did not end there, oh no sir! We were then presented with a bowl of sweety yummy in the form of a lavish cupcake and cream filled meringue, both of which were like nothing I have ever tasted in my life! Then of course in true vintage style we commemorated the end of our fine dining experience (and our ability to stuff our faces spectacularly) with a cup of peppermint tea.

Verdict

It must be love, love, love, honestly if I had a car of my own (or a licence for that matter) I would probably be right there stuffing my face every weekend. This is one I'll be keeping up my sleeve for special occassions and birthdays and you know any which way and excuse I can use to stuff my face with cake, scones and delicious teas. For those of you out there who are perhaps not local to Aberdeen this is a gem I highly recommend you come and try, although it may be a little bit out of your way but if like me you're a bona fide tea taster you'll not regret the journey!

As usual I love hearing from you lovely lot so be sure to leave me a comment below, I'm always out and about and I would love to hear if you have any similar spectacular tea rooms in your respective cities, you can come share these with me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City antics and adventures be sure to come find me on Bloglovin

Until next time folks, I'll be pining over tea and scones!

H.Elizabeth xx

New Year Reflections | 2014

It has certainly been a blast this past year, and at the moment I have been seeing a great deal of posts surrounding the new coming year and how much everyone would like to change themselves, their circumstance and generally their happiness and I think that's great, self improvement is where all great things begin in my opinion. But today I personally would like to do something a little bit different and reflect on 2014 in all its glory, because to sum up my past year in a word would be wonderful.

I didn't set any resolutions for 2014 except to just get by, through and enjoy all of the upcoming milestones (I didn't half make life difficult!) and likewise I won't be setting any resolutions for 2015.

First and foremost I graduated from my 4 year degree in Communications and Public Relations with a 2:1 and happily did not fall flat on my face collecting my scroll as I had feared (years of watching Lizzie McGuire face-plant had given me THE FEAR, in addition to those darn You Tube videos we all love to laugh at!)

This unfortunately was followed by a couple of difficult months finding a job, which looking back now I wouldn't trade for the world! (silly me to have left my stable job of 5 and a half years due to a workplace bully and of course to focus on my dissertation) after a couple of stints in various jobs and experiences, which I value as part of myself and my past now, I have found a job which  I have been in for about 5 months now, I really enjoy and allows me to gain valuable experience in magazine writing, editing and general marketing and communication goodness!

Swfitly this was followed by our beautiful wedding which I wish I could relive over and over again as it really was our perfect little day just for us and a few friends and family of course. Admittedly the bridezilla in me did come out and I am ashamed to admit the stress got to me a litte bit you know planning a wedding, completing a degree and looking for a job do tend to get a bit stressful in themselves. But of course as you know it all came together for our intimate ceremony in the Cornish countryside in what we consider to have been our dream wedding.

And of course ladies and gentleman, I started documenting my thoughts, feelings, reviews, life ramblings and memories with all of you in my little piece of the internet that is Granite City Girl and I have loved every minute I have spent as part of this blogging and reader community, relationship thing we have going on and may it long continue!

So 2015, dare I say you have a great deal to compete with but I look forward to your efforts!

I hope your 2014 has been as lovely and eventful as mine and I look forward to venturing forth into this brand new year with you ladies and gents! Be sure to share your best memory from 2014 in the comments below and if you would like to follow me into 2015 come find me on Bloglovin

Until 2015 folks!

H.Elizabeth x

Where is all of the 'Christmas Spirit?' | Christmas Shopping

It must be said, at this time of year I tend to have a love / hate relationship with shopping , well I say it's shopping but if I'm being totally honest it's Christmas shoppers. I apologise in advance for the unseasonably downer of a Christmas post but I'm afraid the world must be called out on their behaviour and so called 'Christmas cheer'  

I entered with high hopes, my mum had treated me to a slap up breakfast in town and the sight of the biggest and brightest decorations the shopping centres had to offer left me feeling incredibly full of festive cheer and I was incredibly ready and rearing to greet the days worth of shopping. And that's when it happened...

The not so subtle shoving, barging, pushing, lack of shopper etiquette as well as the complete and total abandonment of the much coveted Christmas spirit of the year and so the days events unfolded! If I could pinpoint one moment in the day I began to notice a difference I suppose I would say it all started with a tea set, beautiful, vintage and right up one of my friends/family members street the perfect gift....and did I mention it was also the very last one in store! Having picked it up, examined it for scratches, scathes and general scrappiness I decided, yes, this was the one, but all the while I felt a breath on my neck and a handbag nearly up my backside of another suitor for this tea set and upon discovering, much to her dismay, that I had claimed it as my own audibly sighed, mumbled profanities and shot a look in my direction which can only be described as 'bah humbug'....and that was only the beginning.

