Here and There

We started out our last day in the city by visiting Abbey Road and dodging traffic to get the perfect tourist pictures :) Next, we took the tube to Notting Hill to explore Portobello Market. There were so many great vintage and antique shops, as well as a bunch of cute clothing boutiques. I managed to snag a pretty paisley scarf and floral knit skirt that I'll be blogging about in the next few weeks!

After the Portobello Market, we headed over to Westminster Abbey. Last time I was in London, I hadn't been able to visit the abbey, so I was glad I could do it this time around. We ended the day wandering around the West End, and then ate dinner at a cute pub that had amazing pot pies.

I was so happy that London was our last stop before heading home. I had forgotten how much I loved the city. Although I loved traveling throughout Europe, London is the one city I could legitimately see myself living in the future and leaving was very bittersweet.

Outfit Details:

Dress—H&M (remixed) | Turtleneck—Nordstrom BP | Coat—VILA | Collar Necklace—H&M (similar)

My Fair Lady

I wasn't sure what to name this post (I'm trying to avoid having every London post include the word "London") so I decided to name it after the little nursery rhyme about London Bridge :) London Bridge was one of our first stops in the city on our second day, and I was happy with how all the pictures turned out. It was so nice to walk down the bridge boardwalk and just enjoy the city during the day.

All these photographs were taken on our second day in London. Since our hostel was a little bit on the outskirts, we became experts at navigating the tube and bounced all around the city each day! My favorite stop, by far, was the Borough Market. We tried delicious coffee at Monmouth and then got yummy savory pies from a little stand in the market.

If there's one thing I miss about the UK and Ireland...it's their delicious pub food. You really can't go wrong with a chicken pot pie, bangers and mash, or a hot pub burger. And now I'm really hungry...

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Outfit Details:

Dress—Anthropologie "Two-Button Sailor Chemise" (similar // remixed) | Mustard Pullover—

Urban Outfitters (remixed) | Blazer—H&M | Scarf—vintage | Boots—Marks & Spencer (similar)

London Town

Our very last stop before we headed back home (to California...not Cork) was London. I had been to London once before in high school when I traveled to England for three weeks with my three best friends. Accompanied by my friend's parents (let's not forget...we were 16), we spent two days in the city. However, coming back this time around was such a different experience. For one, I was traveling with Andrew. And secondly, I felt like I had already experienced a lot of the "touristy" aspects of London and wanted to use this trip to get more of a feel for the city itself this time around.

It was Andrew's first time in London, so we still hit some of the major sights like the London Eye, Westminister Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. However, for most of our three days in the city, we spent a lot of time wandering around different neighborhoods, trying new restaurants, and visiting as many street markets as we could. These photos were taken from our first night in the city. We arrived at our hostel around midday, but we were too tired to do much sight-seeing. So, we napped for a bit and then headed out around five to walk down the Thames River and ride the London Eye. The last time I was in London, I had only gone on the Eye during the day. So, it was great to experience the city by night and take in the amazing views!

Apartment Style

Decorating my bedroom (that I share with my best friend, Jennie) in my new LA apartment has been a fun project for me. Because I was abroad this past semester, I was only able to do furniture shopping the weekend before I moved in...hence why pretty much everything is from IKEA. (Also, side note: building four different pieces of furniture in one weekend is not a good idea. If it wasn't for my friends helping me...I think I may have had a mental breakdown.) Because my IKEA furniture is all white, I wanted to add pops of color to other parts of my room to off-set its simplicity. I used mustard accents on items like my rug and lamp base to match my purple, navy, and mustard bedding.

For my desk, I decided to not nail up the magnetic backing on the side facing my bed to make my room look more open. However, the fiberboard was exposed in the back, so I stapled sheer craft lace over it to cover it up. I then used the extra fabric in a couple of my mason jars (along with some spare clothespins), and cut small pieces to decorate the outside of two vases. On the left magnetic wall of my desk, I used decorative magnets as a fun way to display photographs from my semester abroad. And, as a way to display some black and white photographs, I strung some of my favorite shots up over my bed using twine and clothespins—a craft that I had seen on Pinterest and wanted to try for the longest time!

On my dresser drawers, I swapped out IKEA's standard knobs for six different knobs from Anthropologie that went with the color scheme of my room. It's amazing how a few different pieces of hardware can completely change the look of a piece of furniture. I also swapped out the plain knob that came with my nightstand for a more decorative black and yellow knob.

Ever since coming back from Europe, I have been loving maps. So, I invested in a big floral world map print, a monogram "M" (maps and monograms: two good things in one place!), and put up the "Cities" calendar Andrew got me for Christmas. If I had more room, I would have bought this scratch-off map from Urban which I think is the coolest thing ever!

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Apartment Details:

IKEA—Bed frame, Nightstand, Desk, Chair, Dresser, Table mirror

Anthropologie—Bedding (similar), Dresser knobs, Homegrown mug

Urban Outfitters—Map print, Map letter, Herringbone rug, Jewelry organizer (similar), Mirror organizer

Cost Plus World Market—Mason Jars, Chalk Board, Yellow lamp base

Target—Lamp Shade, Clothing organizer, Ivory basket

Rifle Paper Co.—Cities Calendar

Ruche—Bottle Cap Magnets

Aaron Brothers—All Photo Frames

Joann's Fabric & Crafts—Lace Fabric, Flowers

P.S. check out my home inspiration board on Pinterest for a collection of all the home decor that inspires me...I have been re-pinning interior design photographs like a mad woman lately!