london's calling

'Big A' had meetings in London so 'little a' and I tagged along for some fun. We stayed near Marylebone High Street which gave me the perfect opportunity to drop into some of my favourite shops: Cath Kidston, Brissi, Divertimenti ....

If it weren't for these helpful reminders painted on the ground at intersections, I'd be dead.

We got caught in an amazing rainstorm and took shelter under an awning before stopping in at Divertimenti for lunch.

Divertimenti is a kitchen shop. 'Big A' loves it for it's cooking gadgets (although he doesn't cook); I love it for their little cafe at the back of the store which serves a simple but yummy lunch menu.
Ah, Brissi; it's a home furnishings store and everything in it (except select clothing) is a lighter shade of pale - my preferred decorating style.
On Saturday we went to Chelsea because I had to check out a shop called Cabbages & Roses (I have one of their books sitting in my Amazon cart ready to be purchased). It didn't hurt that there was another Cath Kidston shop there and a Brissi as well - heaven ! This Cath Kidston shop is better than the one on Marleybone High Street because they have a fabric and oil cloth selection.


We finished off the morning with lunch at New Culture Revolution (305 Kings Road, Chelsea), a trendy noodles and dumplings food spot. Good thing we stumbled upon it, at the moment 'little a' will only eat rice. We sat in the window seats and admired the Bluebird Cafe and Epicerie across the street (owned by Conran), a little taste of France in London. Only wish we had had the time to stop in at Designers Guild but nap time was calling.

Ikea, Swedish for common sense ....

... too bad we didn't have any. Last weekend we went to Ikea to purchase the desktop for my new craft corner / atelier. I chose the Vika Gruvan (I pronounce it groov'in). Before waiting in line 20 minutes to pay for it, and another 20 minutes to pick it up, we should have taken the packaging dimensions from the information sheet out to the car with us to determine whether or not it would fit in the trunk. Guess what? It didn't fit. So another half hour spent in line returning it. My hubby, the darling that he is, picked it up for me today on his way home from the airport (removed the car seat and folded down the back seat - it fit). The Gruvan is sitting on top of two Ikea filing cabinets we bought a few years ago; Ikea no longer carries them. At the moment my craft desk is being used as 'little a's change table, but not for long!

abat-jour ...

... is French for lampshade. Since having 'little a' almost 2 years ago this is one of the only other creative projects I have undertaken. I'm hoping this blog will kickstart me into crafting on a more regular basis.

bonne année

New year, new adventure. What do you need to know about me? I'm a Canadian who has been living in Paris for almost 12 years. I'm married to 'Big A' and together we have 'little a' who is almost 2 years old. While in Paris I've learned the French crafts / art of cartonnage, picture matting and lampshade making. Why this blog? Most of my 'crafty' friends: Cindy, Catherine, Stacey, Toma, Lisa, Tamara, and even our teacher Faith, have all left Paris; so, instead of crafting by myself, I'll be crafting with my blog. What else do you need to know? I'll be using British spelling as we do in Canada - throwing in extra vowels here and there.

My first order of business is turning this space into my craft corner / atelier. So off to ikea I will go.