Jolly Ol' England

Did you watch the royal wedding last week?  I set my alarm a little early so I could enjoy some of the ceremony before getting ready for work.  Wow!  What a gorgeous royal couple they were, indeed!  Kate was so elegant and poised.  Her dress was just absolutely perfect!  And WOW!  Kate did her own makeup. The way Prince William and Kate looked adoringly at each other was such a sharp contrast to the wedding of his parents where that "spark" was just not there!  I loved Princess Di, and her fate was such a tragic one.  

As I watched the fabulous wedding, I remembered my trip to London, and my tour of Westminster Abbey.  You just can't imagine the beauty of this place!

  Then to watch the royal family emerge from the balcony, I could hardly believe that I actually stood there in front of the palace, witnessing some royal event eight years ago!  And then to top it all off, to hear that Kensington Palace is where the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will reside...another of my favs on my trip.  I especially loved the Princess Di's display of dresses.  It was truly the trip of a lifetime, but oh how I long to go back someday! 



Can you tell I heart crowns?  lol

Speaking of hearts.....LOVE THIS!!!

With all the talk about London, I thought I'd share some of my English favs!

Kensington High Street...the area that our hotel was located in.  We passed by these shops daily to get to the tube.  

The church that was on our route each day as well.  Beautiful!

And just beyond the church was the outdoor, corner flower shop.

We bought a ton of these biscuits curls from Marks and Spencer.  We even brought boxes home with us.

Double Decker Bus

Yes, it is true that I jumped off in the middle of the street with cars passing me...and they were driving in the WRONG direction!  lol  I thought the bus was at our stop, and that's what people do...jump off.  However, we were only at a traffic light...which I couldn't see for the crowd of people standing around me!  lol  I could see my friend's face peering out the back with the most bewildered look on her face.  My thoughts were racing, and I wondered how in the heck I was going to find her again!  lol  Luckily, just a short distance was our stop anyway.  Oh, how we laughed over this one!

Great architecture!

Quaint Pubs

FABulous shopping.....like...

LIBERTY

SELFRIDGE'S

HARROD'S

You aren't allowed to take pictures inside of Harrod's.  

However...

 I did manage to get a shot of Diana's and Dodi's memorial.

Yummy Sweets...like...

And Antique shops...

and PORTOBELLO ROAD!!!!!

And this is only a SMALL part of our trip, as we were there for 10 days.  Ahhhh, how I wish to go back someday!

And now, I'll leave you with this...just released...

The Royal Wedding Couple and Wedding Party

and take a look at what the cutie little girl has on her hand.   Bwahahahaha

PRECIOUS!

Hope you royally enjoy your weekend!

Cheerio...

Rebecca

LUSH for Pink Saturday

Welcome to Pink Saturday. 

Thought I'd share some pink yumminess!

Mainly because I am out of my Lush goodies and need to order more.

First, I wanted to share with you my love of LUSH!  O.M.G.  I first came across this wonderful yumminess when I was in London.  Every day we would pass by this delicious store to get to the Tube or other shops on our list.  

The doors were always open and such yummy fragrances wafted through the air!  I had to go inside on several occasions, only to exit with a bag of yummy goodies! 

When I used them up, I longed for more...as much as I love Bath & Body...it just didn't compare!  

So, I found their online shop in many countries.  These are some of my faves...and all pink!  Imagine that!  You can check out their online stores here.  You will be in for a treat!

Now, make sure you make your way over to Beverly's for more pink yumminess!

Have a happy, pink day!

Blessings,

Rebecca

Journaling...PART 2

Recently, I shared with you some journals that I made.  This is one of my favorites!

I love to write for all kinds of reasons.  When my best friend, Lisa, and I went to London a few years ago, we vowed to be diligent with our journaling.  Every night, when we returned to our hotel, and made the jaunt up 6 flights of stairs {remember there wasn't an elevator} we would hurry up and get ready for bed.  Then we would sit on our beds facing each other, recounting the day's happenings and "funnies".  There were always funnies!!!  Oh how we laughed!  This was a once in a lifetime trip, and we wanted to remember everything in detail!  

Well, I decided to make one more journal...this one for a sweet blogging friend.  She has a very special trip coming up VERY soon!  I wanted her to have a special journal to write down each day's happenings, art project directions, new friends made, shopping excursions, etc. etc. etc.

I hope she will enjoy this little journal that I created just for her.  It is decorated for the "theme" of her trip...lots of lace, ribbons, and buttons because many petticoats have just that!  

The beautiful southern flowers are gorgeous this time of year...and a lady needs her parasol to keep her fair skin protected from the sun.

So there you have a few hints!

