"winter" in london

so it's cold here....but not really now is it my toronto lovlies!? you have lots of lovely snow that a part of me is secretly still waiting for over here and isn't likely going to get - another part of me is happy i get to wear lovely coats and fun hats and dramatic scarves and wicked boots but doesn't actually have to contest with the actual brutal reality of winter that demands hardcore parkas and sorrels ;)
uhhhhmmm i went to a party the other day - that was fun. it was in this weird converted building that used to be something else and then was made into apartments and then they had obviously taken one of the apartments and gutted it to make some kind of "event" space that was really only the size of a one bedroom apartment...but they managed to make it work and there we were at this dance party for about 50-60 people and it was hilarious to be at a dance party that teeny and that cool that only had one bathroom....ya....that was fun.
today renee and i went to ikea...we took a bus...in retrospect this seems like a silly idea as it took us about 2 hours to get there - but oh the sights we saw made it almost worth it - imagine bussing through north toronto - it's not really toronto, but in a way it might be even more toronto than toronto - know what i mean? well i got the london equivalent today. we even passed a mall and boy did i have the itch to hit that up...an evil evil disney loving part of me craves a giant complex of my favourite stores all in one place...as for ikea...we got what we needed (and more) and in the end we admitted defeat and cabbed it home in about a quarter of the time with our booty in the...boot...

bad blogger!

sooooo....i knew that eventually the time would come where i would come to resent this blog...and here it is! nah! just kidding! but seriously...ive been remiss...for a whole month! and don't think i don't feel guilty! really, don't worry, cause i do...

s'ok! updates! what have you missed out on!?

my mum and phil came to visit - i ate waaaay too much and marched them all over the city and back again - even my bones hurt at the end of the day so when they said they felt "stiff" the next day - i can only imagine how much they were downplaying it....but all in all it was amazing to have them here and show them around and have them take me out for food!! they are so awesome and i am so so lucky that they "get" me and what i am doing...or not doing. the fact that they enjoy the same cheap, easy and odd things that i do makes for fun times...not that we didn't go to nice places - there was plenty o' that - like our lunch at the national portrait gallery restaurant (the one from the movie "closer" - watch it, you'll see, actually don't watch it, i didn't much like the movie). ya, we went for this swish lunch on the third floor of the nat portrait gallery for lunch where you can sit and look out over most of london (it's awesome) and in the middle of our lunch the fire alarm went off - no shit - ya it did! and we had to leave our beautiful lunch half eaten and our wine half drunk and file out to the street! well you can only imagine what we did next! tooright! we left! what!? they wouldnt have made us pay anyway! and what did you think we were going to do - wait around wasting precious london minutes - hells no - we went drinking at my mum's fave london wine bar - i know my mum has a fave london wine bar - how cool is she? and how cool am i for having such a cool mum! yeah! anywaaayzz - other than that...we ate a lot - did i mention that? and we walked a lot, and we went on the london eye but i was too scared to get up from the bench, and we went to greenwich where we saw this amazing painted hall and listened to an organ recital and visited the greenwich ummm...place...where GMT is measure from and stood on the line separating the hemispheres where we had a debate about hemispheres and then just like that they had to go :( but it really was so much fun! in a way it made london a little more real, having them come visit me here....to be honest, i spend so much time working the whole "living in london" thing is still working it's way into my fat skull...london is wasted on me so far...but don't worry - i'll be making up for it as soon as i can!

lazy life!

literally some...snapshots...hahaha...of my life in london...

i like to spend time wandering around their grocery stores like: tesco, sainsbury's, but most of all waitrose...cause it's pretty and nice and...expensive...not to mention close to my work! i guess cause i really like food, it's a bit exciting to go into the stores here and see all this new stuff...mostly the same food but just with different brand names and packaging...but still...here's a discovery i made in waitrose the other day...which i then HAD to take a picture of...try looking discreet with a camera in a grocery store...

