London: Shopping

As I was going through our pictures from the trip and receipts for customs, I realized that we had done a ton of shopping in London. 

Saturday Antique Market at Portobello Road Market
We were lucky to run into the Saturday antique market on Portobello Road (any other day in the week is just the regular fruit/flower/bric-à-brac). I was instantaneously drawn to this kiosk with everything brass. 

One of these vintage brass plaque with key hooks came home with me. I am thinking mudroom? 

The types of silver forks used in England intrigue and frustrate me at the same time! But I guess if you were born into this it wouldn't be so hard. 

I took home one of these bread forks. From now on anybody who reaches out to bread using their hand will get a slap on the wrist, house rules! :)

Antique wooden printing blocks.

And hundreds and hundreds of silver cutlery with ivory handles. I couldn't tell if they are real ivory so I decided not to take any chance (just to be clear, I am against using the real ivory!). 

The Parisian crystal chandelier inside Judy Fox Antiques looked absolutely dreamy. 

In case you are curious, a house in the Portobello market area would cost 1.695-3.25 million GBP. Assuming 1 to 1 purchasing power between GBP and CAD which is likely the case, the real estate value in a "hot pocket" is pretty much on par with Toronto. Detached houses are becoming less and less affordable in both cities, and no wonder loft conversions in London are gaining unprecedented popularity - it's all about how to maximize the livable space.

Fortnum and Mason Piccadilly
After an amazing afternoon tea in their Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, we went crazy with shopping downstairs in the department store. 

Paris flea market chandelier inside the store, love the ceiling medallion too! 

I took home 8 tea towels, among boxes of tea and preserve! 

Great idea for dining table setting. I could use GlucksteinHome's Darius Indigo/Gold china set to accomplish a similar look. 

Mad Hatter! 

Store entrance from Jermyn Street.

Carnaby Street
If you like Bayview Village you would like those independent boutiques on Carnaby Street. 

Covent Garden Market
We spent a very relaxing lunch break at the Covent Garden Market. 

The inside of the Piazza is stunning. 

We enjoyed a cup of tea in the lower courtyard while a local music band played "Danny Boy". It was a perfect moment. 

The Apple Market is where you will find local arts and crafts. I picked up a sketch by a local caricaturist named Mark Tabberner. It's now at my favourite framing shop YM Art. 

There are a lot of known chain stores inside the market as well, so it truly offers something for everyone. 

Neal's Yard
While you are at the Covent Garden, make sure to go a bit north and stop by Neal's Yard.

Neal's Yard is a small alley in Covent Garden between Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street which opens into a courtyard. It's an amazing spot to take some colourful photos. 

Chinatown
The night before our departure we decided to swing by London's chinatown for some Chinese food. 

I would highly recommend Joy King Lau. Their service was impeccable. 

Aside from these places where I took pictures, we also went to Harrods (slightly overrated IMO), Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Oxford Street and King's Road. 

London: Art

Over the next few days I am going to post a lot of pictures from our recent London trip. London is a big city. There are definitely a lot more to see and do than other European cities like Barcelona and Rome. The city is clean, picturesque, artsy, and vibrant. 

Believe it or not, my favourite London landmark is this giant blue cockerel called Hahn/Cock on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, designed by the German artist Katharina Fritsch. You can read more about the Hahn/Cock here. Gleefully feminist, Katharina's comment on creating Hahn/Cock is "a feminist sculpture, since it is I who am doing something active here – I, a woman, am depicting something male. Historically it has always been the other way around."

Hahn/Cock is made of fiberglass. 

Saturday antique market at Portobello Road is a must visit. I wanted to take all these 19th-century paintings back home with me. 

I was fixated on this one from 1887 depicting a misty landscape technique so it had to come home with me. 

The famous Rotunda blown glass chandelier by Dale Chihuly under the dome of the Victoria and Albert Museum's main entrance. 

Tate Modern is one of my favourite art galleries in London. This is the Spatial Concept 'Waiting' by Lucio Fontana. It is merely a canvas with a slit, right? Read this book "Why Your Five Year Old Could Not Have Done That: Modern Art Explained" in case you are curious. 

Richard Serra is one of my favourite artists so I had to take a picture of his "Trip Hammer". His work inspired the black and white art in my foyer. 

