What to do this weekend: 27-28 Feb

ALL WEEKEND

Artists' Bookmarket

The annual Artists' Bookmarket is on between 11am-6pm on Saturday and 11am-5pm on Sunday at the Fruitmarket Gallery. There will be also accompanying talks, events (audio book silent disco!) and workshops - check out the full list on the Fruitmarket Gallery's website and join the Facebook event. Also if you have not been since the refurb, MILK is operating now the gallery cafe - tasty brunch guaranteed!

27TH FEBRUARY, SATURDAY

1st Pitt of the year

Food traders include Barnacles&Bones and everyone's favourite Lovecrumbs. Just to name a few drink traders: Barney's Beer, Smith&Gertrude and the Bearded Barista. The Pitt is on between 12-22pm and fingers crossed that the sunshine stays for the weekend! Check the Facebook event for further details.

Kask Whisky

Source: Hill Street Design House/Kask Whisky

Six nations of whisky to coincide with the rugby (Italy vs Scotland), between 8-10.30pm at the Hill Street Design House. Read more here. Tickets are £25 per person and you can purchase them here. (only 3 remaining). You might be backing blue, but why not taste the produce of the other five nations? Cheers!

28TH FEBRUARY, SUNDAY

Baltic Film Society

Source: Summerhall

Do you love unusual movies? You might have guessed, we do. The Baltic Film Society is hosting its first screening at Summerhall at 6pm and you will have the chance to watch the Latvian cinematic classic Four White Shirts. Read the plot and book tickets on the Summerhall's website.

Have a good weekend!

What to do this weekend: 20-21 Feb

ALL WEEKEND

Scottish Design Exchange

SDXLoft has just launched! Visit the Scottish Design Exchange at Ocean Terminal to support Scottish designers and artists and shop local.

Shepherd House Snowdrop Festival

Source: Shepherd House Garden

Fancy a wee daytrip? The Shepherd House Garden in the village of Inveresk is just seven miles east from Edinburgh and this weekend they are open for the Scottish Snowdrop Festival. They have over 70 snowdrop varieties which is quite impressive!

20TH FEBRUARY, SATURDAY

British Art Show 8

Source: Rachel Maclean, Feed me

The British Art Show 8 opened last weekend, make sure you visit while it tours in Scotland. It is hosted by three venues in Edinburgh: Modern One, Talbot Rice Gallery and Inverleith House.

There is a free tour at 2pm at Modern One of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, meeting at the main entrance.

21ST FEBRUARY, SUNDAY

The Vintage Kilo Sale

The Out of the Blue Drill Hall is hosting this Sunday the Vintage Kilo Sale where you can get a whole new wardrobe for £15 per kilogram.

What to do this weekend: 13-14 Feb

ALL WEEKEND

Edinburgh Students Art Festival

This year's festival takes place between 12-19 February at 7 different venues. Visit the visual arts exhibitions at The Biscuit Factory, City Arts Centre, Gayfield Creative Spaces and Scottish Storytelling Centre. On Valentine's Day pop in to the Summerhall Stall Market between 11am-4pm.

Buy tickets here and check out the Facebook event.

Snowdrop and Early Spring Interest Walks

Source: visitscotland.com

Spring is coming! Join the Garden Guide to discover the Botanics' collection of snowdrops and other early flowering plants. The walk is between 11am-12.30pm starting from the John Hope Gateway reception, it costs £5. Once there, why not pop in to the beautiful greenhouse to warm up?

13TH FEBRUARY, SATURDAY

Marble Printing Workshop

Source: Hill Street Design House

Feeling crafty? Hill Street Design House is running a fabric marbling workshop with Mischke Lingerie. The workshop runs for 2 hours (start either at 11am or 2pm) and you can take home the end result. Read more here and book via Eventbrite.

The Hateful Eight (70mm)

Watch Quentin Tarantino's latest movie at a special screening in Filmhouse. They are the second cinema in the UK to present the 70mm roadshow version of The Hateful Eight, coming straight from London's Odeon Leicester Square.

14TH FEBRUARY, SUNDAY

The Lobster

Alternative Valentine's Day movie at the Filmhouse with Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell, The Lobster earned the Jury Prize at Cannes 2015.

Have a good weekend!

Shopping in Edinburgh: Interiors

New year, new interior goals - one might say as an excuse for furniture shopping!

Recently we have been exploring the Edinburgh independent shop scene and found the following gems:

Bra Bohag

Source: Bra Bohag

Bra Bohag stands for good furnishings in Swedish. This tiny shop at Easter Road specialises in Scandinavian mid-century furniture, art and other cool things from the era. Check their website and Facebook page to see what's new in.

Pad Lifestyle

Source: Bxxlght

If you like chic and unique furniture and home accessories, you will love Pad Lifestyle (your wallet probably won't). They are currently the only UK distributor of the popular Swedish brand Bxxlght - you might have spotted one of their 'YOU HAD ME AT HELLO' light boxes in the living room of Pandora Sykes, the Sunday Times' Wardrobe Mistress. Shop online here or pop in to the shop at the corner of Howe Street and Royal Circus.

Lair

Lair stands for a secret retreat, a secluded place, a hideout or hideaway. We came across Lair at Instagram and have recently visited their wee shop to find weird but wonderful things, like the bats on the photo above. They specialise in mid-century furniture and curios - every piece is carefully selected and authentic. Check their website to learn more.

Homer

Source: Emily Hogarth

Homer has some lovely vintage re-loved and reclaimed furniture pieces, and also a wide range of home accessories and art. They stock paper cut prints from the talented Scottish artist, Emily Hogarth. Check new in stock on their website.

L'Atelier Vintage

Source: L'Atelier Vintage

You might notice a pattern here: yes, I am into mid-century modern and L'Atelier Vintage is another wee shop specialising in that era. Viewing is by appointment only, but you can find regular stock updates on their website and Facebook page.

Where's January gone?

Hello again, welcome to my first post of 2016.

January was super-fast and super-busy at work! In addition Mr Enthusiast and myself both managed to catch a nasty cold. We spent most of our free time trying to recover, but apart from that we also started planning holidays - so that we have something to look forward to in the dark and cold winter months.

Here is our wishlist for 2016:

Copenhagen

Ryanair and Easyjet have great deals to the Danish capital - you will probably spend the money you saved on flights on food though! Our top restaurant picks are Host and Radio.

Budapest

With the Hungarian currency being so weak, this is a top budget destination. Do not miss the baths and the amazing wine. Our top hotel pick is Brody House, we are regulars there.

Wroclaw

You might have never heard of it, but in our opinion Wroclaw is one of the prettiest and coolest cities in Poland (yes, even prettier than Krakow!).  It is also the European Capital of Culture in 2016.

Tbilisi

The capital of Georgia is becoming more and more popular among foreign travellers. Georgian food and wine are apparently amazing!

Isle of Skye

Although sunshine is not guaranteed, Skye is a beautiful holiday destination. Go off-season to avoid crowds, we really enjoyed it in last November. Our top B&B pick is Bealach Uige in Staffin - Johanna is a wonderful host.

Have you started planning your holidays yet?

Like A Local Guide has plenty of recommendations once you decided on the destination.

Enjoy the planning!