chelsea

another great day today, i keep thinking that each day is better than the last. we walked through battersea park over chelsea bridge to chelsea. the neighborhood is gorgeous. we go on lots of amazing strolls every day, but the destination today was the chelsea physic garden which was on my list of things to do and on leigh's as well. we were lucky to get another sunny morning and soon stripped off our jackets and sweaters and we were still really warm.



the homes surrounding the garden are so beautiful, you can tell this neighborhood is ritzy.

lots of lavender in this section, lots of bees, too!




the dark brown building behind the greenhouse above is so stunning, i want to go inside.


old greenhouses, filled with botanicals from different parts of the world.


so many lovely poppies and aliums all over.



after a long stroll around the paths and lots of photos we were ready for lunch. we stopped at daylesford organic and had a two wine lunch - lois was a handful and we needed the juice.

east side

leigh and i had a great day today on the east side. andrew was feeling generous (when is he not) and offered to stay with lois all day which made our day nice and long. we started at the columbia road flower market which was jam packed with people so i didn't take a single photo. after that we went into some of leigh's favorite stores and i had to force myself not to buy something in each one.


we started at jessie & buddug, so many cute embroidered things. after that it was tea at vintage heaven, where we had cream tea in the back tea room. there were so many things in this store that i wanted, but just got the two of these blue and pink cups.




next we were off to labour and wait, which i was so excited to see. i bought a few items to take home as gifts: this pale green lasagne dish, two of these little tumblers, a few bone egg spoons, a nail brush, and this folding pocket knife. i'd been wanting to go to this store since reading about it in gourmet or dwell so i didn't hold back.


we popped into caravan and i really wanted one of these lamps, but too large to carry home since i need to bring a lamp post home for cristal. aesop is a new addition to the neighborhood and i was sucked in my the simple packaging and beautiful ingredients. our last stop was the spitalfields covered market in shortage where we had a really nice, light lunch of wine and cheese. we've had that a lot because we are eating so much.

we got on the bus to come home and it was a very long ride, over an hour (i picked the bus...). i didn't mind though. we were upstairs in the very front seats and i just spent the hour enjoying chatting with leigh, sitting, and seeing london.

fall at the river

i haven't been up to the cabin in a long time, it feels like two months, but it might be less than that. the light is gorgeous up there now, and the weather was really great this weekend. i didn't work on my paper as i had planned, but there's always tomorrow. i actually relaxed and enjoyed it. i made this bouquet out of our winter yard, complete with figs and mushrooms.




we finally went wine tasting for the first time and found two great wineries; lambert bridge and hop kiln, then stumbled onto the dry creek general store. got some great photos down on mother's beach.





i'm planning our next trip, post holidays and school, when i have absolutely nothing to do but read, drink wine, and walk around the woods.

total recall

just reminiscing about the great party al threw for my 40th saturday night. i brought home some left over oreos, handmade by julia. i'm enjoying this with one of the bouquets, provided by my sister. i still have cake left. and cheese. no more pizza. just i wish i had some of that punch.

nothing

nothing like working at home on your brand new ikea desk that you found on craigslist for $120 cheaper, next to a bunch of peonies and a glittery owl, with tea and cookies. if this was all taking place at the cabin i would just die.