Category Archives: Lar’s Style

27 August 2012

Book Festival Fever

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was fantastic and the Edinburgh International Festival was lovely, but I was the most excited to go to the Edinburgh Book Festival when I was across the pond visiting Lar. Why? Because I always love the Decatur Book Festival, which is next weekend (yippy!), and Edinburgh is my favorite city, so how could the Edinburgh Book Festival not be amazing?!

I was not disappointed! The festival hosts 800 authors and writers for two weeks in Edinburgh’s New Town and it’s glorious. There are multiple tented author venues, two giant book store tents – one just for kids, a courtyard with literary deck chairs, and a cafe at every venue.

Lar and I were like kids in a candy store. We spent some time walking around, checking out the festival – including walking on the giant wordle platform in the courtyard.

We both walked away with four books each – some of them were free thanks to The Guardian book swap. I can’t remember all the books that Lar got, but here’s my list:

1.) I had to buy an Alexandar McCall Smith book being in Edinburgh and all, so I got this one.
2.) Lar encouraged me to purchase this novel and I’m so glad she did. I read it in 5 hours during my flight back home and already want to reread it.
3.) Got this book for free at the book swap. I’m still reading it and plan on leaving it at a local cafe when I’m done.
4.) I had to get this cute picture book for Troy.

There’s something about holding a stack of new books that makes me feel so rich – more so than clothes and home goods combined.

Lar and I were too cheap to go see any of the authors at £10 a pop, but felt we got our literary fill and spent the rest of the day lugging around our books in our Edinburgh Book Festival tote bags. *sigh* It was wonderful!

_________

Dearest Lar,

I’m so happy we got to experience the Edinburgh Book Festival together and really, really wish you could come Atlanta next weekend for the Decatur Book Festival. You’re going to miss funnel cake!

Have you read all of your books yet? Did you ever go back to the book swap and leave one of your books? I really enjoyed This is Life and want to read more by Dan Rhodes.

So glad we got to Skype today – it always puts me in the best mood 🙂

xoxo, Cath

 

Category: Cath's Style, Edinburgh, Lar's Style
12 Comments
15 August 2012

Cath and Lar Together Again. at the Fringe!

Don’t you just hate when life gets in the way of blogging?  Sheesh! Priorities, priorities! In all seriousness though, this has been the longest hiatus Cath and I have taken from AsianCajuns since we started this here bloggity-bloop 5 years ago. It was totally unplanned and unexpected (on our end too), so thank you for your patience, readers (aka mom and dad)!

Cath was here (yes, “was here” — sniffles abound) in Edinburgh for 10 glorious days. And I do mean glorious. Scotland pulled out all the stops: sun and warmth and sun (sun, sun, sun, sun, SUN! UVA makes us Scotland residents a bit loopy). Barely a raindrop to be seen.

Being the wonderful twin* that I am, I kept Cath properly fed and watered and entertained: delicious cafe lunches, late evenings at the pub, and toddling around the Edinburgh festival (aka The Largest Arts Festival in the World).

That’s Cath enjoying her Swedish sandwich at Peter’s Yard: imagine a bakery in Ikea, but better (and more expensive). Any bakery that does gluten-free options for us poor, wheat-intolerant souls is a winner in my book. This was delicious (and I didn’t whimper once at the lack of wheat):

Once fed, we hit the Fringe Festival. For those of you that don’t know, Edinburgh hosts the largest arts festivals (plural) during the month of August. There is a jazz festival, foodie festival, book festival, the International festival, and the Fringe festival and I’m sure I’m missing a few. The Fringe is the largest, craziest, and generally cheapest of all the festivals and it happens at hundreds of venues all around town. There’s comedy, dance, theater, fine art, music and. Jane Austen improv (yes, pretty much the best thing ever invented). It’s called Austentatious:

These actors (men and women alike) were swoon-worthy in their hilarity. For those of you in town for the Fringe, it’s still playing every day at 1:30 at the Counting House until the end of the month. Oh and did I mention, it’s free! Get thee to Austentatious if you can!


(thanks for the photo, Sara!)

Most of Edinburgh festivaling entails lots of crowded rooms and streets (the city swells to twice it’s size population-wise), and feeling hungry and then thirsty and overwhelmed at what to see. While walking around town, flyers are thrust into your hands with beseeching looks and you are constantly second-guessing yourself once you finally commit to a queue to see a show. There is also a giant, overturned purple cow (the Underbelly venue — yup, you can see shows inside the purple tent/belly!). Disorientating indeed.