Throughout my Christmas journey I encountered similar acts of festive cheer and bah-humbugery of the highest order, such as the lady who decided to stop dead in the middle of the busiest street in town only to tut and titter when everyone maneuvered quickly around her or goodness forbid accidentally bump her handbag or perhaps the tale of the family who decided to use their push chair (child still inside) as a battering ram in order to fully dominate the tiny aisle space in BHS would be a more Christmassy tale. And lets not get started on Poundland (which may as well have a sign above the door which reads, 'Ye who enter here, abandon all hope) where I ditched all of my shopping in favour of sanity at having seen the queuing system, or lack thereof, a pet peeve of mine and the rest of the nation. Or perhaps the most interesting of all the elderly lady in Thorntons  who fully bashed, and made me fall onto the counter, in a bid to show her disdain for her lack of purchase, but not to worry she was quickly shut down by the cashier who came to my rescue as the bumper decided it was in fact my ass that was too big, as opposed to her manners being too few.

Much resembling THAT scene from much beloved comedy Christmas movie, 'Jingle All the Way' (the bit with the ball chasing) my hometown became a bloodbath of red tinsel, festive footwear and frivolous spending (that is the only way I can describe a woman piling handfuls upon handfuls of Christmas gift bags into her paws!)

So today ladies and gentleman I ask, why at the 'most wonderful time of the year', the time we ought to be the kindest, warmest and cheeriest we can be (it is indeed an unrealistic expectation I know) do we behave like animals, abandon all sense of moral right and wrong and simply stress one another out!? I myself have noticed that since the Black Friday madness those of us not living under a rock were forced to endure, shopping and the entire experience has refused to go back to normality and the sales aren't even on any more!

In fact in order to de-stress, cool off, let off some steam and generally calm down my mum and I found ourselves trailing a MILLION bags into the cinema with us to see Paddington, and I tell you it worked wonders, watching a fuzzy wee bear navigate London made Aberdeen and the shoppers look a little bit better.

Everything about the entire Christmas shopping experience this year has forced me to reevaluate the way in which I shop, the next time I shall not be going out armed with a fluffy parka and eyes full of hope, instead my weapon of choice will be steel capped boots and a hard visor! 

As I said I do apologise for the cynical Christmas post but I just wondered if everyone elses Christmas shopping experiences have been similar to mine this year? Or is it perhaps just me? (I really hope not) I would love to hear your Christmas shopping experiences from this year or perhaps you have a funny Black Friday story to share! Either way leave them in the comments below, come share them with me on Twitter or if you'd like to hear more of my Granite City rants be sure to follow me on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, I'll be here catching up with a little zen!

H.Elizabeth x

Christmas Time | Granite City Gifting and Special Reader Offer

Aberdeen's Castle Gate at Christmas (Image courtesy of Google - Since we have no snow yet!)

With Christmas just around the corner we've been in and dated with Christmas gift guides for him, her and them as well as the traditional Christmas Tag we've all come to know and love. But I thought I would do something a little different and since I am the Granite City Girl I thought I'd do something a little special for us Aberdonians and do an Aberdeen Christmas Gift Guide.

Also just as a wee side note be sure to stick with us until the end as a brand new local Aberdeen company contacted me recently to offer you lovely Granite City Girl readers a cheeky discount on their products!

Nova Gifts

24 Chapel Street, Aberdeen

Anytime I seem to find myself at a loose end (and at the far end of union street) I always take a gander into Nova because they always seem to have such a variety of cute nick nacks and whoosits and whatsits galore (breaking into song over here!) There is a bit of something for everyone, mugs, beautiful frames and niche beauty products. My top picks from their store would be their Mr Men and Little Miss mugs, their amazing rage of scented candles like Jelly Belly and finally anything from their range of natural toiletry products! Unfortunately you can't order from their store online so this truly is an Aberdeen exclusive (sorry guys!)

Nova on Rose Street

Old Aberdeen Gift Shop

605 King Street, Aberdeen

Shooting across to the other side of the Granite City pond is another cute and quirky gift shop offering all sorts for all kinds! They have lots of geekery products that might be a great trinket or stocking filler for your other half like money banks shaped like an Iron Man helmet or a transformers head water bottle. But my personal pick has got to be their Cupcake Mug with Frosting Lid, to be used for only the finest beverages of course!

