Picking Time

My head is still buzzy over the release of my book and I have more photos from it that I'd like to share. For each shop feature I could only choose a handful of photos for the spreads, and for some shops, like Loop, I had about 75 that I would have liked to include! It was sooo hard to choose the final photos. I thought I'd do a few posts on some of my favorite shops in the book and post some of those photos that didn't make it in. But there is life for us outside of my book! A few weeks ago we went fruit picking and all had a great time. How could you not have fun fruit picking?

Lake District Road Trip

We bought a car, woohoo! Though I realize the photo above is of a sailboat not a car... getting to that. It's a pretty big deal since we've not had a car for almost 6 years, and with two children, I'm amazed we made it that long without one. Granted our neighborhood has just about everything we need on our doorstep: butcher, baker, candlestick maker (not really that last one but I couldn't resist adding it because I'm a goof), fishmonger, wine shop, school, doctor, playgrounds, parks, all of these things within a 15 minute walk and a few of them a one minute walk, just around the corner really. We order our bulky groceries online (laundry soap, paper towels--you know, the boring stuff) and the rest we get locally, so that part of life without a car is pretty easy for us. Sometimes, though, it's been a royal pain! I have been reduced to tears on more than one occasion, standing at a bus stop in the freezing rain with two equally wet, freezing children and thought, this is nuts! We'll still take the bus to many places, but I'm really happy we finally decided to buy a car. It will make some short trips in the neighborhood easier, like picking up a very tired Lois from playdates after school rather than having to practically drag her home walking. And it means more road trips! We usually rent a car when we want to take a road trip, but that gets really expensive and is a bit of a hassle. Gotta go get the car, do the paperwork, pay the deposit, hear the sales pitch about insurance and whatnot, install the carseats each time, etc. I'm still not completely comfortable driving on the other side of the car and road, but I'm getting there. So, for our first road trip, we decided to go to the Lake District.

The Old Haberdashery

During our food styling workshop in East Sussex, we had planned a pub lunch at The Bell in Ticehurst, which was a really nice lunch though service was quite slow for our large group. But before lunch we had a few minutes to take a peek into one of my favorite shops, The Old Haberdashery, which is on the same street as The Bell. I actually hadn't been before that day but knew I'd love the shop from seeing The Old Haberdashery stall at the Decorative Living fair last year and from a wonderful article earlier this year in Country Living. I'd like to move in there! It's filled with everything I love.

Days out with Mom

I still need to go through my workshop photos! I'm sorry to be so slow to post those photos. But I haven't had time to do that yet because my mom came in town the day after our workshop ended. I quickly washed sheets, cleaned house and tried to make things pretty for my mom's arrival (the bathroom looks quite clean here, doesn't it? I stashed away all the kiddy stuff!) Whew. I managed to tidy up well enough and then almost as soon as she got here, we were busy out and about most days that she was here. We had a great time. We mostly visited some of our usual favorite places. Liberty is always a must, shown below, but I also took her to a few places she hadn't been before.

Workshop Update to Come

I'm just back from Hawthbush Farm where I assisted Beatrice Peltre in one of her food styling and photography workshops. We had an amazing week, and of course I have so many photos to share! Today though I was rushing around getting our house ready for my mom, who's coming in town tomorrow. Not much time to rest! I'll sort though my photos in the next few days and write a longer post later in the week. Until then, here's an Instagram pic of mine, a sweet peek of a pavolva our amazing chef, Alison, made for the group. In the photo it may look like it's small, but it's actually quite large with a huge serving spoon from Zara Home's picnic line. More soon...

A Weekend at Hawthbush Farm

This past weekend we went to Hawthbush farm for a few days and had a really nice time. It's an organic farm in East Sussex that I read about last year when trying to find a shepherds' hut to stay in. How amazing are their shepherds' huts? So cozy! I wanted to stay there, but they were all booked up when I inquired. So I decided to plan ahead for a visit there this year. The farm looked so pretty and I also really liked the look of one of their cottages called the cowshed. The amazing light-filled kitchen in the cowshed is one of the reasons we chose it for the upcoming photography workshop I'm helping to host with Beatrice Peltre. I'm glad we were able to make time to stay at Hawthbush Farm this month for a weekend and explore the property and surrounding area, which turned out to be really lovely.

We stayed in the piggery, which is a one bedroom, charming cottage. Though it's small, it was just enough space for a weekend away with two little ones. 

