Matt’s department at the University of Edinburgh held a Burns Supper this past weekend. When going to a dinner for the poet of Scotland, you wouldn’t be caught dead in trousers (or pants for that matter). So Matt bought this dashing tartan number. He’s still working on getting the rest of the kilt accoutrements: sporran (purse), socks (he improvised with some sporty ones), dirk (knife), etc.

Apart from wearing skirts kilts, what do you do to honor Robert Burns you ask? Bagpipes, scotch, eat haggis, scotch, dancing (a ceilidh), some more scotch, topped off with poetry. If you are rusty on your Burns, you’ll probably at least remember Auld Lang Syne and My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose. But if you think all of Burns poetry was sweet and nostalgic you must do some more reading here. He was a bit (read: a lot) of a ladies man and had a great sense of humor. I think he would have been pleased as punch to have men traipsing around on his birthday in kilts, toting bottles of scotch and mumbling rude poetry.

Non-Scots might grimace at the idea of having to eat haggis in order to do this Burns Night thing properly, but really it’s quite tasty. Cath and I both like the meaty version, but this year I opted for the vegetarian one .

What’s in the real version, you ask? Usually sheep heart, liver, lungs, onion, oatmeal, suet and spices — traditionally all wrapped up in a sheep’s stomach. I know that sounds daunting (and terrible if you are vegetarian), but back in the day you used every bit of your very precious animals. What does it taste like? A more irony kind of sausage. When mixed with your potatoes and turnips, it’s delightful!

What’s in the vegetarian version? Lentils and beans instead of the animal bits, and obviously no sheep tummy wrapper. I actually prefer this version most of the time because it’s less iron-y and lets more woolie sheepies roam around.

Not as scary as you thought, right?

In closing, more men in kilts for you lads and lassies:

—-

Dear Cath,

I so missed you sooo much this year! Our first Burns Night apart.

Remember this from this post a few years back?

Love and haggis,

Lar

So what is my secret weapon? My mesh hair donut!

Let me explain.

Ever since I got my hair chopped off last summer (Lar and I took the plunge together) I haven’t been able to wear my hair in a messy bun. At first my hair was too short to even pull back in a respectable ponytail and now it’s still too short to make a full size bun.

Enter the hair donut:

Look at that giant bun! I just loop my ponytail through the mesh donut (see image below), spread my hair around it and pin it with a few hair pins.

I bought it at Primark in Edinburgh when I was visiting Lar. It only cost £1, best cash I’ve ever spent. Even if you can’t make it to Scotland to purchase a mesh hair donut, you can pick one up at your local beauty supply store or just google it and purchase one online.

Hurray for bad hairs days (fixed with mesh donuts)!

________________________

Dearest Lar,

Do you ever use that mesh bump it that you bought at Primark when I bought the donut? I think that one was trickier to use.

Even though I’m easing up on the diet a little bit, I’m still drinking my green juice every morning. I love it!

How many more days on your veggie cleanse? I had seafood the other day when we went to get dim sum and I felt guilty thinking of you eating nothing but fruits and veg.

xoxo, Cath

The winner is Parker Cross! Here’s the proof:

Congratulations, ParkerCross! I’ll email you the details soon. I hope you enjoy your new pair of Feiyues!

To everyone else, don’t worry! We have another contest coming next week. Stay tuned.

Disclaimer: I am one of those people that has become so accustomed to wearing heels that I’ve, at least temporarily, fore-shortened the tendons in my calves and feet. Eeesh, I know that sounds bad, but it’s true that my feet now hurt if I don’t wear heels. So when I was looking for wellies for Scotland, I decided to see if they made any with a stacked rubber heel. I was in luck and found these:

Hunter Boots with a wedge! But I don’t just love them because they are easier on my shortened tendons (again, I know, eeesh!), but they are in fact better than their flat-footed cousins. You know why? They keep your feet warmer! There is at least 1-4 inches of rubber between you and the cold stone pavement. It’s the same reason why people wore pattens during the 14th-20th centuries in Europe:

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For centuries, pattens, or chopines, kept ladies and gents from getting their feet stuck in the mud and errr… other stuff in the street. Luckily I only have to combat cold puddles and the occasional snowy mixture here in present-day Edinburgh.

I’ve worn my green wedge wellies so much, I thought maybe I should buy another pair. If I were still in Atlanta, two pairs of wellies would be unnecessary, but in Edinburgh you can wear these bad boys all year round.

(Gabby Hunter Boots)

If you are in a less rainy and cold climate, but still like the look of a wedge wellie without the cost, here is a round-up of less spendy versions:

Target boots • Wedge Welly boots from Amazon • Walmart boots (available in store)

So what do you think? Have I convinced you of the awesomeness of a rain boot with a little bit of a lift?

