Garance Dore Exhibit on Carnaby Street

 

                  Promotion Photo for Garance Dore's Exhibit on Carnaby Street

If you know who Garance Dore is and if you follow her blog religiously like I do, you'll want to check out her self-curated exhibit on Carnaby Street, which features her celebrated fashion illustrations from her famous blog on Gap t-shirts etc. llustrator and photographer for her blog, she is also the girlfriend of Scott Schuman, now book author and mastermind behind The Sartorialist. If you're not around for the show, at least take a look at both of these blogs and you'll never be able to study, concentrate or work ever...again!

Runs from Thursday, September 10, til Saturday, October 3, Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 12noon-5pm. You can find it at the Gap Pop-Up 1969 Concept store in Kingly Court, right off Carnaby Street.

Colville Mews, Notting Hill

I've just been on the Blogger homepage to update my Blogger profile and for some strange reason, Blogspot decided it was important to mention that I am born the year of the rat. No idea why, they just did. So, after much time trying to figure out how to delete this superfluous piece of information, and to no avail, I decided to let it be. Now I am not one to believe in signs and silly premonitions but this is just too strange to not take as a sign. Right? I don't know, maybe I would have found it cooler to be born the year of the dragon or the spider or something. But the rat? Seriously? Yuck. Hmmm, I guess lil Frankie here is kinda cute.

Wait, wait, wait, this gets better...

Creative problem solver, check! Imaginative, check! Intuitive, check! Hey, this isn't so bad...

So, here I am, procrastinating, taking a break from my long and tedious dissertation writing, hoping to find some inspiration in the blogging process...and maybe from a little coffee break. So I get up from my numb-feeling bumm from all the sitting down, oh so ready to get inspired. I picked up a delicious cappucino and muffin at Tom's Deli on Westbourne Grove and strolled around the block weaving in and out of mews quarters, sipping and munching away, hoping to find some answers. Looking into the cute little Colville Mews, I was intrigued by the big Temperley sign, tucked away behind the white brick walls of the mews alley. Not that I was thinking of going inside...no more shopping for me (I'm living on student budget, which means the cash flow is pretty much non-existent), but I found myself to be smiling at how adorable this remote area of busy Notting Hill was. Crazy! I've been living close by for months, and I've never even noticed this little treasure of a street?

Not only that, but next to Temperley is the tiny Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, which if you're into media, marketing, fashion, branding, advertising and pop culture in general, like I totally am, you'll have to make a special detour to check out! Right now, it is featuring a show on the very best of Guiness Advertising over 250 years and it is a really fun 30 minutes so go take a look!

        Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in Notting Hill

On the other side of Temperley, you'll also find the small Pippa Small Jewelry boutique, which offers beautifully crafted bracelets, necklaces and earrings that are both ethnic and chic, a look that totally befits the Notting Hill vibe. Her style is cool and fresh and all of it is handmade! She also uses real stones, from amethyst and emerald to Lapis and Quartz, which make for truly special pieces.

                            Pippa Small's Bolivian Blue Pebble

So next time you're in my hood, either come and visit me, or go check out Notting Hill's hidden treasures in Colville Mews off Lonsdale Road.

London Cheese!

I woke up this morning with an odd craving for cheese. I'm talking big, rich, smelly, rotting, runny cheese, with some blue stuff in it and thick crust enveloping it. Man, I could write a novel about cheese! Let's see, chapter 1: Gorgonzola, chapter 2: Brie, Camembert, chapter 3: Emmental, Comte, Gruyere, chapter 4: ok, stop. I could go on for ages, and my mouth is salavating with nothing but some miserable babybels in my meager little fridge. I know, this post may seem odd, gross, and unglamorous to some of you, but this is my French side coming out, and every once in a while, well, I just need to explore it. And I know, some of you do too. So, needless to say, since I've arrived in London, I've been hunting for the best, and the most full-of-character cheese shops. I found them! I'm not talking about the Food Halls of Harrods and Selfridges, though I must say, Harrods' goat's cheese, topped with a smidgen of fig jam on a small piece of nutty toast...oh Yum! But, let's get serious here. I am talking high quality pro-stuff that just makes your head spin it is so bloody smelly. SO where was I. Oh yes, London cheese shops.

The first one that comes to mind is Neal's Yard Dairy at Borough Market.

Now these guys are cheese champs, they really know what they're doing. And what I love about these cheeses is that they're British! Let me tell you that I was born with preconceived notions that good cheeses hail from France and from France only. Let me tell you now: I was wrong. This cheese is so so smelly, it hurts. And I love it! These little stinkers are brought to the market all the way from the British isles, where the farm goats and cows are the happiest living beings in the universe. And you can get everything from Cashel blue and Ragstone Goat, to Montgomery Cheddar and yummy yummy Stilton. The presentation is so British, so perfect, it makes the French cheese shops look like my grandmother's attic.

