Necklace Novica | top H&M | leggings M&S | boots Cos | bag Fjallraven

So you know how last week Cath was complaining about how hot it was in Atlanta? Well, I was super jelly. I mean, even though I vaguely remember those swelteringly humid days that made it hard for your lungs to work, I can’t help thinking summer heat is amazing! And I know I’m just saying that because I live some place that doesn’t really do summer.

I’m still wearing long sleeves and trousers and a coat most days. The only difference between my spring wardrobe and my full-on winter wardrobe is I allow for a generous amount of ankle sliver (see pic above) and I don’t wear a scarf or gloves with my coat.

If you are a sweater-weather fan, Scotland is the place for you. Our winters aren’t too cold (but boy are they long and dark) and you can wear layers year round. Yes, year round! Summer is jacket-weather except for those few blissful days (and I mean days, not weeks) where the heat breaks just over 70 degrees . and even then you’ll probably need a jacket at some point because it does still cool down at night.

I’m sure that all must sound heavenly to you guys fighting it out in the heat right now. And I do feel incredibly lucky to live in a beautiful city where even cockroaches don’t dare to tread. I know I will miss this stoney, shadowy silhouette of Edinburgh when I’m living in the freshly scrubbed Pacific Northwest. I will romanticise Scottish rain (because it’s totally different to Seattle rain) and I’ll miss the history and the stoic dreichness of this beautiful place. But, in the meantime, I miss the heat and the sun and the lack of a true summer.

Billy Connelly was so right when he said, “There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.”  And when he says “June” he means “kind of Spring, but not even.”

Good luck with whichever weather you are facing now: sweater or sweat-er. And tell me how you’re coping!

Dear Readers,

You know that hair the “it” girls have these days? It’s fairly straight with just a hint of wave and volume in just the right places? It’s the key to the insouciant off-duty model style and somehow seems bedheady without even a whiff of frizz.

That is the opposite of what my hair does.

Cath and I have had very thick, slightly wavy hair since we were about 13. Like most people, our hair texture changed when we hit puberty. As wee lassies we had very long, straight hair. I’ve always liked the bit of wave I got once I was older, but I usually would blow dry and straighten it to kill the frizz and not have to worry about the volume getting out of control.

About two to three years ago I noticed my hair was getting dryer and my trusty hair straightener wasn’t taming the fly-aways like it used to. I blamed it on the Scottish water and Scottish wind (when in doubt, blame the weather!) because I figured moving from Atlanta to a place with a considerably different climate would wreck any girls usual hair routine.

I persevered though — more heat! More oils! More hair masks! And still I had a halo of frizz that seemed to get more, not less, tenacious. I also started to notice my hair curling in loose tendrils instead of just “S” waves when I would give my hair a break from heat tools.

The past three weeks I’ve put my blowdryer and straightener away to see what my hair would do left to its own devices. And by “left to its own devices” I mean I googled “how to style curly hair” daily to figure out what to do with this frizzy lion’s mane. And, man, does it want to curl.

This hair story probably sounds really undramatic, but having your hair change is a bit mind-blowing. At times when I look down at my curls I feel like I’m wearing a wig — that’s not my hairs! I send Cath constant texts with pictures of the status of my hair: day two, less frizz, slept with it in a pineapple (I had never heard of pinappling hair before last week). It’s just a bizarre experience that I feel compelled to share with the one person who not only knows me so well, but also used to share my exact same hair.

That’s what makes it even more bizarre — my genetic identical no longer looks like me. Cath’s hair waves but doesn’t curl, and it looks way more slick when she straightens it.

So using Cath as a constant, I think we can say my hair change is environmental, not biological or at least not congenitally biological. I do live on a different continent and eat a different diet from Cath. I changed my diet (mainly vegan and tons more green stuff) drastically when I moved over here three years ago. My endometriosis was also getting much more severe (and was much more severe than Cath’s is now, thank goodness!). So maybe diet and hormones are having their say (Curly! Curly! Curly!).

Quite honestly, a year and a half ago when I was hospitalised because of the complications I had from endo, I thought the stress and the pain of the experience would change my hair. I was expecting a lot of it to fall out (and it did thin out for a while) and/or maybe even go grey. Curly was not on the list of things I thought might happen.

And I do kind of like to think that all that’s happened: the good (beautiful Scotland) and the bad (hospital stays) and the different (I wasn’t even vegetarian before I went vegan) maybe all contributed to this change.

So the question is, have you guys had this experience? Or have your friends? There’s been very little scientific research about this (I know because I’ve been a-Googlin’ like crazy) so it’s great to talk to other women and hear their “hair-story.” I’d love to hear yours!

Xoxox and curls,

Lar

p.s. Cath, I hope you aren’t getting sick of hearing about my hair bafflement! I promise I’ll start culling the curly hair What’s App pics.

Dear Cath

Do you recognize this dress?

Because it was Alison’s, I call it my teacher-with-an-edge dress (readers, Alison is an awesome primary school teacher at a charter school in a low socio-economic area of Atlanta —  coincidentally where Matt and I used to live!). I wear it roughly once a week — usually with tights and a coat (that pic above is a lie — bare legs in Scotland? Ha!).

