I hope our American readers had a lovely Thanksgiving and that everyone else had a beautiful weekend! Matteo and I staved off homesickness by doing nothing turkey-day-ish. We had friends over for Tex-Mex (not something you can easily get over here) and then headed to the German Christmas market in the middle of town. It would have all made a brilliant post if I had thought about bringing my camera along — drrr!
Instead, I offer you the much less photogenic Saturday adventure we had — a foray into the wilds of the Edinburgh suburbs!
Matt and I are hoping to cut our weekly food budget down a bit by shopping at Asda. For those of you who don’t know, Asda is owned by Walmart (I know, shudder, shudder). We rarely went to Walmart in the states, but are happy to take a bus to Asda (and the burbs) here if it means saving a few quid. Cost of living is higher here than in Atlanta, and in order to afford going to fancy places in Edinburgh (pastry shops! castles!) we have to lower the bar by genuflecting to Walmart/Asda’s lower price point.
Growing up in American suburbia and watching Masterpiece Theater (my intro to all things British), I thought the UK was made up entirely of beautiful farm land and quaint little villages. And that does very much exist, but so does mega box stores with large car parks (i.e. parking lots). Shocking! Don’t all Europeans use public transport or bikes, and buy their daily groceries at little local shops?!
I know that the death of mom and pop shops and other independent groceries is a sad loss. But I think most people can’t afford shopping entirely at little local places, especially in-town where prices are higher. How about a balance? Support independent shops while simultaneously shopping where it’s cheaper so that you can afford those independent places as often as possible. I still feel a little guilty and bashful for “going suburban” while living here, but my wallet seems somewhat relieved.
One difference between Edinburgh’s suburb and much of the American suburbs is the public transport. It seems most people do drive to this Asda just outside of Edinburgh’s city center, but the bus is there for those who don’t have a car. It runs every 15 minutes and costs about $2 one way. Without the bus we would have to walk about an hour one way, and then back again laden with groceries. (The photo below is taken from the top deck of the bus sitting in the front row of seats — my favorite spot):
Even our little five block wall home (uphill! in gale-force wind!) with our groceries bags and backpacks nearly outdid me (the photo on the left is a much more accurate depiction of how I look after walking around the city):
Outfit details: J.Crew puffer coat • Eugenia Kim hat (stayed on my head even when the wind rammed me into a stone wall) • Land’s End sweater • Scarf from Vivid Boutique in Decatur • Skinnies from Next • Hunter wedge, lace-up wellies (I got them via Shopbop earlier this year, but you can still find them online and on sale at Neiman Marcus!)
I live and die by these Hunter wellies. I’ve always loved the look of the classic Hunter wellie, but never was convinced they would look good on me (tall rubber boots on a shorter frame), when I saw these shorter ones with a wedge, I went all google-eyed. They keep my toesies warm and dry and are quite easy to walk in.
Speaking of battling the wintry elements here in Scotland, I just purchased this awesome scarf from fellow blogger Laura (Blog of Worldly Delights) from her new Etsy shop. All of her items are so cute and so reasonably priced — do check out her etsy store. I can’t wait to wear Sly Pete around Edinburgh and make the Fantastic Mr. Fox whistling noise.
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Dearest Kitcath,
It was so nice to “see” you on Thanksgiving, but made me miss you guys terribly! I’m so glad you will be here in just a few weeks -eeeee!!!
I think winter has finally come to Edinburgh, so I think your giant puffer coat from Eddie Bauer is going to be perfect. Don’t worry about not being “fashionable,” I’ll be right along there with you! I’m trying to not go out shopping so that we can spend a bit at Merci in Paris. I need to reread the Haute World’s post on Merci (found it here ;)).
Hope we can skype chat tonight! Good luck on your paper!
LOVE,
Larbar
When I was there in 2005, my gbf and I went to the only mexican restaurant in the city. It was probably pretty crap and overpriced, but it tasted so freaking good. I had to compromise my principles too, when I was living in Seoul. I hate the Samsung conglomerate and it’s monopoly on anything in Korea, but it was either that or stop eating vegetables. Efffffffff.
Hahahaha, you move to Europe and end up shopping at Walmart! Asda is definitely not on my list of must-sees in Edinburgh.
I love that you guys did tacos on T-day, but I missed you so much. The holidays aren’t the same without you. At least we’ll be together at Christmas and can buy each other prezies at Merci!
love, cath
that scarf is ADORABLE.dare i say, foxy! 🙂
Lar! I totally thought that Scotland was all fields and castles. how idealistic of me. hahaha. Glad to hear you had some Tex Mex! I don’t usually like traditional Thanksgiving fare (because I didn’t grow up eating it) and I would gladly trade it for some properly cooked Tex Mex! (which my husband does super well!)
Thank you for mentioning my shop! I am so excited for you to get it! And you bet that whenever I sew anything fox-y, I do that whistling sound or throw a bunch of torn-up food at my face.
♥ laura
the blog of worldly delights
Your hat is very cute. i know what you mean about this image we north americans have about european life. It’s all quaint villages and bicycles and cute little old shoppes. Well i guess not!!
I went to an ASDA when I was doing a study abroad “homestay” for a weekend in Norwich, England. We walked there because we couldn’t figure out the bus schedule or something.it took an hour. It was kind of nice to go to something that was so “american”.helped with the homesickness those first few weeks. 🙂
That scarf is perfect!! Also I also love that idea the entire UK being all quaint and cute but you’re right it’s not true of the majority of places (but always nice to find somewhere that matches expectations on occasion! A friend of mine who lives in Taiwan came to the UK and thought everyone would be blonde and he had quite a shock when he was introduced to different dialects!
Hi! Great blog! I was curious, I noticed that you have a J. Crew puffer and was looking into getting a similar one, how is the quality of it? Is it warm? And I was wondering if it is water resistant? Thanks!