This is the special birthday edition of the Scotland Sundays series! Of all the places in Edinburgh, I wanted to go to the Grassmarket area for my birthday. Grassmarket is located south-east of Edinburgh Castle. You can actually see the Castle perched on the hill from the area. Back in the day, the square used be one of the main markets for horses and cattle (and hence the name). On a more gruesome note, the square was also used for public hangings. In the photo above you can see a pub called 'Maggie Dickson's Pub' (it's in the middle next to 'Biddy Mulligans'). According to legend, Maggie Dickson was hanged in a public execution here. When transporting her body after the execution, they realized she wasn't dead. Since under Scots law she had already paid the price for her crime by hanging, she was able to go free. She earned the nickname 'half-hanged Maggie' and that's when they added the words 'until dead' to the hanging sentences.
Perfect place for a birthday...lol. Today, it's a beautiful square with lots of scenic buildings.
These photos were taken around 3:30pm! We are definitely in the dark of winter now.
One of the main reasons I wanted to go to the Grassmarket area is that it has some of my favourite shops including K1 Yarns Boutique where I signed up for a crochet class (so excited!)
Then we stopped by one of my absolute favourite stores, Fabhatrix. Fabhatrix is a hat boutique with hats made by local milliners. There are so many beautiful styles. David bought me the same style of hat that I am trying on in the last picture of this collage, except mine is a chocolate brown colour. What a lovely birthday present! Unfortunately, none of the photos came out...so I'll have to do a proper photoshoot with my hat (making a dress to match, of course!)
After Fabhatrix, we went two stores down to W. Armstrong and Son, the best vintage store in Edinburgh. I just love having a look around. I don't buy much vintage (unless it's accessories like hats, gloves, shoes, etc.) since I prefer to make my own clothes, but I did find a bunch of vintage zippers for 20p each--so I grabbed a handful for future dresses.
We didn't get any proper photos of the dress under my coat, but I wore my 1950's Butterick 'Celebration' dress. There's something about red velvet which says 'special occasion'.
I had the perfect place to wear it! David took me to a birthday dinner at The Witchery by the Castle. It was fantastic. The restaurant is beautiful with wood panelling all around, candles and fantastic food.
YAY! What a great birthday! Thanks to my sweetie for taking me out on the town :)
