Santa Baby

Christmas is one of those events everyone looks forward to during weeks and maybe even months...but when it finally arrives, everyone's got a hard time keeping up! But, as the saying goes...time flies when you're having fun. 

This Christmas was very intense, my agenda was completely full until a few hours before Christmas Eve, but luckily only with good stuff. 


The festivities themselves were a blast: the right kind of everything...drinks, food, atmosphere, laughter and of course 'FAMILY'. 

Here's hoping your Christmas was fantastic, or maybe you're in the same position as me and you still have one more dinner to attend tonight? If so, good luck! 

We'll be back soon, reporting about the lovely presents Santa gave me this year and boy, did he surprise me! 

Enjoy the post-Christmas/pre-New Year days and take a little moment to listen to my favorite Christmas-song to keep you in the mood...

XX // T.L. 

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

Bundle Up

XX // T.L. 

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

Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind. 

Mick Jagger

XX // T.L. 

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

Home is where the heart is.

I'm home, or at least theoretically I am. 

Time is flying by like never before. I have reunited with family, friends, colleagues and my city. All in the stretch of a mere three days. I simply can not believe I am only here until Sunday. 

Today I am enjoying the last quiet moments before the whirlwind that is Christmas. Three nights of drinking champagne, reminiscing 2010, enjoying food...a lot of food and opening gifts*!

Enjoying every single second, absorbing people's smiles, marveling at the snowy sceneries in the city, listening to the typical dialogues on the streets. Making the most out of every moment, asking people about their lives, their dreams, what's going on? Tell me know, because soon I'll be off again. 

I am definitely home, but strangely, I feel like I've left a home behind over the canal. I guess home is where the heart is and is not a place which will be able to be geographically defined anytime soon. 

But I must admit, there is one thing about my hometown, one specific view, that makes my heart melt...over and over again. 

XX // T.L. 

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

* For those of you looking for a last-minute Xmas-gift...COS is already having sales on limited pieces from tomorrow on! RUN I tell you!

Don't think so gigolo

With Christmas around the corner, you might soon have some extra free time to enjoy, or at least you are going to treat yourself to some of that in between studying or working...it's Christmas after all, right? 

In case you want to watch a lovely movie, here's an idea...Happy Go Lucky, the story of a young woman with an unbelievable charismatic persona, trying to make everyone happy, while she's trying to figure out what it means to grow up. She finds love in the end, of course. 

A movie worth watching, not only because it was shot in the wonderful city of London...

XX // T.L. 

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

On the other side

If I were on the other side of the canal tonight & in Antwerp, I'd go to:

RUN 

RUN

RUN

XX // T.L. 

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

Kitsch Kitchen

Some days, my eyes seem to have a rather fond attraction to the little details. For some reason, the kitchen seemed absolutely interesting to take pictures of. So I did.

Drop Dead Delicious.

Cookies are put in very nice boxes here.

Home-made stuff always scores.

Read a book before you cook.

Teatime teacups.

Chickens and books.

People make paintings of such settings, I prefer pictures.

You might think, why in earth's name are you taking pictures of the stuff in your kitchen? I don't blame you, but let me tell you it is it was (yes!) snowing like crazy and I didn't want to put myself in danger going outside in the storm. 


Plus, still enjoying the beats in my mind of one of the maddest concerts I've ever been to! Soulwaxmas, in the Brixton Academy. A little video showing the Christmas-themed highlight of the evening: 

It has stopped snowing now, and I've got Christmas-shopping to do, a coffee-date at 4 and yet another Christmas-party, which will undoubtedly be spectacular.


P.S. I hereby declare my hate towards snow, which is endangering my travel-plans on Sunday.

XX // T.L. 

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

Yesterday in my living room

I'm starting to feel quite bad, posting three videos in a row instead of stories (reason: academic obligations were stealing my precious time). However, as I try to blog out of the heart, sometimes only a video can do. Enjoy Chris Martin on the piano, with his very intimate version of Christmas Lights...embodying the Christmas spirit to the fullest. 

