Never Ending November

November was a blast! 

From a trip to Spain and a visit from a friend to two finished essays, parties and lovely weekends. Time flies when you're having fun, so you'd better hold on tight! 

And finally, the long awaited snow. 


Yes, it eventually reached the City of London. We were proud of being snow-free for quite some time, we were even lucky enough to get some sun...until this morning.

It may look nice, but it's not convenient. Slippery pavements, wet scarfs, dirty shoes and pants. High-Speed London and snow don't go well together, so spraying salt and sweeping the streets is a definite must these days...but let's just enjoy it while it's there, shall we? 

Today I gave myself a little day off after having finished my second essay. With snow falling out of the sky, this is how the good day went by. 

9AM: I made my own bread.
I shit you not, my Nigella-factor is definitely going up! 

A little hint towards the holidays over coffee & lunch
with my lovely Swede, Emma.

La Durée in Mayfair

Cartier is quite festive as well.

Treated myself to a new belt.

The reason why I ended up in Mayfair was simple...I wanted to pay a visit to the Dover Street Market. Definitely not a market, but an over-the-top giant boutique-shop with amazing clothes, from Comme Des Garçons to Yves Saint Laurent. So lovely to look at, not really in the Christmas-budget, but GREAT for inspiration. 

Are you already feeling the Christmas-vibe? 


I tried to escape it for a long time, as they already started to put up the decoration way too early here, but today I felt IT! 

Snow, fancy shops, mistletoes and macaroons.

Yes, the holidays are surely getting closer! 

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

FASHION WEEKS - SPRING SUMMER 2011

from icanteachyouhowtodoit on Vimeo.

On this lovely Sunday afternoon, I found this. Everything is right: the parties, the people, the clothes, etc. 

WHERE IS OUR INVITATION?

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

All I want for Christmas...

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There's just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I don't need to hang my stocking
There upon the fireplace
Santa Claus won't make me happy
With a toy on Christmas day
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you 

Mariah's right, but still...look who's talking, the girl's got a walk-in closet bigger than the average London flat! So, let' me show you what's on my wish-list this year...however, these are just a few things I asked Santa far, otherwise this post would have gotten way out of hand I'm afraid! So, here are my favourite five. 

Something to carry

THAT BAG FROM COS
WOULD BE NICE
TO HAVE

Something to plan

MOLESKINE
A PURE CLASSIC
TO PLAN YOUR WEEK

Something to do

PARACHUTE ANYONE?
I WANT TO JUMP! 

Something to smell

ISSEY MIYAKE
A SMELL DOES TELL. A LOT. 

Something to read

PIMP LONDON
A GUIDE TO THE UNDERGROUND

Oh and now we're at it...

TO DO ALL THE THINGS I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT
EXPLORE
DISCOVER
TRAVEL

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Is there a limit to your love?

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

And they lived happily ever after

Once upon a time...

There was a prince who fell in love with an upper-middle class girl. By now I think you all know what's going on, unless you spend your days looking for treasures under your bed...Kate Middleton is the happy bride-to-be in the Royal Wedding that will take place on the 29th of April, the lucky girl charmed her way into Prince William's heart. 

Well done lady, well done! I guess many girls out there (and boys) have been tearing their hear out over the news, but as far as I'm concerned...I AM HAPPY FOR THEM! 

Not really able to look that far in the future, but I guess I'll be in London. To avoid the masses, I would appreciate a personal invitation, so I might pass by that little Abbey on Parliament Square to ask for more details regarding the guestlist. 

Anyway, hooray! Good news for London Tourism! 

I guess it's only a matter of time before we'll start talking about what's obviously the most important thing in this entire romantic event: THE WEDDING DRESS! Can't wait for the media to go all crazy on that subject. 

Who do you think the lucky designer will be? 

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Fashion Crimes

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Oh My God What Have I Done

Crazy things like this don't need any words. 

This looks nice.

Requirements to eat it: knife & plate.

All finished.

I hereby take the time to praise my digestive system: without you I wouldn't have survived this...I also promise you a very healthy month before Christmas! 

Time to go on a diet! 

XX // T.L. Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Vintage Hopping

Although London is still known as one of the most expensive European cities, nothing should hold you back from making an effort to keep things cheap. For example, go for vintage! 

All over London, you've got vintage stores. However, be skeptic and non-easily pleased...go for quality first while still keeping in mind the fact you should be able to get these things for a reasonable price. You can buy vintage in markets, in boutique shops (expensive) and in regular vintage shops...which you can literally find everywhere, from Chelsea to Hackney, the hunt is yours! 

I successfully went hunting for some vintage yesterday and I managed to find three great pieces! 

The Camel Duffel-Coat

The Jacket

The 5£-Shirt

Hop hop, shop shop! 

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Miss Cookie

Last night, we headed over to one of London's best kept secrets, the Cellar Door, which used to be a public men's toilet...now converted into an underground bar with a maximum seating capacity of 60 people. Why? There was a CABARET! 

Not a traditional one though. It was a one-(wo)man show by the delightful Miss Cookie, a New York drag queen, who lives in London now and who loves to improvise, depending on the audience. Dirty songs, funny songs, tragic songs...everybody loved it. 

Not bad for a Monday night, I say. 

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Juicy Business

Walking down Parkway, one of Camden's best boulevards for eating and drinking, I picked up a fresh carrot-ginger juice at...Juice. Cheap and fresh juices and an incredible friendly service, that will suggest you to have some ginger with your juice, just because 'it's good for you'. Offer accepted. 

Juice, Parkway

Juice's decoration

Happy with the juice

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Body Talk

No, we're not going to talk about my body. We're going to talk about Robyn. Swedish singer, great style, great voice, great tracks! If you're living in a cave or are too occupied hugging trees, let me just tell you Robyn is smoking hot! She's been around for quite some time, but she's making some big waves with her recent tracks.

