London Shoplog # 2: Shoes & Fashion

A few days ago I already showed you some of the stuff I bought during my London trip. That post featured books, CDs, make up, beauty products and accessories. But that wasn’t all I got as I also bought a bunch of clothes and yes, as a shoe freak I also got some shoes. So stay tuned and check out part 2 of my London haul.

Let’s first have a look at the shoes I bought. The first day in London I went to Spital Fields/ Bricklane and found these two great pairs of shoes at a vintage store called Blitz for only 10 pounds each:

Dark grayish blue tasseled loafers

Burgundy lace up loafers

As you can see I got two pairs of loafers. I already have two pairs of brogues which I bought last year and I love how they can give an outfit this nerdy/ boyish look to outfits. That is why I really hoped to find a nice pair of loafers as they give an outfit a nerdy/ preppy/ grandma vibe. Both of them are made out of real leather and the blueish gray ones have hardly been worn as the soles are in great condition. The burgundy ones are a lot more beat up but oh so soft and comfy because of it.

Now as you may remember I left for London with a bit of a wish list in mind. I am glad to say that I found some of the things on there and then some. Here’s the first thing I ticked of my list: colored shirts.

Primark t-shirts in peach, green and gray

Primark t-shirts in yellow, mint green and bright blue.

You’re just gonna have to trust me when I say that one shirt is green and not blue. I’m afraid my camera didn’t pick up on the color all that well. Anywho: I found the colored shirts I wanted. Only two of them have prints on them. The rest are all basic, boring, plain t-shirts, but these will look great when paired with patterned bottoms but they can also be paired with other colors. The way I see it: you can never do without a good set of basic shirts.

Green skinny jeans (Forever 21)

These pants look a bit weird in the picture. Again, I blame my camera, but they are a solid grass green pair of skinny jeans. And again, I wanted a pair of green pants so hip hip hooray for that. You’ll be seeing more of this green color in this post as my wardrobe was in desperate need of a pop of green. The color in the picture isn’t true to the color of the actual pants. They are more like the color of these pants. Other than that they are just a pair of plain low rise stretchy skinny jeans. I am thinking of pairing this with gray or yellow and maybe a bit of pink to tap into the color blocking trend.

Wool & cashmere red blazer (Blitz)

Wishlist item no. 3: check! Check out this cool red blazer. It has a very straight, men’s like cut to it which is what I had hoped to find. I had never bought a boyfriend cut blazer as none of the ones at H&M or other places ever looked good on me. They made me look bulky and the fabrics were usually pretty loose which just doesn’t make for a good look on me. This blazer however, fits like a glove and is super soft because of the material used. It’s very sturdy too which means it keeps is shape nicely when it’s on rather than turning into a straight hot mess.

Navy woolen cardigan with side pocket (Vintage stall at Old Truman Brewery)

This navy cardi just jumped right at me when I was browsing to the racks on my vintage shopping spree on Sunday. It’s a great fitting button down which I’m suspecting may even have been knitted by someone’s grandma as there are not tags in the sweater, nor are there any signs of any tags ever having been attached to it. It does show some pilling, but nearly all woolen items get that after a few washes. All I know is that it’s super comfy and not in the least bit unimportant: it’s warm too.

Oversized navy Aztec print sweater (Primark – men’s section)

Here we go again: another item I can tick off my wishlist. I found my bulky dark colored sweater! At Primark. For 10 pounds. In the men’s section. Yes, you read that right: the men’s section. This is a size XL men’s sweatshirt. It looks great on though. I plan on wearing this as a sweater dress with a pair of leggings and some booties or sneakers or brogues or loafers or whatever shoes I feel like. The print is super fun and in style right now so I’m a happy bunny.

Black & white bouclé sweater(Topshop)

The Topshop on Oxford Street is massive and it took me quite some time to browse through it. In the past I was always able to find the cutest dresses there, but this time round this sweater and the one below were the things that caught my eye. This sweater is again super comfy but it’s not super bulky. It’s not exactly tailored, but has a relaxed fit and will look good with nearly anything: riding pants, jeans, those green pants I showed you earlier. You name it and you can make this sweater work somehow. The black and white combined with the fuzziness also gives it a fun textured look.

