Life Lately: Cherry Blossoms, Panna Cotta, a New Haircut & the Best Lip Balm Ever

NOW THAT WE’RE updating the TIG Instagram a lot less, we thought we’d begin posting our favourite snapshots here, like we used to. Just because we’re not using our social media platforms as much as before does not mean we’ve stopped making beautiful memories or taking beautiful photos, and since this is, in essence, the scrapbook of lives, why not here? For this instalment of Life Lately, we’re sharing a little of what we’ve been up to, where we’ve been, and a few of our favourite things at this moment: cherry blossoms, panna cotta, a new haircut & the best lip balm ever…

Shooting the pink cherry blossoms in front of the castle overlooking the Princes Street Gardens is one of my favourite things every spring. Cherry blossom trees line the length of the street, making everything the most romantic shade of pink and brighten up the grey Scottish skies. The city has changed a lot since we’ve left, but the cherry blossoms always remain.

We tried a new-ish place in Bruntsfield that we heard was supposed to be good. It’s run by a Canadian and an Italian, I believe, and the food was Italian. We went for supper, which wasn’t terribly good, with the exception of the starter, so I’ll just skip to the pudding, which was panna cotta. It was light and fluffy and delicious.

(Before.)

In April I tried a new stylist and also got a lot more cut off than I normally do. She styled it with a curling iron (known as curling tongs here) to make mermaid waves, which is something I normally don’t do myself. I’m more of an air-dry person, or hot rollers if we’re going somewhere fancy, but this was a nice change. I’m still not 100% sure about the cut, as the ends are too blunt, but it was getting too long before, so it’s probably an improvement. At least I hope.

If you’re a longtime reader, you’ll be familiar with the different corners of my various desks throughout the years. This is the most recent one, at our cottage in the English countryside. The items change according to whatever I’m using at the time, but it’s safe to say that I’m terribly fond of pretty packaging.

The perfect vignette: a proper telephone on the bedside table in our hotel room and a bottle of my favourite Santa Maria Novella scent, Tabacco Toscano.

Sioris Time Is Running Out Mist is an oil-water mist that acts as a toner, mist and serum. It’s made with 78% Organic Fruit Water that’s packed with nutrients, vitamins and minerals derived from green plum or yuzu, as well as Macadamia Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil and Sunflower Seed Oil. You can use it on bare skin or on top of your base throughout the day.

Forget about all the other lip balms I’ve told you about before. This one is the absolute best. I have no idea why I’ve never come across it until now, but my lips have completely stopped cracking and peeling since I’ve begun using it. It came out in September 2017, when K-Beauty brand Laneige partnered with Sephora to relaunch its brand in the United States with the exclusive debut of its Lip Sleeping Mask, and it is amazing. I ordered the Grapefruit flavour, as well as a few jars of the Berry flavour, which is formulated with eight types of berries: raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, blueberry, gojiberry, soapberry, cloudberry, and coffee berry. Their potent antioxidants are extracted using a cutting-edge super-high pressure extraction technology to produce a highly concentrated complex that can easily absorbed by the skin and it’s supposed to used as a mask at night, but I just use throughout the day. Honestly, my lips have never been the same.

We’re always back and forth to Edinburgh, but only on the most recent visit did things really start to look green and lush and full of colour. One tree in Stockbridge was almost day-glow⏤its leaves were so bright!

I told you about this place earlier, but forgot to mention that the crusty bread on the table and olive oil with balsamic vinegar for dipping were all really good.

Yes, there are the cherry blossoms in Edinburgh, but they are also here, in the countryside, where everything has been blooming for weeks now. At time of writing, the blossoms have fallen away to make room for the climbing roses and all the rain has made everything green and overgrown.

A few of the things that sit regularly on the bathroom shelf. Some of the products are more form than function, such as the Charlotte Tilbury foundation that doesn’t work well at all with my skin (it’s too drying). I’d meant to buy the Hollywood Flawless Filter, but bought the wrong one by mistake.

There is a dumpling place that we’ve been going to for years and even though we don’t live in the city anymore, the place is still right where we left it, and still makes amazing dumplings.

There was a coffee shop we used to always go to on Castle Street that now has a second location in Morningside. This location was close to our hotel, so we stopped by for coffee and tried the coconut bread.

When our little niece was two-and-a-half, she created her first (ever!) paintings. I had one of them framed in a golden frame and hung on this gallery wall, which also includes a grisaille by Annie Havlicek de Sanchez, a Cy Twombly print, and as well as a gouache by a Canadian landscape painter.

One of my very favourite Belgrave Crescent products is the Helmsley Cardholder in French Kiss. I use it all the time to carry bank and credit cards because it’s small and fits into whatever handbag or basket bag I’m carrying on any given day, but also fits into any jacket pocket if I’m not taking a bag. It’s beautifully made and I love the colour.

At The Shop, the chic and utterly charming Positano Woven Basket Tote and Positano Mini are both finally back in stock. Each opens with two wicker flaps, just like a picnic basket. They can be dressed up or dressed down, or even just left on a bookcase or shelf to store your favourite things, as they are so beautifully handcrafted and would look wonderful with any outfit or in any room…