Mary's Milk Bar - The Ice Cream Alchemist.

Tucked away in the bottom corner of the Grassmarket sits every sweet tooth's dream - Mary's Milk Bar.
It hasn't even been open a year yet has become many Edinburgh locals, tourists and my own resident go to for an afternoon (or morning... or evening...) sugar fix. With everything completely hand made by ice cream alchemist Mary in the wee shop herself, quality is guaranteed with flavours of sorbets and ice cream changing daily. And if it's too cold for a scoop why not have one of Mary's own hot chocolates? (I will never EVER tire of milk chocolate and orange hot chocolate.)

The 1950s styled parlour gives a homely welcoming feel that is both retro and contemporary and Mary is on hand to direct you towards the flavour that'll tantalise your taste buds best (for me it's salted caramel, holy mutha of all that is gelato.) Fancy more than a cone? Get your fave scoop whizzed up in a milkshake or enjoy it floating in a hot chocolate. Sit and enjoy and have a chat with Mary, all while taking in the amazing view of Edinburgh castle.

NOW - being a Mary's Milk Bar more-than-regular I decided that on Friday night I'd head along to one of Mary's after hours Gelato Tasting Evenings to get to grips with what makes Mary's ice cream just that much more above and beyond the rest.

What was in store was a relaxed evening described as "the story-telling of ice cream" all whilst getting eat and sample your way through the history of ice cream. EH YES PLEASE.

The evening was broken down into: ingredients, types and good vs the bad, and a wee peeksie into Mary's mini ice cream laboratory. Now I don't want to give away too much as what you learn from Mary's power ice cream hour is amazing and I'll let you find out for yourselves, but here's a few wee facts for ya that you probably will not know:

- Milk flavoured ice creams were originally served with vinegar (a nice cheap way to preserve fruit). You'll get to give this a bash at the gelato evening and it was surprisingly delicious with strawberry vinegar drizzled on it! Mary also offers ice cream ripples with various fruit vinegars mixed through so keep an eye out when you visit!

- A Mr Whippy Ice Cream is 60% air.

- Sorbets have been around since 3000 BC. Massive blocks of ice were carried down from the mountains and stored underground to eat in the summer mixed with rose, creating a "slushy."

Leaving full of ice cream (2 free scoops at the end hiiiiiyaaaaa) and having learnt so much at Mary's Gelato Evening, I would seriously recommend it to anyone looking for something different to do on a Friday night! It's perfect to book for a wee group but get your places fast, there is one every month and with the popularity of the milk bar ever growing you need to be quick!

See you there.

Dayna x



Mary's Gelato Tasting Evenings are held on the first Friday of every month 7-8pm.

www.marysmilkbar.com
9 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2HS
Keep up to date with all the treats Mary has on offer on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Getting My Claws into CutieCool Nails.

I am a nail-biter.
It's one of the most embarrassing habits to admit to, after years of the excuses of 'like, yeah, my nails just don't grow how weird is that?' to 'they're just brittle and break into these blatantly nibbled stubs.'
Stopping biting my nails has been my new year's resolution every year since I was about 9. Every method you can think of to stop yerself chomping away I have tried it and probably tried it again. Stop n Grow? Chewed through it. Covering every finger with plasters? Took them off because I looked MENTAL. Even trying to find something to distract myself with didn't work as I'd bite them when I wasn't even realising I was.

It's frustrating seeing Instagram littered with pals showing off their amazing new nails they've just had done or seeing incredible nail art and having to go 'well I can't do that.' Even worse, after slamming my hand in a door I have a heave worthy half nail meaning I ALWAYS wear nail polish to disguise that I have hands like Gollum.

When I went to the Miss Dixiebelle relaunch I was gifted the goodie bag to end all goodie bags with exclusive vouchers to treat and pamper myself with, one of which was for the CutieCool Nails bar in Miss Dixiebelle itself.

Zara's work is unreal, it only takes one look through her instagram to see some before/after shots, half moon manicures that no vintage loving girl could resist and the one that grabbed my interest the most - remedial nail treatments. Photo's on her website www.cutiecoolnails.com has a whole section dedicated to nail biters and treatments she offers and to my surprise there were a helluva lot worse than me; it was time for kitty to get her claws.

