The Linkables

Bought myself a solo ticket this evening - who wants to keep my company? ;)

The UK's Eurovision entry will be getting announced on Monday.

Street legal Batmobile goes on sale for £1m.

Dundee road renamed Bash Street in Beano tribute.

Dinner with the Smiths is a new Glasgow food blog I found this week

Piece is a west end cafe I took my first bite in this week and highly recommend.

I'm really not sorry for Instagramming my food though: 16 ways foodies drive you crazy

This is one of my best personal pieces I've reead in ages: I'm fat, forty and have no trouble getting laid all the time.

A beautiful mini-guide to house plants.

How to photograph in low light 

5 creative ways to wear green on St Paddy's Day.

5 ways to fail gracefully

Hilariously (and thankfully) outdated advice from a 1967's Seventeen magazine.

I'd never have it in me to review a sex toy on my blog - but I'm glad other people do (NSFW)

Stylish ladies posing with vegan food. Lookbook cook is my kind of thing.

Zoe, previously of The London Lipgloss, rebranded as ZOE LDN this week and I am loving the new direction for her.

Morag x

Lunch at Rufus T Firefly

A few weekends ago I had several non-Glasgow friends in town (for a weekend of speed dating, Limp Bizkit and a trip to a smaller indie bar - for some reason - we all wanted to try). Whilst sauntering about town after they all got their corresponding transport into G-town, we all felt peckish (or hungover, which was actually the truth for me) and it was my pal Alan who suggested Rufus T Firefly. (Alan has lived in Dundee all his life, but can recommend more places to scoff your face in Glasgow than I can).

Rufus T Firefly is American themed with that rock music vibe (read: not a classy tea room you'd take your grandmother to). I love the vibe of American themed places but unfortunately their menu's are usually an ode to burgers and hot dogs with not much veggie stuff, however there were quite a few options for me and my veggie pal (wasn't the odd one out this time haha).

I settled on the veggie fajitas:

And my pal Alan had their 'inferno burger':

I obviously didn't ask to have a bite...

...but here's what Alan himself had to say on his meat-feast:

"A decent sized spicy burger with plenty on the side. Not hot enough for a chilli fan but good for a pub." 

(FYI, Alan collects bottles of random brands of chilli sauces...his idea of 'mild' would land some of us in hospital).

Morag x

Greenland Pure & White Vitalizing body lotion

Greenland body lotion Vitalizing Italian lime & vanilia *

Greenland was not a brand I had previously heard of (it's actually a Dutch brand) until I was kindly sent some of their products over by the PR firm they are working with. And as body lotion is an essential in most humans beauty cabinets (even those not all that into pampering) I decided to weigh in with my thoughts on this. If you've already watched my February favourites video you'll know that I've rated this highly but I just wanted to pop by and give a more in depth review of this body lotion. 

I mentioned in my video that this is a good everyday moisturiser for normal skin on areas in the body with minimal dryness. I've been using this since I got it on my legs and arms (torso too if I'm feeling particularly awake that morning) but for my feet I've been switching to creams of the thicker variety. 

The fragrance is quite zingy, as you might imagine. If you know me that you'll know that fragrance free is a big plus in my book so I was really put off when I first opened the bottle. However like a lot of lotions the fragrance doesn't linger on the skin and I don't have to go about my day smelling like a lime. 

Greenland are a brand that pride themselves on being natural and organic. I'm not a natural beauty user but I know a lot of people who read my blog are so I thought I would share a few tuppence about it. As advertised there are no parabens in this product and when I checked the label I found nothing of the sort. However there were still a few ingredients that got my head tilting and my lips trying to move but not sure which way they were meant to in order to pronounce dicaprylyl carbonate and cetearyl alcohol. I had a Google for these ingredients and was met with chemistry symbols. Yeah. 

But overall, I would say this is a body lotion that falls in the average spectrum of body lotion. I would like to try more from the Greenland range (but probably won't rush out to buy it right this second). 

Morag x

* PR sample but my views are always the same. 

Single on v-day? How about speed dating at the Catty? #3dates3mths

Erm, sorry if you're that guy in this photo...

I'm a long term singleton who has clocked over three years on the dating market, so when JustSingles got in contact with me asking if I wanted to take part in their #3dates3mths campaign I was all 'why the hell not?' Admittedly being single isn't something that keeps me up on my spoonless nights ("better to be single than settle" is my motto) however it's been a *cough* while since I've even dated someone casually so I decided this was worth taking part in to get me 'back in the game' (I might edit that phrase later). 

