Four places to visit in the Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands are one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I still can't quite believe they're in the UK. And that it took so long for me to finally visit! Make sure you don't wait as long as I did as trust me, you're missing out. We're lucky to have friends living up there who knew all the best places to take us. If you're planning a trip to the east coast, here are four places you should definitely add to your intinerary. 

1. Golspie
This little town is famous for being the home of the beautiful Dunrobin Castle, a fairytale chateau-style castle build an incredible 700 years ago. Make sure you spend an hour or so taking in the walled gardens and catching the fun falcon show. Once you've enjoyed the castle, it's time to refuel with some cake at a little tea room in the high street before heading out to explore the waterfalls. The city girl in me had no idea that scenes like this existed in the UK. I don't get out to the countryside much! The Big Burn is an easy 2.5km walk through lush, green woodlands. Pack sensible shoes and wander until your heart's content.

2. Tarbat Ness
This lighthouse is the perfect places to watch the sun go down. Climb over the rocks and you're greeted with the amazing sight of seals splashing about in the water below - this was by far a highlight of my trip. If you visit during the summer, you'll find the seals soaking up the rays on the rocks themselves.

3. Loch Ness
Probably the most famous loch in Scotland, Loch Ness is the largest one in the UK thanks to the sheer volume of water. It's around 45 minutes from Inverness and makes a great day trip. We explored the Loch with an hour long boat ride with Jacobite Cruises who helped to set the scene. It was fascinating to listen to the folklore and history of the area. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking, even on a gloomy day.

4. Glenmorangie Distillery
No trip to Scotland is complete with squeezing in a trip to a whisky distillery. Book yourself into the fascinating tour and learn about the history of this famous whisky. You'll be able to try a sample at the end. Even if you're not a whisky fan it's still worth doing because it really is such an interesting process and the guides are so enthusiastic.

Have you been to the Highlands before? Anywhere I should add to my list? I'm definitely planning on heading back soon!

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Restaurant review: Caravan, Kings Cross, north London

Located in Kings Cross' Granary Square - fast becoming my favourite place in London for dinner-, Caravan is housed within an old Victorian grain store. Giving off cool industrial vibe, the restaurant offers sharing plates of good, wholesome food with a great terrace out the front. I'd only been for breakfast but as we were in the area, we decided it was time to check out the full menu for an early dinner. What a great early dinner it was!

We opted for a pizza and three sharing plates which was more than enough to leave us feeling satisfied. So for the sharing plates? We pumped for wonderfully creamy jamon and smoked san simon croquettes with a slightly garlicky saffron mayo, a fresh Burmese chicken salad with ribbons of carrots and beansprouts topped with coriander and roasted cashews before finishing off with a warm Jersey Royal potatoes, watercress and pine nuts topped with a soft boiled egg. But the star of the show was the delicious chewy pizza topped with spicy ndjuda sausage, wilted spinach and sprinkling of chilli power.

All the dishes we tried were spot on and I think the £50 we paid for the meal - including a beer and cider - was great value for the quality of the food. It's a great place to go for an early weekend dinner, the atmosphere is buzzing and although the service was a little slow, the servers were very pleasant. I can't wait to go back and try even more of the menu soon.

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Why gingham is my favourite summer trend

Outfit:
Red and white gingham midi dress: New Look
Nude espadrille wedges: H&M (similar)
Poppy red Lily bag: Mulberry

Despite looking like a tablecloth, Gingham is one of those trends that I come back to summer upon summer. Just looking at the print evokes memories of balmy long summer nights, endless BBQs with friends and trips away to foreign countries. It's seems so timeless and classic, one that will always be around until the end of time. I spotted this red gingham during an unusual browse on New Look late at night - usually I'm an ASOS girl through and though - and it reminded me of a blue dress I had from Topshop many moons ago that I had to reluctantly throw away after it became a little worse for wear. I have every faith that this dress will become just as hardworking and one I will turn to time and time again now that summer has finally reared it's head.

So here we are at Saturday again! Today I have a friend popping round for a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and my favourite bread from a local bakery. This afternoon it's a free for all at a BBQ hosted by my best friend. One of the reasons why I'm so excited to finally move into my own house is because it's less than a five minute walk from BFF. Not that that was the reasoning behind the purchasing... Tomorrow sees a mid morning brunch at Bills before popping to the house to do some work and splashing out on some paint in B&Q. A pretty chilled weekend is just what the doctor ordered...

How is your weekend looking?

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