The Sneaky Magpie

I haven’t taken part in the designer H&M collaboration craze for few years now.

This is the brief history:

Karl Lagerfeld – I lived in Amsterdam and went to check it out, the Dutch didn’t think much of designer collaborations back then so I could just pick anything in my size, I think I bought one dress which ended up on ebay few years later.

Stella McCartney – my first year in London, queuing with two best friends in Covent Garden from very early morning hours, lots of coffee runs and new friend made. Total chaos when the door opened, buying frenzy, everyone was on a massive shopping high. At some point I held a dress when a girl’s hair got tangled into the hanger, for a second I considered freeing the girl who had no idea what was attached to her head but I quickly decided that would be a waste of time and continued shopping. In a normal situation it would never happen! Anyway, I left with few items, 2 old friends and 1 new friend and went to a nearby coffee shop to try things on and calm down. The next day I returned half of the items.

Roberto Cavalli – not interested

Victor&Rolf – I just started new job so could not attend the opening, I sent a friend who bought me a gorgeous coat I am actually wearing today. I did pop in during my lunch break and managed to buy a beautiful dress which I still wear. Up to date it was the best collaboration for me.

Comme des Garcons – not my cup of tea, missed the whole thing.

And now Sonia Rykiel, I love the woman, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel is one of my favorite brands. I forgot about the underwear collection and didn’t rush to check out the clothes but when I finally made it there last week I got exactly what I was planning to buy – fabulous chunky pink and yellow bangles.

We had another go at making baguettes, we followed the same recipe as last time from Chocolate&Zucchini but replaced some of the strong bread flour with rye flour.

We ended up with four delicious baguettes and a bun. It’s such a enjoyable process and it tastes so much better than a shop bought bread. Sourdough bread will be the next thing to master.

The baking didn’t end there. I have been meaning to try another of Clotilde’s recipes – pecan mudslide cookies. I actually made pecan and hazelnut cookies, they were very rich and scrumptious. So rich I froze half of the batch.

We went for a walk and errands in Balham, we bought some more of good quality bread flour and other bits.

We visited Trinity Stores, a wonderful little deli and tea shop.

Shelves full of great products.

And produce.

Next door, also in Balham Station Road, there is a second hand book store, it’s a mess so it’s good to go there with lots of free time. I had to restrain myself from buying books as I have just ordered three Elizabeth Gaskell novels.

We decided to take a different route home and explore the neighborhood.

Back home I settled for a very large cup of tea and some cookies while reading Anne Bronte’s Agnes Grey. It was a blissful afternoon.

Then I got very busy organising various cupboards in the kitchen while M built shelves to improve our storage space. The kitchen is looking very good now.

I finished the day watching Katalin Varga. A dark drama of crime and revenge.

I am in an absolute need of a stripy dress for spring. I can only imagine how I would jazz it up with colorful accessories: necklaces, scarves, a good satchel bag and those fabulous colorful bangles by Sonia Rykiel for H&M.

It must be made of jersey or cotton and flexible enough for cycling. And the stripes could only be blue and white.

There are 3 contenders:

Dress no 1: long Acne dress – the obvious problem with this dress is that it is long but I could cut it and maybe even make an extra skirt out of it.

Dress no 2: Alice by Temperley – wonderfully draped, the right kind of stripes, not too short not too long. I love it so much I got it booked at Net.

Dress no 3: Alexander Wang T (if jane, thanks for posting it) – wonderfully clingy and the perfect timeless cut.

And now for the accessories. Lots and lots of color, ideally scarf or bangles. Comfy flats and a satchel.

I love my Church’s shoes so I wouldn’t mind them in a different color.

I really think this is the winner.

The weather was glorious on Saturday, the sun was shining, the ground was covered with a film of snow and it felt chilly. A perfect day for a stroll down a market.

A friend  of mine and I decided on one of the less busy places, Broadway Market in Hackney.  This market is the perfect combination of food, fashion, antiques and books. You can flick through old copies of photography books while sampling wonderful infused olive oils and various cakes.

The street is full of cute little cafes, quirky shops and proper old fashioned English institutions like this jellied eel place:

And it was as busy as when it opened…

Fantastic vintage liquor cabinet.

I wouldn’t mind a picnic set for summer outings.