Cath and I don’t do well in crowds (over-stimulation gahhh!), so we mainly ambled around less crowded streets and stopped to eat when it got to be too much (this happened frequently).

Overwhelmingness aside, you must visit the Edinburgh in August at least once in your lifetime. Preferably with your twin.

At this very moment Cath is flying over the Atlantic somewhere (in the wrong direction) toward Atlanta. So things are returning to normal (boo!), so there will be more time for blogging (yea!). I hope you guys have had wonderful summer vacations (or staycations) too!

*Full disclosure: when I say “wonderful twin” I should also mention I roped Cath into working (for free) for the first three days of her visit on a film shoot. Yup. I made her wake up at 6:30 am every morning during her worst jet-laggy days here and glue glitter on to things and stand by hot lights and cameras. I have photos for proof, but I’m waiting to get the the go-ahead to be able to tell you more.

—-

Dear Cath,

I hope your flight is going well. I know you must be exhausted to the core. I can’t believe we squeezed so much into your visit, and I can’t believe YOU’RE GONE again! Harumph! That was far, far, farrrr tooo short of a visit. And I will be cranky for at least the next week (sorry, Matteo).

I miss you so much. Edinburgh is definitely not the same without you. For one thing, it’s really cloudy again. Oh and there is a missing twinie.

Love,

Lar

Category: Cath's Style, Edinburgh, Experiences, Lar's Style
16 Comments
29 July 2012

Lar in Istanbul

Helloooo, Lovelies! Right after finishing my set design course, Matt and I hopped on a plane to Istanbul. Sounds so faincy doesn’t it? In reality we had bought super cheap tickets back in April because Turkish Airways just started a direct route from Edinburgh (bless!). Never in a million bijillion years did I think I would get to travel to this gorgeous city (I’m irksomely a perennial pessimist), and before we left, Matt and I were so busy we hadn’t thought much about the trip (for shame, I know). Now that we are here, I am 100% in loooove.

We haven’t been so much culture-shocked (Matt grew up in the middle east) as weather shocked. Our poor Scottish-whitened skin and cold-sharpened lungs are still in quasi-shock over the feel of billowing Bosphorus breezes and temperatures roughly 20 degrees hotter than the hottest Scottish day ever on record.

I’ve Scott-ified so much that I don’t really own proper attire to wear here, and I haven’t wanted to shop because as a full-time UK resident these days, there are only about 2 days out of the year when I can comfortably sport bare-legs. Also, we’re here during Ramadan so I’ve tried to be respectful about baring too much in Istanbul even though it is a liberal Muslim country. I usually carry a scarf and socks in my purse whenever we are out and about (that long-skirt in the photo on the right was presented to me at the mosque):

Matt and I are hitting the touristy sites, but our main goal during our seven day stay is to eat as much delicious Turkish/Anatolian food as we possibly can — oh and also stock up on our vitamin D (we spend much of our days blinking in the sunlight and we can’t believe that foreign, golden orb thingy stays out all. day long! Amazing!).

What’s lovely about the food here is that it’s fairly healthy. You start your meal with a mix of cold salads (mezze: couscous, stuffed grape leaves, yogurt, spinach, roasted eggplant, etc.) and then move on to the meat. If you need to be gluten-free or vegan it would be a little tricky, but really not too bad. We’ve found it much easier to eat on a restrictive diet here than when in Paris.

We mainly just amble about and stop at wherever looks tasty (including any/all street food — seriously delicious!), but we got a ton of tips from a blog called EatingAsia. If you are planning a trip to Turkey or want to live vicariously through some delicious foodie times, do stop by.

Next up? Three days after we get back to Edinburgh, Cath comes for a visit. Could this summer get any better?

Hope you guys are having a wonderful time too, in whatever part of the world your gadding about in!

—–

Dear Kitcath,

I canNOT believe I get to see you IN PERSON in a week! Do you realize that? It’s Sunday! Next Sunday you’ll be on the right side of the pond! It’s difficult because as much as I’m loving Turkey, I really can’t wait for next week to get here.

Can’t wait to talk to you on skypie sooon!

Love,

Lar

p.s. You would love Istanbul, Kitcath, but I think it’s only fair that I mention there is a slight eau de Murcia every once in a while. The people here are much more friendly, and everything is beautiful, so that’s where the similarity ends. Still, every once in a while when the wind blows, I’m right back in Spain in 2003. Miss you!!!! xoxoxox

Category: Experiences, Lar's Style
13 Comments
9 July 2012

My Favorite Restaurant in Edinburgh

‘Tis not the fanciest restaurants nor Michelin starred, but Spoon is by far my favorite place to eat in Edinburgh. It’s not crazy expensive, the atmosphere is warm and inviting, the wait staff uber-friendly (but not in a cheesey, b.s.-y way). and the food! Delicious and nutritious (lots of veggie and gluten free options)!

