Mademoiselle Macaron, Edinburgh:

Where did macarons come from?  There we were just a few years ago, quite content with our Penguin biscuits and fairy cakes (remember when they weren't 'cupcakes'?), and suddenly this new 'must have' delicacy was blowing up blogs and Instagram feeds.  Macarons really are the most photogenic of sweet treats, aren't they?  Is it a biscuit?  Is it a cake?  Is it a meringue?  Whatever it is, the macaron is essentially the Chanel handbag of the bakery world: French, timeless and in high demand.

Source: here

Undoubtedly the first person to seriously bring macarons to my attention would have been my oldest friend, Emily.  As well as being a hugely talented artist, she is also an amazing self taught chef and baker who has actually mastered the making of delicious macarons - something that not all that many professionals can say!  In fact, those beauties in the photo above are Emily's handiwork.

On a trip to Paris a few years ago she took me to the famous luxury bakery, Ladurée, and that was where I officially jumped on the bandwagon and purchased some eyewateringly expensive macarons of my very own.  I have since discovered that the much cheaper McCafé macarons sold at McDonald's over there aren't bad either...

But there isn't a McCafé in Edinburgh, and there isn't a Ladurée either, so where does one go for a macaron fix in Scotland's capital?  As of this month, Mademoiselle Macaron on Grindlay Street is your answer.

After first learning about Mademoiselle Macaron through a uni pal (Melissa) Craig and I trotted along to the newly opened premises earlier this week to check it out.  The shop is adorable, both outside and in.  There are little Parisian touches everywhere, and being served by the lovely Caroline (of La Robe á Caro) with a genuine French accent made the experience feel all the more authentic.  Caroline's beautiful dresses are on display in the shop too, giving visitors endless pretty things to gawk at.

 You can choose to either sit in and savour your macarons with a drink, or take them to go (there are even special take away coffee cups that can house a couple of macarons on top - so cute!).  We snagged eight delicious macarons to take away - and promptly scarfed them about ten minutes later - but choosing flavours was tricky.  There are a lot to choose from!  I will definitely be back in the future for some coffee and to spend more time in Edinburgh's little slice of Paris.

Top blogs:

I've decided to dedicate this post to all of the great bloggers who inspired me to start my own blog.  Thanks so much guys, and please keep up the great work!

sewnbranches.blogspot.co.uk

Sewn Branches

I think Rhiannon's was the first blog I ever kept up with, and I still look forward to reading her posts every time she updates.  She is one seriously talented photographer, and I usually just want to crawl inside all of her photos and live there, especially the ones taken around her home.  Although I didn't realise it at first, it was definitely Rhiannon's frame collage above her bed (shown below) that inspired my own!  I would call Sewn Branches a beautifully illustrated lifestyle blog, with plenty of inspirational posts and a few great music recommendations.  Rhiannon also has a website dedicated to her photography: www.rhiannonnewman.com, so check it out if you get the chance!

rhiannonnewman.com

Gem Fatale's Style Blog

Gem is pretty much a celebrity (she's been on telly and everything) but her blog posts are so down to earth and chatty that I feel like I'm having a conversation with a friend when I read them.  She recently started working as a Web Assistant at Company Magazine, and writes quite a bit (as well as posting photos) about what she gets up to at work, which I find really interesting and exciting to read.  I also really enjoyed reading about her time spent at London Fashion Week this year and watching the daily vlogs she posted from there on YouTube.  Gem's blog is great for fashion and beauty how tos, as well as inspirational outfit posts (with a lot of charity shop items included, not just brand new, expensive clothes).

Scathingly Brilliant
Kate at Scathingly Brilliant has one of the most unique styles I've ever seen.  I think I have only seen one photo of her where she wasn't wearing a lovely dress, and her perfectly coiffed pink beehive is a wonder to behold.  She's also a fantastic illustrator and has some extremely cute cats.

scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.co.uk

Cupcake Couture
Rani of Cupcake Couture is a fellow Scottish blogger who also lives in Edinburgh.  Her content is usually a mixture of beauty and fashion, with the odd foodie post thrown in here and there for good measure (she loves eating out, and her baking looks tasty!).  I really like that the majority of her pub and restaurant recommendations are relevant to me!  Recently, Rani was on a dream road trip holiday in California, and her posts and photos from there are amazing, definitely worth checking out!