Thrifted Wrangler shirt • Blank Denim black chords • Beret from Debenhams • Hunter Boots

—–

Dear Kitcath,

Now that I have two pairs of heeled wellies, you can wear a pair while you are here too!

I hope you are having a wonderful time dim-summing! Wish I were there!

Mucho Love,

Lar

Not owning a car in Edinburgh is no biggie. The bus system here is great and the entire city is really very manageable by foot. There are even trains and buses that take you to nearly every little town in Scotland that your heart desires. But even with this cornucopia of public transport at my disposal, I still sometimes fantasize about my gas-guzzling Chevy that I left in the states.

Starting to eat an uber-healthy diet has changed our lifestyle in a number of ways: no more cookie time; no more quick stop to the local fish n chipee when our tummies growl; and no more hopping on a bus to Asda or toddling a few blocks down to Tesco. In order to be able to afford all this fruit and veg that we are eating, Matt and I now walk about 1.5 miles round trip to an inexpensive green grocer.

(On Lar: snood from Vivid Boutique in Decatur • thrifted shirt from Armstrongs in Edinburgh • Next pink skinnies • Hunter Boots wedge wellies) • hiking backpack is from a random outdoorsy store in Murica, Spain circa 2003 • Eugenia Kim hat • Primark coat and gloves)

I like to feel all noble and Lance Armstrongy because we are walking to buy healthy food, but really I just get whiny and grumpy-pants. I pine for the days of yore in Atlanta when I could drive .75 miles to my grocery store, fill up my trunk (or do I mean boot?) with tons of food, and then drive home and congratulate myself for…erm… finally going grocery shopping, with a nice cookie or two… or five. Horrible I know! Bad for the planet, bad for my health, bad for my cookie jar (always depleted).

I would like to think that if I did have a car in Scotland (and could drive manual, on the wrong side of the road!) that I would never use it except for romantic weekend excursions to castles and lochs. But I know that if I could, I would drive nearly everywhere — especially when it involves totting 20 cucumbers, 5 sweet potatoes, 2 bags of kale, innumerous cans of chick peas, jars of almond butter, peppers, squash, romaine, onions, avocados, etc.

(Daily green juice: cucumber, romaine, kale, apple and celery… not very good for cookie dipping if you were wondering)

The annoying part of all of this is that because I’m eating all these veggies and whole grains, I have a lot more energy and walking back up a hill with a hiking backpack full of veg isn’t as much of a problem as you would think. Sure, I gripe and groan the whole way (sorry, Matteo!), but — blast it all!– this eating healthy thing is working.

This above pic is actually a new favorite recipe of ours. We feel so decadent eating it: roasted sweet potato, black beans (cooked with onion and garlic and some veggie stock), lightly steamed kale, and kiwi (yes, kiwi!) salsa on corn tortillas – soooo good!

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Don’t forget to enter Cath’s give-away, lovely readers! To find out how to win a pair of these awesome Feiyue sneaks, see this blog post (the one below). These sneaks were favored by Shaolin monks and now loved by Parisian hipsters. I feel these would go well with my new active lifestyle, non?

—-

Dear Cath,

Do you find yourself more grumpy on this diet? I’m trying to over-come some of it with some ommmss and journaling, but it’s so much more satisfying to gripe. Why is that?

You should definitely try that sweet potato meal above though! It’s one of the only recipes that isn’t too salady and I don’t complain a jot when I eat it.

Love,

Lar

p.s. This was a photo from yesterday morning out of our kitchen window. Pretty ooo lala – non?

I love reader giveaways, especially when I can show off the item we’re giving away – like these sneaks!  When Feiyue first got in touch with me I thought, “I’m not a sneakers girl, I’m an impractical heels girl!” Well, that was before I tried these babies on and they fit like a glove. Seriously, I feel like I’m walking on air with these on.

I picked out the vintage style Feiyues and one of you lucky readers has the chance to win a pair!

What is Feiyue, you ask? How do you pronounce it? Well, I’m so glad you asked! Here’s a little story about Feiyue:

Outfit details: Feiyue shoes (of course!), secondhand Brooks Brothers shirt, Target belt, Forever 21 pants, Muji watch.

How to enter: Leave a comment on this post telling me how you’d wear these Feiyues and I’ll pick a winner at random. Unfortunately, if you reside in China or Japan, you can’t apply. Contest ends Sunday at 5 p.m.

Good luck!

Thanks to Lisa and Betsy for pointing out that my lovely sheep sweater is a remake of one Princess Di wore. It makes me love it that much more!