Isn’t it sweet? It’s homey without being too “done” and sugary sweet looking. It’s what I want my home to feel like (and smell like). It also happens to have great views of Nicholson street because it’s up on the second floor (first floor in British) of a lovely old building.

Here’s what we ate:
(p.s. Cullen skink is a savory, aromatic smoked fish soup — kind of like clam chowder)

And this is why we went:

My husbando just found out that one of his papers will be published soon — and (sorry for the mushy cheese) I am so very proud of him!

When you guys come and visit, I’ll take you to Spoon — just let me know when 😉

—–

Dear Kitcath,

As I said on skype, we are definitely going together! I AM SO EXCITED that you bought your tickets. So we have what 27 days until you are here!!!!!! EEEEE!!!! Hope you have a marvelous Monday!

xoxoxox,

Lar

 

Category: Edinburgh, Lar's Style
12 Comments
4 July 2012

Sheep Heid Inn and Skittling!

Sometimes living in Scotland makes you feel like English is not your native language after all. “For goodness sakes,” you say, “what is a ‘heid’ and what is a ‘skittle’?!” Luckily it doesn’t really matter because you’ve already tried haggis and actually liked it, so you intrepidly move into the land of other new Scottishy words. It turns out that “heid” (rhymes with “need”) means “head” and “skittles” isn’t colorful candy bits, but old school bowling. Growing more Scottish by the minute, you are!

This weekend, Matt and I decided to embrace the Scottish and go play skittles at the oldest pub in Edinburgh, the Sheep Heid Inn, for my birthday.

Here’s how we got there:


(Errr. or maybe it was more of a take-two-buses-and-then-walk-15-minutes kind-of-a-situation, and then Matt posed in front of this Mini because I asked him to and it was my birthday so he did).

And this is what I wore (sensible as always) to crassly stand on the bowling lane:


Wannabe Balenciaga dress by Primark and shoes by Mango.

And here are all the dapper gents that came to my party:


Okay, maybe these skittlers weren’t at my party, but they were at a skittle party in 1913 at the Sheep Heid. Just 99 years too early, gents!

Isn’t it a lovely old place? Legend says that there was a pub in this very spot since 1360 and that Mary Queen of Scotts and her son James loved to stop here for a wee rest and skittle game on their way to Holyrood Palace from Craigmillar Castle (tough life, those royals). The name “Sheep Heid” came from the gift James gave to the inn keeper: the head of a sheep. yum? Poor sheepy.

Lovely spot, isn’t it? I highly recommend a visit if you’re in Edinburgh. Not only is the inn chock-a-block full of historical lore, but the wee village of Duddingston where Sheep Heid is located, is so charming. Nestled just at the foot of Arthur’s Seat and spitting distance to downtown Edinburgh, Duddingston still looks much as it would have in the 17th and 18th century when Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed the night, and later J.M.W. Turner and Sir Walter Scott.

Seriously, what could be a better way to spend an afternoon but skittling and rubbing shoulders with British ghosts?

Oh gracious! I just forgot today is the 4th (Matt and I are being uber British and forgot all about our independence). Hope all you American readers are having a lovely day of fireworks and hot dogs! xoxox

—-

Dear Cath,

Oh I so wish you could have come skittling with us! We’ll have to take you to Sheep Heid if you fancy it. The atmosphere is lovely and I wouldn’t mind more of a toddle around Duddingston.

I cannot believe how hot it is in the ATL. I mean I should be able to remember what that is like, but I can’t! Today felt warmish — maybe in the 60s– and I actually wore a skirt (with tights)!

We will properly celebrate our bdays when you come into town. I know I sound like a broken record, but I cannot WAIT!!!

LOVE,

Lar

p.s. Our instructor today actually said the phrase “Easy, peasy, lemon squeezey” and I almost squealed in joy, but I reigned it in and looked calmed while saying “difficult, difficult, lemon difficult” in my head.

Category: Edinburgh, Lar's Style
8 Comments
2 July 2012

More Oxfordness

I hope you had a lovely weekend, readers! Here’s a second recap of our trip last week to Oxford (so glad you liked the first post!). Again, I was only there for a wee 24 hour trip, and I spent roughly five of those in a pub with Matt and friends (one being a tipsy Oxfordian getting his doctorate in Classics — I highly recommend having a drink with one when you visit).