                               The Grand Entrance of Borough Market

        A Gruyere Pyramid at Neal's Yard Dairy stand at Borough Market

My next stop on this cheesy journey is La Fromagerie in Highbury and it is an adorable spot. While I'm here, I might as well pitch La Fromagerie in Marylebone, since it is the same awesome shop, but just a tad bigger populated by a tad fancier customers. If I were to live in a house made of cheese, I would live in La Fromagerie. During my first three months in London, my flat was located stone-throws away from Highbury, and walking to class entailed passing by this slice of heaven everyday and not getting tempted by the devilish smells of my home country's delicious treasures. Imagine that. We Frenchies live and relish in the stinkiness. Smelliness is good. Smelliness is sexy. Anyways, needless to say, I've made some very sexy and fruitful stops there and ended up stocking up my fridge with inhuman amounts of comte, emmental and smelly camembert. Oh and did I mention that these cheeses are imported all the way from the farms of France, where our cows and goats are as happy if not happier than the British cows and goats? I didn't think so. You can even find some of the shadiest and obscure cheeses in the world at La Fromagerie. The world-renowned Trou du Cru for example, has me spinning right round like a record baby, and it stinks up an entire room leaving me feeling quite woozy. Plus in contrast to their sister shop in Marylebone, theirs has a third the surface but as many delicious if not more delicious chunks of heaven. Go get happy!


                                    La Fromagerie in Highbury

                                    La Fromagerie in Marylebone

My Quest for London Zest

I hail from New York City and I have been in London for exactly a year! Can you believe it?! I am now a Londoner...or am I?

New York at first, felt like a cold cold place. Large avenues, with tall high-rises, of which you could hardly see the tops. Fancy fifth avenue shops crowded with fancy fifth avenue coop-owners and not-so-fancy midwest American tourists. Long long winters and cold cold autumns. It is, I must say, one of the most unwelcoming places on earth. But after much time and effort spent there, I finally made it mine. My New York. I searched hard and long, but the reward was priceless! The best part was: I found the gems and treasures of New York by being curious, and I was determined to feel at home. Needless to say, I uncovered my New York gems! From Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery on Rivington Street and Billy's Bakery on Ninth Avenue, where the Banana Pudding and the Red Velvet cupcakes melt in your mouth; to Honey in the Rough, THE one dress shop on Rivington, where my friend Ashley Hanosh, exquisite woman and boutique owner, has created a gem of a boutique, where you will find the most delicious dresses and accessories for an experience that is at once friendly and professional; my impression of New York changed once I set foot in these second homes. It is with great pleasure and excitement that I embark on a new journey to discover London's hidden gems and sterling secrets, in an effort to make London my new home away from home.

Billy's Bakery on Ninth Avenue and 21st Street, New York: Oh Yum!

I now live in Notting Hill, well Bayswater to be precise, and I spend hours walking around not only the neighborhood but the whole city, sniffing for the perfect gems, the perfect shops with the perfect stories to tell.I don't find myself in Islington very often. But if I do manage to drag my bumm up there, all the way up from Notting Hill- er I mean Bayswater- I'll make sure I make it a special experience. And it starts all the way from the top of Upper Street by the Highbury tube stop to the very bottom of St Johns Street. I'm not kidding, this is the best 20 minute walk in London (or hour and half depending on if you get lucky!). And this is why: the adorable, magical vintage boutiques of London are all located there, polka-dotting the Islington sidewalks left and right, so much so that you won't know where to look and what to do with yourself.

My journey begins in Islington, where the vintage boutiques and second-hand shops flourish by the minute.

My number 1: Labour of Love on Upper Street. I just love, love, love it! As my friend Liz Lemon from 30 Rock would say (and no she is not my namesake... "Lemon Zest???")... I want to go to there! I swear, you'll love it too! It has everything from one-of-a-kind costume jewelry, and nowhere-else-in-the-world fancy tops and dresses, to awesome repetto-imitation jazz shoes, for great prices! Plus the shop is so tiny, you'll feel like Alice and Wonderland after she's eaten the magic mushrooms.
 

Labour of Love, Upper Street, Islington

My number 2 has to be My Sugarland on St Johns Street.
Now this shop is for pros. The shop owner is a stylist called Zoe Lem and she has a gift. She can pick out fantastic pieces and has created such a beautiful place to display them in, that everything just works wonders. As I was strolling down St john Street, I took a peak inside this attractive boutique, and all of a sudden, found myself to be lured in by all of the fantastic colours, hats, gloves and tights that were on display, and before I knew it, I was touching everything! My fingers were caught in a whirlwind of beautiful vintage dresses and scarves and... I fell in love. The prices are not as kind as you'd hope them to be, but if you're lucky enough and it's sale time or if you happen to find a piece you know or think is calling your name, don't let it go. It's a sign from above!

My Sugardland on St Johns Street, Islington










My number 3 is called Dress for Less on St Johns Street and it is a charming spot. I walked in yesterday and I was completely smitten. The place is a whole in the wall and you probably wouldn't see it if you didn't know about it, but it is perfect! Walk in and find
a rainbow of vintage designer and second hand clothes, jewels and accessories, from the essential Burberry trench to the occasional Jigsaw necklaces and delightful Sonia Rykiel jumpers, all at a price you will not believe! The shop owner is an adorable woman who calls you sweetheart, luv and cheesecake, or something like that, and she makes her bazaar as cozy as your home. You can just walk in, unload, try on a thousand things at once and she will never cringe! It is truly a find and you must go!

Dress for Less on St Johns Street, Islington                  














Dress For Less Necklace, £20

After some intense shopping, walk down St Johns Street and make a right onto Myddleton Street towards Exmouth Market, where you will navigate your way through the fantastic smells of the food stands and go straight down the finish line to grab some green curry like you've never tasted. Finish your day by warming up with a delicious cappucino or latte and a piece of delectable chocolate pie or crunchy meringue from "Sweet Boulangerie and Patisserie." You will not regret it.