Fun and Finds = London #8

YUMMY!

Yes, the food in

London

is surprisingly good

given it's bad press

But even tastier are

TREASURES

Shall we step out for a day?

Time to wake up and get movin'!

But where should we go?

The tube is a speedy and efficient

way to navigate around London.

Let's try Spitafield's Market,

shall we?

Check out the route ...

any transfers needed?

Remember that we're

"not in Kansas anymore"

But it seems Dorothy's pals

have decided

London

is the place to be!

The market is full of

many types of stalls.

Some booths have BOXES

of things to dig through ..

Others are neatly displayed

and PRICED.

The keys on this table -

from and old jail.

180 BPS ...

that's about $270 ..

they were not among my purchases.

But, look at all these treats ...

And even more ...

Whew ...

a lot to look through.

Maybe we should head

somewhere else?

But first a quick snack ..

Look no further!

American style brownies.

Don't know what made them

"American Style"

but we LOVED them!

This is our next stop.

Our destination?

Even the traffic signs

want you to have a good time!

Look at this cute shop!

(and a perfect name, too!)

Some "toys" for our guys?

(Yes, Mr. Sammy Girl spent a

LOT of time at this stall!)

Maybe some vintage paper?

Silver?

Old glass?

Oops ... not for sale, silly ...

those are 1 and 2 AD at the

British Museum!

But I WOULD LOVE to have ....

An old clock or two?

(I am seriously thinking about returning

to see about this beauty!)

Dolls or miniatures?

This is Heather.

She has AWESOME goodies

in her shop.

The bell jar arrangement

behind her is

INCREDIBLE.

Wind up and a bird in the flowers sings ...

More bits and bobs

than ANYONE could want!

And of course the china!

(only three sets of these

black and pink with rose beauties,

or they WOULD be mine!)

Mmmmm..

Time to drag ourselves away.

Heading back for real food

and sleep.

Tomorrow?

Shopping or culture.

Tough choice!

Hugs and may your days be filled with WONDERFUL CHOICES.

Sammy Girl

ps - don't forget the 50th post giveaway is still going on .... more info here ...

Get R Done Friday - LONDON #7

More

Get R Done Friday

HERE!

Cheerio!

Today's Get R Done (from London) has been a long time coming.

Backstory:

In January 2008 the Pink Princess

was accepted into a year-long program of study in India.

That's India as in the subcontinent ....

not a typo of Indiana!

As we finalized her air travel

in August of 2008

we decided to add

a couple of days in

LONDON

to her itinerary.

Just for fun.

Thought that sounded a

bit more her style than

3 days in Quatar

another transfer option.

So I was on the phone making

hotel reservations

and mapping out fun things

AND

Mr. Sammy Girl said

"why don't you go with her?"

me - What? .... Can't

him - You sure?

You'd enjoy it.

Why don't you go?

me - No. ... too much money.

him - come on ...

you know you've always wanted to.

Why don't you go?

me - finally coming to my senses

and realizing he might not

ask a third time ...

OKAY!

End result was a 5 day trip to

LONDON

with 2 weeks notice.

I decided

NOT TO VISIT

the places he would like the most

and that

he and I would

visit when we were in

LONDON TOGETHER.

Current day:

We are now in London.

The two things he has always wanted to do?

Visit the Prime Meridian in Greenwich

and see the Rosetta Stone.

DONE DEAL - BABY!

Even more importantly, we are talking about the things we have always wanted to do but felt there were barriers in our way. Are those the things we still feel are important? And are the barriers real or imaginary? We are going to find out!

As our parents age we realize NOW is the time to determine what we want to do with the rest of our lives .... set priorities and take steps to make the dreams reality.

Hugs and may your dreams - whether large or small - become reality!

Sammy Girl

50th Post Giveaway ... and BONUS! London part 6

Summer reruns ....

While in London I am

celebrating

my 50th post.

To say thank you to

YOU

I have assembled a few

goodies.

UNFORTUNATELY

not a ticket to London ....

The giveway goodies include

DOZENS

of roses.

Why roses?

I could say it represents

Portland

The City of Roses

or English roses ...

but really

it's because

EVERYBODY loves roses!

Imagine a beautifully

decorated box.

Covered in pink paper.

Everything padded with

Pink tissue paper.

Roses on

EVERYTHING.

A great photo shoot

for the giveway ....

Didn't get done

before we left

for London.

I DID get a quick picture.

Of some of the stuff.

Great book

Comforts of Home

bone china egg cup

fun little dish with cutouts with yellow and pink roses

three dishes with aqua banding and sweet pink roses

a plate with rose trim

delicate glass blown flower basket,

handpainted mug ....

Oops ...

not the mug.

Pink princess

"borrowed" it

after the picture was taken.

How could I say no

when she just confessed

she feels drawn to flowers.

This is something

new for her.

To make it up to you I am adding some vintage floral ephemera from my private stash,

as well as a few goodies I hope to find at the markets and fleas here in London.

Interested?