Cupcakes by Jo

7a Crown Street, Aberdeen

Now I know what you're thinking, how are they going to even last until I get home?! Let alone putting in a Christmas order and expecting me to give them away. And really I did put them in here as an intention to first of all bring attention to a brilliant up and coming local business and secondly to say go and treat yourself! I recently had a Scottish Tablet Cupcake and a Millionaire Shortbread Cupcake, and their selection doesn't stop there, from good old vanilla to cookie monster coconut these beautifully decorated delights are simply delish! And if cupcakes aren't up your street then order yourself a personalised cake! Go and check out their website to see their culinary creations!

Cupcakes by Jo on Crown Street

Juniper Aberdeen

35 Belmont Street, Aberdeen

Juniper are a small, independent family run business in the centre of Aberdeen who specialise in unique gifts ideas and home trinkets. I must have bought my mum so many birthday and Christmas gifts from here in the past and I have a few pieces of jewellery from there myself. The way I describe Juniper is very Highland, they have a great deal of Celtic designed jewellery and the whole atmosphere of the store is very cosy. My top pick from there would be their cutesy Owl Cushions or their Bunny Ring Holders.

Aberdeen Whisky Shop

474 Union Street, Aberdeen

Something for the men in your lives now! Another wee independent shop again at the other end of town, boasting over 1000 different kinds of Whisky (who knew there were so many?!) there will be something for every Whisky lover. Whisky chocolates, books, hip flasks and those cute little miniatures that are right up my street as a non whisky drinker!

Some of the other independent stores around Aberdeen that are worth taking a gander into are Peapod for vintage lovers, Oil and Glass for artsy folk, Finnies the jewellers who do some beautiful jewellery pieces, MacBeans for coffee connoisseurs, Wowzie for sweetie lovers, and finally a new find for me Eighty7 Design and Living who from their Facebook seem to have some amazing and unique gift ideas!

The Natural Juicing Company Reader Offer!
The Natural Juicing Company are brand new to the Granite City scene and basically do what they say on the tin. Their cold pressed juices are said to retain up to 95% of all of the ingredients nutrients. If you'd like to read a bit more on their company, it's a great story which was recently featured on STV, click on over here!

Definitely one to watch in the New Year and with that in mind we arrive at our special Granite City Christmas offer! Send this as a gift or of course treat yourself to a refreshing detox towards the end of the year with £100 off the Natural Juicing Company's 'five day plan with nutrition guru' for your readers (Voucher code 5DAYGURU)

So there you have it ladies and gents, my top picks for Granite City gifting this festive season! I hope you guys have found it interested and I apologise if you aren't natives but hey at least you know where to come for some cool souvenirs if you ever venture this far North or maybe even gift someone something from one of the website stores!

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this Granite City Christmas post, thank you for making it this far! Share some independent stores and stocking fillers in your area with me in the comments below come tell me about them on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City Girl adventures come find me on Bloglovin

Until next time!

H.Elizabeth x

All Brand New | Eyebrows on Point

Hello everyone, as you may have noticed recently through my intsagram or twitter posts I have had my eyebrows done (waxed and tinted) for the first time in my life and so I thought I would share my experience of this with you and tell you how I style them on a daily basis (such an odd concept!)

On a weekend away in Dundee my friends and I decided to book in a few beauty treatments to pamper ourselves and generally have a relaxing weekend so we went to a central salon I believe it was called 'Glow' and booked in our chosen treatments, mine of course being a wax and tint. I was honestly a bit apprehensive about waxing my eyebrows as I don't have the best track record of liking make up and treatments others have done to my face in the past. But the therapist put me at ease and explained it really is the best and most effective way to get a good shape so on I went!

Since having my hair done I have had to put a bit more brow gel and powder on because my hair is so much darker so I thought I would plan a head, saving money in the long run and just have them tinted. I was a little taken a back when the therapist asked what colour I'd like of course I'd like it to match the hair on my head wasn't that logical? But then I remembered all of the ladies who appear to be sporting sharpie brows and felt slightly silly!

The colour was done within minutes, it smelt lovely not like some of the toxicy smelling dyes you sometimes get in salons and beauty establishments and thank goodness it didn't burn. I was really pleased with the colour and I honestly could have easily stopped there but I put on a brave face and had my face waxed!

The pain wasn't bad at all it was over within minutes (my brows were quite full so for others time and pain may vary) It was of course very red when it was finished but that is to be expected! So it was time for the big reveal! 

Left - Before. Right - After

Tah - Dah and I love them (when I put on the filler myself!)  I have even invested in a more expensive brow kit to maintain their shape and to save me going from fierce to fluffy! It's incredible the way that you never notice how bad something has gotten until you have it fixed, I vow to Cara Delevingne and her perfectly formed brows that I shall never let mine become so unruly and misshapen for as long as I blog!

