We’re more than halfway through August and life lately in Scotland has been a roller coaster – as always!
I thought during the summer, I’d be better at balancing work and pleasure, but many commitments have meant I’ve been busier than expected.
Graduation
In late June, we welcomed the Brit’s parents, brother and sister-in-law back up to Scotland. It was a bit of a big family reunion and trip. They were up for the Brit’s graduation from his PhD. He finished last year and has been a lecturer ever since, but he finally graduated!
It was really sweet and I was so proud of him in that exact moment! The best thing was that, since I used to work for the university, a colleague of mine got me and the Brit’s parents seats in the front row with the VIPs. It of course ended up being the hottest day in history in Scotland lol so we were quite hot! The Brit even more as he was wearing his kilt and the graduation gown!
Wee trip in Argyll
The same night we headed out to dinner with more of the Brit’s family and then on our way to Minard in Argyll. The Brit’s parents rented a house there and it was huge and gorgeous! The next day was my 29th birthday which we celebrated by going to the Isle of Gigha.
The good weather continued, and we walked around a bit before settling on the beach and hiring some kayaks. I hadn’t kayaked in a few years, but it was fun! The water was also crystal clear, which is so beautiful! I obviously got sunburnt on my legs because of the water, but it was worth it!
Physical in July
As you may know, if you’ve been reading my blog, July was an intense month for me physically speaking. I trained about 5 times a week for my triathlon. Then on the 21st July I went up my first munro! It was an amazing experience, though tiring obviously! Absolutely worth it! We were rewarded afterwards with a whisky tasting. My first!
Then a week later I was off to Loch Lomond to take part in my first triathlon. What a mess that I ended up having both events in the span of the same week lol. But I managed both and I’m so proud!
Healthy eats
With the triathlon training, we’ve switched to a more high protein low carbs diet and it’s been amazing! I feel less sluggish and have way more energy. It’s also been so interesting to try new recipes and discover new things (hello to my new favourite sesame oil!) Though we’ve lapsed in the past week or so with the German trip…
Preview of the V&A
In late July I was invited for a preview of the new V&A which is about to open in Dundee! This is so exciting! Myself and a few other bloggers/influencers got an exclusive walk around the building (outside only!) before attending a wee reception at the Apex Hotel.
The V&A will be Scotland’s first design museum and I’m very keen to say that I’ll be attending the opening in Septembre as well. From what we could see from the walk around, it is so much more impressive than I thought it would be!
A new job
So this one was the surprise of the summer! In early June I saw a sponsored ad on Facebook about a writing job for a cool company I know with a wee office in Edinburgh. I sent in a CV, not thinking more about it. Two interviews later, I was told that while I didn’t get the job, they really wanted me on board, so they created a new role for me. What?! I know!
I started last week, and I love every bit of it! I now write about travel for a living – that’s pretty much a dream job!
*However, because the company is travel based it means there is a bit of a conflict of interest with my blog. It means I’ll be taking a wee bit of a step back with travel heavy posts on the blog (about the Nordic countries and Scotland anyway).
Germany
Then last week we were off to Germany. One of our good friends (and my triathlon training partner) is from Münster in the North Rhine-Westphalia region (near the Dutch border). She celebrated her 30th birthday last week so she invited us along.
It was such a fun trip! We stayed at her parents’ house and her and her family took such good care of us. Honestly, trips around Münster and Münsterland, and all. the. food! It was a great 4-5 days. I will write about it soon!
Iceland
This one is still related to my new job. Since my new company is Icelandic, it means I get to go to Iceland for work. I know, the dream! I’m off to Iceland next weekend for about 4-5 days. I’ll work from the Reykjavik office before going on a trip around the Golden Circle with another colleague from the Scotland office. I won’t be able to blog much about it, but I’m excited! Check out my Instagram for live updates!
Looking forward to catching up on more blogs over the weekend (I’ve been away too long) and continuing this exciting summer!
What has your summer been like? Anything exciting coming up?xx