Multi-colored pastel bulky knit sweater (Topshop)

Say hello to bulky sweater no. 2! The minute I saw this sweater I fell in love. If you look at it from a distance it looks like it could be a light gray sweater right? Now look more closely… There’s the slightest pop of color there. See what I mean?

Close up of Topshop pastel colored sweater

As you can see in this picture, the thread actually consists of different pastel colors: pinks, blues, yellows, greens, purples and creams. Your eyes blend it to make it look gray when you’re standing too far away. Sort of like a pointillist painting, only in sweater form. This is a very loose fitting sweater and I even bought it a size larger than I needed because I just thought it looked better on. It has rolled cuffs and has a nicely relaxed fit. Again, this sweater is soft and warm and it makes me want to cuddle up on the couch with a hot cocoa just by looking at it.

Green polka dot skater dress with pussy bow (Monki @ Selfridges)

This dress combines 4 things I am currently loving into one: 1.) it’s a skater dress, 2.) it’s green, 3.) it has polka dots (I now own 5 or 6 polka dot dresses oops), 4.) it has a bow. I just think it looks super cute and I look cute in it (not unimportant). As with the green pants, the color is washed out as it is a much perkier green in real life. I did find it on the Monki website though so take a peep there if you want to see what the color actually looks like.

Green skater dress (Forever 21)

Last but not least I found another great green dress. See, I didn’t lie when I told you green would feature quite a bit in this post huh? This one is from Forever 21 and the green is a bit perkier than the one from Monki. I also loved the detail on the neckline and the thicker waistband gives this dress a slightly different look. It is very plain and simple but I’m thinking paired with some fun tights and shoes I can make this a casual or a more formal outfit.

And that’s it! That’s all I bought in London. Let me know in a comment below which item you like best. Also let me know which, if any, of these items you would like to see on. Perhaps I can make a bit of a lookbook with some of it or at least an Outfit of the Day. Have a good Sunday!

London 2012: Day 4

Ah my final day in London! This day was by far the laziest of all. I was so tired from all the walking I had done the days before that I decided to really take it easy. I slept in, checked out of my hotel and left my luggage at the hotel and headed out on the town for one last time. The hotel I was staying at was pretty okay actually. I was surprised that it had a good mattress. It was also clean, although the room could do with a bit of an upgrade when it comes to the decor, but other than that: it was good enough to rest my head as that’s all I did during my 4 days there. Best part: the guy at the front desk asked for someone to help me with my luggage on my way out. Always nice when they do that!

I set out the door of my hotel around 10.30 AM and first bought myself a train ticket to Gatwick Airport. It is advisable to just take a regular train and buy your tickets on the go, rather than getting on the Gatwick Express as it is cheaper and nearly as fast. During weekdays there are even direct trains going from St. Pancras to Gatwick for only 10 pounds for a single ride. On my way into the city when I arrived it cost me 15 pounds but that included a day travelcard for the tube. In total it cost me 25 pounds to get in and out of the city and I believe Gatwick Express costs around 35.

After getting my ticket I bought some magazines from WH Smith as I always like seeing what magazines in other countries look like and how they write about different topics. Since it was London Fashion Week right when I was there, many magazines had special Fashion Week editions out so I bought one of those and a discount pack. I was late for breakfast at the hotel so instead I went to Starbucks, grabbed a latte and a sandwich and found a spot just reading and sipping coffee for an hour. I then set off to go to The British Museum.

British Museum exterior

My other major touristy visit was this massive museum that houses everything having to do with ancient cultures such as the Assyrians, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians etc. It’s pretty much a collection of artifacts which the Brits plundered during the Victorian period. Okay not plundered, as many of the British aristocrats who provided artifacts for the collection often got permission from the countries the items came from, even though some of them now want it back. The museum is most famous for the Rosetta stone which is the only reason why anyone is able to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Interior of the museum

Another thing the museum is famous for is the grand hall from which you can go and explore the museum. There is this massive circular staircase in the middle and this amazing glass roof that gives the impression of the room being 20x bigger than it actually is. I decided to just browse around as much as I can. I had already been to the museum once, a long time ago and only saw a few things at the time, so now I was set on getting a good browse around.

