1. Meadowbank Sports Centre. Getting back into playing badminton again 2. Tickets to Andrew McMahon. A bit of a hero. 3. Haggis appreciations day (ie. Burns night!) complete with hand knitted haggis for everyone at the table. 4. My tartan clad besties!

I’m sitting in Eteaket right now, sipping on an English breakfast tea and hiding from the torrential winds that are currently battering Edinburgh city centre. What the hell is it about tea that makes everything better?

I’ve been putting off posting because to be honest, I’ve not got much to tell about this month. January is nearly over and just like every other January I can remember, I’m glad to see the back of it. New year starts around March for me, when the weather gets better.  Saying that, all this staying in has let me catch up on a raft of documentaries. I’ve genuinely looked forward to plonking myself down infront of the TV each night. In the last 2 weeks I’ve watched  West Of Memphis, The Imposter (both of which I really cannot recommend enough), The Cove, Bully (one of the hardest films I’ve ever watched) and Jiro Dreams Of Sushi. I’m going to spend today writing some reviews about each one and get them online.

Blasting the new Biffy Album, Opposites, right now and chair dancing. It’s probably not something the other breakfast eater of this cafe want to see so I’m going to head off.

Since my birthday is on May the Forth (be with you, haha, good joke), I get asked every year if I’m a fan of Star Wars. Well, I have a confession. Until last Sunday I had never seen Star Wars. As a girl that preferred Sindy to Storm Troopers, I didn’t know my Droid from my Death Star. I shared this fact with My facebook friends and they were less than impressed.

So the last few weeks I’ve been on a bit of a catch up. I’ve watched Episodes 4,5 and 6 so far (decided to watch in chronological order after a lot of people debating about how I should start my epic adventure!) and my initial reaction was more of a screwed up face than a smile.

It’s not because I don’t get it, I do (I’m your father, the force, etc etc) and I’m definitely enjoying it so far. The problem is the timing of my first viewing more than anything. The fandom surrounding the series dwarves the films themselves. It’s hard to judge the series purely on its own merits. I mean, the story’s great and I’m in awe of George Lucas’ imagination and ability to create such endearing and loveable characters. It’s just really hard to not get caught up in the cloud of hysteria that engulfs the series, which, for me, put these films up on the highest pedestal before I’d even pressed play. For example, I’d watched the Family Guy star Wars before watching the originals and that was a big mistake. I viewed parts of it more as a comedy because of seeing that version first.

I have to admit though, if I was a kid watched and Darth Vader came on the screen, I’d proper brick it. that’s one scary dude right there.

I’ll report back again once I’ve completed the saga. This time I’ll be making more of an effort to leave all preconceptions at the door. Until then, consider me mildly entertained, incredibly undecided and a tad regretful that I didn’t watch when I was younger.

In completely unrelated news, 3 days to go until I complete the chocolate challenge! I’ve got a whole load to celebrate with!

It’s here, my wee video of the Paris/Barcelona trip from September.
I need to work on timing my music to when the scenes cut but I’m happy with it for a first try.

What am I doing?! about 3 weeks ago I bought those fabulous Adidas bow shoes and as much as I love them, I also spotted these beauties below and couldn’t resist. I mean glitter AND Vans.  My inner 14 year old took over as soon as their sparkly exterior caugt my eye. How could I NOT buy these?

I’ve already worn them with a dress on Saturday night and they looked amazing. To say I was over protective about anyone standing on them though is a complete understatement!

I love Vans, as makers of comfy shoes and as a brand. Pretty much everything they do interests me. I particularaly like their online TV channel (offthewall.tv). Check out the behind the scenes footage of the Vans X Hellz collaboration. I love pretty much all the pieces in this.

And now I need to get out of bed…

Last Wednesday I headed down to the Vi Nouveau pop up shop at Hemma Bar and bought things that I didn’t need.

Located down by The Scottish Parliament, Hemma cafe (formally known as The Tun) has a super colourful interior, relaxed atmospehere and was the perfect place for a an evening of vintage shopping. When I entered, I was greeted with cupcakes and a glass of bubbly which I nursed while raking through boxes of belts and rails of new Autumn/Winter stock.

As well as clothes shopping, a few other lovely local business’ showed off their talents. Boosh Hair, upcycled furniture from Cheryl from Secondhand Rose and Holly Lynch’s mini beauty bar.
I ended up buying a nice denim dress with custom black faux leather collar. I’ll post a photo when I wear it out. £16 though, bargain!

Oh! And in unrelated and very not-so-fashion-concious news, I also bought this. It’s amazing. I can’t say much more that that.

£15.99 – New Look

Visit Vi Nouveau at their website and on the ASOS Market Place.

Another pair of trainers! It turns out that I can’t help myself when it comes to trainers.

I originally seen these in Barcelona but couldn’t fit them in my case. Some sort of shoe god was on my side though because I found them in Edinburgh the week I got back. The bow sold them to me immediately and I purchased without hesitation.

Adidas hi sleek  iii bow trainer: £75.00 – Schuh

Tonight I’ve been editing my videos from Paris and Barcelona. It’s in no way a masterpiece but I think it sums up the trip pretty well. I just need to get some backing music and it’s good to go. Here’s a wee screenshot for now.

Also! I Joined the gym 2 weeks ago (after saying that I hate them and would never go back, I know, let’s not talk about it). It’s the next step in my quest to get more healthy now I’ve kicked the chocolate habbit…so far.

I’ll write more about all this fun stuff in a couple of days when I’m sniffing and coughing less.

A few weeks ago I attended Forest Pitch, an arts based project that was part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. I’ve been involved with coordinating their social media for several months so the big day was the culmination of several months work for me but several years for artist Craig Coulthard.

Forest Pitch is a celebration of art and sport that revives the original spirit of the modern Olympics. Two teams, made up of recent British citizens or those with Leave to Remain living in Scotland, played on a specially created full size football pitch hidden deep within a forest in the Scottish Borders to celebrate One of the official themes of the Cultural Olympiad, ‘welcome the world’.

I made my way to Waterloo Place and jumped on the chartered coach down to a field a few miles away from Selkirk. From there I trudged through thick mud and winding forests to be greeted by a brass band, big crowd and immaculate looking football pitch. With a tea in one hand and phone in the other, I started Tweeting and facebooking updates from the day while sitting poncho’d up on the grass. (I’d never worn a poncho before and I have to say, I can see why it’s the preferred attire of many an Edinburgh tourists – so practical!).

Hundreds of people turned up throughout the day to watch the 2 matches. The typically Scottish weather didn’t put anyone off and the day was a great success. I also learned about the offside rule (which came in handy for that Liverpool game!). Our food was provided by the delicious Kielder Organic Meats and music from the Edinburgh Brass Band.

Through the day (and the whole project) I learned a lot about social networking for live events. I’ve blogged about it over on my other site. Take a look and see if you have anything else to add.
Did I mention as soon as I got home I got into my monkey onesie and ordered an Indian? Probably not but it totally happened.