happy christmas

Turkey dinner number 2 is polished off and we Regiers are on our way to church for some pre-present contemplation of the reason for the season.

Wishin you all a very merry Christmas full of love and cheer.

See you in the new year when I'll return with gusto!

xo.

home. sick.

The cold I've been fighting off all week finally caught up with me in the third leg of our 26 hour journey home.

Luckilly there's really no better place to be sick than at your mom's cozy house by the sea, under a blanket with neo-citran and Harry POtter - especially at 4am when jet lag gets the best of you.

Less luckilly, now that we get to sleep on a queen sized, pillowtop, pocket-coil mattress, Dean and I are reminded of what we've been missing these months in Scotland.

Likewise, when Trevor picked us up from the airport bearing sushi and then joined us for a night in Parksville, we got another reminder of what we've been missing (yes, sushi, but also one of our best friends).

Even so I catch myself saying "home" in reference to Aberdeen, Canadian coins have a foreign lightness to them, and Dean had a very hard time determining which side of the road to drive on when we insured the CRV yesterday.

We've got two more days of r&r here on the Island and then a whirlwind of dinners and shopping in Vancouver. Hope to see lots of you there!

jettin'

Stephen will be here in 30 minutes - a very early morning for a student. We're going to the airport with a suitcase full of gifts for nephews and nieces. We've missed our families.

We've got a whirlwind visit to Vancouver - just 3.5 days, so if our paths don't cross, it's not for lack of love, just lack of time.

xo.

social ills

A weekend packed to the gills with outings and meals out left me a little worse for wear today. Icky chills, achey limbs and flegmy throat are excuse enough for me to take an afternoon off.

I fell asleep on the sofa with Harry Potter beside me. When I woke up 2 hours later I was in a panic of disorientation, thinking it was tomorrow and that I'd not yet planned my lecture which I was certain I was already late for.

It's still today, but it's true that my lecture remains unplanned, and I'm going out for dinner with friends in spite of my Mother's voice in my head saying "If you're too sick for school then you're too sick to go out!"

******************************************************

Currently wondering: How on earth did we go from being friendless foreigners in Aberdeen to having a full social calendar, in a matter of months? I may complain about the weather and expensive restaurants, but there's no denying that the people in Aberdeen are pretty wonderful.

******************************************************

This week:

On TUESDAY we hosted dinner for two lovely Irish girls from church - a second year med student and a first year nursing student. Back in Belfast these girls live only a few blocks from one another. To listen to their accents you'd think they were from opposite ends of the country - a testament to the ancient British "accent = class" stereotype. One of these girls went to a posh private school and one was homeschooled. It's something we encounter often, and a blog post in the making.

On FRIDAY after a looong day at Starbucks I opted in for the Community & Lifelong Learning Christmas dinner. I am making a genuine effort to like my co-workers at the College. This was a step.

Jaws may drop when I say this: We were spoiled at TWU. Birthday, farewell, Christmas and Summer fun lunches/dinners were always payed for. So forgive me if I resent forking over $50 for my curry dinner with the College.

My consolation was that at 9pm sharp I was picked up by two charming men and whisked away to an evening of wine, whiskey and banter with our four favourite Aberdonians. Dean and I walked home after midnight, happy, feeling known.

On SATURDAY after another day of coffee serving, Dean and I got gussied up for a night on the town with my Starbucks cronies. By contrast to Friday night, we enjoyed a three course meal and a bottle of wine courtesy of the company. Starbucks is not too evil.

After dinner 20 of us walked through the rain, past leering drunks, brawling "neds" and shrieking "chavs" (who are apparently impervious to icy wind and rain) to hit up Bassment, the first of what would be several bars before 5am. Ten minutes and one shot of Jagermeister later, Dean caught my eye and gave me the "let's blow this joint" nod. And I gave him the "I heartilly agree" nod.

Suddenly we find we are just too old for that scene. The difference between 22 and 27is vast it seems - from this vantage point, a night of Chuck and Heroes downloads is more fun than throbbing bass an beer-soaked carpet.