The museum starts with Egyptian sculpture and moves into Greek, Assyrian and Roman artifacts quite flawlessly. There are 5 floors in total and not all of it caught my attention. I spent most of my time gazing at the Greek vases depicting the works of Herakles or Hercules as he was known in Latin. And I also learned things about Greek & Roman culture that I didn’t know yet, or I remembered facts that I once used to know. During my teens I was obsessed with Roman, Greek and Egyptian ancient culture, especially the mythology and all of these facts just came boiling to the surface. I now I actually want to go and bust out my old mythology books and read up on them again!

Inside the museum: sculptures taken from the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis in Greece (Greece actually wants these back)

I spent nearly 3 hours at the museum. You could very easily spend the entire day there if you read everything and look at every artifact but like I said not everything grabbed my eye so I just walked right through the exhibitions on early Medieval artifacts and other things that didn’t interest me. By this time I was quite hungry and thirsty again and there was a Starbucks across the street so I huddled up again on a couch with a mag and just sat there for an hour reading and people watching.

By now it was really time to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and hop on a train to the airport. I arrived at the airport well on time, had a bite to eat and by the time I had finished my meal it was time for me to go to my gate. After an uneventful flight I arrived at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport safe and sound and got home around 10 PM to a rainy and windy Holland. Would you believe me if I said the weather in London was in fact better than at home? I’m sure that’s a rare thing!

This post finalizes my posts on my 4 day trip to London and I just made me fall in love with the city all over again. After New York, London is my favorite city in the world! I hope these posts make you see why. I still have one more post coming up in which I will show you what I bought fashion wise and then everything will be back to normal again on the blog. I hope you enjoyed my little ramble about my travels and since I’ll be going to the US and Canada over summer you are assured of more of these posts in the near future.

Do you love London as much as I do? If yes, why? If not, which city do you love most?

London 2012: Day 3

Day 3 of my trip would be devoted to more walking and plenty of shopping. I hit up Oxford Street and Soho and ticked off plenty from my fashion wish list to make a shoplog once I get back. So keep your eyes peeled for that but now let me just tell you what I exactly did on Day 3.

Marble Arch

My day started with a crowded subway ride during London’s rush hour. Perhaps not the best idea, but I was a girl with a mission: hit up Primark before everyone else did. I took the tube to Marble Arch and since I had never been able to take a proper picture of that monument I decided to go ahead and do just that before going to Primark. Luckily for me Primark was quiet when I got there and so I could browse to my heart’s content without having to step over people or be pushed around by crowds.

After Primark I hit up some more major store chains, which is what you do when you shop on Oxford Street. I went to Forever 21, TopShop, Urban Outfitters and Monki (in Selfridges). I found green pants (yay!), not 1 but 3 (!) bulky sweaters and two really cute dresses. I had also found out where the MAC Pro Store was located (in Carnaby Street) and browsed around there too. As I now found myself in Soho, I walked around some more into the general direction of Leicester Square and also found Make Up Store AND Illamasqua shops located in the Carnaby Street area. So, if you like make up and you are shopping in London, go to Carnaby Street!

Since it was only 4 PM I tried to see which movies were showing at that time, but again found nothing good playing so I just got onto the tube again and headed back to the hotel. My feet desperately needed a rest and I just watched some TV while reading blogs and writing a few of my own (including this one). I decided on having sushi for dinner and going to bed on time to get ready for my final day in London.

And so that was day 3. Not much to say unless you want the entire relay of my shopping experience. It’s just high street shopping, which is something you like or you don’t. I loved hitting up the vintage stores and markets in East London a few days ago, but also the boutique style stores in Covent Garden on Monday. Oxford Street has all major chains with some flagship stores (Primark & Topshop) which are huge you feel you’ll get lost.

Shopping high street stores is a beast on its own and my only advice is to go there early enough before major crowds show up. If you plan on shopping London’s Oxford Street I can highly recommend starting from Marble Arch and working your way eastward towards Tottenham Court Road. You’ll find yourself coming across Primark, Forever 21, H&M (several times), Dorothy Perkins (several times), Pull & Bear, Aldo, Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Super Drug, Boots and department stores such as Selfridges, Debenhams and House of Fraser. In case of a rainy day, you can also go to Westfield Shopping Mall at Shepherd’s Bush. It has most of the stores you will find on Oxford Street, but you won’t get wet.

Where do you prefer to shop: vintage stores, boutiques or the high street?

