Taste Buchanan - A Foodies Dream

Taste Buchanan is the brand new place where all your food dreams can come true...

At the very top of Buchanan Galleries you'll now find the first indoor street food hub in Glasgow - and it's a little gem. The exciting and colourful, brand spankin' new food hub has a line-up of Scotland's best food producers, offering up a whole host of mouth-watering options. Over the next 18 months over 50 independent producers will have there chance to wow you, with new producers being swapped in every 6-12 weeks. It's such an amazing concept, as there'll always be something new to try giving food traders a brilliant platform to show-off.

As we climbed up the escalators making our to the Launch Party we kept getting whiffs of the amazing authentic street-style food that was enticing us....

It just all sounded amazing!


Taste Buchanan has been a joint venture with StreetDots and founder Atholl Milton said: "The timing is right for bringing this to Glasgow. (I couldn't agree more!) There's such an appetite in the city for interesting food, with great ingredients at a decent price. We've got some of Scotland's most exciting traders coming together to offer up something a bit different and there's always going to be something new for people to try." 

There was just too many amazing smells dancing about and we just kept spying different plates of delicious looking food. So of course we had to try it all, I mean that's only polite.

Chompsky was our first stop where we tried out the amazing boa buns, full of asian fusion flavours in their signature style.

Nomad Pizza was serving up authentic Italian pizzas straight out of their big, burning pizza oven.

There was also The Buffalo Farm with delectable burgers.

Designer Cakes by Paige with the cutest cupcakes.

Equi's with was serving up the finest, most indulgent ice-cream. We had to get one for the road and the salted caramel was calling my name!

Surf Dogs added some fabulous hotdogs to the mix.

And Union Waffles served up the best sweet treats, but also the most delicious savoury waffles, that were amazing to try as something different.

Last but not least was Slainthe Mhath the Scottish beer and cocktail bar that spent the evening serving up amazing cocktails - and at the launch party, my favourite Edinburgh Gin!

The whole area now is just amazing. It's the perfect place for a lil shopping break to re-fuel, to stop-off lunch when you need a break from the office - basically anytime you've got a wee tummy rumble. It's ideal if you just need a quick, easy, delicious pit stop or you can lounge about for longer in the colourful new setting. There's definitely a bit of a buzz about and it's such a great place to sit and relax for a while.

I just couldn't believe the transformation of the food court in Buchanan Galleries. In all honesty I never ventured up to the top of the galleries before, there just wasn't anything there really. Now it's been transformed into a buzzy and vibrant foodie spot that's filled with all this amazing food - I mean it's a dream!

Honestly, you just have to pop up and decide which one's your favourite for now - this also means you have to try every thing that's on offer.....

What's Been Happening...?

Loads of food and flowers - some of my favourite things!

How cute are my friends! One of my oldest and bestest friends lives in Madrid, but she was back home for a month and of course she had to pop through to Glasgow to catch-up with me over one or two glasses (or more) of fizz! She arrived arms laden with beautiful gladioli that are just the perfect flowers for a little spot in my living room - thanks lovely!

Summer is getting closer to the end far to quickly - waaaah! But this means you can soon spend cosy nights in planning your next summer holiday - yaaa! And, have you ever thought about a cruise? I did a little investigating with Bolsover Cruise Club and did you know it actually sounds like quite a fabulous adventure! Just think of all the fabulous places you can stop off at whilst sailing the seas...

One of the best bits of my Swiss holidays is always the food! One day we enjoyed beautiful apricot tarts in the sweetest restaurant in Wengen. We sat on the flower-filled terrace sipping wine and eating gorgeous apricot treats, take me back please?

And from the countryside in Switzerland to the Scottish countryside! We escaped the city up to Killin for the weekend to celebrate at a wedding party. It was such a wonderful night, but I can't lie our heads were a little fuzzy the next day, so a good ol' country walk was needed the next morning. We strolled round the loch, avoiding bumping into the sheep, and felt much better after a breath of fresh country air!

I can't resist snapping pretty things - especially when that's a pretty flower!

Oh my goodness there's the best new food place in Glasgow! We were lucky enough to head along to the launch party of Taste Buchanan at the top of the Buchanan Galleries. We literally ate all the food. I mean everything. These tasty treats were from Chompsky and were just a warm up! I'll be sharing a little post with you soon enough about the amazing new foodie destination that you just can't miss out on!

Don't we all just need to be fabulous every now and again, I'm I right?! I had the most fabulous, girlie day not too long ago in Edinburgh. We dined in the sky on amazing food and sipped glass after glass of fizz. It was such an indulgent afternoon and so lovely, if I could be this fabulous every weekend I definitely would.