the other day...i happened to be near the whole foods that they have here in london...so...for the sake of comparison to north american whole foods i thought i'd go in and take a looksee round...not to mention i was bored and i love food shopping - have i mentioned that before? saw this and chuckled - so i took a picture

n.b. the bin says "organic minced beef only" - now i know the bin must have been enjoying a type of bin reincarnation here and is probably no longer used for minced beef...but it's still funny


when i'm not in grocery stores...i am either walking about, in my apartment or at work (or maybe in a clothes shop) or i am en route via the london transport system of buses and trains...here is a frequent sight in london tube stations...now i know we have these in toronto too...but rarely do they actually come up ONTO the platform like the london mice do! really, someone should teach those toronto rodents a thing or two about hospitality and manners - i mean....the least they could do was make some kind of concerted effort to get to know foreigners like the london ones do (pictured here)...so friendly.

here are some things i've stumbled upon in my recent wanderings of late....
above...i wandered down the canal today...yeah, you know...typical london day - go for a stroll down the canal - oh so civilized and all that rot...and came across this...have no idea what it is...but doesn't it look cool!?...yeah that's really all i got on that one...anyywaaay
below...yeah, that's right! clare street!! holy crap! you never see my name anywhere in north america! let alone my name spelled "right" and this street is just down the way from my house! crazy! please note however that it's a super short, dirty street that mostly houses the backends of car garages...no worries - i checked and there's totally like clare lane and clare place and clare...crescent or something in london too...i've assured myself they've got to be nicer than clare street...otherwise i might think it was some kind of omen or something...


catch all y'all on the flipside...till next time...lots of london love.

London Life!

Here I am in London, one of the most incredible cities in the world, on one of the most incredible days in history (the US election) – which, although I’m not in the states, obviously has worldwide implications and therefore is relevant in any cosmopolitan city, London being one of if not the most in the world….and what have I been doing? I am still in my pyjamas. I did leave the house. Once. For an hour. I bought fish and chips. Now I’m back. Fear not north American friends – I haven’t adopted fancy mannerisms or taken on any kind of airs or anything like that in my new city of residence – oh no, I am still salt of the earth, grounded, slovenly. Everyone, please rest assured that I remain quite myself.

my plaaace!

I have a house. It’s in hackney – which is sort of a bad area…I mean…its been known as a bad area for a while but there are parts of it that are really nice and pretty and all that! I live sort of inbetween the good and the bad bits…its not so bad. Except I do live in a council flat block which is basically kind of like an apartment building that was originally built as sort of cheap co-op housing…it’s the first time I’ve ever lived seriously above ground…the place totally has basement syndrome tho – when I first walked in it looked gahetto! (well cause it kinda is…) but anyway – yeah…but now that there’s people and stuff in it – it’s looking better – I mean, the stair carpet is robertstreetesque at best and the plaster looks lumpy in spots and there’s strange holes and patches like there tends to be in cheap accommodation but it’s clean and liveable and I have a feeling the three of us are going to kit this place out and give it some serious character and then it will be funky boho chic and everything will blend together to make it actually cool. I have my very own lovely room and since I have no stuff I have lots of room in my…room. I put my bed in the middle of the room to take up more space. I bought super awesome fancy sheets and they make all the difference in feeling homey and good in my room so I’m glad. Also having my own space and getting out and hanging up all my clothes also makes me feel at home and cozy…funny…I guess you can see where my priorities lie – sheets and clothes…
here are some pics of victoria park which i live beside...it will make you think where i live is nice...yes...keep thinking that...pics of my actual place will follow if and when my room actually looks like a room and not a locker ;)

ps. i love that i posted about my favourite place to eat before i posted about my house...

food! fabulous food!

i've found a place!!! an honest to god cool, delish, good, wonderful, greeny, socially responsible, a bit edgy, tasty, but not too granola place to eat - and quel location! right by my house - score. love you pavillion!!! in my dreams i will work here one day...

still alive...barely

i just wanted everyone to know i'm still alive. just with little to no access to the internet and a lot on my mind at the moment but i'm safely installed in my new digs and working away like a busy little bee...more updates once i'm connected.