London 2012: Day 2

Day two in the English capital turned out to be a great day. The weather was amazing, with a slight breeze but plenty of sunshine making it perfect weather for walking. And walk I did. I set off from my hotel around 9 AM. My first stop was the Twinings tea shop on The Strand. It’s the only official Twinings-only shop in the world and they have many varieties that aren’t available in Holland. Argyll Square – View from my hotel room

Houses on Argyll Square

Tudor style houses near Chancery Lane

Clock of the Royal Court of Justice

After picking up nearly 10 different teas including a ‘vintage’ Darjeeling I walk about for a bit as I wanted to go to Temple Church but it wouldn’t open until an hour later. I found myself walking along the River Thames and found a bench bathing in sunlight. I sat there people and boat watching while listening to music and waited until I could go to Temple Church.

Chestnut tree (?) on Victoria Embankment

Fierce looking dragon near Middle Temple lane

I had heard that Temple Church would be difficult to find and while trying to find it, I figured why. The church is surrounded by other buildings that are part residential area and part offices. It is completely encased and I found it by walking into a narrow alleyway. If I hadn’t I would have most likely walked passed it. Temple Church is quite a strange place. It’s only a stone’s throw away from the heavy traffic of Fleet Street/ The Strand, but yet it’s so quiet and peaceful when you walk into the courtyard. It doesn’t even feel like you’re in the middle of London.

Temple Church

The interior of the Church

Effigies of the Knights Templar

Temple Church is famous for being round on one end rather than having the shape of a cross. In the round part of the church you will find the famous effigies of the Knights Templar as featured in The Da Vinci Code. The ones you see in the picture above are actually plaster casts of the original which are on the other end of the room. The casts were made during the Victorian era for the World Exhibition and placed in the church after the originals were badly damaged during The Blitz in WWII. The Church is still active which is why it is only open at specific times a day.

Original entrance door of Temple Church

The reason why Temple Church is hard to find: courtyards and narrow alleys

Fountain with National Gallery

After the Church I walked via The Strand to Trafalgar Square and had a pit stop at Starbucks and Superdrug where I picked up some make up by brands that aren’t available in The Netherlands. I then went to the National Gallery where I walked around for a few hours viewing mainly Impressionist and Dutch 17th century art. The museum houses art from the 1200s till 1900 and since it is huge I picked two categories to go and see because I didn’t want to spend such a lovely day indoors all day.

The National Gallery is definitely worth a visit. If art isn’t your thing you should just step inside to see the interior. It is hands down one of the most majestic buildings I’ve ever been in, without it being preposterous. It’s a beautifully designed museum, especially the room called Central Hall and the rooms directly adjacent to it. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside the museum so you’ll just have to believe me or go there yourself. The museum is free so just stop by and pop in to have a look whenever you’re near it.

After viewing Monets, Renoirs, Rembrandts and the like I felt hungry and had lunch outside in the sunshine with a delicious salad. With it only being 3 PM and having gone through my plans for the day already, I set off towards Leicester Square to see if I could catch a West End musical. Unfortunately nothing struck me as remotely interesting and there aren’t many movies out right now that I think are worth visiting so I decided to take a beeline toward Covent Garden. There I found the most amazing shoe store on Floral Street called United Nude. It was too pricey for me, but nevertheless these shoes are eyecandy in its purest form. The shoes seem to be a combination of design and architecture and seem impossible to walk in.

I had quite a browse around Coven Garden, bought a few things here and there and headed west again along Shaftesbury Avenue towards Piccadilly Circus. There’s a Waterstone’s nearby as well as an HMV (I like their book section there too) and plenty of food places. So I bought some books and quite exhausted found a table at TGI Friday’s as I was craving a burger. I finished my meal with an Oreo sundae icecream and took the Underground back to the hotel. My feet were killing me after walking around for nearly 12 hours, but that’s how I like London best: by foot.

Stay tuned for more blogs about my London trip later this week!

How is your week coming along?

London 2012: Day 1

On Sunday I left for London and here’s what I did on day one. I woke up early and left well on time to catch a train to the airport. I had checked whether trains were going and all seemed well, until I got to the train station. There had been a fire in the train station tunnel and no trains were going for a while. I got on the first train that left and after an uneventful journey I arrived at the airport well in time.

