Friday, June 13, 2014

Hello, London

Thank you for your travel (and arrival) well wishes. We are now in London and it has turned on gorgeous summer weather to greet us. I think now we're in this part of the world, sunshine will be something to soak up rather than avoid (Perth summers being rather more scorching than the London equivalent).

I'll be sharing recipes and more structured posts again before long, but for now, here are another set of images - this time from the other side of the world to my last post.

Our new home! We're the upstairs flat.

Living / dining room - I am hopeful about the light for food photography.

The all important kitchen.

We have hit up Marks and Spencer's for home essentials...

...a trip that necessitated (or at least involved) visiting Oxford Street.

We have also soaked up the sun along the Thames River.


We saw Army personal posing for photographs - this was snapped post posing. 
The random swinging arm makes me smile.

I renewed my love affair with tried and true UK food stores...

...and spotted many unique places that I look forward to visiting one day. 
The above chocolate cafe and store is one such example!

Have you navigated a major or overseas move, and if so, do you have any advice on crucial things for the first few days? I have a To Organise list that is very long (but rather exciting and lovely at the same time)!

24 comments:

  1. Welcome to England! I'm so pleased that you've arrived to gorgeous weather. Yes, do make the most of the sunshine as we don't get much of it here ;)
    Your apartment looks fab! With all those bay windows you should certainly get enough natural light for your photography,
    You'll be pleased to hear that Marks and Spencer are starting to do lots more veggie options, which is fantastic! I'm really loving their whole food salads at the moment (the one with quinoa/carrot/nuts & ginger dressing is especially lush!)
    Here's wishing you a fab first weekend in your new home ♥ xx

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    1. Thank you so much Sharon :) I have a long love affair with M&S food so it's great to hear they are further expanding their veggie options. When we were here 2 years ago I had an amazing quinoa salad and one with a ginger dressing sounds like just my kind of thing!

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  2. I've never done any such thing so I can only imagine how much of an undertaking an overseas move is, but I'm glad it went smoothly! Tons of counter space in the kitchen is always good!

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    1. Thanks Shannon! And yes, counter space is always desirable! I have more counter space in this kitchen but fewer cupboards...we'll see how that works out :p

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  3. Glad it's all going well so far Kari. I can't even begin to think what a mission moving countries is! So much to organize and adjust to.

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    1. Luckily it's been fun so far (well, mostly) so the amount to do isn't too overwhelming. I am probably going to discover something crucial I haven't done in a week though!

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  4. Your new apartment looks lovely. The building has lots of charm. It always amazes me though how most London apartments don't have laundries and you have to have the washing machine in the kitchen! I'm sure that will take some getting used to. I'm pleased the weather is behaving - for now! xx

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    1. It is odd, isn't it? Not only that, we have no in built dryer and no outdoor space for drying clothes! People seem quite happy to strew their laundry all over the house...we will see how I go with that :P

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  5. Looks like you are enjoying yourself and rightly so after all the work to get there - my advice is just that - enjoy it and take some time to relax - things will fall into place but don't expect too much in the first few days - and looks like you are doing that - good to enjoy the love affair with the city before life becomes humdrum

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    1. Thank you Johanna, and I am glad we have been able to fit in some wandering as well as buying / organising / setting up. I am trying to accept living in a rather basic sense at the moment and figure that 4 walls, electricity and gas are the essentials - and we have those, so the rest can follow!

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  6. Yay! So glad you guys made it there safely! Thank you so much for keeping all of eager ones informed ;). Those windows!! I'm super jealous…And how cute is your new place. I'm not very good at dealing with major changes so I would be terrified of moving oversees. You're a lot braver than I.

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    1. Thank you Min :-) We had a lot of lead up time to the move - years of planning in fact! - which I think helped. It's surreal it's finally here!

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  7. What a monumental move. How long will it take your stuff to join you? Your new place looks great!

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    1. Our things will arrive in 2 to 3 months...quite a while, but we probably need the time to figure out where they will go ;)

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  8. Glad to hear you've arrived safely! I look forward to your London posts :)

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  9. Congratulations! I am sure you will have a marvellous time - what an adventure. I love the big window in your flat.

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    1. Thanks Cakelaw :-) I really love the window too.

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  10. Glad to hear you arrived safely! It sounds like such a stressful experience to move overseas like this - I always feel for my postdocs when they have to uproot. I hope London treats you well!

    Catherine

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    1. Thank you Catherine - and I am, with hindsight, glad I waited until post-postdoc so I have a little more to utilise in terms of resources. It would have been so hard 5 years ago!

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  11. Wonderful pictures :-) That light looks wonderful! (I'm a shocking photography & bad lighting doesn't help!!!)
    I always find it so so odd to see clothes washing appliances in the kitchen!!!!
    Good luck with the weather - we're just back from 3 weeks in New Zealand and I think it's safe to say I could never live somewhere cold! I struggle in our 20 degree winters as it is lol
    Hope you enjoy your time there xxx

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    1. I think it's for the best we arrived in the UK summer ;) However, I (said now when it isn't cold) definitely prefer English winter to Perth summers, so hopefully I will maintain that stance and cope ok when it cools down!

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  12. Envious! My husband lived in London and I spent some time there too. I miss those days! Very much looking forward to reading more about your new adventures there!

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  13. Wow how very exciting. I wish I could move too!

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