westfields

about a week or so ago Chloe and I took a day off and headed over to the new attraction in West London: Westfields.

This humongous American-style shopping centre opened in Shepherd's Bush (just outside of the congestion charge zone) and has turned into a huge success overnight.  Since I grew up around these kinds of huge malls I had an idea of what it would be like, but since I have also turned into a pseudo-Brit I was definitely overwhelmed when we got into the place.  

It pretty much has every British/European store you can image from all the high street parades, as well as designer stores, grocery stores, and a food court.

The Village, where are the designer shops are located.

The second floor; you can get the scale from this picture.

C.Alberry

Shopping bags.

Monsieur Lapin at the end of a long shopping day with his big bag of carrots ;)

Overall, it was very cool to go around once, but it is not very nice when it is very crowded and unless you are addicted to shopping, it's just another condensed shopping area.

But it is nice to go once in awhile.

warmth

all I can think about right now is different ways to stay warm.  Winters over here are not very fun weather-wise.  Lots of rain and very cold, strong wind.  The least a girl can do is try to bundle up and stay warm.

cozy.

bundle up

Current outside temp: 34 F

Today: Mostly sunny, high 47 F

So winter seems to have suddenly arrived.  It is windy and cold in London, with that cold that seeps into your bones no matter what you do.  It probably doesn't help that I am not a big fan of central heating and that the shop door is open all day, but there are always ways around it.  For example, yesterday Chloe brought me down a small space heater, which made a world of a difference.

The transition to winter was only official yesterday when it started to hail at 6pm.

One good thing is that I think I have inherited some of my father's warm bloodedness.  As soon as I begin to warm up, either with a sweater, a space heater, or a blanket, I warm up quickly and soon I have turned into a thermal ball of heat.  

This I am grateful for.

tiles oh tiles

At work we have a bit of an obsession with tiles, only the beautiful ones of course ;)

Most recently we have been surfing through ebay and by luck have found some very good finds.

The first was this Sherwin and Cotton, c1895-1900, "Village Belle", a very rare and collectable tile that was modelled by George Cartlidge in a rich cobalt blue Majolica glaze and in great condition.  It is a large tile, 6 x 12 inches.  What is very funny is that we had seen this tile before about a year ago when we went on a tile mission to a fireplace scrapyard, but the owner refused to sell it to us for any amount.

This one will have a place of honour in Chloe's new kitchen.

The original two designs

And then yesterday we had a bit of more luck.  This time there was a tile that David really wanted to win for Chloe for Christmas, and again, the ending price was a lot lower than it would sell for normally.  

Nice finds.

back

I'm finally back from being away for so long. A number of complicated factors (moving house, Decorex, vacation) added up to me not having internet at home for weeks, but now internet is up and running and I can post again!