positive perspective.

strawberry season is here, happiness

i'm amazed that it's been over two months since i last found the time or the right head space to spend some time on here. i'm still yet to post the rest of my pictures from morocco, bits and pieces from around london (many a snow day) and snaps from my holiday away from my holiday at home.

february was incredibly busy with the lead up to ecobuild and before we knew it the show was over...directly following that i was on a plane to auckland to be bridesmaid to one of my nearest and dearest friends and of course to spend some time with family and friends. although i planned to spend some time catching up on things while at home, i was literally on a holiday from the world and i don't quite know where the time went, but i know that it was nice.

coming back to the bitter london winter (even snow days in early april) was hard after a few warm sunny weeks in the paradise that is new zealand, but feeling refreshed i was ready to tackle the new year. however, the few weeks since i have been back haven't exactly been smooth riding and i now find myself in a different situation than i intended to be but with an open mind and a positive outlook on whats to come

heres to a few months of me time, four months left in london and who knows what's next around the corner...

local streets.

a few photos from a neighbourhood stroll through pretty canonbury..

still no good house news over here...

warwick avenue & little venice.

having to move house has forced us to explore different parts of london that we haven't gotten to yet. house hunting in london is not an easy task to say the least, there are so many dodgy agents, too many weirdos, awful places, houses without a living rooms, you name it. we have really had to broaden our horizons in terms of locations.

madia vale and warwick avenue is such a beautiful part of london and so so close to the city center (25 mins walk to oxford circus?), we looked at a couple of places here in old mansion blocks filled with charm and private gardens, just like in notting hill..

although we've decided it's a bit quiet for us i can't wait to go back on another sunny day and wander the streets and little venice

baker street.

how cute is baker street station? definitely my favourite.

obviously 221b baker street was where sherlock holmes lived in the story, hence the little sherlock tiles everywhere..

climbing the o2.

friday afternoon at the office was a little different yesterday. 

on a typically horrendous london afternoon (weather wise), a group of us from work were lucky enough to climb over the o2* (like climbing the auckland harbour bridge but not as high...)

we probably couldn't have picked a worse day to do it, views would have been stunning on a nice day but behind us you can barely make out canary wharf.

team bonding at its best.

*the o2 is a famous venue in north greenich, it looks like a big white bubble. we saw jay-z and kanye play there a couple of months back..

london tonight.

the sunset as we walked over the thames tonight was somewhat electric with shades of neon and sharp lines

people across blackfriars bridge were stopping in their tracks to capture the moment and share it with the world

on another note, gene and i are currently flat hunting and it's a challenge. it's like a full time job, we haven't had an evening at home all week and today we found out we didn't get the flat we viewed on sunday and wanted so badly...they went for a single instead..i guess thats one step closer to the flat we do end up getting. onwards and upwards.

hampton court palace.

on sunday we took the train out to see where henry VIII lived...

 

hampton court is a really sweet little town, the pace is so much slower than london which was refreshing and we explored a few antique shops filled with treasures

 

the palace itself is huge, we only made it through the kitchens, the grand hall, the gardens and the maze before we'd had enough..

 

highlight: the decorative brick chimneys (largest collection in england), these designs symbolise the era (1514) and wealth

 

jenny.

this is jenny, or more affectionately, jenequa (her homegirl name, established in turkey)

jenny is a true english rose from a village called sandwich, we spent saturday wandering, chatting and giggling our way around london from portobello road to maida vale to oxford street and beyond. this morning i went to watch her start off on an ultra marathon - yes thats right, an ultra marathon.

50 kilometers of blood, sweat and tears and she totally aced it. i can only dream of running a standard marathon (i can't run to save my life) so completely admire jenny for completing such a physical and mental task, proud friend over here.

here's jenequa about 300m into her 50km...

love your work jenequa! xx

cover girls.

 

a little momento from london fashion week

 

thanks for the invite emma xx



olympic fever.

the olympics came and went in the blink of an eye..

 

i wasn't looking forward to it but by the time they rolled around i had a huge sense that i was missing out since i didn't have tickets to a single event...all my colleagues were taking days off to watch fencing, athletics, equestrian, wrestling, and we weren't even allowed to have the tv on at work! on the final day i made an effort to go and watch the marathon.

 

the city wasn't nearly as kaotic as we all predicted and my journey to work wasn't affected at all. the weather stayed fine the entire time and there was happiness and a great sense british pride in the air, it was an honor to be here

 

on a couple of occassions i went down to potters fields park by tower bridge and watched the big screen with drinks. the photo above is what was behind us. i could not stop turning around, it was simply stunning! tower bridge really is a beauty

 

the paralympics officially start today and i'm hoping i can still get a ticket to olympic park to be part of the buzz

hello sunshine.

last night in Hyde park on the hottest day of the year so far..

long may this warm weather last..



afternoon tea.

while katie was in town i wanted to do the ultimate girly english thing and have afternoon tea, high tea of highgate doesn't offer your traditional high tea but it was lovely nonetheless: cheese & rosemary scones, chocolate cake and summer fruit & floral teas..

 

a visit from miss katie.

this lady has been a permanent fixture in my apartment for the past two and a bit weeks
we had a great time hanging out around london & beyond

this is katie smelling the roses on a hot hot friday (27 degrees!) on the way to hampsted heath

thanks for coming to stay katie!

greenwich in black & white.

the rain still hasn't stopped over here

but we didn't let that stop us

on saturday we took a trip along the river and down to greenwich to explore the markets and see the home of greenwich mean time
there comes a time when staying indoors for another day just isn't an option. we rugged up, dodged rain drops, stepped in many puddles, braced the chilly breeze and attempted to enjoy 'london rain'

broadway markets.

last saturday mother nature shed some sunlight over london. my flatmate mel and i took advantage of this rarity and wandered east along regents canal to london fields to explore the broadway markets

markets in london are just so great and broadway isn't that big but it has the perfect mix of everything you would want to find in a market: cheese, produce, flowers, ready to eat delights, vintage clothing, juice and much, much more not to mention the performers and the people watching. being next to london fields means it's the perfect place to pick up some food and drink and hang out on the grass for a long sunny afternoon.

after making some purchases and indulging in some satisfying treats we hired boris bikes and made our way back along the canal to the angel