So here are my hands of shame. Absolutely hingin'. The plan of action was to use 'Backscratchers powder glaze acrylic extensions.' Now unlike some nail extension methods this doesn't require any roughening/dehydrating of the nail plate, they simply apply and build up from the natural nail. This means that even once they are removed the nail underneath should still be in good condition, and most importantly for us nail-biters GROWING without being nibbled at!

90 minutes later and VOILA. They didn't even seem like MY HANDS. And for those who think that that seems like a long time, there is no more fabulous feeling than sitting getting your nails done amongst the glamour of the Miss Dixiebelle vintage beauty parlour with old time swing playing in the background. I had the extensions filed into a classic almond shape and opted out of getting shellac on them, just so I could paint them different colours, use nails decals etc after really having proper nails for the first time ever!

 I settled for a nice pale polish to have them finished off with and I am delighted. I can't stop tapping my nails against everything and casually putting my hand up near my face at any given opportunity so that someone may notice my beeeeaautiful nail transformation. I can't wait to go back in a couple of weeks to have them reshaped and the gap where my nails have grown filled in, and this time I'm thinking some emerald green shellac as well.

THANK YOU ZARA!
www.cutiecoolnails.com
@cutiecoolnails

Dayna x

Miss Dixiebelle Relaunch!

Since moving to Edinburgh three years ago, Miss Dixiebelle has always been one of my favourite shops. So when I got invited to their relaunch party I was deeeeelighted to go, pin curls and eyeliner flicks at the ready.

After three and a half years of business Miss Dixiebelle has gone from strength to strength with their amazing vintage makeup and hair salon attached to the shop, pop up beauty stands here there and everywhere, and now the Cutiecool Nails nail bar, essential for those half moon manicures! 

The shop boasts an incredible range of clothing from vintage inspired designers as well as reproduction clothing and have now adapted the range to suit their customers even better. 

I am a massive fan of the "What Katie Did" range, a collection of high quality British hosiery and steel boned corsetry, with their seamed stockings even managing to stretch up my lamp post legs. 

The Miss Dixiebelle Gals.

The biggest change within Miss Dixiebelle is the brand new hairdressing salon upstairs, decorated in a 1950s inspired style with Hollywood lit mirrors, pastel pink walls (with flamingos!) and timeless vintage dryers to complete the look.

Now as well as being able to get your hair done into a fabulous vintage style for a night out or event, Miss Dixiebelle now offers colouring and wet sets, as well as a full blown pamper package, with new recruit Angela having 20 years in the hairdressing business. 

Lovely treats provided by The Marshmallow Lady

Those who were lucky enough to be invited to the relaunch event were greeted with teacups of prosecco and cranberry juice and a preview of the revamped salon, including learning about the ins and outs of all the new services on offer. It was lovely to meet like minded vintage style lovers, there was some great style on show to say the least, with the Miss Dixiebelle gals looking as glamorous as ever!

Cake stands filled to the brim with treats from the Marshmallow Lady were passed around, KEY LIME PIE MARSHMALLOWS ANYONE?! 

I received a jam packed goodie bag to take home with more of those scrumptious marshmallows inside (oreo flavour. Need I say more?), a voucher for Cutiecool Nails, lotions and potions from Just Be Botanicals as well as a Miss Dixiebelle points card, to reward all of our spending!

Cutiecool Nails nail bar.

I am so ridiculously excited to come into Miss Dixiebelle, hopefully in the next week, to have my nails done by the lovely Zara of Cutiecool Nails. A nervous nibbler, I've longed for proper lady like nails instead of my square brittle stubs and there seems to be nothing Zara cannot do to totally transform even the worst nails. Watch this space, kitty gon' get her claws.

Check out Cutiecool Nails here, the before and after photos are insane! And I thought there was no hope for me!

Myself and the lovely Emma.

A massive thank you to Emma for inviting me along and hopefully it won't be long til I'm in getting myself done up to the nines!

For of those of you looking to get the Miss Dixiebelle experience, they have a brand new makeover and photoshoot day planned in March, transforming you into 1950's siren. Lads listen up, this is the ultimate Valentines day gift. Find the Facebook event and get involved here.

Dayna x