After a slightly delayed flight and another train into the city I arrived at my hotel around 1.30 PM. I freshened up and got reorganized in my room and set out into town right away. I took the underground to Liverpool Street Station where I grabbed a bite to eat and started walking towards Spital Fields Market and the Old Truman Brewery in East London (near Brick Lane). I knew there would be some markets there and Rough Trade East is located there as well so I was hoping to hit up all those places while walking around.

Livepool Street Station

Detail of Liverpool Street Station construction

The weather was luckily perfect for walking and browsing around. It got a bit cold at times, but plenty of the markets aren’t exactly outside. Most of the markets are in these big halls so there is a roof over your head and it only got cold when I got anywhere near the exit.

The first stop was Old Spital Fields Market. It is a market where you can buy some edgier items than at your average highstreet store. You could compare it to a festival fair or a goods market. I already knew it wouldn’t be packing many vintage stores as the vintage scene moved a bit further east, but I thought it would be worth having a browse. Around the market there are some other regular stores and there are also food stalls in case you get hungry. After buying the most delicious donut ever (covered in icing with coconut sprinkles and filled with jam)  and browsing all the stalls I set off towards Old Truman Brewery.

Quaint store near Spital Fields Market

East London is littered with old vacant factory buildings and it is here that you will find a lively community of vintage and edgy clothes, mingled with the occasional places selling music and food. Old Truman Brewery is one of those vacant factory buildings and on Sundays there is a large market with a good section of vintage to go around as well. It was quite busy, but the vibe was really cool. There was music playing and tons of young people going about trying on sunglasses or the odd sweater. Where Spital Fields was littered with tourists I felt Old Truman Brewery had much more of a local feel to it. Me likes!

I browsed around for a bit and bought a great navy blue woolen sweater. I then set out around the back of the store and quickly found what I came for: Rough Trade East. It was busy but it’s a cool place. If you like your music on vinyl then this is your place to be. Unfortunately for me, one album I really wanted had sold out and the other artist they had never heard of so I think I’ll have to hit up HMV afterall. It is still a cool store though with many in store live performances happening and they are stocking tons of artists and music styles that are not main stream so it was interesting to see.

Rough Trade East store front

Since I had now seen the things I came to see I decided to just walk around and see what I found. I quickly walked into Hanbury Street where I found some amazing vintage clothing shops. One was called Absolute Vintage which was exactly like what you would expect from a vintage store: walls lined with shoes, everything organized somewhat by color and that musty smell that comes with most vintage stores. I didn’t end up buying anything but it is still a great shop to have a look at when you’re there.

I then walked out and was handed a pamphlet for another vintage shop called Blitz. And OMG: it’s the BEST vintage shop ever. It is very well organized. It actually looks like a very comfortable store with soft lighting and all the items look pristine and the prices aren’t too high. They even had a sale going on in the downstairs area and I picked up a few things from there. I will make a shoplog once I get home so I will show you what I got later.

By this time I was quite hungry and I went into an Indian curry house and had real Indian curry for the first time in forever. Last time I had any Indian food was when I was at William and Mary and that was 2005. It was really good and after feeling full and content I headed back to my hotel and watched some TV before going to bed.

All in all, I think the first day was a good one. East London is definitely a place I can recommend to anyone interested in fashion/ clothes and just overall quirky items. The minute you cross Commercial Street the scene becomes more local and less touristy and that adds to a great vibe plus there are plenty of food places to keep you well fed.

Fashion Wish List

So many cool trends have been happening lately and that is why my fashion wishlist has been growing quite a bit. Because of my London trip I’ve refrained from buying too many new things as I want to see what is available at stores that I cannot get to on a regular basis. I hope to find items that are just a tad different from what I would be able to find in my local shopping street. This goes mainly for clothes and accessories and here’s what I hope to find.

Source: weheartit.com

1. Basic colored shirts

Number one on the list are basic colored t-shirts/ tops. I have a ton of plain nude colored shirts, but no brights or pastel colored ones. I have plenty of colored shirts with prints on them, but NOTHING that is just a shirt without too much going on. Since colors are a must have this spring I’m hoping there will be enough to go around and find them.