Have you guys ever undergone professional threading, waxing, tinting and plucking or even dared to brave 'HD' brows? Drop me a comment below, come chat with me on the Twittersphere or as usual if you'd like to see my latests come find me on Bloglovin

Until next time folks.

H.Elizabeth x

GCityGirl Catch Up

Hello lovelies, and thank you for being oh so patient with me while I have been off gallivanting and having all sorts of milestones, events and well just adventures really (also my laptop broke) Apologies, but rests assured I am well and truly back and you have my (almost) undivided attention!

So today's post is going to be a shameless justification of why I have abandoned my blogging duties and neglected to share with you my lovely life updates. 

Here goes nothing:

1) All of my hard work finally paid off and I graduated in Communication and PR with a 2:1 Honours Degree. Woop!

2) My lovely friends treated me to a very suave and sophisticated hen weekend in Edinburgh

3) Shortly after my nearest and dearest took a 13 hour train journey to celebrate my marrying the love of my life in the most perfect Cornish wedding there ever was, has or will be! 

4) I swapped careers a couple of times, but have finally settled into a job I am super happy in and actually get to use my degree

 (More exclusive than the Jolie - Pitt wedding)

All in all ladies and gents a whirlwind few months for me, I hope all of you guys are keeping well and if you've celebrated any big days, milestones or had a fantastic moment in life recently I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a comment below, be sure to catch me on the Twittersphere or if you want to see more keep up with me on Bloglovin

But for now I leave you with a wee collage of the past few months (above), hope you enjoy.

H x

Ten things I learned about myself while travelling alone

Hello everyone, today I thought I would share one of the many adventures I have in life, my latest one being my megabus journey and beyond from Aberdeen to London for a mini weekend away all by my lonesome to visit London's Super Comic Convention 2014.

Now let me first of all start by saying I had the most amazing time, I met some amazing characters (literal characters if any of you are familiar with the cons) I had some downtime alone and lastly I discovered some pretty odd things about myself, some great, some not so. So without further a do here are the ten things I learned about myself while making my journey.

#1 Packing light is not my forte. In fact only last week I hunted far and wide for a tiny, smurf sized 'travel case' with no luck and decided a little extra room would do me good, HOWEVER upon packing my major - I'm packing for two weeks - case I managed to completely fill it...my arms did not thank me for having to drag that everywhere.

#2 Carrying a coffee, a case and a handbag ought to be an olympic sport - enough said.

#3 I cannot sleep on buses - much to my disdain.

#4 Junk food is my travel companion. Yes having done so well to stay fit and healthy this year for it all to go out the window for London, over the weekend I consumed 4 Aberdeen rolls, 9 mini cupcakes, 1 bag of popcorn, 6 mini pancakes, 2 cereal bars (the only healthy item!) 2 Mcdonalds meals, 1 ice cream sundae, half a pizza, a sausage roll, a DOUBLE sausage and egg mcmuffin and perhaps worst of all 9 bottles of Dr Pepper. Needless to say I am still suffering.

#5 My sense of direction leaves much to be admired. Yes in fact there were multiple occasions where the only reason I was able to tell which direction I ought to go in was to spin in a circle and stare at the tiny arrow on my mobile GPS.

#6 I am clumsy, first of all I THOUGHT I lost my ID and almost was not allowed admittance to my hotel room, I accidentally slept in my hotel room (with sketchy neighbors might I add) with my door unlocked the entire night, and finally 20 minutes prior to catching my bus home I went to the wrong bus station, panic ensues.

#7 As much as I feel like a neutral sort of person, there is no escaping, I am a true Scottish lady. Upon one very rude vendor refusing my cash due to it being 'too difficult' to change I was overcome with a ginger tinted rage and uttered the phrase which typifies us Scots when visiting England, 'it's legal tender!!!' Grr.

#8 Comic con is my calling, I've never felt more at home than around people who dress up as heroes, villains and all manner of creatures.

#9 I am a moody madam when I travel alone, on several occasions I put my bag on the bus seat (which I hate others doing) and pretended to be asleep, or attempted a menacing look in order to sit alone and retain my comfy space!

#10 I love throwing myself outside of my comfort zone, and I endeavour to do it more and more!

Have any of you guys ever survived a mega bus journey alone? Share your experiences and travel giggles in the comments below, send me a Tweet or if you'd like to keep up with my latest and greatest antics you can follow me on Bloglovin

And because I'm not a fan of text heavy posts here is a pic of Darth Vadar and Darth Sidious from the convention! (Post pending!)

H.Elizabeth