And some retro shot glasses (I am hunting for the perfect set).

Plenty of good quality fruit and veg. It’s a shame I live so far otherwise I would do my weekly shopping there.

Old fashioned candy – I don’t actually like them but the jars look so pretty.

We decided to stop for lunch in one of the cafes, it was called L’eau a la Bouche, we ordered hot chocolate to warm up and curried parsnip soup with pesto for my friend…

And ploughman’s for me. It was delicious.

Afterward we decided to stroll down to Old Street. There are some amazing buidlings along the way. They have so much character.

We headed to Leonard Street and had tea at The Book Club.

It serves as a cafe and you can play ping pong there, it also has got all kind of events like DJ nights, reading, fashion, discussion groups. A fun place and so laid back!

Then it was time to go home, I was exhausted as the previous night was spent at friend’s house for dinner which finished rather late. Btw did you see the amazingly bright Moon?? As explained by hubby it was the night when the Sun reflected off Mars and projected onto the Moon resulting in Moon shining like a mega light bulb.

I haven’t joined the sales frenzy on Boxing Day or any time after, I haven’t even ventured to town during the holiday break. But of course on my first day at work this Monday I couldn’t resist popping to Liberty and few other shops to check out what has been going on. I didn’t go as far as Selfridges but I did scan about 10 other shops.

And lucky for me (or my bank balance) there isn’t much out there, I couldn’t find a thing I would madly fall in love with. Not one.

But this morning an Outnet email landed in my inbox saying they had new Vanessa Bruno pieces in. How could I not look? And of course in 2 minutes I had three items in my basket. After a brief chat with myself I decided to remove one of them. But I couldn’t resist a skirt and a dress. There is a tiny little problem with the dress – it’s a very small size but I gathered I can always return it so we shall see in a couple of days.

I had a great day today and yesterday, I have posted near to 30 items on ebay and they caused a stir! Fingers crossed all will sell which will give my wardrobe much needed breathing space. I have decided that if I haven’t worn something for a year or longer I will never wear it again and it must go. I have also revisited the boxes of designer treasures that are not such treasures now I look at them, no classics, time to go. My fashion investments will remain in the bag and shoe stock.

I have loaded a bag for charity shop and will deliver it to Oxfam with all the ebay failures.

You know all the tasks that get put away like mending your clothing, polishing shoes and sewing missing buttons on? They have been staring at me from the depths of my wardrobe for some time and yesterday I finally faced them all at the same time. Such a relief.

I have invested into a small catering business in Philippines on Kiva. I really hope these ladies do well.

I have purchased two nice belts from All Saints, in brown and black leather. They are my only sales hunts so far, unfortunately the other belt sold out so I don’t have a picture.

I have really cracked on with my book pile, I have managed to read:

High Raise the Roof Beam, Carpenters by J.D. Salinger

Seymour an Introduction by J.D. Salinger

Nine Stories by J.D.Salinger

I know it is a lot of Salinger but he is such a good writer, I also found out that he is still alive, 100 years old!

The Most Beautiful Woman in Town by Charles Bukowski

The Faithful River by Stefan Zeromski

I have decided to put away Ulysses and The Corporation, at least for now.

So the only remaining books left are Tropic of Capricorn and some Chekhov stories and plays. This means I will be able to move onto some brand new books very soon. Really looking forward to it.

I have watched the 2 new episodes of Cranford and am awaiting the DVD of the first series, I might even start reading the books. I am quite glad I have not discovered it earlier because I am in real need of a costume drama fix.

I have made it to Tate Britain today to see the wonderful Turner and the Masters show, they had some amazing Rembrandts and Canalettos. I also checked out the Turner Prize which is definitely better than last year’s and glimpsed at some beautiful sculptures in the hall. This reminds me of few more exhibitions I must see and the time is running out. Especially for Ed Ruscha at The Hayward (Friday 6.00-10.00pm two for one deal) on till the 10th of January, Maharaja at V&A till 17th January and Jacob Epstein, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and Eric Gill at The Royal Academy till 24th January. I knew I left it too late and now will have to rush.

The Mill by Rembrandt

And tomorrow I will have to take it easy….

This weekend I have gone to the East End (yes, yet again!).

