Weekend in LDN

The Hoxton Hotel front/reception, Carnaby Street and Covent Garden

Orla Kielys shop (dream),hotel decor & lovely architecture

Libertys & A Crafty shop down Carnaby Street

In the end, my 'list of things to do' in London was way too long to fit over a day and a half. At first I wanted to visit lots of Art Galleries, Museums, Cafes, Restaurants and Shops. But in the end we ended up spending way longer in the shops than we actually planned ( it was hard to resist, especially when it came to Orla Kiely's shop... it was HEAVENLY!!). 

Plus we spent a while walking around the place. London is massive as we all know, but we chose not to use the underground because it was only 10/20 minute walks most of the time and it was good to stumble across places we didn't know about this way. 

We also spent a lot of time in the hotel due to the lovely restaurant, cafe and bar.

Our plan for shopping was basically to visit...

Covent Garden:

- Orla Kiely (If you are an 'Orla Kiely fanatic' like me, make sure you save some money as it is hard to resist buying her things, especially when you see it up close for the first time... So dreamy!)I got my hands on a lovely engraved purse to match my bobby shoes & an umbrella as I have been needing a new one for ages.. Goodbye 5 year old cat umbrella. You shall not be missed.

- Fred Perry (Robs favourite)

- The Cambridge Satchel Company (was finally able to get my hands on one of their lovely satchels, an early birthday present from Rob! I am SO lucky. It even has my initials engraved into it!!! <3 <3 

- London Graphic Centre (AMAZING for any arty materials that you need. Be prepared to spend AT LEAST an hour in there, if not more. 

I am actually going back here on the 22nd for their blogger event they are holding, with Amy!! You can find out more about the event over on their twitter: @LondonGraphics)

& Carnaby Street:

- Liberty London I have always wanted to visit here, mainly due to the lovely building and the prints on the fabrics. My favourite thing was the paper flower displays by Zoe Bradley, what a talented lady! I would recommend visiting here even if you just go to this level. It is filled with teacups, oven gloves, aprons and even tea bags, all with the iconic Liberty's floral print on in various colour schemes. Beautiful.

- Sherrys, The Face, Ben Sherman, Lambretta (Basically, Robs dream street!)

- Dr Martens (we loved their free photo booth and completely abused it. It was so fun. However, we didn't buy any Dr Martens, I still have a pair that I need to wear in. They take forever to break in!)

- Mozzino A espresso bar that does the BEST lemon drizzle cake and a pretty good cuppa' too. 

- Dahlia . A tiny but lovely shop that I have only seen online, it was lovely to go inside and have a look at the vintage style items. Plus the lady that worked there was so friendly.

We also walked through places like Oxford Street (tourist crazy, super busy and I was 'hungry'. Not the best combination so not a great experience. BUT when we went back on the Sunday to visit Hamleys to get Robs lovely little niece a present for her birthday, it wasn't so bad. It was a little more bearable with less people!) and Kings Cross.

There was a few more places we stumbled across but I just can't remember the name of them :(

We are already planning on going back, as you just cannot fit hardly anything in within a day and a half. I never even managed to visit any galleries, although found inspiration everywhere for my next project at university through the architecture and general design and displays in shops and various streets. 

Overall, it was a lovely, but expensive weekend well spent in good company and lovely weather (on the Sunday!). 

Thanks for reading, and I can't wait to go back in a few weeks for the blogger event, although this is another flying visit!!