i am back, safe & sound, exhausted, drained and in love with london all over again. the first time i visited this amazing city was in my early 20's. i was there for 5 weeks and visited every tourist spot in existence. this time around, i really wanted to experience the city by walking and getting lost. looking with my eyes, not necessarily through a camera lens. my plan turned out better than i thought when one of my traveling partners discovered her camera was broken. jessica is the face behind
peachtree photography and i was all too happy to lend her my camera - her beautiful visions on my memory card, it couldn't get any better.
graffiti off the beaten path of
brick lane. this eclectic area was by far my favorite experience of the trip. basement antique/thrift stores, vintage clothing, craft vendor stalls. a little bit of my home abroad.
art everywhere.
lovely house in
notting hill. within the city limits, there is very little personal green space. the small garden vignettes you pass by are so amazingly beautiful, and make you realize that you don't need a lot to have beauty. as americans, we are constantly being drilled with the notion that bigger is better. when you travel abroad, you realize how completely misled this thinking is.
glass goblets that i fell in love with.
a bit strange taking photos of someones knickers, i know, but this was such a completely european moment, we couldn't pass it by.
gorgeous chandeliers at
portobello market. and yes, it was very difficult for me not to pack every one of these up and buy a return flight home for them!
british royal academy.
macaroons at a fancy corner bakery by the royal academy.
pocket watches in notting hill.
installation artwork outside the waterloo station (i think). made of paper shipping cartons.
jessica and i on the millenium bridge on our last day.
(thanks to the nice guy taking our photo, much appreciated!)
this weekend was the bi-annual cotton pickin' fair in gay, georgia, which meant i spent all day saturday going to yard sales along the fair route. i love heading out early in the morning with a packed lunch and a car full of blankets and tools because you never know what you will find and need to take apart to fit in your car! i found this amazing blue carnival glass lamp at a little sale off the beaten path - literally, my car is filthy from the gravel road. i know exactly how to update it and i can't wait to share photos of its transformation. we have been toying with the idea of moving my office to the first floor so i can be more available to the little munchkins in this house. i have been hesitant because i couldn't see the space in my head, but now, thanks to this lamp, i have the entire room planned out.
my biggest purchase of the day was an old 6ft by 4 foot metal shelving rack. i have been wanting to change my festival displays up a bit and this piece is perfect. it has 5 shelves, each progressively deeper as you reach the bottom. the shelves will showcase my shades perfectly while getting them off the table away from little sticky hands :) the best part is the thin metal strips that i can slide custom designed pricing tags and Linwood Avenue signage into. we finally figured out how to collapse the piece and get it into my trunk with only minor damage to my car (ooops). i am hoping that my plan to bungee it onto the top rack of my car on festival days will go more smoothly! now, the only question i have is what color i should paint it!!!
