Back in Edinburgh (and in a new flat!)

I arrived back in Edinburgh on Tuesday morning, and it feels great to be back! Cassie is amazing, and found us a flat while I was still in Shanghai so I got to go directly to my new home from the airport. We are over in New Town, which is newer than Old Town, but was still built in the 1800s. I'm not sure exactly how old my building is, but it is beautiful and perfect. The décor is pretty dated, but it is actually kind of charming. It also gave me an excuse to get vintage style, girly bedding! After living in student housing for the first half of the year, I am really looking forward to living like a proper Edinburgh city dweller!

Here are some photos of the flat:

The outside of the flat.

The staircase. We are on the second floor (third floor in US terms) and it is the top floor of the flat.

Skylight in the ceiling. It lets so much light through during the day no other lighting is needed.

Since the flat was once was all for one family, we have two doors leading into the flat. The one at the end of the hall leads into my bedroom, and the other one leads into the hallway.

I get a kick out of the keyholes. They actually look like this, and work.

Here are my keys. Again, I just get a kick out of them! They are so "traditional" and unlike any house keys I have ever had in the states!

My bedroom. My bedding has lace trimmings and it is beautiful. Note the pile of stuffed animals on the bed. An unnecessary collection, as a friend called it.

I love vanities! And yes, that is a closet! An absolute rarity in Scotland. Totally beats a wardrobe.

Here is the view from my bedroom window. It is hard to see, but you can see a sliver of the North Sea. I can't believe this is what I wake up to!

The hallway.

Bathroom. Lots of green!

Along with the shower, there is a tub!

Living room.

And kitchen/dining room. It is all open plan, which is perfect. The cabinet on the left is actually the fridge!

The view from the living room. Not quite as beautiful, but certainly not bad!

I absolutely love the flat. I have definitely had to pinch myself a few times because I can't believe I get to live in this wonderful place, in a beautiful old flat. Man, I love Edinburgh.

I have been really busy since getting back. Besides getting settled in, I started my internship. I am working with an animation start up based here in Edinburgh. It has been good so far, and I think it will be a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to learning about a new industry and challenging myself in new ways. I will also start volunteering at the Stroke Association starting next Friday. I have also jumped right back in to social festivities! Every Wednesday the MBAs have been getting together for happy hour and dinner, so I was finally able to join in! We also played a little "pitch and putt" golf in the Meadows. It is a tiny course with 36 holes total, and you just use a pitching wedge and a putter. I was a little rusty! The MBAs also had a little BBQ in back of our suite by the business school for the 4th, followed by an epic three hour Skype session with my mom. On Friday, I spent the day outside because the weather was perfect and then went out with a mix of current and past students in the evening.

Had to have a Bud on the 4th!

Children and dogs were trying to beat the heat by wading in the pool outside Parliament.

The Crags were looking awesome.

I hiked up Calton Hill. This is the view out to the sea.

Enjoying the sun!

The other side of Edinburgh.

The National Monument, also known as Edinburgh's Folly. They ran out of money before they could finish it!

I also managed to have a cooking disaster already. Note: never buy a pepper grinder from the dollar store. I was making my Grandma's hamburger (or for me, turkey) hot dish, and as I was seasoning it, the top completely came off the pepper grinder and I dumped peppercorns into the pot of raw meat! Unwilling to sacrifice the meal, I spent 40 minutes digging them out.

Here is all the peppercorns I took out. Luckily, even with the delay, the meal turned out awesome!

Elisa and I are having an American Dinner party inspired by the 4th on Sunday. I am making Becky's Jell-O Salad, potato salad, and pasta salad.

I tried out Tesco delivery. It was awesome! If I do it again, I would plan for delivery during the week so I can save a little on delivery fees (it cost 6 pounds for Saturday morning) but there is no way I would have been able to carry all this home from the store on my own, so I would have paid at least that much for a cab home from the store. Not only did they bring it to my home, they carried it right up to the flat! I will definitely be doing it again!

Making potato salad. I used a recipe my mom gave me inspired by Grandma's, but I jazzed it up with capers, lemon and fresh herbs. I'll let you know how it turns out! 

For the Jell-O salad, I needed Cool Whip. That sadly doesn't exist in the UK, so I used this dream topping powder (similar to Dream Whip). It turned out ok, but I think it would have been better if I had an electronic mixer. It wasn't voluminous enough, so I will be adding some normal whipped cream tomorrow. Again, I will update with the results!

Gosh, I am so glad to be back in my home away from home!