I’ll keep this short and sweet and let the photos (and my obnoxious arrowing) do the talking. Needless to say, Oxford is beautiful, lovely, and exceeded my already lofty expectations. The elusive British sun came out the second 12 hours I was there — just look at the Bodlien basking in its brilliance:

Matt and I have two friends, both are former Oxfordians, that showed us around. A good tip when visiting Oxford? Look up! There are stone faces and gargoyles and doodads (yes, doodads — my art history studies are paying off) clinging to the stone on every cornice, gable, and drain pipe:

The interiors are just as good:

What surprised me the most was that Oxford is even better in person than what you see in the movies. You know how you think “ahh, they’ve obviously just shot the pretty bits in every scene” whenever you see fancy places in films? Well, Oxford is made up of just pretty bits that comprise an entire town surrounded by fields and the Thames:

Isn’t it just annoyingly wonderful? It’s not as if I wasn’t jealous enough of people who get to study amongst massively impressive old libraries and eat in dining halls that are straight from Harry Potter (literally filmed in the Christ Church dining hall) — post-trip I’m a lovely deep shade of forest green.

p.s. Thank you all for your wonderfully encouraging comments about my career explorations — you guys made my week! xoxox

—-

Dear Cath!

I hope you had a wonderful birthday yesterday! I can’t wait to celebrate with you properly in a MONTH!!!!

Isn’t Oxford wonderful? I loved Agnes Scott, but I would have left in a second if someone had given me a ticket to study here (a ticket to Oxford? That’s how it works right? ;)).

xoxoxoxoxox,

Lar

Category: Experiences, Lar's Style
6 Comments
27 June 2012

A Brief Interlude

Before I get on with more Oxford photos (thanks for all the sweet comments on my first Oxford post!) I wanted to share with you a little something I’ve been doing. I feel reticent about sharing too much personal stuff on this blog because I’m always worried I’ll bore the socks off you while also sounding too naval-gaze-y. So with those impending threats in mind, let me share away!

I’ve been a graphic designer since graduating college, but I’ve been itching to spend less time on my computer and more time creating with my hands. I found this wonderful course to give me a jump start into the world of scenic design and live performance with a vague idea that one day I could work on shoots like this if I learn more about 3D design.

So on Monday I started at Scenehouse and all-things-set-design have been commandeering all my brain power since. Potentially switching careers is incredibly frightening, especially because I’m not sure if this will lead anywhere or just give me a great deal of respect for all the people who make a stage production happen.

Anywhoodle, that’s all. Just needed to share seeing as I can’t think of anything else but props and model-making at the moment. I promise to return to regularly scheduled programming next post!

—-

Dear Cath,

This no-skyping thing during the day is so hard! It’s so weird not to have chatted to you for two whole days straight. I don’t like it! Our studio at Scenehouse doesn’t have wifi, so even though I have my computer with me most days, I haven’t been online.

Right now you are in class, so I hope it’s going well! I know your midterm is looming. I hope the trappists monks gave you so meditative inspiration last weekend, so you feel less stressed about next week’s test.

Miss you oodles of caboodles,

Lar

Category: Edinburgh, Lar's Style
13 Comments
24 June 2012

24 Hours in Oxford

I just got back to Edinburgh from Oxford via a very long train ride (oi, I feel creaky!). Matt is down there for a conference and I thought I’d tag along for the weekend bit because who doesn’t want to see awesome old buildings in the rain? (Yes, we do indeedy have those things in abundance in Edinburgh as well — apparently I have a thing for damp stone).

So here are just some quick pics. I might foist some more on you in my next post because my second 12 hours in Oxford were beautiful and sunny, but these are here just to wet your appetite (and remind you of the trade-off for beautiful places in the UK: the crap the weather).

I originally thought of starting this post like this:

“Oxford, in those days, was still a city of aquatint. In her spacious and quiet streets men walked and spoke as they had done in Newman’s day; her autumnal mists, her grey springtime, and the rare glory of her summer days – such as that day – when the chestnut was in flower and the bells rang out high and clear over her gables and cupolas, exhaled the soft airs of centuries of youth. It was this cloistral hush which gave our laughter its resonance, and carried it still, joyously, over the intervening clamour.”

Because who doesn’t love an Evelyn Waugh quote? And because all my views about Oxford before actually seeing it in person have been formed by watching the Jeremy Irons version of “Brideshead Revisited.”