Morning Market

This morning we went to a new market at the Horniman Museam near our house. The market is set up behind the museum and gardens, and it's great for bringing the kids because there's plenty of space to run around. I tried something called a koeksister in donut format, which is originally a South African treat. It had some good spices, like cardamom and topped with coconut. We bought some produce, meat and flowers too. It was a fun morning out. And this is my first attempt using the blogger app to blog on my phone. I wonder if it will show up right?!!

Weekend Market

One thing I really like about our neighborhood is our little Saturday market. It's on Northcross Road in East Dulwich, a few blocks from us. Although it's small, with only a handful of vendors, it has a good variety of food, crafts, and vintage treasures. When we first found this neighborhood, the market was a big selling point for us. Here are some market pictures from when we first moved here.

Gone Glamping

For this past bank holiday weekend we went glamping in East Sussex. It was so much fun! (Okay, well, we are a family traveling with kids, so naturally it included a few tantrums, whining, spills, and general disagreements, but I imagine that's a given. But the weekend tilted on the fun side of the scale.) I had been looking around on the Cool Camping web site for a few weeks to try to find something that suited all our needs, mainly to be fairly close to London, near a train station, and with things to do in walking distance. It's not easy to find glamping sites that meet those requirements and are available on a holiday weekend with fairly short notice (I started looking about 3 weeks before the holiday weekend). But I happened to get a booking with The Original Hut Company because they had a cancelation. Lucky us!

Kew Outing

Lately we've been wanting to have a few weekend adventures before Lois starts big girl school. Two weekends ago we went to Kew Gardens. It's been on our "to visit" for a while now, but every time we think of going it seems like quite a haul to get there without a car so we kept putting it off. But then we realized we could take a boat there, and though that made the journey longer, it just seemed more fun, so we decided to go that route. From Westminster Pier we took a ferry straight to Kew. It was a 90 minute journey, but it went by really quickly because the captain gave us a bit of a historical tour along the way. We also brought a few snacks to eat as well, which kept Lois happily occupied for a while.

Gone Pickin'

Yesterday I packed up the girlies and headed out to a PYO farm (pick your own) to pick strawberries. I was sooooo happy my friend invited us to go and to drive. Her daughter goes to nursery with Lois and it sounded like a great playdate outing. We get out and about quite a bit for a no-car family, but it's a totally liberating feeling to hop in a car and go someplace quickly after not hoping in a car and going someplace quickly very often (we're working on the license thing). For our PYO day out we went to Hewitt's farm in Kent. The weather was perfect for berry picking--a bit overcast and very mild. They had plenty of produce available for picking, but we went for strawberries and moved on to have a picnic afterwards. The weather was also great for photos. I took the opportunity to use our new-ish little camera, a Sony DSC RX100.

A Crafty London Weekend

This weekend is going to be packed with craft fair goodness, starting tomorrow with Selina Lake's book launch and craft fair. The Selvedge spring Fair is this weekend as well, actually Friday and Saturday, which I'm really looking forward to. Just check out these exhibitors! And then there's the Country Living fair. I probably won't go to that one as I'm likely to be pooped by then, but if it interests you, it looks like it might be fun. Photos to come...

London Days with My Mom

I had a great time while my mom was in town, but, alas, she's gone home now. While she was here though we had a great time. I took her back to some of her favorite places, Liberty being on the top of that list, and my mom also loved Islington, which is a great neighborhood. In Islington we went to a handful of places but the highlights were Ottolenghi (delicious food), the Camden Passage Market (small but nice antique market though too expensive for me), Loop (a wonderful knitting shop!), and Maison d'etre, (which has the best coffee in Islington and is adorable too). My mom loved every place we went to in Islington. We could have easily spent more than one day there. We also went to Ray Stitch, which is a fabric store and cafe and where I look forward to taking a class sometime in the future.

Brixton Outing

Earlier this week I went to one of my favorite places near our neighborhood, Brixton Village Market. I've been fighting a cold (actually, I think I've had a series of colds and I'm so tired of them!), but I decided to go anyway because I needed to get out of the house. I've also been wanting to test out our new little camera, a Sony DSC-RX100. We have a nice SLR but it's massive and now with 2 kids, it's just one more big, heavy thing to carry, which is why I've become so accustomed to using my iPhone (that and filters are fun!).

