Escapades in Edinburgh {Two}

After a spot of culture at the castle (which you can check out HERE) it was definitely time for some cocktails - much to my delight!

And then it was time to pop back to the hotel to get ourselves all dolled up for the evening ahead.

The order of the day was monochrome with splashes of coral - my new favourite colour obsession I think!

I decided to go for an all-black outfit and pretend to be classy. It may look like a LBD, but I've actually disguised a top and skirt as one. I bought this skirt for work originally, it's an H&M basic that is a little longer than their usual stretch skirt so is great to throw on with a blouse for the office. However, I love pieces that serve more than one purpose and it's actually great for a wee treat night out also, with the longer length adding a sophisticated edge. Pop on a black cami-vest top and you've fashioned yourself a make-shift bodycon Little Black Dress.

It still needed something over the top for a Saturday night dinner date, so I packed this gorgeous little jacket in my suitcase. I got it a while ago and it's become a bit of a favourite. I love the speckled effect, outlined by the black trim and the biker cut adds a bit of an edge to it. But because of the soft fabric it also drapes in a lovely way.

All that I needed now was some pops of colour.

Isn't this clutch the best! I found it in Miss Selfridge and so far have only styled it casually (HERE) but it was the perfect 'Arm Candy' for a Saturday night as well. I'm more than a little bit in love with the colour as well, the soft coral blush is so pretty. Slip into some colour-matching court shoes and you're good to go.

First stop some fizz...

We then trotted off to Valvona and Crolla and I was pretty pleased to be back!

It's a place where I devoured many a bowl of pasta when I was younger with my Dad spending hours browsing the over-flowing shelves of the deli before picking out some sensational delights. We also visited the new restaurant that they opened and I remember Roman Holiday silently running in the background in black and white as we laughed over plate upon plate of gorgeous Italian food.

We went back to the restaurant on this trip and I was more than delighted to find that not much a really changed. It still had a hearty, family-run Italian feel - with the chefs and waiters calling out to each other in rushed and passionate Italian - adding to the bubbling atmosphere of the place.


The food is nothing fancy, but simple and absolutely delicious Italian food. It tastes stunning in its simplicity.

To start we had the 'Platter of cured meats, girdled Italan vegetables, mozzarella de bufala, marinated Italian tomatoes, garlic and extra virgin olive oil'. The lovely waitress was kind enough to tell us that we'd only need one plate between us - so of course we heard this as lets order something else as well! So the calamari was added to our order, and I'm glad it was as it was truly delicious.

I then opted for the Penne Alla Norma - pasta with tomato and aubergine sumo, finished with mozzarella di bufala. How can something so simple taste so amazing! It was a bit bowl of deliciousness straight from an authentic Italian kitchen - mama mia!

A little treat that Valvona does is to recommend a glass of wine to go with each dish on the menu and I was so enamoured with the little glass of sweet wine that arrived with my Panna Cotta Del Giorno that I completely forgot to take photos to share it with you! But trust me it was truly, truly scrumptious!

All that was left was to chitter-chatter the night away over mojitos and set the worlds to right - Edinburgh, thanks for having us!