#84. Stop...Tuk Tuk time

Hello pals,

Happy happy Tuesday to you! This week is going so quickly already...need to get moving on my to do list and it's sunny today, woop! Yesterday was a weird day, it was so hot and muggy and then on the way home, a monsoon started so got a bit soaked... I was pouring puddles out of my poor wee flats afterwards. Anyways, I discovered this amazing wee restaurant in Edinburgh a few weeks ago and just had to share it with you lovely people. I have been back three times already and am just in love with the food. Think of the best food you have eaten...this is better! YUM!

The restaurant is called Tuk Tuk and is on Leven Street, just across from the Kings Theatre in Tollcross and serves Indian street food, but tapas style. I love Indian food at the best of times and whoever decided to combine that with tapas is an utter genius. It means that you can get to try lots of different dishes, which is fab. Everything I had was absolutely delicious. They recommend between 3-4 dishes per person to start and then take it from there and the first two times I went I had 3 dishes and was absolutely stuffed, so if you are planning on having rice and naan, as the portions are quite big, I would recommend starting with 2-3 and then see how you feel. 

Bengali fish cakes - TASTY!

They have a wide range of tapas plates, from samosas and pakora to little curry pots like butter chicken, to fishcakes and lots of vegetarian options too and everything is delicious, particularly the butter chicken (where have you been all my life!) There were a few dishes I haven't heard of before, but again the beauty of tapas means you can try them without committing to it as a whole dish. They aren't too expensive either and range from £3.80-£5 per dish. It's also BYOB which is great and they don't charge for corkage, so is perfect for a big group or some dinner before a night out.

Little kebab burgers

It was the name Tuk Tuk that made me want to go inside the first time I walked past the restaurant, as reminded me of being in Sri Lanka - I went there for a month a few years ago and just fell in love with the country. Tuk Tuk's are the little motorbike taxis with attached seating, so it brought back lots of fun memories. The restaurant itself its cool, relaxed and quirky inside...big wooden tables and modern metal chairs, bollywood film prints on the walls and place settings, wire lampshades and a great clock too! The staff are all really friendly and helpful (including when my friends and I were the last people in the restaurant on Saturday night without realising, ooops! Time flies when you are having fun and eating your body weight in good food).

A Sri Lankan Tuk Tuk - one of my own photos

So, if you are in Edinburgh definitely check it out for some delicious and not too expensive grub - did I mention its uber yummy? Oft, what a gushy post! haha I am just a big fan :-) Have you been to Tuk Tuk before? Do you like Indian food?

#83. INAA Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards bloggers event

Hello lovelies,

Hope you have all had a fun weekend? I had some of my best friends through from Glasgow for the night on Saturday, so we went out for dinner, drinks and dancing which was a lot of fun! Love hanging out with my girls! Successfully managed to avoid visiting Topshop earlier today too, as there are so many gorgeous things in there at the minute, I wouldn't be able to control myself and my bank balance would weep.

Anyways, a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to an INAA Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards bloggers event at 29 on Merchant Square in Glasgow (such a gorgeous venue). It was a perfect opportunity to wear my beautiful Dahlia dress that I bought in the January sales, which I LOVE but as its floor length (I don't think its meant to be but as I am a short arse it is on me haha) I don't have many chances to wear it. 

The INAA Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards were set up three years ago as a reaction to the lack of such awards in Scotland and to allow salons to be recognised for excellence in their specific fields and are voted for by customers and peers alike. I think its so important to have awards that specifically recognise Scottish talent (cause we are awesome :) ). It was great to go along to the #BloggersDoItBest event and learn more about the awards and INAA itself - an online portal where you can search and book available beauty and hair appointments directly. I have never heard of INAA before but its such a great idea, a one stop shop and means that if your regular salon is fully booked you can find somewhere new and equally as good quickly and easily in case of beauty emergency.

My gorgeous eye makeup!

Other blogger getting her hair done

At the event we heard from Alyson and Joanne from INAA about the awards, drank some delicious Belvedere vodka cocktails (I think they were long vodkas with bitters, yum!), watched some hair demonstrations at Bumble and Bumble (sadly I was too slow to get into the queue to get my own hair done or beautiful volumised hair would have been mine!) and fake tan from Lauren's Way, got my eye makeup done by Gemma from Bare Minerals (loved it, majorly want the eye palette now so will need to go for a look in the boutique in Glasgow. I've never tried their makeup before so am curious), caught up with some lovely Scottish bloggers and got my picture taken with Lauren from TOWIE (never actually watched it, so will need to have a wee nosy now). 

At the event we were also given a sneak preview of the finalists for the awards. The shortlist has now been announced with the awards ceremony being held on the 26th May, a week today -  how exciting! Unfortunately the voting is now closed but you can read the full list of nominees/finalists here over 18 categories but they include James Hughes Hairdressing and Paterson SA in Edinburgh and Cruz in Glasgow in the best hair salon category and Zen in Edinburgh in the best spa category - might need to pay a visit to some of them soon! Maybe I can use INAA to book them!

Overall it was a great event, a lot of fun so thanks to INAA and Alison Jamieson PR for the invitation. Hope you like all the pictures - most were not taken by me as all mine were rubbish (you can tell which are mine haha) - silly iphone.

Have you ever used INAA to book beauty and hair appointments before? Did you vote in for your favourite salon in the awards? Remember to peak back after the 26th to see who won!