2. Dark colored bulky sweater

I’m totally digging the trend of wearing tight (riding) pants with a bulky sweater on top. You know, the ones that look like your boyfriend might have lived in it for a while. I have light colored ones, but no dark one. I tend found this sweater by American Apparel and fell in love. It is pricey though so I will go check it out and if it really is as good as it looks on the picture I will just splurge on it.

3. Skater or shift dress

I would really like a skater or shift dress. I bought a skater dress the other day, but that one is a mustard yellow with dark blue polka dots. What I’m really missing in my wardrobe is a plain gray dress. What I am hoping is that I will find a gray skater dress or possible one in that great sea foam green color that I’ve been spotting everywhere lately.

4. Short necklaces

Short necklaces are making a huge comeback. I still have a few from way back in the day, but there are new styles out right now that I’m loving. Most of them are very plain and simple and look great paired with a button down shirt. I will definitely try to hit up Primark and Forever 21 and I think I will find something that suits me there.

5. Colored pants

Another thing I’d love to find are green or bright blue pants. I bought a pair of pink ones in January, but I remember owning a pair of green pants a few years ago and loving them to pieces. I had to throw them out because they were too big, so finding a new pair would be nice. So far, I haven’t found a pair of pants that has the right color, though I spotted a nice green colored pair of treggings at pieces the other day. I may just have to go with that if I can’t find it in London.

6. A red blazer

I love blazers but I’m very picky when it comes to them. I’ve been trying to find a red blazer for over a year now, but have yet to find the perfect one. There is always something that wrong: wrong cut, wrong shade, or it’s too tight around my shoulders. I know it’s a long shot but I hope to finally find a comfy red blazer that doesn’t make me look pasty.

7. Some items for DIY projects

I’ve found so many great DIY clothing tutorials on Youtube and I’m dying to try my hand at a few. However, I don’t want to risk ruining a perfectly fine brand new shirt. That is why I really want to go to Primark. As their stuff is cheap it won’t have cost me tons when things go bad. It totally depends on what I’ll find what I’ll be able to do with it and I will let you know if it all worked out and make some posts on the DIY stuff when I get to it.

What’s on your fashion wishlist?

Plans for my London trip

Yeah baby! When you’re reading this, the count down is seriously on: in little over 24 hours I will be hitting up good ol’ London town once more. I will only be gone for a few days, but since this is the 4th year in a row I’m going there, I think that is plenty to get around. I do have a few things I want to do. Some are completely new, others aren’t, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun. Care to know what I’ll be up to (and will most definitely write blogs about)? Then keep on reading!

Houses of Parliament w/ Big Ben in 2010

First of all this will be the first time in a long time of going to London when it’s not spring or summer time. The weather will therefore be an interesting factor on this trip. The forecasts so far are pretty good, with major rain not coming in until Wednesday which is when I’ll be leaving. The rest of my stay will see some scattered showers, but overall it should be dry and sunny for most of it. With London you can never tell though. I’ll just bring an umbrella and make the best of it.

My actual plans involve some of the ideas I had when I first booked the trip. I have plans for hitting up some museums as well as some shopping and seeing a musical. I have never been to the National Gallery so I’ll be going there. It’s still only February so I’m thinking I’ll be safer inside than outside to begin with. I’m also going to visit Temple Church. It is a place with very limited opening hours and needs planning ahead of time. I have looked up all information I need on their website, so I should be good and will not end up standing there when it’s closed.

I will also go to a part of the city I have never been to before: East London. The Brick Lane area to be specific. It’s this very hip and happening place (apparently) ever since artists such as Damien Hirst and his colleagues started setting up shop in the area. Rough Trade has a record store there (great resource for indie music) and also located in the area is Spital Fields Market which is a good place for shopping vintage clothes and accessories. I think it will be an interesting part of London to visit as it borders onto the borough where many Bengali immigrants live so there will be plenty of curry/ food places around methinks.

A museum that I plan to revisit is the British Museum. I went there way back when in 2004. At the time though I was sick and air conditioning made everything worse, so I only stayed inside for less than an hour and saw nothing but the Egypt section. Since the British Museum is huge, I definitely plan on devoting most of one of my days to it, depending on how interesting it is and which exhibitions they have. In the worst case I will just wander about for hours looking at all the prettiness of ancient cultures and then some.

