Insta-Happenings

Bake-Off and lots of lovely blog posts are what the best weeks are made of.

The first new post to be popped up was all about the Lancome #SAYITWITHYOUREYES event in House of Fraser. A few of us lucky bloggers were lucky enough to be invited along to the launch of the new collection and see it in action! The lovely gentlemen from Lancome demonstrated how to create an easy and quick smokey eye look with the range. And the piece de resistance was the new Hypnose mascara - it's a beaut!

It was the moment we were all waiting for - the return of The Great British Bake Off! Yaa! I've watched GBBO year after year, I love it - from Mary's amazing jackets to cakes falling out the oven and fantastic biscuit creations, it's a gem of a TV show. Get the scones ready and the tea poured and settle in for an hour of pure deliciousness.

When I was putting together the next post I got to reminiscing about how much of a wonderful time I had in Switzerland, so decided to share a sneak peek with you! We relaxed on top of the mountain with some chilled wine and gazed out over some absolutely amazing scenery.

And then the post went up! It's filled with pictures of amazing scenery - as well as some action and adventure! We zipped down the mountain on a wire, before heading back up to the top of the mountain to gorge on a whole lot of cheese to fill us up for the walk back down. A walk through the Swiss Alps is one of the most beautiful things and we edged down a rocky path, stumbled upon waterfalls and strolled through the forest.

Oh my goodness - how wonderful is this jumpsuit from Coco and Cleo! I won it on a Facebook competition, see these things really do happen! I can't wait to wear it to jet off to Croatia next week - it'll be perfect for travelling and cool enough for when we arrive. The pattern is so pretty and I love the wide swinging legs for a different look. It's pretty fantastic. And packages are made even better when they've got some Haribo's hidden inside!

Edinburgh Festival has kicked off and I can't wait to go along! #TBT of this week was me remembering how much of an amazing day I had last year and hopefully giving an first-timers out there a taste of what it's like, you can check out 'Festival Days' to see the full post. We sat in this courtyard for ages, sipping on wine with a wee purple cow looking down on us.

One Sunday in August I went along to the loveliest of events. It was an afternoon reserved for us blogging types - #ScotBlogMeet and we sipped on fizz, listened to some amazing talks and raised some money for a fabulous charity. I popped up a post all about it just so that I could share with you all how wonderful it really was!

My sister has been spending her summer working at Holyrood Palace, and I couldn't wait to pop along to see the grandeur for myself. I headed down the bustling Mile to the palace and then immersed myself in some beautiful art. I went to see 'Scottish Artists 1750-1900: From Caledonia to the Continent'. It's a lovely, glittering and gold collection and my favourite pieces were The Letter-Writer of Seville by John Phillip and Highland Cattle in the Pass of Leny, by Gourlat Steell - not forgetting that amazing clock that you can spy.

Afterwards we headed out for some dinner and wine - this is how all weekends should end!

#ScotBlogMeet

Do you know how a blogger should spend every Sunday? I do.

At an amazing weekend, all in aid of a fantastic charity, complete with inspirational talks and some amazing goodies - that's how.

On the first Sunday of August I popped along to Scot Blog Meet. It was an amazing event that brought together a whole load of us blogger-lot to chit chat and raise some money for a very special charity SAMH. The fabulous Charlotte from Colours and Carousels organised the afternoon and I can't believe how much of a wonderful job she did, it was truly fantastic what she achieved and I can't start without saying a humungous THANK YOU to the lovely lady.

We all gathered at Darcy's in Princes Square and started the afternoon off with a glass of fizz.

Once we'd all settled in the first speaker of the event caught our attention in the most amazing sparkly dress. Lynsay, from Miss West End Girl talked to us about why she loved blogging and all the amazing, almost life-changing things that you can get out of it. She explained how bloggers should be seen as a community supporting each other - and this was proven on the day! I found myself smiling and nodding along with the lovely lady in the sparkling outfit.

In between the speeches we could explore the corners of the room that all had some pretty special things on offer. I made a beeline to the raffle table to have a snoop of what was on offer. There were some amazing prizes on offer - how adorable is the pink elephant! The talented Hayley from Water Painted Dreams came up with this creation, but darn, as usual, my numbers didn't match!

We were all like magpies when it came to Bare Baroque's corner. There were audible 'ooohhs' and 'ahhhs' at the simply stunning creations that were being revealed. Bare Baroque are temporary jewellery tattoos that can last up to five days. They're a new way to decorate your body with some pretty, sparkling jewellery and are simply water-transfer tattoos in a metallic jewellery design.

I have being spying them quite a lot on my instagram feed and couldn't wait to try them out for myself! I went for a pretty design on my hand. These particular one had been particularly popular at festivals the lovely ladies from Bare Baroque explained, but on your forehead! That would've been stunning, but I decided I best stick to my hand as I'm not sure if that would provoke some funny looks in the office on Monday...

