The Christmas spirit is about giving and kindness, not specifically shopping (though sometimes gift-buying madness can seem to eclipse it all) but this season I’m giving #Edinburgh followers on Instagram and Facebook a way to do both, with a GIVEAWAY of vouchers to spend in some of my fave local independent shops.

The idea is to GIVE – 1. YOU a little help with your holiday shopping 2. Some of my fave LOCAL SHOPS a shout out & chance to win your custom and 3. YOUR fave local Edinburgh shopkeepers a way to reach more people this Xmas, by creating a custom list of great local shops for festive gift-shopping.

– 1st prize – £50 to spend at CURIOUSER & CURIOUSER @curiousershop

– 2nd prize – A @kintojapan ‘pour over’ home coffee kit, valued £35, from CENTURY GENERAL STORE @centurygeneralstore

– 3rd prize – £25 gift voucher to spend at BOHEMIA @shopbohemia

HOW IT WORKS:
1. Follow @fosterbloom on IG or Facebook, find and like the post
2. Tag a friend in comments
3. Next to your friend’s name, write the name of a wonderful Edinburgh shop* you think I should know about. Note *This doesn’t need to be one of the giveaway shops above, just somewhere you want to share and inspire folk to visit.
4. I’ll draw the winning names for each prize on December 15th and will do a few feature posts on my giveaway shops, with gift ideas from each, between now and then.

Let’s inspire others to give back to our community & shop thoughtfully in Edinburgh this Christmas: #fosterandbloomthisxmas

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Restoration Yard. A shop, cafe, and now a space to care for your wellbeing.

What a treat it was to attend the launch of a brand new space in one of my very favourite places, Restoration Yard in Dalkeith, just outside Edinburgh. These days, if you peek upstairs behind a door in the shop’s inspired homewares/design section, you’ll find a new, brightly lit loft with wooden beams, its skylight and alcove windows overlooking the green surrounds of Dalkeith Country Park…

The ‘Wellness Lab’ is what it’s called, and whether via yoga class, mindfulness session, pilates, CBT or even classes for the benefit of kids/babies, wellness is what you’ll achieve by attending one of the many classes on offer in this calming environment and studio space. READ MORE