Started with lunch at Albion caff, poached eggs and good toast with blackberry jam. I must say the maitre d‘ was brilliantly professional but the rest of the waiting staff failed to impress, it was one of those places where waiters are trying really hard not to notice the customers.

The caff redeemed itself by selling pancake-sized chocolate chip cookies for 95 pence.

Albion has got a deli section too and it all looked rather tempting.

Then we were off to Columbia Road Flower Market which is one of my favorite places in London. The shops are amazing and the flowers pretty and cheap – especially if you decide to stick till the end of the market day, you can get yourself a real bargain.

The hydrangeas were so beautiful.

Lovely shop – Vintage Heaven. A lot of eye candy and Cake Hole cafe at the back. How fab!

They also have a knitting group on Tuesdays, I must go.

Nice tiles at Supernice

Fun stuff at Treacle

I have got the 50s original of this plate. Copy cats.

Ryantoon at Ryantown.

A real boudoire by Jessie Chorley and Buddug Humphrey. All the pretty things a girl can dream of.

Delicate jasmine

Against all odds I made it to Covent Garden to have a look at the huge inflatable bunny by Jeff Koons. It is to do with the Pop Life exhibition at Tate Modern which I am going to see later this week.

Then it was off to The Lamb and Flag – the oldest pub in London

Next stop – Prince Charles Cinema to see Mesrine: Killer Instinct. He was a bad bad man! Can’t wait for part two, probably only at Prince Charles again, I missed the general release.

NB there is a Polish film season at the PCC with great films like Decalogue and Interrogation.

Evening finished at Taro in Soho for a tasty Japanese dinner.

I have been living in South West London for three years now and I know this area won’t be my home for long. It just doesn’t feel right, too yummy mummy and bit… well, dull. However, as long as I am here I am going to fully explore it.

So today we stuck to our borough, first stop was Wandsworth Common where we discovered lots of nature and loads of brambles! I am going to be back next summer to pick some for jam.

Rose hips are going to be made into jam.

Then we went for tea and banana cake to Pantry.

We finished the day with a trip to Battersea car boot sale and this is what I dragged home:

Trays and a plate (plus rose hips – incredible colour huh?)

And a wacky KLM suitcase, I felt like a stewardess…

I think with a little TLC this will make a good home for my jewelery. Or an overnight bag!

This morning I decided to go to Stockwell and visit some of the Portuguese delicatessen and cafés scattered all over the area. It’s just down the road from me and I’ve been meaning to go there for ages. Finally, after three years the day has come.

Stockwell is also known as ‘Little Portugal’ being home to close to 30.000 immigrants from mainly Lisbon and Madeira. The cafés, bakeries, shops and delicatessen are not fancy, they are authentic, honest and run by the sweetest people on earth.

I have only explored Stockwell Road today, Clapham Road and South Lambeth Road are also peppered with Portuguese goodness.

My first stop was Funchal Bakery where I got some bread and pastéis de nata. The bakery has got a large eating area and the deli counter looked absolutely delicious.

Across the road is another very good deli/café, Sintra.

The last place I visited was Ilha Dourada – shop and  a restaurant where I discovered a certain kind of beans that taste a little bit like olives, got a large jar of it and some sausage and cheese too.

This is my shopping basket:

I had such a good time and met some very interesting and good people. I think I might become a regular.

I already forgot about last weekend and it was such a great one! I got so stressed about the project I was shooting beginning of this week that weekend felt like ages ago. But back to it!

Saturday was hanging out at home, cooking, films and books.

Sunday started at The Somerset House where I was meeting friends to see the contemporary ceramics exhibition but it turned out to be closed because of the fashion week (they failed to inform about it on their website).

We jumped in a cab and went to Rivington for brunch, they serve excellent eggs Florentine there.

After more taxi rides through London we ended up in Redchurch Street, it’s one of the best shopping streets in east London for interior decoration, modern design, galleries and good food (the best one being Cheshire Street).

Here are few snaps from the day:

Caravan – shop with all kind of interior knick knacks.

The Albion caff and shop, great breakfast and lunch. The Albion is round the corner from The Boundary Hotel and just across the street from Shoreditch House.

Vintage shop, I love the lamp/shelves combo.

Kitsch vintage shop.

Afterward we walked down Cheshire Street and Brick Lane, so much to do in this area.