Hot update

I know, it’s been a while. And things have changed a bit since I last blogged. In September we packed all our London belongings and went to Denmark to spend a few weeks with friends and family before hopping on a plane to Singapore. Sam is now working for ILM and we are going to spend the next year here.

And here’s the proof: Elliot and I, freshly arrived:

And here I am pouring my new favourite drink, pearl milk tea, (so yummy, more about it later) down the front of my dress. Apparently jetlag makes you really clumsy.

What more is there to say. Oh yes, they have Cheetos here. And it’s hot and humid and their cheddar is really crap. But hey, they’ve got gazillions of flowers, fans and butterflies, which makes Elliot extremely happy.

I hope to be posting more regularly now as we’ve set up a Tumblr blog where we’ll post quick updates and photos for friends and family (thebassetts.tumblr.com) and I’ll redirect the posts here.

Hopefully I’ll find the time to write longer posts for the blog too. I doubt that they’ll be about second-hand shopping though as this city is pretty hopeless when it comes to that (I’m still in shock after my encounter with the local thrift shop *shudders*).  But who knows, I might still have some second-hand treasures hidden in my humid closet 🙂

Playground

Elliot checking out our local playground.

High-street find: Coral coloured jelly shoes

The weather is just perfect at the moment, so Elliot and I have been hanging out with other mums and babies in London’s parks.

Being outdoors in the sun calls for bright, summery shoes.

I’m a big fan of jelly shoes, like these coral coloured ones that I bought in Kurt Geiger last month when it was still pouring down with rain every single day.

They cost 25 pounds and are really comfortable.

And I like that they are still quite elegant and not too casual or rubbery looking.

Kurt Geiger Maddy Jelly Shoes, £ 25. Buy them here.

Second-hand find: Pointy earrings

Pointy earrings from the Oxfam charity shop in St. John’s Wood. Price: 6 pounds. I love the bold, studded design as I don’t like my jewellery to be too cutesy & dainty.

I don’t really know what the material is, but the colour is something in-between silver and gold.

The old-fashioned clasp means that you have to fasten the screw until tight enough, which almost stopped me from buying them, as I thought they would be really painful to wear.

But they have turned out to be super comfortable, almost as comfortable as normal earrings – something I’m too afraid to wear at the moment, as I have a very active (and surprisingly strong) baby in the house, who happens to loooove grabbing shiny things.

He even managed to sneak himself into these pictures, while mum was busy taking pictures of herself. Can you spot him in the corner? I think he is pretending to help me with the laundry.

Once upon a time we spent a SUNNY Sunday at the Real Food Market

Oh my, the weather is crappy at the moment. All you want to do is curl up on the sofa with chocolate and a steaming hot cup of tea.

But if it hadn’t been pouring down we might have packed the bag and the baby and taken the tube to Embankment, as we did quite a few weeks ago.

We crossed the bridge and found ourselves amongst the touristy crowds on the South Bank. But we were hungry, so we headed straight towards the back of the Southbank Centre & the Royal Festival Hall.

And found what we were looking for: The Real Food Market. A small collection of food and drink stalls focusing on quality produce and serving up anything from gourmet hotdogs and burgers to slow-cooked pork, paella and churros.

You can also buy cheese, olive oil, pastries and other high quality produce and delicacies.

There is even a “food busker” – a guy called John Quilter – who cooks up different dishes every week and then it’s up to the customer to pay him what they think it’s worth.

After circling the stalls for a while we decided that what we needed was a big, fat smoked sausage-based hotdog with salad and pickles from the Polish Deli.

Delicious!

After a bit of sausage & sun it was time to get the baby home, so back we went, over the bridge.

And one ting is certain: we’ll be back as soon as that damned sun decides to make an appearance in London again…

What: The Real Food Market
Where: Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, outside Canteen restaurant (Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX)
When: Friday:12 am – 8, Saturday:11 am – 8 pm, Sunday: 12 am – 6 pm

Second-hand find: quilted 70’s Laura Ashley bag

Dark grey vintage Laura Ashley bag from my favourite charity shop, St. John’s Hospice shop, in St. John’s Wood.

Price: 8 pounds.

I love the pattern and the fact that it is easy to slide over the pushchair’s handles.

It’s perfect for holding all the baby necessities such as wipes, drinks and food as I don’t have to worry about spillage. I’ll just chuck it in the washing machine…

Second-hand find: 2 x green Jonathan Adler vases

I love ceramics and pottery and have been collecting the fragile, hand-made pieces for many years.

When it comes to vases, Jonathan Adler is a firm favourite. (You might have spotted his pieces in Carrie’s flat in Sex and The City).  All Adler pottery is designed in his Soho studio in New York and then thrown in Peruvian workshops which have been found through Aid to Artisans, a non-profit organisation that promotes fair trade.

And what’s not to love about a designer with a an amazingly inspired and witty cv like this. And take a look at his manifesto.

I used to own only two Adler vases. A blue and a white. The blue one I don’t think is in production anymore and I bought it on sale in the shop Stilleben in Copenhagen. The white bulb vase (£118) is a gift from my former colleagues.

But then recently I spotted these two in my favourite charity shop, St John’s Hospice Shop, in St. John’s Wood:

I actually first thought they were cheap copies from Ikea, so I quickly turned them upside down:

“Yay me!” I silently shouted to myself and ran to the till. The were both £7.

The left one is called gourd relief (£98) and the one on the right is called abacus (£88). Both are inspired by “seeds, barnacles, pebbles and other natural wonders”.

Perfect afternoon

Sun: check (well, sort of)

Sleeping baby: check!

Sushi: check!

Successful trip to my favourite charity shop: check! (will show you later)

Jodhpur boots….and a Swedish miracle cream

Wow, this blog post has been on its way since…forever. But here goes. The story about my – no longer so very new – practical boots.

When I was in Copenhagen, I couldn’t help admiring my always fashion-forward friend’s perfect pair of classic Jodhpur boots in the hallway. I asked her where she had bought them and, most importantly, how much she had paid for them.

And shortly after, this box arrived at my door:

Yes, it’s actually real riding boots, bought on equestrian website Horze.co.uk (they also have a Danish site Horze.dk). Price 48.95 pounds. Buy them here.

They’re perfect for this spring as they’re slightly too thin to be proper winter boots.  I put them on as soon as I received them and have practically worn them ever since. Not a blister in sight = ultra comfortable. And easy to slip on in 1 second, even when holding an over-tired baby.

And one more recommendation while you’re doing your Horze shopping. Do yourself a favour and get one of these Helosan ointments.

It’s a Swedish antiseptic, moisturising, skin ointment, which works wonders on dry elbows, chapped lips etc. It literally makes them heal overnight (Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream go home!).

The ointment is famous for its use on animals (farmers use them for cows with cracked udders etc…yumyum) and it’s neither organic nor free from parabens etc.

But it really works and I’ve been using it for skin emergencies since I was a child. 9.63 pounds for 300 g = dirt cheap. Buy it here.

Sunny afternoon in St. John’s Wood

Just testing the WordPress app on my Iphone.

Fingers crossed I might actually get some blogging done now that I can do it on the move.