more pub a day - ye olde mitre house

more pub a day, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

established in 1546! this one is near sian's work, thus, lots of suits grabbing a swift one before heading home.

a pub a day continued...

a pub a day, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

yum - bombardier beer is tasty too!

pub a day

pub a day (or two a day!), originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

yum, guiness is gooooood

pub a day

pub a day, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

a coupla pub photos for you

pub a day continued :), originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

we are doing the daily walk in for a drink or two -- or as they say here, "a swift one" :)

traditional english breakfast + a little recap so far...

traditional english breakfast, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

we've been staying longer in the u.k. than originally thought. basically, because there is a wealth of fun things to do and see!! we've decided we love london and will be returning soon. we're trying to get our act together and take a train to paris sometime this week. i mean, we have to leave our awesome host, sian, alone sometime right?! & venice, slovenia and the rest of eastern europe is calling our name.

art doin's: we've been to the tate, the tate modern, the camden arts center, the serpentine gallery, the damien hirst show at the white cube gallery, the punk show at the barbican & wandered into a few galleries here & there. super stuff to look at - & we haven't even scratched the surface!

wanderings & walkabouts: camden market, borough market, spitalfield's, brick lane, up the thames, down the thames, boat on the thames...big ben, parliament, buckingham palace, liverpool walkings, brixton skating, st pauls cathedral + a couple other church viewings, pub crawling, belsize neighborhood wanderings, primrose hill views of the city, stop ins to many a cafe for a quick treat & a jot in the journal.

observations: eggs are left out on the shelf, all the time (no refrigeration for these babies?!). gin & tonics come pre mixed and sold in cans like soda. their english breakfast tea is the strongest tea i've ever had for breakfast, and i'm a huge tea drinker! they sell american size hotdogs in tin cans (with the proud american flag flying on the 6 pack tin can?!). the yogurt is super yum - creamier. the english love their cheese. serious cheese markets abound. they also like beans for breakfast and on their toast. and carbs - lots of carbs (which is fine by me!). pubs are a lovely break & the drinking age is a sensible 18 - dunno why we can't figure that one out in the states. the tube; public transit, is quite awesome and easy to get around. it is sooooooo clean here. the gooseberry is overrated and entirely strange in yogurt, as is rhubarb in yogurt. i love jacket potatoes with goodies stuffed inside. brown sauce is very odd - like molasses, & i can't figure out what you would put it on. the british don't seem to make eye contact much, nor acknowledge you in passing (on the street)...i guess we are the goofy friendly americans who like to pet the dogs & kitties that pass by & say good morning to people we pass in the neighborhood! it's cold here, just like summer back home in san francisco! lemonade actually means you are getting sprite. you don't really tip here, in fact, you don't really sit down much restaurant style - you tend to order at the counter, then sit for your meal.

sayings to start using: being "pissed on" - as in the rain. "dodgey", as in, the sketchy part of town, or, as in hit or miss weather. the preferred term of endearment is "darling", as in, "that'll be 3 pounds darling."

also, i am in love with digestive biscuits. mmmm...

more later perhaps. i might get one more post in before we head out for france.

cheers mates!

dispatch from the u.k.

dispatch from the u.k., originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

we made it! bl celebrated his 40th next to big ben :) we've been on wandering/walkabouts every day. our feets hurt! we've seen some sort of art every day too, which has been really awesome.

i now have a wicked cold, so i'll be posting more later about observations, sites, scenes, art, etc...

wanted to post a quick hello, and hope everyone is doing just fine!

toodles & ciao for now.

xxx.

we're off!

we're off!, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

see ya later alligators!!!

for a perfect mood for paris...

