London's Decorative Details

Many of my days in London were spent wandering around my neighborhood admiring the architecture and decorative elements of the homes.  Every item was an opportunity for refinement and expression.  A stark contrast to so many cookie cutter homes in America.  No cement slabs for the walk up to your front door; rather intricate mosaics or playful polka dot fun.

Why bother with a boring, brass doorknocker – when you can have a whale or a fox or the goddess of love herself?

And what about the beautifully detailed windowpanes?  Such lovely designs, with each pane catching the light differently.

Shoreditch Inspiration

In London, my flat was in the Chelsea-South Kensington part of London – full of beautiful shops, fashionable restaurants and perfect white townhouses.  Kensington Gardens and Palace, the V&A museum and the French Cultural Institute were all in a 5-10 block radius from my flat.  And so for several weeks, I did not venture outside of this area much. 

After awhile, though, my neighborhood seemed almost too perfect, and I was restless for something to push the boundary a bit.  I don’t even remember how I found the Shoreditch neighborhood of London.  One of those lost memories of falling in love with a city and discovering it anew each day. 

But I do remember it was different from any other part of London I had visited.  Shoreditch is full of artistic energy – you can feel the creation and imagination and experimentation all around you.  Alexander McQueen actually had his first studio in the area.

  

Every corner you turn there is amazing street art; daring, little stores; and welcoming yet inventive restaurants.  And then the beautiful, winding back streets – full of stories I’ll never know.  I kept coming back to Shoreditch during my time in London – and I always discovered something new – a new art gallery, a new food stand, an undercover sample sale.  And I always left feeling inspired.

Real Wicker Baskets

During the first week I lived in London, I took a walk down King's Road in Chelsea.  A young lady whizzed by on a bike that had a wicker basket attached to the handlebars.  It looked like it was right out of a Hugh Grant romantic comedy.  I figured it was just a one-off.  After awhile, though, I started seeing bikes with wicker baskets everywhere.  And the baskets were real wood, wicker -- not some fake plastic substitute made in China.  Often the wicker baskets were attached to the bike's handlebars with beautifully constructed leather straps.  There is something so incredibly British about these bike baskets -- how proper they look -- the willingness to spend the money and take the time to find an aesthetically pleasing, nicely crafted real wood wicker basket.

Tennis Anyone?

Look, I know a lot of people detest John McEnroe.  Some people believe he was a spoiled brat who was disrespectful on the tennis court.  Many people take issue with his sexist comments about female tennis players and commentators.  But I love the guy.  First of all, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of tennis, both the technical game and its history.  Second of all, when Flushing Meadows was rebuilding its main tennis stadium for the U.S. Open, many people involved in the process opposed naming the stadium after Arthur Ashe.  John McEnroe lobbied passionately to have the stadium named after his good friend, Ashe; and eventually McEnroe was successful.

So I was over the moon when I saw a poster advertising that McEnroe would be playing in an exhibition match while I was in London.  Even better, the location of the match was just a ten minute walk from my flat.  The match was held in Royal Albert Hall, which is a grand performing arts center.  I was looking forward to the hilarious prospect of John McEnroe cursing and throwing tantrums in such a beautiful and historic building.

It was my first time seeing McEnroe play in person, and he didn't disappoint.  His awkward, jerking forehand.  His deft footwork.  His aggressive serve and volley game (which, sadly, is so rare in today's game).

Of course, McEnroe couldn't get through the match without a few histrionics, but most of it was in good fun -- teasing his opponent, joking with the crowd, and kissing the net after the ball scuffed the top of the net and dribbled over to the opponent's side of the court.  All in all, a fantastic night of tennis.

Champagne and Grappa

(Whitney, Me, Julie)

I've known my dear friend, Whitney, for almost my entire life; both of our moms are from Oklahoma; and we grew up together at grade school, high school and church.  Needless to say, when she told Julie and me that she got engaged over Christmas, it was time to celebrate!