__________________________

One of my favorite purchases from my trip to Scotland. It’s not really my style (i.e. cutesy, not black, patterned, and not appropriate for work), but I fell in love with it when I saw it at a little shop in Edinburgh. Every time I wear it I think of Scotland and the cold, blustery day Lar and I went shopping. I can’t remember the name of the shop where I bought the sweater, but I remember the guy working behind the counter was super sweet. . . and dressed exactly like Captain Jack Sparrow – I kid you not!

I feel it’s unfair to name a post “Scottish Sheep,” without including a photo of the incredibly cute Blackface Highland:

photo

Gah! Look at their wittle faces! And there’s millions of them in the highlands – easily outnumbering the human population in Scotland.  See why I love Scotland so much? And why Lar moved there against my wishes? And why I can’t blame her for it?

Outfit details: sweater from a shop in Edinburgh, H&M black turtleneck, Blank cords, and H&M boots.

I’ve got to be honest that the two times I’ve worn this sweater out in public in the states I’ve gotten some stares. Apparently a 28 year old wearing an over-sized sweater with a sheep pattern isn’t typical. It felt so normal when I bought it in Scotland (they’re more into patterns there). Maybe I’ll try wearing it with this black mini to make it more grown up, less cutesy. Then again, maybe I should just embrace the cute factor. I mean, I did use baby talk in this post – eesh!

________

Dearest Lar,

What was the name of that shop? I can’t believe I can’t remember it. All I can remember is that it had a name that made it sound teeny-boper-like. Have you been back since we went last month? Is Captain Jack Sparrow still working there?

I hate that you’re sick! Make sure you’re eating enough. Even if you have to skip the cleanse for a few days until you’re feeling better. Hell, go crazy and eat a cookie! Maybe it’ll make you feel better – as long as it’s gluten free

xoxo,

Cath

I know a lot of you well-traveled readers know about Airbnb already, but isn’t it fantastic? Cath used it last year when she went to L.A. for vacay. Matt and I used it when we first got to Scotland — we needed a temporary home for two weeks and a hotel was too pricey. And we turned to Airbnb for our recent trip to gorgeous lovely Paris.

Airbnb works two ways: you either rent an entire flat/apartment/house from someone or you rent a room and stay with your host. I know both of those options can sound sketchy. Staying in someone’s house, with their things? Or with them? Strangers?! Airbnb is based on trust, testimonials and reviews. And so far the system has worked really well. I know it might still sound sketchy, but that’s why I wanted to mention it here, and to show you some pics of the flat we stayed at in Paris.

(Those are linen sheets on the beds — ooo lala indeed!):

Don’t you love this chair I’m sitting on? I wanted to take it back with me, but it didn’t fit in my carry-on:

All our Airbnb hosts have always been super-informative about where to eat, how to get around, and provided us with clean and beautiful places to stay. Mark, our Paris host, left us with maps and detailed information on how to get to the grocery stores and use the washing machine. On top of that, his flat was just as beautiful as the photos we saw online (the photos in this post with the airbnb watermark are Mark’s) and Mark himself was such a sweet guy — we can’t wait to go back and stay at his flat again!

He even had fancy diptyque room spray in all the rooms:

There was a gorgeous back patio that looks like this in the summer (it was too chilly to use in December):

But still beautiful, with herbs in pots and lanterns with candles:

Cath blended right in:

Have you guys ever used Airbnb? We’re thinking about trying it for London, but they are a bit pricier there (i.e. the same cost as a hotel). Tell us your stories too!

p.s. Thanks you guys for all the encouragement about our new “diet” plans and all the helpful tips! I’ll let you know how we’re feeling in a few weeks time.

—-

Dear Kitcath,

Doesn’t it feel like we were in Paris together months ago? It’s been just about a month now- booo, too long!

I hope you have a really awesomely relaxed weekend — you so deserve it after the crazy, busy, stressful week you’ve had.

Oh, I’m still on my CSD cleanse even with this cold, but I’m doing more raw rather than cooked veggies. Something about uncooked spinach going down a sore throat makes the soul go cold, doesn’t it?

Love you!

Lar

p.s. I added this photo to our About page:

Vegan?! This from a girl who dreamed in high school of becoming a pastry chef and marrying Jacques Torres (just to eat his chocolate and sugar sculptures — sorry, Jacques!). You know Cath and I love food — all food! Even the kind with cute faces — we just kind of liked to forget where our delicious maple syruped bacon comes from because it tastes soooo gooood.

In fact I’m stepping it up a notch and going vegan (mainly raw- gak!) and gluten-free and sugar-free for the next little while. I know that sounds fairly crazy. I mean once you cut out gluten, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, meat, cheese, milk, butter… heat! what and how do you eat? And more pointedly, what the hell do you live for?