Naturally I will also take out time to go shopping. I’m thinking of just going to Oxford Street and Covent Garden as I know from experience those places have everything I’m looking for. There’s the Primark flagship store, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Selfridges, TopShop and many more to keep me entertained. I’ll be looking mostly for clothes this time round and there are a few specific items that I hope to find while I’m there. Another shop I will definitely visit is the Twinings shop on The Strand. They sell all kinds of different teas not available in The Netherlands and to top things off I received an email saying they have added new green teas to their selection. I’m curious to try those.

So there you have it: my London plans. I’m just going to see how everything works out. If the weather is nice I will definitely spend a lot of time just wandering about and popping in and out of places as I’m walking around. These plans are by no means set in stone, neither are they intended to fill up my entire day in one go and I’m all for unintentional and spontaneous visits to places. I may or may not go see a West End musical or maybe I’ll just go and see a movie. Who knows! I’m curious to see what my hotel will be like. It does come with free Wifi so I hope to keep this blog going live from London. In any case I know I’ll have a blast.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Upcoming trips #1 – London

I started this year with an overview of what the new year would bring for me. One of my plans includes doing some traveling again. By now I have arranged most of my trips and so I thought it would be fun to inform you about them: what hotel I’ve picked out, what I plan on doing there etc. And of course if you have any suggestions, feel fee to leave a comment and tell me what I shouldn’t miss.

Tower Bridge, London (this is my own picture)

My first stop this year will be London and I’m excited to say that I will be going there in less than a month! I am gonna go for only four days during springbreak, but ever since I went to London in 2009 (after years of not having been there at all), I fell in love with it so much that I have been going back every year. This year is no exception. By now I’ve seen most of the touristy stuff, so I will be doing some sightseeing, but my main plan is just to browse around the city as much as I can (weather permit).

I’m staying at a very simple hotel as I’m not planning on spending much time there. The hotel is near King’s Cross Station and I was staying in the same area last year so I know a few pubs and places around, so even if the hotel is a horrible mess I can just hang out there. The hotel comes with breakfast and is close to public transportation and that’s the most important thing to me. I’m flying into Gatwick so I’ll be able to catch a train which takes me straight to St. Pancras and my hotel will be just a 5 minute walk, another plus!

As far as plans are concerned I honestly don’t really have any. I may want to try to hit up Temple Church, but that has very limited accessibility so I will have to look into whether it will even be open during my stay. Another thing that I might do go to a museum. This is mainly on the list for a rainy day. I’m thinking of going to the National Gallery or The British Museum. I’ve never been to the first one, and the last one has been ages since I last went there. I also want to go see a West End musical. Preferably I’d like to see Legally Blonde as I tried to go last year, but didn’t manage.

Other than that: there are no plans. I may want to go to Brick Lane as Rough Trade has its main store there and it’s apparently a very vibrant part of London. I will naturally be doing some shopping, but I’m not planning on doing a huge amount of spending. Last year my wishlist was huge, now: I have nothing on it. So we’ll see how it goes. I think I will just let my plans depend on tips from locals and whatever the weather is like. One thing I love about London is that by just walking around you’ll find something new regardless, so I think this trip will be fun.

What are your travel plans for 2012? Would London be on your list? Anyone planning on actually going to the Olympics this summer?

FOTD: London Rain

I wanted to make a new outfit post, but unfortunately lighting was horrible so I’m only showing you my make up today. I decided to finally use my Catrice London palette from the City collection, which I showed you in this shopping vlog a little over a month ago. I was suddenly inspired to use this palette and used all the eyeshadow colors as well as one of the blushes to create this look.

Which look? This look:

On my face:

- Garnier BB Cream

- MAC studio sculpt concealer in NW 15

- MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium

- Eyes & blush from Catrice London City palette

- Mascara: Maybelline One by One Waterproof in black

My camera washes out the colors so in real life it was definitely much more visible. That is why I took some close up shots so you can see the colors a bit better.

It’s mainly a greyish toned look with hints of blue and lilac. This is what I did:

I used Big Ben all over my lid and put Globe Theatre with a blending brush and put it in my crease and above. I used Hyde Park to create some more shade in my crease and place a little bit of City Hall in my outer V. I then lightly dusted Tower Bridge all over my lid. I used Piccadilly Circus as my highlight color. The blush I’m wearing is the top one: London Eye.