I know some people have seen the hashtag coyly popping up on Twitter and have been urging me to get my posts up, but the jist for anyone who is unsure is that I have to try three different ways to find a date over the course of three months. One of them using JustSingles dating site itself and the other two being of my own choosing.  

I did originally decided that a 'shag tag' or 'traffic light party' would be a terrific way to meet a nice, respectable single guy, but Glasgow was looking low on these events over the valentines period so I chose speed dating - for little other reason than both The Cathouse and The Garage were running it on v-day. 

And naturally I chose the Catty. I do love myself a bit of The Garage but I like my guys tattooed, a bit rougher, wearing vans and packaged up with that "I spend my youth skateboarding round the back of shopping centres" vibe. 

Even if all my workmates were like: "Catty? Morag, really?"

The event itself...

You might recall that I have been speed-dating before (and another time after that if you include last year's Valentine's blogger meet-up), and whilst I realised the Cathouse wouldn't be of the same set-up (read: not held in my old student union where I knew most of the guys coming round) I was met with a very 'good time' speed dating, as in it wasn't really all that official. Instead of numbered tables the marketing manager came out of the DJ booth and handed out pieces of paper and just told us to mingle. 

With only about 6 people of each sex taking part it didn't take long for the mingling to concede and we handed back our papers. I never received mine back and remain unaware if the guy who I marked 10/10 because we shared a great moment air guitaring to MeatLoaf (because after a few rums this is become a very important quality in a potential boyfriend) shared my fondess. 

However, some of things I have learnt about speed dating, from both this event and my previous flirt with it:

Choose your venue carefully - I did realise 'Valentine's Day speed dating at the Cathouse' wouldn't be a serious affair but all the speed dating events hosted by actual dating companies are held in bars described as 'suited for the classy professional' which suggest that, yes, I would get a proper four minutes seated with each guy, but also that all the guys coming round would be respectable lawyers who played golf at the weekend (and I don't fancy them). 

Don't bring your sister - One of the guys I spoke to had his sister in tow, and she even whispered to me 'be nice to him'! I don't have any siblings but I'd like to think I'd leave them at home if I did (like I did with all my real family members). 

It's fun - Despite the likelihood that you probably won't meet your future spouse this way, speed dating is fun and I would encourage everyone to put it on their 'single person bucket list' (please tell me I'm not the only person who has one of those?). 

And because this is primarily a fashion/beauty blog, here is what I wore:

Dress: Primark (sale)

Bag: Red and Bold

Rings: Combination of Maggie's Farm & Next (old)

Boots: New Look (old)

It took me until 2am to spot that I had worn a cat shaped bag to the Cathouse. And I got drunkenly amazed and giggly about it. 

And now I'm away to take my very obvious coolness on my next attempt to snag a date (in a veggie restaurant/bar). 

Morag x

The Linkables

Scotland's first 'Doric' bus launched in Aberdeen.

5 myths about introverts and extroverts at work

16 scene fads we regret taking part in, except I don't regret any of them

I loved this piece on gender bending models.

10 books every digital marketer should read

This is something I wholeheartedly agree with and practice but I don't always see other people practice it.

I'm have a big interest in the United States and this list of 124 states that could've been was the kind of geek thing that feeds that interest.

Forensic artist reconstructues face from skull- shaped vodka bottle.

Morag x

The Pancake Place: for all my Dundonian hangover needs...

This place is generally recognised as being somewhere for families and old grannies but, for me anyway, The Pancake Place brought me back to life from many a hangover during my time in Dundee. So when I woke up less for wear when I returned a fortnight ago with a Glaswegian friend in tow I knew which Dundee delicacy I needed to acquaint my friend with.

For the bulk of people, hangover cure central is usually somewhere like McDonald's (which is just across the road from here) or Subway but the whole no-meat thing makes that a little trickier for me. The Pancake Place has a good range of food including the veggie burger I had (pictured above), macaroni cheese which my friend had and a range of decadent pancakes (you can see my Instagram from last year).

As well as carrot cake cupcakes:

There are however a lot of kids going about so maybe not if your head is too sore. ;)

Morag x

Tartan sleeves and cheesy pop

Jacket: Primark

I was in two minds about posting this outfit as it ended up not looking quite as good on as it had in my head. I do however really love this jacket, but it's one of those pieces that it can be difficult to decide what it goes with! What does tartan actually go with anyway?

I had originally planned to wear this outfit with a pair of black jeans - but immediately was reminded on why I haven't owned any non-sport trousers for about two years.They don't really suit my figure and I find skirts/dresses a hella lot more comfy (believe it or not). So it was on with a skirt: the only one I could grab being the work skirt I had being wearing that day before having to grab a bus across to Dundee to attend a cheesy pop night.