And from being fabulous in the big city to enjoying the simpler delights of the countryside. I headed out of the city for a weekend in the country visiting my friend. We had such a Granny weekend, visiting antique centres and then stopping off for a coffee and cake after, just bliss.

But, what happened to the weather that weekend?! It was so wet and miserable. We even had to light the fire, in August, I mean come on! But actually there's something so lovely about sitting in a cosy living room with old friends, wine in hand, fire on, rain pattering down outside and a home cooked meal simmering on the stove. You just can't beat home comforts.

Lets Just Be Fabulous For The Day

Sometimes you just need a day of being absolutely fabulous!

Straight out of the Ab Fab film on the Friday night, I headed through to Edinburgh the next day to play at being the most fabulous for the day!

And where do most fabulous people start their Saturday adventures, the bar at the top of Harvey Nichols of course!

I had headed through to spend the day with my sister and we decided we were just going to have a 'treat yo'self' day. We started off going to see a beautiful exhibition all about Impressionism and it was  just beautiful to wander around and take it all in.

Then we headed to the iconic Harvey Nichols to play at being ladies who lunch for the afternoon!

We climbed up to the top floor were foodie heaven awaits you. As it was a Saturday afternoon we struggled to get a table straight away, but that didn't matter as we decided to relax in the bar. We popped a bottle of fizz and sank back into the relaxing atmosphere, catching-up and watching the various Hen-Do's and birthday parties that ordered rainbows of different cocktails.

But what to wear for a weekend of bubble and fabulousness...?

I'd spied this Zara jacket back in the shops when it first came out, months and months and months ago, and I had been dreaming of it ever since. When my birthday rolled around and I was taken on a birthday shopping trip I just have to have it! Although it's the jacket that everyone and there mother has got I still love it - and sometimes it's actually quite fun to wander down the street, or scroll through instagram, and see how other have styled it!

Pop on a pair of jeans and crisp white top and that's all you need! This top has fast become one of my favourites! I just adore the cut, it's relaxed, but also perfectly tailored and looks like a dream. A hat, obvs, because dahling, why not. I also love this Michael Kors bag that I was treated to on holiday. The colour is me all over and I'm also such a fan of the simple, but also statement style of it - love it.

Soon though, our table at the Fourth Floor Brasserie was ready and we sashayed up, more fizz following.

The Fourth Floor Brasserie is just the loveliest place to sit and while away the afternoon over good food. It's a stunning light, bright and airy space with the most beautiful views over the gorgeous city. You can't beat the amazing vista. And one of the best bits is just the amazing buzz about the place, everyone is just happy to be there and having a wee treat of a Saturday afternoon.

Surprisingly the food wasn't too expensive at all either! You could go for two courses for £18 or 3 for £22. We had 3, of course.


To start I went for the Ratatouille tart, hallomi and pesto - delicious.

The food was all wonderfully presented, just a feast for the eyes! It was beautifully simple, but also showing the skill and flair of the chefs, with delicious ingredients coming together perfectly. It was all amazingly tasty and stunning simplicity ruled the menu.

For main it was the Sea bass, chick peas, chorizo, mixed peppers, basil and sherry vinegar - a dream!

The food was absolutely fabulous and just what we needed for lunchtime. The whole meal was just so relaxing, it was just bliss and the perfect atmosphere. You also feel quite glamourous and almost as though you're at an exclusive venue, dining in the sky along with the elite and a glass of fizz. It's all about understated elegance and just the loveliest.

Pudding definitely led to a whole lot of oooohs and ahhhhs - Fourth Floor chocolate cookie and milk ice cream - I know right!

It's just such a cute playful dessert that was so exciting when it arrived! It was a lovely contrast to the simpler style of dishes we'd had early, just such a fun way to finish an amazing lunch! The giant oreo style cookie and kids-look milkshake was chocolate heaven and a sweet-tooths dream! It was the adult version of a kids fun pudding, but the adult version that was rich and flavoursome.

We had such a lovely girls day totally treating ourselves - as one should every now and again! I'd definitely head back up to the clouds and dine in style again!

Jacket - Zara 
Top - Mango 
Joni Jeans - Topshop 
Shoes - Primark 
Hat - Forever 21 
Bag - Michael Kors 

Holiday Inspiration: Bolsover Cruise Club

If, like me, you're always on the look out for the next adventure.... have you ever contemplated a cruse?!

I know right! I've never overly thought about it either, but one of my friends went on once and raved about it so much I began to think that maybe sailing around on a city in the sea isn't such a bad idea. What appeals to me most is all the fabulous places that you can stop off at. Many of them are places that you can only dream about visiting - and imagine doing them all on the same holiday! Some of the stop-offs are places that you could never visit on holiday for a week, but on your floating cruise so many holiday destination dreams can come true.

