Hooray - the weekend is here! Let's do something fun, okay?
Have a good one!
This week's three rad links... • new London Shop Tour on Poppytalk with photos by moi - thanks for including me, Andrea! • my tale of two cities - great photo collections of an empty London and "as seen in tv/film" locations in LA via Flickr Blog • get funky this weekend with this mix-tape via Miss Moss
Hello, how was your weekend?
We started off with a bang on Friday night with dinner at a super authentic Colombian restaurant in Brixton Market before attending a Friendly Fires concert. The show was awesome but I ended up being more excited about finding a restaurant that tastes like home - my Colombian home, that is. I wish it were closer to where we live but the trip will be well worth it every time, I'm sure.
The rest of the weekend we mostly relaxed at home (and started a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle!) but also got out a bit too. On Saturday I met up with Andrea, her husband and friend, to check out a few shops on Columbia Road. I took photos for her Shop Tours and then we had Tea in a great little tea room called Cake Hole. It's situated in the back of a Vintage Heaven with great decor and super fresh scones. It was just what I needed to fuel a mini-shopping spree at the front of the shop with tiny glass fair-trade Christmas ornaments, vintage linen for a DIY project, and a pair of vintage salt and pepper shakers (to keep or to sell, that is the question...).
On Sunday we trekked waaayyy down south to check out Got Graft?, a little craft fair held in a really cool space called Tooting Tram. I really loved the fabric prints from Justine Ellis and London walking guides by Trip Stylist. I bought the "Villages" guide only to realize later that we've done a major part of it already! There are still some new discoveries to be made off her list though. Lynn from PaperMash and Tea for Joy was there hosting a gift wrap DIY table. It was great to see her and get a tip for a great pub just down the street since we were starving. The Antelope Pub was exactly what we needed; cozy interior, good food, and good drinks. I'll tell ya, I've really warmed up to pub culture now that I understand that it's far more than drunken daytime socializing. I actually seek them out now!
After lunch we made a quick trip up to central London to buy some things for the home and then it was back to our flat. And our jigsaw puzzle - about 600 more pieces to go...
Soon after moving here I attended a London Bloggers picnic and one of the gals that I met was Andrea of Lotus Events. She and her husband, originally from Vancouver, have been busy working on their first UK Got Craft? event happening this weekend. I'm really excited to check it out and support their work and that of other creatives. I just love me a good craft fair!
One of the things that I love about Andrea is that she seems to know about every little shop, cafe, and neighborhood in London - she really gets out there! So, when she asked me to do the photography for her Shop Tour guest posts on Poppytalk (great blog btw) I couldn't resist. I've gotten to know some great little spots since working with Andrea and I can't wait to see what else she comes up with.
The photos above are of some of the shops we've done so far. We have more on the way but I figured that these snippets were worth finally sharing!
I Feel Smug Hoxton Street Monster Supplies (they recently launched their online shop!) Drink, Shop & Do Labour and Wait Handmade Interiors
Oh and it's time to announce the winner of the DIY Couture How to make a cloak book from last week's post! Drumrroolllll pleasseee.......Penny Patten, congrats to you! I'll be in touch via email ;) Thanks to everyone who commented, hopefully you got a little inspiration for a fun autumn fashion DIY!