Lately....

• I seem to be eating all the burgers. I checked out the new branch of  Burger in Edinburgh (full review coming soon), finally made a trip to Bread Meats Bread, am headed back to Cocktail & Burger on Sunday and from the above photo it's fair to say that the kid likes a good burger too. Apple, tree, etc, etc.
• And after eating said burgers last Saturday, I met up with the gorgeous Kate from Miss Smidge and her hubby for a fun afternoon. A couple of beers in The Red Squirrel, may have led to some cocktails in Panda & Sons, which may have led to one too many Brambles in Bramble. Not only did my little afternoon east side remind me how much I miss living in Edinburgh but I may have discovered my new favourite drinking spot in Panda & Sons. Any bar that masquerades as a barbers shop and involves sneaking down a staircase and through a doorway pretending to be a bookcase to get into it gets my vote.
• I got really excited when I got out of the car to drop Ava at nursery this morning and felt the crunching of the leaves under my feet. I can't wait to get my hands on my first pumpkin spiced latte of the year. We all know how much I bloody love Autumn. As perfectly showcased in this post from last year.
• Some other notable moments recently include pulling out of appearing on the TV show Dinner Date (I just couldn't do it), drinking pints of wine in the Glasgow Film Theatre (I'm looking at you Charlene) and winning an amazing Thornton's hamper full of gourmet chocolate and prosecco from a competition Michelle was running over on her own blog. 
• Thanks to a child who is insistent during every supermarket trip that she wants bananas only to then refuse to eat them once we get home, we have been baking banana bread until it is coming out of our ears. And then enjoying it slathered with blackcurrant jam or nutella. Convinced Ava is pretending to like bananas so that she is kept in a steady stream of baked goods.
• This Hozier song is my current can't stop playing song of choice. Although I'm convinced that Prayer in C will end up being my song of the year. Is anyone else just really affected by lyrics? I mean they don't even have to be smooshy love songs, I'm just such a lyrics girl at heart.
• I've been trying to make my fussy little eater less fussy. So I am trying a number of tactics including no more eating lunch in front of cBeebies. Instead we are setting the table, eating together and talking about everything I missed that Ava got up to when she was at her Dads. I'm also getting the little one a lot more involved in cooking and she has been helping me whip up dinner most nights. She's still insistent that she only eats food that is beige. But give me time....
• The girl who never gets ill (and puts it down to drinking so much fresh ginger tea),  finally had to eat her own words. After smugly proclaiming to all and sundry that I hadn't been sick since 'September 2010', I got hit with the worst stomach bug ever that saw me call into work sick and pull an all-nighter because I couldn't sleep for the ab cramps. Worst 3 days ever.
• With the slight turn in the weather I've been enjoying clean PJ's, fresh sheets, lighting some scented candles and taking myself to bed at granny o'clock to read for hours. Typically late to every party (I hate a bandwagon), I have only just started reading The Fault in our Stars. I feel like if I don't sob through the last third of it then there will be something fundamentally wrong with me.
• And before it gets too cold, Ava and I have been getting out and about including a trip to the Glasgow Necropolis and a wander round Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery. Where we nearly blew all our money in the gift shop. I swear that kid is not a good influence on me.