Netflix rave: Grace and Frankie

I've been searching for something new to watch on Netflix recently and I came across Grace and Frankie, a light-hearted sitcom about two ladies who discover that their husbands are more than just business partners: have been having an affair for 40 years.

With a premise like that I was expecting their to be a lot of hilarity in the first episode at least, but I wondered how they were going to retain my interest after the pilot. As expected there was a lot of awkward situation comedy and outrageous one liners ("If anyone's going to sit on Ryan Gosling's face, it'll be me!" Grace's response to her husband's joke purchase of a Ryan Gosling chair). 

However, I found it rather more endearing than I expected. There were humorous moments to be found in those complicated family scenarios we can all relate to: the way we care so much about those we're closest to whilst we simultaneously can't stand them.

Grace and Frankie are the archetypal example of finding friendship with someone who's completely opposite to you in almost every way: what inevitably draws them closer is a mutual understanding of experiencing a giant loss at the same time in their lives, and finding comfort in dealing with that new loneliness.

It's the kind of show you can watch with your mum (as I did) and see elements of your own family life in the characters on screen. It's just the right mix of ridiculous, funny and deep - just my kind of TV show!

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Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

I do love a wee trip to Edinburgh recently! And since this year's Fringe festival has just started, it seemed like a perfect excuse for another wee jaunt through there on Wednesday. Since I've never been to the festival before I was curious to see what would be going on! When we arrived it was a tad rainy, but that is to be expected! We decided to take shelter in Mamma's Pizza in the Grassmarket, since we were also starving!

Cute teapots in a Grassmarket shop window

Chefs hard at work in Mamma's Pizza

We filled up on pizza and sweet potato fries, then ventured outdoors to see what was happening. Just outside the restaurant, there were street artists painting a massive mural, and a street performer who we watched escape from a straitjacket whilst riding a unicycle. This is no mean feat! We headed up the Royal Mile, watching more street performers including an acapella group and a man who was juggling knives inches away from an audience member's head! The rain had started again, so we took shelter in a cute little coffee shop, shared a pot of tea and a gigantic chocolate muffin! 

The cutest cafe on Cockburn St

It was so cosy. We used the opportunity to look at all of the leaflets and flyers we'd been given, and decide where to go next. We opted for Whistle Binkies pub, which was showing free comedy shows all day. We were lucky enough to see a hilarious comic called Andrew O'Neil doing his act "Mindspiders": very weird but if you like random comedy, you'll love it! Kind of like Noel Fielding/Bill Bailey. I thought he was brilliant. You can check out Andrew's website for more of his upcoming gigs.

After our dose of free comedy, we headed down to St Andrew's Square where there's all sorts of cool stuff happening! They have stalls, a stage with live performances, music and bars with deckchairs! They've even created a cute little pond. It was all very summery and lovely. 

St. Andrew's Square

Princes St. Gardens selfie!

By this point in the evening the sun had come out and it was perfect timing! We decided to enjoy a drink sitting outside a bar in Rose Street. We were going to go and watch more comedy but we were both pretty tired and working the next day so we went for the train home. On the way I stopped in at Primark and randomly purchased this gorgeous backpack! I can't wait to wear it on more adventures! :D

I had a great day in Edinburgh and I would recommend anyone to go and check out the Festival while it's on, because there is sooo much happening! I hope I might get a chance to go back and see more shows in the next few weeks.

Lastly, I've been nominated for a Liebster Award by the lovely Nicole over at Coco Made Her Do It! Thank you Nicole! :D Look out for a post on that featuring my nominations.

Goodnight everyone

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