I am so thankful that I get opportunities to visit London from time to time! I miss London even more when I no longer live here. For this reason I think it’s good to live close to London, but maybe not in London itself.
So yesterday me and Joni visited my dear friends and also had a date in the Regents Park. I love finding a piece of nature in the centre of the city! Overall, very good day! Sorry for such bad quality phone pics (had no camera on me, but could not help but share this with you!).
I hope you had a lovely weekend too!!
Rasa xoxo
Going to the highest place
Last weekend we had an opportunity to visit one of the highest hills in London (well, almost!). That is Pole Hill on the border of Greater London and Essex. My old friend Alex thought that it would be great to do a little cycle trip while I am spending my last weeks in London before moving to Bedford with Joni. I must admit I was feeling lazy at first, but I am happy we did it. The view of London City (from so far away) is unimaginably pretty!
Have a lovely week!
Rasa xoxo
My London home tour: could be yours too!
You might be wondering why I have decided to give you my home tour? Actually, there are two reasons: 1. I have finished renovating my house!!! Yey! (I mean insulating the walls, which was quite a big boring job). 2. Me and Joni have decided to move to Bedford after we get married (because Joni has to finish his PhD in Cranfield), so this is your only chance to see the overall result of my house after years of crafting here.
Another thing I wanted to mention that after I moved out, THIS PLACE IS UP FOR RENT!!! If you are interested, do give me a shout on rasa@friendlynettle.com. Alternatively check out Airbnb if it’s the short stay you are interested.
The house is in North London and comes with very private little garden (Loved doing my gardening experiments here).
Strawberries… Hmmm :-d
Next is Kitchen, this is where all the cakes get baked (small, but practical).
Stairway up…
I love putting little artworks around the house. This one is my favourite, sketched by Vicki!
Rasa xoxo
Name the boat!
If I had to name anything I would love to name a boat… just because they are most fun and often sound silly. I often go for a walk by river Lea and love spotting new boat names. “Buzzy Lizzy” and “Stardust” are my favourite right now. How would you name yours if you owned a boat?
Have an amazing week ahead!
Rasa oxo
Renegate Craft Fair in London
Just came back from Renegate Craft Fair, just down the road from where I live! What a great place to visit for some inspiration and unique gifts for Christmas (perfect timing!). I will try to summarise, although that’s tough as I have seen lots of inspiring things today. This is why I would strongly advise you to visit this fair yourself if you are free this weekend and in London!
I will start with Michelle Galletta (Kiriki), who make embroidered doll kits… so basically your gift could be half made by you! Check out her website for an amazing embroidery stitch library :).
Lucie Ellen gives you an opportunity to design your own bunting necklace, how lovely!
I am in love with these cute miniature plush toys that come in their own “houses”….
These ones are made by Kekekaka!
And these cuties are made by Sweet William :). In fact I came across Sweet William on Pinterest, so I was quite excited to see actual workmanship in front of me!! Wouldn’t you?
And finally, but not least it’s Oh No Rachio! I must say I have been attracted to these lovely planters by the succulents that I adore…. and by Rachel Basinger smile of course! 🙂
Hope to see you there!
Rasa xoxo
Christmas decorations at Petersham Nurseries
I mentioned Petersham Nurseries before, it’s our favourite place in London right now! Recently Vicki have paid another visit there and came back with the beautiful Christmas decoration pictures. How can you not be inspired, even if holidays seems still far away? I already started thinking on how to make something similar for my craft projects…. I especially love these “ribbons” made out of scrap fabric!
I love this etched glass detail on silver baubles!
This bird hanging decoration is Vicki’s favourite! Seems simple to make, yet quite impressive.
I am quite obsessed with woodland theme this year! So these are perfect for that 😉
Big thanks to Vicki for these pretty pictures, visit her Pinterest page for more inspiration!
Rasa 🙂
A day out at Petersham Nurseries ♥
Me, my mum (who is visiting me) and Vickie had a such a great time in Petersham Nurseries today. It is soooo beautiful there! Don’t you think this place would be perfect for a wedding?
The cakes we delicious too! My favourite was a lavender, rose water and almond cake…. yum :b
We definitely recommend Petersham Nurseries to anyone who loves vintage country style, you would definitely enjoy this;). It’s in Richmond (forgot to tell)! It has a cute shop as well where you can buy not only pretty stuff for home, but also the gardening accessories. I bought some gardening twine in pretty colours thinking to knit a rug or something… will let you know!
Having a really busy weekend. A dear friend’s, Lola’s wedding tomorrow! Looking forward to that :). What are you up to for the weekend?
Rasa xox
Bicycle trip to Richmond
And this is how our journey to Richmond started. Alex planned the route, I packed the lunch and sky … well.. it delivered sun!!
Luckily Alex is an expert on picking scenic cycling routs so most of our trip took place around the rivers and canals. I love the river around my neighbourhood ♥. For more reads about River Lea go here.
While I was cycling I noticed that lots of Elderflower trees turned to Elderberries. I did a little research and found out that you can make jelly, cordial or even liqueur with it 😉
Such a quick scenery change as we went along! I loved riverside cafes and even cafe-boats!
At the Limehouse we had to leave the river, but not for good…
Passed the central London of course 😉
Lunch at Chelsea Park: bacon tart, elderflower and poppyseed cake and rye bread sandwiches that were really yummy. I will share the recipe some time soon 😉
So after ups and downs (my bike tire went flat that got luckily fixed), we get reunited with our friend Vicki! YAY!!
We can’t get enough of the riverside as more walks by the river continues…
But the time to say goodbyes is always round the corner, but not for good!
Thanks to Vicki for making our trip memorable.
Rasa 🙂
Bicycle trip across London!
As you have guessed we are cycling across London to Richmond to visit our friend Vicki! Although this wasn’t my idea I am looking forward to this challenge…. after all I haven’t cycled for a while 😉
How are you spending your weekend?
Rasa xox
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
I was in the Flower Show today at the Hampton Court Palace! Which was fun as I have seen so many inspirational garden set-ups. Maybe some of them were unpractical, but still pretty to look at :). I think the most bizarre thing I have seen is the garden filled with artificial fog, that was really spooky!
Many stuff were for sale, not only plants but also a garden deco, equipment and lots and lots of advice (maybe this last one wasn’t for sale as it came free).  I asked what to do with my lawn as I really really destroyed it due to not cutting it regularly and not removing leafs in the autumn. I have been recommended to cut it ASAP, drop more grass seeds in and keep watering it in this hot season. Yes Sir, I feel much more hopeful about my garden now!
But the main theme I noticed is the wild flowers. It is so cool to see that it became trendy to recreate a meadow in the garden 🙂
