found place - story hotel

if i could do stockholm over (which i hope to some day), i would stay here. the story hotel seems to be the perfect combination of new & vintage, bohemian chic if you will. tucked away in ostermalm, this spot is filled with art, spaces for mingling & dining. i want to go to there.

found via studio g.

music to listen to

we were graciously hosted by chris while in nyc. he had a great apartment in chelsea, made us breakfast every morning (mmmm turkey sausage & blueberry pancakes), filled our coffee cups, hailed our cabs, opened doors - it was perfect. i should also mention that chris led us to many great places including, dinner at la esquina was perfect, dancing at fat baby, walking the highline, & soup dumplings at joe's shanghai.

we had three 4am night, which led to some rough mornings last weekend, but i will remember them fondly with booka shade playing in the background.

if i got to choose a coast

some of my favorite shots over labor day. new york is an amazing place; one i'm not sure i could live, but one i could definitely visit many times a year. so much to see, to learn, to admire.

check out some of my bike shots at iva jean rides.

a much needed break

this weekend's trip to manhattan followed by a big deadline at work may cause delays in blogging. i'll let you know.

image via maditi.

off to the big city

i woke up this morning in new york city to celebrate a dear friend's big 3-0, meet the lovely anya, catch up with friends, frolic through brooklyn with the hipsters, visit moma, ride bikes in central park, rest my head in chelsea, people watch, pine over fashion & plain out have a wonderful little adventure. have a great labor day weekend - until tuesday!

thanks to strath for all of the great must dos. maybe we'll cross paths. image via wallyg.

found street art

such gorgeous pieces found through the fame festival blog. this studiocromie produced festival is the meeting of about a dozen artists in the italian village of grottaglie. i want to go to there.

found place

bart & i ventured out for a night at shi shi beach in the olympic national park this weekend; i now feel like an official seattle resident. after a much longer drive (route) out there, we arrived at the trailhead about 4pm on saturday. i suggest taking a three day weekend for all of you; between the ferry schedule, stopping for permits & bear canisters, obtaining a makah permit & driving the windy 112 - you'd be surprised how long the 160 mile venture actually takes.

the hike from our car to the campsite was just under 3 miles - .6 miles to the trailhead & 1.7 into the beach. the hike was fairly flat, but muddy with a steep (but short) descent to the beach. before seeing the ocean you find yourself in a tunnel of trees that seems a bit haunting, needles & dead branches line a long walkway parallel to the beach. the beach was fogged in almost completely but we were optimistic. our neighbors led us to a prime driftwood location after we set up the tent & we started a fire. dinner was quick & was finished off with a beautiful sunset breaking the fog. all along the beach you could see campers gravitating to the shore as this was the first sunset in days. bart & i spent some time running around & admiring the now exposed scenery.

we woke up early morning & spent hours discovering the tide pools. knowing that the drive would be a lot of the day, we packed everything up around 1 & headed back to the car. the drive was beautiful & fueled by a fat smitty burger & shake. we got home a bit later than planned, but were happy to have made the journey.

shoes in london

there were a few things that i found in london that fought hard to get into my luggage. i decided to take their pictures instead, hoping to see them in the future. first, i'm loving these kawasaki shoes. perfect street shoes with tons of color, i'm not convinced they are available in the states yet. adidas boating shoes - yummmmmm. again, i'm having a hard time finding these online, but i give it a couple months (or i can stick marques on shoe duty).

my last day abroad

saturday night in london was a ton of fun. we went out dancing & found ourselves on crowded dance floors celebrating the music of michael jackson. on our trip home we grabbed tall boys of stella & donner kebabs - ohhhhh late night london. the next day we headed out on foot to hamstead heath (a great spot for panoramic views of london without the $40 price), stopping at chewie's bakery & deli on the way. i'll tell you, i was pooped on my last night in london & spent the night packing, napping & watching to boob tube.

i went into total body shutdown (tbs) the minute i arrived in michigan. i meant to post about my last day in london when i got home, but i've had a hard time even getting out of my pajamas. it's been chilly & rainy here in fife lake, but it's nice to be with my family, cozed up playing cards, baking & lounging around.

days five & six in london

the last couple of days in london have been great. i spent yesterday at the camden market & stables & notting hill before meeting up with marques & friends for drinks in covent garden. the market was both overwhelming & underwhelming. it's amazing to me how many stalls carry the same goods & the amount of people that are willing to buy some of the junk. it was still a great experience & the revamped stables were impressive with large sculptures & chandeliers. after that i strolled through notting hill. i loved walking down the streets with the fragrant plantings, bright blue front doors & rows of antiques. after that we spent the evening getting after work drinks in covent garden, i cashed in a bit early. we also kept today low key with a nice late morning, 3 mile run around regent park & a casual walk around shoreditch & hackney.

it just started pouring rail & hail - i'm at home watching how i met your mother, getting geared to order in dinner then go out once the storm passes. for all of my london pics so far click here.

days three & four in london

i'm writing this while watching bbc reports of michael jackson's death. i can hardly believe it.

i took my first bike ride in london wednesday morning, heading into to work in covent garden with marques. i tell you, it's a different story here. after that i spent some time shopping around there, grabbed lunch from kaster & ovens (a fantastic take away spot with the best salads & baked goods), then headed off to the soho area. my afternoon was overwhelmingly filled with a visit to the v&a museum & saatchi gallery. i spent most of my time in the fashion exhibit at the v&a, so fantastic. i enjoyed the student exhibits as much as the historic pieces. after that was the saatchi gallery, reopened in sloane square (used to sit near the london eye) in october 08, tit has a fantastic collection of contemporary art. the current exhibit titled abstract america. the day was full, but doesn't end there. marques & i took a bike ride to tower bridge, up brick lane through shoreditch, then further east to london fields. london fields was a really young, hip neighborhood bursting with energy - i'm hoping to spend a big more time there before i leave.

today i decided to walk the south bank with end destinations of the tate modern & borough market. i saw some fantastic pieces at the tate modern, but have really come to terms with the fact that some genres & forms of modern art can be quickly passed by for me. the borough market was wonderful, i wish that i could have picked up everything i needed for a big dinner. why couldn't i? oh yes, at the request of my father & encouragement from marques, i became the first deotte to queue for wimbeldon 09. yup, 1.5 hours & there we were, at the all england lawns tennis club. we got to see pieces of some singles & doubles matches, then watched a mixed double on the terrace.

all in all, another great couple of days in london. i have so much more that i'd love to do, but will hope to hit the camden market tomorrow with an afternoon in notting hill.