A London Love Affair

Since my last post mentioning London,  I traveled to, fell in love with, and parted ways with England.

I was lucky enough to join my friend Katie in Richmond (a suburb outside of London proper) for the last few days of her business trip. We eschewed tourist spots in favor of eating and wandering our way around London based on local recommendations. I have to say, we had a great time and I ate really well despite several people telling me that British food sucks. I am a little upset that I forgot to eat fish and chips while there, but hey, I live in America and I'm positive that I can find a great version here!

This is about to be a shit ton of pictures from England:

The Thames

Katie-my wandering partner

Rusty, whom I fell in love with <3

Iconic

I recently read this post on Habitually Chic and felt an immediate need to visit The Frick Collection, which I had previously visited during my first semester of college (hello 2007). I have to admit, I appreciated the collection so much more this time, now that I chose to attend and that I did so on a lovely Wednesday afternoon, with no time constraints holding me back. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures of the collection itself, but I was able to snap a few within the inner courtyard and of the outdoor garden (visible from 70th street outside the main entrance). If you have a free afternoon and find yourself craving an intimate representation of art in a gorgeous "old New York" mansion, treat yourself to some time in The Frick Collection, and be sure to snag a free audio guide, which really enhanced my visit with tid bits about the collection and its original curator. 

While you're visiting The Frick, I highly recommend making the short walk over to 5th ave to visit the FAO Schwarz store. This iconic NYC toy store will be closed on July 17, 2015. It's a must-see, the site of the infamous piano scene from the movie Big, and a personal favorite. While visiting, I spent way too much money on bulk candy, and a mini black and white lips sofa to add to my bookshelf (purchased from the custom dollhouse shop within FAO). FAO is owned by Toys R Us (my former employer) and I have to admit that I am extremely disappointed in TRU for closing the doors of this amazing store, I was a bit emotional walking through the store realizing that I'll never know the pleasure of bringing my future children for a visit.