June 30, 2025 | That small cottage under the willow
Carshalton Village is a real beauty. It’s located in Sutton, South London, and the only downside is that it is in South London - the transport links are a bit poor. I didn’t see many shops either; the high street is cute but modest in terms of retail options.
However, a lake full of ducklings, geese, and herons with a Victorian mansion-style pub on its bank, and a beautiful 17th-century manor that serves as both a museum and a tea room with a view of it all? That makes up for a lot.
Obviously, I made some feline friends. This little black cat acted all cute and let me pet her, but immediately after she took off down the sidewalk and ducked through an iron gate. The locals are friendly, but not really into conversation.
June 29, 2025 | Sunday Fun Day
Went to the garden centre to buy plants and then had Aperol and rum babas in the garden while the cat explored. Summer is good at the garden.
June 28, 2025 | Picnic and Fish & Eels
The picnic part didn't go too well because the area wasn't very suitable: lots of trails for hiking but not many places where we could spread out a feast, VERY hot and we walked for ages roasting in the sun until we found a small clearing with tables; too bad they were full of tiny spiders with gigantic legs. Not for me; it's a pain being arachnophobic. But we laid our picnic blanket on the ground (which was kind of hard and uncomfortable) and enjoyed the vibe.
We found a cute little bar by the canal called Fish & Eels and stopped for a pint. I immediately saw that it must be the hangout spot for Hoddesdon's beautiful people; lots of girls with expensive highlights and equally pricy designer bags, guys in Saint Laurent and Tommy Hilfiger talking loudly near the bar. But I found the tables by the canal full of ducks quite pleasant and I intend to return soon.
Then we stopped by Nonna's kitchen, picked up rum babas and secured our Sunday afternoon tea. :)
June 27, 2025 | Going downtown
The city is decked out for London Pride next month. There was a short queue at the Happy Sky bakery, but today I wasn't in the mood to pay £8 for a sweet treat. I don't usually like buses with decals (the red one is iconic and practically a tourist attraction on four wheels), but it took Bath & Body Works opening here for them to finally put up a nice mobile advertisement; the gingham blue pattern is lovely.
June 26, 2025 | Miffy Pop Up Shop
Charing Cross Road is the largest bookstore in the UK, with 5 floors housing over 200,000 books. It also has a music collection (vinyl and CDs), an auditorium where events are held, and a small but well-chosen stationery section. I spent a good part of 2014 (which, let's say, didn't make my Top 10 Best Years of My Life) sitting in that café reading my latest purchase. Today's visit was for frivolous reasons: they opened a pop-up shop for Miffy the rabbit, which is more or less the Hello Kitty of the Netherlands. Miffy (Nientje, in the original) is older than the Japanese cat from Sanrio; it was created in 1955 by the artist Dick Bruna. I felt compelled to browse, but the items were so expensive that I only managed to leave with a pen and a fabric keychain (more expensive than a Labubu...).
June 25, 2025 | About June.
This orange, somewhat mid-century lamp was the first thing I bought on the infamous Temu website. At first, I thought it was more expensive than Aliexpress, but at least tax is already included in the price. And their app/site are much better. It's a shame the lamp material doesn't have the luxurious shine of the original (which is glass, not plastic) but I enjoyed its orange light in random rooms as it's easy to carry around.
The shirts are from a collab between Uniqlo and Comptoir des Cotonniers, a French brand from the 90s. They are 100% linen, generously sized, and fit me so well that I couldn't choose between the available colors and got both. They'll be my summer uniform.
Husband made kasnocken, an Austrian dish with spaetzle pasta, onions and cheese. The bacon was his addition but it turned out very well.
I changed the kitchen shelves. The thin wooden boards that didn't cover the entire wall were replaced with Ikea's Lack shelves, which being floating don't need support but I didn't want to drill into the wall again or discard these beautiful iron brackets. I was going to paint them white, but liked the contrast. I filled the space with part of my white crockery collection, rattan/wooden objects and an aquatic pothos to add some life. I can't decide what the function of this corner is. I wanted to buy a nice coffee maker and turn it into the "coffee area," but there's no outlet there, and until I decide to break down the wall to change that, it stays as it is.
My philadelphus – or mock orange – is looking beautiful. I wait all year to smell their citrus fragrance; sadly the tree isn't pretty when not in bloom and even during its peak the leaves are usually covered in tiny black insects. This year I plan to prune it well in the hope that it will look fuller next year, but in the end what matters are these three weeks of beauty and the scent of orange blossoms.
Finally, the humble cake I bought to debut my new cake stand. It's incredible that someone who loves cake so much never had one before, but the mistake has been rectified. The cake was just for taking pictures, but it served its purpose with the bonus of being delicious. The cake stand is from Amazon, the cake from Tesco, and few things are more satisfying than a inexpensive success.
June 23, 2025 | Afternoon light.
Afternoon light, slow and
somnolent
a honeyed sky dust,
slants through windows and open doors.
Outside
it drips down through the leaves
trickling to the ground, thinned and muted.
Fireflies among fading sunbeams,
golden puddles in purpling shadows,
stir, waking —
the unexpected lilting breath
cool air: a taste
of dusk’s sweet call to dance.
— Lisa Wathen
June 18, 2025 | Things I saw, ate, drank and wanted.
June 13, 2025
Even though I wear makeup almost daily I'm not really a big makeup girl. I feel like it's something i *have* to do, not something i enjoy and sometimes I resent having to spend money on it. Sure, no one is forcing me to wear makeup but I feel self conscious about my big dark circles and melasma; I look ill without concealer. I try to buy cute stuff that I will at least enjoy having and looking at.
The latest purchase was this blush by Too Faced, the colour is flattering on my skin tone and the package is adorable. Very valentine's day coded:
Even the box is pretty:
Sunday, 08 June 2025
It has finally rained a little, the garden feels less parched and I was able to do some raking and heavy pruning to tidy things up. Then I took Cutie from the doll wardrobe for some photos:
This little one has been with me since my last trip to Japan several years ago (hope to visit again next year). I have a weakness for retro vinyl dolls.