There you have it! Opinions please!

London Days 6, 7 & 8

After 5 days of touristy things and some sightseeing, my final days in London would be spent shopping. My friend left London in the middle of the night to catch a flight to Italy. That gave me plenty of time to scour the town for make up, clothes and of course, shoes.

I arrived at Oxford Street a bit early. The only thing open was HMV. I browsed around for a bit and when I left a girl approached me. She needed a model for a hairdressing course for Toni & Guy and if I would like to get a new haircut. I had plenty of time on my hands so I agreed to go with her. It took 3,5 hours, but I now have a new haircut which looks great and it didn’t cost me a thing. Hurrah!

After a quick Starbucks break I went on with my shopping spree. My initial plan was to do Oxford Street & Covent Garden on Friday and go to Westfield Shopping Mall on Saturday. I ended up spending so much time on Oxford Street though that I never even had the time to go to Covent Garden. I went to all the major department stores, Top Shop, Aldo and then some. I also hit up Primark, but that was mayhem so I got out as quickly as I got there. By the time I was done shopping, I was starving and stopped at this nice Italian place just off Oxford Street to grab a bite to eat. Then onwards to the Odeon Cinema on Tottingham Court Road to watch Water for Elephants. That was day 6.

The movie was alright. I now know why I wasn’t interested in reading the book. I don’t like the story, but the movie is pretty: the costumes, the colors, the atmosphere are all very tastefully done. If you don’t like romantic love stories however, you’d better stay away from it. Plus there are a few parts of the story that move so fast that as a viewer you don’t have time to feel the emotions of the characters (when Jacob’s parents die for instance). The plot sometimes feels a little rushed to get it done within 2,5 hours and I never even read the book. Rob looks pretty though so you’ll get enough of eye candy if you like him .

Saturday ended up being a let’s-go-across-town-as-many-times-as-possible day. I started my day by taking the subway up to Camden Market. Unfortunately the place was sprawling with touristy shops selling hats and sunglasses. I did spot the occasional punkers but you’d hardly notice them amongst all those loud Italians. So I walked around for maybe 30 minuts and grabbed a train to King’s Cross to sort out my train for Monday morning.

After that I went to Covent Garden where I finally bought a pair of Dr. Marten’s (the 1460 in Cherry Red Smooth in case you’re wondering) and went to Urban Outfitters and Space.NK. I walked back to my hotel to drop off some stuff and left to pick up my phone. By this time it had been 5 days and 3 trips to the repair shop and by the time I went to pick it up it still wasn’t functioning. Frustrated the guys from the shop offered me to swap my old Blackberry for the one they had on display at no extra charge. So now, finally, after almost 5 days of agony and frustration I again have a functioning Blackberry.Double hurrah!

After the phone debacle I went back to Urban Outfitters because I had spotted a cardigan, didn’t buy it and then decided I really wanted it anyway. So I went back, got the cardigan and went to The Strand to go to the Twinings Shop which was about to close. I got my favorite tea and stocked up on some more to try out and went for pizza. Dropped off my stuff at the hotel again and went to the Embankment tube station to join a walking tour called Bloodcurdling London. I took a walking tour with the same company last year and loved it and this one was great as well though not as much fun as the other one. Thoroughly exhausted I arrived back at my hotel, reinstalled my Blackberry and went to sleep.

Sunday (which is today) was a quiet day: I sorted out my taxi/ train ride for tomorrow. I also went to Heathrow airport to ship some stuff I bought which I don’t want to drag around for another week. The post office at Heathrow is the only post office to be open on a Sunday and since I didn’t have any major plans I decided to take the 2 hour journey to and from the airport.

After writing this I will go to Leicester square to find a cool musical to watch tonight and if I can’t find anything I like, I will go to watch another movie. Then I will have to sort out my suitcase and repack so I can take a cab to the train station at 5 AM. Not looking forward to that, but hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do right? I will catch a flight to Amsterdam, then go to Breda to get on a bus to go to Edinburgh and go on the study trip with my students.

I will post a haul post (with pictures) once I get back next weekend. In the mean time, this blog will feature even less posts, as I don’t think the hostel has a WIFI connection. I will have a few Song Challenge posts coming up though!