So, praise the Lord (or however you like to call what you believe in) for having Robyn!

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Say Cheese!

Drool over this delicious cheese-table...

I am really starting to feel like Nigella Lawson, although without the big boobies and sneaky night-visits to the fridge. Ok, a cheese-table might not really be haute-cuisine, but come on...it's better than a 22 year old's average pizza-night! 

My guests came, loved and ate. Red wine was our big friend and the evening was filled with laughter, gossip and jokes about Nigella Lawson (whom I in fact really admire). 

Enjoy your Sunday night! 

XX // T.L.

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Life's good things

Even when the sky is rather grey and you're thinking about finishing an essay, happiness is never far away. At least, that's what I think everyone should think! 

"The Too Small COS-Shoes". 

Long story, but I saw these shoes in the COS-store in Antwerp a while ago and I just had to get them. However, it wasn't until I went shopping with mommy dearest that I finally made the decision. But, the only pair left were one size too small! Such a pity, you would think?

Not me. I bought the shoes and I suffered wearing them, big time. But, they look fantastic. My feet were very angry, so they decided I should stop wearing them...by bringing me a lot of pain, blasters and the inability to walk. 

A long time, I thought about selling them, or only wearing them at seated events (maybe standing without too much walking)...but as we know, persistence can achieve wonders! Today, I decided to wear them for one full day, with normal socks (unsuccessfully tried wearing them without socks) and I won! 

No pain, just gain! 

The lovely meal standing on top of my shoes, just looked so gorgeous I had to find a reason to show it.

Raspberries and blackberries and COS-shoes. Happiness. 

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Singing with the muppets!

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

Going Deeper Underground

Seville was amazing. Not only did I have the best city-guide ever, but Seville also surprised me. Sophisticated, inspiring and totally relaxed, perfect ingredients for a great stay. The streets were full of beautiful people, very well dressed (or at least the ones I looked at). 

And then...the food. Our days went something like this: breakfast - walking - coffee - walking - tapas - walking - tapas - drinks - walking - tapas. Not that I can complain, but sometimes we went a little overboard, luckily we had a good excuse: best friends that reunite must simply make the most of everything...and so we did! 

The weather wasn't bad either...to be honest it was beyond amazing. We reached 30°C, in November. Crazy! Seville is definitely worth a visit. The atmosphere, the food, the things to visit, the little streets. Often called the frying pan of Europe and the city of tapas, I hope this post got you all warmed up to book your tickets!

Thank you guapa for the lovely week-end! 

Soaking up the sun in Alcazar

Tapas - wine - dessert (not ours)

Seville - you were amazing

But, London was calling. My timing in going back home was better than it was when I left for Seville. Although I left on time (so I thought), I apparently took the slow train, which stopped two or three times before finally arriving at London Stansted at 17.25. My gate was closing at 17.35!

This, my friends, was followed by what could be described as a movie scene. I took my trolley under my arm, ignored the tons of people waiting to pass the security (didn't even notice if someone was angry or not), ran to the gate (which was very far)...saw 'Final Call' next to my flight: panic! I arrived in the hall of my gate, to find yet another line. Ignored it as well. Apparently, the entire line was waiting to board the flight: WTF?! 

Coming back went very smooth. Upon arrival though, I thought it'd be a good idea to tear up my train ticket and throw it away. No control on the train (if you're from Belgium, you think like this) = no control ever. But, alas, there they were. 3 big security guys. The inevitable happened...I needed to collect all the pieces of my ticket and my receipt. Luckily it was the only thing in the litter, so no dirty things went down. But still, I felt weird. A few sad looks on the face and they let me through. I was the last person leaving Liverpool Station that night, London, I'm back! 

After a good night sleep, I woke up in very different conditions. There was nobody besides me in the room. No best friend's face to greet you and...the weather! Horrible. This was about to be a not so interesting day with a lot of chilling, groceries and laundry. 

I wanted to get back in the groove of things, so I decided to do something new that night! I met up with Emeline and Taku to go the Old Vic Tunnels, to attend a very unusual theatre night, performed by Platform: an inspiring group of people who dedicated their free time to bring you a very pleasant evening. Plus, it was FREE! 

The night was amazing and so unexpected. A play about love in London and all the facets of this crazy city, in an amazing setting: overground tunnels! And there it was...I FELT AT HOME! The attendees were all Londonders and I felt one of them. 

A night to be called a true success, followed by a lovely (Spanish) wine in a local pub. I hope some pictures might give an impression, but the feeling I got that night...can't be explained. I was back home and I felt happy. London. I love you! 

Wise words. Platform presentation book. 

Tube-scene

Marriage in the tunnel

This says it all. 

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

See you soon London

It's a nice idea to travel somewhere, especially if that place is Seville and if you've got a best friend living there...so I thought, let's treat myself to a nice little stay in this Spanish city...

See you soon! 

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist

The Little Guide to Goodness

Sometimes I think about writing a pocket-book about London. Things could get busy this way, but as you know, you can always catch up on sleep in your grave. 

So here, a little start to London's hidden treasures. I was so excited to find this one...kind of stumbled into it, when I was looking for a late-night juice before heading back home on my loyal bus, the 29. 

It's a restaurant, it doesn't look like a restaurant, it even looks goddamned ugly from outside, but never judge a book by its cover...in the back of a shop, there's a little tiny restaurant: serving Japanese & Korean food, and by the looks of the costumers, it's a very well-kept secret in London. I'm not gonna give away this secret though, it will appear in my upcoming book ;)

XX // T.L. 

 Love - from, in and to - London. - The Londonist