Claude Monet! 

Shakespeare's Globe, Bankside, Southwark.

Great Court at the British Museum is another masterpiece by Foster + Partners. I couldn't take enough pictures of the glass ceiling. 

The Hoa Hakananai'a Basalt Statue at the British Museum. 

Mosaic floor in the Portico entrance inside the National Gallery. 

From London With Love

We are vacationing in London and hence the radio silence on the blog. Just want to quickly drop by to say Hi and share some pictures. 

We had afternoon tea at the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum and Mason Piccadilly, and I have to say F&M lives up to its fame. We arrived a bit early so we shopped downstairs in the store. More to follow on that but the decor in the store totally kicks ass. I became so obsessed with their heritage tea towels that I picked up one of each design. What's wrong with that right? When you couldn't decide which ones to buy, just bought them all! This is me holding the new Half Crown Heritage Tea Towel. 

After shopping we proceeded to the afternoon tea. I loved everything about it from the signature Tiffany blue china to silverware to lemon curd preserve to clotted cream. Their apricot & amaretti scones were the best I've ever had! 

You absolutely have to try the Lemon Curd preserve!

More desserts and fancies! The rose cream eclair was amazing! 

So bye for now. I will be back to post more pictures about our trip later. 

Love it or list it?

If you've been following my blog for a while, you probably would've figured out by now that I don't see our current house as our forever home. Don't get me wrong, our current house is amazing from the location to the size to the interiors, and especially the interiors where I worked my a** off. There is definitely no *need* to move, but I want to, eventually. The thought of having to start over is daunting - I could see myself redesigning everything no matter what. After all, decor, style and taste is a one-way street, they can only go up from here. My dream house needs to be in a more established neighbourhood but I am not after old fixer-uppers. I however don't mind older houses with very good bones and only require cosmetic makeovers. 

Anthony was convinced that the type of house I have in mind doesn't exist, and that we are going to need to hire an architect to design and build a house for us from scratch. I don't disagree. But from time to time you will still find me on realtor.ca browsing those properties that fit most of my wish list. 

This past weekend I came across this 6 bed 5 bath home in my desired neighbourhood, on a whopping 80x160 lot back onto ravine. The price tag is well within our budget. 

The house was likely built in early 80s. I am not a big fan of the yellowish brown brick exterior - how do I change the colour? Paint over? Stucco over? 

The ground floor has a living room, dining room, kitchen, family room and a library, not short of space this house is.  

This must be the dining room? 

Hey the 80s called, they want their kitchen back! I do see a lot of potential though: I could cover up the entrance next to the fridge, make it a C-shaped kitchen, and add a massive island, similar to the layout of my current kitchen. 

I would remove the side door and windows, and add a double french door open to the patio. 

The second floor has 5 bedrooms, and I am guessing this must be the master. I love the new hardwood flooring throughout the second floor. 

Grrr...yellow paint in master bathroom? But it comes with a bidet! Fancy! 

Basement is finished and there's again a ton of room. It has 9' ceiling height so it doesn't feel like a basement at all. But what's with the vinyl flooring? I guess the previous owner must have blown their reno budget on the fancy archway. 

I could probably fit two swimming pools into that huge yard. And I love that it's back onto a ravine so I would have full privacy! Now I come to think of this, perhaps the lack of privacy is the biggest turnoff for me with our current house? 

This house has a lot of pluses, but it also needs a lot of work. The question remains, love it or list it? 

Yam Pie and New Kitchen Jars

Yam is a superfood which I just so happen to be crazy about. It must be genetic because when my mom was pregnant with me, yam was the only thing she craved for! This past weekend mom and I came up with this super easy "yam pie" recipe. All in all, it only took about 45 minutes to make, simple and delicious! 

Homemade yam pie on Indigo's Virginia Woolf Food-for-Thought platter. 

This past weekend I also picked up three of the same cookie jars from HomeSense. I like how simple and clean they look. White is the best colour for kitchen, IMO! 

In case you are wondering what I keep in them - no, there is no cookie yet. I use them to hold the Tassimo T-discs! I can't stand the ugly t-disc carousel on my kitchen counter, and these cookie jars are just perfect for keeping them out of sight. A big bonus is that they seal in all the aroma!