But where to start with booking a cruise?

Well, this is where the amazing Bolsover Cruise Club (BCC) comes in.

Originating in the 1960s BCC helped travellers find holidays of all types before the found their niche and starting focusing on cruises - and they did pretty well with the shift in their focus. BCC soon became the leading name the cruise industry and have planned the perfect cruise holidays for thousand and thousands of people. They know everything there is to know about cruises because of their years and years of experience and what makes them stand-out is that they're cruise only specialists. Basically you can trust them to help you build the perfect cruise!

Finding the right kind of cruise might seem overwhelming at first and as a cruise newbie I was a little baffled by first glance at the website. Buuuuuuut the more you explore it and think about what you want the easier it gets. You can filter by cruise, line, ship or destination, picking out exactly what you want and helping you to find the right cruise.

For me it's really all about the destination. BCC can help you to find cruises sailing to Hawaii, cursing through the Indian Ocean, exploring Northern Europe and even making your way to Canada. I thought the West Mediterranean cruises sounded like fabulous adventures filled with wine and gorgeous food, visiting places such as Rome, Florence, Monte Carlo, Monaco and Barcelona. Or I also kinda fancied digging my toes into the sand, cocktail in hand on the Caribbean cruise stopping off at Antigua, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands - bliss.

But, you do spend a lot of time on board too! So it's a good job that BCC also tells you all about the Cruise Lines available. And it's all about luxury travel - sounds right up my street! It's your own mini world that's there just to spoil you. I'm imagining lavish dining rooms there to entice me and filling the days relaxing as we cruise over the enchanting water getting ready to tour the next stop.

A cruise is definitely something to give a go if you're looking for something different to try! BCC really are experts and can help you to create the perfect holiday first time, plus after reading a couple of customer reviews their customer service sounds fabulous, which is definitely what a cruise beginner like me would need!

So when do we set sail?

*** This was a collaborative post, but all cruise-dreaming is my own 

What's Been Happening....?

New hair and holidays are top of the agenda!

So I did it - I chopped my hair! I've kept it pretty long for as many years as I can remember, but after deliberating for months and months I decided it was time for a change. And guess what, I love it! I went along to Lunatic Fringe in the Westend and was chatted through the best way to go about it, which definitely made me feel so much better. I'm a short hair convert!

Ooooh I was dreaming of blue skies and holidays the week before I jetted off for my final summer holiday. I couldn't resist posting a little throwback of one of my favourite holidays ever to Croatia. I mean look at the blue sky and flowers - it doesn't get much better. I snapped this particular picture exploring the streets of Split, take me back please?

And as I'm whittering on about how much I love summer have you checked out my top summer tunes with HMV? It was so much fun to pull together a combination of songs that just make me feel all summery and fabulous. They're songs to listen to on the beach, sipping chilled wine in warm evening air or even on a rare sunny day in Scotland!

A very ladylike look was called for for a day out in Edinburgh. We headed through for the day to take me wee sister and her BF out for his birthday lunch and it also just so happened that the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues festival was on! Pearls, pink lips and my favourite trench coat were the perfect accompaniment for a day of jazzy tunes, giggle and plenty of prosecco!

New phone, new case! I treated myself to this sparkly number from the Case-Mate sale when I got a new phone recently. I love the fact it's transparent to show the gorgeous pink of the rose gold case, but also that it's completed with flecks of glittering rose gold - I mean you're phone might as well look pretty whilst it's being looked after.

And more coo-ing over my short hair. I just love it every single day! It's so refreshing to go for a change every once in a while.

Then finally it was time to head off to Switzerland yaaa! The best bit about a little airport trip is always the shopping, and the breakfast, maybe the breakfast comes top... But anyway before tucking into a huge helping of pancakes I treated myself to a new MAC lipstick. I always do this every trip to the airport and it's the best way to start a holiday. This time I went for 'Shanghai Spice'. It's a really lovely, kind more nude colour that's a gem for every day wear. When's my next airport trip?

Soon I was home with my parents - yaaa! We raced up to the mountains and celebrated with a glass of fizz, as has become customary! I'm not going to waffle on about what we got up to too much here as I definitely want to save it for a big post dedicated to our adventures, so eyes peeled!

Just incase you've still got summer holidays to jet off on and enjoy let me introduce you to the white dress of dreams that you most definitely need for your sunshine filled trip! I love this white shirt dress so much, it's a star! Perfect for summer holidays, but also fabulous for the streets of Glasgow it's definitely a keeper.