I can't wait to layer cuffs up my arms for holidays!

The next speaker was Anne from SAMH. She talked about the charity and what they do, as well as how we can help to get the word out. SAMH are a fantastic charity that provide help, support and information, whilst campaigning on behalf of people with mental health problems. They hold all different kinds of fundraising events to raise money to fund their work, and as they say, "we believe there is no health without mental health."

In the next break, plate upon plate upon plate of amazing looking food arrived. We all dug into the selection of cold meats, grilled vegetables and an whole array of delicious nibbles. The food was gorgeous and I'd definitely love to head back to Darcy's to try out their whole menu.

The wee room we were in in Darcy's was lovely. There was lanterns standing in corners, big heavy wooden tables and walls plastered in post-cards. It would be a great private room for a party - or any kind of event really!

We managed to nap some treats from the YELP table, in the 'Build Your Own Goodie Bag' before we settled in for the final speech.

Lisa-Marie from Last Year's Girl was the last speaker of the afternoon and she gave a really lovely insight into her blogging life. She gave a run-down of her blogging life and all the places it's taken her. It was great to hear her story, her high-points (and maybe a few mishaps!) and it was so intriguing to hear how blogging itself has evolved and amazing to hear how a blog can grow. Thank you for the snapshot of your blogging life!

(sorry for the bad quality photo - but I couldn't not share this lovely lady with you!)

We picked up a goodie bag, full of some fabulous prizes that had been donated and skipped off into the evening. It was a truly lovely afternoon and I think it's safe to say that we all came away with a warm, fuzzy feeling, so happy that we could all be part of this unique and simply amazing community.

Plus the cherry on the cake was that the we raised a fantastic £320 for SAMH, all thanks to the wonderful Charlotte and her efforts - you're a star!

Zipping Down the Mountain

Back to Switzerland! We headed up to the mountains for the weekend and zipped our way through a simply spectacular setting.

Waking up in the mountains is one of the best things - especially when you know you're soon heading out to exploring the towering peaks and awe-inspiring views. We sipped tea on the balcony gazing at the scenery, loading up on muffins and toast before we headed to the nearby village of Grindelwald.

Here we got the gondola all the way to the top station. We climbed higher and higher, through the amazing mountains. Resorts are like whole other worlds in each season. I'm more used to seeing the ground below me covered in blankets of white snow and people whizzing down hooting and hollering. But this time the gondola lifted us up over green pastures, over walkers and people strolling through the countryside. It was weird to try and pick out where the ski-runs would be!

Eventually we reached First, the very top. Now it was time to test our nerve on the First Flyer.

We were strapped into the harness, one where you kind of sit down and prepared to take off. You whizz down 800 metres from First to Schreckfeld and you can reach speeds of up to 84km/h.

Can you spot me?!

You zoom over jangling cow bells, with the amazing views opening out in front of you. It's pretty fast, but not speedy enough that you don't have time to take in the scenery around you and this unique perspective makes it even more special.

Soon you ping into the end station!

After all that excitement it was definitely time for a glass of chilled wine - I find it's the best way to calm nerves...

Back up at the top is the First Mountain Lodge and we parked up here for a cold one.

We sat on the sprawling veranda of the restaurant high up in the mountains. The view was amazing and spread out, panorama style, around the tables. We managed to find one complete with furry rugs and cushions - perfect.

I then closed my eyes and pointed at the Swiss German menu - it's awful, but I really have no idea what they're saying! I had it in my head I fancied a croque-monsieur, or something like that, and ended up with a plate of cheese. A big plate of cheese. I managed to find a hunk or bread hidden in there and tucked in. It was deliciously warm and comforting and the cheese dripped temptingly down the bread. Switzerland is no place for a diet.

Re-fuelled it was time to make our way down the mountains - by foot this time.

So off we set down the rocky mountain path, with the glacier glistening in the background - impressive and imposing.

The only problem with walking down rocky, sometimes slippy, a little steep slopes is that you're too busy concentrating on where your feet are going that you forget to drink in the views. But, when you do stop to check out your surroundings it's truly worth it.

As we climbed further and further down it became warmer and warmer and the hot summer sun reminded us that it was still shining.

We stumbled across pretty waterfalls and in-the-middle-of-nowhere farms, accompanied by jingling cowbells as the herd came home.

Wildflowers began to appear and para-gliders floated overhead.

Soon we skipped off the path and headed into the woods.

It was like entering a secret fairy glen. The sun filtered through the leaves, lighting the path that was overgrown with wildflowers and complete with tree-roots as steps. There was little pockets of space to rest weary legs and it was a magical last half-hour to finish the walk.

The Grindelwald and First area is pretty spectacular, complete with awe-inspiring views and beautiful mountain walks, if you can get their in the Summer you should!

p.s it's pretty amazing in the Winter too - I'm not fussy!