Weekend Musings | Green Space

One thing that really stands out to me about London is all the dedicated green spaces throughout the city. Coming from Toronto, I really appreciate a giant, tall tree in the leafy neighbourhoods like the Annex. But, here in London, every neighbourhood seems to be leafy and well developed. Maybe it's the rain? Maybe it's the age of the city? Maybe it's because there are so few buildings that stand higher than 6 stories that trees have much more opportunity to shine?

And, beyond the leafy, lovely tree situation, there is the large matter of commons, parks, and vast swaths of nature tucked in and pocketed everywhere throughout London. It is simply the best!

I'm lucky enough to live within 20 minute walking distance of three giant parks. but there are many more I come across in a typical day too.

Here are pictures of my favourites (and these don't even include my local parks!):

Moving to London | Banking & Phones

In this post a couple weeks ago, I shared some things I learned while flat hunting in London. Carrying on this theme, here is some information on banking and phones that I sent to a friend - at the risk of overwhelming her!

As always, keep in mind that this is what worked for me, and by no means will work for everyone. Just some extra information to help you along in your move, particularly before you leave Canada.

Fun Things | Afternoon Tea in London

A couple weekends ago, we took a stroll through Chelsea, by Buckingham Palace, to have afternoon tea in Soho with our friends. It felt like such a wonderfully British experience!

We went to Cinnamon Soho, a restaurant that offers a delicious Indian spin on the standard British tea. Our treats and snacks were presented on a 3 tier stand, and they had this amazing vegetarian 'pizza' type thing which was basically curry and cheese on naan - yum!

The journey there was almost as fun, as we strolled through beautiful neighbourhoods and enjoyed Green Park.

Here are some photos from our journey:

Weekday Inspiration | Breaks

Breaks. So key. A break from anything is always an interesting experience, and often pretty beneficial.

For the past few months, I've been working at an agency in Clerkenwell and today is my first day of a break from work. I start at my next agency in a couple weeks but, until then, I'm footloose and fancy. In a few days time I'll be in Ontario! That in itself is a break. Today is all about breaks. "Them the breaks" as some people say.

On the topic of breaks, I love filling my day with mini-breaks. Whether it's a break from my computer screen to make a tea, or a break from my work day to take a stroll outside. These breaks have given me many necessary bursts of inspiration, refreshment, and re-calibration so I can get back to my original task in much better shape than when I left.

Here are some snaps from my lunch break / walks over the past few weeks:

Weekday Inspiration | Brighton in Pictures

 Click through for a ton more photos!

Top 5 | Things to Do in Brighton

This past weekend, I was sea coast bound with some new friends and my love. Just a short hour train ride away, Brighton beckoned us and we made a day trip out of it - so fun!

I had no expectations, other than randomly hearing Brighton mentioned in some pop songs years ago, and seeing the odd nod to it in pop culture / books / movies / etc. The town (well, really a city) was interesting and very contrasting. The beach was pebbled and the water too cold to swim. The beachfront had the beautiful scenery and rolling ocean, alongside bright and flashing lights of a carnival. There were 'The Lanes' which contained a number of interesting and adorable cafes, bars (or pubs!), shops and restaurants.

Here is my collection of spots worth visiting when you head to Brighton.

Enjoy!

Fun Things | Rooftop Cinema Club

Last week, we checked out Rooftop Cinema Club in Peckham at the Bussey Building. We saw 'Do The Right Thing', a film perfectly suited to summer. The weather was a little chilly as the night went on, but RCC had blankets and bottomless popcorn which made the night perfect!

And I also became a member so I'm foreseeing many more rooftop screenings in our future!

Click through for some of my photos from that evening:

Moving to London | Housing

Hi!

I'm so excited to announce a couple of my friends just moved to London, and a couple more are on their way in the 'Autumn' (no one calls it 'fall' here).

We gave all our soon-to-be ex-pats pals some tips and advice on housing, and how to find a nice, yet affordable, spot to live. I thought I would compile all the information in one place for easy reference - especially as I start convincing more and more of you lovely people to make the hop over here to live!

Without further ado, here are a bunch of random thoughts, hopefully some helpful, that are meant to assist anyone looking for housing (in this scenario a 'flat') in London.

(I am by no means an expert, I urge you to take what you like, drop what you don't, and make your move all about you and what you need)

Weekday Inspiration | 16 Personalities

Hi there!

It's been a busy week, I'm running up a storm (just hit 7k!) and am having fun exploring, strolling, jogging through new neighbourhoods near my home. London is so blessed with all its green space. Toronto has been beautiful, and I love it to pieces, but the parks there just can not compare to all of London's 'commons'.

A year or so ago, I took the 16 Personalities quiz and was categorised as ENFJ. It's a tool for the Myers Briggs personality assessment/structure theory. More recently, I've been chatting with new friends about personality types and though I would revisit the profile description. A lot of my ENFJ profile 'The Protagonist' rings true, some of it is less relevant to me, but all in all it's a fun/inspiring little exercise. As someone obsessed with personality quizzes, self-enlightenment, learning, and identifying with particular profiles, this one takes the cake for fun, interesting, constructive information. I also love the little people illustrations that exist for each personality type and description.

If you have some minutes in your day, or need a little break from the ho-hum of a rainy Tuesday afternoon at work, visit the site and prepare to be enlightened!

What personality type did you get? Were you surprised by the results?

(P.S. this is not an advertisement for 16 Personalities - I just love the premise so much and think anyone could get a kick out of it)

Weekday Inspiration | Stavanger Street Art

Travelling to Stavanger last weekend was an incredible experience, for a number of reasons.

First, it was the initial trip I've taken since arriving in London 2.5 months ago. The proximity of London to so many diverse countries was a major draw when choosing where to move next. Experiencing the first opportunity to really take advantage of this proximity was exciting, to say the least!

Second, every time I get to explore a new place with my love I feel a lot of gratitude. Being in a new place is fun, and that rush of seeing things for the first time, remarking on what you like, or what surprises you, making memories together is really magical. Okay, sappy part over haha!

Third, Stavanger was drop dead gorgeous. Before going, we knew we would hike up to Preikestolen, but other than that had no expectations or plans. That was good and bad, because we overlooked the little matter of cost/currency conversion and have since learned a few valuable lessons we will apply to future travel :) But, as far as Stavanger's appeal is concerned, it is a phenomenal city. Small, walkable, set on the water, surrounded by hills and forests emerging across the water. And the street art....wow! I did not see that coming.

Here are some of my favourite shots from our strolls around the city.

 Click on for more of my pics!