She probably knows who she is, but I won't spoil that just yet.  I hope she has many happy, creative, funny, sweet memories to fill the pages in her little journal.  

Happy Journaling

from 

Our Back Porch,

Rebecca

Longing for London Part 3

I have been in school for 5 weeks now, and our October break is just around the corner. Everytime a break from school is approaching, I get the itch to travel. And I am reminded of all the wonderful trips I have taken on breaks with my family and friends.

This trip always comes to mind! It's my trip to the wonderful city of LONDON! Oh how I long to go back someday! So, I thought I'd share a few more pics of that wonderful place. This is focusing on the wonderful B & B that we stayed at. The photo of the flowers above was taken right outside the B & B as you came up the steps. Beautiful!

This is The Vicarage in the High Street Kensington area.....the most wonderful area in my opinion. This sweet B & B, located on a quaint little quiet street, is locally owned and run by Mandy. Upon entered the lobby, you are greeted with the most beautiful view of the grand staircase and richly vibrant color of red. GORGEOUS!! There is a charming sitting room just beyond the staircase to the left. This was a place for a daily pause for us before climbing that grand staircase....for you see, there are no elevators and we were on the 6th floor!

Oh, but it was worth the jaunt and spectacular to look down from above!

If I do ever travel to London again, this is where I will want to stay. While it is peaceful and quiet in this neighborhood, it is close to lots of shops and the Tube, which will take you anywhere in London. We loved to stop in at Patisserie Valerie...YUM-O! We visited Marks and Spencer several evenings to get nibbles and provisions for latenight munching {the biscuit curls were scrumptious--and we packed a few in our luggage too!, and a little shopping too!

Accessorize...OMG, we love Accessorize!

And we can NEVER forget LUSH! OMG "To Die For"!!!

Ok, so now I am longing to go back for sure!

Oh I truly hope that one day I can return to this spectacular city!!

Love ya London!!

Longing for London Part 2

As promised, I am back with some more memories of London.  Now, these may not be as humorous as the Double Decker Bus Incident, but fun nonetheless.

Now, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea from my last post.  Yes, the lady on the bus was quite rude, but I can honestly say that in the ten days I was there, all over London, there wasn't one other person that was rude to us...quite the opposite...very nice and helpful indeed!!

~Portobello Market~

Portobello Market was one of the highest priorities on our list!  Take a look at this quaint street lined with wonderful colorful buildings.  Portobello Road goes through the heart of Notting Hill (you know the movie!)  The streets are lined with quaint little shops on either side of the street, but on a Saturday, the street is crowded with vendors and shoppers for about two miles down Portobello Road.  

 You will find antiques, crafts, new goods, second hand goods, fruits and veggies, and fresh flowers.   You will find bakeries, cafes, and snacks.  Really cool place to experience!

This is Alice's Antiques on Portobello Road!  

Gotta be drawn in by that wonderful red building!!

This little girl is a street performer.  She never opened her eyes or change her expression.  She just robotically turned back and forth, moving her arms and hands around.  She was really good!  I sure would have had to scratch or sneeze, or peek, but she didn't!  Awesome!    

~ToWeR of LoNdOn~

This was one of my favorite things on this trip!  It was all so intriguing to me, much to my surprise!  

The Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) stand watch and guard.  In early times, they kept watch over the prisoners.  Today they stand guard to keep the grounds and visitors safe.  Back in the day, the beefeaters would taste the food to insure they King would not be poisoned.  The Beefeaters take you on a tour of the towers, giving you history of each one.  Then you can go around as you wish through the buildings.  They have an "undress" uniform for everyday, and a dress uniform for special occasions. 

~Undress Uniform~

~Dress Uniform~

 This is the White Tower.    The tower in the background is where the Crown Jewels are housed.  The White Tower might make you think about this Queen...

Anne Boleyn

She was convicted of adultry and incest, but the real reason was the fact that she didn't produce a son, an heir to the throne.  She was afraid of the guillotine, so a French import was brought in.  This executioner was a specialist with the double handed sword.  Ugghh!!  Anne Boleyn was beheaded on Tower Green in 1536.  It is said that she haunts the Tower of London, and has been seen frequently on the Green, as well as, in the Chapel Royal situated in the White Tower.  The Tower of London has seen its fair share of executions, murders, tortures, and poisonings.  

 

 You will see ravens at the Tower of London.  The legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower will crumble and it will be the fall of England.  No worries, these ravens have their wings clipped and will not fly away!

That's Tower Bridge in the background (you know London Bridge). 

Ahhhh, I am really looonnnnnggggging to go back again now!

And the thing is, I have sooooo much more that I could share.  Maybe I'll do just that on another day.

Happy Saturday!

Back Porch Blessings,

Rebecca