(Arugula and quinoa, you sooo don’t taste like mac and cheese):

I’m not a big fan of diets (especially this one!), but I’m not doing this to loose weight and I think that’s why I might stick to it. The much more convincing reason to eat veggies, veggies, and then more veggies is to ease some chronic health problems and pain. I’ve always had a rummy tummy and on top of that I have some tremendous endometriosis pain. Will lettuce and tofu “cure” me? Maybe not. But pills don’t work, so I’m willing to -gulp- cut out croissants and cookies for a while to see how I feel.

(breakfast of champions who dream of buttery crumpets: juiced cucumber, celery, kale, romaine, and apple):

It really helps I’m not doing this alone. My mustachioed man and twinsie are following similar plans. I got the omph and encouragement to try this wacky (but very healthy — full of nutrients even though it doesn’t sound like it) diet by reading Kris Carr’s Crazy, Sexy Diet. She is my new guru. Haven’t heard of her? Check out her fabuloso blog.

(there are 14 cucumbers hiding under this stash – I kid not… we only have four left in our fridge):

We don’t usual talk about health foods and diets here on AsianCajuns, but all this stuffs (veggies, being kinder to the planet, curing my ails) have been on the forefront of my mind for a long while. Are any of you guys vegan or have tried cutting out foods for allergies or inflammation? Do you think Cath and I are nutso for giving up such delicious things even for a short while? (Erm, I kinda do!).

Kisses and Kale (and broccoli and spinach and cucumbers and carrots and..),

Lar

Oh! And I found this video of me, showing you how I feel about 98% of the time:

—-

Dear Kitcath,

So glad you are doing this with me! You would be so proud, I haven’t had a cookie/biscuit in three days. Three days! I definitely have the non-cookie grumpies though!

Love you!

Lar

The Danish television crime drama “The Killing” hasn’t made it stateside, but British readers probably know the show and will roll their eyes at hearing yet again about Sarah Lund’s famous jumpers (that’s “sweaters” for you/us Americans).

I’m not a huge fan of crime detective shows unless it’s quaint or period (e.g. “Pushing Daisies” or “Poirot”). Too much crazy psychopath nonsense gives me the hibbie jibbies. But “The Killing” is totally worth the mind-shivers because of its kick-ass, female lead who wears these awesome sweaters/jumpers:

photo credit

Sarah Lund (see above right) is the crime-solving Danish bad ass/leading lady in “The Killing.” Her character isn’t Carrie Bradshaw. She wears the same sweater/jumper nearly every episode (she has 2-3 she rotates in the first two seasons), but it’s because of these sweaters that she has become a style icon. In fact The Guardian listed her as #1 on their best dressed celeb list of 2011.

photo credit

You might be thinking “Sweater, schmeater (or jumper, schwumper) — who cares?! Wearing a woolly knitted pattern on your torso does not a style icon make.” I think it goes something like this: It’s winter time and cold and windy. You wear lots of layers, but still walk around shivering. You know why? Cuz you don’t have a 100% Danish wool jumper that not only keeps you warm, but makes you feel like an intensely-focused, crime-kicking lady detective that doesn’t care what others think. In fact, you care so little, you wear the same outfit for 10 days straight without showering. It’s the ultimate in I-don’t-give-a-s*&t clothing. And who doesn’t want more of that in their closet/lives?

I’m still taking showers regularly and have only worn my sweater once, but, yes-indeedy, I now own what I call my “Sarah Lund Jumper” for those days when I feel like “ooo sooo cold {shake, shake}” and need to feel like “F*&%, the cold and that stupid guy who cut me off in line at Tesco!”

Here I am in all my bad-assery. Yeah, I’d scare the pants off all those bad guys:

I got this 100% wool, Danish jumper at a lovely vintage shop here in Edinburgh called Godiva for £25. Mine is real-deal Danish wool, but it’s not the actual sweater/jumper Sarah Lund wears. Lund has a $300 version by Gudrun & Gudrun. It’s self-cleaning and much softer than my itchy wooly job, but I think you can kick ass in either version.

So ladies and gents, lesson learned today: buy a crime-fighting jumper and you too can run after bad guys and solve intricate crimes or, you know, at least give that Tesco line-cutter guy the evil eye with Danish aplomb.

—-

Dear Cath,

I’m so bummed we didn’t get to watch this together when you were here. I still hope you guys can get your hands on a copy! I wonder if the sweater would work as well in Atlanta. Even in the winter I think the humidity would take down anyone wearing a Scandinavian jumper faster than any psychopathic serial killer, so maybe don’t try this until you come visit me again.

Skypie date this weekend?

xoxoxoxo,

Lar