TOMORROW is our last day in Aberdeen for a little while.

TO DO LIST: Buy more dishes for the 2008 onslaught of guests. Wash sheets, make beds. Mail cards. Get coffee. Pack!

cheer brigade...

I turned up for work on Saturday morning to find my boss wearing a mischevious grin and a Santa hat - which she promptly removed from her own head and placed on mine, announcing I was officially responsible for all things cheer.

Thus my day was spent, alongside my fellow cheer brigadeer (just came up with that one now!) Sarah, handing out gingerbread lattes and caramel waffles on Union St to hordes of freezing Christmas shoppers.

My very kind boss gifted Sarah and I with something else on Saturday too: a digital camera for recording our Bean Responsible initiatives. The first evidence is below, and more shall soon be posted here!




And to think, on Tuesday my students were asking me WHY I work at starbucks! Getting paid to brighten your day really isn't a chore. (yes, i've been fully indoctrinated)

sorry + ammends

blogging is sparse lately, but so is time.

Teaching is taking more (unpaid) time than anticipated, and I can't help but feel a little bit duped. As in: I got roped into taking on this class just when their major assignments were due and the curriculum manager simultaneously managed to LOSE the course curriculum.

So I've been lesson-planning my little butt off (again, that's without pay) and The Front Lawn has taken a hit. I apologize, and offer a wee update of recent highlights.

- Dean and I bought and decorated our first Christmas tree. It's as tall as my knee, and oh so cute.

- We saw a movie we loved (Once) and a movie we hated (Beowulf) and are so very ecited for The Darjeeling Ltd tomorrow

- We celebrated the birthday of two good friends with a phenomenal seafood dinner on The Green. I had to eat my words re: Aberdeen's inability to produce unique restaurant meals. My seared tuna with wasabi mayo was enough to hold me over until the Minato feast I'll be having in two weeks (good thing since it cost 6x as much!).

- We had a visitor (if the Glasgow pictures didn't give it away). One of my oldest friends, Kelly Jacobs made her first cross-ocean trek and got to see a good chunk of Scotland in its wintry finest.

- We've been discovering great friendships. Dean and I have both been blessed with wonderful friends here. Sunday nights at the pub are never dull.

- The city is so Christmassy. Aberdeen has a parade each winter and the high street is strung with lights in the shape of polar bears, Christmas crackers, Santa and, oh yah, baby Jesus.

- I got to go out on the bus again. Once a month I get to be a part of a ministry to prostitutes in Aberdeen's harbour area. We go down in a refurbished bus, giving the "lassies" a place to warm up and have a cup of tea and toast, and some chat. Sme of them eventually end up in Teen Challenge recovery programs and get off the street. Humbling to realize how, minus their addictions, those girls aren't much different than me.

- Dean is going to Sheffield of Thursday. He got invited to do a wee talk at the Uni there. And he's going to visit Helen!

We're leaving Aberdeen in 2 weeks for a quick visit home. Looking forward to cuddling and speaking French with neices and nephews, dinners with friends, a spa day with the Regier ladies, and heaps of family gatherings!

glasgow and other nice places

A wee foretaste. The rest can be found here.

dublin (better late than never)

I've since been to Oxford, Glasgow, a couple cliffside castles and the Glenfiddich distillery, but such is the beauty of the good old days - I've only just now developed my film from Dublin.

Thus, without further ado, I bring you the Celtic Tiger in photos:

Lunch on St. Stephen's Green

Feeling academic at Trinity College


Foam fight, city centre

Doing a dandy Oscar Wilde impression

Regiers in front of Christ Church Cathedral

Dinner and freeflowing drinks at the Guiness Factory's 360 degree Gravity Bar

For the Love of Don

Temperatures reached an astonishing low on Thursday, after a pleasant week of tropical breezes. Just as I was growing accustomed to going scarfless, Baltic gale-force winds made their way into Aberdeen.

Wouldn't you know - Dean chose that day to nab us a pair of tickets to the AFC match against Locomotiv Moscow. For those of you not in the know (all but two of you I believe) AFC is Aberdeen's Football team - AKA the Dons, AKA the Reds.

The Dons have some fervent supporters - We know at least one Aberdonian who will not leave the house without at least one item of red clothing. On game day, fans stream up our street (not far from Pittodrie Stadium) in red & white striped scarves, shouting their indecipherable chants hours before the game's even begun.

On Thursday we were among the throng, shouting our own made up words to their ubiquitous tune. Snow flurries began moments before we scanned our tickets at the gate and persisted in push-you-over gusts on and off throughout the tie game. Our ears and toes and fingers froze (and were still tingling the morning after), but it was all worth it for the spectacle of thousands of Scots shouting in unison, fists in the air:

Stand free
Wherever you may be
Cos we are the famous Aberdeen

We don’t give a f***
Whoever you may be
Cos we are the famous Aberdeen

(Fortunately we had a Scottish friend along to translate)

What about the soccer, you ask? Well, it was alright. We scored one goal but I missed it... I was eyeing the steaming meat pie of the girl in front of me. :)

Bonfire Night

Dear the spirit of Guy Fawkes,

Why oh why couldn't you have planned your assassination attempt in July?

You really are a screw up.

Sincerely,
Amanda Regier

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Last night we made the short stroll to the beach in the coldest of November weather to celebrate a big fat failure of an assassin. The fireworks were good - even by a Vancouverite's standards - the company was great, and I kept picturing scenes from "V for Vendetta," though no creepy masks were to be found and Parliament remains intact.

Dave scored some free sparklers and we girls relived childhood Halloweens. We gorged on Haribo gummies, made fun of Stephen who was flying solo on his "date night" ;) and rounded the evening out with a shot of the world's most expensive Baileys at a nearby hotel bar.

perfect Sunday

- egg nog latte (with whip)
- Gerrard St Baptist church with an unexpected appearance from a pastor from our Vancouver church - an Aberdonian, we learned!
- International market, spicy bratwurst
- New dress (me), new sweater (Dean)
- one on one time with a good book
- a nap
- a jog
- Grey's Anatomy
- a pint in honour of a favourite friend's 29th birthday

Only in Aberdeen

Rumor has it the Scots invented Halloween. I can't speak authoritatively about it's origins, but I do know that in this town it's a good excuse to hit the club in your underwear every evening for a fortnight.

Overheard on Belmont St. this evening:

Batman - So have you decided on a specialization?
She-ra - Well, I was thinking obstetrics but now I'm leaning towards gynocology.

I couldn't help but giggle.

Britain's Best Dish

My husband is nothing if not a bit obsessive - be it his work, a newly discovered band or a favourite T-shirt, he likes to commit wholeheartedly.

So what's been consuming Dean's time and thoughts of late? A daily reality show suitably named 'Britain's Best Dish'

Think American Idol for amateur cooks. Many of you will laugh because you know how much (ie how little) time Dean spends in the kitchen. Notably, most nights at 6pm he can be found in front of the TV drooling over starters, mains and desserts while I am the one actually honing my culinary skills in the kitchen.

Last week the show drew to an exciting finish with a Belly of Pork dish taking home the title, but Dean is still on about his own newly acquired cooking knowledge. He refers to the judges casually by their first names as if on the most intimate terms, and he takes the utmost pleasure in calling desserts "puds" like a true Brit.

It's all nice and cute until he sets foot into the kitchen and starts allocating random spices to my pots of soup or chicken or veggies. I'm certainly not complaining about having a partner in the kitchen, but it'd be nicer if he'd ever cracked a recipe book in his life :)

shop talk

Last week I took home my second paycheque - "took home," but haven't deposited, because I still don't have a bank account, though that's a whole different blog post.

Thanks to the UK's quirky once-monthly pay schedule, the arrival of paycheque #2 tells me that I have been working at Aberdeen College for two months now - thus I've received a two month crash course in British dialect.

There are little intricacies of language that differ between here and home - things I didn't notice until fully submerged in professional life here.

So I've created a little lexicon for your education:

North America
"Weekly staff meetings are on Thursdays"
Britain
'Weekly staff meetings are on a Thursday' (and by 'a thursday' they mean EVERY thursday)

North America
"I blog outside of work hours"
Britain
'I blog outwith work hours'

North America
"Meeting adjourned"
Britain
'Right. That's us' or just 'That's us'

North America
"Did you have any luck?"
Britain
'Did you have any joy?'

North America
"Phone him at 123 456 789"
Britain
'Phone him on 123 456 789'

North America
"These notes need to be typed"
Britain
'These notes need typed' (yes, they ignore two whole words!)

Other office peculiarities:

- their post-its don't stick
- their file folders are flimsy and don't have tabs!
- they have hour and a half lunch breaks (no complaints there)
- they don't use a 3-hole punch. Only 2 holes or 4 holes (it's not standardized like at home)
- most z's are replaced by s's (for example, a Brit would have written 'standardised')
- they use single quotations where we use double (see lexicon above)

Any other expats or former UK residents, care to add to the list?

end of an era

Gone are the days when one could instantly stream any TV show for free, online.

bye bye TV Links (via Dave)

up to now

Lately I've been doing a very good job of blogging about anything BUT life in scotland.

Things are busy but I have some good posts on the roster... if I could just find the time. In the interim, here's a rundown of life of late:

+ I earned another stripe in wifehood. that is, I prepared my first thanksgiving feast! It came a week late, but we hosted a small thanksgiving gathering at Kingier with half-Canadian Dave and entirely Irish Cheryl. See evidence of my newly acquired culinary prowess below ;)

And while I'm patting myself on the back, I should add that I recently invented the most spectacular turkey burger recipe. I may post it soon and share the love.


+ We saw another castle. With a Sunday afternoon wide open, we reconvened with Dave and Cheryl and invited a couple other friends along as well for a day in Deeside. We lunched at a local garden centre (the weirdness of which was not lost on us... made weirder by the fact that our waiter was approximately 12 years old, and the menu did not include everyone's favourite British staple, chips). Then we leisurely kicked the football around in the shadow of Crathes Castle.

When we got tired we had tea and scones in the little town which used to service the castle. Now it's a posh tourist trap.
Yup, this is life in Scotland.





+ We work a lot. Dean spends weeknights prepping for presentations and trying to keep on top of his dissertation, while I've been doubling up - mornings at the College and evenings at Starbucks. I'm now a fully trained barista, but - no suprise - I like working on the till best. Nothing beats chatting up customers and telling them all about the wonders of Vancouver!

+ We're going to Ireland. Tomorrow in fact! Dean has a conference in Dublin. With some 99p flights (yup, basically $2 each way, before taxes) we finagled a way for me to come as well - hence all the doubling up of shifts last week. Looking forward to meandering the grounds of Trinity College and throwing back pints in Temple Bar. I am bringing along some James Joyce (you know, just some light reading—wish me luck) to add a literary element to my exploration.

+ Company's coming. I am so proud. One of my oldest friends decided to turn a long weekend holiday into a full week in Scotland and impulsively purchased a ticket to Glasgow! We're going to meet up there and discover Scotland's hippest city together before embarking on six days of highland fun.

+ I'm going to Dundee. On Wednesday, fresh off a Tuesday night flight from Ireland, I'm heading south to do a *ahem* very important and highly educational course: the, errrr, Starbucks Experience. Dundee might not be on my list of cities to see before I die, but a train trip is always fun.

+ I have a new job. For those who are counting, this is job number three! I've been asked to teach a second-year Marketing & PR course at the College. I'm excited. It's just one day a week, until Christmas or whenever they hire a permanent lecturer. But the pay is great and it will be fabulous on my resume.

+ The days are getting shorter. The upside is that we get to see some great sunrises and sunsets from our back and front windows respectively :)

Garance Doré

Thoroughly enjoying - no, LOVING - the drawings and photography at Garance Doré's blog. Judging by the number of comments her posts receive, the French speaking public feel the same way. I think I am newly motivated to refresh my Francais reading skills. Et vous?

And another fab link for fashion lovers: the sartorialist (not to be confused with the satorialist.

is THIS Paris fashion week?

A New York Times slide show shows the dark side of Paris fashion week.

Lhasa Apso boots and '58 Buick shoulder pads? ick.

I may be forced to eat my words.

bean responsible

One of the best things about my job at Starbucks is that my boss, upon learning that I was media savvy and into good causes, elected me to champion community service for our district.

Thus, myself and a coworker are the Corporate Social Responsibility advocates for all of North East Scotland (Aberdeen, Inverness, St. Andrews & Dundee). Basically we get paid to spend two hours each week contacting managers and encouraging them in their charity efforts and collecting stories for a quarterly newsletter. Right up my alley wouldn't you say?

Another part of it is an ongoing blog, documenting all the good stuff our stores are doing the community.

so I'd like to introduce: "Bean Responsible" ... it's still a baby blog, but check back soon for more updates!

man-harlot indeed.

I got a peculiar request by email today, from a friend who shall remain nameless (but not faceless) for reasons that will soon be made clear.


Amanda,

How's it going! I have a really odd request for you... you're going to laugh when you hear this.

I'm wondering if you can go back and edit one of your really old xanga blog posts for me. It's the post entitled "More Office Politics" from Tuesday, November 29, 2005. Every time I or anyone else Googles my name, this blog post comes up as the #1 entry, with the words "man-harlot" in the text right underneath! Try it and see.

Any chance you could help me out and edit it a bit, so that future employers and future churches etc. don't instantly associate me with "man-harlots" if/when they Google my name? It'd also be nice to know that my name won't come up when creepy people search online for "man-harlots"... yeah. LOL. Let me know if you can help me out on that one.

-B


The post in question has now been edited to remove all confusion as to whether or not said friend is a man-harlot. He's not, but he certainly knows how to strut his stuff on a catwalk!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Day kinda crept up on us here in Scotland. Without a day off work and a family get together on the agenda it's easy to forget these things. So we had chicken fajitas and I'm thinking about stuffing a chicken later this week - and perhaps having a coworker from New Zealand over to share in the feast.

But just because we forgot/were too tired to do thanksgiving dinner properly, it doesn't mean we're not thankful.

What am I thankful for?

A very considerate and generous husband who is currently doing the washing up.
Two good jobs and enough money for us to live comfortably.
Really amazing friends in both Canada and Scotland (and Liberia!).
Not one but TWO very loving families to miss.
The new issue of Living Etc just came out ;)

how 'bout you guys?

lazy sunday

Morning service led to all church lunch, a stroll through downtown and a mellow afternoon in the suburbs with our friend Ali - sampling some new bands and meandering along the shore of the River Dee.

The quiet day was a welcome break from my hectic Starbucks Saturday - the busiest of the year with me on the coffee bar all morning. I think I handled it with grace but I wasn't composed enough to stop and chat when Dean and Stephen stopped by for a latte.

Speaking of Starbucks, there are rumors floating around that when I put on my apron, it touches the floor. I assure you this rumor is entirely unfounded, though now that you mention it, it's curious that no one noticed my trousers were tucked into wellies at work all day yesterday ;)

Had dear friends over for dinner and chats last night. Entertaining in our flat really made Aberdeen feel like home.

While the cat's away...

Last night Dean was away at a work retreat so I had the flat all to myself. I'd like to say I took advantage of the quiet time by clearing the furniture and doing some yoga, or that I used it to transcribe interview notes that have been waiting nearly a month, or to thoughtfully handwrite letters to some of you.

But no.

I crossed the street to Morrisons and got myself a big ass bag of Tangy Cheese Doritos (leading cause of repulsive breath in the Regier household) and polished off Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Crawled into my big empty bed and was lonely for the three minutes it took me to fall asleep (compared to the usual 20). Glad Dean's back tonight, but sometimes it's just nice to sleep on your tummy with limbs spread everywhere and to gorge yourself on fake cheese flavouring.

cause. effect.

the sun came out. we went to the beach.

[Cruden Bay, North East Scotland]

the best ode to a woman we loved

My cousin (in law) Matthew wrote some beautiful words about our grandmother. They are brief and lovely, and worth a read for those who enjoy good writing, even if you've never heard of Gladys Smith.

Read them here.

over the line

I was puzzling about hip kids and how far you can justifiably take children's fashion? Angelina found the line and crossed it. Erm, matching Valentino bags? (via Glamour.)

hello, goodbye

Our family is changing.

One week ago my grandma passed away — the only "real" grandparent I'd ever had until I married into the Regier family. My parents made it home in time to say goodbye and put things in order. I had the chance to say goodbye in July, knowing Nana may not be around for Christmas. I shall miss her hilarious banter at family gatherings but we're all pretty grateful she passed away before her Alzheimers got the best of her.

But God has a wonderful way with balance. On Thursday night we gained a new family member: a niece who, at last phone conversation, had not received a confirmed name but is big and healthy and surely beautiful though we're still eagerly awaiting photos. Little Elizabeth/Sophie shared a birthday with her Auntie Jill and my best friend Julie. What a day!!!

On a totally different note, It's a busy weekend.

Last night Dean and I joined some friends to hear Nicky Cruz speak in Bridge of Don. Nicky was the most notorious street gang leader in New York in the 60s until a skinny preacher from Pennsylvania showed up in Brooklyn to tell them about Jesus—a story I read years ago in one of my favourite books, The Cross and the Switchblade. I've read the book more than once, yet hearing it from Nicky was still compelling enough to push me to the edge of my seat.
His change from murderer & heroin addict to preacher is especially pertinent as I've been meeting some of the guys at Teen Challenge here in Scotland who've undergone the same amazing transformation. It's nice to be reminded what God is capable of.

Today was a long and astonishingly busy day at Starbucks—exhausting enough to make me look forward to my days at the College next week, but not enough to convince me that applying for this job wasn't a great idea in the end.

Tonight we are going to see a band from Kendal (Lake District), provided I can bear to stand for more than an hour. Maybe I'll just stay home and have a Flight of the Conchords marathon :)

catch up

I am busy. I'd forgotten what that felt like. For now what it looks like is a very shabby rate of return on the emails you've all been sending. I do apologize. I have an action plan and will reply soon!

It's good to be busy though. I appreciate days off more. Yesterday, for example, was a Scottish public holiday (not sure which one). I strolled through my old Rosemount 'hood and indulged in some nostalgia... until I remembered how much we hated our old flat in said 'hood, then I was happy to be living downtown instead. Had lunch with good friends. Did laundry. Put some personal touches into a batch of chicken korma. And picked up photos from Boots:

Slains Castle with Sabs and Di




Royal Deeside hike with Verity & Di


Sisterly trip to Edinburgh

more good things

Since the death of Fresh Cuts i've had no outlet for all the goodies I've stumbled upon recently. They've been piling up. Enjoy.

Crocheted succulents. Kitschy? maybe. But I have a thing for succulents and a thing for cleverness and these little wonders combine the two. (via apartmenttherapy)

Paper lanterns. Make your own. Dean and I spent weeks hunting for a decent light shade for our living room. This woulda been simpler and just as a pretty. (I'm missing my subscription to Blueprint mag, but fortunately their blog is a good holdover until I get home in December.)

More band art. We're still in love with our smallstakes rock art, but should we need to economically adorn more walls in the future, I'll be visiting The Decoder Ring.

Jonathan Adler's Manifesto. A fabulous designer with a sharp sense of humour. I appreciated this manifesto almost as much as I appreciate his chic furniture and cheeky needlepoint. Also, his new menagerie line of pottery is adorably ironic and almost enough to make one start buying overpriced items I'd surely break in a month.

Orla Kiely camping gear at Millets. Britain's answer to MEC teamed up with a fave textile designer to make some Glastonbury-worthy camping gear. A snippet of my first paycheque is going towards these wellies!