I feel like hand-me-down clothing is just another component to the ethical clothing supply. I’ve bought a few new pieces this year, but I’m still trying to be fairly conscientious about the amount I buy and where it’s sourced from. And this dress was not only recycled, but received from such a lovely person that I feel happier when I wear it than if I had bought it new.

I still remember the thrill of getting cool-cousin-Genn’s hand-me-downs: all those 90s Betsey Johnson dresses and random assortment of jackets and tanks. Thinking about it now, a large part of our wardrobe growing up was probably hand-me-downs. We couldn’t afford to do much shopping so we took what we could get.

It’s tricky not to be snagged by the siren song of the high street shops — especially when the seasons change. New coats, new boots, fuzzy sweaters, faux fur jackets, gloves! So I’m constantly looking for inspiration to fight the urge to run into Zara and buy everything that looks furry or glitters: enter We Make It Last.

Photo via WeMakeItLast

It’s a digital magazine all about sustainable clothing and style. One of my favorite fashion bloggers (see above) now blogs on the site, which equals double the amount of inspiration. It really helps to see a community that you admire trying to curb their consumerism and doing it with ingenuity and beauty.

So I’m going to keep trying to ignore the glittery enticement of over-shopping this holiday season (for myself and others). I know this will be a challenge, especially when all the festivities start. There’s less time to make things or source things properly and you easily get caught up in the frenetic energy of the season — so easy to shop and eat and shop and eat. I’ll let you know if I avoid any of that. (Considering make next post to you is all about food, I’m probably not off to a great start ;D).

I hope this post helps you, Cath! I know it will be hard to not spend money so you can save up for your endometriosis surgery. And especially when you are stressed with work and school and thinking about saving money, the last thing you want to do is . save money. But I’ll be with you every step of the way.

Love you more than that velvet Betsey Johnson hand-me-down dress from 1995!

Lar

Dear Cath,

Scottish independence. Matt and I can’t vote, but we do feel lucky to be here during such a momentous decision for the country (“How many countries are in this country?”). We’ve both waffled back and forth over the issue. I do think Scotland needs much more equitable representation than it currently has in Westminster, but I wholly understand the economic fears people have of becoming independent.

And a much more superficial mibbe? These fuglies I’m wearing in the two top photos. I needed another pair of flats to wear around town as heels still kind of tug on my surgery sites (weirdest explanation for wearing flats ever? “I can’t, it hurts my left ovary.” Sure.). I came upon these buckled, pointy soles and thought Yes. Yes, I must have those. I’m not sure if they really work, but I still enjoy pairing them with girly things (i.e. pink, lace skirts — do you still have your navy version?). What do you say? Yes, naw, mibbe?

Love you more than JK loves togetherness,

Lar

Dear Cath,

Hauling (a la YouTube terminology) seems like a very anti-ethical shopping activity: buying lots of stuff and then showing it to you, so that you want to buy lots of stuff. So maybe this is more of an anti-haul: only three items and all consciously chosen because they are made in the US and not bought on a whim. (Maybe most hauling is well-thought purchases and am just being judge-y. Tell me if so. Also, maybe being a hypocrite because still buying things I like rather than absolutely need isn’t height of ethical consumerism).

Without further ado (i.e. ramblings):

The item I’m most excited about is this Vera Wang mini dress from the Born Free line that supports the end of mother-to-child HIV transmission by December 2015. I feel so uneducated about HIV transmission — I didn’t realise 1 pill a day is all that was needed to provide a child with a life without HIV. It seems woeful that if that’s the case, mother to child transmission isn’t eradicated already.

(Note: poor reviews owing to fact that dress is more like tunic rather than dress. Plan to wear with black skirt in order to avoid undesirable bum exposure).

The next two purchases aren’t nearly as philanthropic but still made in the U.S.

I needed a going-out top (have worn pleather dress to ever night-out for past two years), but I really dislike anything too clingy or that requires body tape or specific bra selection. I think the lower backs of men and women lovely/handsome  and more seductive than cleavage (she says because she has none) and this shirt makes me and Ingres happy:

(Unlike Ingres’ lady, I will not be showing side-boob just bare lumbar. Will not attempt turban).

Lastly, a long gold-plated necklace by Kristen Elspeth:

It’s hard to tell but the long metal bar is actually a gold porcupine quill. Much of Elspeth’s designs are influenced by Native American art: hence the quill which represents trust, innocence, invincibility, intelligence, and are symbols of protection from dark spirits. I’ll take it!

So that was a bit haul-like after all, wasn’t it? I really am still trying to be less of an avaricious consumer — more of a nibbler. To prepare for abundance of items purchased, I packed off a few things to Salvation Army yesterday. Must commence nibbling.

What about you? Are you house hauling? Can’t wait to hear all your decorating/nesting plans. I promise it won’t make me feel the need to buy more things for my flat — we have no where to put anything: all 500 sq ft accounted for.

Love you like Ingres loves vertebrae,

Lar

p.s. Readers, Shopbop is one of our blog affiliates, but this is in no way a sponsored posts, just a way for Cath to keep up with what I bought. We usually share with each other over email, but I thought I’d try it by post this time.