trip to Glasgow & Inverness

Last week my hubby and I did some touring around Scotland. We went West to Glasgow and then north to Inverness and the highlands. I had heard a lot of negative things about Glasgow so my expectations were quite low, but it really was a nice city. We both liked it.





A good friend of mine is getting his masters at the Glasgow School of Art so we visited that fabulous building. I must admit that I'm really envious that he's going there.







In the lobby inside main entrance there are really cool mosaics of famous artists:






We took the train from Glasgow to Inverness. Gorgeous landscape. Because of the mountains and the lush green, a lot of it reminded me of British Columbia, Canada, but not as rocky.

A train station along the way:




Loch Ness:




Urquart Castle:




Inverness:














We had a great time. It was really nice to get out of the city to see some of the Scottish countryside.

a drawing of the sun room

the back garden

our fabulous temporary home

This 150 year old, 3 story, stone house has really great old details and the owners have really great stuff. Check it out.

• the original door, knob and detailing - even a keyhole cover


• inlaid flooring


• a servant bell from back in the day


• the most elaborate crown moldings I have ever seen


• the view from our room on the second floor


• the most beautiful old grandfather clock


• the skylight and light fixture above the stairs


• staircase with gorgeous railing


• intricate tile floor in the entrance


• I absolutely LOVE that they still use keys like this :)


• a collection of blue and white ceramics


• kitchen art


• backyard garden (I'll take some outside shots if/when it stops raining


• one of 3 gorgeous fireplaces in the house. This one is my fave because of the detailed tiles


• upright piano


• the sun room - I covet a room like this for myself someday






The last 3 are of the sun room, which is where I'm headed now to spend the rest of this rainy day sitting, drawing and drinking tea.

hee hee hee

good-bye, first UK flat

We moved out of our first flat today. We had only rented our room, one of three in a shared flat, for the month of August so that we'd have a place to live while we looked for something more permanent. Although it had a good location and some lovely features, it wasn't the most comfortable space for us and we're quite excited about the flat we'll be moving into, just the two of us, on September 14.

I took some photos of our room yesterday after we had packed up our few belongings and cleaned.

Beautiful crown moldings:


Very tall window with shutters on the inside:


Our fireplace (didn't work though):


We also had a mouse and the kitchen/living room was prone to slugs:


We have been living in Edinburgh for just over a month now and we have been lucky enough to meet some really, REALLY kind and generous people. The friends we've made have offered us beds in their homes for the next 12 nights while we're homeless. We're also going to be taking a trip up to the Scottish Highlands.

The home we're staying in now is so beautiful and quaint and cozy and clean. We've been here since lunch time today and we're already so comfortable. I'll try to take some photos of it tomorrow so that you'll know what I'm talking about.

Here are a few random shots from around Edinburgh: