London Diversion: Holland Park

Embarrassingly, I have lived in London for five years and had never been to Holland Park. I had heard that it is beautiful so I made the trip on a beautiful sunny day, rare in London.

         And it did not disappoint. Wow.

My favourite part of Holland Park is the incredible Kyoto Garden, shown in the photos below. 

Lord Holland - the statue.

If you ever get the chance, please do visit for a picnic! 

Hannah xo

Life. Lately.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe that it is already 2013! How crazy is that??

Life has been good lately. Hectic but incredible. Here is a quick summary of what has been happening in my life recently!

So I turned 28... I spent my birthday with my boyfriend and we had a London tourist day! Can you believe I've lived here for 4 1/2 years and yet still hadn't been on the London Eye or visited the London Dungeons?? Well, now I have! ;)

We were unable to take photos at the London Dungeon so I can't show you how good it is but wowza! It was good. In fact it was really good. Although it is a little pricey, the whole experience lasts for around 90 minutes, being led from creepy room to even creepier room and I was loving every minute of it! I'm not going to tell you anything as I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise but if you ever get the chance, I urge you to go! Like now, if you can!

My second treat was FINALLY going on the London Eye! We chose to go in the evening as I think the London lights look magical in the dark and I was not let down. The city looked beautiful :)

Last month we both finally got some time to concentrate on making our flat feel more homely as well as making it look pretty for Christmas! What a difference our efforts made! We unpacked most of the boxes (yes, we still hadn't unpacked...) and moved a few pieces of furniture around to make room for our lovely Christmas tree. Home sweet home!

And... I'm saving the best for last here... We have a new addition to our home. We got a kitten!!! Funnily enough, I'd been planning on buying guinea pigs for weeks. I'd even almost bought two the weekend before but there was no suitable cage at the time so I had to let them go. So take two of buying guinea pigs and we tried a different pet shop. This one had an adorable little kitten in a cage who shyly crept up to us and watched us with the most beautiful blue eyes. I think it was love at first sight. We both fell for her! We looked around the rest of the pet shop but we couldn't get interested in anything else. So we went back to her and started discussing whether we could actually look after a cat in our home properly. I couldn't even believe we were having this chat as my boyfriend has told me many times that he is not a cat person. But he was as in love with her as I was! We chatted to the store owner and asked everything we needed to ask (which was a lot as we knew nothing about caring for cats!). In the meantime, our little cat was sick and my rescuing instincts kicked in and I knew there was no going back. So we bought her. I still can't believe it!

So, I introduce you to our new little friend, Polly! Isn't she the cutest??

We called her Polly because she sits on your shoulder like a parrot. It's her favourite place :) She has settled in fast and already struts around like she owns the place. She stopped being sick after a couple of days and she's now eating like there's no tomorrow! She's already growing so quickly!!!

Here's a little video of her playing with her first toy :)

I expect you'll be hearing a lot more about Polly in the future ;)

Hannah xo

Favourite Flicks: Made in Dagenham

I watched Made in Dagenham for the first time yesterday and I loved it! It's about a group of female Ford machinists in the 60s who decided to bravely stand up and say that it wasn't ok that they were being paid a lot less than the men. Rita (played by Sally Hawkins) finds herself leading the cause whilst trying to juggle her other responsibilities as a wife and a mother, and not always receiving the support that she hopes for.

The 60s fashion is to die for and I love the sight of all the women cycling to work together to start their shift. A film which leaves you feeling proud to be a woman ;) (if you are a woman!)

Hannah xo

Instagramed! Flat Photos

Hello there :)

We moved into our flat in December, about a week before Christmas and it has been our first proper home together. We'd lived together before but in a shared flat with four other people so we wanted it to be really special. And it has been :) However, our rented flat is now being sold and we have to move again, D'OH! We haven't yet been given our two months notice as they're still going through the sale proceedings but they have accepted an offer so now we're just playing the waiting game and looking for our next new home...

I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite things in our flat :)

Mirrored jewellery box bought in Edinburgh

Vintage gaming console complete with Sonic the Hedgehog ;)

Dragonfly lamp thrifted on Brick Lane

Wardrobe decoration

Home sweet home! Doorstop which doesn't quite keep the door open but looks pretty anyway :)

Sweet little bedroom seat my man set up

We'll be sad to leave our flat but we're looking forward to the next adventure!

Hannah xo

London Diversion: Geffrye Museum

I recently had a day off and decided to visit the Geffrye Museum. This is a really cool museum of the home housed within 18th Century almshouses, which used to be a home for the elderly built with money donated by Sir Robert Geffrye. It's a two minute walk from Hoxton station and I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to visit :)

The museum is an exhibition of English middle class living rooms from the 1600s right through until the present day. Visiting the museum is like taking a walk through time!

The beautiful exterior

One of the almshouses

A parlour in 1695

A sunny reading room, how lovely is this?!

A drawing room in 1830

This is an Edwardian Period room, love that light!

A beautiful 1930s Period room

Mid-century living room

I fell in love with this pedestal table from about 1845 :) what a beauty!

1900 Japanese parasol - eventually declared unsafe for decorating fireplaces!

A super cool retro TV from the 1950s

Did you know that...?

• Downing Street became the official London residence of the Prime Minister in 1732.
• In 1765 an 8-year-old Mozart wrote his first symphony.
• The World’s first underground railway opened in London in 1863.
• In London, in 1870, the postal service was so efficient that you could invite your friend to afternoon tea by sending an invitation that same morning!

Hannah xo

A Walk Through Leafy London

Yesterday was beautiful and I had nothing planned so I took myself and my camera for a walk. I really like the area in which I currently live in North London. It's leafy and green and away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. I love Hampstead Heath because it feels never-ending and I always discover something new every time I visit :)

View of London from Parliament Hill

A stern crow!

A secret garden?

Hannah xo