Asheville Scampin'

I've been trying to write some posts for a few days now, but it just doesn't seem right after the recent shootings in Connecticut. I've felt terribly sad for the victims and their families as most people have. I can only imagine how the victim's parents and their loved ones must feel, and it turns my stomach inside out. Eventually I hope they will find peace in their lives. It's a tragic reminder to me that we have a limited time on this planet and to make the most of it while we're here, and in that vein, I'll get back to blogging and tell you about our recent camping trip. 

Porte de Vanves Flea Market Outing

Back in Paris now... One place I took my mom that she loved was the Porte de Vanves flea market. I went once a few years ago and looked forward to going back though I hadn't been yet this time around. There was a great selection of linens, buttons, vintage clothes, small furniture, lighting, mirrors, and paintings. So much good stuff at this flea market! I think the prices were high compared to London (compared to some places in London anyway) and much higher than the US, but I imagine a lot of these vendors buy in the country and sell in the city at the higher prices.

Paris Days

Carousels. No shortage of carousels in Paris! We always stop when we see one. This one above is at the Hotel de Ville. I've gotten a little behind in posting our Paris outings. I have a lot of catching up to do! We usually go out once a day to a park or playground, but we also try to check out a few other places, like bakeries or shops, for as long as Lois will let me anyway. Here's some of what we've been up to the last two weeks.

Snow Day!

I've been longing for spring, but a little bit of snow perks me up too. It's a lot more fun when it snows than when it's just really cold, I think so anyway. But that's coming from someone who only sees snow once or twice a year, at that. The snow was especially fun for Lois. She couldn't wait to make a snowman. Today we went to Holland Park to enjoy the snow. It was filled with kids on sleds, fields of snowmen, and just lots of fun in general. Here's a peek at our snow day.

True Blue

I have it bad. I have it bad for a bike. The blue Pashley Poppy bike. I'm obsessed this week. You may remember I wanted that bike last spring? (I can't find the post from last year, but I think I did post about it.) Well, I told myself if I didn't find it used, I'd buy it new this spring. So I about jumped when I finally saw it for sale online used. The seller said we could meet on Sunday, last Sunday, and sounded very reliable, but then he didn't return my call or email after I wrote regarding a time and meeting place. I've been checking my phone and email obsessively since. Drat! I think the size was a little big anyway. Now I'm eyeing it new again. I just love it! And I figure if you're going to invest in something like a bike, you should really love it. We shall see! Here she is below (picture it with a wicker basket on the front). And here's a cute video of it. What a beauty! These other images were found on Pinterest--see my bike board for sources. Update! I got the bike!!! Weeee. Just like this one below, but with a basket for the handlebars as well. 

Yurt Birthday

This past weekend we went to the Isle of Wight to celebrate Lois's 2nd birthday. We stayed in a yurt in an apple orchard. I thought, hmm, fancy camping, an apple orchard--that sounds like a fun birthday weekend! The Really Green Holiday Company owns and maintains the yurts on the Afton Park orchard, and they did a great job making us feel at home. I had never stayed in a yurt before, but it was great--ideal for someone who likes the idea of camping, but prefers the comforts of home (like me). The yurt was really large, with a big bed, a little kitchen nook, a stove that kept the yurt nice and toasty, and a futon for lounging. There was also an outdoor bathroom. (See, fancy camping!) When we weren't relaxing in the yurt we were exploring the island. We rented bikes on Saturday and Sunday and also hiked a bit of the coastal path. Here's a peek at our yurt-birthday weekend. 

Our comfortable yurt!

Breakfast and dinner, yum. They provided breakfast and Andrew cooked delicious dinner for us on the BBQ.

I wish I could say we slept in, but Lois wakes up very early. We slept comfortably though. 

It was neat just to lie back and look at the yurt. It looks really cool when you look up. 

We left the orchard and went out on a bike ride. 

We passed quite a few thatched roof houses. 

Then Saturday afternoon we celebrated a birthday. 

The birthday girl! I made her hat and top from some vintage carnival print curtains that bought on etsy a while back. I made these a while back, but I thought the theme was cute with the yurts because there are a few carnival tents in the print. 

I think she liked her little orchard party. 

On Sunday we walked along the coastal path. We made our way to the path through a pasture. Lois said "moo" a lot on the way. 

The coast!

The ocean. 

Wildflowers. 

Then it was time to head back to the orchard and pack up.