London in a Bag. Paris in a bag. Wooden blocks were my favourite play station in Kindergarten, but I don't think you need to be five to appreciate these. I'm kicking myself for not acting on instinct and popping into Muji in London. It's now on my Dublin to-do list for next month.

(coffee) bar star

George Michael is on the stereo. (I love him.)

Premade pIzza is in the oven. (Made a very healthy lentil soup last night, so this is justified.)

My feet are aching satisfactorily.

I did a nine-hour shift at Starbucks today and I can officially make your blended drink to perfection. Though if you ask for a Banana Chip Frappuccino I might refuse because they are disgusting.

This is so odd, and it could just be the caffiene or the novelty of my first service job, but I came home today and could honestly respond, "Really good!" when Dean asked how my day was. Conversely, yesterday when I arrived home from my well-paid marketing communications job at the College I responded: "Lame! No one talks to me. I'm just a work horse pumping out copy all day."

Methinks this is a testament to the importance of a good workplace atmosphere. There is so much to be said for co-workers who enjoy one another's company—the only thing that could make bussing tables sound more appealing than writing press releases.

hip kids

We're certainly in no rush, I assure you (and by "you" I mostly mean my overly concerned twin sis), but picking baby names has become one of our favourite pastimes since we've been married.

There is still a minor celebration each month when we receive confirmation that we'll be welcoming zero children into the world in nine months, but we're finally starting to look forward to the prospect.

I'm not gonna lie, though I'm sure we will relish the certain joy of nurturing and loving our very own brood, at this point what really gets us going is kids fashion.

We both paused in "aw" when we saw baby-sized Campers in Knightsbridge last month, and I never fail to stop in front of H&M kids' window display, picturing my nephews in little plaid print hoodies under a miniature sport coat, or my nieces in a wool dress with tights and ballet flats.

But rightly so, one sometimes asks, how far is too far? Would you dress your kid in white skinny jeans? At least one fashion insider seems to think this is pushing it. On the one hand, years later when their girlfriends ask to see baby pics, your kids be eternally grateful. On the other hand, who's it really for?

Funny how I can realize that the desire for hip kids is pure self-indulgence and vanity, I still can't help but get all gooey when I look at that hip kid on the ferris wheel. Sure, kids might be a few years away, but maybe I'll get a head start on the shopping ;)

not a total bust

We were sad to see the parents go early, but thankfully the weekend did take a turn for the better, even in spite of the rain.

On Saturday, after a day of trudging through the rain for some discounted Starbucks beverages, we had holed up for the night in our comfies—me finishing the last pages of Atonement and Dean downloading TV shows for later consumption.

The phone rang. It was our friend Dave Montgomery. As it happens, he and his fiancee Cheryl were having a quiet night in as well. So were Stephen and Claire.So were Iain and Suzi. We decided to have our quiet night in all together, and out rather than in. To the bar and then the kebab shop and then Suzi and Iain's which is conveniently situated in the city centre—perfect for heckling barely dressed freshmen from a second storey window.

On Sunday we received a gift from Heaven (well, Glasgow actually). A long awaited set of chair legs from IKEA, delivered by Claire's mom. You better believe we got some funny looks when she announced in church, "I have your legs in the car!"

To slap the icing on the cake, we got a fun day of sight seeing afterall when Dave and Cheryl invited us to come look at wedding venues with them. In Scotland this means historic manor homes and castles!

First stop, Castle Fraser. The reception room was a bit small, but it had some amazing turrets and a killer balcony. The grounds were a bit sparse, but it had the quirkiness and spiral staircases of a fairytale. We could see why Dave and Cheryl called in a second opinion (us).






Second stop, Haddo House, an historic stately home—former residence of Lord Aberdeen, a Governor General of Canada! From a photographer's perspective this venue was a coup: stunning manicured gardens and huge stone staircases. The room was bigger and, this was the clincher, it has its own chapel. Dean and I were ready to renew our vows just so we could say we got married here. A little bit of haggling on Dave's part sealed the deal!