XX // T.L. 

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

Mommy

XX // T.L. 

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

I love the nightlife

Songs like these make me want to be born in a different time.

In a weird way, I think the many parties I've been to when I was a toddler, might be the reason why I feel so connected to music like this. Yes that's right, that's one of the things I remember of my early existence. 

Thank you dear parents for dragging me along to all your friends' parties and to let me peacefully fall asleep when I wanted to, in a random bed/couch/corner. It made me the person who I am today. 

"I love the nightlife, I've got the boogie"

Enjoy your week-end.

XX // T.L. 

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

Jingles All The Way

I have been infected with the Christmas-virus. 

Walking up to the supermarket, I accidentally walked by the 99p-store. Let me just tell you, these shops are legendary. Having one in your neighborhood, is a true blessing. 

I went in. I went crazy. I limited myself to 6 pieces. Tough times.

Ended up doing some preparatory outfit-shopping for Saturday, buying some Christmas decoration and a 3 for 1 'mouthwash-toothbrush-toothpaste'. Heaven. 

Obviously ridiculously stylish

Say hello to Santa

XX // T.L. 

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

Too hot to handle

XX // T.L. 

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

HBD

XX // T.L. 

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

Oh My GOD!

Last night, I went to church. 

You might think of this as rather strange and I don't blame you. But let me tell you this: when someone you shared a flat with for one month, and with whom you had a really great connection, invites you to go to church in one of London's prominent theaters, you can not just ignore it. Especially when the lady's from Dallas, Texas, USA. 

In a theater? Yes, that's what I first thought. Upon arrival, loads of people were rushing in the theater. I asked my friend where they were going. To church, she said. I was getting suspicious. 

You might have been to a gospel-service or you might have seen or been to a big service in the States, those kind of services where you have big screens, microphones and a lot (as in very much) people. 

But this, blew me away! 

Let's mix

Jezus
High School Musical
Kings of Leon

This is the best description
for the warm welcome we were given.

Like a concert.
Hands in the air.
Shaking hips.
Singing, screaming, clapping.

I was about to faint, surrounded by this unseen spectacle. I've had my share of wild parties and concerts, but this, so unannounced, hit me out of the blue. 

Looking over to my friend, who's leaving London in two weeks, I saw a very happy and believing person. She felt what all the others were feeling. Love. 

The service was filled with inspiring speeches, more music and beautiful videos (of course shown on the huge screens). 

I don't feel the need to use this blog to share my beliefs or discuss differences between my points of view and those of my friend, but I can tell you, this truly opened my eyes. I understood that my view on church and religion is just a fragment of all the experiences people have. 

Whatever you believe in, don't take your viewing points for granted. Believe strongly, but be aware that there is much more. Joining my friend and her church-buddies to a nearby bar, we had the most amazing talk you could ever imagine on a Sunday night. 

Discussing our opinions and thoughts, talking about same-sex relationships, sex before marriage, and many other things, it both richened us. 

Just to say, sometimes you should just step into the unknown, grab the hand of a friend to be guided in a place where you don't necessarily feel at home. It might just open your eyes to a whole new world.

XX // T.L. 

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

BeCOS it's Sinterklaas

A few weeks back, I was having a random look at the new collection, which had just arrived at COS. It was mysteriously quiet in the store, I appreciated this feeling. Suddenly, a friendly salesgirl came up to me, she was probably bored to death, and asked me if I wanted to register as a customer. 

Normally I would have said no. But, she convinced me by saying COS gives away free gifts every week and that, by registering, you could get lucky as well. So I registered and weeks passed. 

You must know that it's Sinterklaas today, and London obviously doesn't know this important day. Yes, I was going through a rough time today. I normally celebrate this day by getting a huge Sinterklaas in "speculaas" from my grandmother, sometimes with a little financial support aside, making poems and funny gifts with my family in the Netherlands, I promise you, this seriously is a jolly good time.