Oh well.

Morag x

The Linkables

Content creation tools for when the writers block hits

If you've left your valentine's shopping a bit late: 20 Valentine presents that don't suck.

You know when you feel a bit late to the party when you discover an already well-read blog? I felt like that when I stumbled upon The Travel Hack this week.

I try to never mention Buzzfeed cause everyone should be reading it anyway, but this has to be the greatest article ever: politicians wearing wellies and staring at floods.

I'm also very glad someone put this together: the definitive ranking of herbs. This is important guys.

For a country that has a lot of pro-life advocates, giving birth in America sure is expensive.

Feminist Taylot Swift is th e best Twitter account I've come across in ages.

New vegan brand I discovered this week: Booja Booja.

My cousin broke some weight lifting records this week. Look for Keith Ross in the league table.

I love salad (genuinely) but this tumblr blog is hilariously.

The NUS Scotland LGBT campaign release their official statement on the Winter Olympics.

I agree that it's very important that bloggers talk to their readers.

This is how I feel about juice detox cleanses.

Some excellent social media tips. Espencially the point about beig native.

Lessons I learnt from living alone.

Ombre carrots.

Morag x

The brand spanking new Twitter chat for bunny friendly bloggers

You may already know about the new Twitter chat I've launched because 1) I've been prattling on about it on Twitter for the last week and 2) the account already has 75 followers after a fortnight. But if you're someone who has avoided my tweets the idea is this: there's a new Twitter chat in town geared towards cruelty-free beauty bloggers. Which I'm co-organising. And it starts a week today.

Along with Charlotte and Tilly, it was decided that the very seldom used #cfbloggers Twitter tag required a resurrection. I had toyed with the idea of a cruelty-free chat and blogger network in the past but felt daunted about how much work it would be for one person and all the other doubts that come with starting a new project. But we're now a group of three and have been frantically brain-storming over late night e-mails with plans and ideas.  

The first chat, taking place next Thursday at 9-10pm GMT, will be a nice introductory natter and the topic will be our cruelty-free stories: reasons, when, how long it took us, where we are with it etc. The chat is open to anyone interested no matter where they are with their journeys. Whether you're a cruelty-free veteran, considering making the switch, made your decision but still a bit confused, vegan, vegetarian or eat meat, all that matters is you want to have a wee chat about bunny friendly make-up. The planned topics are all related to cruelty-free beauty and so far we've decided to stay away from the topic of blogging to make it more inclusive. 

We've also decided we want to create a space that is free of body-shaming and other similar issues. Shockingly enough we haven't followed PETA from the Twitter account....

But we promise we're not going crazy with the rules. That's the only two we have. 

I also hinted at this three paragraphs ago but we are also hoping to expand into a 'network' i.e. a website for cruelty-free bloggers, but for now it's just a chat as the three of us get into the groove of spending our Thursday nights tweeting away. In time we hope to have a solid web presence with blogs, and profiles and resources and lists. 

Me, Charlotte and Tilly are really pleased at the amount of support that has already come in. At 75 followers in one fortnight this is a chat which was clearly needed and we're so glad any fears that it would just be the three of us are now looking ridiculous in hindsight. We've still got a small bit of planning to do in the background but we are all pumped and so looking forward to seeing your beautiful faces on Twitter next Thursday at 9pm!

Mwah! xx

Mango and grapefruit smoothie

I am not always organised enough to do so but I do like to have a smoothie to start me off on my day. And for some time this had slid to the side amongst my daily routine but seeing the recipes from the bloggers taking part in the #alproAM challenge gave me a push forward to give making them a shot again and get more creative with my recipes.

Grapefruit is a bit of a love or hate it fruit. It's very tangy and I always have to be in the correct mood for it. But I do find this mood presents itself in the morning hours as its strong flavour can alert my sense for the day ahead, but for this recipe I did balance it out with the slightly mellow fruit, the mango (I'm rarely in the mood for straight grapefruit juice).

Ingredients:
Half a can of mangos (I had already used the other half in my dinner that night)
Half a grapefruit
Enough almond milk to cover the fruit (nothing really gets measured in my kitchen)
A few squeezes of maple syrup

Make sure everything is well chopped and whizz it about in a blender (or a juicer if you're not on a graduate salary).

This is also a smoothie that works well to keep overnight - just remember to keep it covered and give it a good stir the next morning!