One Girl and a Blog
Rach is another local fashion and beauty blogger who has just moved from Glasgow to Edinburgh.  (Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I saw these girls out and about in town.  Probably get very shy and not say anything, because I'm silly...)  I really enjoy her outfit and Instagram posts, as I'm completely nosey when it comes to other peoples' lives!

emilyinns-fineart.blogspot.co.uk

A Taste of Paint
I briefly mentioned my best friend Emily's art blog in my last post, but she definitely deserves some elaboration and a lot more attention.  Above is probably her most famous and loved painting, which she featured in her final year Degree Show at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art earlier this year.  I know we've been friends since we were two years old, and some people might say I'm biased, but I think Emily's work speaks for itself: she is such an incredible artist.  Even though uni is over, she is still painting in her own studio space, and I'm very proud of her for keeping it up!  Check out A Taste of Paint for more examples of her work, and for some great foodie posts too (her cooking is just as good as her painting!).

emilyinns-fineart.blogspot.co.uk/

I do what I'm told...
Thinking about it, I have some really talented friends...  Tom is another of my great friends who I went to both high school and university with, and he also recently graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone with a degree in animation.  Below is a very early animation of Tom's that I have always loved and I think shows how talented he was, even at the very start of university!  (He did the music too!)

As well as being a mega talented animator, he is also a brilliant artist, and his sketches and caricatures are my favourite.  I'm always so honoured when he draws me, and he captures people so effortlessly that there is never any question as to who his subject is!  Below is a recent sketch that he drew of three friends, and I'm top right (huge, wonky smile, tiny eyes and big hair: that's definitely me!).  Since finishing uni, Tom often updates with daily drawing challenges, and I'm sure he will post links to any future animation projects that he gets involved in!

I do what I'm told...

A few more friends:
Cakecuccino
Laura's cakes always look inventive and delicious - a perfect combination if you ask me!  She often posts recipes and baking tips and tricks which may be of interest to any budding bakers out there!

Dinosaur Circus
Faye loves all things vintage, and puts real effort into blogging a variety of fashion, homeware and lifestyle posts.  Check out her recent post about her niece's amazing 2nd birthday party: so cute!

Viewed Through a Lens
Joanna regularly posts brilliant film reviews, written to a professional standard.  Her blog looks great, and she is a talented and driven writer who is definitely going places!  Just watch this space...

Beauty and Baggage
I used to chat with Seonaid in class during our very last semester of uni, and it was only after the semester ended that I discovered she was already a well established beauty blogger!  She's extremely dedicated to her blog, and always has lots of great content to read (if beauty products are your thing, of course!).  Seonaid was recently nominated for a Cosmopolitan Blog Award in the category of Best New Beauty Blog, which I think is such an amazing achievement!  You can register and vote for her here: http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blog-awards-2012-vote, and please do if you read and enjoy Beauty and Baggage!


A special mention also goes out to: Violet Lulu, Tales for Karina Marie, A Rosie Outlook and A Blessed Unrest whose blogs I also regularly read and enjoy.


Thank you and congratulations if you have made it to the end of this post, I know it's been a wordy one!  If you've made it through, you probably deserve a medal, or something.  Please feel free to recommend your favourite bloggers to me, I love having new blogs to read!

Fun with spray paint:

I went through to visit my parents last week and took advantage of their back garden to get some spray painting done while I was there.  The next few photos were taken by my glamorous assistant (big sister).

As you can see, I sprayed two frames and my jewellery storage hand gold to go with my bedroom colour scheme, and the other two frames glossy black to match a few I've already bought for the living room and hallway.  The whole process was fairly painless, although the gold paint seemed to dry much faster than the glossy black, for some reason.  I expected to make quite a bit of mess (hence the extremely attractive yellow apron) but came away with only two or three small blobs of black paint on my right arm that just looked like black freckles, and faded after a wee while.  As long as you lay down cardboard or newspaper, spray outside and use some common sense with how close you hold the can to what you're spraying (I learned this the hard way...) you'll probably be okay!

Above is the mirror that I mentioned in this post that has been hanging (mostly unused) in my bedroom at my parents' house for years, but was originally from my grandparents' dining room.  It's a nice sentimental heirloom that I'm glad I was allowed to have, and will keep for a very long time.

I realise that things look a bit disjointed and bare above our bed at the moment, but the plan is to slowly hang lots of frames and make a bit of a collage on the wall.  So far, above my side (left) I have a Some Like It Hot film cell, a Maccabees set list and a print that my best friend Emily made in high school (she has now just graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and her work is amazing, check it out here: http://emilyinns-fineart.blogspot.co.uk/).

Craig's side only has one frame so far (and we just hung it today...) but the print is of an oil painting by his great uncle, George Wilkinson, who was an extremely talented artist.  Ever since I've known Craig, he's always had that print, but never found a frame for it or really been able to display it properly.  I was very chuffed when I found a frame the right size and colour in a nearby charity shop for 50p this morning!

I also want to give a special mention to my lovely Mum who made these cute sheep cushion covers for me as a house warming present.  My Mum is great at sewing, while I am absolutely rubbish (yes, I still get her to sew buttons on for me...) and the covers were not at all creased when she gave them to me: I only have my big bum to thank for that!

Here they are in action on my old Bargain Corner IKEA armchair (also from my bedroom at my parents' house) where I've put them for safe keeping and to avoid further creasing!

I feel like the flat is starting to take shape now and has a bit more character with some of our stuff up on the walls.  Having said that, we haven't even unpacked completely yet, so there's still quite a way to go!