This makes me sad, knowing
I won't have any this year. 

And yes, most of the time I manage to get a little something something from my parents as well. As you grow older, this tradition seems to fade, though. I never agreed with this, but, back to the story. 

The day went by, recovering from an exhausting week-end, working in the library (yes, believe it or not). I returned home and without anyone reminding me about Sinterklaas, it was as if I never even cared about him. 

But, upon return in my lovely NW1 9RN-mansion (we speak in postcodes here), I found this: 

A gift from COS!
I couldn't believe it. Let's see what's inside.

If you thought the bag was pretty, look at what was inside.
So subtle and pretty, let's open it!

A mysterious grey object. My heartbeat was racing.

Grey, soft, size-small sweater
with 1/2 sleeves, extremely practical. 

Thank you so much COS! Best unexpected Sinterklaas...ever!

XX // T.L. 

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

Getting into London Town

XX // T.L. 

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

Buffy

My lord, do you even remember? Every girl wanted to be her, every boy wanted to date her. 

Somehow, this old-skool series suddenly popped up in my head. Quite strange. Enjoy your Saturday night, as I will! 

XX // T.L. 

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

Waking up in London

8.30 AM. 

After going out, sleeping in is tempting. Very tempting. But, it's London baby, so move it! 

With a little headache, Borough Market was the place to wake up this morning. Leaving my house without breakfast and only 2£ in my pocket for a coffee, I was all set. 

Being told Borough Market is one of the best food markets, my expectations were sky-high. I wanted to be there early to avoid the tourists and see the stall-holders in a cheery mood (trust me, don't go half-way, they get grumpy). 

To be honest, it wasn't great, it was beyond amazing! 

The Londoners are quite keen on going to markets to taste all the food, so in the context of integration, I completely went for it...

De Gustibus, claimed by
many to make the best bread in the world.

Florentines. Sugar-Sweet Madness.

With such an invitation, it's
hard to go the other way.

Cheese & sausages. The good kind.

The usual cakes were also having their little moment.

Hummus and other exotic things.

Neil's Yard Dairy, walhalla for the cheese-lovers.

Fresh of the field.

These pieces of sweetness, are the devil in disguise.

For some a delight, for others a bad bite.
But typically London.

So, yes, I think you could say it was an impressive market. The area was great and there were lots of small shops and cosy places nearby, in walking distance from the Thames and the Tate, a great start of the day. 

So what did I do with my two pounds? 

I had a 1£-coffee and bought myself a little box of raspberries with the other pound. Money well spent. But, I did obviously taste a lot of very good food, from amazing granola to white-truffle honey on home-made bread...that's how I like my healthy breakfast! 

XX // T.L. 

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

The Monster

ANTWERP MOTHERFUCKERS

XX // T.L. 

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

Days of white

As I write these words, there's practically nothing left of the snow on these pictures. The Siberian Ice-Age passed by, temperatures are rising and the melting has begun. 

It was fun while it lasted, but I've already seen many happy-faced English girls without pants again. In London, that's a good sign.

The snowy conditions, from inside.

Nothing better than
color-coordinating your shoes to the snow!

Snow-filled sky.

XX // T.L. 

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

Va Va Voom Vuitton

Louis Vuitton introduces the first step of the video diptyque dedicated to the men's Spring/Summer 2011 collections. This season is embodied by the artist and tatooist Scott Campbell, who collaborated on the runway collection presented in June 2010 in Paris. 

In this first opus, Louis Vuitton invites you to follow Scott Campbell in his New York creative universe before leaving to a mysterious destination to be revealed very soon...

XX // T.L. 

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

Got a secret, can you keep it?

Angels of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2010 

from Justin Wu on Vimeo.

What a great way to start December!

XX // T.L. 

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