first car nostalgia

While in St. John's Wood <a title="weekend, we over the weekend we walked past this car that instantly reminded me of my first set of wheels: a beige 1991 Acura Legend with custom gold embroidered upholstery through-out. I never thought I'd see anything else like it but there she was, my old car's interior twin sister! The sweet ride had belonged to my friend's grandma and it was sold to me for $1 plus a commitment to do good for others via volunteer services. Because I was eighteen and didn't have any money to pick the car of my choice, I considered myself very lucky to take "Goldie" on. I grew very fond of her and her sassy threads, turning heads wherever we went. Looking back I'm pretty sure that Goldie sparked my love for gold-colored and sometimes gaudy things (what else could explain that?).

After a few years I started to fear that the burning rubber smell was going to mean the death of us on a freeway so I gave her up and another one of our friends, Shannon, took her under her wing. While I missed Goldie, it was comforting to know that she was in good hands and given a new lease on life with Shannon's Dad's auto shop skills.

Now I just regret not taking down the phone number for the car/taxi in St. John's Wood. Would love to drive around London in that thing.

Happy Friday!

My camera battery is fully charged and I can't wait to see what attracts my eye this weekend. When we were in Paris, everything was beautiful but nothing piqued my interest more than these ornate doorknobs. Can you imagine coming home to something so beautiful?

Here's to seeing the beauty in the things that surround us, wherever you are. And to all of you moms out there - happy Mother's Day! Wish I were going to be with my mama and sis in LA (the two most beautiful moms in the world) but at least we've got Skype to keep us connected.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Xoxo!

everything has a home

I love organizing. I love it so much that I was ridiculously excited about buying a filing folder and finally having a place for all of the papers we had stacked up. To make items in my "bathroom drawer" easy to grab, I grouped them in the plastic cups we'd been living off of before buying our glassware. I even planned ahead by buying a hanging jewelry organizer from The Container Store back home so that when moving day came, all I had to do was tape over the openings and roll up the entire piece!

Thank you, mom for teaching me the ways. Our place is feeling better each and every day.

lazy monday

It's Monday and it's yet another bank holiday for Joe. While we did a lot this weekend for his birthday (shopping, burlesque theater, dining out, canal festival) we still managed to be extremely lazy. And because I'm still on lazy-mode, I'll post about the royal wedding screening at Hyde Park tomorrow.  You already saw everything about it on TV and in the papers anyway ;)

happy friday + joe's birthday!

Today may be the royal wedding but tomorrow is my babe's birthday! I've got some things planned for him tomorrow but this morning he's being kind enough to let me drag him to Hyde Park for the wedding screening. I caved when I started watching the BBC's coverage - it looks too fun to miss out on since it's just a bus ride away.

Photos from today and Joe's birthday coming next week! Enjoy your weekend!

Design by me inspired by the bountiful British Bunting

if the royals got funky

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kav0FEhtLug] In last night's Evening Standard I read about Kate Middleton's sister requesting the installation of a giant disco ball for the couple's main (and more intimate) wedding reception. Apparently Will and Kate have been "clashing" with the powers that be in efforts to make their special celebration less formal and stuffy than those of the past.

Makes me wonder if Will and Kate are jealous of the parody video T-Mobile put together...

Oh no, am I getting sucked in to this stuff with 24 hours to go???

to care or not to care, that is the royal question

While the world is abuzz over Friday's big royal nuptials between Will and Kate, London is showing off its proud colors everywhere you look. Regent Street (pictured above) is lined with the Union Jack while side streets and pubs have gone bunting crazy. I'm not completely sure where I stand with caring about the wedding (and Joe obviously could care less). If I were at home in the States I would watch the ceremony on TV with little fanfare but since I'm in London - ground zero - I feel like I might as well join in on the insanity in some shape or form.

Pubs are offering viewing parties with drink and food specials, big screen TVs will be placed at major parks for a recreational day out, and of course the wedding procession route between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace will be a grand event. There are tons of ways we can opt to participate in the pomp-and-circumstance of the day but I'm sure it'll ultimately come down to how much effort we feel like exerting the morning of (and the weather).

In the meantime, there are plenty of interesting memorabilia to keep us entertained. I learned about the ones below via Time Out London...especially love the solar powered waving Queen. I saw it in action in a store window on Portobello Road and it was pretty amazing.

Tea for two. Poor Kate has such a gold-digger rep over here.

Solar powered waving queen (panel is on the top of the purse)

If the whole royal "to-do" makes you sick, this is for you

happy friday!

First week in London is in the bag and we're off to Paris already. What? Paris? Seriously?!? Yep, I could die. Joe suggested we make our first trip to the City of Light before the swarm of tourists hits, and who was I to argue? Okay, we'll be the tourists but that's totally different. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a jaunt to Paris would feel like a quick getaway to Palm Springs or San Francisco. There will be much to share next week, mais oui!

Until then have a wonderful weekend, spend time with people who bring you joy, and relish anything and everything that makes you smile!

xoxo

flat sweet flat

Cardboard boxes as tables, clothes thrown about until they meet their hanger, and plastic bags loosely keeping our rubbish tidy. Ah yes, the signs of moving into a new space. Welcome to our flat on Castellain Road! As you can see, we have very little furnishings so we were thrilled to have ordered a sofa earlier this week. Unfortunately the delivery proved to be a problem. Long story short, it's going to be a challenge to find a comfy couch that will make it up the narrow and winding staircase leading up to our third floor unit. I suppose the bathroom mats we've been sitting on while "dining" in the living room will continue to be comfortable enough for a bit longer. At least they're a step up from the bags of clothes we sat on during our first at-home dinner! It's all about progress.

now blogging from london

Hello from London! It's been three days since I left LA and I already feel very much at home. Our flat in west London's Maida Vale neighborhood is just right and the buildings are all charming my pants off. But the main reason I feel at home is because Joe is here...we're finally together again! I arrived to an unexpectedly warm afternoon and to flowers and trees starting their spring bloom. I was mentally prepared for fog and rain so the bright blue sky was a nice welcome considering I was feeling under the weather myself (yes, I was that person on the flight). Cold aside, we took advantage of the sunny weather to do some quick sight-seeing near the Thames River on Saturday and began our house-hold shopping spree on Sunday. We got a good head start but there's still much more to do. It's an interesting thing to have to start from scratch but Joe can tell you the horror stories on that since he did most of the leg work before I arrived.

I'm so thankful for him and our new home. It's perfect for us sans not having a proper shower. I was going to take photos of it this morning but there were building painters working on our windows. Oh well, all the more to share with you later this week! The photo above is of Joe walking down our street, Castellain Road. More to come! xoxo

see you later LA, hola London!

The day has come! My flight leaves in a few hours and my entire life is packed into 4 bags. I can't wait to be with Joe again and start our new life together in London. Hopefully I'll have a good head start with these trusty resources!

See you all on the other side!