It's beginning to look a lot like (an early) Christmas!

This weekend I made my first visit of 2012 to the Danish Christmas shop near where I'm from. It's crammed with gorgeous decorations, candles and other Christmas decor that I really don't need but really want!

I also made a Christmas calendar to make sure I don't miss out on anything important, like going to see The Snowman at the Festival Theatre or watching It's A Wonderful Life at the GFT. I know, organised fun is the best fun :)

Despite the fact I have 6 more birthdays to celebrate, a new niece/nephew to welcome into the world and a first wedding anniversary all happening before Christmas, I still feel in a very festive mood. I think this is exactly why I loved getting married at this time of year, it feels like after Bonfire Night it's just downhill until Christmas!

MILLPORT

This weekend we went to the seaside! I love being by the sea. I grew up on the coast and it always feels like home when I go back, regardless of where we are.

Millport is a wee town on the island of Great Cumbrae, less than a 10 minute ferry ride from Largs on the Ayrshire coast. We had the perfect British seaside weekend. And it was sunny!

Hired bikes and cycled the 10 mile route around the island, played crazy golf, ate ice creams, went onto the beach and clambered about on the rocks, sat in a beer garden, walked up to the tiny cathedral, got a wee bit sunburnt. Perfect.

LONDON

I was in London this weekend combining a Saturday work event with some time catching up with friends. When I visit London I always try to visit Wahaca and Uniqlo. There are just no Scottish substitutes for these two!

I’m hoping that Uniqlo will open a branch a bit further north in the future, however my bank balance might not agree. After my work event I walked up to one of their Oxford Street branches for a browse. 3 visits to the changing rooms later I finally settled on a print vest, part of the Orla Keily for Uniqlo range. A bargain at £14.90! I love the print and it has a nice loose fit. The only downside is that it prompted me to visit Orla Kiely’s own website. Gorgeous but not quite so bargain priced! My favourites are the pleated skirts and this sleeveless blue dress. I would love these in my work wardrobe.

On Sunday I met some friends for lunch. If you haven’t been to Wahaca before, then you should definitely go next time you visit London. It’s a Mexican restaurant that’s very different to your average Mexican fare. You can go for a main course – the salads come served in a huge tortilla bowl – or choose a selection of small sharing plates. I usually go for the small plates option so I don’t have to make a decision on just one dish. Luckily whenever I’ve been there are other people willing to share! Everything tastes very fresh, full of flavour and authentic. They’ve also just brought out a cookbook which I’m very tempted to purchase so I can try to replicate Wahaca in my own kitchen.

Along with their 6 normal branches and a mobile kitchen, they’ve just opened a new pop-up branch on the Southbank made from recycled shipping containers. It looks amazing and will be used as a development kitchen for new recipes. I definitely want to visit this one next time I’m in London!

I also managed to fit in a spot of ArtBox spotting...

What kept you busy this weekend?