Bella's Birthday

Kind of wouldn't be a trip to London without a New Cross party.

Bella's Birthday Party, featuring:
Kim Kardashian's Selfie book
Too many drinks
Green apple sours shots (no more)
Pineapple bunting
The birthday girl's incredible shoes
A cake chop (obviously)
Housemate reunion.

Sketch London

On our second trip to London, Felicia and I stopped into Sketch for a cream tea, something that has been on both of our London Lists for quite a while now.



An eighteenth century building in Mayfair has been converted into one of the coolest concepts for restaurants I've ever been to.







Warm scones in little napkin-beds arrived to us at our tiny corner table in the Parlour, a beautiful, Victorian style drawing room, lush with Victorian, Louis XV and French day beds as sofas and large portraits of gentlemanly goats on the walls.







That strawberry jam was some of the best I've ever tasted.









The waitresses in the Parlour were wearing probably the cutest uniforms I've seen: pink ruffled blouses with grey bubble skirts - finished off unexpectedly with pink Converse sneakers.



Naturally, we had to take a peek at the other rooms on the first floor. Heading down the stairs past the main entrance on your left is The Glade, which is described on sketch's website as an "enchanted fairy-tale forest" (dreamy).



Then, to the right, is the room which initially caught my eye when reading about sketch in the first place: the Gallery.



Lined with 239 of David Shrigley's drawings, the pink room was full of people having afternoon teas and lunches. The tables were set with pieces also designed by Shrigley - milk jars and salt and pepper shakers with words like "ghosts" and "dreams" written across them.



The waiters and waitresses in the Galley were dressed in soft grey almost utilitarian uniforms - jumpsuits for the men and dresses for the women. The different uniforms in each room added a totally different layer to the experience all together. Seriously, it was so cool.





Finally, the bathrooms. Yes, those are egg-pod-space-age-toilets. Yes the ceiling is color-blocked neon lights. Yes, there were odd nature sounds in each pod, And yes, I took a selfie in there. Obviously.

I'm fairly certain I'm going to have to go back to sketch once more before my time in England comes to an end (six weeks, excuse me while I vomit), possibly for a cocktail or two.

Borough Market

Our first stop in London was Borough Market.
I hadn't been since last year, and it was on Felicia's England To-Do List.
We got delicious bratwurst to fuel our day, then browsed the seemingly endless stalls of baked goods, cheeses, fruits and veg, mulled wines, meats and beers.
We luckily arrived just before the lunch rush, so by the time we were leaving it was a struggle to get through the crowds of people swarming in.
I think another visit before Felicia leaves is in order - perhaps for some mulled wine next time?

By the Seaside

Felicia's visit wouldn't be complete without a stroll along the seaside!





Even though it was cold and drizzly and I didn't realize all the shops would be closed for the fall/winter season, we still had a nice time. I'm a bit disappointed my good camera is broken because these pictures would have been much nicer, but ho hum.



We warmed up with a couple of pints and Felicia's first British fish & chips!



Saw this guy perched atop a little hut..



So I posed with him. Naturally.









We strolled along the pier in the drizzle, Felicia with her hat on and me with my scarf wrapped around my head like a nutter. I was surprised the rides were running at all in the weather! Not that we went on any (I did once and once is enough!).



Afterwards we went to the Twisted Lemon with my friend Libby for cocktails! A cramped and cozy little place, the bar was stacked with every kind of liquor imaginable. Amongst the ones we went for were an espresso martini, bourbon sour, gin cocktails, mojitos.. we didn't go easy.



Having a sip.

And I'm off again! 

Blackbird Tea Rooms

Hi!

Long time no see. I'm sorry! Bad blogger *taps hand*

My friend Felicia is visiting from Montreal. We haven't seen each other in three years. We met in grade six and I told her I didn't like her because she wore a dress. And now we're forever besties. Sorry Felicia, your dress was probably a lot cooler than my orange hair.

Since Felicia hasn't been to England before, we've been doing ALL the British things. Fish & chips, London touristy bits, walks by the seaside, and, of course, lots of tea and cake. I've got loads of snaps from all our other adventures that I'll share, but for now I'm going to talk about Blackbird Tea Rooms in Brighton.

A few people suggesting I go here during my time in Brighton. and after checking out the website I was sold. A vintage tearoom in the heart of Brighton? Hello, I'm there.

We ordered cream teas (can you believe I've not had one since being back this year..) and quite quickly our giant fluffy scones and pots of English Breakfast arrived at the table, served by a cute waitress in a little white apron.

I loaded my scone (skon, scOHne? I've being saying "skon" a lot more recently for whatever reason.) up with not a small smear of jam and cream and tucked in. We both agreed they were delicious and really had no troubles finishing while catching up and checking out the cute vintage decor all around us. And admiring the mahoosive cakes on the counter.

Even the outdoor garden was adorable, and after a trip to the toilet myself I forced Felicia to go and snap pictures of both the garden and the cute toilet decor (as you do).

Right, I've got plenty more posts to share this week so stay tuned for more! Also, the focus on my DSLR isn't working so I've had to resort to solely iPhone photos :( And instaxes, actually, so I will share those too!

PS. how do you pronounce scone? :)