Just let me know of your visit

to ANY

or ALL

of my London posts.

Voila!

You are entered.

Once for each post you comment on.

BONUS!!

Post about the giveaway on

your blog

and let me know ...

each of your comments will count

DOUBLE!

Sorry for this

"summer rerun"

but hope you like the

"bonus"

Rerun is because

no new pics today.

We visited the National Gallery ...

no photography allowed so we didn't bother to take our camera.

Plans for tomorrow -

Spitafield's Market -

maybe find some goodies for the giveaway!

Then to the British Museum in the afternoon.

Hmmmm .... ROSEtta stone.

Probably not fit into carryon ....

Hugs and have a few laughs and some fun today!

Sammy Girl

Important news! Flea Market Style blog has a giveaway. Check out their blog and enter to win a cart with liner!

White Wednesday London Part 5

WHITE

I like white.

In my home I have

white walls, white trim

white balcony ...

Well,

my TEMPORARY house

here in London.

I also like the

maybe-used-to-be

white.

Like the balcony door latch

and balcony door hinge.

And love the

"sorta white".

That chippy look

that I LOVE

that mom called

"old, dirty stuff".

Now I know these things

have

"crackleture"

sound pretty high-end to me!

Here are some

French pots

that I bought at market yesterday.

Some of the bottoms are marked in

English...

Some in French ...

and some just have number imprints.

They all speak my language!

Hugs and Happy White Wednesday!

SAMMY GIRL

for more White Wednesday posts

go to Faded Charm!

Kempton Races - London part 4

Treasure hunting at the racetrack.

Not looking for odds on a pony ....

but winning on a

sure thing.

We're talkin'

Antique Market

baby!

Kempton Park

A racetrack much of the time

but home to antique market

every other week

Treasures from

England and Europe.

(Hurrah for the Chunnel!)

Of course there are no pictures of

our tube and train ride there.

Quaint towns, gardens,

etc, etc.

The camera stayed at the hotel.

Guess it wanted a nap.

After returning I woke the camera

and snapped a few pics to share.

Overview of the "finds"

Not a great pic - but includes

Victorian letter holder

lots of silverplate

knife rests

serving spoons

salt and mustard spoons

fish knives

no bone handles, though.

(too pricey)

many old keys

lion door knocker

drawer and door pulls

furniture brasses

clock faces

even a lock box

with key and inset drawer

that's chippy red inside!

See anything you like?

I love it all!

Who can resist?

To top it off?

Old legal documents.

Dating from

1851 to 1906 or so.

Not on paper.

REAL vellum.

Mmmmm!

How about a closer look?

Until next time!

Hugs and hope your day is filled with treasure --

Sammy Girl

Small World - London Part 3

Hope I don't start singing that

Disney fave

which is always a brain worm ...

BUT

is IS a small world, after all!

Small enough for my short legs to be in the

Eastern Hemisphere

and

Western Hemisphere

at the

SAME TIME!

Sorry.

Couldn't resist.

Mr. has always wanted to go visit

the Prime Meridian.

Zero degree longitude.

The place where time begins.

Or is it where "space" begins.

I'm not really sure.

We went up/down

the Thames for a visit

to Greenwich

to straddle the

PRIME MERIDIAN.

Doesn't it have a much better name

than Stonehenge?

But, back to the point

of "small worldness"

just look

who's coming to London!

and ...

Yep ... Juicy Couture just opened a store.

Anthropologie will in the next few weeks.

With Starbucks and McDonald's

already firmly ensconced,

you can fly 1/2 way around the world

and feel like you are just around the corner

from home.

Well, kinda ...

If THIS

is also in your neighborhood!

Looking at "Big Ben"

through the London Eye.

Now our Brit quiz

for the day.

Category - POTATO(E)S

American fries are ...

Chips!

American chips are ...

Crisps!

American crisps are ...

Heck if I know!

Do we call

ANYTHING

crisps?

We DID see

boxes of Kettle Chips

at Victoria Station.

Wonder if that blows

everyone's minds?

Potato chips from

Salem, Oregon

in London.

Category - BEVERAGES

Where can you find

Pepsi?

Diet Pepsi to be exact!

No -

not Coke.

Coke is EVERYWHERE.

No Pepsi at the grocery store ...

Not at McDonald's ...

Not at the quickie food mart ....

but found some HERE!

Well,

to be more precise - HERE.

Yep!

The food concessions at

Buckingham Palace.

I KNEW Liz had style!

And I think the

REAL REASON

for all the security

around the Palace

is a national shortage of

PEPSI!!

Tomorrow

we hope to have our

FIRST

of several trips to

different markets

to shop for

antiques

junk

and

just-plain-ol'

"stuff".

Will look for something with

ROSES

to include in the

50th GIVEAWAY.

Just comment on

ANY

of the London posts

and you are entered.

You can comment on

EACH posting.

Lots of chances to win.

How easy is that?!

Well --

gotta get up early and find some

new TREASURES

to add to the rest

(see London #2).

Hugs and have a super day!

Sammy Girl