London Recap: Liberty

Today's Agenda:  This year I have taken on a role on our condo board's social committee -- a way to get more involved in our building and meet neighbors...instead of passing them when I would come home at 11 every night!  And, tonight we are having a cupcake tasting so I'm off today setting up for that and psyched to use my new Liberty of London for Target trays for the mini vanilla and chocolate cupcakes!  We are tasting cupcakes from Bakeshop, Red Velvet and Georgetown Cupcake...we'll see what the favorite is!

While we were in London, Liberty was top on my list of places to visit.  I just wanted to see what it was about.  And, I loved it!  If I were visiting today I would bypass the dishes/kitchen section {although I did enjoy the selection of Katy Potts china and can see getting a few of these pieces to mix and match with a basic china pattern} and head straight for the middle of the store to check out the furniture selection and displays.  Really pretty patterns on large comfy sofas.  Industrial desks with interesting chairs.  And, then, if you like fabrics, I would set aside about half an hour to just flip through the fabric books they have.  I jotted down several fabrics that I would love to use one day -- let's see if I can find them...

Designer's Guild/Tosca/Moss

 GP&J Baker/Icelandic Poppies/Velvet Gray

 Marimekko/Tuuli/Black & White

I also loved their bathstore and linens.

Blue Strawberry Print

Purple Ianthe Print 

Lizzie Allen, Royal Guards Cushion

 {instead of the wallpaper}

Or the Caesar Liberty Fabric Cushion

I wasn't allowed to take many photos in the store so here are my photo memories of Liberty...

Liberty, the Store

 And, me @ Liberty! 

Unique styling inside of the store (this was the only picture I could take!)

 Their new Merci! line

Until I go back, I will be trolling the Liberty website {it's pretty comprehensive!} for some unique decorating ideas! 

London Recap: Cheese

Today's Agenda:  One of my best friends is moving just down the street from me!! {The highlight of my day and maybe spring/summer 2010!}.  So, I'll meet her today when she gets her keys to the new place.  Other than that I'm sorting through laundry + taxes.  {Sigh.}. 

So, continuing the London recap...Our first stop after we dropped our bags off at the hotel in London was La Fromagerie.  It's not exactly a secret spot or new find -- a friend had recommended that we visit it on our last trip to London and it's listed on Design Sponge's guide to London, but, man, is it amazing.  It didn't disappoint and we were able to thoroughly enjoy our tasting plates of cheese + charcuterie and explore every nook and cranny of this usually bustling shop since we went at the perfect time -- 4:30pm on a weekday.

Cheese shop = fantastic.  But a cheese shop with a disco ball??  Amazing.

You can get a peek of the "Cheese Room"!

Yum, bread.

I can taste all of this now...

The only hope I had of remembering what we tasted was to take a picture of the menu!

These were sitting awfully close to me...

Yep, that's all chocolate.

Next visit, we are hoping to rent a flat so we can buy food here to cook at home.

I was intrigued by these...

And, loved the simple decor -- the wood of the table, the candles, the large clock.

Tempting...

The end.

But, check out the events they have!  Yes, please sign me up for "April in Paris."

London Recap: The Sumner Hotel

Today's Agenda:  Uploading pictures from our London trip!  And teeing up blog posts for the week about our trip and many of the inspiring images I tried to capture.  Last week I was busy getting ready for a wedding I helped style and coordinate so I hadn't had a chance yet to look back at our London trip.  Am already ready to go back...:)

The first night in London we stayed at a boutique hotel called The Sumner Hotel.  This was a last minute booking done with about 15 minutes of research {not the usual two months in advance and full day of research!}.  And I was happily surprised.  Take a peak at the wonderful design of the dining and lobby areas.  I especially loved the lighting throughout the hotel and the use of wallpaper!  Location and price were also great {and included wifi + breakfast!}.
 

{I love this entryway!}

Back in the USA

Today's Agenda:  Catching up on life after our trip to London...and psyched that some of my Liberty of London from Target purchases already arrived!

We just spent a week in London -- part biz trip for husband and part vacation for us.  I spent most of the time visiting design shops and being inspired by the restaurants, hotels, boutiques -- okay, everything!  And tried to be good about documenting any inspiration!  (Am getting much better at that...)

Today, I'm working on loads of wedding stationery items and just getting back in the swing of things (already got through a week's worth of mail!) but I plan on digesting what I saw while I was in London and sharing it on the blog over the next week...stay tuned!

One fun thing happened while we were in London -- Target's Liberty of London line launched.  I had already made a trip to Liberty to see what they had, what patterns caught my eye.  And then waited patiently until Target's line launched (and took advantage of the time difference to order items before they sold out!) to see what they had and then decide what I wanted to order from Target and what I wanted to pick up at the store in London.

Well, waiting for me when we got home last night were two of these:

They are gorgeous!  Can't wait to set out some vanilla frosted mini cupcakes on these for Easter...They are out of stock online but if you see them in the store, buy a few to stash for hostess gifts!