I have experimented a little bit more with different recipes but this one was my own creation and is one I could imagine myself doing again. A recipe I discovered through #alproAM was Megan's avocado, peanut butter and banana smoothie which might not be for everyone but for an avocado enthusiast like me it was right up my morning breakfast bar (though it can't be made the night before as avocados go off really quickly)

Morag x

The Linkables

What if the Winter Olympics had taken place in Manhattan?

How to be there for someone during trauma.

Traditional gender roles are easy. Real intimacy is not.

I love a smoothie made with Alpro almond milk and have loved reading the recipes for #AlproAM

The best marriage proposal of all time: it includes David Boreanaz and the girl didn't wait for him to ask her.

30 vegan lunches you can take to work.

Geeks make great team mates too. 

A Tumblr showcase of rap artist logos.

If you're always looking some obscure band that no one has heard of then try Forgotify, which finds you songs on Spotify that have never been played.

One of the hardest struggled, I found, when starting 9-5 work was staying healthy and Megan has regurgitated a lot of what I found out first-hand.

I got my reminder that I am due a smear test soon and Dawn summed up just why it's so important that girls take their appointment.

If you cry every night because MySpace just isn't the same anymore, then I present to you FriendProject (it looks just like the 2005 myspace).

I've been making a song and dance about this all week so you might know but if not the US of A might be requiring animal testing for cosmetics by law.

I've also been banging about about this a lot and a full post is due next week but me and some other bloggers have started a cruelty-free beauty bloggers chat!

Morag x

Hask argan oil hair kit (the one from Primark)

I've mentioned in several videos and blog post now that my hair took a turn for the worst near the end of last year.The Squeeky Green solid shampoo from Lush destroyed my hair and left it straggly and dry. Having lived my life with oily hair I've not overly familiar with deep conditioning treatments and had to try a few things before I got anything to work. And in the end the Hask Argan Oil shampoo, conditioner, hair mask and hair oil was what brought my hair back to life. *

I had spotted these in Primark but honestly assumed they wouldn't be worth the small price tag due to it, you know, being Primark and all. However when yours truly won these in the raffle at the Christmas blogger meet-up I was very impressed with the silkiness of my hair afterwards.

I mentioned somewhere in my January favourites video that I would be writing a full review this week and I've decided to go through how I like to use them.

Repairing Shampoo
Due to having oily hair this did eventually get a bit too much for daily use. Whilst my hair was in desperate need of repair it was a god send but these days I prefer to use it as a weekly treatment, and use a shampoo meant for oily hair the other six days of the week.

Repairing Conditioner
I have been using this every single day since the night I got and I absolutely love it, and have repurchased a second bottle with my own money. It's conditioning but not heavy and I'm struggling to forsee me using anything else.

Hair Mask
I actually got two sachets of this and used them within the first fortnight. It was this product that totally turned my hair around and I seen an immediate difference after my hair was blowdried. It is extremely thick and there was so much product in the packet (even for my super long hair) but was just what my hair was gagging for. I haven't repurchased this because my hair is now back to normal and I have now reverted back to a regular run of the mill Superdrug treatment for normal non-damaged hair. But if your hair is in some serious need of some short-term TLC, I would hands down recommend getting yer paws on it.

Hair oil
Admittedly this is the least used of the products, as I am not a fan of adding much product to my hair post shower time. I use it on days where I have a streak or patch of dry hair and apply it to wet hair and once blow dried the oil can't be felt in my hair (I hate using oil on dry hair because it always seems to leave a residue).

Have you tried this range? Are you now tempted to purchase it?

What I've been listing to: January

January featured my first return to Dundee since August, specifically for the second night of POP at Kage Nightclub. Because of my excitement for this my Spotify listening was reading a who is who of really bad pop music from the 90's, and whilst I'd like to pretend I listen to cheesy pop in the ironic hipster fashion; I enjoy it with complete and true love like I would for a puppy.

But saying that January is typically the month I search out new bands (being a new year and all that) so there are a few more ~edgier~ types in their. But it's typically quite poppy this month.

That don't impress me much - Shania Twain

I think we're alone now - Tiffany

Timber - Pitbull ft Ke$ha

 Recover - CHVRCHES

Seventeen - Let Loose

Another girl another planet - Blink 182

Sugar - The Horrible Crowes

Demons - Imagine Dragons

Icarus - Madeon

Dancing on the ceiling - Lionel Richie

Affirmation - Savage Garden

Don't turn off the lights - Enrique Iglesias

Secretly - Skunk Anansie

You can listen to the whole playlist on Spotify here.

Morag x