The three of us headed over to Lidia's, and, of course, the first thing we did was order some rosé champagne!

Look at that beauty of a ring!  Classic and stunning.  It looks absolutely perfect on Whitney.

Cheers!

We brought along some bridal magazines for planning inspiration.  Not surprisingly, I had 112 questions, and Whitney patiently answered all of them.

 At the end of the night, our waiter brought us a round of grappa.  But I was the only one who drank it.  Look, I like my liquor strong.

Here's to many more celebrations in Whitney's honor over the next several months!

An English Christmas Tree

One of my favorite parts of the holidays this year was decorating my little Christmas tree with English themed ornaments.  In England, the St. Nicolas company creates handmade, embroidered felt ornaments that are of historic people and places.  Most of the ornaments I collected from various palace and cathedral gift shops throughout London were made by the St. Nicolas company, and one of the ornaments was a gift!

The three ornaments below are of three British Queens who were Queens in their own right -- Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II.

I had to look high and low for the Queen Elizabeth I ornament above, and I finally found one in the National Portrait Gallery gift shop.  I love the fire red hair!

There are about four iterations of the Queen Victoria ornament -- a couple when she was a princess, one when she was an older Queen with enormous royal garments, and then the one above when she is a young Queen.  Queen Victoria still looms large over London, and so it was no surprise that there were so many Victoria ornament options.

Above is Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her Coronation.  I think this depiction is fantastic because it really captures the sumptuous robes and dress she wore on that day, and I love that she is holding the orb and sceptre.  

Above is a Tudor Rose ornament that I found at Hampton Court Palace.  The Tudor Rose emblem was created following the end of the War of the Roses, when the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose) united.  I became positively obsessed with the War of Roses after watching the BBC miniseries "The White Queen," or as many of my friends know, after I became positively obsessed with the actor, Max Irons!

 The Queen's 60th anniversary of her Coronation occurred in 2013, and there were amazing events celebrating this anniversary throughout the year.  I love the above ornament's depiction of the four countries that comprise Great Britain -- the daffodil for Wales, the rose for England, the thistle for Scotland and the shamrock for Northern Island.

Prince George was born a couple of weeks after I arrived in London, and I thought it would be fun to get an ornament commemorating being in London during this fun time!

And finally, my best friend, Hilly, made me this great needlepoint ornament of a Union Jack.  I adore it -- a perfect addition to my English themed Christmas tree.  I can't wait to collect more English themed Christmas ornaments in the years to come!

Getting My Art On

I visited Windsor Castle a few weeks ago with my newfound friends from Philadelphia, and I absolutely fell in love with an exhibit there called, "The Royal Paintbox."  It chronicles members of the Royal family who have been artists for the past 350 years.  Apparently, art classes always have been part of the formal education of Royal family members.  Queen Victoria was and Prince Charles is an avid water colorist, and they have, in fact, painted many of the same landscapes at Balmoral.

The exhibit inspired me to sign up for some art classes while I have been in London.  I emailed one of my dear friends, a sorority sister and college roommate, who had majored in art and asked her for suggestions.  Per her recommendations, I looked for drawing and watercolors classes.  Thankfully, I sneaked into a watercolors class and have been going to classes for the last several weeks.

I was incredibly rusty at first -- it's been over twenty years since I've done any art!  Above are some of the examples of my work from the first week or so. Taking the class and painting each week has given me an even stronger appreciation for the amazing talent and genius of great artists.

My need for precision often was confounded by watercolors.  The more I practiced, the more I was able to get a handle on how the medium worked; and the more I painted, the more I was able to have fun with the imprecision and unexpected results of watercolors.  Above are some paintings where I was just exploring.

And I finally started getting the hang of it!  Above are some small pieces from my last weeks.  During the class, I loved painting the sky and clouds and their infinite shapes and colors.  I've already looked into some art classes offered at the Kansas City Art Institute for when I get back to the States!