But I was worried starting with a hoity toity literary quote about my brief sojourn to Oxford might sound a touch pretentious — especially because I’ve only read Brideshead Revisited once and seen the tv series multiple times (the book is wonderful — but the tv series is just so pretty what with the stone and the champagne and Castle Howard). I don’t even remember the Oxford bits in the book.

More to come . sans hoity toity quoting.

—–

Dear Cath,

So glad we could catch up quickly on skype. This week will be crazy busy for both of us, and getting to see you briefly on skype (even in my sleep-deprived state) is better than not seeing you at all. I wish I could take you to Oxford next time you are here (fancy a 6 hour train ride?) — and I would make it be sunny so we could eat strawberries and drink champagne on one of the quads (which they keep gated against us hoi polloi — but we’d sneak in some how).

I’ll write to you all about what I learn my first day in my course tomorrow. Fingers crossed for me! I’ll have mine crossed for you and your impending mid-term!

xoxoxox,
Lar

p.s. Forever and always missing you!

 

Category: Edinburgh, Lar's Style
10 Comments
20 June 2012

Sweater Weather

I’m beginning to resign myself to the weather. When I bought this sweater in London back in February, I imagined pairing it with shorts and a tank or bralette underneath. I even thought “oh how nice to think of layers in the summer — couldn’t get away with a summer sweater in Atlanta!” Summer layers is right! But instead of shorts and a tank, it’s almost July and I’m still wearing thick jeggings and long-sleeved shirts! HARUMPH! Oh wait, I said I was resigned — SIGH, then.


Sweater from Spitalfields Market • Primark shirt • Madewell jeggings • Mango booties (a few years old) • AsianCajuns name necklace

I hope you guys are having a wonderful week! Cath and I are getting uber excited because we’ll be seeing each other soon! Cath is coming over to Edinburgh in early August. I haven’t seen her (in person) since December 29th. That’s by far the longest we’ve ever been apart and it has been really not fun (uber understatement).

Do you guys have fun plans for the summer too? I keep forgetting to ask seeing as it still sometimes feels like late winter here, but it’s almost July! Holy Schmoly!

——

Dear Cath,

It’s so funny that you keep mentioning how my clothes are more colorful than yours. Here in Edinburgh I wear mainly black and denim. You would be so disappointed if I gave you my clothes from here. The sweater in this post is one of my more colorful items. I’m going to try to wear less black during the “summer” — if we get one.

Can’t wait to seeeeee youuu!!!! And congrats to being a quarter of the way done with school! Yipppeee!

xoxoxox,

Lar

Category: Lar's Style
6 Comments
18 June 2012

Wearing My Louboutins

Happy Monday, lovelies!!! We had a drenching Saturday and Sunday (one headline said we got three months worth of rain in three days- gahhh!), but it’s all blue skies and sunny today. It’s still chilly this morning (it’s been the 40s and low 50s), but I can’t complain when the gray is gone.

I’m sorry to always be giving you my local weather report. Being in Scotland really makes the weather the most important topic of conversation — year round, but especially in the spring/summer. I think it’s because even Scandinavia must have more consistently warmer weather in June (I’m judging this by all the Swedish fashion blogs I read and those ladies are wearing shorts! Luxury!).


Outfit dets: thrifted Wrangler flannel • Blank black cords • Cheap Monday belt • Christian Louboutin boots via the-dumpster-in-front-of-my-house

One nice thing about the chilly weather? I can break out my knee-high dumbster-found Louboutin boots and wear them without breaking a sweat! They are newly zippered and re-soled. They aren’t the most practical shoe whilst living in a city full of cobble-stones, but they are unbelievably comfy for 5-inch stilettos. Seriously. The night I wore them out, Matt and I had to run half a block to catch the bus and that was easy peasy lemon squeezey.

I did almost face-plant later that night on the way to the loo in a crowded restaurant. Nobody would have probably noticed because I grabbed onto the wall somewhat discreetly when my heel slipped, but I let out a “whoaaah—eek” (the squeak at the end is always eight octaves too high for human ears to bear). So on my return journey back to our table, I did that stiff-legged “don’t slip, don’t slip, don’t slip” walk that looks oh-so-awesome when you wear look-at-me-red-soled shoes.

——

Dear Cath,

I can’t believe that I’m going to get to see you in just a little more than five weeks?!!!! EEEEEEkkk!!! Best Birthday prezie ever!!! Speaking of which, how should we celebrate our 29th(s) when you are here?

Hope you have a smarvelous Monday!

xoxoxoxo,

Lar

Category: Lar's Style
11 Comments