weekly shop - orla

Orla Kiely, an irish designer that really has a nice kitcsch to her bags. The store is to die for despite the two entrances and the fact you can't walk throughout the top floor without going back outside or underground.... However I love the black lamp shade in this picture!

I'm addicted to the leaf print - I want it desperately in an olive fleece blanket and pillow combo. Finally though - this is my wonderful bag I bought (very reduced) at her flagship store (see above). It fits an entire mini-wardrobe. Or the best handbag for a plane ride. Big enough for several mags, books, blanket and some chocolate. (and an extra sweater, slippers and toiletry case!)

hunting for rain

September is all about staying in england despite the disgusting conditions outside. And on the list - Liverpool. L2 and I are looking into venturing into our little country a bit farther and visiting the 2008 City of Culture with its lamb bananas and 'beatles experience'. A four hour train ride away, it's like a trip to Toronto, but as if Toronto-ians went to Sudbury... Image via

family weekend

so the weekend round-up is not as exciting and rather delayed since I saw the rain and headed straight back to bed most mornings.....

Instead of headed up to Bath (due to horrible weather conditions - there's rain and then there's excessive flooding), Al, Chanda, L2 and I headed over to the Imperial War Museum to finally see the James Bond exhibit. It's amazing. I want more old school James Bond book covers in my house. Maybe I can just deal with some sweet James Bond stamps. After spending a few hours in the museum we headed out to this great veggie restaurant in Covent Garden and then explored the best map store. The rest of the weekend was a few errands, meeting some friends, a lot of movies to wait out the rain (including 3.10 to Yuma - why can't someone win?) and getting my roots to disappear.

a year later

Well it's been a year since I moved. One year since I left Ottawa, Canada; friends, my boyfriend (who has since joined me), family; and well to be honest a whole lot more. But what I've got in return has been worth it! Travels, job, a much healthier lifestyle - all welcome changes to previous.

As I am a fan of lists I figure I'll say what I've completed in travels over the last year!

England: London. Salisbury. Blenheim. Aymesbury. Oxford and the county Oxfordshire, Brighton, Bath, Richmond. Scotland: Inverness, Highlands, Elgin. Ireland: Dublin Belgium: Brussels France: Paris Germany: Berlin Netherlands: Amsterdam. Spain: Barcelona. Romania: Bucharest, Brasov, Sibiu, Curtea de Arges, Lac Balea, Focasni, Piatra Neamt, Brailia, Tulcea, Constanta (and the countryside!). Switzerland: Bern, Interlaken, Grindelwald, and the alps! and don’t forget a week back in Ottawa...

And trips and everything else have been VERY tentatively decided until Christmas which means.....England: Bath again, Liverpool Morocco: Marrackech or the south of Spain - dependent on the fam? Northern Ireland: Belfast Denmark: Copenhagen. Scotland: Edinburgh? Canada: Vancouver. Victoria. U.S: Seattle.