try this:

see this lovely slideshow/song found via the lovely wendy

enjoy :)

a smitter smatter of sneak peeks

a smitter smatter of sneak peaks, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

even though we've been crazy getting ready for europe, still needed some sprout studio time. i have lots of ideas buzzing in my head for the site overhaul that will happen this summer/fall. i want to have loads of new goodies to look at when the revamped site launches. working on lots of sketches & smaller drawings, ideas swirling around. i'm sure after europe my head will be stuffed to the gills with ideas and thoughts and experiences...

so i thought i'd post a few sneak peeks now before we leave. last hurrah dinner with some girlies tonight & then tomorrow we run last errands in the evening. meet up with subletter/friend on wednesday & thursday we are off!!!!!! :)

too tired. nappie time.

too tired. nappie time., originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

too much erranding. list too long. so much to do. chores out the wazoo. packing is needed. cleaning is sorely needed (we do have a subletter whom i'm sure would appreciate a sparkly bathroom). thus, the only possible thing to do is:

take a nap with the dixie dog :)

mollusk surf shop treehouse

mollusk surf shop treehouse, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

just a little eye candy treat for you on a sunday. these are at mollusk surf shop out in the avenues. we love that store. seen good art shows there & killer music shows. ran into barry mcgee there with his daughter...saw a lovely moment between the two of them.

b.l. needed some last minute new shorts & a lightweight surf hoodie so we went on a little errand. these treehouses are too cool. we found out the artist who made them is actually in n.y. studying at art school. these sparked such a craving to cut shapes out of wood for me & paint some of my trees on leaves....thus i started quizzing the mister about jig saw cutting some out when we get back from europe. for a coupla years now he's been bugging me to design/paint some skateboard decks. it keeps coming back up - we have a friend who could cut some older styles for us; more like surf boards, less like big fatty decks...so i think we'll revisit this again later this summer...

...so many ideas/projects...so seemingly little amounts of time...

phew. passport finally came.

phew. passport finally came., originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

halle-freakin-lujah. it has been SUCH an ordeal to get this. we just found out that the mister's is supposed to be fed exed by tuesday --- considering we leave thursday, i certainly hope that is the case!

also, the paris hotel debaucle is seemingly under control (previous one we booked just shut down due to fire hazards because of so much wood....errrr....it's been there 100+ years but apparently now, it might go up in a poof, so no staying there for us!) i'm still awaiting confirmation on the new place we selected. we shortened our stay to 4 nights instead of 6. a coupla other exciting things popped up. we are thinking about staying a night or two in slovenia. mediterranean flair without the tourists & super high expense.

we also found out the the venice biennale is going on!!!! as well as documentia in germany -- it's the first time that a lot of these super art world fairs have been going on at the same time; so hopefully we'll be able to hit some of these too! super exciting!

i can't believe we'll be abroad in under a week. :) :) :) :) i'm just a wee bit EXCITED!

sent off the last of the sprout studio packages today, cleaning up my packing & processing table & stashed all felt club goodies so we can swoop in & grab them when we get back.

renegade chicago applications just went up! i'm thinking i might apply for this one - i've done brooklyn twice but not chicago........we'll see. i did apply to crafty bastards, cross fingers for me :)

i'll be posting again before we leave for sure.

xxx.

a portion of the personal collection

a portion of the personal collection, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

this is maybe half of the collection that i own. they all hang on pushpins by my bed. these are getting a change out of cord color...

i obviously have a "letting go" problem -- i love making these necklaces & i love wearing them. mostly, i love being able to keep the ones that speak to me the most.

let me tell you the best part in the world of selling some of these treats -- it's seeing someone pick one out that truly speaks to them - the time it takes them to find just the right one, until the match is complete. some folks take *ages* to choose their's - & ya know what? i think that is so awesome. they know they must have one, they just have to find the exact one that is perfect for them. & when they finally decide, it's so fun to see which pendant matched up with which person! happy sprout studio folks displaying their necklaces are a favorite picture for me :)

felt club - another banner!

felt club - another banner!, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

very excited for this show :) and they pictured those cutie vintage rings of mine! thanks felt club!