In Charleston

We had a fun, quick weekend visit in Charleston. We were there for a wedding, which was as lovely as Charleston itself. If you've never been to Charleston, it's a quintessential charming southern town. You can read a bit about its history here. It's quite touristy, but still worth a visit. Here are a few images from Charleston. 

I love shotgun houses (little, long skinny houses) and spanish moss. Plenty of both in Charleston. 

What We Did

I had a great visit with my sister. She wanted to spend her time doing the things I like to do, rather than a lot of the standard touristy stuff, so we mostly strolled around neighborhoods and parks and markets. We had a great time. Here's a peek into our fun-filled sistah week. Above, she's on the left and I'm on the right.

Tulips at the Columbia Road flower market. One of my favorite markets. 

Outside Vintage Heaven on Columbia Road. We saw lots of street vintage--here, and Brick Lane, Spitalfields, and at the Portobello Road Market. And we went to a lot of pretty shops like the one below. It looked like you were walking into someone's house. We weren't even sure it was a store so we had to ask before we went in. I don't know the name of the place, but it was off of Columbia Road. 

Fish and chips. Had to have them at least once during her visit.

And we just spent a lot of time hanging out together, playing with Lois, drinking coffee, sipping wine, eating, hanging out with the hubbers, planting flowers in our tiny garden, getting my house straight. It was a lot of fun. We both left London yesterday for Atlanta. She's back home now, and we're back for a wedding in Charleston, SC and a short visit with our families in Atlanta. See you soon from Charleston! 

Around Town with my Sister

We have a visitor--my sister, and I'm so happy she's here! Today was our first full day out, and I hired a sitter so we could have some alone time. We did some shopping, went to Liberty, and had tea in Soho's Secret Tea Room (remember, I read about it here on Seeds and Stitches?). It was a great day! And tonight we have dinner reservations--just the two of us. Mommas' day out. (She has 3 little boys, whew). PS. I painted our dining room turquoise (shown above), and I love it! That's what happens when you live in a country that's grey most of the time--you get urges to paint things bright colors.

Having My Tea and Drinking it Too

I recently read about a secret tea room here in London, and I can't wait to check it out. Obviously it's not super-duper secret, but it is inside a pub, tucked away, and available to you once you ask for the tea room. It looks so pretty. You can see more pictures here too. I might go next week when my sister's in town (yay!). Our place isn't quite all together, but I'm ready for a wee tea break after all this unpacking. In the meantime, I'll peek at some tea inspiration and have a cuppa at home. But just for a few minutes. Lots more to unpack! Sources for these images are in my Pinterest. 

NY Times Home and Garden

I always like to take a peek and see what's in the Home and Garden section of the NY Times online. This week has two features I like, a renovation in Buenos Aries (above), and a cozy garden apartment (below). Just thought I'd share in case you might like some of their features too.